A/N: Another quick thanks for your guys continued interest! While the next chapter was the hardest one for me to write (been writing it since the beginning of this story) this one is up there in terms of pacing. It's a real long one. Hope you enjoy!


Chapter Summary: While Jinx and Evi do their best to help Zel's morality dilemma, Piltover's Finest begins their investigations to find out what's up with The Loose Cannon.

Word Count: 18,644


—JINX—

She was making beef stew with potato and broccoli. It was Zel's favourite. And though Evi made sure to give him a good helping of a Cutpurse Combo from Jericho's earlier, she figured he would need something like this. The second she got home she dropped the files off at her workshop table and checked on Zel. He was hanging out with Evi in her workout/art area wing. Or more so just sitting there while his sister just spray painted. She had a really decent landscape of Zaun, from presumably the elevator view of the Baron Chambers.

Evi had been getting better at landscapes, but Jinx never thought her girl would go that far. Zel seemed to be interested in watching his sister work, at least enough to the point where he was content with sitting on a spare box and watching over her shoulder. When she made herself known, the boy seemed to light up a bit, and when she reassured him they'd talk after dinner, his mood seemed a bit better. She then said they'd be having his favourite, and that seemed to lift his spirits up the most.

Last she left them, she saw they were still chatting. But as she began to prep dinner, she noticed they were up with her: Zel was sitting by the gramophone, listening to her song while Evi sounded like she was approaching the kitchen wing.

"Hey," Evi softly greeted, leaning up on the counter, "you sure you got this?"

Jinx smirked as she turned around, smiling at her daughter. "Beef stew? Uhh, yeah? Made it plenty of times!" Her daughter frowned at her. "Depends on what ya mean by 'got'," she answered.

Evi blankly stared. "Mum—"

"I'm sure I'll be there for him," she quickly amended, shooting a soft smile. "But am I sure I got the answers? Nah." She shrugged, glancing over at her son. "What's going on in his head? That sorta thing don't got easy answers."

"So what did you bring him?" Evi asked, confused.

Jinx smiled. "The facts." Her cryptic response seemed to confuse her daughter more—which, fair—but she didn't seem pressed to ask about it anymore. To Jinx's surprise, Evi remained at the counter. It wasn't until the pot was boiling she decided to gauge her daughter a bit. "There a reason you're not with your brother?"

Evi sighed. "I think he needs space to think. Earlier I offered sitting with him while he tried to tinker but he said he was too conflicted to work on his gadgetry." She glanced back at her brother, frowning at his depressed state. "He didn't want to be alone so I said he could chill with me while I paint, but I don't think that helped either. So I guess he's back to solo time."

"He always wants to try somethin' new when he's stuck," she softly explained, "y'know that."

"Yeah…"

"This is somethin' he can't just trial and error himself out of. He's working himself to that conclusion too," Jinx stated, looking toward her son. "Whole new kinda thinkin' for him. Ain't somethin' he's thought 'bout much clearly." She glanced back to Evi before she started tossing in some meat. She noticed her daughter had a look that was a mixture of understanding and surprise, like she was really considering Jinx's words. "You thinkin' 'bout your body count too?" she asked her.

Evi rose her head up at that, furrowing her brows. "Whattya mean?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. With your brother all bothered over this, figured you'd be thinkin' 'bout it too, no?"

Her daughter shrugged back. "Not really." She tapped her fingers against the countertop. "I mean, a death's a death. Zel hasn't seen it the way I have."

Jinx snorted. "His mum burned to death in front of him," she dryly pointed out, turning back to her pot.

Evi scowled. "Obviously not that," she remarked. "I meant like, killing people. He doesn't have any other reason to do it other than survival, that's all it's ever been for him." She heard the sound of Evi's knife being drawn and wagered the blonde was fiddling with it right now. She typically did whenever she wanted to voice out her thoughts. "He didn't like doing confrontation unless he knew it was necessary or that it'd get better results than being cowards. But most of the time… he played off my lead."

A bit of scraping began to echo and Jinx clicked her teeth. "That counter's nice," she chided her, "don't cut into it."

"Sorry," Evi mumbled back. "But yeah, I had more years on him, more experience, so he played by my calls at first."

"How did he handle his first kill?"

Evi chuckled. "The same way any Zaunite would, quick and dirty," she proudly remarked, "like it was nothin'. Some mugger got the jump on me after an operation and he picked up my knife and shanked them in the neck."

Jinx frowned at that. She turned her head and levelled a sad stare at her daughter, who was spinning her knife around in her hand. She also noticed a sizeable indent on the counter—dammit. "Being a Zaunite's not 'bout being able to stomach your first kill, Urchin. Or being able to kill with ease and without hesitation." She turned back to her pot. "It's 'bout being able to survive."

Evi furrowed her brows. "What's the difference?"

She chuckled, sparing a glance back at her. "The difference is knowing there's a difference."

Her daughter amusedly stared back. "That one of your dads' lines?"

Jinx snorted, shaking her head as she stirred her pot of stew. "Nah," she softly replied, "It's a Jinx original."

It wasn't long until dinner was ready. Eating Zel's favourite meal, it seemed to brighten him up, if only a little bit. Before they began, Jinx warned Evi about straying toward topics revolving around death or Topside, but Evi complained that since they were cooped up all day there wasn't much to really talk about to begin with. The awkwardness of conversation topics was obvious, but Jinx cut to the chase. "Sometimes not having anything to say is fine," she told the two, "we can just sit and eat."

That was enough to drop the tension at the very least.

The silence filled with their chewing and slurping would've been irritating any other day, but Jinx enjoyed it. Even under stress, anxiety, and constant fear, the feeling of a good meal could do wonders for easing the mind. Seeing Zel's smile slowly but surely relax while Evi's comfort reassured in knowing her brother was feeling a bit better, Jinx felt a bit of refueled hope in her upcoming hurdles. She might not know all the answers, but she could at least be there for him. With dinner wrapped up, Jinx told the two to wait in their rooms while she finished cleaning up, promising Evi she'd check on her before turning in. When the time came, Jinx was armed with the leather messenger bag and was slowly descending the elevator to the kids' level. She shot Evi a wave as she came down, noticing the girl was setting up some of her paint supplies, then made her way over to Zel's space.

He was sitting on his bed, his knees brought up to his chest as he fiddled with a small socket wrench in his hands. He noticed her as she made it halfway down the fan blade, mustering a small smile as he tossed his tool on his nightstand. She beamed one back as she tossed the bag beside him, then sat on his bed with him, leaving the bag as a space between them.

"So," he softly said, "Do I finally get to know what this is about?"

Jinx nodded.. But before he could reach for it, her hand came atop his, fixing him with a warning stare. "This… it contains files 'bout all the crimes you committed up Topside." She figured there was no sugar coating here, they were crimes. "It has the forensics reports, witness statements, and… all the casualties," she added. An audible gulp came from her son as she felt his hand tremor a bit. She gave it a squeeze. "These are facts, my lil' Rookie. And as much shit as you and your sister wanna give her, the Sheriff went the extra mile to make sure these were properly analyzed. To make sure it was clear it wasn't me doing all this. So this is as close to everything as it gets when it comes to what they have on ya."

His hand's shaking began to soften a bit as he swallowed again, looking at her apprehensively. "And… you think looking at this will help?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. But I do know ya like looking at the cold hard facts sometimes. And I know you can't rack your brain over somethin' 'less ya got somethin' physical with ya to help." She brought his hand down and used it to pat the leather bag. "This? It's up to you. I've seen what's inside—most of it—and I think it might help. But I also know it could hurt to face it."

A couple seconds passed before he shot her a nervous smile. "But… you're here right?" he asked her. "So I'm not facing it alone…"

She smiled, nodding. "Exactly, Rook." She winked. "So what's your play?"

A deep breath, and the boy's hand dove for the bag's flap, flipping it open.

It was scary how silence could be sometimes a good thing, but also terrifying. For a good two minutes, Zel read. Flipping pages, opening folders—onto the next, and then the next. Jinx tried to not let her worry and anxiousness show, but Zel's face was blank, unmoved. She told herself that he was just going through the motions, processing each sheet one at a time. His hands weren't shaking as much, but instead gripping on the papers like they were lifelines. Yet at the same time, like they were glass. He set each one down back on his bed with care, but held it with such vice.

Eventually, by the fifth paper, he spoke.

"A lot of these were by accident," he softly said, looking at a crime scene photo of his undermine scrap residue.

"So were my first few," she replied.

He hummed at that, turning another page over. "There's… there's a lot less deaths than I thought." Jinx nodded. Flipping through it when she did, his kill count barely breached the upper thirties. "A lot more casualties…" he added solemnly, making her nod again. "Is there any way to see how those people turned out? Like have they recovered?"

Jinx frowned. "Don't attach yourself to that too much," she advised in a stern tone, "it'll just eat ya up thinking ''bout it nonstop."

He shook his head. "Easier said—"

"Than done, I know," she amended. "But I didn't have someone reminding me that when I thought like this. If I did?" She blew out a breath and shrugged. "Maybe I'd've been better."

His eyes shifted into surprise as he looked at her. "So you have regretted the deaths you've—" he stopped himself, bringing his spare hand to his forehead, touching his goggles' lens. "S-Sorry," he muttered as he lowered his head, "that was a stupid question."

She snorted, shaking her head as she gave his shoulder a soft pat. "Nah, it was alright." She leaned her head back, looking up above. "I already told ya I don't think I should've killed everyone I did, but I more so meant that the thinking 'bout people's lives and how they are now 'cause of you." Her face fell as she recalled the dark moments in her life.

Being completely alone.

"It's easy to wallow up in that kind of misery, Zel," she softly told him.

He nodded at her, then returned to his silent reading. Another good ten minutes passed, of him just looking over every word, every picture, and every note. Even some of Caitlyn's entries from when she reorganized were slotted in. In the four months span Zel started experimenting with and using undermines, there were eighteen incidents before Jinx met the two brats. Many of them were hardly noticeable, like the dumpster one just before the plaza bombing. Others had casualties in the dozens. Jinx could see that as he reached the last file, it clicked to him there were no more.

"There's not many," he commented. "But it feels like there should be."

"Your mind does that to ya," she shrugged. When he furrowed a brow at her, she went on, "Really plays on your faults and insecurities and makes 'em worse."

"But like, I'm just realizing I only started getting into undermines like a year ago!" He chuckled in disbelief, shaking his head. "But it feels like I've known how to do 'em my whole life!"

Jinx smirked. "'Cause you've got skill, Rookie." She lightly bumped his shoulder with hers, giggling. "You're already outshining Little Man and I when we were your age, and that's without the luck we had of having Vander and Benzo supplying our hobbies."

She knew that normally, he'd flush at that praise. But it seemed like it wasn't what he wanted to hear.

So she waited, knowing he'd verbalize his thoughts soon.

And a minute later, he did.

"I hurt a lot of people," he said, mostly to himself. She nodded, humming her affirmation. "But… most of it was by accident," he whispered, lifting a file of one of his bombings near a sidewalk street. If Jinx recalled, there were over fifteen casualties there, nobody died at the scene, but it caused a fire that spread to a nearby park. "I… I don't know how to feel about that. I… I never thought about the amount of people I was hurting when I did it. Most of these were distractions. Some weren't even supposed to go off but I just…" he let out a frustrated sigh.

Jinx chewed her lip, thinking. "How do ya feel 'bout how Urchin handles it?"

He furrowed a brow. "What do you mean?"

