This took longer than I'd planned, sorry.
_0_
Darkness, nothing but darkness as far as the eye can see. She turned to the left, to the right, to her back, trying to adjust to the emptiness, looking for something in that vast space. And she saw it a small pale female figure stood out in the darkness, seemingly the only source of light in that endless space. The figure stood quietly, face turned away from her, its blue hair flowing in the nonexistent wind of that emptiness. VI ran to her, reaching out to the figure. But as her hands were just about to make contact with the lone figure.
Boom!
A deafening explosion swallowed the figure in a burst of flames, but VI was barely able to make out the figure turning to her at the end, reaching its arms towards her right before the flames reached it. The fire caused her to instinctively raised her arms to shield her eyes, but VI couldn't. She tried to, yet her arms did not obey her command; she then realized nothing was. Her body was frozen; her limbs were numb. VI could only stand there and watch as the inferno rapidly approached her like a deer caught in headlights. The moment it finally reached her, VI shut her eyes, forcing her body to turn away from the impending blaze.
VI jolted awake, gasping for air as she did so, her eyes blinking rapidly, trying to adjust themselves to the bright room she was in. The white ceiling with a useless fan hanging from it, the annoying white lights built into it, then the smell of chemicals, all of them greeting her awake. VI was no stranger to this place, the General Hospital of Piltover. She'd been taken there many times before. But most of those were from cuts and other not-so-serious stab wounds, sometimes a bullet needed to be removed from her, nothing VI couldn't handle, but Caitlyn had always made such a big deal out of them.
Thinking about this, VI couldn't help but smile lightly, Caitlyn can be so cute when she wanted to. Back to the matter at hand, VI continued scanning the room, it wasn't anything impressive. A plain white room, a small couch against the wall, aforementioned annoying white lights, and the useless fan hanging from the ceiling. A small bedside table next to her with a pitcher of water and a decorative flower vase on it. But most importantly, she was alone in this room, with no other beds, only hers.
"Single room. Heh. Thanks, Cait." VI whispered to herself, she didn't like people seeing her in such conditions, not the least of whom the stuck-up, privileged assholes from Piltover, while Vi would never consider Caitlyn one of these stuck-up privileged assholes, she simply didn't want the sheriff to see her like this.
She turned down to look at her wounds, no luck. The hospital gown covered her body, the bandages her arms, she couldn't see the actual wounds, but she could guess they were serious. She tried lifting her arms, nothing, they were numb, almost as if they weren't there, or they weren't hers. VI tried harder, pushing her body to prop herself up on the bed. The rough movements caused her wounds to violently remind her of their presence. VI gritted her teeth, her body was too weak, and she knew it, the sharp pain in her abdomen forced her down once more. But her struggle did cause a lot of noise, noise that wouldn't go unnoticed.
"What in the bloody hell are you doing?! Doctor!" Caitlyn yelled out, her voice sounding much weaker than normal as she came barreling into the room. The usually calm and level-headed sheriff was now yanking a doctor into VI's room while pointing rapidly at the woman on the bed. The young man did little to protest; VI could even see a faint smile on his face as the sheriff practically dragged him to her bed. VI didn't recognize him, she'd met some of the staff at the hospital before, but not this one. The doctor was taller than Caitlyn; his white coat perfectly complimented his dark skin. He was already on his way to check up on VI anyways; it just happens that Caitlyn had helped expedite his process, that's all.
After her unusual outburst of emotions, Caitlyn fell to her knees, her hands clutching her throat. Seeing that, VI wildly gestured (the best she could) towards her partner on the floor, followed by a loud barrage of "Docs". However, the doctor seemed to be more concerned with her bleeding abdomen at that moment. Yet a third person came into the room, a more petite figure this time, its flowing white hair reminded VI of who it was. Sumi rushed to Caitlyn's side, helping the sheriff up while saying something that VI couldn't catch. But she did notice Caitlyn's bandaged neck.
"Little lady, I can handle things with the enforcer in here; please take the sheriff to see doctor Ray. She should still be in the adjacent room." The doctor spoke up in a reassuring tone, his voice deep and calm, yet void of emotions, gesturing to his left for Sumi.
She thanked him and helped Caitlyn out of the room, waving lightly to VI as they left. Caitlyn turned to look at her partner before she moved out of sight.
