So I made the big brain decision to post the first chapter of this fic before I had to start work on a portfolio and two essays for my uni course, so that took up a lot of time I wanted to spend on this chapter, here. But we move on, and I hope you enjoy!

Vi screamed as Powder walked away from her, and she thrashed against her bindings with all her strength. She wouldn't let her sister go, not like this, not again.

"Powder! Come back!" She called, twisting her head left and right to try and see Powder, but with her body tied up like this, she couldn't get the right angle to spot her. Instead she glanced over her bindings as quickly as she could, but her sister was smart and she knew how to tie a knot; she wasn't getting out of this herself. She had to try, though, because she couldn't let Powder down. Not this time.

Vi took a deep breath and considered her options. Sure, she was the brawn to Powder's brain, but she wasn't stupid. If she couldn't untie herself from the chair, why not remove the chair entirely? Powder had turned her chair around after Vi woke up so it wasn't bolted down or anything, and, glancing down at the back legs of the chair, she had an idea.

She tilted forward and pressed her feet to the floor, standing half-crouched with a chair basically attached to her ass. Clenching her jaw, she jumped as high as she could, aiming to land on the two back legs of the chair. Vi wouldn't admit it to anyone but there was a brief moment where, at the apex of her jump, she wondered if she should've thought this through more.

As the legs of the chair hit the floor but remained intact, the impact causing Vi to grunt in pain, she concluded that, yes, she should've given this idea a second thought. And as the sheer weight of the chair and Vi's own body caused the chair to topple backwards, she let out a startled "Ugh, shit!" Some of the wind was knocked out of her when her back hit the hard concrete, the wooden back of the chair doing little to alleviate the shock, but she ignored the pain and pulled at her bindings some more, hoping that she at least managed to loosen the ropes somehow.

When that failed and Vi was still stuck to the chair, now flat on her back, she felt the familiar panic rising up within her. She couldn't let Powder down again, she couldn't!

A quiet groan sounded from her left, something she only heard because of the near-silence left in the wake of her sister's departure, and she looked over towards Caitlyn's prone form.

Caitlyn was awake! Caitlyn could help her!

Powder's footsteps began to grow quiet as she moved further away, away from her, away from the life Vi had waited eight fucking years to rebuild with her, and a manic desperation seized her heart. "Caitlyn! God, fuck! Wake up, for fucks sake, Caitlyn!"

For a long, terrible moment, she thought Caitlyn couldn't hear her. Then the Topsider's eyes opened, a beautiful blue that Vi had only seen in one other person, a blue that she would never see again, and she knew there was a chance she could fix this.

Vi pulled at her bindings, refusing to give up the struggle even as Caitlyn propped herself up with one hand, the other coming to press against her forehead. "Vi, what…" She groaned, stopping with a wince, face twisting in obvious pain before she shook her head. "What's going on?" Her voice was weak and a little scratchy, and a flash of worry that Caitlyn might have a concussion raced through her mind, before she forced it down.

"Untie me, hurry!" Vi shouted, watching as her friend flinched at the noise, but she didn't have time to worry. She needed to get out. She needed to find Powder, to hold her and to tell her that everything would be alright. Caitlyn only stared at her, however, her expression dazed and her eyes unfocused. "Please! Snap out of it! Help me!"

It was like her pleas had flipped a switch in Caitlyn's mind, as her eyes widened in shock, like she'd only just remembered where she was before scrambling towards her. Shaking hands started untying the rope holding her left arm, even as she glanced up at Vi and spoke. "Where's Jinx?" She asked, undoing the knot with an ease that impressed Vi.

"She left, but I can still find her!" She cried out, even as the rope around her hand grew loose enough that Vi could pull it out. She immediately started work on freeing her right hand, even as Caitlyn's eyes fell on her.

"Violet… She's gone, and we-" She began, but Vi wasn't having it, quickly freeing her other hand.

"Shut up! I'm not leaving her!" Caitlyn let out an irritated huff, and Vi remembered that they hadn't exactly talked through how she'd left her alone in the rain. Vi looked away, trying to keep the shame off her face. "Just hurry and get my leg…" Caitlyn, ever the professional, nodded and started working on her left leg, while Vi began on the right.

