CAITLYN
Caitlyn nervously fingered the Kiramman key, turning it in her fingers. On the screen before her, she surveyed a pencil-drawn blueprint of the Hexgates. In Jayce’s handwriting, several tunnels lining the sides of the Hexgates were labelled “VENT/DUCT”, with more writings hastily scribbled down.
Since the battle a month before, Piltover had gone through a total 180-degree change. Zaun and Piltover were now one, with Sevika a member of the council and filling the space Mel had left behind when she returned to Noxus in her now deceased mother’s place. Shimmer had been fully dismantled, and while the Hexgates were in shambles and their creators still missing, most of the city had recovered from their losses.
Caitlyn, too, had changed. She had finally comfortably settled into her role as Commander of Enforcers without Ambessa Medarda’s voice constantly steering her in the wrong direction. She had grown used to her now limited field of vision after losing her left eye in a fight with Ambessa, and best of all, she was with Vi, and neither of them were about to walk away.
Despite that, Caitlyn knew some holes had yet to shrink. Outside the room, she heard a soft melody drifting through the air. She turned her attention back to the diagram in front of her before setting down the Kiramman key and picking up something else — a metal hemisphere moulded into a monkey head.
Caitlyn sighed. An image of Jinx flashed through her head — blue hair swinging through the air, pink and blue paint everywhere. While she had once yearned for vengeance for Jinx, who had killed her mother before her very eyes, Caitlyn had now let go of her resentment towards Vi’s sister. According to Vi, Jinx had died a hero, sacrificing herself to save Vi from Warwick and perishing in a fiery explosion halfway down the Hexgates.
There had been no body, no indication that Jinx had been there. It was as though the explosion had fully removed any physical trace of Jinx from existence.
Deep down, Caitlyn knew Jinx could still be alive. She had seen the girl’s instincts and speed, especially after being injected with Shimmer. The Shimmer Speed made her undeniably agile and deft, meaning she could have escaped the explosion somehow.
But Caitlyn knew — if there was even a sliver of a chance Jinx was alive, Vi would drop everything to search for her presumed dead sister. Despite everything that had happened, Vi had refused to give up on Jinx, believing she could fix the latter and restore their relationship to what it once was. Caitlyn knew Vi well enough to know how much she had suffered — since her parents were killed, then her adoptive family, then her sister turned into Jinx, and just as soon as they had begun to reconcile, Jinx gave her life for Vi. She didn’t want to give Vi false hope. Caitlyn knew how much an indication that Jinx was alive would mean to Vi, but if Vi found out it was all fake…
Caitlyn needed an indication too, from Vi. She knew Vi tended to get caught up in the past, which prevented her from moving forward, but Caitlyn needed Vi to let go. Vi’s constant grip on the past, or more specifically Jinx, would be what destroyed her if she was given false hope. If they were to go searching for Jinx, Caitlyn needed to know Vi was prepared to have her worst fears confirmed.
The melody Vi was humming pulled Caitlyn back into reality. She turned off the screen, doing her best to hide her smirk.
Vi sat in the living room, her back to Caitlyn. She sat on the table facing the blazing fireplace, her left knee up like a thug, arm resting on her knee, quietly humming to herself. She had finally stopped punching walls and taken off her tape, leaving her tattoos on full display.
“Is that…singing I hear?” Caitlyn sat down next to Vi and asked teasingly.
Vi smiled wistfully and turned to face her. Her powder blue eyes stared into Caitlyn’s. “It’s just a tune my mother used to hum.”
Caitlyn’s smile faded, her expression turning serious. Her head drifted down until it was resting on Vi’s shoulder, her body pressing into hers, and asked, “Are you still in this fight, Violet?”
Vi put down her knee, making Caitlyn sit up straight. When she turned her head, pink hair flowed down the right side of her head, and she grinned. “I am the dirt under your nails, cupcake.”
She put her head on Caitlyn’s shoulder now. “Nothing’s gonna clean me out.”
~~~
Caitlyn sat on the edge of her bed and glanced at the clock. It was nearly two in the morning and she hadn’t managed to get a wink of sleep.
Since that afternoon, Caitlyn had been tossing the possibilities of Jinx’s survival around in her head, always too afraid to voice them out to Vi. Now, even in the middle of the night, the idea kept her awake, her mind too active for sleep.
Through her gold-paned windows, Caitlyn could see the city of Piltover blissfully asleep. The full moon rose overhead, moonlight streaming into her room and illuminating the bed. On the other side of the bed, Vi murmured in her sleep, rustling the sheets when she moved..
“Up again?”
Caitlyn flinched and glanced behind her, sensing Vi sit up in bed. She could feel Vi’s gaze fixed on her back.
“What do you mean, again?”
Vi laughed gently. “Haven’t gotten any sleep, hmm?”
Caitlyn smiled. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
“Hmm.” Vi swung her legs over the edge of the bed and sat next to Caitlyn. “You also haven’t gotten any better at lying, have you?”
“We did manage to fool Ambessa that one time.”
“I did most of the work there, Cait. And our lives depended on it anyway.” Vi squeezed her shoulder affectionately. “Are you really not gonna tell me what’s up?”
