"And here we are! The place where all the magic happens!" Jinx exclaimed gleefully, as she led Caitlyn inside.

Taking in the sights, Caitlyn couldn't help but be impressed.

The workshop was a giant, hollowed out floor of the complex, with nothing more than some sturdy pillars remaining to hold the ceiling up. But to say it was empty would be the furthest thing from the truth. No, the giant room was very… very full.

Scattered throughout were hundreds of blueprints. Some were thrown haphazardly on the floor. Others, seemingly hastily pinned to the walls and pillars with tape. And still more were laid about on tables located throughout or attached to mobile chalkboards. Practically everywhere Caitlyn could look, there was some form of diagram.

And everywhere else that Caitlyn observed, there were prototypes of bombs, guns, and a multitude of firearms and other weaponry. There were even some strange looking machines also scattered about throughout.

All in short, the workshop was a disorganized mess of genius and insanity.

"Ah! This is going to be so. Much. Fun!" Jinx squealed, giddy as she skipped deeper into the room. Caitlyn arched a brow at the girl's excitement but didn't question it, knowing by now Jinx's obsession with inventing and weaponry. Instead, she wanted to ask what specifically they'd be doing. But as her foot caught the underside of some contraption, she found that she couldn't appropriately let out anything but a surprised yelp. It took all she had not to completely fall flat on her face, and as it was, she barely managed to grip the side of a nearby table with her hand to keep herself safe.

"Uh… whatcha doing there, Hat Lady?" Jinx said, having turned around at the commotion.

But Caitlyn only deadpanned, letting her know just how dumb of a question it was.

"Really? What does it look like? I tripped over your mess."

"You know, you really shouldn't do that, Hat Lady. It's really dangerous to fall haphazardly like that," Jinx returned, giving Caitlyn a mischievous grin.

Caitlyn only gave the girl a roll of her eyes as she accepted a hand to help her up.

"Gee, thanks for the advice," she muttered sarcastically. "Perhaps you might have wanted to give me a warning beforehand."

"Oh hey, that reminds me. I meant to tell you that you should really watch out where you're going in here. I kinda leave stuff lying around here and there. Don't want you to hurt yourself or anything."

Caitlyn scowled at the girl, who gave her a shit-eating grin in return.

"You are the bane of my existence. I hope you know that," she grumbled out.

"Oh don't worry, I do! I practically live for it!"

Rolling her eyes, Caitlyn couldn't help but grin.

"Whatever. At any rate, weren't you planning on showing me something or working on my rifle?"

"Oh, yeah! Almost forgot bout that. Come over here real quick."

Following the other girl, Caitlyn was led through the large room. And as she went by, she couldn't help but notice grenades, guns, and traps scattered about. It was apparent that Jinx was not only making use of the room as a workshop, but as an armory as well.

And with all of the loose bullets and spare parts scattered messily throughout, it was exactly how Caitlyn imagined Jinx's primary working space would be.

"Alright, here we are…" Jinx announced as she brought Caitlyn to a large desk area in a back corner. It had a variety of tools scattered all over it, as well as Jinx's main equipment. It was clear to Caitlyn that it was Jinx's primary workstation and was well used.

"This is where all the magic happens. I like to call it the Fun Factory!" Jinx told her, holding her arms widespread to display it all.

"Didn't you say that the workshop as a whole is where the magic happens?" Caitlyn returned mirthfully as she raised a brow.

"Pfft, it is. But this… this is where all the true magic happens. This is where all of my pride and joy is spent. Where my babies are born. Where my dreams are fulfilled. Where my-"

"Ok, ok. I get it, Jinx." Caitlyn interrupted, chuckling. "I'm sure it is quite the significant spot for you. But while I'm sure you can go on and on about your beloved workstation, wouldn't you rather we work on my rifle? I know I would. And after all, is that not what we came here for?"