"Oil and water", huh? Fuck… I'm such an asshole. She thought, realising for the first time that, even by pushing her away, Powder was still able to kidnap her. And now, after nearly dying in the most fucked up family reunion in history, Caitlyn chose to help her?

Vi didn't deserve her. Truth be told, she didn't really deserve anything. Caitlyn fought for others because she was good and kind, while she only ever looked out for herself and hers. Selflessness versus selfishness.

If someone had told her eight years ago that, one day, she'd meet an Enforcer who genuinely wanted to help, and who had the skills to back it up, she'd have laughed in their face. Then she'd have broken their face, because she didn't like being lied to. Hell, she'd have done that a week ago, just a few days before her Cupcake had waltzed right outside her cell door and changed her life.

She used to think all Topsiders were the same. She used to think they were all rich assholes who only cared about themselves and their money, but now she wasn't so sure. If Caitlyn, the daughter of a fucking Councillor, could be so wholly good, couldn't other's in Piltover?

Just as there was some genuine scum in the Lanes, people who preyed on the less fortunate or able in Undercity, there were also those who looked out for each other even at cost to themselves. Vander, taking in two orphans after a failed charge across the bridge to Piltover killed their parents. Benzo, giving discounts in his store to those who needed his wares the most. Ekko, a boy six years her junior, now the leader of a community all while fighting against the Chembarons and their Shimmer market.

Good, honest people like that existed in the Undercity, and she was proud to know them, or to have known them. Maybe the same could be said for those Topside?

Vi shook her head and pulled her right leg free, ignoring the look Caitlyn sent her, even as the taller woman finished untying the rest of the ropes around her other leg. Vi wasn't sure why she was having these thoughts. Maybe Sevika had hit her one too many times, back in The Last Drop.

None of that mattered, though. All that mattered was finding Powder.

With that, she pushed herself to her feet and shot past Caitlyn, charging out the open warehouse door and into the night.

"Powder!" She screamed with her hands cupped around her mouth. "Powder! Come back! Please! I love you! I won't abandon you again, I swear! Powder!"

She waited for a minute, and another after that, so that Powder would have enough time to show herself. There was nothing, however. No arms wrapping around her from behind, no whispered words of forgiveness from the shadows that she could follow. Her sister was gone. It had taken half a minute for her to get free, and she was still too late!

Violet took several deep breaths, trying to calm down the way Vander had shown her all those years ago, but Powder's heartbroken face kept flashing in her mind and the rage built in her chest. It choked her even as it empowered her, but this wasn't a problem she could punch her way out of. She couldn't deny it; she had failed.

This was her last chance, and she'd let her sister down - maybe for the last time.

Frustrated tears pooled at the edges of her vision, and she wiped them away with a fury that felt alien, even to her. She'd spent eight years in a haze, focused solely on surviving long enough to make it back to Powder, and she fucked it up. All her anger, all her strength, every lesson learned in that hellish prison, and she still couldn't hold on to her one reason for living.

What kind of sister was she?

Vi wanted to scream and throw her fists to the floor, releasing her rage in the only way she knew how, but there was no one left to punch, and she was so damned tired. She wanted to go home…

When people look up to you, you don't get to be selfish.

Vander's words echoed in her mind, the same way they had when she'd been laid out on the floor in her brawl with Sevika. And, like then, they gave her the strength to carry on.

Rage wouldn't help her then, because this was a time to heal, not harm, so she focused on the feeling of the cool night's air on her face, something she'd gone years without. Vi then took a series of slow, deep breaths, ignoring her trembling hands while she began to count the stars in the sky. Of course, the skies above Piltover were dark and cloudy, with the amount of light from the city drowning out the stars. Coupled with the blood-red moon hanging there ominously, there wasn't anything to see at all.

Turning away from "The City of Progress", however, yielded much different results. Away from civilization, bright stars littered a dark sea of black, twisting and forming patterns large and small, an array of light that took Vi's breath away. She'd spent so long underground that this, a sight she used to take for granted, nearly brought her to tears.