Caitlyn hesitated. She didn’t like keeping secrets, especially not from Vi, but she didn’t know if Vi was ready to receive the news. She bit her lip.
Unsurprisingly, Caitlyn was reminded of her previous romance — a quick fling while Vi was away, really, but it had ended when Caitlyn’s then-girlfriend Maddie put a gun to her head. Thanks to Mel, Caitlyn had survived and Maddie Nolen had died instead.
She recalled a conversation with Maddie under almost the exact same circumstances. I follow you.
But Vi wasn’t Maddie. She didn’t do shit just because Caitlyn told her to, which was one of the many reasons Caitlyn loved Vi.
“Cait?” Vi prodded her gently.
“Do you think Jinx is…alive?” Caitlyn said quietly.
Vi withdrew her hand, and Caitlyn sensed her mental shield being raised. She glanced at Vi, and for a moment she saw the desperation on her face, though Vi hid it well.
Caitlyn had been with Vi long enough to know how to crack open that shell that Vi had built around herself. She knew Vi was as vulnerable as she was strong. However, she also knew forcing Vi into submission, especially when it came to her emotions and such, could be dangerous. One wrong move, one wrong word, and Vi would shut down entirely.
“I saw it myself, Cait. The explosion…theres no way she survived. Her body must have disintegrated in the fire. It’s just not possible she’s alive.”
Caitlyn wrapped her fingers around Vi’s bruised and bloodied knuckles. “But you haven’t given up on her, have you? You still hold out hope she’s alive.”
Vi momentarily squeezed Caitlyn’s hand in hers before pulling away. “I don’t know what to tell you, Cait. Of course I want to believe she’s alive. I just…it doesn’t seem possible, and I’m not sure I want to give up just yet.”
She returned to her side of the bed and lay down, this time facing Caitlyn. “Why do you ask?”
Caitlyn’s thoughts drifted off. She knew Vi had lost a lot in her life. With Caitlyn, Vi finally had something to fight for, to live for, which somewhat filled the cracks that appeared with all the trauma Vi had suffered. But Caitlyn wasn’t sure if losing Jinx again would break her. And if Caitlyn lost Vi…
No, Caitlyn thought. I can’t lose her. Not Vi. Not again.
“Cait, you’re zoning out,” Vi called.
Caitlyn snapped back to reality. “What?”
“Why do you ask? You think she’s alive?”
“I…don’t know,” Caitlyn answered with a sigh. Her dark blue hair fell over her shoulder as her head dipped, now much longer than it was when she first met Vi.
Vi shuffled closer to Caitlyn and put her muscular arms around her girlfriend. “Let me guess…you don’t want to give me false hope because you think if we go searching for her and don’t find her I’ll…fall apart.”
Caitlyn smiled wanly. “It’s like you can see right through me.”
“You do the same for me, cupcake.” Vi laughed gently and brushed Caitlyn’s hair from her face.
But Caitlyn’s smile faded quickly. “The Hexgates have…some sort of vents on the sides. With Jinx’s speed and agility it’s possible she escaped through one of those. Might be why we never found a…body.”
Vi turned silent. Caitlyn turned to face her and saw Vi looking down at her hands. Her eyes were a mixture of thought and wistfulness.
“You’re right, Cait,” Vi said. “I’m just starting to accept her death. If we pick this up and it’s…wrong…I’m not sure I can handle losing her a third time.”
Caitlyn felt her heart sink a little as she recognised the vulnerability in Vi’s eyes.
“We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she said gently, taking Vi’s hand in hers.
Vi sighed. “I’m not sure I’m ready to give up all hope of finding her, and yet I don’t know if I wanna go ahead with this.” Her intense gaze matched Caitlyn’s, as though they were staring into each other’s souls.
“We will have time,” Caitlyn reassured Vi. “Don’t have to choose now.”
~~~
“We should at least try.” Vi’s voice cut through Caitlyn’s thoughts.
Caitlyn looked up from her work and at Vi, who sat across from her, staring at Hexgate blueprints that Jayce had left behind. It had been three days since Caitlyn first toyed with the idea of Jinx’s survival, and clearly Vi had been considering her options.
“You think so?” Caitlyn said.
Vi bit her bottom lip. “We owe it to her to at least try, right?”
Caitlyn touched her eye patch, doubt flickering in her eye. “But, Vi, if it’s all not…if it doesn’t happen…”
Vi smiled and nodded. “I know. I’m going into this with little hope, Cait. I’m…I will be ready to let her go if…you know. If she’s really dead.”
Vi reached across the table and gripped Caitlyn’s wrist. “I promise.”
Caitlyn looked down, not meeting Vi’s eyes. “Vi, if we do find her…I mean, you have to remember everything she did before Warwick. The blood on her hands. If we do find her I might have to…charge and imprison her.”
“No one else needs to know she’s out there, Cait. Keep up the facade that she’s dead, and no one will know.”
Caitlyn withdrew her hand. “I’m an officer, Vi. A commander at that. And the Kiramman name has been so cleanly polished for years. How can I just…defy the law like that?”
