Walls closing in
Jayce stepped into the Sheriff's office unannounced, without even knocking, not as if he owned the place, but more like if they were roommates and he was welcome anytime. He stopped and studied around him. The place was, in a way, such a cliche that it was surreal.
One side was all tidied up, papers and documents properly sorted into files, stacked in a neat pile on the desk, weapons properly stored.
The other side was a mess, no more no less. He didn't even want to start describing it.
The weird thing, the fun thing, is that the messy side was Caitlyn's. While she was always proper and nice and polite and everything you'd expect a girl with her upbringing to be, she needed to have everything laid in front of her eyes so she could form and process her thoughts. While Vi didn't like the mess. She needed to know where everything was without having to search for it, and she liked her space clean.
Jayce never dared to ask if it was related to her time in prison, or maybe to her sister. If Powder was anything close to Jinx, she was probably one to leave the place all upside down, so maybe Vi was the one who had to clean it all up behind?
- Can I help you, Poster Boy? asked the enforcer from her desk, where she was writing some reports.
- You will never stop calling me that, will you? he chuckled.
- If I ever do, it's because I've found something worse, so pray I don't.
Her smile was wide and genuine. Friendly.
- Cait isn't here?
- Nope, she out. I don't know when she'll be back, but it could take some time.
- What's going on?
- She's following up on a lead for Councilor Medarda. Not that it will turn into anything, but you know how she is, she liked to be thorough.
- Ah. I see.
He must have lowered his head a bit too much, or his eyes might have shown something they shouldn't have, because Vi's smile disappeared and she even stood up from her chair.
- Something wrong, Jayce?
Well it must have been very concerning if she decided to actually use his name. But he stood there, looking at the ground, lost in his thoughts. Vi moved around her desk and sat on it, facing him, waiting for him to speak his heart.
- I can't tell her to let it go, can I?
- I don't see how that would end well, no. Why should she? It was her mother.
He sighed and headed to Caitlyn's desk to sit on it, imitating Vi.
- We already know who ordered her death, Vi. Well, more accurately, we have very very strong suspicions.
Vi raised an eyebrow.
- I don't suppose you know much of the Noxian's politics, but let's just say it's violent. Bloody. Mel's mother has for a long time been on top of the food chain, until someone decided that he wanted her place.
- I guess that someone has a name.
- He does. Swain. Ruthless bastard, and just as smart, which makes him incredibly dangerous.
- What makes you think he's the guy?
- He's the one who had Mel's brother killed. That's why Ambessa Medarda was here in Piltover. She was fleeing. Or at least regrouping to prepare her counter attack, and avenge the death of her son. It's not so much of a stretch to think Swain wanted to stay a step ahead. As they say, best defense is attacking.
- Mel knows about all this?
- She does. She wants proof.
- What for?
Jayce scratched his head, uneasy.
- That's the part I don't really understand. To be sure maybe? I suppose that would be only human, but then what? That's what scares me, Vi. If she wants to go to war with this Swain, she will die. And worst is, that would be the best case scenario. Because the Noxian's army can very well rase Piltover. We are no match for them. They need us for the trade, we have good relationships... But the day they start thinking we are more trouble than we're worth... We're doomed. And I'm scared Mel is going to tip the scale on the wrong side.
Vi stayed silent for a moment.
- How d'you know all that?
Jayce chuckled sadly.
- We ain't Noxus, we don't have an army of spies... But we have good informations still.
- What do we do about it then?
- I don't know. Yet. I'll think about it, I'll figure something out.
- Is it why you wanted to see Cait?
Jayce seemed to realize something, to wake up.
- No. No actually I was coming because I wanted to see you.
- Me? Well I'm flattered, Poster Boy, but you know where my heart stands.
He laughed.
- I know, don't worry. Listen. Cait told me about your discussion. Discussions.
Vi's face turned dark, smile was gone.
- It wasn't her place to share...
- And yet she did. Because we're on the same side. I wanted to tell you that I spoke to the Council, about the special ward at Stillwater.