She wasn't sure what she felt. It could have been the joy of finally regaining her freedom, or the grief for the years she'd lost. It could have been any of them or maybe something else, something that she didn't understand. Maybe she wasn't truly free, with part of her heart still stuck in that cell, never to be found again, but it didn't matter.

Vi had to breathe.

She spent the next minute counting stars, getting up to fifty-seven before she felt calm enough to face Caitlyn again. She shook her head and turned back to the warehouse, looking through the open door to see Caitlyn stood there, leaning against the table with her head in her hands. Vi approached her slowly, letting her feet fall heavier against the stone floor so she wouldn't startle the taller woman. Even then, Vi managed to get within ten feet of her before she looked up, the Enforcer giving her a grim look as she did. "Silco's dead." She said, pointing a thumb over her shoulder to his corpse, still tied to the chair.

Vi let out a rough sigh, because, while she hated the man, even she understood that Silco was a stabilising force in the Lanes. Without him, the Chembarons would fight over territory like rabid dogs, tearing each other's throats out for what amounted to scraps of meat. She considered what might happen for a moment, before moving a step closer to Caitlyn and meeting her eyes. "There's nothing we can do, Cupcake, other than get you home before all hell breaks loose in the Undercity."

Caitlyn's response was nearly a snarl, eyes narrowing as her hands slammed on the edges of the table behind her. "My name is Caitlyn."

The redhead couldn't keep the surprise off her face and she reflexively took a step back, holding her hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. My bad, but you're kinda clinging to the wrong thing here", Vi apologised, reaching out with a hand. Caitlyn didn't slap it aside so much as she moved to the right and away from her, refusing to even look her way.

Vi wasn't surprised at how much that hurt, but she refused to let it show. Not to Caitlyn, not to anyone. Instead, she spread her arms wide and said, "Caitlyn, come on? Please?"

When the Enforcer stopped moving, keeping her back to Vi without saying a word, she knew she was being allowed to continue.

"I'm sorry about last night, okay? I was worked up and I said some fucked up shit, and there's no excuse for that." Vi rubbed her face with the heels of her hand, groaning into them somewhat. "I wanted a fight and when the Council refused to go after Silco, well… I went and found a fight myself."

Caitlyn turned around and, while she wasn't exactly smiling the anger had clearly dimmed, and Vi could scarcely believe how happy that made her. She knew why, though. She was tired of losing everything. Losing Caitlyn too… the thought of it sent knives through her heart, because, right now, Caitlyn was all she had left.

With that, Vi didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but it was the truth. Her parents were dead, her adopted brothers and father too, and while she didn't believe Ekko had been killed in that explosion, he was practically a different person now. And Powder…

How could Vi have fucked up that badly? No, she knew how. She'd known ever since the first night she was locked up in Stillwater. She fucked up by being her. For some fucking reason, people had looked up to her because she could throw a strong punch, but she wasn't like Vander - she wasn't a leader! Vander wouldn't have left Powder behind. Vander wouldn't have hit Powder.

She did.

Silco thinks he made Jinx, with all his rants and his hard-won lessons… but he didn't make Jinx. You did.

Vi was responsible for the woman Powder had become, she said as much herself, and now Powder might be lost to her forever. She had nothing left, except for the kind woman who'd taken pity on a monster.

"Vi?" Caitlyn's soft voice sounded out, and it was with a start that Vi noticed how close she'd gotten. Just how wrapped up in her own head was she? "Are you…"

Are you okay?

No, Violet was pretty fucking far from okay, but how she was feeling wasn't important. She was calm and she was in control, and that was all that mattered. "I just…" Vi began, searching for the words that would fix this, that would make it all better and salvage the last good thing she had left, but those words didn't exist. If they did, Powder would still be with her, and her family would still be alive. All Vi had was the truth.

"I just wanted to keep you safe." She finished, hoping it was enough. Praying it was enough. She didn't know what she'd do if it wasn't.

