A/N: I have returned! Yes! (A bit) more about what happened with the delays at the end A/N if you're curious. Even if you're not, I'd recommend reading the last paragraph for future references regarding delays. Alright, enjoy!

Chapter Summary: With the first night past, Zel and Evi try to adapt to their new temporary place and get to know their host. Meanwhile Jinx has to get a grasp at accommodating for constant company—in the form of children no less.

Word Count: 9,795

—JINX—

As the grogginess of waking up slowly came to Jinx, her instinct told her to move. The second her eyes fluttered she sat straight up and rolled off her mattress, yanking her gun off the table and pointing it down the fan blade. She blinked and froze when all she saw at the end of her living area was a pair of kids passed out on her pullout bed. It was then she realized she was holding in her breath, causing her to release and let out a shuddering sigh. She kept her eyes on them as she holstered her gun and stood up.

Right.

That was right.

She wasn't alone anymore.

"Shit," she muttered, pushing her mattress back to its place tucked under her desk. "The Hell are you doing, Jinx?" She stood up and spun over to where Fishbones was resting. "Am I crazy?"

"Yeah, Jinx, you kinda are?" she puppeted, moving the rocket's mouth up and down.

She pouted. "Thanks, buddy, can always count on you to give it to me straight!" She rolled her eyes and sighed.

THEY DON'T BELONG!

She froze, her hand on her gun as she felt her breathing pick up. Why was he back?

THEY'LL KILL YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!

Jinx gulped as she turned back and stared at the kids on the bed. They wouldn't. They wouldn't even be able to touch her. It was her stupid voices trying to make her feel like shit. But… maybe… just maybe… they weren't wrong here. They could be playing the long run. They could be waiting, taking advantage of her stupid kindness, waiting for the right moment. The second the opportunity opens up: they might just try and kill her.

you don't… believe that…

Her eyes widened, looking over at her desk. There was no one there. It wasn't like… the others. She could hear them, she knew they weren't there, but they'd still "be there." A presence, a lingering direction of their voice, it'd still feel like someone was there. But she learned well enough that they weren't actually there. But this was different. She was different, like she didn't want to be seen. Like she could only fly by with whispers, passing remarks—she didn't linger. It didn't feel like she was trying to.

Why?

What was that about?

What did they know anyways?

They were just voices. Just voices. They'd say just about anything. Jinx looked back at the kids and sighed. They were so peaceful, so calm, so… quiet. It's like you wouldn't know they robbed and bombed an entire plaza in one afternoon. The way they acted: their tough personas with their apprehensive looks, the snarky comments and aggressive inquiries cheapened by their shy and nervous speech—they were Zaunites, sure but not just that. They had the heart of Zaun in them, but they were still young.

They were kids. Just kids.

She walked over, slowly creeping forward as she kept her eye on their unconscious bodies. Their bag of loot was in between them. Evi had her hands fiercely gripped around the bag, hugging it close while Zel mirrored her direction yet instead kept his hands free. Tthere was still a sense of proximity in their sleeping arrangement. Jinx smiled, knowing it was probably along the lines of, "You watch my back and I watch yours" in the event of anything. Yet despite what seemed like a learned habit, they were truly sleeping soundly.

And then a strange… smell grazed her nostrils, making her furrowed her brows in confusion as she sniffed. Why did it smell a bit stale? Jinx sniffed around her living area like a hound, searching for the source. Then her eyes cast upon the table and it clicked. Their empty takeout boxes, they forgot to clean those. Jinx always tossed hers over the edge—it wasn't like the abandoned fissures down below couldn't handle it—but she guessed they didnt think that either. She supposed she couldn't exactly just leave it there either. It would end up stinking, and while she could put up with it, the brats might not.

As she plucked the empty boxes off the table and tiredly tossed them off the fan blade, Jinx let out a yawn. She needed something to wake her up. A good drink or something. She sifted through her drawers around her workshop and grumbled at the reality she was empty on pop and coffee beans. She smacked her lips and closed her eyes, trying to think up a solution as she took a standing nap. Seriously, it wasn't like she could—

Her heart leapt as she woke up, startled to a loud bear-like growl.

She whipped her body around, and aimed her gun at the kids, her eyes wide open. But as Jinx's calm settled, so did her focus. Was that… snoring? She followed the source straight to the Blondie! It was coming from the Urchin?

Janna, that kid had a set of pipes on her…

"With a snore like that ya gotta wonder how the Hell they ever survived the streets," she mused, holstering her gun once again. That was gonna be another adjustment. Snoring, great! Whiny brats, snoring brats, hungry brats. Oh…

She sighed at the realization: they would probably want breakfast too.

Leaving them alone wouldn't be anymore different than last night, except this time they would be unconscious instead (which honestly might've been better). They didn't break or touch anything then, so it wouldn't be different this time… right?

yes…

NO!

She shook her head and groaned. Jinx was too tired to think about it more critically—which was already something she didn't want to do—so she opted to write up a note and let them know she was going out.

She placed the note on the living area table and dusted off her hands. "Whelp, guess it's time to get breakfast," she muttered, moving over to equip her gear, throwing on her satchel of Chompers, and slinging both her minigun and rocket. "Ya ready, Fishbones?" She smiled at the dopey open mouth over her shoulder. She shook her shoulders around, jostling the mouth with a laugh. "Alright, let's get going!"

Opening and closing the door didn't seem to startle the two, or at least, she thought it didn't. Jinx didn't exactly proceed with consideration when she hopped down the turbine and hummed her way out, nor could she actually see them from where she was. Making her way out the tunnels, this time taking an even longer route toward the marketplace, she thought about what to get them. Jericho's seemed like the easiest and safest bet, but they practically devoured the kid's combo last night. They were like animals!

Once Jinx emerged from the tunnel, the bright light of the sun graced her eyes. Guess it was almost afternoon, huh. It didn't feel like she slept in. She hopped down into the alleys and made her way down the streets of Zaun. Taking a public, casual approach like this helped sometimes. Scaring people and letting Zaun know she was still up and kicking. But it helped most especially in the way of sort of distracting herself. She didn't need suggestions or prompts from them right now. Not when she had two brats to think about. So submerging herself within the crowd of the populace was the one of the best ways to put her on edge and swarm her thoughts.

"—ucking Jinx, hide!"

Her eyes glanced toward the murmurer, who was louder than the others. She was an old frail woman with frantic Shimmer eyes—an addict. But the one thing Jinx noted was she also had a boy holding her hand. He, for one, didn't look like he was drugged up on anything. He was mindlessly pointing toward one of the cart vendors selling some kind of street meat, but the woman seemed adamant on pulling him away.