Vi scowled fiercely. “She’s my sister, Cait. She’s changed! She helped us drive away those…things Viktor sent after us. Shouldn’t you give her more credit and stop focusing on the crimes she committed?”
“No amount of good can undo all the shit she’s done!” Caitlyn slammed the table and stood. Vi matched her actions and stood too, both of them now eye-to-eye with one another.
“What about you, then? Jayce? You unleashed the Grey on the people on Zaun, flooding the streets with it just so you could hunt down Jinx. And Jayce killed a child on his expedition to dismantle Shimmer. But why haven’t you two been charged?”
“What — ?” Caitlyn was stunned. “I am the Leader of House Kiramman, Vi. It wasn’t a crime! I did that for the mission!”
“No excuses, Cait!” Vi swept the blueprints off the table. “You didn’t do it for the mission; you did it for your own vengeance, and you know it yourself. You didn’t give a shit what it did to the innocents in Zaun! And what about Jayce? He killed a child and got away scot-free. How do you explain that, Commander Kiramman?”
“Enough, Vi! Jayce isn’t a criminal, he’s a Councilor!”
“And why doesn’t killing a child count as a crime? Because the kid was from the undercity and therefore didn’t count? If he had done the same thing to a Piltovan kid, he would be sitting in Stillwater right now! I’ve seen people up here be charged and imprisoned for less, Cait. It’s not fair! You’re not fair!
Caitlyn was speechless. She watched as Vi turned away and stormed out of the room, slamming the doors behind her.
Caitlyn picked up the blueprints on the floor. She couldn’t help feeling that Vi was right somehow. As much as Caitlyn wanted Jinx to be alive for Vi’s sake, she also knew there was no way Jinx could evade arrest if she was alive.
Caitlyn considered her charges. Vandalism and public nuisances for the stunt she pulled, covering Piltover in bright paint. Assault and battery. Unwarranted use of weapons in public for her Firelight bombs on the bridge.
The charges held against Jinx were heavy. Even if Caitlyn wanted to go after her not as Commander Kiramman but as Caitlyn, she couldn’t always keep Jinx hidden. At least, not alone.
Caitlyn picked up an incident report — the deaths of a dozen Enforcers, as well as then-Sheriff Marcus on a bridge, thanks to Jinx and her firelight bombs.
Firelights.
~~~
VI
Vi sat dejectedly on the edge of Caitlyn’s bed, tossing a roll of arm wraps between her hands.
She knew Caitlyn didn’t want Jinx arrested that badly anymore. Caitlyn had finally let go of her vengeance towards Jinx over her mother’s death, and when Jinx was arrested the first time it hadn’t been Caitlyn’s idea either.
They just hauled her off before I even had time to think, Caitlyn had said.
Vi scowled. Yes, Jinx wasn’t Powder, but she was still Vi’s sister. Vi didn’t want to let go of Jinx. She knew that under Jinx’s crazy, loud, chaotic shell, she still had a heart. Vi had seen it with Isha, and she’d seen it with when Jinx threw herself at Warwick to protect Vi.
I’m always with you, sis. Even when we’re worlds apart.
Vi smiled to herself. Jinx was always willing to lay down her life to protect the people she loved, and Vi owed it to her to try. She couldn’t just give up her last sliver of hope like that.
But the arrest…even if Jinx was found, she would just be thrown into Stillwater Hold for everything she’d done. There was not going to be a debate, a trial, a council hearing. Her crimes were undeniable, but what about all the good she’d done? Ultimately she and Ekko had worked together to rally the undercity to fight at Piltover’s side, right?
The door swung open, and Caitlyn walked in. Vi looked in the opposite direction, refusing to meet her eyes.
“We could cross that bridge when we come to it,” Caitlyn muttered.
“You still wanna arrest her, no? What’s the point in searching for her if all you’re gonna do is throw her in a stone box?” Vi asked.
Caitlyn took her time responding. She tugged off her jacket and hung it on her coat stand before picking up her rifle and taking the Hextech Gemstone out of it. The weapon hummed briefly and powered down. Then she sat on the bed next to Vi.
“Jinx was…the main reason Piltover and Zaun were at odds with each other. Now we’re one, and I want to keep it that way. Sevika on the council is already an indication that Zaun will be under our government and the Zaunites have a say in the council. But…”
Vi raised an eyebrow. “You think if Jinx returns, it will be a spark that tears us apart again.”
Caitlyn nodded. “Sevika’s relationship with Jinx is…interesting, to say the least. I doubt Sevika would give up Jinx just like that. Arresting Jinx would mean revealing to the world she’s alive, and people may riot. If we do find her we’ll have to keep it a secret.
Vi’s facial muscles relaxed. She understood what Caitlyn was saying. She was risking her position as Commander, and risking tarnishing her family name to do this for Vi. Caitlyn was going to search for Jinx for Vi’s sake and hide Jinx for Piltover’s sake.
It was one of the many reasons Vi loved Caitlyn. She did everything for everyone else, risking her reputation and family name for others’ sake. Vi smiled to herself.
“You’re gonna risk it all for me, huh, cupcake?” Vi asked as she cupped Caitlyn’s face in her hands.