Caitlyn gave the smallest of smiles, something honest and true, and Vi nearly wept in relief. "Well, considering both of us ended up here anyways, I'd say it didn't really matter." She said, brushing her hair over her shoulders and reaching into a pocket with her free hand. Retrieving a slender band that matched the colour of her hair, she tied her hair back with ease that baffled Vi, since she'd lived practically her whole life with short hair. And with that single change, Caitlyn appeared as professional, and beautiful, as the day she saved Vi from a life in prison, save for the general wear and tear of the night's events.

"She found me after I beat Sevika's face in." Vi began, trying to distract herself from staring at Caitlyn for too long. She knew she was a sucker for a pretty face, after all, especially one as kind as her. "Snuck up behind me and knocked me right out. It's gonna suck tomorrow, I'll tell you that." Vi tried, feeling elated at the quiet chuckle that left the Topsider's lips.

"Is that where you went yesterday?" She asked, not bothering to mask her curiosity.

Vi shook her head, thinking of Jayce and the brawl at the Shimmer factory. "It's a long story." She glimpsed Silco's lifeless body out the corner of her eye before she looked away, feeling a chill run up her spine. "One I'd rather not tell next to a corpse." She finished, tilting her head to the head of the table, where the crime lord sat dead.

The smile was wiped from Caitlyn's face, like she'd just remembered where they were, and she took an unsteady step towards the door. "Right. Yes, I'll see you outside. Don't be too long." Vi noticed the way she favoured her right leg but didn't say anything then. Instead, she turned and faced the table that Powder had set up, full of memories and mementos from a life they'd both had stolen from them.

Claggor's goggles, Vander's gauntlets, even Powder's old plush bunny; items she thought had been lost forever. Seeing them again… she wasn't sure what to make of it. Was Powder mocking her? Was it her little sister's last attempt to cling to their past? Vi wasn't sure, and, honestly, she didn't have time to worry about it. She needed to get Caitlyn back to her family - it was the least she could do after everything the Topsider had done for her.

Vi took a moment to look around for any kind of sack or bag, since Powder had to get this stuff here somehow. Eventually she found a dark brown sack, tucked away in the corner with little splotches of blue and pink paint on the fabric, and she snatched it up before moving back to the table. Moving towards the Hextech gauntlets Powder had left on the table, she slid the right hand, broken in her fight with Sevika, into the bottom of the sack. Then she spent the next minute gently loading the sack with every item she thought to keep. Items like the bunny, the iron gauntlets, the goggles and more; things from her past she wouldn't leave behind again.

If this was all that remained of her old life, then she'd take them with her as she built a new one, whatever that life may be.

Sliding her left hand into the one functional gauntlet, Vi picked up the closed sack with it, relying on the Hextech to bear the weight. Considering the damage she'd done to the weird Shimmer guards back in the factory, she wasn't surprised when she picked up the admittedly heavy sack without an issue.

She then took one last look at the building that had taken everything from her, swearing that, this time, she'd stay gone. Then she moved outside, basking once more in the cool breeze of the night before scanning around for Caitlyn.

Vi found her at the edge of the walkway by the river, just thirty or so feet away and in plain view of the factory entrance. Caitlyn looked halfway between a ghost and an angel, then, the crimson moon hanging almost directly above her slender form. The city of Piltover stood proud to her left, the rest of the world to her right, and it almost looked like she was stuck at a crossroad, paralysed by the decision of where to go. The still water of the river appeared like blood at her feet, reflecting the red light of the moon; a faceless god giving one of its followers a choice.

Go home, or face the unknown.

Life was rarely that simple, however. Even Vi could tell that, tonight, for Caitlyn going home and facing the unknown were one in the same.

The stunning tableau was shattered when the Topsider turned around to face her, fist held up over her mouth, her eyes focused on the ground before looking towards her. "I can't go home."

Vi stopped in her tracks, wondering if she heard her correctly, but Caitlyn took that as a sign to approach her. On the way, though, she stumbled as her bad leg gave out, leaving Vi scrambling to catch her. Using her free right hand, she caught the Enforcer round the stomach before she could fall, drawing her into her side with a laugh she failed to fully stifle. "You can't even walk ten steps. You're going home."