"She's more… easygoing or, uninterested in this," she explained, waving her hand about. "How did you feel 'bout how she felt?" She looked at him with a curious face. "Or… how do you feel 'bout how she and I feel?"

He bit his lip, looking down at the paper in his hand. "I feel… out of place," he softly said.

Her heart nearly broke at that.

"I'm… different—"

"We all are," she quickly asserted, smiling. "That doesn't mean you're not family."

He sighed, nodding. "I know, I know, but… feeling this way means it's something important, right?" He stared at her pleadingly. "Th-That I must have some reservations about what I've done?"

Jinx sighed back. "The easy answer is that you feel guilty," she softly said. "You've got a lot of heart, Zel, and it only makes sense one day you'd realize that what you make conflicts with what ya do." She shrugged, picking up a photo taken of a small portion of his undermine scraps. "Not every Zaunite has the stomach to be a Zaunite."

He scoffed. "I'm not your sister."

"I didn't say you were," she replied, surprised. She expected that kind of aggression from Evi.

"I am a Zaunite," he sternly said. "And I'm proud of that. I'd never turn my back on Zaun!" His fingers were beginning to crinkle the sheet in his hand as his brows narrowed. "J-Just 'cause I feel bad for some Pilties doesn't mean I suddenly care for Topside!"

She placed her hands on her son's wrist, massaging them with her thumb as she stared. "Zel…" she whispered, "it's okay."

Tears began to pool in his eyes before he buried himself against her chest. No sobs, no cries, just sniffling. She brought her hands up to his back and rubbed it reassuringly as she pecked the top of his head. He wasn't like Evi, he didn't shower or bathe as much as she did. Her lips felt a bit mucky and she pursed them. "You need to shower."

He scoffed against her chest. "Mom."

"Ah, ah, ah," she pulled back, waggling a finger, "being all sad isn't always an excuse to be filthy. Take it from me!" She placed her hands on her hips as she straightened her back. "I'm your, 'Don't be like me' role model!"

He snorted, wiping his tears with his glove. "You're ridiculous," he softly teased.

She smiled, bringing a hand to his cheek as she thumbed away his last tear. "And you," she gently said, "will always be Zaun." His smile grew a bit and she couldn't help but giggle. His face was so darn adorable. She gave his cheek a quick squeeze before pulling back.

His hand set down the sheet he'd crinkled and he looked around the papers scattered about. "My early stuff," his gaze flew to the undermine on his nightstand, "it was reckless. Looking back: I know every single thing I did wrong. The wiring, the capsule containers, the soldering—all of it." He brought his hand down to a file and flicked it. "There were more deaths in the beginning because I didn't know what the fuck I was doing," he muttered with clear frustration in his voice.

"But now you're able to control that," Jinx reasoned, "'cause you learned."

He let out an irritable sigh. "Does that make the deaths better?" He took off his goggles and thumbed over their lens. "Does… does it make sense that I feel bad?"

Jinx bit her lip and tilted her head.

Did it?

She was hardly an expert.

He watched his mother die right before his eyes. If it was her she'd burn the world all over. When she and Vi went to that bridge, she didn't see it then. But she also didn't get it either. Vander and Silco were when she actually understood loss. Zel? When she looked at him at this moment. He was this bright, sweet, and cheerful boy who had such amazing passion and heart. But he also had fire, spite, and determination. He was a Zaunite. He was her son. When she thought hard about herself and him: she wouldn't think twice about what she'd done, Powder, but Zel had a reason.

"I think so," she confessed, "'cause like ya said earlier today, you think you're no different than the Enforcers that let Vima die. That you never considered how you might be making orphans like you, ones who lost their parents in an explosion. It makes sense why you'd feel bad… you empathize." She frowned. "I don't got a lot of that. Or at least, not a lot of that for Piltover. But I can't answer why you feel that way. Sorry." She smiled at him. "That's somethin' you gotta think on."

Zel scoffed, but there was a smile there so she knew it wasn't out of irritation. "It's always puzzles and learn by doing with you, huh?" he joked, shaking his head as he rolled his tongue against his cheek.

She snorted. "You usually learn by hands on." She frowned, deciding to seriously be honest. "But I don't have the answers here. Just like how I can't control what you two do when you're out on your own or what you two wanna be…" she sadly smiled at her son, tilting her head, "I can't control how you feel 'bout your actions."

He nodded, clenching his goggles determinedly. "I gotta decide for myself," he whispered, but she knew he was talking to himself more than her. His gaze continued to scan over the sheets and papers. And eventually, he picked up a photo. This one was actually the only one ever captured of his explosions: the day of the plaza bombing. Because of the populated area, there was a by chance photographer in the area who was taking photos of the Plaza Guardian from a distance and caught the explosion during its dissipation. Faint smoke in the foreground, powdered elements of Shimmer traces in the air just barely captured by the camera's light, and scrap and fire at the focal point.

Jinx had half a mind to ask Evi to paint it, but she knew better than to do that now.

"Mom?" her son suddenly spoke, his eyes still transfixed with the photo.

"Yeah?"

"Explosions are cool, aren't they?" he said in a bit of child-like awe.

"Heh, they sure are, Rookie."

"But they leave a big mess behind."

"They do, yup."

"Are… are you okay with that?"

"Me?" She blinked, cocking her head the other way. "I do me, kiddo. I've come to terms with that… long ago." She wistfully laughed. "In Zaun, doing right by you is sometimes the only thing you can stand for—and that's enough to make ya a Zaunite, for some—but I've realized recently there's somethin' better than that."

"What?"

"Doing right by the people you love." She leaned over and wrapped her arms around him, embracing him with all the warmth she could. "I don't know if what I'm doing is right, but I do know I'd do whatever it takes to keep you and your sister safe," she confessed in a low voice. "I can say I don't regret every life I've ever taken, but I also try not to think 'bout them too much. I focus on things like you two… and my guns. And bombs."

She felt him vibrate against her chest as he chuckled. "Distractions, right?" he said as they pulled away.

"Maybe. But I distracted myself long enough until I found you two. So maybe… distractions aren't so bad." She patted his shoulder and giggled. "Whatever helps ya sleep, I guess?" He scoffed, smiling a bit. This was far from done, but he needed to sleep on it. "Your views on it can differ from mine, okay?" she gently assured him. "Just… try not to beat yourself up over it if they do? 'Cause I'll love ya all the same."

His smile grew at that as he looked up at her. "Thanks Jinx."

She winked. "No problem, brat." She rose up from his bed and stretched a bit. "Best get some shut eye, even if it'll be hard to sleep. It's easier think 'bout somethin' if you're well rested."

He laughed, looking around his bed. "I'll certainly try," he mused.

She cocked her head. "Ya want me to sleep with you?"

He shook his head. "I think I wanna be alone tonight." She wanted to argue on that, but she also wanted to respect how he wanted to go about processing things. She nodded and took a step back. "Is it okay if I keep these?" he asked, lifting the papers.

She nodded again. "Sure! Bag too," she added, flicking the leather messenger bag's strap. "It's a nice bag, might be good for whenever you and your sister are out scrap collecting."

He chuckled, thumbing over the bag. "It is a nice bag…"

She held back the exhaustive sigh she felt building as she watched him look the bag over and the papers. This wasn't going to be easy for him. And in the end, there was only so much she could do. The best being that she could make sure he didn't fall the way she did. She took a breath. "Zel?"

"Yeah?" He lifted his head from his bed.

"Don't let the numbers and statistics rule everything. These only keep track of the shit you and your sister pulled up Topside," Jinx reminded him, "they don't have all the times you protected your sister, all the times you made me and her laugh, and all the times you helped us with that brain of yours." She smiled. "They're facts, but they ain't everything. And they don't determine your life."

"Right," he nodded. "Thanks… Mom," he smiled up at her. He quickly slid everything into one pile and put it back in the bag, letting it drop beside his bed. He then placed his goggles in his nightstand before scooting back onto his bed and lying down, letting his head hit the pillow with an audible sigh of relief. He was drained alright. His eyes locked on hers one last time as he said, "Night."

"Goodnight," Jinx whispered.

The second they closed, she leaned over and kissed his forehead. "Don't let the scuttlers bite," she whispered. Walking down the blade, she watched his breathing slowly even out as he fell into a quiet sleep. He didn't usually fall asleep faster than Evi, but it was a case that happened whenever he was really tired. Today's tears and exhaustive thinking was explanation enough. Jinx herself couldn't go to bed yet however, she had another brat to check on. Swinging around to the other side of the fan blade, she saw Evi painting another metal sheet, this one about half her height.

She stepped down the wing and the blonde stopped, turning her body around as she turned the painting backwards and leaned it against her nightstand, hiding it from Jinx's view. Her brows rose at that as she said, "Oh? Since when did ya start hiding your art from me?"

Evi chuckled, moving off her stool seat and onto her bed. "Since this one is a project I wanna surprise ya with when it's done." She pulled off her torn up brown apron and tossed it on the floor, letting herself lie down on her bed. She smiled down at Jinx as she patted the space beside her. Jinx smiled back, taking the prompt as she moved over and sat beside her daughter. Her hand clasped over Evi's and the two rubbed their thumbs over the other's knuckles. Evi's free hand found Boon and brought them close to her chest, rising and falling with her steady breaths.

After a couple seconds, Evi spoke. "You talk to him?"

"Yup."

"How's he holdin' up?"

"I think he's… thinking. But in the good way, y'know?" That was the best way she could word it honestly. "I think he'll come to grips with somethin'. He has enough to consider for him to think 'bout it nonstop." She chuckled, shaking her head. "But he shouldn't gotta make sure he's safe and healthy too. No matter what, I think he'll need his sister." She smiled down at her daughter. "Keep an eye on him, 'kay? And be patient too."

The girl nodded, staring up at her seriously. "Gotcha." She continued to rub her thumb over Jinx's knuckles while her other squeezed Boon tightly. Jinx smiled at the sight, but frowned as she noticed her daughter's contemplative look. Eventually, she softly asked, "Do… do you think it's my fault Zel became violent?"

Her heart quaked at the frailty of her little girl's voice.

The look of fear and worry in her eyes…

Jinx couldn't cry right now.

Instead, she squeezed Evi's hand, locking eyes with her affectionately. She snorted, shaking her head as she smiled down at her. "My lil' Urchin, you did your best to take care of him. And he did the same for you," she reminded her. "Zaun? The way it is? Your brother would've killed eventually. No doubt 'bout it. But without ya, I don't think he'd've lived as long. But that—"

"Goes both ways," Evi finished, bringing Boon close to her chin.

"Exactly," she proudly agreed. "You didn't make him worse, E. The same way you didn't make him more violent, he didn't make ya more soft." She smiled. "You guys made each other strong."

Evi let out a wondrous chuckle. "Wow," she uttered. "You are sometimes so wise," she teased.

Jinx balked, feigning offence. "'Sometimes'?" she echoed.

Evi impishly grinned. "Well you did make the world's shittiest stew—"

"It was my first time cooking," she quickly defended, narrowing her brows. "I also don't recall you making a decent meal in the kitchen either," she shot back, smirking.

Her daughter's cheeks flushed as she pouted. "I'll learn eventually," she mumbled, hugging Boon tightly.

Jinx rolled her eyes. "Sure ya will, Urchin." She smirked. "I mean, ya can't be a Baroness if you don't know how to cook!" she sarcastically mused.

It was her daughter's turn to roll her eyes. They stared at each other for a couple seconds, in silence, smiling. It seemed like the lull of sleep was slowly coming to her as well, and so Jinx hummed softly, enjoying the way the blonde's eyelids slowly blinked. Jinx was proud of her daughter: not just for staying strong, but confessing to her about what she had been feeling too. Jinx was a bit worried she'd try to bury her feelings because of her brother going through something. Though Evi was always more blunt if she could get over her hesitancy to be emotionally vulnerable. Jinx internally laughed.