"You already had one you greedy pig, now move!" the woman hissed, her eyes darting between the boy and Jinx (not at eye level of course, most never dared to make eye contact). She slapped his hand and tugged him into the crowd that had separated for Jinx's pathing.

But Jinx thought on those two as she continued her way over to the market area.

Greedy.

That wasn't something you could throw lightly around Zaun. There rarely was enough of anything to be greedy of. Yet she said that with such spite. Jinx chewed her cheek as she skipped along. Was she ever greedy? She usually had everything she needed and she couldn't recall asking for more. But that was with… with Silco. Before was different. Back then she wanted more. They all did. Because they all had nothing. But… were they ever greedy because of it?

She groaned as she brought her fingers up to her head, massaging her temple. "Ugh, not more thinking…"

If the brats were already Zaunites through and through, then they already knew that greed wasn't something anyone just had. It was a privilege that only the top dogs could ever ride high in like the Chem-Barons, the gangsters and low tier mobsters, and even the smugglers and dealers. It wasn't something just any Zaunite had. Jinx's irritable feeling settled a bit as sheremembered: greed was something Topside was built off of. Pilties were the best examples of greed living in modern day.

Zaun didn't have the privilege to be greedy.

It deserved more.

"JINX?"

She rose her head up and blinked, realizing she was just before Jericho's stall. How long had she—

"BACK SO SOON?" He raised a brow. "DON'T TELL ME YOU ALREADY FINISHED THAT WHOLE PLATTER I GAVE YOU!" He laughed, slamming his hand on the table in jest.

Jinx chuckled. "What can I say, I'm a grown woman! I gots to eat!" She slid her way onto the stool and smirked.

"YOU WANT THE SAME THING AS LAST NIGHT?"

She opened her mouth, ready to say yes, but her recent train of thought suddenly came back to overwhelm her.

they also… deserve more…

She whipped her head around, hand on her holstered gun once again. Her eyes were met with no body to the voice, like before. Instead, a crowd of people who turned their faces away, covered their eyes with their hands, or scrambled out of the street.

"HEY!" Jericho slammed his fist. "YOU KNOW THE RULES—"

Jinx turned back and raised her hands in innocence. "Yeah, yeah, no guns. Sorry Jer-bear." She placed her palms onto the table and rapped her fingers against the counter. "Just thought I heard something." She looked up at the menu and sighed. She might as well try it. "Hey, uhh, what's the biggest meal combo ya got?"

The big fisherman blinked at her. "THE CUTPURSE COMBO!" He added, "BASICALLY TWO OF EVERY COMBO IN ONE!"

That sounded like it was more than enough for the brats! Jinx smiled. "Oooh, I'll take two of those! Oh, and my usual!"

Jericho laughed. "THAT'S KINDA PRICEY, JINX." He leaned over and suggested, "MIGHT JUST BE BETTER OFF WITH YOUR USUAL OR EVEN JUST ONE OF THOSE IF YOU'RE REALLY HUNGRY."

She shook her head. "Nah. Two. And my usual." She waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine!" Her eyes glanced up then widened as she saw the price. "Thirty-five silver cogs?" The vendor turned back at her, raising a brow. "Uhhh, damn, that's a bit much, ain't it?"

"IT'S TWO OF EVERYTHING, JINX," he pointed out, tapping the menu with his knife, "IF IT'S TOO MUCH YOU CAN STILL—"

"No!" Jinx denied, shaking her head. "It's fine, it's fine." She motioned for Jericho to continue, and once he turned back, she began sifting through her coin pouch. She had a decent amount of spending coin on her, but she never took much with her for two reasons. She never had to buy so much before and keeping more coins on you was like announcing your whole presence.

And speaking of announcements, Jinx was starting to realize a sobering reality she hadn't considered.

This transaction would cost her eighty silver cogs total. Then there was the addition of last night's meal too. Keeping up this routine, Jinx wasn't sure if she had enough money to keep them all fed. She quietly groaned, slumping her elbows onto the counter. She had to really consider her options here. She could manage without food for a while. And if the brats were street raised, then so could they. So in the worst case scenario, they could go a couple days without food.

But did that mean they should?

She was just thinking that they deserved more.

And what was this then, the point of her splurging on a bigger combo?

Jinx pouted as she rested her chin into her palm. So not feeding them wasn't an option. Or at least, not a definitive must choose option—a last resort. Then she needed to do more odd jobs and bounties if she wanted to make more coin. But what was it that the Pilties said, "Progress starts once you've had three meals a day"? If she was gonna buy three meals a day, she'd be dipping into bare pockets by the end of the month.

"YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T USUALLY GO HERE SO FREQUENTLY!"

Jinx lifted her head toward the cook, he kept his back to her as he made her meals, but he still had an inquisitive look cast over his shoulder at her.

She straightened up, shrugging casually. "So? Are ya really gonna complain when I'm giving you more money?"

He laughed. "NOT COMPLAINING! JUST MAKING AN OBSERVATION!"

"Yeah well, you could say I'm… trying somethin' new," she said with a smile. It surprised her how right that felt to say.

New.

This was new.

A change.

"Yeah," she nodded excitedly, "A change!"

Jericho laughed again. "WELL, IF IT MEANS MORE COINS FOR ME THEN I WELCOME IT!" he joked, earning a round of giggles from the blue-haired woman.

Once the big guy placed two-thirds of her order on the side—her order being the last—Jinx decided to wager a question. "Hey, Jerry!" He hummed in acknowledgement, expressing his attentiveness. "Your whole life's centred 'round food and cooking, right?"

He snorted. "THAT'S ONE WAY OF PUTTING IT, BUT YEAH?"

She propped her elbows on the counter and cupped her chin, resting onto her palms casually. "Do ya like, have trouble puttin' food on your plate?"

He stopped and turned, staring at her with a confused eye. "I'M A COOK, JINX!" he dryly pointed out.

"I know," she sighed, throwing her head up. "I mean, is it like, hard or whatever?"

"COOKING?"

"Yeah! I tried once—Vander said it was no different than the gadgets I tried to make," she shrugged, slumping her chin back into her hands, "Just, slapping a bunch of parts together to make somethin'. But my bombs made sense, stew doesn't.' She snorted, shaking her head. But then she noticed Jericho had fully turned this time, staring at her… in shock? "What?" she asked him.

He blinked. "YOU…" he smiled, shaking his head. "NOTHING! SO, YOU WANNA LEARN TO COOK?"

Jinx bit her lip and swayed her head side to side, humming in thought. "I dunno!" she truthfully answered. The cook laughed once again, turning back to his fryer. "That's why I'm askin' ya!" she gestured toward him. "Is there really a reason to learn? I mean, I've been doing fine!"