Caitlyn’s eyes sparkled and she scoffed playfully before pulling Vi in for a kiss. “Anytime.”
~~~
The plan was a complex one, and risky. Vi and Caitlyn had both agreed: it would only be the two of them. The Hexgates’ ruins had not yet been demolished as the council decided what to do with it, and it was strictly off-limits to the public. The unsteady tower would pose a huge risk to the two of them.
But they had found their solutions. It had taken much longer than Vi preferred — almost three weeks — but Caitlyn assured her it was all in good time. The Hexgates were not about to be destroyed, and they had time to refine the plan.
It was easier said than done. On paper, it was just like any other mission. In the dead of the night, the pair would sneak into the Hexgates through the top, where the roof had been shattered by Jinx’s hot-air balloon. They could only use the dim glow of the Hexgates’ walls to navigate. One wrong step, and they would plummet a hundred metres to their death.
By Caitlyn’s calculations, the ducts were situated on opposite sides of the Hexgates, halfway down to the bottom. The Hexgates’ engine was far underground, and halfway to the bottom was slightly below ground level, except the pair couldn’t enter at ground level as the Hexgates’ exterior was mostly preserved in that region.
No one knew where the ducts led, but according to Ekko, who had spoken with Jayce before the battle of Piltover, the vents were allegedly connected to the undercity’s ventilation systems and water pumps, meaning if the Hexgates exploded, Zaun would suffer instead of Piltover.
“How do you plan to get in from the top?” Vi asked Caitlyn. “It’s fifty metres above the ground, and we can’t use any Enforcers’ equipment.”
That was another issue. Caitlyn couldn’t go in as Commander Kiramman. She had to complete the mission as a citizen, so as to justify the lack of Jinx’s arrest if needed. That meant no weapons other than her mother’s rifle and Vi’s Atlas Gauntlets.
Caitlyn shrugged. “We need something…small, fast and can fly.”
Vi gasped. She looked at Caitlyn, who immediately read her mind.
~~~
“You have to be kidding me.”
Vi looked offended. “Ekko, come on!”
Ekko scowled. “Name me one good reason I should do this.”
The three of them stood under the Firelights’ tree, which glowed in the sunset. Ekko, his white hair braided and tied, stood crossed-armed before them, unrelenting. They had come to him to plead for his help in getting them into the Hexgates, but he had adamantly refused.
“Come on, Ekko,” Caitlyn said. “I know you want to believe she’s alive, too.”
“And what if she isn’t?” he growled. “When Heimerdinger and I were in…another reality, she was Powder. Not Jinx. I had to give that up to save your asses, and now you want me to do dangerous shit again? I’ve made peace with all this, and the fact that she’s not…Powder. I’m sorry, Vi. I can’t risk it.”
“Ekko, she’s changed," Vi pleaded. “I know you saw it too. If she’s alive, I have to use that chance to bring her back.”
Ekko turned his back to them. His fingers gently brushed over his hoverboard — the very thing Caitlyn and Vi needed to get into the Hexgates.
“What would Benzo want?” Vi said, cutting through his thoughts.
Ekko’s eyes turned soft as he turned back around. His grip tightened around the device hanging at his side — one he had constructed with Heimerdinger to turn back time by four seconds.
Vi took a step closer toward Ekko. “He would want you to take this risk. He never wanted you to play safe, huh? Come on, little man. Just…get in, drop us off at the vents and get out. It’s not a big party either.”
Ekko sighed. His gaze turned faraway as he took in the Firelights’ home. Then he shook his head.
“It’s not possible, Vi. But if you say so…don’t suppose I can get you to give up that idea. Come on.”
~~~
On the night of the mission, Ekko met Vi and Caitlyn on the latter’s front porch. He and his fish-headed friend stood there waiting, hoverboards at the ready.
With two on each hoverboard, the party zipped smoothly over the roofs of Piltover. The board room was dark — no late night meetings today. Most of the city was dimly illuminated by streetlamps, and the few parties of Enforcers, whose routes had been designated by Caitlyn, were evaded with flawless timing and luck.
Finally, the party reached the top of the Hexgates. Ekko and his Firelight friend made a sharp turn downward, and for a moment they were free-falling into the darkness.
Then, a dim blue light lit up the place. The vents were now visible to them, and Caitlyn directed them to the vents.
For a brief moment, Caitlyn pulled out Jayce’s blueprints and took a quick glance.
“All the vents are connected one way or another, so this should be fine,” she said.
Ekko gave Vi a quick hug. “Try not to die.”
“No promises,” she smiled. “Thanks for the ride.”
With that, Ekko was off. Caitlyn and Vi were on their own. The diamond openings were an illusion, for the vents beyond that were a regular square shape, a little under seven feet tall. They were softly illuminated by dim fluorescent lamps at ten-metre intervals, leaving much need for Caitlyn’s torch.
“Never could have guessed we’re underground,” Vi muttered as she surveyed the floor for footprints.
“Not yet,” Caitlyn said. She pointed her torch down the vents, where a fan had been ripped off its hinges and tossed aside. The tunnel beyond that sloped downward. “We’re going deeper.”