Jinx pouted at the words. "Oh, you're just jealous. It's not its fault that I place more of my attention to it than you. Blame me, not my beautiful fountain of creation."

Hearing the ridiculous words, Caitlyn could only snort and raise an eyebrow. "Jealous? Of your 'beautiful fountain of creation'?"

"Yes, of my beautiful fountain of creation."

"...You're incorrigible."

"Why, thank you!"

Caitlyn shook her head, letting out a chuckle. She watched as Jinx proceeded to clear off her messy desk full of tools, gears, empty candy wrappers, and soda cans to make adequate room for the rifle. Then, taking it from Caitlyn's hands, she set it down and took a seat in a desk chair pulled up to the workstation.

"You can get comfortable on the couch, by the way," Jinx said as she began inspecting the rifle, pointing to a loveseat only a few feet behind.

Listening to the instruction, she sat down on the well-used couch, removing and setting down her hat on the cushion next to her. It was clear that Jinx often fell asleep on the couch from late nights at work on inventions, as a pillow and some sheets were spread on it.

And as Caitlyn shoved them aside, it idly occurred to her that Jinx was truly dedicated to her engineering. It was important enough to her that she was clearly willing to pull late nights working on projects; which this bed away from her bed suggested happened often. Or at the very least, Jinx wanted to minimize the amount of time she spent away from her work.

But regardless, it was obvious that Jinx's dedication to her craft easily matched Caitlyn's own in regards to her work at the police station. Albeit, she was sure that Jinx enjoyed her late nights inventing a lot more than Caitlyn did her own late nights working on paperwork.

Returning back to the girl, she watched Jinx continue to inspect her gun. As she spectated, Caitlyn took notice of some blueprints pinned on the desk's panels. And as she scanned then, she found many to be extremely detailed, with diagrams depicting each and every specific component of the inventions displayed on them.

One blueprint she saw was for an "Ultra-Super Death Rocket", an upgrade to her already giant rocket, that could explode into flaming shrapnel when it collided with an object. Another one showed an upgrade to Fishbones, with the words "heat-seeking rockets!" underlined with bold print.

And though she could not understand all the complex wording also used to describe some of the upgrades, Caitlyn could easily tell from the diagrams that they were extremely complicated builds and the product of an extremely gifted mind.

...She found it all to be as equally astonishing as it was peculiar.

It is all definitely a testament to how genius Jinx is in regards to technology and engineering, to say the least. Not to say that Caitlyn had ever had doubts, however; because after all, Caitlyn had trusted Jinx's brilliance ever since Jinx revealed to her that she had personally created her arsenal. Not to mention, the girl had created a wheelchair for her to move in during the span of a day or two.

But seeing Jinx's work firsthand was a whole new experience to behold. And it was amazing to see how meticulous Jinx was when creating things.

But… it was also a bit saddening to Caitlyn.

Because all of Jinx's brilliance… it was wasted on nothing more than destruction and havoc. All these blueprints and parts-they were for weapons. Nothing meant for goodwill. Certainly, nothing that could aid or make life better.

No. There was no benevolence to be found here.

Only ill will and the intent to design more and more tools of strife and chaos. And Caitlyn hated it.

She could only imagine how, if someone had just been there for the girl in the beginning, she could have been an amazing engineer and inventor. She could have aimed her talents toward saving and improving lives, rather than destroying them.

But life hadn't granted a fair hand to Jinx, and so too, did she feel the need to spread her misfortune onto others. And even though it wasn't right, Caitlyn could finally understand it after having taken a deeper look into Jinx's past. After all, when the world itself doesn't care about you, why should you care about it?

But… she cares.

Or at least, she does now, after walking in Jinx's shoes more or less. And maybe, if she were to convince others as well… Jinx would care again too.

So Caitlyn made firm her resolve. She won't rest until she restores Jinx's connection to humanity. Because only then, once she can no longer be apathetic to the harm she causes through her anarchy, will she truly be able to turn her life around.

