After the war

Vi has been making slow progress. Many people are still cleaning up the mess left behind by the Noxians. She helps a few of them, making small talk about how things have changed after the war. But she isn’t surprised when they tell her that nothing has really changed. Some of the Zaunites are still angry at Sevika for not doing her job well. Vi asks around if anyone has seen her, but no one knows.

Vi walks toward the brothel. Some enforcers passing by greet her. She approaches the door of the brothel, knocks a few times, but no one answers. She stands there for a while, walking around the building and knocking again, but still nothing. After a while, she gives up, the growing darkness and her disappointment settling in.

As she walks away, she passes enforcers helping clean the streets, handing out food boxes to the citizens. It’s small, but it’s a start. She keeps walking, her feet dragging her toward Vander’s statue. The statue is adorned with lights, giving the surrounding area a cozy, almost peaceful feel. Vi looks up at his face, tears brimming in her eyes. She has lost him to many times.

Reliving the past in her mind, she doesn’t notice someone creeping up behind her.
"The hound of the underground," a voice calls.
Vi whirls around, already clenching her fist.
"I’ve heard good things about him," the person says, stepping closer. Vi squints, trying to identify the voice.
"Don’t try to guess who I am. You don’t know me," the woman says, stepping into view. Vi notices her cat ears.
"I’m just a woman roaming around," the woman adds, standing next to Vi, her cat ears twitching slightly.

Vi watches them, a bit in awe—she could definitely hear a coin drop back in Piltover.
"Never seen cat ears before?" the woman asks, her voice teasing. Vi shakes her head, still staring at her ears.
"Sorry," Vi mutters.
The woman chuckles. "I heard you’re looking for someone."
"Do you know where she is?" Vi asks, desperate.
The woman takes a drag from her cigarette. "I do know where she is. It’s just that she doesn’t really want company. Especially not yours," she says with a smirk.

Vi’s patience wears thin. "Look, I’m not in the mood for long talks. I just want to talk to her, then I’ll leave." The woman puffs out another cloud of smoke. "Alright, she isn’t down here. She’s up there," she says, pointing toward Piltover. "She’s at a bar right across the bridge. Probably on her fourth drink." Vi looks at her, nods. "Thank you," she says, turning and walking away toward the bridge.
--

The sun is almost gone as Vi crosses the bridge. She greets the same enforcer she saw earlier in the day.
"Going back to the station?" she asks him, now walking beside him.
"U-uhm, yeah," he answers nervously, clearly uncomfortable. Vi can already imagine the look on his face through his mask.

"I’m just exhausted from all that walking. Aren’t you?" Vi glances at him, suspiciously.
"Yeah, I feel like my legs are going to be sore tomorrow," the enforcer laughs nervously. "Guess I should call it a day and head home."
Vi nods. "Good idea."
They cross the bridge, and Vi spots the bar where Sevika could be. "Well, I’ll see you around," she says, walking faster toward the bar.
"W-wait! You’re not going home?" the enforcer calls after her.
"No, not yet," Vi replies, waving him off as she enters the bar.

The smell of alcohol hits her nose as she steps inside. The noisy chatter and laughter mix with a live band playing in the background. Vi scans the room for the one-armed woman, spotting Sevika sitting at the bar, chatting with the bartender.
"Hey, Lucas. Pour me another one," Sevika says, raising her glass.
"Didn’t you have enough already?" Vi says sitting next to Sevika.

Sevika rolls her eyes and looks at Vi. "I really hope this is your ghost and not actually you who is still locked up in that big mansion," she says with a smirk. Taking a sip of her drink.
"I guess I like to disappoint you," Vi replies, raising her hand at the bartender. "I’ll have what she’s having." The bartender nods and gets to work.

"How’d you find me?" Sevika asks, her tone more serious now.
"Some lady told me you were here," Vi answers, taking a sip of her drink. The alcohol burns as it slides down her throat.
"Get out of here, Vi," Sevika mutters, finishing her drink. "You know, I walked through the lanes today, and let’s just say, I’m not hearing many positive things about you."
Vi takes a large gulp from her glass, slamming it down onto the counter. "You don’t know anything," Sevika says through clenched teeth. She grips her empty glass tighter, her knuckles whitening. Vi watches it, ready for the inevitable.

"Well, tell me," Vi challenges.
Sevika scoffs. "What are you gonna do about it? Talk to them? Let Caitlyn handle it?" She shakes her head, bringing the empty glass to her mouth. "Right. Well, I’m just wondering—why’d you decide to launch at someone who can buy thousands of prosthetic arms?"
Vi’s eyes narrow. Sevika smashes the glass on the counter, and the shards scatter across the bar. She locks eyes with Vi. "You think you can be funny like them?"
Sevika stands up, looming over Vi.
Vi looks around the bar. People are starting to notice, but no one steps in. "Look, I’m not here to cause trouble," she says, standing up. She pays for her drink and starts to get ready to leave. Sevika still hovers above her, swaying slightly from the alcohol. "Well, if I know one thing about your fucked-up family, is that you guys have always been the problem." Vi grabs the glass on the counter and smashes it against Sevika’s head. Sevika falls down, but before she can react, Vi drives her knee into Sevika’s face.