"Doc, is it bad?" VI turned to the doctor checking on her wounds.
"Nothing too bad, at least for now. Fortunately, you didn't tear the stitches I worked so hard on, but try not to do that again."
"I can't feel my body."
"Overexertion combined with severe blood loss. It's honestly surprising to see you up so soon. We thought it'd have to come down to using magic." He shuddered as he finished checking on her wounds.
"Did the white-haired girl and the sheriff dragged me here?" VI asked, thinking of how hard it must have been on those two.
"I wasn't told." He answered plainly, noting down something on his clipboard as he turned away from the bed.
"Caitlyn! Is she hurt bad?!" Seeing him about to move away, VI raised her voice, almost yelling to the man.
He seemed to ponder something for a second before turning to her bed and answered. "I'm not treating her at the moment, but I've heard that her vocal cord might've been damaged. I can tell her to come by after Ray's done with her if you'd like."
"No no, let her rest. Thanks, doc."
"Before I leave, there is a button near your waist, you should be able to reach it without any problem. Press it when you need anything, and someone will be by with you shortly." He spoke, pointing to the side of VI's bed as he waited for her to find the button. Once she gave it a press, he nodded, said goodbye to her, and left the room. All the while, VI didn't even know his name.
VI was left alone in the room; with the recent attack still fresh in her mind she recounted the event in her mind, playing back moments when she could have done things better. She'd never cared much for things like hindsight. "If you keep thinking of how things could've been better, you'll forget to actually make things better." Somebody told her that once. Who? She couldn't remember. But she remembered agreeing with them, that's why VI had avoided thinking of her past, back to her time in Zaun, all the things she'd done, all the people she'd left behind. But at that moment, she couldn't help but contemplate. People's mind tends to disobey their wishes, the more you try to tell yourself not to think of something, the more it seems to be the only thing you can think of. And VI was getting a first-hand experience with it.
As VI laid in bed, reluctantly and quietly contemplating all the events in her life, a loud knocking sound from the window disrupted her. She turned to it, only to be met by an oh-so-familiar smile.
"Hey ya! Fat Hands." The blue-haired figure called out to VI as she casually broke the glass window and let herself in, her various weapons visible on her. The sounds of broken glass crunching underneath her boots were accompanied by the telltale clanking of her weapons as haphazardly dangled them on her small frame as she walked towards VI, who was practically helpless at that moment.
"You…" VI was just about to yell out, but before she could, Zap! was pointed squarely at her face. She didn't know what the maniac before her wanted, though she could tell that screaming wouldn't do her much good. Especially as her body was still unresponsive, VI could only hope that the psycho wasn't there to end their game of cat and mouse once and for all.
"Good Fat Hands! I'm just here to check in on ya! No reasons causin' a commotion!" She spoke cheerfully, praising the bedridden woman like you would a pet, still waving the gun in her hand around with little-to-no concern. With her closeness, came the scent of sweat mixed with gunpowder, and whatever else that VI couldn't place. If the situation were different, and VI was still able to swing, no way that girl's getting anywhere near her without a punch or two thrown at her. But for now, VI could only glare at the blue-haired girl standing above her.
"Huh? What you stink-eyein' me for? I said I was here to check in on ya! See if ya finally croaked or nah. I'm ain't here to hurt ya!" Jinx shrugged, finally holstering her weapon to VI's relief.
"Oh my! Aren't you just the most considerate psychopath ever!" VI forced a cheery, exaggerated response out of herself, she really didn't want to, but her best bet at that moment was to talk to the woman before her.
"No need! Just happy to see my favoritist chum doing so well!" Jinx answered, giggling excitedly as she waved her hands dismissively. VI's attempt at a sarcastic remark seemed to have flown past her head.
"Cut the shit! Why are you here?" VI had her limits, and with just some back-and-forth conversation, Jinx had already made her reached it.
"No shit to cut, I'm just here to check in on ya. Shoot the shit, maybe…But I'm starting to think I ain't welcomed here." She pouted, purposely leaning closer to VI's face. Her magenta pupils staring right into VI's own blue orbs. Making the bedridden enforcer turn away.
"Well, you've seen me then. What of it?"