“Does this look natural to you?” Vi asked Caitlyn as she bent down to examine the broken fan.
“Vi,” Caitlyn called. “Look at this.”
She pressed something into Vi’s hands — a familiar looking metal sphere, with a monkey face drawn on in pink crayon. Next to that, a glass shard resembling a firelight’s wing was scrawled on with green and black marker.
“It’s the bomb she used on the bridge,” Vi said. “The firelight bombs and the monkey bombs. She killed Marcus with these.”
“Then we’re going the right way.”
The tunnel sloped downward for another twenty metres before making a sharp turn and going further down and leveling out. From there, the pair walked another several hundred metres before Caitlyn stopped. At her feet was a manhole about three feet in diameter, with a faded label that read: UNDERCITY.
“It’s the undercity’s ventilation system,” Vi said. “Prepare your mask. There might be the Grey up ahead.”
“Vi, hold on. There’s…”
Vi bent down to examine what Caitlyn had found under the torchlight. A single strand of hair, but it was enough to give Vi hope. Blue hair — the exact same as Jinx’s.
“It’s her,” Vi muttered. “Has to be.”
Underneath the manhole was a rusty iron ladder, several of its rungs missing. Beneath that, it opened into a massive chamber, thirty metres below. A thin layer of the Grey hovered above the ground — enough to harm, not enough to kill. Nonetheless, they both put on their masks. Vi pulled her hood over her head.
Vi went first, using the strength the Atlas Gauntlets gave her and making her way down, one step at a time. Neither of them dared to slide down, as the Grey obstructed their vision of the floor and they weren’t sure what nasty surprises waited for them below.
Once Vi had reached the ground, she put her feet down first and swept away the Grey around her. The floor was smooth concrete — no traps, no cracks, nothing.
While Caitlyn made her way down, Vi surveyed the area. It looked awfully familiar. In the middle of it there was a massive fan — four rounded blades, covered in graffiti. But what gave it away were the dolls hanging from the ceiling. Five of them, each one hanging with a rope tied around their necks. They were covered in dirt, but Vi knew what they were.
“You remember this place?” she asked Caitlyn.
“Yeah,” Caitlyn murmured. “Your first mission. The five of us came here searching for Jinx, only to find that Heenot idiot choking in the Grey.”
Caitlyn smiled wanly to herself. “You remember what happened after that?”
Vi grinned. “The first kiss. How could I not?”
Caitlyn smirked and nodded in approval, but both her smile and Vi’s faded quickly.
“Still remember those creepy dolls,” Vi said, glancing uneasily at the ceiling. “Where’d she go from here?”
Then, from the darkness came a voice. “Who are you?”
They heard a gun lock and load.
JINX
Jinx was miserable.
She’d spent her days in the past couple months the same. After the battle of Piltover, she had made her way through the Hexgates’ vents, down the ladder and into this chamber.
She remembered the chamber all too well. She had brought Heenot, a mercenary of Smeech’s here to choke in the Grey, hanging up five dolls resembling Vi and her crew from the ceiling.
Jinx had been living here for months. She passed time the same way she did before Isha dropped into her life — dismantling her gear to build new ones, talking to the dolls. Now, in addition to her adoptive family, she saw Isha, Warwick and Silco, their voices whispering in her head.
When she needed food or something to do, she’d crawl through the ventilation system of the Undercity, break open the first grate she saw and roam around for hours until it was time to go back. She knew the people of Zaun would riot if they saw her, so she wore her shark-headed hood and a mask built from remnants of her gadgets.
Jinx was numb. Ever since Isha gave her life to save her, she’d felt a hole in her heart. That little girl had meant the world to Jinx. She’d finally had something, someone to live for, giving her a sort of joy she hadn’t felt since Vi abandoned her.
But now Isha was gone. Vi believed Jinx was dead, and Jinx had no problem keeping it that way. She knew Vi would have continued worrying over her should Vi know Jinx was alive. While Jinx was gone, Vi could be with Caitlyn, the love of her life. She could do whatever she wanted without feeling guilt over Jinx. Jinx wanted Vi to be happy. She cared for Vi despite spending years trying to convince herself she hated her big sister.
Jinx’s fake death was better for Vi, and Jinx knew it herself. If she died, it would leave a hole that time could fill, and ultimately Vi would be happy with Caitlyn. Her only regret was Ekko. After hearing his tales about the alternate reality, Jinx wished she had stayed for him, but even so she didn’t believe he loved Jinx. The person he loved was Powder, and Jinx was not her.
She had been sitting up on her alcove in the darkness, tossing a Hextech gemstone between her hands and rolling it between her fingers when she heard the chute on the opposite side of the chamber creak. Immediately, she sat up. Not a single soul had passed through the chamber while she had been living here, and she was immediately on her guard. She pulled on her shark cloak, wrapped her fingers around her pistol and silently made her way down.
She knelt behind the massive fan, her figure concealed by the shadows. The Grey around her irritated her eyes, causing them to water, but she could still make out two figures dropping to the ground, wearing gas masks and hoods. One of them wore Hextech gauntlets, while the other pulled out a rifle and held it at the ready.