- The loony-bin.
- You can call it however you want, you know what I'm talking about.
- I do. They approved?
- I got the construction's order sent this morning. It will take some time, but I promise you, Vi, I'll put as much effort in it as I can. We'll do everything to keep Jinx and others safe. And help her.
- Thanks...
She did not feel relieved, not at all, but that was better than nothing.
- That's not all. I...
He took a second.
- Would you mind following me? I'd like to take you somewhere.
Vi looked at him, confused.
- I did tell you that I was taken, right?
- You did. Now, will you?
- Lead the way. This paperwork is killing me anyway.
The more they walked through the streets of Piltover, dodging the summer sun as much as they could, the more Vi recognized the neighborhood. She kept her mouth shut, grinding her teeth.
Jayce led her into a building, then climbed all the way to the top floor. At first she thought her doubts were unfounded, that she had made a mistake. She did not recognized the building, nor did she the hallways and stairs.
At the top, Jayce took a key out of his pocket, and opened the door.
Yeah, she didn't make no mistake.
- What the hell, Poster Boy? What are we doing here?
- I suppose you do recognize it, then. Surprising, almost.
Yes she did. There was a reason she had completely avoided the neighborhood since the day she set foot in Piltover.
- I had it completely rebuilt, and remodeled after the explosion. How long was it? Four years ago?
She didn't answer, she barely made a step inside. The place was haunted, full of ghosts.
- Why did you bring me here? she repeated, aggressively.
Even from the doorframe, she could see that the apartment looked nothing like it did the first time she had visited it, from the window. The walls had a different color. The office looked bigger. She was not even sure the room from which Powder had stolen the gemstones was still here.
- JAYCE?! Why ?!
- Please Vi, come in. Come sit on the sofa.
She did, very reluctantly, one step at a time, slowly, until she sat her butt on the said sofa. It was a completely different apartment indeed. The only thing that was the same, the reason she had recognized the place at first : the view. The roofs of Piltover, the glimpse of the sky, the balcony, the noise of the street below. Those were engraved in her mind in a way she would not have suspected. The walls seemed to close in on her, like a coffin being nailed. She felt just chocking. Her heart pounded harder in her chest, so hard it could have pumped its way up in her throat.
She watched him, stared at him, just to make sure she wouldn't be swallowed by the rest and the memories
- Place is mine. Well, it belongs to my family, actually. I've been looking to sell it for a while, since I basically live at the City Hall. I have not been here for what... two years now? A year and a half? Anyway. I didn't have the time to take care of it, then I just forgot. I want you to have it, Vi.
Vi chocked, then chuckled bitterly.
- Go fuck yourself with your stupid charity, asshole.
- Well I never thought you'd take it for free. I know your pride, I respect it. I can sell it to you, or rent it, as you prefer, we can work something out.
Vi felt like spitting on the ground.
- What makes you think I'd want it? This place, out of all things? This apartment... You know what it costed me! I lost everything the day I set foot in here! If... If only I had decided not to come... Just ignored Little Man's tip... Or even, if I didn't bring Powder!
Her anger quickly turned into barely contained sobs in her throat, she clenched her fists on her knees to try to focus and keep them in.
- Why are you doing this to me? she cried out, almost begging. Is it for stealing Caitlyn from you? That's why you want to torture me?
Jayce straightened for a second, and stared at her in the eyes, keeping his reaction in check, locked inside his heart. He grabbed a chair a sat in front of her.
- Caitlyn has always been like a little sister to me. If nothing else, I'm grateful to you for the happiness you seem to bring to her, although I'll never understand how she can appreciate a temper like yours. Vi, stop for a second and listen please.
- I'm asking for nothing more! I keep asking for explanations and you keep dodging them! So fucking talk! What do you want?
- I want to help!
His outburst was sudden, in a whole new tone, almost as desperate and begging as Vi's cries.