Here she was, analyzing her kids, and yet she still didn't know a damn thing about them some days.

That was being a mom, she guessed.

"Jinx…" Evi spoke, bringing her out of her thoughts, "how'd ya get the files?"

"Spoke with the Sheriff and my sister," she casually answered.

Evi's eyes widened at that. "Are… are you okay?"

Jinx smiled, nodding at her. "I am, Urchin, I am. We had a chat—that was the deal. Hat Lady forks over some copies and I hear 'em out for reals." Evi squeezed her hand worriedly, but she just chuckled. "We talked, and… I think we both listened. But like I told ya back with my cute note I left them, I'm done with my sis and her gal. Tonight was just the last chance to get it all out." She shrugged. "I've said all I needed. And I've got all I need here." She leaned close to Evi's forehead and gave it a peck, then whispered, "Sleep well." Her daughter smiled at her, rosy cheeks and all.

She pulled back and stood up, while Evi retracted her hand and hugged Boon with both her arms. Her eyes were filled with concern, but Jinx knew there was a bit of understanding in there too. She turned away and made her way down the wing.

"M… Mum?"

Jinx stopped. She turned and raised a brow, embracing the flutter in her heart. "Yeah, E?"

Evi's eyes were looking at her with such care and love, but also seriousness. "However the Hell this whole thing with Zel plays out, I want ya to know… we don't think of you as a monster," she softly said, lifting her head up a bit from her pillow, "Even if Zel has a different view on it." She smiled. "We still love you all the same."

Jinx giggled, nodding. "Thanks." She winked at her. "Goodnight, my little Urchin."

As she ascended the elevator, she looked down at the lower fans, looking between both fans where her kids slept. Seeing them lie there, her heart swelled. There was a lot going on, but they were safe. She was here. And they'd get through it all together. Piltover's Finest could do whatever they wanted as long as they kept out of Jinx's life. Her life was here, right in front of her eyes. She'd do anything to make these kids smile.

And that was all that mattered.

—VI—

She had an early start today.

Last night, she actually managed to get a good sleep because Cait was with her, but she woke up an hour earlier than their alarm. She decided working out in their private gym was the best way to calm her head, figuring she'd joined Caitlyn and her parents for breakfast. Her usual regime, mixed in with half an hour up against her punching bag, was a great way to clear her head. It was strenuous but enough to recenter her thoughts. Her sister… she was ready to move on. But if there was one thing Vi knew about Jinx these days, it was that people had an effect on her. While the same could be said for just about anyone, she knew it was different for Jinx.

Someone was involved with Jinx, that much was obvious. Thinking about their conversation, about how desperate and different she was… it almost frightened Vi. It was like she was seeing a side of her sister she has and hasn't seen before. Jinx spoke about their past, pre-Split, like it was nothing. She apologized with a sincerity Vi genuinely believed. Whether it was because of someone's influence or Jinx being on some new path, Vi couldn't help being worried. When asked to visualize a scenario where she could air it all out, where the two could talk, Violet never imagined one where Jinx apologized… but with the pretense that she was moving on.

Was her sister burning her bridges?

Or was she simply staying on her side of them?

Regardless, today's efforts were going to be devoted to answering those questions. Working out was always enough to calm her nerves a bit. She now had questions and thoughts, yet also avenues to pursue those ideas. Last night, before bed, she and Caitlyn decided heading straight into Zaun would be the most effective way to dig up anything. Thinking about how different Jinx was, comparing it to how no one knew anything the last time she was down there, Vi began considering other questions to ask about this time around.

After taking a nice hot shower, Vi felt her hunger aching but most importantly, her resolve renewed. It was exactly what she needed to focus her thoughts. Fully dressed in her uniform, she made her way to the dining room for breakfast. By the time she reached it, Caitlyn was already sitting by her usual spot with an array of notebooks laid out around her meal. Vi's eyes instantly set on the spare plate of eggs and bacon beside her wife before she stepped into the room. She bid her in-laws a wave and a smile. "Mornin' Cass, Toby," she greeted.

"Vi," Tobias warmly replied.

"Morning, darling. I hope your workout went well. Now would you please tell your wife to keep work off the table?" Cassandra pleaded.

Vi raised a brow as she leaned over, pecking Caitlyn on the cheek and catching a glimpse of the papers before her. Just notes, theories, and ideas on what she thought was going on with Jinx. Some that weren't far off from what Vi was already thinking. She smiled as she sat down. She had her ways of calming down and regathering herself, and so did Caitlyn. While it might've seemed like work it was more like a hobby, something she did to get her thoughts out there rather than bottled up in her brain.

"Sorry, Cass," she shrugged, "but it's not work." She began to shovel a whole sunnyside up egg into her mouth, savouring the taste.

"Don't stuff your face," Caitlyn advised, still writing down another note. "And she's right, I'm… working on a personal case."

Cassandra scoffed. "'Case' still sounds like work to me."

Caitlyn put down her pencil and sighed. She looked to Vi with a silent inquiry. Permission. Do we tell them? Vi chewed as she smiled at her partner. Both Cassandra and Tobias had been vocal in their support for everything they did regarding pursuing her sister, if they planned to do this off the books and on their own, then it was a personal matter. And that meant family.

She swallowed and turned to her in-laws. "What we're going to say," Vi softly spoke, "it can't leave this room. And that means we're not the Sheriff or Councilor here." The older couple exchanged a look and nodded, turning to Vi with a silent prompt to continue. "We spoke with Jinx last night," she announced.

Tobias dropped his fork in shock, while Cassandra's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "What!"Cass exclaimed. "How were there no reports of anything?"

"You 'spoke'?" Tobias repeated.

Vi exchanged another look with Cait and sighed. "There were no reports because she came by my office first," Caitlyn explained, "She was searching for some files. But she had no aim about threatening us or even made a move to do so."

"We were unarmed too," Vi added. "She… had us dead to rights but it seemed like violence was the furthest thing from her mind." She poked her bacon with her fork. "She was really desperate for those files. Desperate enough that she told us she'd hear us out one final time if it meant she could have those files."

Tobias seemed captivated. "I'm assuming you accepted?"

Caitlyn nodded. "We printed copies and met her in a private location. No traps on either end, and while we were armed we met a consensus of dropping our weapons."

"So…" Caitlyn's father asked, "what did you talk about?"

Vi chuckled, taking a bite out of her bacon as she shook her head. "Nearly everything," she honestly answered.

They then filled them in. Vi told them about how she laid out all her feelings and apologies for her sister. She told them about how what they were doing, chasing every single day, wasn't out of malic but out of love and care. Violet told them about the guarantees and assurances of how Cassandra and others on the Council wanted fair trial for Jinx. But she also told them about how changed her sister was, how receptive and open she was to their words. How in spite of all things, part of Vi felt like she almost reached her sister once again.

But something was pulling her back.

They spoke about how Jinx confessed to her note stunt as a form of tying up loose ends and apologizing, then how she actually apologized in person. How she now apparently understood her and Cait's relationship now and felt sorry about what she did to them, to all of them. Vi had to focus on trying to finish her food and fight back her tears as she realized how emotional this was once again. Thinking back on the conversation, how much and how little was said, it opened her eyes to realization that it was her last moment but it was a moment that came too late for Jinx.

Her wife placed her hand on Vi's lap, offering her comfort as she took the lead. Caitlyn managed to finish the story, telling her parents that Jinx seemed truly content with herself as she was now. That her not doing anything during Progress Day was the result of her actually forgetting about the day itself. Cait told them that Jinx was perfectly fine with keeping out of Piltover, that she didn't even want to bother them anymore because she was fine where she was. She described it as bygones being bygones, which Vi found to be the best way to summarize whatever the Hell Jinx was on about.

"You let her take the files?" Cassandra exclaimed.

"They were copies, and I believed, given how she was acting when she looked them over, she didn't have any ill intent in relation to them," her wife reasoned.

"What were the files' contents?" Cassandra asked.

Vi opened her mouth but Caitlyn answered, "That's a need to know basis."

"Caitlyn, I'm your mother," the woman stated, clearly appalled. "I already promised nothing would leave this room—"

"I know, Mum," Cait interjected, "but some things we cannot tell you because in any event, you need plausible deniability."

Vi schooled her reaction as she realized what Caitlyn really meant. The bomber being brought back into this fold, by mention of files alone, invited the possibility that Sevika didn't uphold her end and that meant there wasn't a confirmed punishment for the serial bomber. Even though they could trust Cassandra, they also knew her responsibility as a Councilor meant looking past something like this would be a huge risk. With Jinx involved too, she might end up drawing her own conclusions—Vi already didn't want to bring anymore people into this, so having to fill her in as a way to mitigate that issue would only worsen things.

Caitlyn was making the safe call.

"But now you have me more worried," Cassandra furrowed her brows. "If you two are about to perform illicit affairs wearing the uniform of Piltover—"

"Cass," Vi softly chimed in, "we wouldn't do anything we knew would be dangerous. This? It's us playing it close to the chest. But that goes the same for what we're learning too. So we don't have all the answers yet."

Tobias reached his hand out and placed it on his wife's, patting it reassuringly as he softly looked at the two of them. "So if she told you to stop looking for her, why're you doing this?" he asked.

Vi sighed. "I know my sister," she replied, "whatever this is… someone is working or messing with her. She… she isn't alone. But I can't tell what this person's intentions are and that's what worries me."

"What will you do if you do find who it is?" her father-in-law asked.

"Make sure she's okay," she answered immediately.

Tobias smiled. "That's what matters most," he said proudly. He looked to Caitlyn, then to his wife. "Right?"

Cassandra blinked and let out a sigh, nodding. "You two just make sure that poor woman is okay, alright? And that no one else is behind the scenes, manipulating her."

Caitlyn smiled. "Of course mother."

"Honestly," Cass muttered, "that woman actually apologizes for trying to kill me and wants to move on like nothing happened? It only makes me worry about her more!" Her tone was so motherly it made Vi chuckle. While she still had her troubles walking, Cassandra Kiramman was nothing if not steel personified. But she was also capable of a kind heart like her husband. Violet was happy to have her as a mother. Tobias too, his concern for her sister was touching. Janna, her family was fucking awesome.

"So I'm assuming you have plans to head into Zaun?" Cassandra wagered.

Vi nodded. "We plan to scope out a couple spots, maybe see if certain popular areas have suddenly changed, but it'll be a long ongoing investigation."

"We've taken today off from work," Caitlyn explained, "but still aim to go into Zaun lightly armed. Not enough to look as though we're policing." She added, "We have people to ask too."

"Yup," Vi nodded again, smirking as she leaned back in her seat, "And I've already got two on today's agenda." Caitlyn turned to her with a curious look. "The world's best chef and Little Man."

—EVI—

She heard from Jinx that he was crying this morning.

He had a nightmare.

Breakfast was just the two of them, but Jinx gave Zel his food down in his room. It hurt her to hear her brother suffering like this, but over something she hardly had a brain cell to think over. She was barely the philosophical sort. And yet she wanted to be a different Baroness. Janna, what did she sign herself up for? Jinx told her that she tried speaking with Zel when he ate but he said he just wanted to work on his gadgets a bit. She told Evi that she'd be up top waiting if needed but to make sure that she was nearby in case her brother needed something or someone.

Evi was fine with that.