She watched as he scooped up her tentacles and tossed them into her takeout box, closing it shut. He tucked the three boxes into a flimsy plastic bag, plopping it on the counter. "YOU'RE ABOUT TO GIVE ME EIGHTY SILVER COGS! TELL ME DOING THAT HABITUALLY IS FINANCIALLY SOUND!"

Jinx blanched. "Ugh, this is starting to sound… grownup." She shivered. "So what, you saying I should learn to cook?" she asked as she fished out the fee and dropped it into Jericho's hand.

He shrugged. "IT'S COSTLY IN ITS OWN WAY, BUT IT SAVES UP EXPENSES."

She frowned at that. Expenses, huh? She never had to think about those before. Not like this. Jinx sighed, grabbing the plastic bag's handles as she furrowed a brow. "So whattya say would be… er, a good starting requirement for this? Like things to have." She aimlessly waved her free hand, letting the bag of food drop to her thigh in her other.

Jericho tilted his head, pondering the question. "FRIDGE FOR YOUR INGREDIENTS AND FOOD, STOVE OVEN TO COOK YOUR FOOD OBVIOUSLY. AND A LIST OF RECIPES OR A COOKBOOK TO HELP YOU GET STARTED."

Jinx attentively nodded at every item, locking it all into her memory. "Got it, thanks Jerry!" she shouted as she waved over her shoulder and skipped down the street. So a new option opened up for her: learning to cook. "Shouldn't be too hard, eh, Fishbones?" She held up her palm and swiped it across the sky, announcing, "Chef Jinx!" She giggled. "I can work with it!"

—EVI—

When Evi opened her eyes, reality sent in for her.

They really just spent the night in The Loose Cannon's place. She rubbed her eyes of their sleep as she sat up, scanning their surroundings. It was still dark, with strobing purple and blue lights illuminating around them. She was so tired last night Evi hadn't realized Jinx never turned them off. She guessed there was no reason not to, considering there was no natural light here at all. It was creepy though, as Evi rolled out and looked up toward the turbine, she noticed the various… things hanging from the roofing.

Dolls.

Suitcases.

Some of Jinx's bomb parts.

And even bats.

She shivered at the sight. "Christ, she's terrifying." With the mad woman in her thoughts, Evi's gaze fell toward an empty space? Hey eyes widened as she reached down for her boot sheath, carefully scanning around the fan blades. Where was she? "Oi, Zel," she hissed, "get up."

"Buh?" he murmured, tossing over in his sleep, wrapping his arm around their loot bag.

She growled. "Get up!" she shouted.

The boy sat up in alarm, eyes wide open as he frantically looked around. "What! What? Wh… whoa," he looked around their surroundings, no doubt actually absorbing it this time. "Holy shit. We spent the night at The Loose Cannon's."

"Yeah." Evi scoffed, turning back and kicking the bed. "And now she's gone."

That managed to get Zel up completely, zipping toward his bag just at the foot of his side of the pullout bed. He had an undermine in hand as he looked around. "Where is she?"

"The fuck kinda question is that?" she bewilderedly barked.

Zel shrugged. "I-I mean have you tried looking?"

"Not yet!" she whispered, "Because we're sleeping under the roof of a crazy bitch!"

He snapped his fingers, acknowledging her logic. "Wait, why are we whispering?" he asked, matching her pitch.

"Because…" she paused, turning back with the tip of an excuse in her mouth… but nothing came out. "I dunno?"

He stared at her blankly, dropping his cautious stance altogether. "E, if she was gonna blow us up she would've done it most definitely by now. Or—"

"Or in our sleep, I know, I know," she nodded. Sighing under her breath, she relaxed her stance and shrugged. "She is crazy, y'know. She could've just changed her mind or decided to fuck with us when we wake up."

Zel shrugged back, walking past her after dropping his bomb back into his pack. "I wanna hold out on thinking she would've already. If she did change her mind, I don't think she'd make something complicated like a trap when she could just shove us off with bombs tied to our ankles."

Evi chuckled. He wasn't wrong. "Still, where is…" she trailed off as she noticed a small paper covered in sky blue crayola. "Huh?" She leaned over and realized it was a note. "It's from Jinx." She grabbed the paper and showed Zel, letting the two read it together.

DEAR BRATS,

GETTING BREAKFAST. DON'T LEAVE OR YOU'LL DIE. DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING OR YOU'LL DIE. DON'T FALL AND DIE.

JINX

Evi snorted, rolling her eyes as she tossed the paper away, letting it fall off the fan and slowly feather down the abyss.

"Didn't think she'd be so…" Zel shrugged, slumping himself back down onto the bed. He propped it back into its couch mode and leaned into it, releasing a sigh. "I dunno, actually. She's…"

"Scary," Evi supplied.

"Yeah, but also… different?"

She shrugged back, pacing her way down the fan blade.

She knew where this thread was going. Last night, they talked about their situation with Jinx when she went out. Though they were both fucking terrified inside, they both concluded accepting Jinx's… hospitality was their best bet. She seemed true to her word that she just wanted them out of her hair and image. Realistically, they had to consider alternatives and backup plans. Evi wasn't willing to take chances, but Zel seemed to opt for an optimistic outlook.

She usually welcomed his optimism, especially since it was rare hearing it from him, but she didn't like the implications he was leaning toward. Most because he wasn't exactly… focused, in his attention. Zel was enthralled with Jinx's stuff. The gadgets laid out, the spare parts scattered around, her workshop—as they talked she saw his eyes fixate on everything. She knew that look in his eyes. The kind that meant he was visualizing, thinking up crazy gizmos and gadgets just from something plain like a broken toaster.

Evi had to lay it out for him.

"No matter what, we stay in her good graces."

This wasn't permanent. But if they played their cards right, Evi wagered they'd learn something from The Loose Cannon before they were sent back out onto the streets. It was the best option for them.

She looked back at her partner, sighing at the wistful look on his face as he tossed his undermine up and down.

Evi understood it though. Despite all the creepy and unsettling things about literally everything they were stuck in… this place was pretty cool.

"Yeah," she said aloud, continuing her walk down toward the turbine, "she also has a sense of interior decorating, huh?" She heard Zel laugh in the distance as she spun around and walked, looking high and low all over the place. "You maybe could learn somethin' from her in terms of aesthetic," she teased.

"Yeah, I don't wanna give her another reason to come chase us, so no thanks!" he shouted back.

Evi chuckled to herself. As she turned back, her eyes still looking high, she caught something hanging just near the edge of the centre of the turbine… area? It was a small, red stuffed toy with limp limbs. It didn't look like an animal of any sort, as it had a round head with no ears and diamond shaped white eyes with thinner diamond shaped black pupils. It even had a snout, protruding a small black nose tip.