- Gods, please! You have to understand! I can't do it anymore, it's eating me alive! To be locked up there in that tower, dealing with papers all day... I wish... I just want to do something. Something concrete. To give a smile to someone. So when I heard you, of all people were searching for an apartment, I thought that was perfect! There was something I could finally help with!
- Jayce...
Her voice was suddenly very much softer, gentler.
- You are helping. A lot. You might not see it from above, but with your help, the things we've done for the Undercity... It changed things! For the better! I can name at least three kids who found a family instead of starving in the street. Eight more who quit working for gangs to go back to their parents. A dozen elders who got some meds that will keep them alive a few more years!
- And now it's swarmed with those Chem-Barons and it was all for nothing...
She didn't answer. Yes, it was for nothing, the Undercity had lost more because of those gangs that it had earned thanks to Jayce, Caitlyn and her.
- I keep thinking, he added, that if I had just... given up, that day, if I had just given Silco what he wanted... Without asking for anything in return! No Jinx, no counterpart, just... peace. Then Cassandra Kiramman would still be alive. Mel would still have her voice. There would be no Chem-Barons down under, that... monster would not have killed four of our guys... I just keep thinking that somehow, someway, this is all my fault.
- Stop. Stop it. You cannot blame yourself for this. For all you know, we could have instead waves of Shimmer poisoning both Zaun and Piltover, Noxus knocking at our door for Mel and her mother...
He shook his head, not to deny her argument, but to push away his dark thoughts.
- I know, I know, you're right.
- Is this why you want me to have this place? To get rid of your guilt?
He grunted and stuttered a bit, trying to find the proper words.
- No! No it's not, I swear. But I would lie if I'd say that helping you out wouldn't make me feel a bit better as well.
- But seriously? With all this genius of yours, you still thought that I'd want to live here? Where it all started, where all went to shit?
- Maybe it's my brain of mechanic, but I thought... I thought that it's exactly the reason why you should live here. What better place to start building a new life than the very apartment that destroyed the previous one...
Something made Vi chuckled, almost laughed. The walls seemed to push back, gave her back her space.
- That's some kind of twisted logic!
- Where was the first place you went when you started your job as an Enforcer...?
-... The prison.
- See ?
- But it was for the job! Not because I wanted to!
- And it did not do you any good? Did you not feel anything?
She stopped about it for a second, tried to recall the moment as clearly as possible. She did. She had felt good. Angry too, specially at the warden, but, walking in and out of there in total control of her own life, had a freeing effect she could not deny.
- How did you know?
- You remember that kid I... killed? In the battle, in the undercity.
- I do. Hard to forget.
- I go there sometime. We turned the place into a steel-working factory. Fifty men work here now. Honest work, fair wage. I see how, with work and will, we can turn the place of a tragedy into a place of rebirth. Into something good. A shrine so we would not forget what we have lost to get there.
Vi sighed. There was a truth, a logic to that. Twisted and almost religious, but she could see it.
- Here are the keys, said the Councilor, tossing them into her lap. Take some time to think about it. Come back to the place when you want, see how you feel about it. This is a very nice apartment, Vi, you will probably not find a place that good. Not on an Enforcer's salary at least.
- Then give me a raise, she grinned.
He chuckled again.
- If I do that, we'll soon have a riot on a our hands. Please. Think about it. That's all I ask.
She took and inspected the keys. Normal keys, just like any other. A new life at the tip of a piece of iron. She looked around. There were no traces left of the explosion, no burnt mark. No trace of Mylo and Claggor, no trace of Powder. No trace of her.
- Okay. I'll think about it.
He smiled and stood up.
- Come, I'll show you around.
But he did not. At that moment, running steps were heard in the hallways, leading to a red-faced, out-of-breath young enforcer who barged in.
- Councilor Talis ! You're here! Thank the gods!
- Yes! I had left instructions on where to find me if anything urgent came up!
- Well something urgent has came up. Sheriff Kiramman is back at the office and needs to talk to Chief Vi on the spot! You too, Sir!
