"So, what's the matter with you?", Vi asked, feeling like a collector pinning down a butterfly.

"I'm sick!", she cried out, mad and angry, and impossible at once, for a second caught without an escape, bored and frustrated, like a lion in a cage. And maybe she was, hell, she must've been, this kind of rainbow darkness of spilled oil, spinning and twisting inside such a tiny body.

"Oh, no way."

"No, you fuck. I am sick."

Silence fell between them, a second, two, three, when they were just looking at each other. Because – what could she say? "That's great"? That would be too fucked up even now. Or, like, ever. Wouldn't it?

"Sick how?", she managed to finally ask.

"What, you checkin' how much time I got left? Plenty!" She moved, trying to run away probably, but hell no. Ain't no one escaping that bloody vault on her watch.

"Answer me."

She stopped. Immediately, like a paused video, all cautious and curious. And then – breathe out – a release, melting, soft difference no one but Vi would notice. Like when you're in danger and you run away, all your senses so sharp, and then you can finally let go for a moment. Victorious or not, you can just let go.

And Jinx did.

"I don't know", she said, slowly, examining the reaction. "I have no idea. I was… there. And there were people. They made me sick, okay? So I am this now."

Vi tensed. A shot that hit too close to home.

"Oh, relax, vixen girl, I killed all of them". She smiled like a little girl, a pretty smile, the one that could make you forget about her red eyes and white skin, and guns. "But I am this. And a lot of things. It's super fun!", she yelled suddenly. "But then, you think I don't know? I'm this", she repeated. "And it's sick, this body, they made it sick. I wasn't and then they did."

Vi had no idea what she was talking about. Babbling to keep her focused on her words, probably. She moved a little closer.

"Oh, vixen girl, Vi", Jinx murmured, chasing another train of thought. But she saw Vi moving, she must have. So Vi stopped and they were back to sitting on pins. Almost literally, considering vault's securities. They could come off any second and kill both of them.

And Vi really didn't want to die. Kill others, yes, beat them up, chase, feel air in her lungs and adrenaline in her blood, and the smell of Piltover all over her body, she wanted it all. She wanted to fight, and fuck, and live, but most of all, catch that psycho. And do… something.

Jinx was too close to her now and she didn't even notice when it happened.

"I like you", Jinx said. "You're crazy, like yer on the other side of me. Aren't ya, little fox?"

And then she touched Vi's arm, right above her glove. Damn. Maybe they were going to die, after all. So be it.

She had red eyes. Red and green, like burning leaves, and a very cold hand. Spilt oil.

For a second, they weren't anywhere. Not in the vault, not in Piltover, not anywhere. Jinx's fingers played with Vi's gauntlet and her eyes weren't as crazy as always, but clean and bright, and way too intelligent, and she was looking right into her eyes. For a second.

That's how much you need to blow up a vault.

But that was later. And if anyone is interested, Vi doesn't remember. Not a thing. It's all a blur, fuck you very much and goodbye.

Before that, she didn't know. For a while, there was nothing special going on, no more special than Piltover's everyday extraordinary, no more special than Caitlyn and her righteousness, and occasional fights, and Jayce being the heroic hero he was. Soon enough, they all started to miss their nothing special.

The madman harming their precious city turned out to be a mad girl. And Vi knew she had to catch her and kill her, that's how you deal with them all, get 'em before they get you. That's how others like her would have dealt with her if she hadn't decided it was time to stop and do the right thing, rescue those miners and listen to Cait.

"Hello." She came just to say it and the right thing went to go fuck itself. Jinx. A mad girl with sickening eyes and the face of a dead man. There was something in her, something giggling and constantly moving, or maybe it was that she was currently standing on the edge of a building a few floors above Vi, sending her kisses.

"Won't you answer me?", she complained, making a sad face. Vi looked up at her, wondering how quickly exactly she could go up there. Or if Jinx would jump off that in the meantime. "Very well!", Jinx exclaimed, jumped indeed but turned in the air and disappeared behind the wall. Something fell at Vi's feet.

A paper heart.

And a grenade pin attached.

"Fuck!"

She barely managed to hide before half of the building Jinx was standing on a moment before exploded into the sky. Hello, she said after all.

And so, Jinx managed to keep her fixed on one thing only and it wasn't the right thing, or the healthy thing, if one prefers. It was catching her, imagining it over and over again, every possible way of catching her, her skinny arm under Vi's hextech glove, her bird-like bones so fragile, her cunning smile disappearing from her face. Her eyes, focused on Vi, centered. No more bombs, no more guns, no more toys of a maniac. Anything to make her stop, for just one second.

"I'm going to kill her", she informed Caitlyn a few days later, after they managed to catch a rhino running loose with a smiley face painted on its side. They had to ask Jayce for help. And then some hexmachines from the yordles came in handy. The rhino was safe and sound, but less happy than his painted smiley face. It wouldn't come off.

"That's not how we treat people here, Vi."

"No", she agreed. "That's how I treat them, so you can stay pretty and graceful."

"That's an order."

Vi smiled and she didn't know it but there was something in her smile, something as creepy and crazy as in Jinx's.

"Oh, I know", she assured. "Sheriff."

Caitlyn looked at her when she turned and left the office, covered in dirt and smelling like a rhino. And for once, it wasn't funny at all.

The vault fell on their heads. She should've died. But she didn't. And all she could see, aching and unable to move, was a pale hand with dark-painted nails. Which twitched and then disappeared, too. Vi didn't make a sound. The last thing she needed was to confront her like this, pinned down by a wall, with her gauntlets dead and crushed. Well, it could have been worse. She could have been in the gauntlets' place, after all.