Her recent piece required her being home more because she wanted to get it right. She didn't map out or char things like her mom or brother. Her vision of Zaun's future and what she wanted to change, she couldn't put a pencil into words and paragraphs. But she could sketch into a painting. She could see the types of things she wanted to build and make but not verbalize it, not yet. Her words needed pictures to say more about them. The ideas Zel was worried about stemmed from his past, Jinx's advice stemmed from hers as well—Evi wanted to make sure pasts like those never happened again.

"Good luck with your painting," Jinx said as Evi hopped into the elevator. "Lemme know if ya need and supplies. I can run out real quick and get 'em."

She shook her head as she flicked the lever. "I'm good. Have fun with the dishes!" she teased, sticking her tongue out as she descended while Jinx laughed. This idea required a bit of landscaping to help paint the scene, but luckily what she was painting had been a canvas she grew up seeing time and time again. By the time she reached the lower fans, Evi had half a mind to step into her painting/training area and get to work. But she recalled what Jinx told her last night.

Her brother might need her.

She turned the corner and frowned at the sight of him on his bed, looking at one of the files in his hands. So he wasn't tinkering. Taking a breath, she stepped forward and knocked on one of the posts stringing up the lights. "Hey… bro."

He turned to her and smiled. "Hey… sis," he mocked, matching her tone.

That was a good start, right? Evi chuckled as she took a couple steps onto his fan. "You feel like talking?"

He shrugged. "Don't feel like being alone."

She accepted the cue and moved over, sitting cross legged beside her brother. A couple seconds of silence passed. He set the paper—it was a photo of his bombing at the Talis statue—on his nightsand with the leather bag and picked up his goggles, thumbing over the lens. Evi tilted her head up and chuckled as she listened to Jinx's song playing. Their mom was washing dishes, she could hardly hear it up there, she was playing it for Zel. Jinx was so damn cool.

"We have fuckin' home now," she said aloud, "ain't that crazy?"

Zel snorted. "Janna, it is," he muttered. "A couple more months and it'll be a year ago that we were just chilling out on the streets like proper sumprats."

"'Chilling'?" Evi mused. "We hardly had enough laid back moments to 'chill'."

Zel nodded, smiling. "Now look at us," he waved around them, "We're free to have existential crises with the comfort of a bed!"

She laughed. "Praise be to Janna!" The two shared a laugh, bumping shoulders with each other. Once the comfortable silence fell Evi quietly asked. "What was your nightmare 'bout?"

He took a breath then shrugged. "It was hardly anything. I just… saw an explosion and when it went away, I heard people crying for help. Different voices, but they all were saying exactly what I said when my mom died."

Evi let out a breath. Shit. She hoped Jinx was right about her being here being enough because she really didn't know what to say to that.

"You've had nightmares before right?" he asked.

She shrugged. "When I was younger. Less 'bout my mum and more 'bout how I could get jumped at any moment. These days? Only sometimes, way less than that though. But I hardly remember my dreams," she confessed.

"Same," her brother said. "I rarely remember most but I think it's obvious why this one stuck."

"Mhmm," she nodded.

Another silence.

She saw him look toward the leather bag again. "Mom said to make sure I don't bury myself with these. You know what they are?" She hummed her affirmation. "I'm trying not to, but I'm also just… I find myself looking at the photos and forensic reports most. The stuff related to my undermines, my early works." He sighed. "It's like… seeing an old painting you made and thinking you could've done that sooo much more differently."

Evi chuckled. She sometimes felt that way about the giant clock they made. Jinx said she loved the character Evi's doodles gave toward it but sometimes Evi felt like it looked childish. "But sometimes I'm proud of my early art," she argued.

He scoffed. "Yeah well I'm not." He flicked the leather bag. "The work of an amateur." He let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed his hand behind his head and down his neck. He turned to her, hesitantly opening his mouth. "H… How do you feel about the amount of deaths and injuries I caused up Topside?" he asked. "I'm not talking about the symbol of Piltover or the statues I destroyed, I mean the innocents I killed." He clenched the goggles as he locked his eyes with hers worriedly. "What do you think?"

She tilted her head. "You're asking if I'd judge ya?"

"N-No… I'm… it's just, you don't seem heartbroken 'bout it. I-I know they were mainly my targeted spots and I was the one who did them—"

"Zel, half the time I gave you the okay to blow 'em up," she reminded him, "I told ya when ya should set one off to distract Wardens."

"—but the ones that I did, like the one operation we ran before we met Sevika, I set that off."

"I thought there were no casualties listed in that one."

"Dammit, E, stop dodging me here," he growled out, clenching his fists. She bit her lip, offering a nod. She needed to listen. "I'm not… I'm not looking for reassurance or validation. An-And I don't need to be coddled with the death I caused. I'm just telling you as it is: fact." He let out a breath. "So please, tell me, how do you feel about the death my undermines caused?"

Evi stared at him. She took a deep breath, letting her thoughts run about this whole subject. The honest truth was more brutal than she thought Zel would've liked. But in the end… he was her brother, and he deserved that. "Honestly?" He nodded. "I don't give a shite." He recoiled his head back, shocked, but she continued undeterred. "I think you especially deserve the opportunities to burn everythin'. Pilties danced around you and Vima like your mum wasn't being burned alive. Who gives a fuck?"

She would've been hurt but the appalled look on her brother but she quickly remembered this subject was sensitive for him. For her? Not so much.

"B-But that doesn't mean I should just condemn all Topsiders because I got screwed over by Enforcers," he argued.

Evi shrugged. "I'm not saying you should. I'm just saying you're like Mum: you have justification for your rage." She sighed, leaning back on Zel's bed, letting her arms prop her up. "But that's not what you wanna ask. Ya wanna know how I feel 'bout the Pilties in general—all the shite we did to them." When she cast him a look, he slowly nodded. "Maybe it's 'cause I was on the streets longer than you, but I've just accepted life deals shitty hands and Janna must revel in it sometimes." She scoffed bitterly.

When she thought about their past, all of theirs, it made her bitter. Spiteful. Rageful. But she also thought of their futures, their present, how—despite the current issue—they were happy every single day.

"I wanna be a Chem-Baroness to make change, and I mean it seriously," she levelled a proud look to her brother. "I don't want future Evies in the streets killing the people who turned them into orphans. I don't want Zels who were left behind in the wake of Topside's high and mighty shite that they had nowhere left to go 'cept the trash heaps. I don't want Jinxes who had no one else to turn to, so they were forced to make the most of a bad situation." She leaned forward and clasped her hands together, her eyes glanced down to her smoke tattoos on her arms. "I want Zaun to be a future worth living in. The muddied past before it? Well, that's my business to sleep with. But I've got no plans on letting it control me."

The look of contemplation on Zel's face, she understood he was processing her words, making what he could of them. He settled for a chuckle as he rolled his tongue against his cheek. "So is that your way of saying you don't care?" he amusedly summarized, "Or that you just can't be bothered to?"

"You remember what I said about how I felt the first time I mugged a Piltie?" she shot back.

His brow raised, but he still answered her. "You said it was the same feeling you got the first time you killed—the time you killed your mom's murderer."

Evi nodded, grinning as she pulled out her knife and looked at her reflection in the blade. "I didn't give a fuck. Kill or be killed, that was our way of going forward. Not every kill had to happen, not every coin needed to be taken, but it all happened." She set her knife down on her lap and turned to her brother. "And I'm here now, with my awesome brother and badass mum, because of it." She leaned over and wrapped her arm around Zel, tugging him close.

He reciprocated by placing a hand on her forearm and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I don't care 'cause I can't be hung up on every shitty thing I've ever done. Sometimes it comes back, but I only think 'bout what's ahead 'cause it's better than getting stuck behind." She pulled away and sheathed her knife. "But don't let my opinions and beliefs affect how you feel. Jinx and I might think different, but we wouldn't think differently of you if ya have a different view from ours."

He smiled. "I know, you and her are very keen on reminding me that."

"The obvious needs to be said sometimes." She shrugged. Her gaze flew to the nightstand with the files and she jutted her chin at it. "Like how ya shouldn't be so wrapped up in some numbers and pictures."

He chuckled. "I know, I'm not. I'm just… thinking about my work now," he admitted, looking down at his goggles. "Those pictures, those files, they're basically reviews of my old work. I can't tell if I should be proud of it anymore than I was."

She raised a brow at that. She hadn't considered his undermines and what that meant to him. But thinking back, Zel attributed his worth to their partnership like those weapons were his lifeline. She hated that he associated his values in that way but now? It seemed like he wasn't sure what they were worth to him. She internally laughed. Jinx really made a move by getting these files, huh?

Unsure of what else to say, she said, "She got those files from Piltover's Finest." Zel's eyes widened as he looked to her, which she confirmed with a nod. "Said she made a deal to have a chat, heard 'em out one last time. Apparently it was a good chat 'cause both sides said what they wanted or whatever, but Jinx told me that none of that shit matters 'cause what we have here is what counts." Evi smiled, patting her brother's back as she stood up. "Don't sweat over everyone around us, bro. Sometimes it really does boil down to the people who matter most to you first, and that includes yourself."

He grinned, nodding as he set his goggles down on his lap. "You usually don't consider yourself to be well spoken," he looked up at her, "but I think I heard the makings of a Baroness."

Her cheeks blushed. "Thanks."

"Thanks E," he replied.

She winked at him before turning away. "Give a shout if ya need me!" she said, throwing up a peace sign as she walked. "Good luck with your thoughts!"

"Hah, I'll need it!" she heard him shout.

Walking away from her brother's fan blade and toward her own, Evi could only hope she said the right things there.

—VI—

Vi knew showing up without her gauntlets was a risk, but she also knew she was capable of handling herself without her oversized punching gloves. Caitlyn had to bring her collapsible rifle and slung it on her back. Aside from that, the two were dressed in casual wear and roaming about the streets of Zaun. Jericho was first on the list but Caitlyn had a few leads of checking out potential Jinx spots they'd stumbled across before. billboards, bars and restaurants, public open spaces; anything she could graffiti on. They had mostly kept a low profile, though while still recognizable no one would clock they're here to start anything.

It was strange though, the usual billboards or walls filled with Jinx graffiti weren't changed. Even though she came down rarely, Vi knew that occasionally people would paint over or try to clean Jinx's tags. But it seemed like people had no mind to them now. Had Jinx reached the level where people were too afraid to even touch them? She wasn't sure what to make of it, but with the walking they'd been doing for half the day, she had a fixing to see Jericho's.

"C'mon Cupcake," she tugged her wife's arm, looping hers into the gap as she pulled her, "it's time for some eats."

Caitlyn sighed. "I suppose we should've just started with Jericho, I'm sorry I wasted our time."

"You didn't." Vi leaned over and pecked Cait's cheek. "With my sister, it makes sense to cover more ground than narrow our options."

Her partner's cheek flushed as she smiled. "Vi," she warningly said.

She smirked. "What? We're not working, remember? If anything this is just us on an outing."

Cailtyn chuckled, shaking her head as she moved closer to her arm. "Fair enough," she whispered. "Though I hardly think our outings are ready for Zaun again," she commented, avoiding her gaze of a drunken scrap going on in an alley as they passed.

Vi clenched onto her partner. "Even if we were in uniform, Wardens and Enforcers hardly have any jurisdiction to break up conflicts down here," she softly reminded her. "And whattya mean? Our dates down here used to be fun!"

Caitlyn sighed, shaking her head. "Me getting food poisoning three dates in a row is hardly considered fun."