Caitlyn pushed herself away, standing weakly on her own two legs and shooting Vi a stern look, though there was no actual heat in it. "You don't get it, I need to go see Jayce." Her words were desperate, rushed, and she glanced back over Vi's shoulder to what Vi could only imagine was Silco's body. "Didn't you hear what he said before he died?"

"If I'm being honest, I didn't listen to a word he said." Vi said, rushing to elaborate when Caitlyn's eyes narrowed dangerously. "The man was a lying piece of shit, Caitlyn. He'd say anything to save his own skin and you know it. The stuff about the deal with Piltover was probably a load of crap."

The taller woman shook her head fevarantly. "Maybe it was, but if he was telling the truth, the only one who I think would be willing to make a deal with him would be Jayce. The rest weren't even aware of Silco's criminal empire, thanks to Marcus, and I doubt they'd play ball with him even if they were." She finished, trailing off for a moment like she'd lost herself in her thoughts, her hands rubbing together nervously in front of her chest. "I just don't understand why Jayce would. What drove him to do it?" Her words came out a mumble, but Vi didn't respond, even though she knew why he would.

Her mind went back to what happened the day before, seeing Jayce's horrified expression as he looked down at the warm corpse of the child he killed. Vi had worn that expression once, as she led Powder through the massacre on the bridge to Piltover, searching desperately for their parents. She didn't sugar coat it for him, though, because stuff like that happened every day, and hesitation in the face of a tragedy like that only meant more would die in the future. That's just how it worked down in the depths, a lesson that had been hammered home even further during her time locked up.

She wasn't heartless, however. Her heart had clenched as she watched the breath leave the boy's body, but she channeled that into her rage and her fists as she tore apart the Shimmer production line, refusing to back down where he had. Still…

If Jayce really had made a deal with Silco after the raid on the factory, Vi understood why. She understood because she'd been there, once, faced with the choice between her goal and the lives of those she was meant to protect. She made the wrong choice, then, and it cost her everything. The only reason she made that same decision there, challenging the Councillor and leaving with his gauntlets, was because Powder's life was on the line. At least, that's what she thought.

In the end, though, Vi understood, because Vander had made that same choice. They both stood on the precipice of real, genuine change, but when they weighed the lives that'd been lost, that they would lose, they settled by changing the status quo, ever so slightly. Just enough so that both sides could continue on with their lives.

After all, how many lives was a revolution worth? In the end, Jayce might've settled for Silco, just like Vander settled for Grayson.

"If he did make a deal, it was to prevent a war." Vi piped up, startling Caitlyn.

"A war? I don't understand." She said, looking at Vi like she was a puzzle to figure out. "What happened last night?"

"Enough." Vi answered as a matter of fact. "It's part of that long story I mentioned earlier."

Caitlyn nodded, mouth set in a thin line before turning towards Piltover. "Tell me on the way back. We're losing time standing out here, and either way, Jayce needs to know what happened."

Vi nodded and moved next to her, wrapping her free arm around the small of her back, startling the Enforcer. "I can walk just fine, thank you very much."

"Pushing through injuries only makes them worse, Cupcake", she retorted with a small smile, beginning to walk forward and forcing Caitlyn to hobble along beside her. "Suffer now or suffer worse later, that's how these things usually go."

"You're one to talk." Caitlyn huffed, pointedly looking towards the river. "You got stabbed, limped through the Undercity and then threw yourself off a cliff."

Vi let out a snort, grinning despite herself. "I caught myself, or did you miss that?"

"Oh I saw it", her friend snarked, but she could hear the smile in her words. "You landed on those steel poles with such grace. It's a miracle you didn't break your ribs."

The redhead didn't have anything to say to that, because it honestly was something of a miracle. Maybe jumping down that far was a bit stupid, but she'd just been stabbed. She wasn't exactly thinking straight.

It worked out. Mostly… She thought, going over her interactions with Powder from the past few days. Their reunion on the tower, the confrontation on the bridge. Now, with what happened tonight… How the fuck do I fix this?