She heard Jinx move, swiftly, like a mouse. Soon enough she sounded completely free and looking for something. One of her beloved toys, probably.

"I know you're not dead", Jinx said suddenly. Vi would jump if she could. "But I can't find you. Fine. Hide all you want. Ya know we're gonna meet again. I know you want to. Or am I wrong?"

Silence. No way Vi would answer her. Gods, no. Not now. Not when she was right.

"I hope you'll be out in time for the surprise!", Jinx sang gleefully and left, rubble creaking under her feet.

Surprise my ass. A bloody vault crushed onto them, wasn't that enough of a surprise?

Well. It wasn't.

She crawled out of the treasury and it felt like forever, endless way of ruin and darkness filled with oily visions. She heard her voice in her head, over and over again, and felt her cold hands on her skin. Gauntlets were destroyed, so they were just an extra weight, but she carried them out anyway.

There was so much to do. She had to repair the gloves and let her own body rest. A broken rib or two, lots of bruises and a knee that wouldn't bend. She had to rest, let it get a moment of peace. But when she was finally free again, the night sky lit with distant city lights.

You'll never catch me.

"Watch me", she hissed, answering to the laughter, and the darkness fell.

"She'll be the death of you". Cait seemed worried. How strange.

"Or I will be hers". Vi was in bed, first time since forever. She couldn't move. Hospital yordles took care of it, putting her knee in a cast and her ribs in bandages. Gloves were left on the table nearby and she felt weird, exposed and naked without them.

"Will you, though?", Sheriff asked, sitting next to her best subordinate. Who happened to be also her most insubordinate one. "She's killing you."

Vi closed her eyes for a moment.

"No", she said without opening them. "I'm killing her. In the end."

Caitlyn sighed, still looking worried and uncertain. She didn't know what to do, poor little sheriff. But it was Cait, a rich girl from a good neighbourhood, and maybe her mommy didn't tell her that sometimes… Well, Vi didn't know what. That sometimes people are crazy and they can make you crazy, too, and you have to kill them or they will kill everyone else, just because they can. Because it's fun. Because they hurt you and made you sick, made you a psycho, and now guns are talking to you, singing mad songs. Maybe.

But she wasn't sure who she would be talking about.

Vi heard something in the night but nothing else happened, so she didn't pay much attention and soon enough forgot about it. Nights in Piltover weren't exactly the quietest ones. During the days passing she was working on her gloves with occasional help from Jayce. She didn't like him too much, but he was a smart guy, despite all this heroicness. Caitlyn visited her, too, from time to time, bringing her all kinds of strange fruits and cooking meals for them. Maybe they both needed a little company.

"You're nicer when you're not a Sheriff", Vi said one day.

"You're nicer when you can't run around killing people", she stroke back. They both laughed.

"Maybe. But I'm not nice at all."

She wasn't. Cait would never say it if she knew her dreams, all full of cold hands and bright eyes, and sharp teeth. In some of them, she broke them, beat them, until her gloves would become as red as Jinx's eyes. In others, she didn't. Woke up with a moan instead, breathing fast, and the gloves were lying on the table, forgotten.

Vi smiled to Cait, because after all, she didn't know anything about that. And it should stay this way.

Sheriff left some time later and the gloves were almost ready. Almost, because there was no point in putting them on while she was still in bed. Few days until the chase begins again, she had to stand it.

It was evening and she was alone in her flat. Nothing new in Piltover in that matter. And then she heard something.

"Hello."

For a moment, her heart stopped. Wouldn't make it to the gauntlets in time to put them on and activate. How stupid of her.

She'll be the death of you.

Oh well.

"It's you", Vi said, her voice steady.

She was sitting on a window sill. Unarmed, at the first sight. Smiled at Vi.

"Such a flatterer, you."

She was dressed ridiculously like always, with braids lying on one of her arms, her hands as pale as in Vi's dreams. She'd have to come closer to see her eyes. She didn't. Of course.

There was no way she could call for help. No one would hear her scream. She could fight, had some pretty good chances even with just one knee and without gauntlets… But Jinx was just sitting there and it didn't seem normal. And it was killing her to find out why the hell.

"Did you like my surprise?", Jinx asked and for a second Vi was so angry she couldn't see. "You'll never catch me!", she giggled and it didn't help.

"You're a maniac, fucking lunatic!", Vi barked, trying to get up from bed, but Jinx was next to her in a blink of an eye, too close for it to be safe, her cold hands on Vi's shoulders.

"You'll never catch me", she repeated, her voice clear, her eyes centered on Vi's face, so close, too close for them both to stay alive.

Like spilled oil. Light from room's lamps reflected in her eyes; burning leaves and spilled oil. Anger in Vi faded. It was so… different. Surprising. Like that time in the vault, they were silent, a second, two, three. Maybe she will be the death of mine, Vi decided. Because that other time didn't teach her anything, apparently.

"You came to me", she realised. She'd never catch her – but gods, watch her try – but Jinx came to her.

"I had to know."

"Know what?"

Jinx smiled, melted for a moment, breathing out, letting her guards down, and touched her face. She had cold fingers with way too long nails, and yet it was better than when Vi dreamt it.

"That I didn't kill you, vixen girl", she laughed. "It's been killing me!"

And those gauntlets, all ready to be worn, they were on the table when Jinx came and they were still lying there when she left.

And it didn't make sense and it made perfect sense all at once. Crazy, on the other side of her, that's what Jinx said in the vault. And damn if she wasn't right.

She'll try to catch her. Some other time.