She wasn't sure what it was, but… it looked kinda cute? Evi frowned at the image of it being strung up by its neck, demonstrating its lifelessness. She never had a toy or stuffed anything of sorts growing up. It spoke to even greater volumes of how crazy Jinx was for having this many dolls and stuffed toys but choosing to lynch them all. She shuddered at the thought, continuing her way into Jinx's workshop area. Her eyes latched onto something she had noticed last night, during her conversation with Zel.

It was a weird box with giant tube, horn-like pipes sticking out from the top of it.

She cocked her head, intriguingly stepping toward it as she scanned the device(?) from every angle she could. There were a couple of dimmed bulbs coming out of it, just a couple inches away from what looked like a Play button. Did Jinx make this? Or was this something she found? It didn't look at all like any of her other gadgets or devices.

"Hey!"

She jumped, turning around to see Zel staring at her with furrowed brows. "I know you tossed it, but the note literally said not to touch anything!"

Evi held her hands up and stepped to the side. "I wasn't! I just ain't ever seen somethin' like this." She nodded at the object.

Zel's brows rose in interest. "Oh. It looks like a recording device," he stated, standing even closer to the object than she did. "Those horn things make it that obvious at least."

She scoffed. "How do ya know that? What if it's like… a music player? There's a play button on it."

"Maybe it's to play back the recording," he shot back.

She crossed her arms. "So it could be both?"

Zel shrugged. "Dunno. We could ask Jinx about it?"

Evi raised a brow. "Or we could try it right now?"

He whipped back at her with wide eyes. "What happened to staying 'in her good graces'?"

"She's not here right now," she pointed out. "We can just hit Play, see what happens then stop it."

Zel turned back and sighed. "Okay, but I'm stopping it as soon as we know, okay?" She nodded, offering her thumbs up. He leaned over and hit the Play button.

The sound of babbling began to emerge as the riff of a guitar sounded off.

The two jumped a bit at that, exchanging a look as they heard,

Wanna join me?

Come and play

"Is… is that Jinx?" they exclaimed together.

But I might shoot you in your face

Bombs and bullets will do the trick

A loud hiss echoed throughout the cavern, making the two actually jump. They poked their heads around the corner of the turbine, staring straight toward the door. The handle was turning!

"Pause it, pause it, pause it," Evi hastily whispered.

Zel dove toward the device, pressing Stop, bringing silence back to their surroundings. They quickly ran down the wing and back to the couch. Though the music had stopped, the pounding feeling of her heartbeat was all Evi could hear as they sat down. The door echoed its opening and out came the hums of Jinx herself.

"Brats, I'm home!" she sing-songingly shouted. The two looked over to the turbine and watched as she emerged from the other side, skipping with a big plastic bag in her hand. She stopped at the workshop, pulling off all her guns and gear, before turning toward them. "Oh, goodie, you're awake—" she stopped, turning toward her desk area once again.

Evi heard Zel gulp.

She straightened up, feeling a bead of sweat drop down her forehead, but she quickly wiped it.

Jinx turned back toward them, stalking down the fan blade with raised brow. "Did you two… touch somethin'?" she asked with an eerily quiet voice.

They shook their heads.

It was just a button, there was no way she knew.

"Ya sure?" she pressed on, nearing them with a slow stroll.

They nodded.

She barked out a laugh. "I'm just messin' with ya, sheesh!" she snorted, waving her hand. "Ya should've seen your faces! Hah!"

The two breathed out a sigh, sharing an annoyed look before chuckling themselves. Okay… so maybe it was kind of funny. Even more so for them, considering the irony. So maybe she wasn't as entirely observant to notice something as obscure as a button press.

"Whoa, what're those two boxes?" Zel asked, his eyes catching onto the boxes Jinx was pulling out of the plastic bag (which she tossed over the edge). A scent came from it that made Evi straighten up. It smelled familiar.

"These," Jinx replied as she placed said boxes on the table along with a couple napkins, "are your breakfasts. Breakfastests? Breakfi? Whatever—it's yours." She shrugged, taking her small box and sitting on the rocking horse chair.

"Ours?"

"I swear, your leg is not the only thing you injured," Jinx muttered. "Yes, yours! Straight from Jericho's!"

Evi grabbed the top box and nearly dropped it from the weight. It was like a brick! "Janna, what'd he put in this thing? Everything?"

Zel released a small groan as he opted to drag his box across the table instead.

"Yeah, he did!" Jinx said with a mouthful. "Two of it, actually."

She looked at Zel with a confused look. "Huh?"

"It's called the Cutpurse Combo, two of everything!" she grinned, letting sauce drip from her lips and back into her box.

Evi cringed at the sight until she processed what Jinx just said. "Wait… like, everything on his menu?" Jinx nodded. At that, Evi turned to Zel with a shocked expression. They both turned back to their boxes and at the same time, opened them. It was packed with meats and fishes of all sorts.

And just like Jinx said, two of each.

"This is… a lot," Evi said in awe, feeling a bit of drool drip from her lips.

The woman snorted, nodding. "I know! Costed me a shit ton of cogs," she said into another mouthful of tentacles.

Evi turned to Zel, finding him already stuffing his face. She turned back to Jinx and asked, "What if we can't finish it?"

She scoffed. "You better. That's a waste of money and good food!" she said with a stern stare, though it's threat was only slightly diminished by the pools of fish sauce on her chin. Still, Evi nodded rapidly to express her compliance. Jinx giggled at that. "If ya can't, that's fine too—just save it for later! That's called leftovers, I know, crazy right?" she dryly mused.

Evi felt a flush of red grace her cheeks. "I know what leftovers are," she muttered.

Jinx smirked. "Good! Well do ya know food gets cold too? Enjoy it while it's hot, 'cause I don't got a microwave."

"'Course not, too stingy right?" she teased.

The older woman snorted. "Didn't have to get ya food, ya lil' Urchin."

Evi chuckled. Despite it all, with perks like this? It was something she could get used to.

—ZEL—

"I just wanna ask."

"Zel, I wouldn't bother her."

"Yeah, but like, we're doing nothing and I gotta know."

"Zel."

"E, she's using a soldering iron!"

"I can hear you two from here!" Jinx shouted from her workshop desk. "If you're gonna bother me, do it more quietly or just ask already!"

The two froze from their spot on the couch. They couldn't finish their breakfast, as predicted, and ended up leaving just about half of it untouched on the table. Or at least, half in Zel's case—Evi tried to take a bite out of some of her leftovers but found herself sluggishly slowing down. She eventually conceded much to Zel's pleading. They wiped themselves clean with the napkins and laid back, letting the food rest and take their bodies. But then the sound of soldering sparked off and Zel was up and alert.