They fell into a silence that wasn't entirely comfortable as Vi led them through the streets towards Piltover. She was surprised at how easy it was to navigate through the Undercity's surface, considering how long she'd been away. Then again, she'd managed to run all the way from Piltover and down into the Undercity on her first day out, relying on nothing but instinct to guide her. She'd say the Undercity was in her blood, something that couldn't truly be taken away from her, no matter how long she spent in a cell, but she didn't really believe in that kind of stuff. She probably just had a good memory.

Either way, she'd get Caitlyn home safely. Or, more accurately, she'd get her to Jayce and then she'd take her home.

Jayce…

Something heavy fell in her stomach as she thought about how her and Jayce had parted ways. It was only his desire to avoid a fight that allowed her to leave unharmed, because there was no way she'd be able to fight both him and all those Enforcers at the same time. She'd have ended up a bullet-ridden corpse in less than a minute.

And now they were going back to him.

Would he try to arrest her? She did kind of steal his gauntlets, after all. She had Caitlyn, though, but would Caitlyn be able to stop him if he did? They seemed to be good friends, but, then again, who's to say she would even try? If it came down to choosing between them, Caitlyn would choose Jayce, no doubt about it.

She could always run? She could give Caitlyn the gauntlets and leave, and hopefully they'd all forget about her and she could search for Powder in peace. But where would that leave her? She'd have her freedom, but she would be alone again, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. Vi thought she'd gotten over the loneliness, Stillwater having beaten it out of her, but she was self-aware enough to realise she'd only repressed the desire for companionship, not gotten rid of it entirely.

There were so many reasons to run and barely any to stay, but no matter how much Vi justified it, she wouldn't lie to herself, because the truth was that she was sick of running. After all, running in blind had cost her Mylo, Claggor and Vander. Running had cost her eight years in prison, separated from Powder. And just last night, her running had gotten a child killed and Caitlyn kidnapped.

Damned if I do, damned if I don't, Vi concluded, cursing the choices that had led her to this moment. She'd heard once that the sign of a life well lived was a life without regrets, so what did that say about her life, when she knew she'd undo every choice she'd ever made if given the chance.

Wasn't it justified, though? Her family was broken because they put their trust in her, and she let them down. All the people Powder had killed, their blood was on her hands, and there was nothing she could do to make it right.

She once thought that her time in prison had paid for every bad thing she'd ever done, but that wasn't true. The aftermath of her choices, the state of the Undercity after she was locked up - those sins couldn't be washed away.

I'm so tired…

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Caitlyn spoke up hesitantly, one arm slung over Vi, her right hand resting gently on her shoulder. The way Caitlyn held her then, like she was the one looking after her and not the other way around, had Vi's heart racing. It wasn't right, though. Vi was meant to be looking out for Caitlyn, losing focus wasn't an option. "Violet?" She called, concerned for her despite all she'd done.

"Sorry, I got distracted", Vi tried, hoping she wouldn't ask too many questions. "What did you say?"

Caitlyn turned, stepping out from under her arm but still keeping hold of her. The Topsider leaned in and met her gaze, standing so close that Vi could feel her breath on her lips, but she didn't dare look away. Not with Caitlyn watching her like that, with those bright, intelligent blue eyes. It was that same look as before, curious and demanding, but there was something more there that had Vi struggling to breathe for a second.

It was like Caitlyn was seeing into her, looking through the barrier Vi put up against everyone, getting a glimpse of who she truly was, and for a desperate, aching moment Vi just wanted to be seen.

She wasn't a street-rat, she wasn't a number to be written down and locked away in a cell - no matter what the world said. None of it would matter, though, if Caitlyn could just see her. Not the prisoner, not the monster, but the woman who just wanted to be around the people she loved, and know that they loved her back. That would be enough.

Then the moment passed and Caitlyn leaned back, with Vi letting out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "You don't look like you're about to pass out. You do look terrible, though", Caitlyn said after a long moment. Then she repeated her question with a sigh. "I asked if you were sure this is the right way."