Jayce and Vi looked at each other, suddenly very worried, and followed the young man outside, back into the sun.
- Finally! claimed Caitlyn, obviously impatient. What took you so long?
Then, with a suspicious look, sparked with a tease, she repeated.
- What did take you so long...?
Vi laughed.
- Nothing Cupcake, Jayce was showing off his apartment.
Caitlyn looked at him with a hint of gratitude, but also concerns.
- What was so urgent? he asked, happy to change the subject
The Sheriff turned and grabbed a file on her desk, which was already almost buried under three others. She handed it to her friend, who went through the two pages inside.
- We need to go and see Little Man, she explained to Vi while he was reading the reports. The monster attacked again, two nights ago. He targeted another ChemBaron, Lang, and his crew while they were moving product.
- Damn.
- It gets worst. The Firelights were here too, trying to hijack the cargo. It killed two of them as well.
- Shit... Is he ok?
- He is, but I'm not finished... Jinx was here too.
Vi froze and Jayce raised his head from the file.
- No...
It didn't take much for Vi to imagine the head of her little sister rolling on the floor, torn apart in a pool of blood, like the one of the enforcer not so long ago.
- Little Man says he has informations and could help us out.
Vi had already picked up her Atlas Gauntlets, the brand new model Jayce's team had built for her after her scrap with the wolf. Smaller, more compact, easier to manipulate, more powerful. Better in everything.
- You still don't want to tell me who is this Little Man? asked Jayce.
- I'm sorry, answered Cait with a gentle smile. That was part of the deal for him to let us help. Only Vi and I can know his name and how to find him. He'll come to you if he wants to change those terms.
The young man lowered his head, accepting his defeat.
- I see. You better get going then. And be careful. Please.
Getting to Ekko was not an easy thing. There was a place, down in the undercity, not too far from where Cait, Vi and the Firelights had their first battle months prior, where they needed to go and wait. A man would show up, never the same, and put a blindfold, or a hood, over their heads, then put them in massive wooden crates on a trolley. The location of the Hive, as they called it, was still a secret very well kept.
After six months, they had traveled down there four times, and still they had no idea where in was in the Undercity. The path they had taken with Ekko, back then, when they wanted to hand the Gemstone over to Jayce and the Council, had been sealed almost immediately after the fiasco.
Of course, traveling trapped in a crate was not the most comfortable to go from A to B, and stressful. If anything happened outside, an ambush, and accident, anything, they woukd be defenseless. The ride was bumpy, almost painful, but every time, they arrived at destination in one piece.
The sunlight in the Hive was blinding, as always, especially after getting out of the dark. It felt like a different world altogether. They stepped out, carefully, Vi, encumbered by her gauntlets, almost fell face flat.
- Careful there, greeted a voice behind them, almost joyfully. That would be a very stupid way to die, although perfect for you.
Vi spinned around and found Ekko, face to her, a smile on his lips. Happy to see him, she had to refrain her desire to hug him, seing the bandages on his torso and his arm in a scarf.
- What the hell happened to you, Little Man? You look like shit!
- Happy to see you too, Vi. Sheriff, he added with a nod to Caitlyn. Come. We have much to speak.
Following him, Vi gave a last look to the giant painting on the wall.
"Everyone we've lost. The price of our freedom."
Vander, Claggor, Mylo, Powder. Herself. And half a dozen new faces that weren't there the previous time. Her heart tightened in her chest.
- Vi. Look, whispered Caitlyn, grabbing her arm.
She discreetly pointed at the small houses and tents built here and there against the walls. There were more than last time. And a lot of children. Very few adults. Most of them they had never seen before.
- Yeah, confirmed Ekko, without turning back. With all that going on outside, the Chem-Barons and their wars, we have more and more children with no parents.
- How are you dealing with that?
He shrugged.
- As always. Best we can.
He didn't want to add a word, scared he would jinx it.
He led them up the stairs, all the way to the top where they had kept the enforcers prisoner, the first time. Ekko's workshop. They were welcomed by the sound of a wrench hitting the metal.
