Five Months Earlier

Left-hook right-hook jab. Vi's hands struck the heavy sand bag that hung from the ceiling of the gym, sending shocks of energy through her whole arm with each hit. Right-hook jab jab left-hook. She used to hit things to relieve stress, but now it seemed like each punch just built her up even more. Jab jab jab right hook. It was all Caitlyn's fault. She had no idea what Vi was going through, no idea how important a sister could be. She was an only child. Right-hook left-hook right-hook upper-cut. How could she possibly understand? If she had a sister, maybe she would get why Vi couldn't tell her. Right-hook upper-cut jab jab jab left-hook upper-cut. Fucking prissy bitch. Blaming Vi for everything. It wasn't her fault. None of it was her fault. Jay was a psycho; was that her fault? RIGHT-HOOK. Fuck no it wasn't! LEFT-HOOK. Caitlyn just didn't get her, couldn't fathom Vi's mind.

"FUCK YOU!" she screamed suddenly, putting the last of her energy into one solid punch. The bag took the punch and swung slightly, but Vi stopped it before she was knocked back. Sweat was pouring from her body, drenching her grey wife-beater shirt. Her hair was matted and tangled, unwashed and unkempt. She slumped her head against the bag, eyes shut hard, breath ragged and raspy.

"I've been looking for you"

That voice sent ice cold water pouring through Vi's body. Her bones froze, her hot, sweaty skin chilled and numbed, her mind emptied of all other thoughts. Vi spun around, all her exhaustion vanishing in an instant as she stared at those azure eyes, that raven-black hair, put back in a ponytail so she could work out, the long slender fingers holding her green steel water bottle. Vi pulled her gaze away before she could see more, before she became enamored by the sheriffs figure. She reached down and retrieved her own water bottle and towel, wiping her face dry of sweat.

"Have you now." she replied flatly, still not looking at her. She took a swig of her water, still panting slightly.

"I have" Caitlyn said quietly. "I was wondering if you were coming home any time soon. I've been worried about you." Her voice sounded like a scared child, asking her parents if she could go to a party. It was a strange thing to hear, the usually confident and sultry voice reduced to such a basic level.

Vi just scoffed though, taking another swig of her water. "I'm busy" she said. "Lot's of free time now that I don't have a job."

Vi could feel her flinch from that one, even without looking at her. "That's not entirely fair." Caitlyn replied "I did what I had to do, you know that. If anything I let you off easy."

"Oh fuck you Cait." Vi shot back, turning to face her. "Maybe if you got off your high horse every now and then you might see that people other than you exist."

Ouch. She could see that one hit Caitlyn hard. Vi looked away, biting her lower lip as she did. Shouldn't have said that. She looked away once again, taking another swig of her water. "Forget it" she muttered, shaking her head. Vi pushed passed the sheriff and made for the door. "You shouldn't wait up for me." Vi said

"You know I will anyways" Caitlyn said quietly.

Vi grunted. She turned the knob on the door, pushed it open, and was gone.

Present Day

Vi coughed violently, spitting up a mixture of blood and saliva onto the leather of Jayce's back seat. "You're paying for that if it stains" Jayce said, glancing back at her in the rear view mirror.

"Not in your lifetime" Vi groaned, laying her head down in her own fluids. "Why are you even here?" she asked quietly.

"I think a little gratitude is in order, seeing as I just saved your life." Jayce said irritably. Vi didn't respond, so he continued. "We need your help, Vi. Everything's gone to shit since you left. Jinx has been running amuck, Caitlyn is a damed mess, even the gangs have been getting more aggressive."

"Last time I checked you weren't a cop" Vi said.

Jayce didn't respond. They were entering midtown now, leaving the seedy bars and dark alleyways, and approaching the towering skyscrapers and bright lights. She hadn't been back here for months, Vi realized. The buildings seemed almost alien to her, despite the fact that she had commuted here almost every day. She whipped her mouth clean of blood and pulled herself into a sitting position, groaning as she did. "Where are we going." she asked.

Jayce shot her a look through the mirror. "Home" he said simply.

Three Months Earlier

The crowd screamed and cheered as the fighter took a swing at Vi. She took the hit like a champ, rebounding back from it and planting one of her own in the mans midsection. He grunted loudly and stumbled back as all the air left his lungs. He caught his balance on his right foot and bounded back forward, taking another swing at Vi. She was ready for this one, ducking and weaving out of the way. She retreated a few steps and bounced on her heels as they began to circle one another.

The crowd was going wild, shaking old wooden bar with shouts and stomps. Vi bit harder on her rubber teeth guard, ignoring the blood that began to pool in her mouth. This guy was tougher than the six others she had fought tonight. He could take a punch and just keep swinging, and his fists felt like they were made of nails. Fists up, the two fighters circled each other slowly, taking little jabs every now and then to test their guards. Like a game of cat and mouse, except neither one of them knew who was what.

Vi made the first move, feigning a right hook and swinging hard left. She connected with the fleshy part of his side and his knee buckled. Vi kept swinging; hard hits alternating right and left mixed in with punches to his stomach every now and then. His guard was broken Vi knew, and as long as she didn't let him get it back, she was in the clear. His legs were shaking, his arms were playing catch up with Vi's hits, and his eyes were clenched shut. A single vein bulged from the top of his bald head, and another on his clenched neck.