Vi let out a hum and turned away, lamenting the loss of the Topsider's warm hand on her shoulder as she took a look around. Sure enough, they were halfway down a street which Vi had never been down before, as far as she could remember. That meant she'd taken a wrong turn somewhere while she was lost in her thoughts, and now they were lost. Good job, you moron.

She turned back to Caitlyn and stuffed her free hand in her pocket. "Yeah, I think I got us lost. I'm sorry." She apologised, forcing herself to keep her gaze.

Caitlyn limped forward and let Vi hook her arm around her again, without nearly collapsing this time, and they headed back the way they came. "It's alright. I figured something was wrong when we started heading left for nearly three minutes, so I kept track of where we were going." There's something smug and almost teasing in her words, hidden under the comforting tone of her voice, and Vi did her best to smile.

"Why didn't you say anything, then? Could've saved us those three minutes, you know." Vi bumped Caitlyn's shoulder with a laugh. "Sorry to say but this one's on you."

Caitlyn stood a little straight as Vi finished speaking, gazing towards her with a playful glint in her eyes. "Well, I figured you had some secret, back alley way into Piltover, but I guess I was wrong."

"What must I do to earn your forgiveness?" Vi asked, putting on her best posh, Piltie accent, which meant doing her best impression of Caitlyn.

The Topsider, however, didn't answer. She looked away instead, biting her bottom lip, and Vi quickly began to worry that she'd offended her somehow. "You could start by telling me where you went after the Council meeting." She said, just as Vi was about to apologise, causing her to hesitate. Eventually, however, she worked up the courage to speak.

"After I… left you, I went and found Jayce in his family's factory." She felt Caitlyn's surprise in the way her body tensed up, but she didn't interrupt. "We talked about Silco and the Council, and we agreed that they weren't doing enough to stop him, so we decided to do something about it…" She trailed off, searching for the right words.

"What do you mean 'do something about it'?" The Enforcer asked incredulously.

"Uh… well, we kinda stormed one of his Shimmer production facilities." Vi answered, preparing for the verbal lashing she was about to receive. "Took a bunch of Enforcers and everything, so it wasn't a totally stupid decision."

"I take it you were the one to lead the charge, what, with those Hextech gloves Jayce must've given you. God." She shook her head before raising her voice slightly, breaking the calm that had fallen over them. "I cannot believe you would do that. You may think of me as a spoiled brat, but I am a trained Enforcer! I had every right to be there, not sitting on the sidelines like some precious fucking princess!" Caitlyn growled out, voice filled with uncharacteristic anger. Then she let out a loud huff before shaking her head, taking a deep breath as she did. After a long moment, she spoke. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be lashing out. My point still stands, though. Hell, this was my case. I should've been leading the bust."

Yes, she should have. Truth be told, going to Jayce had been an impulse decision, born after an hour of wandering in the rain and thinking of ways to hurt Silco. It wasn't a lie to say Vi had considered getting Caitlyn and bringing her with them, but she'd been too much of a coward to go back to that big, beautiful house of hers and ask for her help. She hadn't been able to get Caitlyn's heartbroken voice out of her head, and that had kept her away.

What about us?

"If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't the one leading." Vi tried, even though she knew changing the subject was the coward's way out. She just didn't want to talk about their final argument in the rain. She wasn't ready for that. "I was back up in case shit hit the fan, which it did."

That gave Caitlyn pause, and Vi could practically see the gears turning in her head as she mulled over her words. It didn't take long for her to figure it out, however, being as smart as she was. "Jayce led the bust? Are you kidding me!"

"Listen, Cupcake", Vi butted in, trying to diffuse the situation before they started arguing again, but the Enforcer was having none of it.

"Don't you Cupcake me, Violet." Caitlyn damn near hissed. "Jayce isn't a trained combatant. He is a scientist and, as of this week, a politician. He has no place on the battlefield."

"Could've fooled me", She retorted, not really thinking through her words. She was too focused on the knowledge that Jayce had only just been appointed a Councillor, a fact that honestly changed her perspective of him. Suddenly his desire to go against Silco made more sense to her, because he probably wasn't used to seeing the world on that level. She knew how genius inventors worked, having spent more than enough time with Powder and Ekko, and, at heart, they were pretty simple. They saw a need and they filled the need, building whatever tool was needed to get the job done.