"Honestly? A little disappointed. Thought those guys wouldn't even be able to lay a hand on ya, or the hat lady." She shrugged again, talking to VI like a disappointed fan would to their idol.
"So she saw it. Maybe she even had something to do with it." VI thought to herself, getting others to do her dirty might not have been Jinx's style. But you could never count anything out when dealing with a maniac.
"Sorry to disappoint. Must be gettin' soft." VI answered, trying to match Jinx's nonchalant tone.
"Nah. It was real fun to watch! The bit at the end, with the guy getting crushed?! Funniest shit I've ever seen." The blue-haired woman was practically jumping with excitement as she talked about the ambush.
"Well! Been fun talkin'. Buuuuuuut I gotta go. Later, loser!"
She spoke as fast as she was running to the window, leaping out of it as she blew VI a kiss farewell. She left as quickly and as unexpectedly as she'd arrived, leaving VI all alone once more.
"What in the actual….?" Still trying to make sense of the "visit" she just had, VI's mind started to wander. But it wasn't allowed to go far as she heard a knock once more, this time coming from the actual door of the room.
"Hello, ma'am? Miss Caitlyn and I just wanted to talk. Can we come in?" VI recognized the voice as that Sumi girl she'd talked to before this.
"Come on in," VI answered back, anything would be better than being borderline helpless, and alone in this damn room.
"Sorry to bother," Sumi answered back before opening the door and moving aside to let Caitlyn enter the room before her, closing the door behind her as she entered.
Caitlyn pulled a chair and sat down beside VI, her eyes looking down at VI with such uncharacteristic tenderness and warmth that it caught the pink-haired woman by surprise. VI could feel her cheeks growing warmer as the same warmth started to build inside of her, her heart might've just skipped a beat as well.
"Cupcake?" VI could only utter a word for the situation was far too foreign to her.
Caitlyn immediately turned away from her partner. VI had tried to catch a glimpse of her, hoping to see that she wasn't the only one blushing like a girl who'd just had her first kiss. But no dice, unfortunately, Caitlyn had turned away just a bit too fast.
"Ah…Uhm…It's cool to see you're good, Cupcake!" VI tried to break up the awkward silence, though she silently cursed her poor vocab. Caitlyn turned back to face her partner, nodded slightly; she seemed to be her usual cold and distant self once more. The dark-haired woman gestured to the girl behind her, who was looking about at the shards of glass on the floor.
Sumi moved to Caitlyn's side at her command, pointing back at the broken window she'd found. Caitlyn only raised an eyebrow.
"An armed, blue-haired maniac came in for a visit earlier. Just before you two." VI stated plainly, trying to sound as nonchalant about it as best she could. She'd thought that would elicit some reactions out of Caitlyn. Yet the seated woman only nodded, seemingly unimpressed.
"Is that the cool lady that helped us?" Sumi turned to ask Caitlyn. The sheriff nodded again.
"What?!" VI nearly jumped out of the bed, seemingly forgotten about her current state. But the pain in her abdomen once again quickly, and violently reminded VI of her injuries. Both Caitlyn and Sumi both instantly help her lay back down. Caitlyn glared at VI, who almost whimpered at the look. (Just give me the gentle one again, please) VI thought to herself.
"You gotta tell me, though! What happened after I went dark?" VI tried to change the subject, diverting her eyes from the dark-haired sheriff. (Is she still?) VI thought to herself, not wanting to check. Little did VI know, Caitlyn had already moved on from that; without any words, she'd asked Sumi to explain for her. VI knew that Caitlyn couldn't talk at the moment, but to get this girl they'd just met to be her surrogate voice is something else.
"Well, after you'd collapsed. Miss Caitlyn and I tried to bring you to a hospital. But I don't know the way and miss Caitlyn was bleeding bad. I tried to stop the bleeding. But then miss Caitlyn fainted, and I was scared that…that you'd die and…and...I" (Sumi's voice was starting to break). At that point Caitlyn placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, giving her that rare, gentle, comforting look VI'd just experienced.
"Thank…you, ma'am. After miss Caitlyn also fainted, a lady came to help. She helped me carry both of you here. I didn't ask her name, but she did have really long blue hair, and she was really pale." Sumi finished her story. Neither VI nor Caitlyn said a word. Caitlyn seemed to be in deep thoughts, while VI couldn't hide her surprise nor her irritation. Finally letting out a loud curse after a minute of letting her emotions boil, feeling some level of catharsis as she did.