One final punch sent him down to one knee. The roar of the crowd was dull and quiet to Vi's ears, drowned out by her own rushing blood. Time slowed as she jumped into the air and brought her fist down hard across the fighters face. Her fist popped and cracked as bone met bone and blood mixed with blood. His mouth guard went flying through the air in a stream of crimson, half spat and half forced from his mouth as his body crumpled to the cold concrete floor.

Vi heard the faint dinging of a bell as the blood began to drain from her skull, her heavy breathing becoming fainter and fainter as the crowds screams overtook her. Someone lifted her bloody hand into the air, and somewhere in the back of her mind she registered that the fight was over. She relaxed her clenched fists and closed her eyes.

"You're makin' me a lot of money, you!" Jackie Oswald, the fight coordinator, said. "I never thought I'd be thankin' you for bustin' up my fighters!" he jabbed her hard with one finger in his chest.

"Never thought I would be fighting here." Vi admitted. "Money's a bitch, ain't?"

Jackie pouted his lips and shrugged. "I wouldn't know" he said "always had more n' enough myself." he laughed. Jackie looked like a hunk of old ham as he scrunched up his shoulders and snorted with short bursts of unnecessary laughter. She couldn't help but turn up her swollen face in a smile.

"Here's your cut" he said, handing Vi an envelope of bills, the laughter gone as quickly as it came. "Come back any time, you're always welcome here!"

Vi had already opened the envelope and flipped through the bills, making sure she hadn't been cheated. "Yeah, sure." she said absent mindedly. "try to give me someone who can actually fight next time."

"Your face says they could fight!" he said, poking her swollen right cheek. Vi hissed slightly in pain and slapped his hand away.

"Just trying to give the crowd a good fight" she lied, making Jackie laugh again.

"That's my girl!" he said, snorting a few more time and shuffling away. His laughter died away as Vi walked out of the smokey bar. She slipped the money into her back pocket and pulled her keys out of her jeans.

Money had always been tight for Vi; she made ends meet any way she could before she was a cop. She stole, she fought, she stole some more. Little bits of cash here and there and wherever, and whatever she couldn't buy, she usually just took. None of that could compare to now though. Paying for an apartment she didn't live in anymore, keeping her car repaired and gassed, and her regular trips to her local bar really added up. Before she knew it, all her saving had been depleted, but her debt just kept piling up. Fighting was about the only thing she could do anymore.

Bright headlights cut through Vi's thoughts. She dropped her keys and held her arm up, covering her eyes. "PPD!" a voice called out. "Don't mo-...Vi?"

Vi squinted through the cracks in her fingers, trying to see past the glaring lights. "Who's there?" she asked "Cut those lights off, man, I can barely see."

The bright lights cut out, and through the dim light of the moon she saw the outline of a police car, with two officers standing on either side. "Vi what the hell are you doing here?" came the same voice, and this time she recognized it.

"Loyde?" She said, unable to stop the little smile that crept to her lips. "You're a sight for sore eyes. Literally, my eyes hurt."

"Why don't you walk the building?" Loyde said to the other officer, who lowered his gun slowly. The two of them watched his light disappear around the side of the building, and Loyde rounded on Vi. "Can you explain to me why you're at an illegal fighting scene Vi?" he said angrily.

"Fighting" Vi said simply. "Duh. Still the same old Loyde I see."

He bristled, face reddening with anger. "Don't you get salty with me!" he said. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Caitlyn's been looking all over the city for you and I find you fighting?!"

Probably wasn't a good idea to keep antagonizing him, Vi thought. "I haven't done shit, officer." she replied, emphasizing the last word. "Tell the sheriff that she can keep looking, I'm not coming back any time soon."

She bent down to pick up her keys, then turned to unlock her car, but Loyde grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back to face him. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he said incredulously. "Caitlyn is falling apart without you there. How can you be so uncaring about it?!"

If Vi hadn't been so surprised, she would have been angry. Loyde, the fat, stubby, balding little man that cowered in fear of Vi every day at the office, that stuttered and stumbled over his words when he spoke, had just pulled her back into the conversation: physically pulled her. She was so shocked it must have shown, because he kept talking. "I need to take you in, Vi. Caitlyn needs you and it's my duty as an officer to arrest you."

Vi let out a single, fake laugh. "No you're not, Loyde." she said calmly. "You're more than welcome to try. But you and I both know how this is going to end if you try."

Loyde took a step back and swallowed. He was clearly having a bit of an internal struggle; get beat up or let the sheriff down. Vi made his mind up for him. She shoved him, hard, and he toppled backwards onto his rear. "Get out of here before you hurt yourself, Loyde" she said in a low, threatening tone.

But Loyde wasn't afraid. He stood up, dusted himself off, and looked Vi dead in the face. He shook his head after a pause, and scoffed a bit.

"Take care of yourself Vi" he said angrily. "Maybe one day you'll think about someone else before you think about yourself."

Vi never forgot those words.

SO MANY NEW CHAPTER SO QUICKLY! Hey all! My fire is back! I'm hoping to finish part 2 in a couple of weeks, and tomorrow, I'll post the first chapter to my new, ten chapter short. Hope you all enjoy!

As always, if you like my work, please continue to read and review, and if you have ideas for other fics, shoot me a PM! I'm always happy to hear from my readers.

Abe