"...Where did you even learn how to do all of this?" Caitlyn asked.

She had been mostly silent as she watched the energetic girl tinker with her gun all this time. But after almost an hour of observing how masterfully Jinx worked at the intricacies of the gun, she couldn't help but marvel and be curious at how the girl learned her skills.

"Your handiwork is quite impressive, I must say. Or at least it is when it's not being used to destroy the city. But I am fairly curious as to how you developed such prowess in engineering, at any rate."

"Complimenting me again, Hat Lady? What is it, my birthday or something?" Jinx teased, drawing out a roll of Caitlyn's eyes.

"Must you always make being nice to you an annoying endeavor. And calling you 'incorrigible' is not even remotely close to being a compliment. If anything, it was an insult."

"Eh, that's open to interpretation," Jinx returned, grinning. "But what do you mean? You should know how already. I mean, you read my diary, right?"

"Yes, I did," Caitlyn returned, thinking back to what she read. "But it didn't seem like you learned enough to be as skilled as you are now. Were there no other sources that you left out, or learned from later on?"

"Mmm… no, not really. I learned a lot from those Zaun kids I was with. And the occasional engineering magazine and your mom herself, back when she taught my class all those years ago-they helped a lot too. Since I learned the basics as a kid from my dad, I picked up on new things fast. I wasn't old enough to understand much of it. But what I did understand stuck with me and started my love for beautiful, beautiful creations."

Caitlyn chuckled a bit as she watched the girl proceeded to stroke one of her said 'beautiful creations', Fishbones, in her exaggerated manner. But she couldn't help but feel a bit curious about something well.

"Mmm… Jinx?"

"Huh?"

"Tell me more about your father. I'd love to learn more."

Jinx faltered at the statement, fumbling with her tools a bit. Taking a second to adjust, she stopped working on the gun and turned to Caitlyn.

"What? Why?" the girl asked with furrowed brows. At this point, it was clear that Caitlyn was starting to venture on shaky ground with her curiosity, but she couldn't help herself.

"Merely curious. You've spoken about him before with such praise, both in and out your diary-and I was wondering what kind of man he was. But feel free to not detail everything, if anything at all. I can easily imagine it is an uncomfortable subject and all..."

Jinx was silent as Caitlyn trailed off. Looking the girl in the eyes, Caitlyn wondered if she had overstepped. But before she could backtrack or even say a thing, Jinx interrupted her.

"He was… a good dad," she began quietly, looking down at her tools. "Probably not the best, but he was good enough for me. He was always so loving and caring to me and mom-and Vi too, when she came along. And he was pretty fun too. Always cracking jokes, showing me cool inventions, and teaching me how they work."

"But he… he made a terrible decision to work in Zaun. He leaped for an easy path in life, accidentally pissed off a psychopath that he shouldn't have, and our family paid a terrible price for it all. And while I don't resent him for it really... I can't help but wish to go back in time and smack some sense into him. You know?" Jinx said, giving Caitlyn a small, rueful smile.

"...I see. I suppose I can understand that. But… I believe he only sought what was immediately best for your family during a difficult time. Faulting him for that isn't completely fair, don't you think?."

"Yeah. It isn't. That's why I don't resent him. But it's just… really hard not to want to."

"I'm sure it is. But just… try to not let what happened taint your memory of him, okay? It's not quite my place to say, of course, but I wouldn't want you to allow a few foul decisions made in the past to absolutely ruin your entire memory of someone. Especially someone you were especially close to."

Jinx gave a small sigh. "Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't let the shit that ended up happening ruin what I remember of my dad. It wasn't his fault that he and mom were killed. It was the maniac asshole who ordered the assassin to hit us."

At that, Caitlyn raised a brow. Jinx hadn't mentioned a single individual behind the events of her past before. She wanted to mention it, and ask questions. But the other girl's expression was of anger and bitterness. And she decided that now was not the time for an in-depth investigation. Instead, she directed her efforts to something else that had piqued her curiosity.