- Hello, Professor, greeted Caitlyn.
- Oh! Mrs Kiramman! A pleasure it is! A true pleasure! How are you doing, my child?
Heimerdinger put his tool back on the table and jumped down his stool.
- I am doing fine, Sir, she answered. My arm is better, I cannot shoot yet, but I don't need the scarf anymore.
- Good, that's good.
His joy also disappeared very quickly under his concern.
- Should I leave you alone to talk, young Ekko?
- Nah, it's okay. Any insight or opinion is welcomed.
- So what's the deal? started Vi, getting impatient with the formality.
- For a month now, the street of Zaun have been... more unsafe than usual.
- The monster. The big bad wolf, yes we know. We faced him.
- So I've heard. But that's not all. There was a new Chem-Baron, and he had some Shimmer with him... Grew up quick, and fast.
- Lang? asked Caitlyn. I've seen some reports.
Ekko's eyes snapped with a hint of anger and disgust.
- You knew? And you did nothing?
Vi stepped between, again.
- Hey easy boy! We did. We tried. But we could never get proper information. And we also had to deal with the others.
Ekko's frustration turned to despair.
- Yeah... there's always a new one. Always more...
- We're doing the best we can, pleaded Caitlyn, her voice small. But...
- I know. I've heard about your scrap against the Crimsons.
- We lost four good people that day, regretted Caitlyn, trying to make the young man understand that they too had lost people for their freedom.
Ekko's glance was not that grateful, though.
- I've heard. And I suppose that's where you met Warwick?
- Warwick?
- Yeah, the big bad wolf.
- That's a weird-ass name, chuckled Vi.
- War on the Wicked, because he seemed to only attack gangs, at first. Dunno who came up with the idea, but it stuck. Even now, after it stopped making a difference between friend and foes... It killed two of my people the other day.
- Tell us everything, ordered Caitlyn, pointing at the stool so everyone would sit.
Ekko did, and they listened.
Vi's body tensed when he mentioned Jinx's name, her teeth gritted when he told of their scrap, and her breath got stuck in her lungs when he detailed the battle against Warwick. When he explained how he managed to disappear in her back before she tried to end him, too tired as he was to keep fighting, the enforcer didn't know if she should have felt relieved or disappointed.
- You have no idea where she went? asked Caitlyn.
- None. I was too busy running for my own life. She's crazy.
He looked at Vi.
- It's gotten worse I think, Vi. She's... Not there anymore. It's like there's ten persons battling in her brain. She even tried to kiss me during the fight.
Vi chocked.
- And then she shot me! While Warwick was not two meters from her! She doesn't know what she's doing, nothing makes sense.
- I wouldn't be so sure... said the Sheriff, cutting Vi's protests.
Ekko looked at her like she was insulting him, calling him a liar, so she explained.
- The heist of the bank took a lot of planning, that's not something you can just improvised. And she knew what to look for in there... She stole the reserve of gemstones.
Heimerdinger gasped and lowered his head.
- I fear to imagine what she could do with those... he mumbled in his mustache.
- We already know what she could do with one, answered Caitlyn, bitter. Moreover, from what you're telling me, you walked right into an ambush, with those crates filled with bombs instead of drugs.
- Yeah no shit.
- It's more than that. This Lang you're talking about, you said he rose to power a couple of months ago, with Shimmer to sell? All would point toward Jinx behind it all. Giving him the product, using him as a front. Just like Silco used to.
- But Jinx has returned barely a week ago! protested Vi.
- That we know of! But who's saying she hasn't been here for months, just laying low? Or maybe never even left at all? She's smart enough to hatch that kind of plan, and she had the best teacher.
Vi stood up brutally and started pacing around the place, metal-covered fingers on her skull, trying to understand the implications of these theories. Was Powder already here that whole time? Hidden under her nose, while she had stopped searching? Has she failed to her promise, again?