And that was when he realized Jinx had gone back to her workshop area and was tinkering. He saw an assortment of parts and boxes of junk suddenly laid out. He'd been eyeing all those parts ever since last night. The other wing was filled with boxes and containers of junk, no doubt material and resources. He and Evi made sure to avoid that area as per Jinx's "no touching rule", but he could recognize some of the boxes around her right now were from that section of the fan.

Chancing his luck (but mainly feeding off his excitement and curiosity), Zel walked over to Jinx. His hands folded over each other and kept close to his chest, he arched his head around her workspace. "I-I was just wondering," he softly spoke, "wh-what uh, what are you up to?"

The twisting of her screwdriver stopped as she lifted her head up. She spun around in her chair, lifting her goggles up slightly as she fixed him with a bewildered stare. "Seriously? Are you seriously asking me that?" She scoffed, biting her lip as if to hold back a series of giggles.

He felt his face flush until Evi appeared behind him, clearing her throat. "'Kay, obviously, we—he knows you're… tinkering."

"Y-Yeah!" he nodded, drawing Jinx's bored eyes back to him. "I-I was just wondering what? It is… you're… making, or-or repairing, exactly."

Jinx's eyes narrowed just before the goggles slid back on. She turned back toward her table and picked up a… half finished bomb? The outer layer had yet to be added but Zel could see the chem tube capsules inside the device hooked up to wiring, along with jaw-like teeth parts lying on the table as well. She tossed it up and down in her hand, smirking over her shoulder toward the two. "I'm resupplying."

"Resupplying?" Evi echoed, wandering her way over to Jinx's other side, trying to peek at her work.

"You're making more," Zel concluded.

Jinx shot him a finger gun with a click of her tongue before turning back and dropping the device on the table, making the two wince. Even with her back turned, she must've known their reactions as she giggled. "Relaaax, a tiny drop like that ain't setting anything off and if it did? The charge isn't set up yet so nothin' would 'splode on us."

He and Evi still shared a nervous look.

But his curiosity still got the better of him. "S-So you put your detonator charges in last?"

Jinx hummed in response, grabbing a set of tweezers. "Yuppers!" she nodded, leaning close to her device. "Sounds weird coming from me, I know, but safety first!" She giggled again, like an inside joke flew by them.

He chanced a step forward and looked over her shoulder, noticed the centre of the bomb had a hollow point—as if something was to fill it later. "Does the charge go in the middle?"

She nodded again, turning the device around in a full 360 degrees, as though she was displaying it for him. He noted the entire perimeter of the middle point was lined with chem tubes. It was kind of like how his undermines worked, with his charge set in centre but his tubes were exposed. He also had a lot less of them primed. He never thought about encasing the tubes with a protective layer, but that made sense to do. It would save them from an accident from a crack.

He wondered if she regularly practiced such precautions. "Do you often—"

"This ain't show-and-tell, Rookie," she muttered, utilizing her tweezers to adjust her wiring. He shut his mouth and stepped back, feeling sheepish. "By the way, that's a thing little academy kids do. 'Show-and-tell'. Just thought I'd let ya know in case the joke flew over ya." She chuckled, then slid in her primed charge and began encasing the bomb with its protective outer layer.

"Thanks," Evi said flatly with blank eyes, "you're a real educator."

While Zel felt a bit embarrassed at the diss toward his inquisitiveness, he nearly shot Evi an admonishing look, but Jinx's spine went rigid. The two jumped at how straight she suddenly sat up. Her gaze flew near Evi, but not directly at her as she scoffed at… her?

"I wasn't being mean," the woman grumbled before turning back to her desk. She sighed, shaking her head. "I mean…" she looked back and frowned at Zel, making him gulp. "I ain't letting you two stay here so ya can copy me more."

He held his hands up. "I-I won't! I wasn't going to!" he hurriedly explained, "I-I-I've just never seen someone else's work before!"

She tilted her head as her brows narrowed. He wagered underneath those goggles was a skeptical stare. "Curious, huh?"

He nodded rapidly.

"I guess I would've killed to have someone show me the ropes when I was your age," she said, like a touch of understanding or nostalgia leaked into her tone. She giggled after screwing on the jaws. "Shit, saying that makes me sound old. Ugh." She shivered, shaking her head with disgust.

He heard Evi chuckle, but he was busy being in awe of her newly finished bomb. "Are they always that quick to make?"

"Experience makes efficiency," Jinx replied, spinning back to face him. She flicked her goggles upward. "I've been making Chompers since before you were born and the first batch hardly had this… trademarked aesthetic." She smugly smirked as she gestured to the array of finished bombs on the table where her guns rested.

"Are weapon designs somethin' ya can actually trademark?" asked Evi, who was now sitting on an empty box.

She snorted. "You can trademark anything if ya have the bigger gun." She nodded her head over to her rocket launcher, holding her smug smirk.

The blonde chuckled at that while Zel tilted his head. "Wait… 'Chompers'?" he pointed at the bomb.

"Yeah, 'cause they chomp, chomp, chomp!" she replied, punctuating her point by puppetting the bomb's mouth at each word. "Duh." The two snickered at the goofy demonstration, eliciting a bigger smile from Jinx. She placed it back down with a curious brow. "Whattya call yours?"

"Oh uh…" a sudden wave of insecurity swelled up in him as he rubbed his forearms, "u-undermines."

"'Undermines'?" she echoed with a grin. "What kind of name is that?" she asked, clearly on the brink of laughing.

"Well… because I'm… undermining Topside," he sheepishly said, finishing with a shrug and a stilted neck rub.

Jinx's lips pursed as she cooed, "Awww! Now that's just adorably clever." Evi giggled at the woman's babyish taunt, which prompted a chorus of giggles between the two.

Great. He honestly would prefer being blown up instead of this…

"He was soooo proud of himself for that one, spent like an hour coming up with it," Evi chimed in, smirking from her seat.

He crossed his arms and ignored his reddened face. "Fuck off, E," he muttered. The girl laughed more, which made Jinx spin and face her, watching her with… awe? He coughed, trying to fight his embarrassment before asking, "W-What about your guns? They have names?"

Jinx spun back with a wider, more excited grin. Zel didn't think that was possible. She slid herself over to the table and slapped her minigun. "This is Pow-Pow!" she sang. "She—"

"Pows," he and Evi finished.