"Well, if nothing else, he sounds like he was a wonderful father," she murmured in respect. "But what of your mother? What was she like?"

"My mom? Well, most of the time, she was mostly just your typical passive, redirecting mom. You know, the whole, "Listen to your father, dear," or "I don't know, ask your father." And she didn't really listen to me much either. I mean I know I was a kid and all, but she barely gave me the time of day sometimes. But she still loved me and all that. And when she got a chance to unwind from stress, she could be kinda cool even. She would play games and take me to places, whenever my dad couldn't. But she just did what she could to give our family a happy life for the most part, even though it all went south when my dad lost his job."

"I see. But before that, it seems like you had a decent childhood, more or less. The diary didn't touch on it too much, and I'm happy to hear not all of your life was miserable."

"Yeah? Well... a good 90 percent of it was so shitty that the 10 that my childhood makes up seems like a detached lucid dream I once had," Jinx muttered, bitterness creeping back into her tone as she returned to her tinkering.

Uncomfortable at the darkening mood of the girl, Caitlyn realized that she needed to change the conversation. And with a cough, she asked about something else.

"...What about Vi? You believe her to be your sister, correct? What was she like as a child?"

Jinx paused in her work again and looked at Caitlyn with a deadpan.

"...You've heard the expression "curiosity killed the cat" before, right? Because Hat Lady, your curiosity is starting to press buttons now."

Caitlyn winced. "Sorry. You're right, I'm being tactless. Ignore me."

Jinx let out a sigh. Then she looked back down to Caitlyn's gun and the part she had been adjusting.

"She… she was a cute kid. Kinda annoying at times. But energetic and always fun to play with. Sucks that all she wants to do now is punch my face in. Stupid adult Vi," Jinx grumbled. Picking up a wrench, she moved it back and forth in her hands. "I miss when her punches were soft and ticklish, you know. Now... she has big fat, stupid hands. Not as cute to get punched by her anymore."

Despite Jinx's bitter and saddened tone, Caitlyn couldn't help but chuckle.

"No, I wouldn't imagine it would be. Hextech gauntlets are quite a step above children boxing gloves, after all."

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure if she tried to punch me in the face now, it would do a lot more than just leave my cheek sore."

Caitlyn snorted at that. But as she lingered on Jinx's words, her mirth started to die down and she thought seriously on their present relationship. And she grew quiet for a minute.

"Jinx… shouldn't you make Vi aware of your connection?" she asked after a moment. "She has gone most of her life believing herself to have no living relative. And yet, here you are-sharing flesh and blood as her. It would be good for you both to reunite."

Jinx shook her head, giving Caitlyn a humorless laugh. "Don't you think I tried that already? When I first came back to Piltover and realized who she was I was ecstatic. I couldn't believe she lived. When I found her, I tried to tell her everything, starting with the fact that we're sisters. But she didn't listen to one bit. She never listens. Wanna know what she said after I mentioned the word sister? "Fuck off. I don't have any family, you scrawny pale freak.""

Caitlyn went wide-eyed at the words. Then she scowled and felt her face go hot. Never in her life has she been more angry and disappointed with the reckless and ignorant actions of her partner. Even if Jinx hadn't truly been her sister, to say such a thing to someone regardless is inexcusable and disgusting. And she felt more than sorry for Jinx.

"Jinx, I-"

"Nah, don't worry. You know you how she is. That Vi. Punch first, then talk if they're still twitching," Jinx joked. But there was no humor in her voice.

"She has a head thicker than her fists are fat and with that mentality-yeah it doesn't really make her good at listening. Even if you beg her to hear you out. Even if you promise to give proof. Yup. No can do with convincing that."