"You just didn't have the stomach for Jericho's back then," Vi brushed off. "Now—ugh," she stopped her in tracks, noticing a splotch of paint fall right before her. The two glanced up and were surprised to see a young man being held up off the ledge of a billboard, spray can in one hand. To their surprise, it was a Firelight holding the man off the edge.

"You got a death wish?" the masked Firelight shouted.

"The fuck?" Vi muttered in shock. Since when did they do shit like this?

"N-No, I just—"

"You paint over this," the Firelight pointed at the billboard behind them, "and you're making trouble for yourself!" they tossed the young man back on the ledge, shaking their head. "I suggest you find another spot to paint or some self-preservation," they said as they hopped on their board and took off.

Vi and Cait backed up a bit and looked at the billboard. Vi recognized it as the same one with one of Jinx's monkey drawings, the start of someone tagging over it with text was stopped and smudged a bit on the board. "What was that about?" Caitlyn muttered.

Vi sighed, shrugging. "We'll know when we head to the horse's mouth later," she wagered, turning away from the billboard. What was going on in Zaun? She knew the Firelights upheld peace in pretty tough ways, but VI always thought—despite their toughness—they had a softer, gentler side than Enforcers. They knew how to appease to Zaunites, especially the younger side. It blew her mind to see someone like them threatening a young man for doing something others had done time and time again.

Once they reached the market, they were met with lots of shoving and shoulder bumping, which was all Vi needed to know they were blending in well. By the time they reached the stall, Vi noticed Jericho had a sizeable crowd. If she didn't want to cause a scene by her presence, she and Caitlyn would have to wait.

"You sure it's fine man?" a woman nervously asked a man to her left. The two were in front of Cait and Vi, observing the packed stall.

The man scoffed. "Those three haven't been by in days."

A larger man with a gruff voice appeared beside the two. "That could mean they'll stop by now," he pointed out crossing his arms. "I don't wanna get kicked out 'cause his favourites arrive."

"He wouldn't kick us out," the man waved his hand casually, "ya just need the stomach to sit next to them."

His partners laughed. "Easier said than done!" the woman remarked.

Vi sided up to Caitlyn as she tried to peek forward. Jericho had lots of favourites when it came to his regulars, but it seemed like people were taking advantage of one's absence so they could sit and eat. Could it be Jinx? But they implied it was plural, so was Jinx accompanied by someone now?

"VI?" the group before them all froze, following the large man's gaze toward her and her partner. "IT IS YOU!" He laughed, slapping the table in excitement. "COME ON IN! I'VE GOT TWO SEATS JUST FOR YOU GUYS!"

A chorus of groans echoed out as Vi grabbed Cait's hand and led her to the counter. The three behind them grumbled something about, "His other favourites being here now." But before she could comment, it seemed that the patrons dispersed from the stall. Vi knew her reputation meant no one liked sitting with her or Cait, but she hated that people would actively avoid Jericho until they were done.

"Sorry 'bout that, Jericho," she softly said.

He waved his hand as he handed an order to another patron, who avoided their gaze as they collected their takeout bag and left the stall.

Jericho smiled as he placed his hands on the counter. "WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU? HERE TO EAT I HOPE?"

Vi smiled. 'Partially." She fished out her wallet and tossed the coins on the counter. "I'll have my usual and she'll have the Kid's Combo," she nodded to her wife.

Caitlyn raised her hand. "With less sauce this time, please?" she gently pleaded.

Jericho snorted as he yanked his knife out from his cutting board and swiped the payment from the table with his spare hand. He turned back to the fryer and said, "SURE THING, KIRAMMAN! BUT DON'T COMPLAIN IF YOUR MEAL TASTES A BIT BLAND!"

Caitlyn chuckled. "I'll hold myself accountable, don't worry," she mused.

Lunch was served and Vi was happy to dig in. The chefs at the Kiramman Manor were great, but their recipes couldn't hold a candle to Jericho's menu. She was wade nostalgia and biased played a part, but she was fine with that. Judging by the smile on her wife, she gathered that Caitlyn was too. It took a couple dates/trips to Zaun for her to have Jericho's and adjust to the taste, but Vi pieced together because of Cait's usual palate, she wasn't used to the usual over-saucing and spicing that was Zaun cuisine. Though while most meals tasted great back up Topside, part of Vi wished she had any semblance of cooking talent in her so she could try her hand at cooking up her own Zaun-style meals.

She chewed on her tentacle with a sad smile.

She hardly remembered what her mom cooked or what her food even tasted like, but there were days Cassandra would venture into the kitchen and whip up some baked goods. Caitlyn would remark about the memories with each bite but Vi herself could only wonder if there was ever a part of her past that would be able to recreate such a feeling. Cilene asked her about her feelings on it many times, even suggesting she try cooking, but Vi just didn't have a mindset for it.

"You alright?" Caitlyn asked, brushing her elbow against hers.

Vi shook off her sad smile and nodded. "Just thinkin' 'bout my childhood. Food like this was always great," Jericho proudly smiled, "but I can't help but think about my mom's home cooked meals. Hardly remember any of them."

Jericho frowned. "YOUR DAD COOKED TOO. AND I DON'T MEANT THE SLOP VANDER MADE, I MEAN HE COULD MAKE A MEAN STEW TOO!"

Vi released a surprised laugh. Sometimes she forgot Jericho was a pretty old dude, and that he'd been in Zaun a good while before Vander's revolution across the bridge.

"HECK I'M SURE—" he stopped himself, his smile fading as he shook his head. "NEVERMIND, MADE NO SENSE WHAT I WAS ABOUT TO SAY!" Vi furrowed a brow at that. "SO, WERE YOU REALLY MISSING MY FOOD OR IS THIS ANOTHER WORK VISIT?"

She was nearly taken aback by the blatantly blunt subject change. Did he really need to dig like that? Vi sighed, shaking her head. She supposed there was no sense beating the bush. "Jinx," she began, ignoring the frown on his face. "Last time we spoke you said nothing happened with her that was out of the usual for her, was that true?"

"YOUR USUAL OF JINX IS DIFFERENT FROM MY USUAL OF HER." He shrugged, crossing his arms across his chest. "SO YEAH, THE JINX I'M USED TO HASN'T BEEN ALL THAT DIFFERENT RECENTLY."

"So you acknowledge that something has happened with Jinx that we would consider different or unusual?" Caitlyn pointed out.

The fishmonger blinked, unimpressed at her partner, but Vi gathered he was more frustrated with himself that she managed to box him into an answerable position.

That was her Cait.

"Hey, Jericho!" a lanky redhead with a haggard coat arrived at the stall, with two young boys who were the spitting image of the man. He fished out a bunch of silver cogs and tossed them on the counter, then pointed up to the menu. "Mind whipping up our usual?"

"SURE THING, VARUL!" he nodded, turning back to his grill after collecting the man's payment.

Vi and Caitlyn exchanged a look, knowing to pull back a bit. Jericho was working after all, and they were patrons at the moment. But both obviously noted his evasiveness toward Jinx. Vi's gaze glanced toward the newcomer and his kids, all three of them eyeing her suspiciously. "Varul" seemed to notice Vi's gaze and awkwardly averted his, before clearing his throat. "Afternoon, Sheriff, Enforcer," he greeted.

The two bid him a polite nod.

It felt awkward to sit around and wait for Jericho to finish up. She and Caitlyn opted to keep eating, finishing their food as the father and his kids waited. Varul let his kids take the seats as he stood between them smiling. His gaze flew around the area, almost as if he was on the lookout for someone. He turned back to the stall and raised a hand. "Hey, Jericho, did you happen to catch the kids today?" The fishman turned his head and narrowed his eye, startling the redhead and his sons. "S-Sorry," he apologized, sparing a glance toward Vi for some reason.

Her instincts were sniffing up something suspicious here.

"ONLY SAW EVI YESTERDAY," Jericho said, turning back with three takeout boxes, "THAT WAS ALL." He plopped the boxes on the counter.

Varul blinked. "O-Oh, I didn't ask for it to be—"

"VARUL," Jerciho nodded his head toward Vi and Caitlyn, dropping all subtly. "DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND SCRAM." The man didn't need to be told twice as he collected his food and took his sons with him, leaving the stall to the three of them once again. "I'LL LET THEM KNOW YOU STOPPED BY!" Jericho added, looking a bit regretful.

"What was that 'bout?" Vi inquired.

He scoffed, shrugging. "LOCAL ZAUN STUFF," he casually dismissed, "NOTHING THAT CONCERNS YOU."

Her face fell a bit at that reply. Vi didn't know how to feel. Seeing Jericho be so guarded around her, so cautious, it felt like he was staring at someone he didn't know. Was that what she was to him now? In this veil of neutrality… did he choose Jinx over her? She clenched her fists and teeth, fighting off those thoughts. He wasn't choosing Jinx… he was choosing Zaun. And Vi wasn't all Zaun anymore, huh?

"Jericho," she lowly began, "I need to know if you know anything about Jinx."

His eye narrowed. "THOUGHT I ALREADY TOLD YOU EVERYTHING—"

"Don't do that," she gently pleaded. "I'm not here to start up anything. I don't have any aims about dragging my sister back Topside." She fiddled with the straps around her wrist as she looked down. "Something… something happened recently. We spoke," she told him, glancing up to catch his look of surprise. "I know something's different with her. But… Cait and I have a hunch someone else is involved too."

Her wife's hand came over hers, squeezing it affectionately as she looked to Jericho with a soft look. "We just want to make sure Jinx is safe," Caitlyn explained, "we're not pursuing her. We're just…"

"CHECKING UP ON HER?" Jericho finished, smiling at them.

The two of them chuckled, nodding.

At some point, a year or so after The Split, Vi's therapy had been going well. She and Caitlyn were in that mindset then that worrying about Jinx was their most forefront thought. Occasional trips to Zaun meant asking Jericho if Jinx was okay, if he or anyone else saw her kicking. Each time, his protective side wondered why they asked but Vi always said, "We're just checking up on her." It wasn't police work. It was just… personal.

Jericho bit his lip as he crossed his arms, tapping his finger against his cutting board shoulder. He was contemplating something fierce right now, that much was obvious. After a couple seconds, he let out a sigh. "WHAT WILL YOU DO IF YOU FIND OUT?" he quietly asked.

"What?" Vi blinked.

"WHAT WILL YOU DO IF YOU GET JINX AND ANSWER ALL YOUR QUESTIONS?"

"We'll talk to her," Caitlyn answered. "Make sure she's safe and healthy."

"We'll make she's okay, that no one's messing with her," Vi added, shifting her hand to intertwine her fingers with Caitlyn's."

Jericho glanced between the two, visibly considering their replies. But then he frowned. "IT'S NOT MY PLACE TO SAY."

"Jericho please—"

"I WON'T SAY ANYTHING," he stressed, pointing to himself, 'CAUSE IT'S NOT MY PLACE, BUT OTHERS MIGHT. THEY MIGHT GIVE YOU THE ANSWERS YOU NEED." He sighed once again, shaking his head. "OTHERWISE? YOU'RE BETTER OFF STAYING IN THE SHADOWS AND OBSERVING."

Vi nodded. "Zaun style?"

"ZAUN STYLE." He nodded back.

She tapped Caitlyn's arm, signalling it was time to leave as she dug into her pocket and tossed out a couple golden hexes. "Thanks for the help, Jericho."

"HARDLY DID ANYTHING!"

She laughed. "Gave me a good meal, no?" she joked, linking her arm with Cait's as they backed away.

"VI, CAITLYN!" he shouted, getting them to stop and look back. "HOWEVER IT GOES… DON'T MAKE IT WORSE FOR HER? PLEASE?"