She gasped. "You are clever kids!" she said with a hint of sarcasm before scooting a tad further down. She placed her hand on her rocket launcher and massaged its shark-like nose. "This, is Fishbones. He's my most bestest pal." Jinx's grin simmered into a mischievous smirk as she leaned over, cupping a hand over her mouth as she stage-whispered, "I ain't the one who's good graces ya gotta stay on. It's this guy's!" She launched into a fit of giggles as she slid back to her workbench.

Zel spared a strained look at Evi, who shrugged at him with a tired face. He was honestly baffled that the girl wasn't freaked out by the woman's "warning."

Instead, she crossed her arms and asked, "So… what else is on the plan today?"

Jinx stopped just as she was about to slide her goggles back on and looked at Evi. "Whattya mean?" She furrowed her brows.

"Like… is there anythin' we're gonna do or…"

She scoffed. "I dunno," she shrugged. "I am resupplying. I don't care what you two do as long as ya don't touch anything or break anything!"

Evi gaped, her eyes flying to the ceiling for a moment, before locking back at Jinx. "We can't touch anythin''?" Zel tried to follow Evi's eyes but failed. What was she looking at?

Jinx sighed, rolling her eyes as she rested her right elbow on her thigh and slumped her chin into her palm. "Janna, I swear, hearing loss is your real issue."

Zel snorted at that, quickly covering his mouth as both of them glanced at him, one amused and the other… not.

"Count your coins, hock a loogie off the edge, I don't give a shit," Jinx aimlessly waved her other hand around, "just don't bother my tinkerin'."

He spared a small sad look at the desk. "C-Can I watch?"

She whirled at him with a confused face. "Watch me… tinker?" she asked. The two ignored Evi's snort at Jinx's wording. He merely nodded. "Uhhh, long as ya don't keep berating me with questions. Talking and tinkerin' is hard."

"Oh, I know," Zel spoke with sincerity, jerking his head at Evi. He could recall practically every instance of his partner annoying him while he worked on his bombs.

"Hey!"

Jinx grinned at that. "She's needy, huh?"

"Oi!"

Jinx tiredly turned back to her. "Yes, Urchin?"

Evi stomped her foot, letting her bangs fall and cover her slightly flushed face. "Ya nerds might have fun—"

"Nerds?" he and Jinx echoed. They shot each other a quick glance with a smile, before turning back to Evi.

"—but not all of us are entertained with soldering iron sparks and wiring!"

Jinx shrugged. "So? If you're bored then scram, play with your coins. Or better yet, if ya think this is a snoozefest," she jerked her thumb down the fan wing, "hit the sack."

The two blinked at that.

"What… like, go back to bed?" Evi clarified.

Jinx scoffed. "Sure. Not like you need to stay awake all day."

His eyes widened in disbelief along with Evi's.

Zel felt a strange sensation of… warmth? It was like a mix of surprise and clarity. They… they could never afford to just sleep in. Or even sleep somewhere twice, aside from Babette's brothel (even that was a rare occurrence where they still slept with one eye open). It was basically a death sentence to even consider that. He watched in awe as Evi's somewhat aggressive expression softened with excitement.

"So like… I can just—"

"Go back to bed?" Jinx interjected, tiredly blinking at her. "Yes, brat, ya can. Matter of fact your snoring might be quieter."

Evi's grin was all Zel needed to know she wasn't letting Jinx's teases get to her. "Sweet!" she spared a cautious, careful look at Zel. He nodded at her, silently expressing he was gonna be okay. "Then… guess'll I just pass out again." She turned and sprinted down the wing, which made Jinx laugh.

The reality of her excitement made Zel's smile falter a bit.

Throughout all their years together, Evi spent the most time awake. Lookout duty during sleeping was the majority of her work. Fist fights or brawls, Zel often wound up unconscious first in those exchanges and she had to stay awake for the both of them. Even when he made his undermines, Evi was on standby and on watch—during his breaks, she still had an eye and ear out for trouble. Watching her dive onto their pullout bed and curl up to their loot bag, Zel smiled at her.

Did she really ever rest?

"She does most of the lookout during sleep?"

Man, Jinx was really intuitive.

"Yeah," Zel sadly admitted, watching as his partner slowly drifted off. "She… she could use some sleep."

"You both could, y'know?" she said softly, causing him to turn to her with surprise. That tone came out of nowhere. "Street sleeping is hardly sleeping. You should enjoy a bed while ya can."

He smirked. "Later. I do wanna watch you work—i-if that's okay."

She tilted her head, staring at him for a couple seconds. He felt himself sweat a bit at her observant stare before she shrugged. "'Kay. Your yawny funeral, Rookie."

He ignored the yawn that came out of him as he sat himself on the box Evi claimed earlier. He was here to watch.

—JINX—

This errand was important.

With Jericho's recent advice, Jinx had to confront a new problem.

She didn't have a fridge, or stove, or anything for cooking. Only thing she owned that was anywhere near a kitchen appliance was a coffee machine! And you couldn't cook with that—she tried that numerous times! This meant Jinx had to look into getting some appliances. Watching the kids eat cold leftovers was honestly… a sad sight to see. They enjoyed their meal. Heck, they ate it like it was still hot and fresh, but the hard crunches and stale bites were obvious for her to see and hear. Jinx watched them eat for a bit before returning to finish her last batch of Chompers, but even from her workshop she could hear the struggles of them trying to eat their food.

Jinx never had that problem.

She tunnel visioned a lot, sure, which meant eating was a luxury she may or may not have forgotten sometimes. But when she did eat, she ate immediately and while it was fresh. Food going cold was never something she worried about. At least, it wasn't something she worried about here. Back… back at The Last Drop she had places to reheat. This was different. She was housing people who needed a proper eating schedule. Today, she wagered she could afford not getting dinner since they were full from the Cutpurse Combo, but they still needed ways to eat consecutively and with ease.

So after they finished up and let the food comas take them into a slumber on the futon, Jinx left another note—the darn brats also threw out her last one—and headed out for an errand. This one was all about making big girl expenses. Jericho's conversation made Jinx realize maybe… just maybe, there was a bit of value in spending big for things that were long term. The way Evi reacted about sleeping in again, the way Zel invested himself into her gadgetry, something told her having a luxury was necessary.

FOR YOU?

you know… it's not…

She shook her head.

BECAUSE YOU'RE SELFISH?

it's for… them…

"Shuttup!" she hissed, stomping her foot. Spinning around in the tight alleyway, Jinx frantically looked for her. The cover over the rising night shaded her surroundings, but even then Jinx should've still seen it. How could she just speak and leave? Worst off, how was she influencing the others to do the same? Mylo… he teased her earlier, when she made fun of the kids during her tinkering, but he left just like her.

And it wasn't the same.

He wasn't teasing her.

It felt like… he was trying to but realized it wouldn't take.