Immediately, Jinx stood. She loaded her pistol with a Hextech Gemstone and snarled. “Who are you?”
~~~
The two figures whipped around towards the sound of her voice instantly. The one with the rifle raised the weapon, but the other one took a step forward.
The figure spoke, but its voice was muffled by the mask. “Step into the light.”
Jinx kept her gun raised and her hood over her head, but she took one uneasy step forward. “You’re in my space. Get out before I shoot.”
To her surprise, the one with the rifle lowered her gun. They both exchanged glances, and the one with the gauntlets said, “Jinx?”
Jinx inhaled sharply, but maintained her composure and shook her pistol again. “Who are you, and how do you know my name?
The gauntlets hissed and powered down, dropping to the ground. The figure reached up, pulled down its hood, and reached up to remove its mask, but it didn’t have to, for Jinx finally understood who had come searching for her.
The hair was enough to give her away. Jinx lowered her pistol in recognition of the figure and pulled back her own hood.
Her eyes involuntarily filled with tears — not from the Grey, but from her aching heart. “Vi?”
She dropped the pistol and watched as Vi undid the lock on her mask, letting it fall to the floor. Vi’ eyes were a mirror of Jinx’s — haunted, hurt, but relieved.
As Vi rushed toward Jinx to envelope her in a hug, Jinx had a flashback to the moment she first met Vi after seven years. She’d been standing atop a tower in the undercity, blue flare in hand, and Vi had found her there.
Now, Jinx asked the same question as she had then. “Are…you real?”
Vi smoothed out her sister’s hair, cupping Jinx’s face in hers. “You’re alive, Jinx. I thought you were dead. Why didn’t you come back?”
Further back, Vi’s partner folded her rifle and slung it over her back. Cold realisation dawned on Jinx.
“Caitlyn.”
She pushed Vi away from her and fell backward. Her fingers closed around her pistol. “Why is she here? To arrest me? You came looking for me just to throw me in prison?”
“Jinx, stop it!” Vi said. “Cait’s not here as an Enforcer; she’s here as a citizen. We’re not going to arrest you!”
“She’s a topsider!” Jinx protested. “You…they…”
Vi took a step closer, but somehow Jinx didn’t feel the urge to run away. Vi knelt next to her, ignoring the Grey in her eyes and nose. She held her hand out to Jinx.
Jinx could barely breathe. She didn’t know if it was the Grey or the fear of arrest, but her airways felt as though there was a rubber plug in them.
Then, to her surprise, she melted into Vi’s arms and sobbed uncontrollably.
Vi tightened her arms around Jinx, a single tear tracing its way down her cheek.
~~~
“Why’d you fake your death? You could have come back,” Vi said.
“I told you, sis. You deserve to be with her.” Jinx nodded in Caitlyn’s direction. Jinx couldn’t read emotions very well, but Caitlyn narrowed her eye.
The three of them sat around a fire in Jinx’s alcove, twenty feet above the ground. The Grey didn’t reach them here, so Caitlyn had taken off her mask. The trio’s weapons lay on the ground away from them.
Even as Jinx spoke her words, she saw an image of the day she killed Silco. She’d put her pistol in Vi’s hands and told her to kill Caitlyn. Make her go away, and you can have Powder back.
Vi had adamantly refused, which to Jinx was the final straw. The moment Vi shook her head, Powder fell down a well.
Yet, here Jinx was, nearly a year later, her offer completely different.
“You spent your life worrying about me, Vi. But I can look after myself. I don’t need you to worry about me. If you knew I was alive you’d never be able to stop thinking of me. It’ll get in your way. You had to believe I was dead. Then only could you be happy with her.” Jinx waved her hand toward Caitlyn.
Vi was silent for a moment. “You hid away…for my happiness? Jinx, I could never be happy knowing you were dead.”
“Mmm.” Jinx casually toyed with a Hextech Gemstone. “So you found me. Woo-hoo. Congratulations. What’re you gonna do now, Commander? Take me in?”
“Jinx,” Vi warned. Jinx chuckled. She could almost hear Vi saying it out loud. Leave my girl alone.
Surprisingly, when Caitlyn opened her mouth, she didn’t sound vengeful or full of hatred. Her tone was carefully neutral. “Arresting you would mean revealing the fact that you’re not dead to the world. I can’t risk that.”
“And why is that? Too scared to hurt Vi’s feelings?”
Caitlyn glared at her, but her gaze softened. “Piltover and Zaun have finally reached some remote form of peace. Sevika’s on the council, and they’re working to improve living conditions down here. If I take you back, Piltover will want to imprison or even execute you, but Sevika would never allow it. It could destroy everything we’ve built.”
“Ah.” Jinx toyed with a rabbit soft toy — Vi’s childhood comfort object. “I love it when I have the power to destroy entire nations. Don’t you, Dictator Kiramman?”
“Jinx, stop baiting her,” Vi chided. She knew Caitlyn didn’t appreciate being reminded of the person she was under Ambessa’s control — a vengeful dictator out for blood.
Caitlyn snarled. “I may have lost my left eye, but I can still snipe you from a mile away.”