Vi felt her heart ache at the plea. "She's my sister. I only ever wanted her to be okay," she replied.

"THEN AS A FRIEND, MY ADVICE?" She raised a brow, prompting him to finish. "DON'T DO THIS. JUST LEAVE NOW," he seriously said, narrowing a stern look at them.

Vi sadly nodded. "Noted, Jericho, noted," she shouted back, turning away with Caitlyn as they walked. As they merged back into the crowd, she felt Caitlyn's hand slide down to hers to give her a reassuring squeeze.

"Are you alright?" she quietly asked.

She let out a breath. "I'm… managing, Cupcake. Let's just go see Little Man," she suggested. "But be warned, I don't expect a warm reception either."

Her partner laughed. "I think that's a given with me around."

Vi's smile fell a bit as they walked. Was it really because Cait was on her arm? No, Vi knew it was herself as well. Jericho had looked her right in the eye and basically told her to stop this. Maybe it was because he knew something. Maybe it was because he just didn't want her around anymore. One thing was for certain though: Vi knew he was looking out for her sister. There wasn't any neutrality or both ways about it. He had Jinx's back. And she wasn't sure if she was proud or jealous because of that. She used to have her sister's back. But now? Jinx had to rely on others… people who weren't her.

And Jinx told her last night that she was fine where she was; so Jinx was fine not relying on Vi.

She internally scoffed at herself. Who was she kidding? Her sister stopped relying on her the day she got adopted by Silco. No, Vi was just upset because this was a reminder that Jinx had to keep relying on people aside from her. As they walked through the pipe system of Zaun, for a brief second, Vi remembered a time where her sister relied on their mutual friend.

That was long behind them now.

"We're almost there," Caitlyn announced as they turned into the next sewer pipe.

Vi took a breath. She needed to focus up. Ekko was going to be a stubborn sort too, but she could match his energy and grit to at least meet him head on. And worse case scenario, Cait was around to be the good cop. Her eyes cast around each dark corner and hole, knowing any second the Firelight scouts would jump them.

As if on cue, several masked and cloaked individuals dropped down around them.

Vi didn't even bother with the pretense of looking non-hostile, she simply stared at the nearest one. "Can we drop the dramatics and just go see Ekko alreadY?"

They scoffed through their mask. "It's our time your wasting here, Kiramman," they shot back. "Kyree, escort them," they ordered, nodding their head down the path behind them.

Vi narrowed her eyes as one of the Firelight moved past them and led the way. It wasn't that Vi didn't know the way to the Firelight base, but more so that it was polite if she was seen arriving with an escort. She remembered a time where that wasn't a big necessity. But that time was so long ago and such a short period. Vi still couldn't help but cast one last scowl as they turned the corner, looking back at the Firelights gathered at the intersection they had been stopped at. She knew what Caitlyn's name meant to Zaun, but she hated how everyone slung it at her like it was an insult.

Her hand found Caityn's, giving it a loving squeeze as they followed Kyree down the pipes.

Her wife wasn't someone she was ashamed of sharing a name with.

So addressing her as a Kiramman was something she welcomed.

Zaun would have to deal with it.

By the time they reached the entrance, the door was already opened and Ekko was waiting there. He had Scar by his side as well as a couple Firelights. "You can head back, Kyree," he shouted.

The woman nodded and turned away as they reached halfway down the entrance. Vi hoped she could at least open with a warm greeting. She threw up a casual wave as she smiled. "Evening, Little Man!"

"It's nice to see you, Ekko," Caitlyn greeted warmly.

His left eye squinted skeptically as he nodded. "Sheriff, Vi." He leaned his head back as the two approached him. "Figured you'd turn up here eventually. Business, right?" he flatly guessed, raising a brow. Okay, so cold reception… she figured. He nodded his head back behind him. "Little birdie told me you were in town."

Her eyes flew to the passerby of Firelights and she recognized the one from the billboard, making her frown a bit. "Same little birdie that threatened to throw a kid off a roof?" Vi shot back. Caitlyn's hand flew back to hers, giving her a warning squeeze but Vi ignored it. If it was a cold reception then there was no sense dancing around.

Ekko's eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah," she went on, "some kid was trying to ink over Jinx's graffiti but one of your dudes told him off. Think they could've managed without threatening bodily harm."

Her friend sighed, shaking his head. "That's the message we gotta get across these days."

"I thought you were protecting your people," Caitlyn chimed in, "How is that helping?"

Ekko levelled a furious stare at Caitlyn, making Vi step between them. "It's 'cause some people don't get what that kind of graffiti will result in. It's been a thing for a couple months now, but taking down Jinx's art isn't something anyone should be doing." He scoffed. "Now are you here to lecture me about how I protect people or are you here for information?"

The dig stung Vi but she didn't deter. "Right now those two paths kind of align," she countered, "Why is painting over Jinx's art a big no-no now? Nobody used to give a shit back then."

Ekko sighed once again. "It's easier to lessen the casualties this way."

"Because Jinx targets people who ruin her work?" Caitlyn guessed.

"I'm done talking about Jinx," he sternly asserted. Vi's instincts flared at that. This… something was up. "Now if that's all you have to say about Jinx, and there's nothing else, I think it's time—"

"Ekko," Vi interjected, tilting her head at him, "Last time I was here you asked me what was different that time?" She scoffed. "Well, I guess I should've asked you the same thing, huh?"

"What?"

"You didn't tell me," she accused him. His eyes widened as he clenched his fists. He wasn't even hiding it! Her peripheral vision easily caught the bewildered looks of Scar and the other Firelights. They knew something too? Narrowing her brows, she continued, "You knew something then. You know something now."

"I didn't have to tell you…" he softly said, lowering his head.

"Oh that's bullshit and you know that."

"It's Zaun, Vi," he lifted his head and scowled at her, "we play our cards close to our chest and never deal a full hand—you know that."

"But it's me."

"I know. But it's also her," he gently countered, his eyes filled with plea.

"Ekko, please," she quietly begged. "Tell me what you know."

His eyes widened once again. "You… you don't know?"

Her heart froze. "Know what."

He let out a breath, a relieved sigh, as he shook his head. "Nothing," he muttered.

"Bullshit," she spat out.

"Nothing I am going to share," he corrected, levelling a serious look at her.

Vi couldn't believe this. Ekko knew something about her sister and was actively withholding it from her? What the Hell! She scoffed in disbelief, shaking her head as she looked at him. "You're serious?" His face didn't break for a second. Her gaze flew to his comrades but they all either hardened up or averted her eyes. "You all know something?"

Ekko held his hand up, causing his gang to straighten up and steel their expressions. "They're not allowed to say anything." He shrugged as he lowered his hand. "And neither am I."

Janna, what was happening here,

She reached forward and grabbed Ekko's wrist, staring at him with pure desperation now. "Little Man, c'mon—"

"Vi, that lunatic? She ain't my problem anymore."

"How?" she asked, looking at him with so much confusion. You said she was a thorn in your people's side!" What changed? What was going on?

"That was before," he replied, shaking his arm free from her hand, "this is now."

"And?" Caitlyn pitched in, "What's changed now?"

He looked at her tiredly. "Family matter, Sheriff, and… I ain't part of that family." He released another sigh, taking a step back from Vi's space. "You want answers? I'm not the one to give them." He chuckled, chewing his lip. "If I told you? And The Loose Cannon found out? She'd wreak Hell on my people just for talking."

"She has something over you," Caitlyn concluded.

"Yeah, a minigun and an oversized rocket launcher," Ekko amusedly remarked. He jutted his hip out as he leaned to the right. "What you're trying to fish for, Sheriff? It ain't like that. Not blackmail," he asserted. "Things are need to know in Zaun these days and—"

"I'm not Zaun?" Vi finished, clenching her fists as she fought back her tears. "That it?"

Ekko looked away. "You'll always be Zaun to me," he softly said. "But that's not exactly the case now, is it?"

She scowled at him. "Fuck you, Ekko. She's my sister. And I didn't roll up with my wife because I wanted to bag her and drag her to Stillwater! I came here because I wanted to know what was going on with her! If she was safe!" Caitlyn's hand fell on her shoulder but she shrugged it off. "You know everything, huh? Well, Powder and I spoke."

Ekko's eyes widened.

"Yeah, guess that development was pretty fucking new huh?"

"Vi," Caitlyn chided.

"What for?" Ekko asked.

Vi furrowed her brows. That was what he asked about? Not what about? Not when? But what for? "She needed files on the serial bomber that terrorized Topside a few months back."

"When I told her we couldn't just give it to her she offered that ultimatum," Cait explained, "letting us speak with her one last time in exchange for the files."

Vi locked and memorized every contortion and microexpression in Ekko's face at that moment. His eyes widened for a split second, no doubt piecing something together. This son of a bitch knew something. And he was hiding it from her. "And considering you're asking around for her," he shot back, "I'm assuming the chat went well?"

"You—"

"Violet," Caitlyn hissed, pulling her back.

She turned away and took a couple breaths, flexing her fingers.

This was Ekko.

Her friend.

Even if he was being difficult, hitting him wouldn't solve anything.

After a couple more seconds of breathing, she turned around and faced the group. The Firelights were on edge, eyeing her cautiously. But she realized Ekko's face wasn't as contemptuous as she thought. He looked… hurt. She stepped forward and sadly smiled at him. "Little Man," she softly said, "we talked and I apologized. She apologized." Screw it, if the rest of the Firelights heard then they heard. "But when we got it all out there she said she was fine where she was. But Cait and I know something is up with her. She's… different. Too different from the last time I saw her." She took a shaky breath, fighting back the threat of tears she knew she was feeling. "If you know something… please tell me."

Ekko sighed, shaking his head. "She's still Powder, like you said when we first reunited back before The Split. But she's also Jinx." He started at her with a soft yet sad look. "The name's all the changed—and I wouldn't do that to her."

"I am still Powder. But I'm also Jinx. The name's all that changed, Violet."

Vi's eyes widened. "You've spoken with her."

"Yeah, we tend to do that sometimes when we fight," he brushed off.

She shook her head, her heart pounding. "No, you spoke. Like the way Cait and I did with her last night." Her hands were too antsy, she felt herself clenching and unclenching them. "You talked this over. That's why she's not your problem anymore," she pieced together. "Ekko… what happened?"

His lips pressed into a thin line as he looked at her with a blank expression.

"I'm sorry, but I think it's time you guys leave," he said as he turned away. Vi felt her heart ache at the sight of him walking away. "For what it's worth," he said as he stopped, looking back, "I hope you two healed what ya could when you spoke. You all deserve that much."

Walking out of the pipes was something she did on autopilot, her mind still reeling from what just happened. Her hand found Caitlyn's as they entered the (not) fresh Zaun air. "So…" Caitlyn prompted, looking to her, "What do you think?"

"I think…" she let out an exhaustive sigh. "We should call it a day." She intertwined her fingers with Caitlyn's. "C'mon Cupcake, let's head home…"

It certainly wasn't here anymore.

—ZEL—

Yesterday wasn't productive at all.

It didn't help that his mom and sister were okay with him eating in his workshop. He said it half-heartedly, but wished they didn't let him get away with it yesterday. He felt so sluggish and lazy. He didn't even do anything—he just sat at his desk and thought. But thinking wasn't exactly what he wanted to do right now. He wanted to tinker, to craft. His hands needed to work, to get his mind off this… frustrating predicament.