And just gave up.

NO!

yes…

She spun again, looking.

But again, nothing.

"Janna, I hate this," she whispered over her shoulder. Fishbones' jaw fell, as if to sarcastically gasp at her. Like, No shit, duh. She scoffed. "Don't sass me."

Jinx shook her head and continued skipping down the alley. This part of Zaun was nicely tucked ways away from the populated marketplace or central areas, but still near the winding paths that led toward the separating border of Piltover and Zaun. With the shroud of evening falling upon them, it was also hard to notice from rooftops. It was compact and small, the type of place the ol' ogre couldn't fit in, the kind of alley that Fat Hands could barely stride into without getting her gauntlets stuck on a wall.

She stopped… just outside the steel door.

Why did she think of her?

Jinx blinked, shaking her head once again. The door and walls had literally nothing special about them. She always suggested prettying it up with graffiti or signs but understood this place would lose its descerency. With a quick and loud rap on the door, she shouted, "Ohhhh Amy! Ya gotta customer!" She immediately pressed her ear against the cold door.

"Jinx? Janna, I told you not to knock like that—just come in!"

She grinned. "Roger, dodger!" she shouted, whipping the door open and stepping through. As it closed shut, she breathed in the air. Gunpowder, seared steel, and Shimmer. She took a scan of the walls and tables laid out: machine guns, rocket launchers, grenade launchers, body armour—the whole shebang! She giggled at the sight before shaking her head, she wasn't here for pleasure, this was business. Kinda. But still, she spared another look at the array of items on display and sighed in glee. "Man, might just be my favourite place in Zaun," she said with a whimsical tone.

"Glad you feel that way," came a pitchy voice, "considering you're my best customer." Jinx's gaze flew toward the voice.

In walked a tall tan woman with a huge black, messy ponytail and a purple streak down the middle. She had black tights, accented by brown straps of holsters and red paint streaks. The streaks continued up to her white tank top, along with splashes of grease. She beamed a bright smile at Jinx as she folded her gloved hands over her arms and jutted her hip out, causing her bullseye earrings to bounce.

Funsmith Amy.

A weaponsmith supplier. In Jinx's mind, the best weaponsmith in all of Zaun. While she prided herself on making her own gadgets, Amy sought the opportunity of making and selling her products. Jinx could never—do that herself or buy them—but she could go to her for parts. Sometimes she bought intact gear just to take 'em apart herself, other times she put in requests for certain materials and Amy would have them available for her a couple days later. She even sold Shimmer and variants of it too. But everything she did was quiet and discreet, so word of mouth was how people even found her place. The woman practically had everything Jinx could ask for.

And better yet? She wasn't afraid of her either.

"Ames!" Jinx grinned.

"Jinx!" she waved her fingers and then placed her hands on her workbench. Shooting Jinx a knowing smile as she asked, "Already in need of some Shimmer?"

She blew a raspberry. "Naaah, I ain't wasting it that quickly."

Amy furrowed a brow. "Not what I heard," she singsongingly quipped.

"Whattya mean?"

"Word is you took out a Piltie plaza near the docks yesterday." She crossed her arms again and shrugged. "And, blew a rooftop in the marketplace."

Jinx frowned. "That wasn't me!" she angrily stomped.

Amy's eyes lit up as she chuckled. "Yikes, I gotcha Jinx," she held up her hands placatingly, "I know that. Just, that's what the word's been. 'Course I don't bother correcting anyone." She chuckled, turning her body around and throwing her rear onto her table. Swinging her legs, she looked over her shoulder. "Anywho," she looked forward and gestured at the wall display, "take your looksie!"

Jinx pouted, still wanting to deny or explain the bombing situation further. But this was something she was trying to keep on the down low. It would be better if Zaun wasn't aware these two kids existed, let alone were capable of pulling off bombings and robberies. She stopped at Amy's back wall display and furrowed her brows in conflict. Was… that out of concern?

FOR—

—who?

She froze, hand on her gun's grip.

"Hey!" Jinx jumped, turning toward Amy. The taller woman had her hand on her minigun handle, which was strung up on the wall just beside her register. "I told you: if you're gonna shoot something, shoot the training dummies." She nodded her head toward the big empty room with a line up of mannequins where Amy had emerged from.

Jinx looked down and realized her gun wasn't holstered, but actually in her palm.

"U-Uh, sorry Ames," she nervously laughed. She put her gun away and held her hands up, holding a sheepish smile. "I've been kinda thinking a lot these days."

Amy guffawed, nearly falling off the table as she held her stomach. Jinx laughed with her, letting the room fill with crazed laughter. Not a lot of people just got Jinx's kind of thinking. "You?" She cleared her throat, rubbing a tear from her eye. "So I take it your ol' brain's been spaced out?"

Jinx's smile waned a bit. "Yeah… thinkin' is hard, huh?"

The ponytailed woman snorted. "No shit." She straightened herself up. "Well, whatcha thinking about these days?"

She turned around and leaned up against the wall, ignoring the clang of Fishbones hitting Amy's display board. "Uhhh, ya don't got like… I dunno, fridges or stoves, microwaves? Stuff like that?" This felt stupid to even ask. But this was Amy, she had everything. Or at least, to Jinx she did.

"A fridge?" she repeated, scrunching her brows in confusion.

"Or stove or microwave, or whatever," the blue haired woman tried to wave off, gesturing her hand aimlessly.

"I'm a weaponsmith, Jinx," she dryly remarked.

"But ya sell other shit!" she gestured above her.

"Yeah, sometimes I've got body armour! Other times I got headgear or equipment like goggles or flashlights!" the woman hopped off her table and pointed at each item she listed as she walked around. "That don't mean I sell houseware!" she stated, disgust laced within her voice. "That sounds like Piltie shit."

Jinx visibly recoiled. No one was worth going Topside for. "Uggh, gross." She hunched over and sighed.

"Why do you need that stuff anyway? Since when do you cook?"

She gaped. "Hey, a woman can try new things!"

Amy blinked at her. "I guess? But the only time I come across that type of stuff is when I'm looting the scrap heaps, so in other words—"

"Rarely ever in one piece?"

She clicked her tongue and winked. "On the money!" She leaned up against her table. "I could keep an eye out, still. Maybe bring finds that are almost in one piece and paw 'em off to you?"

Jinx smirked. "Yeah! That's perfect!" Her excitement faltered a moment. "Uhhh, that'd mean I would have to build 'em, right?" Amy shrugged with an apologetic smile. "Well crap. Do ya got any like… manuals for that?"