"Did she say anything?" VI came back to her senses.
"Uhm...She didn't say much. Just that she'd help me take you to a hospital, and that she'd come by to see you later."
"Guess that explains the visit. But why would she bother?" VI pondered.
"If you don't mind me asking, why are you upset at her? She did help save you?" Sumi meekly asked.
"You don't know her. She's insane and destructive. That's all there is to her now."
Sumi stayed silent at VI's answer, she could tell that VI didn't want to elaborate anymore. Caitlyn, who had remained quiet, finally tapped on Sumi's shoulder, she seemed to signal something to the petite girl.
"Oh! Yes, of course, ma'am! Miss VI, miss Caitlyn would like to ask. If it's alright with you, she would like to take you to her home while you heal up. Since the hospital doesn't seem safe for you anymore." Sumi nodded to the seated woman, speaking as if she had rehearsed her lines before.
VI's eyes widened; she even asked Caitlyn if it was a prank, to which Caitlyn only shook her head, she was dead serious. (To live with Caitlyn…) VI thought to herself, her mind quickly flooded with the possibilities of seeing Caitlyn in whatever she wore to bed, her casual looks, leaving the shower with nothing but a bath towel on her, and so on. VI had almost become giddy with anticipation. She had to reel herself back in.
"I..Uhm…Wouldn't the hospital be able to take care of me better?" VI had already accepted the offer, but she didn't want to make it too obvious.
"Miss Caitlyn had thought of that, ma'am. Dr. Abrams would make home visits weekly to check on you, and I've worked as an orderly before, so I can help with your needs while you recover." Sumi piped up.
"That's so? Well, I do value my safety. When can we leave?" That was all the confirmation VI needed, she didn't bother hiding her enthusiasm anymore.
Caitlyn looked at her partner, and without a word, she took her leave, though gesturing for Sumi to stay behind. The smaller girl could only nod at her silent command.
"Tell me, you're like her personal helper now?" Seeing Caitlyn's departure, VI took the opportunity to talk with Sumi.
"I…She told me I could stay with her for a bit. Since I'm here, and all."
"Just like that?" VI couldn't help but ask.
"Well, she trusts her colleagues to handle her work while you two recover, and she said she'd rather I stay with her. At least until my sister can pick me up."
VI couldn't help but feel a bit unease at the whole situation, but the thought of sharing a home, or maybe even a room with Caitlyn took her mind off of it for the moment.
Caitlyn was now outside the hospital, sitting on a bench, her mind still contemplating what had happened that night. The ambush, the trip to the hospital, bringing home a girl she'd just met like one would a lost puppy, the thought of living with and taking care of VI. Everything was so sudden, so much more than what she'd expected from usual late-night work. All of that, and it's still not even morning yet, so quick. Was it really fine for both her and VI to rest? Should be fine, Caitlyn had faith in the officers she'd worked with, and if all else fails, Jayce was still around. (They can handle it) She assured herself.
Klink – Klink – Klink. The telltale sound of metal hitting the hard ground broke Caitlyn away from her deep thoughts. She turned to it, only to be met by a piercing gaze and a sinister smile.
"Sheriff. It's great to see you're still alive." The figure's voice was deep, almost mechanical with a hint of sarcasm, offering a faint attempt at genuine care. Caitlyn didn't answer, she simply greeted the figure with a nod.
"My my! Our venerable sheriff and her trusted enforcer, injured in the most cowardice attack by the scums living beneath us! How tragic." The woman exclaimed loudly, emphasizing the "tragedy" of the sheriff's situation, yet Caitlyn only responded with silence. The attack had only just happened a few hours ago, the only people that could know of it had to have been involved in it. Caitlyn knew this woman before her had something to do with the attack, but it's better to stay calm for now.
"Well, my family gives you our best wishes." The woman finished, appearing to have grown tired of talking to herself. She strutted away, her bladed legs clinking away as she slowly disappeared into the night, not bothering to look back at Caitlyn at all. Caitlyn sighed, this was one of the most eventful nights of her life, and she's too tired to care at that point. The dark-haired woman stood up and slowly made her way back to her partner's room, for now, she needed to rest.