Today he decided to take that shower Jinx briefly lectured him about the night of the files. And it was honestly surprising how different he felt after it. He had managed to catch his family briefly during breakfast, but before he could suggest eating with him Jinx had prepped him a plate to take with him back downstairs. When he arrived at his desk, he found yesterday's plates and bowls gone, leaving him to guess Jinx collected them while he was in the bathroom. She was no doubt waiting for him to finish up so she could wash them.

He stabbed his plate of eggs with a sigh.

Her mom was too considerate.

But he was kind of grateful for that. While he was willing to force himself to dine with them he also knew he was forcing himself to do so. He wasn't exactly in the mood for company either. Aside from yesterday's brief morning chat with Jinx after his nightmare, then Evi coming to check up on him after they had breakfast, he was alone with his thoughts. Thinking wise, he got a lot done. Both his late night conversation with his mom and yesterday's conversation with Evi left him a lot to consider.

But that wasn't productive in his eyes.

He had a project he wanted to work on. A distraction. But he couldn't muster a single impactful thought to get it going. He was thus left eating in silence, frowning at the array of blueprints and scrap laid all around his workshop. His gadgets were all he had at the end of the day. His brilliance and skills showcased in one fiery explosion or electrifying burst. But now… what did that mean to him? As he finished his meal and placed his empty plate on the side table, his eyes fell upon his finished array of undermines and pulse bombs.

His pulse bombs were low cost weapons he made to protect himself: less expensive to make on the Shimmer and scrap side, and less destructive than a chemtech explosion. His undermines were the work of an epiphany. He saw an opportunity with what Shimmer could do, how volatile it could be, and realized it was the best way to defend himself and Evi. But an operation up Topside left them nearly cornered with some Pilties they robbed, and he set it off as a distraction, blowing up some trash can.

Seven injured and one died from internal bleeding.

He couldn't recall ever looking back as he and Evi laughed their way back to Zaun.

He rose up from his chair and picked up his undermine, staring at the Shimmer capsule. He understood Shimmer. He knew what it could do to the body, to the mind. He knew how it corrupted. Yet Zel also knew of its good. He had seen it heal and mend his sister. He knew it contained volatile properties with endless possibilities for its outputs. It could make a mean explosion but also power prosthetics and equipment. Heck, chemtech powered most of the machines at their arcade! It was a drug, but not a malicious one. Or at least, not one that had to be used maliciously.

He thought he and Evi were the only ones that ever understood that.

Then he got taken in by the coolest mom in all of existence and learned so much more.

Jinx had Shimmer in her veins, but she also had intelligence pumping inside her too. She didn't just live with Shimmer, she understood Shimmer. How it functioned and responded to organic and mechanical matter. How it flowed with electricity. It powered her minigun rounds, it fueled her rocket launcher ammo, and it was the core aspect of her Chompers' mechanics. Her whole kit was based off of Shimmer long before she was injected with it. Jinx just… knew how to weaponize it.

But that wasn't all she did.

She showed Zel how to fix and repair things at the arcade, how to maintain upkeep. She showed him how chemtech could be used to make everyday things run and work. She had told him that like Sevika's arm, it has so much more capabilities in its design. It was like the dream of Hextech—putting such a powerful element in the hands of the common man. Whereas before he saw jealousy, now…

Zel cast his eyes back on the two blueprints. His undermine schematic and pulse bomb schematic. "Chemtech can beat Hextech," he muttered to himself.

He was certain.

But did he want war?

His gaze flew over to his bedroom wing, where he noticed the leather bag on his nightstand. His thoughts carried him over there, standing before the bag as he sifted through the papers. Two always stood out to him. The photo of his undermine scrap residue, and the one of the Plaza bombing explosion. The during and aftermath of an undermine doing its job. The difference between those photos was a month's time, but Zel could see the shoddy amateurness of the scrap photo, yet also the beauty of the explosion. Maybe it was because of some twisted reality with his biological mom's death, but he saw explosions as something to be in awe of. But he didn't like the idea of the destruction it caused.

He killed Zaunites with it, but those he had been defending himself or fulfilling a job.

He killed Piltie kids and parents, but he never thought about them.

He used them to scare off big bag trenchers, revelling in the fear they had of his gear.

He used them as an offhand distraction, uprooting the lives of so many innocents by chance.

The photo of scrap in his left hand, and the explosion photo in his right. He let out a breath as he dropped his hands to his sides, looking up above him. He could recall hearing Evi come down on the elevator a while ago, but his thoughts still lingered toward both Jinx and his sister as he looked above him. They… they didn't care about their trauma. No…

He shook his head as he looked down at the photos once again.

They weren't letting it control them.

He wasn't going to let them be the standard, to compare himself to their mentalities. Zel sat down on his bed as he let out a breath. They keep telling him to focus on himself first, and not them, but he couldn't help but think about them when it came to the future. He was sure he could get out of this funk… but he wasn't sure what would happen to his aspirations in that time. Zel's brows furrowed as he set the papers on the bed, looking down at his hands. Did he really ever have any? He wanted to be acknowledged by Jinx, but then she told them she'd always acknowledge them. He wanted to live better and he already was. He wanted to help provide and Jinx was letting them do that now.

What was his goal now?

His gaze flew to his workshop as he scoffed. "Why am I even building it now?" he muttered.

He knew the answer though. It was the distraction, the thrill, the sense of serotonin he received from inventing. He liked knowing how things worked and making them work. He liked building and assembling. His smile fell a bit as he looked back down at the floor, closing his eyes. But was that all he could do now? What did death mean to him? Because that was what his bombs only were capable of… right? Then what could he focus on going forward?

He could hear the faint sprays of Evi's paint cans. She had a knack for art over the months. What started as a spray paint hobby shifted into actual brushes, then mixing the two styles. The moment she decorated his rooms, he knew she was skilled in her craft. It only evolved from there but he would catch her occasionally tagging things whenever they went on scrap runs. Her detail was improving immensely and though they joked about it, he knew Jinx meant it when she believed that Evi's art was surpassing her own in terms of style.

But Evi was also a fighter. She was racking up more and more hours and points on the punching machine (sometimes he had to convince her to play other games with him because playing pool by yourself was boring). In the jobs they've done and fights they've gotten into, Evi had adapted to more efficient and brutal techniques that had Jinx in awe. And she wanted to be a Chem-Baroness. She wanted to change Zaun's future, make things better. Her skills would help… but they weren't the motivating factors in her pursuit. They could be separate from her entirely! And she still chose Zaun's future as a whole.

Jinx?

She was simple as she was complex. But Zel knew one thing for certain about their mother: family was everything to her. He was convinced that every single thing she did these days was for the thought of putting them first. It wasn't like their first week after their argument, when they decided they were staying. She wasn't obsessively worrying or catering to their needs and wants. No, Jinx just… hung around and watched over them. He couldn't keep track of the amount of times he needed help with his tinkering or Evi needed a second opinion and Jinx was there for them.

Zaun and family, those were the futures that the people closest to him cared about.

There were other people too, of course, people he had met. Jericho, Ekko, Amy, Babette, Sevika, the Barons, and even the countless patrons he and Evi ran into at Jericho's stall: Zaun, the people of Zaun. Family.

It seemed simple when he boiled down everyone's motivations into one singular thought, one goal.

"'The obvious needs to be said sometimes', huh?" he recalled his sister's words, smiling to himself.

It was worth a shot.

He took a breath and closed his eyes, focusing on the first feeling, the first thought, that came to mind when he considered his future before him. His inventions. His destruction. His love for his family. His desire to create. When he made his first bomb, he remembered what he thought it could do: it could protect Evi. "I… I want to help," he found himself muttering. His eyes opened as he felt his heart swell at those words. "I want to help," he asserted more confidently. "I want to help."

Whether it was Piltover or Zaun, Zel couldn't tell, but he knew he wanted his inventions to help the people he cared about most. The deaths? They came to those who threatened to harm his family or… were just a part of the trade that was the Zaun lifestyle. But maybe not every person they came across needed to suffer a cruel fiery death. Maybe a pulse bomb incapacitation would be enough then. He wasn't as vicious as his sister or mother, but he wouldn't shy from it either. He looked at the photo of his Plaza explosion and recalled the fire that killed his first mom.

He knew death and cruelty.

He wasn't afraid of it.

But he wouldn't be senseless or careless with it anymore.

Standing up from his bed, he picked up the leather bag and chuckled. This was probably something he should've thought over more but… he was done thinking about it. He tossed out all the files from the bag, watching it all fall into the dark pit as he shouldered the bag on. He smiled as he spun around a bit. "It is a nice bag…" he muttered to himself. His eyes caught the two last photos on his bed. They could stay. He brought them over to his workshop desk, pinning them onto one of the light posts near his desk: the explosion above and the scrap below. They'd be a reminder.

He would be a good inventor, and he would help his family with his inventions.

He'd help the people close to them as well.

And Zaun? Well, maybe there was room for it too.

As he sat down at his chair, he pulled up his two schematics once again. "Maybe it's time to scrap this idea." Combining it, he planned on something much more devastating and destructive. But his undermines did the job enough. His family was plenty dangerous enough that he didn't need to arm himself any further. "That's enough of that," he said, picking the two blueprints up, ready to stack them and put them away in one of his drawers. But as soon as he lifted them, his body froze.

The capsule design of his undermines, Jinx had commended him for being inspired: its ability to house the Shimmer and siphon it, though that wasn't an intended use. It mainly relied on the detonation spark charge to combust. Then there was the pulse bombs: it's electromagnetic design fusing together the device's ability to separate but also remain electromagnetically connected while in air made for fast yet compact ammunition. But… neither had to have a lethal function to work.

Zel's eyes widened as he dropped back down to his desk and laid his schematics out, his eyes darting back and forth between them. "Holy shit," he muttered, observing the pump and capsule system for his undermines. "Holy shit," he said again, looking to his pulse bomb's compact magnetic design. He grabbed another graph paper and began drawing up a mock schematic, looking over each component from each blueprint as he wrote.

It didn't need to be perfect. Or make entire sense yet.

He just needed his ideas out.

After several minutes, Zel leaned back in his seat in awe, his mind boggled from the rush of inspiration he had been hit with. He brushed off his eraser shavings and held up his new project. After all these weeks, he finally had an idea. He looked at the title of his blueprint and smiled, reading it aloud, "The Shimmer Pump."

Not everything he made had to be destructive.

—JINX—

She was immensely proud of herself today.

Jinx from five months ago would've been losing it over her son being all bothered by his trauma and past actions. But she's grown. Today was proof of that. She knew Zel could work things out on his own and if not, he'd come to Evi or her. A part of her knew he'd likely go to Evi first but that was fine too! She didn't have to control or hover over him. She just needed to be ready if he was in need of catching. While she still worried—like, really worried—about him, she also knew to distract herself too.

She wouldn't be any good to her kids if she was antsy! So she prepped lunch, had it all defrosted and ready, and decided to kill time by tuning up Pow-Pow and Fishbones. It was time for her gear's monthly tune up anyways. Good gear maintenance was important! Plus, tweaking and checking things over was a kind of calming stimulus for Jinx. She liked doing it. Once she got started with laying out her tools, she heard a familiar sound that made her smile. Zel's soldering iron, as well as a couple socket wrench cranks, echoing about.

Her boy was tinkering.

She spared one look over the edge and nearly got entranced watching him work devotedly at his desk. Regardless, he was working and that was a good sign if anything. He could use the distraction. By the time she had open up Pow-Pow's exterior and begun checking on the loading cylinders, she heard the elevator stir up. When she looked over at the arrival, she was met with her daughter's excited face—along with a splotch of dark grey paint on her cheek and her hands behind her back. She hopped onto the platform and sent the lift back down, running to Jinx with excitement.