Amy snorted. "'Manuals'? You?" She shook her head, walking into the room with the mannequins. "You have been thinking hard," she teased. Jinx merely scowled as the woman remerged with a box of booklets and pamphlets. "More times than not," she grunted as she dropped the box on the table, "these are inside the houseware I find. I keep 'em because they make good kindling sometimes."

Jinx raised a brow. "Paper?"

Amy's face heated. "W-What?" She shrugged. "Can't always toss in wood, I sell that too!"

Jinx cackled, diving into the box to sift through it herself. Amy was right though, a good portion of it was just owner's manuals for things like microwaves and stoves. As she grabbed a booklet for a fridge and flipped through it, she pouted. "This doesn't say anything 'bout assembly!" she whined, "just how to use and shit!"

Amy shrugged again. "They're already pre-made! But the parts are listed for some of them. Maybe that's enough?"

She looked over a microwave booklet and sighed. "Better than nothin', I guess." She skimmed through and widened her eyes in surprise as she realized one of the bulbs used was one she had! "Hey! I have this bulb! Or, I think I do!" she exclaimed, inspecting the image further. "Shit, maybe this isn't useless!"

"That's the spirit!" Amy cheered, shooting a thumbs up. "Tell ya what, I'll let you take half of the shit in this box for your own reference," she slapped the box, "No charge either!"

She spun toward Amy with a shocked face. "Seriously?"

The taller woman waved her hand. "Eh, hardly anything to charge for. Besides, the real haul is finding the kind of shit you need. Doubt I'll find anything mostly intact, because when I do, I usually tear it apart myself. Soooo, bringing it back in one piece…" she trailed off, shooting a knowing smirk at Jinx.

She sighed. "Costs extra?" At the woman's nod, she sighed even louder, prompting laughter from her supplier.

This wasn't just a big girl investment, it was a biiiiig girl investment.

Being an adult sucked.

"Fine, fair enough," Jinx grumbled.

Taking Amy's box and making her leave, Jinx began running numbers in her head. Doing deals with Funsmith Amy ran up in expensive territory, but it was quality worth its quantity. Amy knew how and where to get good scrap and how to meld them together. She also knew how to take apart a broken piece of junk within seconds and only leave with its useful components. She knew how to appraise scrap and even trade. So needless to say, she was worth every Bronze Washer.

Clambering onto the rooftops with a box in her hand was a bit hard, but the second Jinx made it she began running back to her hideout. The sooner she got started on doing inventory (ugh, sounded so… grownup), the sooner things would be in order and ready. A new project was in store for her now. The excitement she usually felt with that idea didn't come this time around. No… it was just anxiousness. A queasy feeling of dread. Because it was different. It was hard to justify this, to understand this new project in her hands. One that didn't involve any explosions, Shimmer, or firearms. One that was… mundane.

Mundane and Jinx didn't mix well.

Nearing a tunnel opening, she readied herself to leap across.

MUNDANE DOESN'T MIX WELL!

She skidded to a halt, feeling her heart catch up in her throat. It was pounding. Why. Why. Why?

they aren't… mundane either…

Stop. What was going on?

Why were they speaking

She stomped her foot and screamed, digging into her satchel. She pulled a Chomper pin and flung the grenade upward, wailing, "AHHHHHHH!" as it flew high into the air.

The explosion rang out, colours shone as she fell to her knees and stared up at the beautiful cloud. Screams, cries, running—it all drowned out as she watched the pretty colours and smoke dissipate. Fading, it all faded. Clarity, even in the eye of a smoke cloud. Make it make sense. Bombs made it make sense. She took a breath, closing her eyes. "No," she softly said, shaking her head. Standing up on her feet, she continued to shake her head. "No." With a revived strength, she rushed toward the edge of the roof and leaped across, landing right into the tunnel with ease. She turned back and scowled at the sight. "No," she bitterly spat.

The sight of Zaun.

The sight of the fading fire in the sky.

The sight of the smog emitting from the rooftops and shitty factories.

The sight of the trasheaps in the far horizon.

The sight of the blinding neon lights in the streets.

It could all go screw itself.

"Brats deserve mundane," she whispered, before fading into the tunnels once again.

A/N: Quite an ending to ponder, eh? I decided to cut it off semi abruptly here as though to let the tension and feelings hang a bit. Jinx's psyche isn't something I aim to glorify nor do I want to try to make a huge plot around it. The story IS about her, Evi, and Zel. But Jinx's voices are apart of her, and she's apart of the story. The duo has their own issues too, some we've yet to face, but I wanted to dive into a bit of a complex. A complex that's unresolved.

Yes, yes, "Funsmith" Amy is ANOTHER Legend of Runeterra Zaunite card. She actually has some funny interactions with Jinx if you play her and she has a fun aesthetic and cool background art. Again, another Zaunite LoR card that doesn't exactly have much lore to 'em so I'm kinda able to work off of her in a fun way! To clarify, she doesn't exactly KNOW Jinx (not her voices, at the very least) but considering she's Jinx's supplier that speaks VOLUMES for what kind of person she is to willingly deal with Jinx on a routinely basis. Her card in the game is also kind of cool!

For any future confusion for Jinx's hideout layout, the "first wing" is the blade leading from the turbine to the entrance. The second is a clear platform where Jinx tests her bombs and firearms (also where she tested the gemstone). The third is where the living area is (the futon and such). The fourth is where Jinx keeps her boxes and piles of scrap. It's hard to really get a look at what Jinx's hideout has from the concept art, but I managed to pull my own interpretations. And yes, we'll being seeing more of it in more chapters! Especially in the next!

Sorry about the delays guys! I tried my damndest to get it out ASAP with the best quality I could. The long and short of what happened for delays it is family issues occurred that I couldn't get out of and I had no time to work on this chapter or the next. I know this chap probably doesn't live up to the biggest expectations, especially for the extended wait, but it's not exactly meant to be crazy. Though, I still hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Even still, I'm incredibly thankful for your guys' patience and all the kind messages and DMs I received over the wait! Thanks so much!

Also, in case you aren't following my Tumblr for TMUT updates, worry not! On here (both Ao3 or FFN) I'll update the "Next chapter update:" with an [EDIT], giving the next estimated time of when it'll go live. If you go back to chapter 4, you should see I changed it to today, the 29th of June. But if you're curious about details or knowing ahead of time, my Tumblr update posts are most likely where you'll get that info. And going forward, these chapters might start coming out later in the day from now on as well. Probably around evening time for Eastern Time!

Review Responses:

Loyal Follower: Whelp, looks like that was answered! But considering I made ya wait for t, I'll also say the next one involves a LOT of hi-jinx too! The domestic kind.

Next chapter update: July 13th!

Stay safe and stay lovely y'all.

Until next time,

- Bleh