- Ekko, said Caitlyn with a gentle voice. You sent a message to us, said you had informations and could help. What did you mean by that? Clearly more than Jinx being here, right?
He scratched his head awkwardly.
- Yeah... That was a lie to get you down here.
Vi stopped in her pacing and stared at him.
- Lie? Little Man, you don't have to make up reasons for us to come. You know we're happy to help. I thought we proved that already.
- You never know, with the Pilties... We can't say relying on you is part of our habits now, can we?
Offended, hurt, Vi opened her mouth, but Caitlyn stopped her with a single look.
- What do you need, Ekko? she asked.
After all, it was the very reason she wanted to do this job. To help people, no matter the gratitude. That was the pledge Vi had also taken when she had joined her in the force, she had to know that, to feel it, just like she did.
The women shared a look, an understanding. They didn't need more, didn't need words, it was a matter of habits and hearts. Vi's shoulders lowered and her anger dissipated. There was no way to keep fighting when those eyes were staring at her. The Sheriff turned again toward the young man.
- What do you need us for? she repeated.
- You need to kill that wolf, he answered, on the spot.
Silence fell.
- Ekko, listen, started Vi. I get it, but if my sister is out there in town, we need to get after her now and...
- You don't understand! he screamed.
Even Heimerdinger jumped.
- This beast... Warwick. It hunts. It smells blood, and it doesn't let go. It didn't kill me, and I didn't kill it, so it's not finished! It's coming after me, and if it gets into the camp... It will be a bloodbath. We have dozens of children here, I don't want to think of what could happen...
Vi hesitated. Ekko looked at her and knew just what to say to convince her.
- It's not just me, Vi. We were two, to escape him that night. And she bled more than me.
- Powder...
The image forced itself into her brain, of her little sister, her long blue braids swipping the floor, her head torn apart from her body, sprayed with blood, stuck between the fangs of the beast.
- It's nice to see that saving her is more important to you than saving me, chuckled the young man.
Despite his smile, they both knew it was true, and that hurt both of them just as much. She might be her blood, her responsibility, but she had brought nothing but death, while Ekko was fighting for hope, to keep people alive. How was that fair? A murdering sister, or a caring friend ?
- Where do we start? asked Caitlyn. Do you know where to find the beast?
He scratched his head and shook it.
- Nah. We don't. But we might know where it comes from. And who unleashed it.
- Who?
- Singed.
Vi almost chocked.
- No way. He's dead.
- Dead? Who d'you think was making the Shimmer for Silco all these years?
- But... But... I saw him blow up!
- Just like you saw all his product go up in flammes? He survived. And he made new versions, improved versions. At least as long as Silco was here to provide with what he needed. But now that the man is gone... I supposed he found a new project to work on.
- How do you know it's him ?
Ekko's eyes answered. Same way I know everything.
- If this wolf has been created, or modified, asked Caitlyn to Heimerdinger, do you think there's a way to bring it back to normal?
The old yordle shook his head.
- I might have centuries of experience, but biology has never been my field, dear child. If they are ways to, let's say cure it, I'm probably not the one to...
- We don't care about that! cut Vi. Where do we find Singed?
- We didn't know, until recently, answered Ekko. See, that's the thing with these children. Nobody pays attention to them, but they do pay attention to everything. Same as us when we were kids, ain't it? We welcomed a group, last week... And one of them told me that he knew this weird old man, his face burnt and half covered with a scarf, who used to pay him for small errands...
- Perfect. Let's go.
- Vi, wait, tried to temper Caitlyn.
- You put me in one of those fucking crates, and you lead me to the bastard, or so help me, I swear I will punch my way though those walls all the way to him!
Ekko smiled and stood up. There was no stopping Vi when she was that worked up.
- Alright, no need to get so worked up. Jeez, guess you can take a girl out of the Undercity, but not the Undercity out of the girl, uh? Nice to see some things don't change. Come on. I've already prepared everything. We'll get you there, but the rest is up to you.
And then, more seriously.