“What’s up with that anyway?” Jinx asked. She held the Gemstone up to Caitlyn’s eye patch and tilted her head, as if imagining Caitlyn with a Gemstone for an eye. “I mean, you look cool and all, but uh…”
“Ambessa cut it out,” Caitlyn muttered.
“I could make you a new one,” Jinx offered. “Of course, you’d look like…Silco, but it’s worth it if you ask me.”
Caitlyn scowled, the same way she did whenever Vi offered her undercity food. “No. Thank you.”
“Can we focus?” Vi said. “You’re alive, but I’m not about to leave you down here. The Grey’s not gonna get any better, and sooner or later it’ll kill you. At the same time I can’t take you back topside or the people will riot.”
“People down here will riot, too, if they know I’m alive,” Jinx said. “Why’d you think I’ve been hiding out here?”
Caitlyn shrugged. “It does seem like a place you’d get cozy.”
Jinx ignored her, but she watched as one of her firelight bombs flickered to life next to her. She got a faraway look in her eyes. “How’s Ekko?”
Vi looked up. “I…he’s fine. Upset, I suppose. That he had to give up his dream reality for us.”
Jinx sighed. “Yeah, I heard. If going back will make him happy, I’d willingly do it. But…the person he loves is Powder, not…Jinx. Not me.”
Caitlyn chuckled. “And what about you? Who’s the person you love?”
Jinx’s face grew red as she realised what she’d just said. “I…look, it doesn’t matter! He doesn’t like me anyway!”
“You don’t know that,” Vi said as she bumped her sister’s shoulder teasingly. “You’ve got a good heart, Jinx. I know that, you know that, he knows it too.”
“He helped us get here, you know,” Caitlyn said. “He wants to believe you’re alive. He’s holding out hope for you.”
Jinx shrugged. “Sorry to disappoint him.”
Vi raised her eyebrow. “Did Ekko tell you about his home? It’s a beautiful place, you know. You could stay there, become a Firelight.”
“Me?” Jinx laughed. “A Firelight? I killed their people. They’d never accept me. Anyways, I’m Jinx, the master criminal, the stuff of Enforcers’ nightmares! I don’t do shit like the Firelights.”
“Vi’s right,” Caitlyn said. “Their home is a good place. They’d take care of you. They operate anonymously, so no one would need to know who you are outside of their home. Ekko would know you’re alive, restore some hope for him.”
Jinx laughed without humour, but she was already considering it. She did love Ekko. As a child he was the only one who’d play around and have fun with her, and he was the one who had convinced her to help the Piltovans and saved her from suicide five times. She owed Ekko.
“Ekko will break if there’s no indication you’re alive,” Vi coaxed.
Jinx was sold. “Fine,” she grumbled. “Just let me get my guns.”
EKKO
Ekko wasn’t expecting anything.
It had been a day since he’d last seen Vi, dropping her and Caitlyn off at the Hexgates’ ruins. He’d spent the entire day with them constantly in the back of his mind, wondering how the mission was going.
He hadn’t expected Caitlyn and Vi to show up at his doorstep. Especially not with a third person.
Ekko scowled. “You look good for a dead girl.”
Jinx lifted her head in arrogance, staring him down.
“Jinx,” Vi warned. “Sit down.”
Caitlyn pushed Ekko onto a seat, and he brushed her off. “Why’d you bring her here?”
“We all know you miss her, Ekko,” Vi said teasingly. “Anyway, she needs a place to live that is not a ventilation chamber with the Grey for a carpet.”
Ekko tilted his head. “Oddly specific. I suppose that‘s where you found her.”
Caitlyn hefted her rifle. “It doesn’t matter. Jinx should stay here. You can teach her the ways of a Firelight, keep her identity hidden since you guys work anonymously. It’s a win-win.”
Ekko detected another layer under her voice, like there was another condition that remained unspoken. He decided not to push.
He sized Jinx up. Her hair had gotten slightly longer over the past couple months or so, and the pink dye she had worn for the battle of Piltover was already starting to fade, but she had already painted a new strip of hair red. Her eyes sparkled with Shimmer.
Jinx leaned away from him. “Why’re you staring me down?”
Ekko scowled. “I’m not.”
Caitlyn and Vi exchanged cheeky smiles. Vi nudged Ekko. “What do you say, little man? Challenge accepted?”
“How do I know I can control you?” Ekko asked Jinx.
Jinx’s smile faded. “I’m not your dog, Ekko. You don’t control me. I’m willing to stay, do shit with you guys, on the condition you keep the fact that I’m alive hidden.”
Ekko raised his eyebrows and looked at Vi, then Caitlyn. “Why we gotta do that?”
Caitlyn sighed. “It’s complicated. If Piltover knows she’s alive, the council will demand her arrest and possibly her execution. But Sevika won’t allow it, and as a member of the council she has her equal say. It could tear the council apart, and Piltover and Zaun will go back to…you know.”
Ekko rolled his eyes. “If not for Sevika you’d willingly give her up, huh? You’re keeping her a secret for the sake of peace.”