Caitlyn could hear hurt in Jinx's words, and she felt awful. She was starting to get a clear picture as to what might have happened now. Upon escaping the hell she had been enslaved in for years, Jinx returned to Piltover and discovered that her sister was still alive and well. She then got her hopes up to reunite with Vi. But because Vi had so callously rejected her, the already fragile mental state she was in led to her snapping and going on an uncontrolled rampage, solidifying herself as the city's most wanted. Possibly to even spite Vi, who was on the exact opposite side of the law.

But Caitlyn knew that Vi, despite the harsh words she had given, longs deeply for the family she is missing. Just as much as Jinx does.

"She is… stubborn and ignorant to a fault. But even though she went about doing so in the most idiotic and callous manner, I think Vi was merely trying to protect herself. She, like you, mourns her missing family. But while you still hold your memories, she does not, for whatever reason. So you have to understand that she wasn't trying to hurt you necessarily. She just wanted to avoid being misled and abused. It has happened to her before."

"Yeah? Well I don't give a damn," Jinx returned coldly. "All I wanted was my sister back. And what I got instead was an idiot blockhead who shut me down before I even got a word in. So you have to understand that I'm still pissed."

"I do," Caitlyn was quick to say. "But we can resolve things between you two. Let me try to do so. She will listen to me, if no one else. She trusts me, just as I'm sure you now do. I can get her to listen to you."

Jinx was silent, staring at Caitlyn with a frown. But after a moment, she let out a sigh, closing her eyes.

"Well, it sucks that she won't bother listening to the person who saved her stupid life. But if you can get her to use some common sense, then be my guest," she let out, reopening her eyes and shrugging. "For what it's worth, I think it's a lost cause. She's too dumb to understand reasoning."

"I think… that in the past, I might have said the same. But I'm quickly learning that with you two, nothing is truly a lost cause," Caitlyn returned with a smile. And to her surprise, Jinx matched it with a small smile of her own, holding it for a moment. Then, after letting out a fake cough, Jinx shied away, moving back to her work on Caitlyn's rifle.

"Alright, well that's enough about me. I want to be the one doing prying now. Let's talk about you for a change," Jinx said, as she picked up a tool.

"Oh?" Caitlyn returned, raising a brow. "And what would you like to know about me?"

"Uh…" Jinx muttered, obviously not actually sure what to ask. "How about... starting with the beginning? What did you do as a kid and what was your childhood like?"

"My childhood? It wasn't much of anything interesting to be perfectly honest. For the most of it, I spent my time and efforts focusing on my education. That is, when I wasn't reading at my leisure. Truth be told, I didn't do anything significant until I was nearly reaching adulthood."

"Ah. I'm calling b.s. on that one. Didn't you track down some low-time crooks that mugged your dad at 13? I remember seeing that in some article on your biography."

"14, actually. And it really wasn't anything remarkable. It was merely something I felt needed to be done."

Jinx rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, alright. If you say so. I don't think most 14-year-olds go out and stop criminals just because they feel it needs to be done, though."

"Fair point," Caitlyn replied with a smirk. "Still, I truly didn't do anything else noteworthy until my late teenage years. Which hardly counts as childhood."

"Aww, come on, Hat Lady. I mean, I knew you could be more boring than a stick in the mud, but not that boring. You have to have something to tell me," Jinx pouted, drawing a frown from Caitlyn over her words.

"What about your parents? You get along with them well?"

"I would like to think so. I tend to connect better with my father, but I remain just as close to my mother as well, despite our vastly different professions. And as I still reside with them, I see them often enough, as well."

"Sounds nice," Jinx returned. Caitlyn hummed in agreement, but said nothing else. And as Jinx continued her work, the two settled into silence.

Caitlyn observed Jinx's tinkering for a small moment but slowly began to drift off and look around the workshop some more. Some of the prototypes scattered here and there caught her eye. And although she didn't know too much about them, she knew they were intricate inventions that she probably would never truly understand. It almost made her wish she knew more about engineering and technology, just so she'd grasp how half the things in the room even worked.