- And you better not fuck it up. I'm counting on you.
This was, all at the same time, one of the longest, quickest, most uncomfortable and most efficient bust since Vi had joined the force.
They had spent almost a full hour in their crates, transported around like bags of potatoes, blind and defenseless, but as always, arrived safely. They had crossed a good part of the town, and got closer to the rift that separated Piltover from the undercity, a few streets away from the docks and the sewers, filling the air with the stench of garbage and old fish.
They quickly stretched their muscles and backs before moving into action. Whoever had carried them all the way here was already gone, only a kid left to show them the way to the door, hidden under three floors of concrete and a maze of stairs.
There was no procedure to respect when barging into a mad scientist's place, and even if there ever was, Vi wouldn't have given a rat's ass.
She knocked down the door with a massive punch. It went flying through the room, and she jumped in, fists raised, looking for the threat.
The old scared man was there, at his table, leaning over some glass tubes filled with a greenish liquid. If he was surprised or struck, no one could tell, as half his face was covered by his red scarf.
- Singed... growled Vi.
Her Atlas gauntlets crashed onto his face, breaking the table behind him under the combined weights. He did not even tried to protect himself as another hit came down, breaking his nose.
- Ehehehehe, he chuckled, like the mad man he was. Violet. I almost did not recognize you! How's your sister doing, since I saved her life?
- You? What did you do to her?!
She lifted him above her head and threw him against a wall. Even in her anger, she did noticed that he seemed to almost shrugged it off. She rushed forward, grabbed him by the throat and punched the stomach. It felt harder that the door she had blown up. The man did not stop chuckling.
- Vi! screamed Cait in her back.
- Where's the wolf? yelled the enforcer. How did you make it? Where is it?
Singed's eyes sparkled with a indescribable glimmer. Maybe... pride?
- Oh you've met him? Wonderful creation, isn't he? One of my best, if I say so.
- So it was you!
She shook him violently against the wall.
- How do we kill it?
- Kill it? Violet you're not thinking about it, are you? Why would you kill our dear Vander a second time?
Vi's surprise was such that she almost let him go. But he didn't even try to free himself. He just stood there, observing her reaction, like she was just another experiment.
- Vander? What are you saying you crazy bastard?!
- Well I might be good in my field, but even for me it's impossible to create something without a base material, isn't it? Vander provided an... interesting one, if not healthy. That was a challenge, but I did manage to bring him back, didn't I?
- You're lying! Fucking lying!
Vi felt sick, she wanted to hurl.
- I do not lie. Lying is not part of the experiment. It might skew the results.
- So that's all is to you? groaned the Sheriff. An experiment?
He did not answer, just stared at her, like it was the most obvious answer in the world.
- Where is it? asked Caitlyn again, taking over when her partner did not find the strengh to speak.
- I don't know. He goes wherever he wants now, my work is done, I am just observing. After all, Vander was always a free man at heart. I suppose he's out there. Hunting.
- Aaaaah!
Filled with rage, Vi punched, again and again, three times, right next to his face, digging a hole in the wall. The man did not flinch. Seing the challenge in his eyes, she wanted to hit a fourth time, right in the skull, but Caitlyn grabbed her arm.
- Vi! Stop! No!
Without giving her the time to react, she grabbed Singed away from her grasp and threw him on the ground, face first. She put his hand behind his back, and detached the steel cuffs from her belt and tied him up.
- Singed, you are under arrest. And you better shut your mouth before I decide that to let Vi finish the job. Come on.
He did not protest, did not say a word. He just let it happen. Curious.
They did the trip back to Piltover in silence, pushing their quiet prisoner in front of them, until a group of enforcers met them at the border.
Vi had lost all rage, all will to fight, and she was now staring at the ground, empty inside. She couldn't believe it, refused to believe it, but at the same time, it explained the wolf's reaction when it had seen her. It explained this weird sensation she had felt when she had looked in its eyes.
- Vi? whispered gently Caitlyn. Are you alright love?