Caitlyn nodded. “Sevika isn’t the only thing keeping me from arresting her. It's also about…”
Her voice trailed off, but Ekko understood the unspoken name. It was for Vi and her sanity that Jinx was kept out of prison.
Ekko considered it. He wasn’t sure the Firelights would accept Jinx, for she was responsible for several deaths of their comrades. But still, she had ultimately become a hero and led the undercity to fight for Piltover. She had a good heart ad a sharp mind, if only she knew how to use them right. They operated anonymously, so there was no need for her to reveal her face outside of their home.
Looking at her, Ekko was painfully reminded of his time in the alternate reality. He had fallen hard for Powder, but this wasn’t Powder. This was Jinx. He wasn’t sure he could spend his days staring at Jinx, being reminded of the love he felt but might never get back again.
“Earth to Ekko.”
Ekko looked up at Vi, then at Jinx. For a brief moment, they locked eyes. In her purple pupils Ekko still saw Powder, the same little girl who idolized her big sister, and who was always by his side, no matter what he did.
Jinx cleared her throat and looked aside self-consciously, though she couldn’t resist Ekko’s intense stare.
“Oh, for Janna’s sake.” Vi snapped her fingers in front of Ekko, who flinched. “You two can spend all day staring into each others’ souls when we leave. Can we please focus? Do we have a deal, Ekko? Jinx?”
Caitlyn stuck out her tongue. “Vi, please tell me we didn’t look that stupid.”
Ekko laughed. “You did.”
Vi’s face turned the same colour as her hair. “You don’t know that!”
“Yeah, I do,” Ekko teased. “We were standing right over there, the three of us. In front of the mural. You got lost staring into Kiramman’s eyes over here.”
Caitlyn’s face turned red, too. “Ekko! Focus!”
Jinx laughed, too, and pushed Vi’s shoulder playfully. “At least I know you do look stupid sometimes.”
~~~
So it was settled.
Jinx would stay with Ekko, build new gadgets and weapons for them, and learn their ways. Vi and Caitlyn would return to Piltover, but visit at least once a week. Neither of them would breathe a word about Jinx’s survival to maintain the peace.
Of course, Caitlyn would be risking her family name and reputation for this, but she seemed to be fine with it.
In the following weeks, Ekko got the Firelights to accept Jinx. She made them new hoverboards and weapons, and the Firelights appreciated her engineering skills and creativity. The voices in her head died down eventually, and she managed to let go of her time with Silco.
Then, Piltover’s 201st Progress Day rolled around. In the absence of Jayce, Viktor and Heimerdinger, who would have been the ones giving the speeches for Progress Day, Caitlyn was elected by the council to give the speech that year.
Ekko and Jinx weren’t in Piltover for Caitlyn’s speech. Instead, Ekko brought Jinx to a ledge near the bridges that brought the two cities together, and they sat together in the silence of the night.
The fireworks filled the night sky with bright explosions, reminiscent of the ones Jinx had built a year before and set them off in her basement. The gold and white roofs of Piltover shone in the moonlight, the streets flooded with people celebrating and cheering.
But up on the ledge, the only thing that mattered to Ekko was Jinx.
“Been one hell of a year, huh?” Ekko said.
Jinx opened her palm to let a robotic firelight fly into the night sky. “You don’t say.”
“I really thought I’d lost you, Pow— Jinx,” said Ekko. “I wasn’t sure…”
Jinx chuckled dryly. “Gotta stop calling me that, Ekko. Powder’s gone. I’m Jinx now, and that’s not something I can change.”
Ekko tilted his head. “Or maybe you can.”
Jinx sighed, reading his thoughts. “The person you saw in the alternate reality…that’s not me, Ekko. Gotta get that through that thick skull of yours. That person didn’t kill hundreds. Didn’t kill her family. Didn’t do any of the shit I did.”
“I believe in you, Jinx,” said Ekko gently. He shuffled closer to her. “You could undo your crimes. You're already halfway there. Halfway to being…Powder again.”
Jinx shook her head. “When I was imprisoned, Caitlyn came to see me. She told me something I’ll never forget.”
“What’s that?”
“‘No amount of good deeds can undo your crimes.’ And she’s right. The blood’s on my hands; always will be. I can change my future, but I can’t change my past. And neither can you.”
Ekko understood. “Then, how about we look to the future and move forward, hmm?”
“You’re not one to talk, Mr. Boy Saviour,” Jinx smiled. She jabbed him playfully in the ribs. “Let go of that…reality, and we can look ahead together.”
Ekko sighed. “I…can’t. It’s just…” He shook his head. Even if he wanted to, the heartbreak was too much for him. He had that moment of ecstasy, of pure, real love, and it had been snatched for him. He had sacrificed a life with the girl of his dreams to save everyone here in Piltover.
He glanced at Jinx. He could see it; she was becoming more like Powder again. Chaotic, crazy, uncontrollable sometimes, but he could see the good in her heart starting to shine through. He wanted her for himself, to fix her, to change her back.
Jinx smiled, reading his expression. “You did save my ass. Guess I owe it to you.”
What happened next, Ekko could not have been more surprised. And yet, the hole in his heart was filled with joy as Jinx pulled him in for a kiss.