"...And done!" Jinx announced, bringing Caitlyn's attention back onto her. Putting her tools back into their proper places, she lifted up Caitlyn's rifle and turned around to show the Sheriff.

On the surface, Caitlyn noted that it was mostly the same. Jinx had properly adhered to her conditions and left its overall design intact. In fact, Caitlyn couldn't visibly see the changes Jinx made, prompting her to wonder what was different.

"What all did you adjust?" she asked.

"Not too much. Just the stuff I was going about earlier," Jinx answered. "I upped the scope to match the new lens on your hat and improved the firing mechanism to let you fire faster if you want. Oh, and I reduced the recoil to match."

"I see," Caitlyn said, taking the rifle from Jinx's offering hands. She felt around the grooves she knew inside and out, and tested the weight in her hands. She noticed a slight difference, likely due to the new changes Jinx added, but more or less it was the same as always.

"Thank you, Jinx. I'm certain these improvements will aid me greatly."

Jinx waved her off. "Nah, don't mention it. I love working on stuff, and your rifle is pretty interesting in a sorta old-timey way. They don't make hunting rifles like that anymore and it reminds me of the kinda stuff my dad would tinker with when I was young."

"Really? That's interesting. But this gun is fairly old, so I can understand. My father was hunting with it long before I was born. It's at least 30 years old."

"Yeah. That's pretty old. But it's good quality. Was made pretty solid for it to have lasted intact so long. Even considering the modifications your mom probably made."

"Mmm, she didn't add too much to its original design actually."

"Really?"

Caitlyn nodded.

"Indeed. I specifically requested for her not to. I was used to the original, and she respected my wish and kept it more or less the same. All she did was add extra lens, as well as enable the barrel to extend for greater range. Or so she told me. Though, to be honest, I'm sure she did something else as well, but I either forgot or overlooked it due to misunderstanding."

"Huh. You know, you really should start learning more about technology, Hat Lady," Jinx mentioned. "You'll never know when it could be important to know something. Knowledge is power and all that."

"...Perhaps you're right," Caitlyn admitted. "I never took well to my mother's instructions. It would only frustrate me whenever she went into depth on the mechanics of things. So I've only ever learned the mere basics, and they were all I've needed thus far. But I would like to know more, I suppose-if only to make sense of all these changes you make."

"Well, I could teach you if you want," Jinx offered.

Caitlyn raised a brow. "I can't imagine you as a good instructor, to be perfectly honest."

"What?" Jinx let out, putting on an exaggerated display of offense. "I'm an excellent teacher. Just you watch. I'll have you knowing the ins and outs of advanced hextech within a day."

"Ambitious, aren't you? Well then, go ahead, miss teacher. I expect to know enough to put my mother to shame by the end of the week."

Jinx burst into laughter.

"Hey, I said I'd teach you. Not turn you into a renowned legend of an engineer like your mom. How about we settle with just impressing her?"

Caitlyn let out a small chuckle herself. "I suppose that will have to satisfy me, then. But I'll have you know it is very difficult to impress her."

"Is that a challenge I hear?"

"Sure, Jinx. Why not?"

The girl grinned. "Let's begin right now then! I've never lost a single challenge and I refuse to start now. Get your noggin ready, Hat Lady. I'm about to stuff it full of more technological mumble-jumble than you can handle."

Caitlyn snorted and wondered if she would come to regret what she just signed herself up for. But she said nothing and instead, listened intently as the girl began to excitedly ramble off information.

Author's Note

Okay, here we are, a new chapter after that long hiatus. Sorry about that, once again, and thank you all for the amazing support you have been giving me in my return. It really meant a lot to me over the past few weeks. And again, thank you for keeping up with my stories, and I will do my best to finish them successfully.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, as well. It took me a minute because I had to catch back up myself, but hopefully the next won't be as time-consuming. And feel free to leave a review to tell me what you thought of it if you're so inclined. I appreciate them even if they're full of (constructive) criticism. It helps me grow after all!

Thanks for reading!