- I... Yeah. I don't know. I will be. I think.
- You know he's just messing with your head, right? You can't believe a word he says.
But Vi did trust his word. She believed him. She looked at Caitlyn, her dam almost ready to break. Her partner quietly put her hand on her shoulder, and moved a finger toward her cheek.
- I understand. It's okay. Go home. It's late. I'll bring this scum to Stillwater myself, and I'll meet you back there. We'll talk then, if you wish.
Vi hesitated, but she knew Caitlyn was right. It was what she needed. To go home, rest, and process. To be alone for a moment.
- Thanks Cupcake... I'll see you later.
She landed a small, quick kiss on Caitlyn's lips, feeling the warmth of her breath for a second, before tearing herself out of the embrace. She could have stayed there forever, it was, she was, the only thing that seem to make her feel better.
- I love you, said the Sheriff.
- I know. Me too.
She parted ways and let her partner take the mad man to his rightful place.
After a couple of turns in the city, slowly but surely swallowed by the dusk light, Vi felt her heart getting heavier and heavier. Could she really go back to the Kiramman's mansion just like that? Sleep it off? Try not to drown in the thought of Vander, still alive, trapped in the body and mind of a bloodthirsty beast?
She tried to put her hands in her jacket's pocket, by reflex, as she would do when the feeling of the cloth around her closed fists would provided a small but familiar sense of comfort. Of course that was not possible, with those giant metal gloves of hers. She stopped in the middle of the street, looking at her monstrous hands. She just stood there, unable to think or feel. She was trying to reach some sort of enlightened, find some truth in front of her eyes, but there was nothing, just a blank.
Desperate, she made another step, and that's when she felt them, in the pocket of her trousers, almost scratching against the skin of her thigh. The keys.
On a whim, she changed direction, almost slipping on the pavement, and went on her way to cross town, all the way back to Jayce's apartment. She walked like a machine, fast, steady, without looking around her, lost in her own head or, more accurately, lost in her absence of thoughts. She climbed the stairs two by two, ignoring the fatigue in her muscles, until she reached the top floor and put the key inside the lock.
There, she froze a second, and finally turned the knob, opening the door to her old nightmare.
The whole living room was engulfed in the red light of the sundown, the windows and balcony opened to the west. It was both scary and peaceful. She liked it. She stepped carefully inside, as if something else could blow up at any second, but it was all silent. Quiet. Her thoughts, stuck in the dark corners of her brains until now, suddenly unleashed. Everything submerged her at once, with the force of a tidal wave.
She let herself fall in the couch before even taking her gloves off, and bit her lip not to cry. There was no reasons not to do it., but she didn't like to lose, not even against herself.
The idea of Vander being Warwick just triggered something in her, something she had advised Jayce not to do, in this very room.
After all, was it not all her fault? If she had just declined Little Man's tip, and never came here in the first place, Powder would still be Powder. Everyone else would still be alive. Maybe.
Or maybe Silco would have slaughtered them all in the war for Zaun he had planned from the beginning.
But what if she had not forced Powder to stay home, on that fateful night? Brought her in, instead of being surprised by the monkey bomb? Would they still be alive?
What if she hadn't left her after Vander's death? Would Jinx ever been born? Would she have been able to protect her from Silco and the enforcers?
Or had it been better for her sister to actually have been raised by Silco rather than her...? With food, shelter... In the end, in his lasts moments, the man truly had seemed to care for her, she couldn't deny it, no matter how hard she'd wished.
- I can't believe, out of all the places, you chose this one, said a voice.
Vi jumped out of the seat, startled, and raised her fists in defense. Reflex died hard.
She looked over, and found the shape sitting on the metal barrier of the balcony. Long braids in the wind.
Vi did one step forward, ready for battle, but a gun immediately raised in front of her, and slightly shook from left to right.
No no, don't you dare.
- Hey Sis. Nice to see you, croaked the voice. I need your help.
A/N . Long chapter ! hope you liked it, we're getting closed to the end!