The bar erupts into chaos. People rush in to separate them, but some of the drunk patrons start shoving each other. Vi walks toward Sevika, who is now on the ground.
"You’re nothing without that crab arm of yours," Vi sneers, dusting herself off as she turns to walk away. She bumps into several people on her way out. She doesn’t notice Sevika grabbing her hair until it’s too late.

With a sharp yank, Sevika slams Vi’s head into hers.
Vi stumbles backward, dazed. Before she can fully recover, Sevika punches her in the face. Vi falls to the ground. As she looks up, she’s met with Sevika’s boot slamming into her chest.
Vi gasps for air, the wind knocked out of her. Sevika spits on the ground, blood mixed with saliva, before grabbing Vi by the collar.
"You better go back to your stupid big house and stay there forever," Sevika growls, launching Vi into a table. Plates and glasses shatter as she crashes into the wreckage.

Vi takes a few deep breaths, slowly getting to her feet. She looks around, trying to spot where Sevika went. When she stands up, she spots her walking toward the door.
Vi follows, ignoring the bartender’s shouts as she steps outside into the cold night air.
Sevika is a few steps ahead, leaning over, throwing up onto the cobblestones. Vi walks up to her. Sevika turns, throwing a punch that misses. Vi jabs her in the face.
Sevika stumbles back, trying to catch her breath. Vi does the same, her hands massaging her aching back.

"They want Zaun to be independent," Sevika says, sitting up and wiping her mouth.
"What?" Vi looks at her, confused.
"The council members don’t want to help the people down there," Sevika continues, looking up at Vi.
Vi sighs. "But so many enforcers were helping the people down there."
"That’s because Caitlyn ordered them to," Sevika replies. "The council has nothing to do with it." Vi looks back at Sevika, her gaze softening. "She shouldn’t be the only one trying to help."
Sevika shrugs.

"What are you gonna do?" Vi asks.
"What can I do? They have more power than me, more money than me. They like each other, while I’m just a seat-filler," Sevika looks down. "Caitlyn talked to them today. Maybe she talked some sense into them. "Sevika chuckles. "She’s really trying to make up for her mistakes." Vi stays silent, thinking.
"It’s getting late," Sevika says, breaking the silence. "I should head home." She says. Standing up with a loud grunt.
Vi nods. "I should head home too." She looks around, spotting someone hiding behind a wall.
She nudges Sevika and points toward it.
Sevika turns, but the figure disappears with a glint of golden light.
"Could it be the woman who told you where to find me?" Sevika wonders aloud.
Vi doesn’t answer, her eyes narrowing. "No. It’s even worse."

----------

Walking around the city, Vi could hear Sevika staggering behind her. "I don't think they're here anymore," Sevika said, looking behind her.

Sevika was leaning on a building, barely keeping her head up.
"I need you to punch me," Vi muttered as Sevika approached.
"I'm too tired to punch you right now," Sevika replied.

Sevika straightened up as Vi came closer.
Vi pushed her back. Sevika glared at her, giving a warning. Vi ignored it and shoved Sevika to the ground. She lightly kicked her a few times, scanning the area for a shadow.

While Vi was distracted, Sevika kicked her leg, making Vi fall to the ground as well. Sevika grunted as she stood up, leaning against the wall, then kicked Vi in a sore spot on her stomach.
Vi curled up, letting out a yelp. Sevika stopped, huffing a few times. As she was about to kick Vi again, she was tackled from behind.

"Hey! What’s this?" Sevika shouted. She felt her hand being cuffed and heard a male voice speaking about something she couldn’t make out.
As she was about to be dragged away, Sevika heard the enforcer groaning as his grip loosened.

The enforcer fell to the ground, and Vi took off his mask. She didn’t recognize him by face, but he felt familiar.
"Have you been following me?!" Vi demanded. The man raised his hands defensively.
"I—I’m just following orders," he stammered. It didn’t take long for Vi to put the puzzle pieces together.

"Did Caitlyn tell you to keep an eye on me?" The enforcer nodded.
Sevika stood up, glancing at her handcuffed wrist. "So, you’ve been following her all day?" she asked. The enforcer sat up.
"We changed shifts in the afternoon," he explained.

Vi scoffed while helping the enforcer back to his feet. "I need more drinks," Sevika muttered as the enforcer removed the handcuff.

"Go back to the station. And if I see you following me again, I’ll make sure you get knocked out in some alley," Vi warned, handing him his helmet. "Yes, ma’am," he replied, nodding at the two women before putting his helmet back on.

"I bet you're gonna have fun when you get home," Sevika said as the officer walked away.
"Shut up," Vi said, putting Sevika's arm around her for support. "Let’s get you home first."
They both walked back toward the bridge.