"Mum, Mum, Mum!" she rapidly said, rounding over to her left side. "I finally have an idea of the kind of thing I want to work toward." She took a moment, regathering her breath. "An orphanage," she announced.

"An orphanage?" Jinx repeated, not taking her eyes off Pow-Pow's internal mechanisms.

"Yup!" Evi nodded, stepping toward her. She got the sense she was showing her something and so she looked, widening her eyes in surprise at what was before her. Evi had a painting. Using a metal sheet as a canvas as per usual, but it was a painting mixed with brush and spray paint, blending together to create a scene. It was one of the scrap heaps, the many scrap heaps in Zaun. But it was cleared. It was the same location, because Jinx recognized the background, but there was hardly any trash. Instead, in place of where there would be a mountain of garbage and spare parts, it was a building.

With the title: Vander's Orphanage.

Jinx spun her body toward the canvas and gently took it out of Evi's hands, her mouth dropping in awe. "E… what… what is this?"

"One of my first ideas," she explained, smiling. "All this Zel stuff and past talk, it made me think hard 'bout the first changes and additions I'd make to Zaun. There's too many trash heaps, Zel and I have practically lived in them long enough to know they ain't all needed. We can replace some with something like this," she pointed to her painting, "but for starters we start with one."

"An orphanage," Jinx clarified, not taking her eyes off the artwork in her hands

"Vander's Orphanage," her daughter corrected with a proud smile. "He started it. Taking you and your brothers in."

Jinx noticed how she left out Vi, but couldn't help but focus on this amazing concept before her. The painting wasn't entirely perfect. Smudges because of her mixture of different types of paint, bits of lighting issues—shading was always Evi's biggest problem—but that didn't deter its beauty. Its message. It was a future. And Jinx was looking at it.

"I'm drawing up ideas, possible numbers to crunch and how beneficial it'd be to actually remove the heap," Evi went on. "But… this?" She pointed to her piece. "It was just so I'd have inspiration to look at every now and then. You told us once that Piltover wasn't the only city of Progress. This? It's a good reminder that that can be true someday."

Jinx snorted. "Then ya better hang it somewhere good," she replied, handing it back to her daughter.

Evi giggled, taking her painting out from her hand. "I'll hang it near my bed. Somethin' to look at each night before I conk out."

"Not every night," Jinx corrected, raising a warning brow, "'cause you and Zel still have weekly cuddle time quotas to fulfill!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know Mum." She chuckled, leaning over and bumping her shoulder against hers.

She just smiled at her. Her daughter was fucking amazing.

The whirring of the elevator drew both their eyes toward the pulley system. Zel. He'd finally come up. The two turned toward the lift as it ascended with the boy. He had his goggles on and a bright smile on his face. Pulling his goggles up to his forehead, he glanced between the two with excited eyes. "Oh, is it show-and-tell?" he mused, noticing Evi's painting. "Because I have something to show you guys," he smiled, keeping his hands behind his back as he stepped onto the platform.

Evi giggled as she stepped aside, gesturing to her brother. "Take it away, dude."

Jinx grinned, nodding. "Go ahead, Rookie!"

"I call it the Shimmer Pump," he announced, pulling his hands from behind his back. Jinx's inquisitive eye was able to clock the device's familiar set up. It was shaped like his pulse bomb, but a bit larger. He clicked onto a small button and it sprung open like a Valdiani, revealing two empty capsules inside. They each had a small feeding tube pulling out from them that hung off the device. "The idea," he explained digging into his back pocket to pull out a folded up blueprint, "is that it can be a portable medicinal device." He handed the paper to Jinx.

She unfolded it and whistled at the design. He definitely just drew it up today given the countless eraser marks but it looked good. It was utilizing his undermine's capsule and tubing design as well as his pulse bomb's compacted magnetics. She glanced up and furrowed a curious brow at the device. The Shimmer Pump. "And… it's supposed to be medicinal?" This… this was certainly a new take from her son.

He nodded, his proud smile still undeterred. "I-I don't have medicinal variants of Shimmer, but I was thinking these could contain it," he lifted up the device and pointed at the empty capsules, "and it could be used as a sort of medical aid!" He placed the ball shaped device on his belt, letting an audible click be heard. "I-It can be attached on the hip, or anywhere on the person, so you could constantly feed in the Shimmer," he explained, lifting one of the tubes and pointing out the needle he had, "so it can be utilized as an apparatus! Or feeded into a mask for people who use Shimmer respiratorily, making it more accessible and compact!"

Jinx looked at the device then back at the paper. "But… why?" she asked, confused.

Zel straightened up as his smile softened. "Because… Zaun deserves to know that its scrap can do good. That Shimmer can help people." He looked at his sister with a smile. "If you're gonna change Zaun, then I'll be backing you with my inventions. Things like these can save Zaun," he said, pointing at the Shimmer Pump, "If it's marketed properly, mitigated carefully—" he let out a wondrous laugh. "I know we can help people."

"You're talking about healing the homeless and drugged up population of Zaun?" Evi pieced together, her eyes wide.

"And utilizing it as a medical marvel," he added, pointing a finger gun at her. "If we showed the world this, they'd know Shimmer has so many more properties than just being a drug to get high and strong on! It can save lives!"

Jinx lowered the paper and smiled at her son. "And that's what ya wanna do, save lives?" She wouldn't be against it. But she needed to know where he was right now, where his head was at more specifically. Coming up with a breakthrough like this… it either meant he was ignoring the obvious or he settled on something.

Her son sighed, unclipping the device from his belt and collapsing it shut. The tubes retreated as he pushed the lid back, leaving Jinx to blink in awe of that design feature as well. As Zel looked at his ball, he frowned. "I think I'm on the path to getting better. But in the end?" he looked toward the two of them, sadly smiling. "The one thing I regret most is that the bombs that did go off weren't as good as they should've been, that they weren't as good as the ones now."

Evi chuckled. "Of course that's where your head's at," she joked.

He shrugged, running his hand through his hair. "I don't know if I regret every kill I've ever done, but I do know I want what I make to be helpful. To you two especially. If my bombs can protect us, then I'm on the path to something good with my inventions." He tossed the Shimmer Pump up and down, smirking smugly. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to roll over for anything. You told me once that 'loud makes noise', but that you always make your loud say something. My loud is gonna be worth listening to."

He stopped tossing his pump as he held it with a firm grasp, smiling proudly. "I wanna make myself known, like you E, and the same way you did, Mom, but I wanna do it with both respect and fear. Because I'm not gonna be that same kid sitting outside that burning bakery shop." He clipped his pump to his belt and crossed his arms with a chuckle. "I'm gonna be the person they beg to so their bakery shops won't burn down."

Evi offered a round of applause, whistling out of pride. Jinx just giggled, shaking her head as Evi marched forward and slung her arm around her brother. "Partners in everythin' right? Well ya better be backing me when I become a Chem-Baroness!"

"Of course!" Zel laughed, bumping his shoulder against hers. He looked back at Jinx, still smiling."So? Whattya say, Mom?" he asked her, "What're your notes? Your critiques? Your thoughts?"

Without any hesitation, she grinned as she let out an amazed sigh. "I think… I'm somehow more proud of my two brats than I ever thought possible." She set down the blueprint on her desk, smiling at her kids. Before either could object or react, she grabbed Zel and Evi by the shoulders and tugged them into her arms, hugging them tightly as she hopped off her chair, squealing with delight. She ignored their complaints as she spun around, laughing. "My kids are fucking geniuses who're gonna change Zaun! Haha!"

"Alright, maybe wait until I test it?" Zel laughed.

"Y-Yeah, I still need to pitch mine to the Barons ya know?" Evi added.

She set them down, kneeling with a bright smile as she placed her hand on each one's cheek, patting it with her thumbs. "Your dreams? Your goals? It doesn't matter if you're just starting or how far away it is… I'm already proud of what you've already thought up. 'Cause it's more than I ever have." She sighed. "Back when Vi and I were your age, our big dreams were to be noticed. To have this city respect us," she wistfully said, letting her smile grow out of fondness. "We didn't want to become a symbol of Piltover's Topdog or the symbol of Zaun's chaos, but we are now." She shrugged, scoffing. "We didn't dream bigger than us. But you two?" She happily giggled. "You're gonna go farther than we ever did. 'Cause you're looking at somethin' beyond my eyes. And I'm rootin' for it to come into view."

They embraced for another hug, and Jinx couldn't help but think she really had all she needed in her arms right now.


A/N: I mentioned it on my Tumblr post but I know this one was MASSIVELY delayed, that's on me! I recently got into a new game and it kinda got away from me (I like achievement hunting too, so I got sucked in a bit). And then there was a day that was filled with shovelling snow. Love snow, but god packing snow sucks so much. Then I watched Black Panther Tuesday and rewatched Maze Runner with one of my sisters who hadn't seen it Thursday night. AND THEN, I announced this chap would come out the 19th but I totally forgot to post it yesterday! Whooops! All in all, my fault because I got distracted, lol.

Shout out to Ironchef13, a guest on Ao3, who made a comment and basically reminded me that I totally slipped up on posting! My bad!

Anyways, the chapter! You can see why it took so long to edit and look over because it was the one of the long ones! So much needed to be done here to set up what's to come and I wanted it to be done well. I know I say that often, but obviously you can tell WHY it's more impactful for this chapter especially. I struggled with pacing and POVs at first, but evidently I decided going back and forth between Vi and our Undercity family would be the best way to flow. it was gonna be a much more jumbled mess, but I'm happy with how it turned out! Lemme know if you feel the same too!

So Caitlyn and Vi have yet to piece things together but they sure are close! Vi going through a lot this chapter was pushed in because I wanted to really continue her feelings on what she thought about Jinx's conversation AND how she feels about Zaun. A sad sense of isolation is definitely coming down on her as she's noticing her home city push her out of something that SHOULD involve her. So she has to fight for her family once again.

Speaking of family, our loveable brats seemed to have set in their ways. While it'll take some time and adjustment, Jinx is ready to support them every step of the way. Zel coming to his own determination of the kind of person he wants to be was ultimately determined from when I first drew up the two's character personalities and wanted a way to differentiate the kind of paths they'd end up at. Evi homaging Vander was something I considered for her since she always respected and admired Jinx for taking her and Zel in, so in turn it'd stand to reason she's honour the person responsible for it all. But it's also a promise forward to Zaun: that the past wouldn't be forgotten in the ways that matter.

In case some of you are confused about the timeline of how long Evi and Zel have been doing their operations before Jinx, it wasn't long. In the beginning of this fic, I mentioned that it was a recent discovery for Zel tinkering with Shimmer so he had only been beginning his bombing spree four months before the beginning of this story. So that means as a whole—from then until now—Zel's been using undermines for a total of eleven months! So you can see why Jinx is so fascinated and impressed with his rapidly growing brilliance.

Our Loose Cannon is just PROUD of her kids so much. Highlighting her growth was important to me because it's about time she has to APPRECIATE herself for growing as a person. While she does say the kids made her better, she rarely states for herself that she is actively aware of how much she's grown. It was a silent development for her character this chapter, but her ability to hang back and let her kids work on their own just shows her faith in them as well.

I know this chapter took it's sweet time to get here, so again, thank you guys for your patience! Regardless, I'm proud of how this turned out. The next one will be long too (likely another 18K, judging from my halfway point right now). It's even MORE exciting though!

Next chapter update: December 2nd! (likely to be a couple days late again)

Stay safe and stay lovely y'all.

Until next time,

- Bleh