There was no single tool that could fix the relationship between Topside and the Undercity, however, and that must've frustrated him to no end. That would even explain why, after the Council meeting where the majority elected to do nothing, he went and built a fucking magic hammer. It was a simple solution to a complicated problem, with Vi's arrival probably being the excuse he needed to round up the Enforcers and go gunning for Silco directly.

It still raised more questions than answers, however, because why would a scientist of Jayce's calibre go into politics like that? Surely he'd rather spend his time developing Hextech than be stuck navigating political agendas? Then again, she didn't know him at all. Maybe he was the type to grab at power whenever he had the chance. Or maybe something had forced him into the position; god knows there was a lot of that going around lately.

"What's that mean?" Caitlyn asked, continuing the discussion as Vi managed to get them back onto a familiar street. They weren't too far away, now.

"Well, I'm just saying that the guy can fight", Vi explained, hoisting the Topsider up to get a better grip on her. "He's pretty green, but the guy's kind of a badass, all things considered." And Vi was surprised to realise she meant every word she said, because it was one thing to talk about making change. It was another thing entirely to put your life on the line for what you believed, and, for an inventor and a politician, he'd handled himself well.

Caitlyn had issues believing her words, however. "You must be pulling my leg. I can buy Jayce leading the raid, but actually fighting? I've known him practically my whole life, Vi. He has a heart of gold. He's not the type to go gunning for hardened criminals himself."

Vi let out a short, sardonic laugh. "I don't know what to say, Caitlyn. He was building some big fucking hammer when I found him, and when he started using it… to tell you the truth, I've never seen anything like it."

"A Hextech hammer, like those gauntlets?" She asked, nodding towards Vi's left hand, still holding the sack with the stuff she'd taken over her shoulder.

"These things were made for mining, according to him, so no. That hammer was a weapon, and with whatever Jayce put in it, those Shimmer guards didn't stand a chance."

"Hold on, hold on", Caitlyn interrupted. "You're skipping details. Tell me what actually happened, starting from when you stormed the base."

"Okay, umm", Vi paused, organising her thoughts and the words she'd use. "We hijacked the train that Silco's goons used to move barrels of Shimmer and we used it to break through the door and get the Enforcers inside. Jayce organised the round up while I found a vantage point up top, but some kid working there hits an alarm and these guys in weird suits start rushing in from side rooms and shit."

Honestly, Vi thought Deckard on Shimmer had been bad, but these guys had been something else. Vi would've died without the gauntlets, no two ways about it. She wouldn't have been able to hurt them with just her fists, and they'd have run her down with ease if she tried to escape. Turns out Silco had upped his game while she was in prison, because of course he wasn't about to take Piltover's advancements with Hextech lying down.

"Imagine a bunch of brain-dead people on Shimmer, stuffed into metal armour with fish bowls for helmets and swords instead of hands. Now give them superhuman speed and the element of surprise on a bunch of relatively normal people with guns."

Vi felt Caitlyn shudder, and she wondered if the Topsider still felt she should've been there. Oh, who was she kidding, of course she did. Caitlyn was self-sacrificing to a fault - there's no way she would've backed away while Jayce and Vi were still there. Still, when Caitlyn spoke up, her voice wavering slightly, she considered something she hadn't given much thought to.

"How many died?"

To Vi, the Enforcers were criminals employed by a Council that didn't give a fuck, but that wasn't how Caitlyn saw them. To her, they were her allies and her comrades, maybe even her friends, and Vi had denied her the chance to fight alongside them. Maybe Caitlyn would have died alongside them, but there was a chance she could've saved some lives, too. They'd never know, because Vi had taken the choice away from her.

It's a miracle that she'll even look at me.

"Around ten?" Vi hesitated, unsure on how to carry on the conversation, gauging Caitlyn's reaction as best she could. She didn't look like she was about to burst into tears, so she pushed on. "It happened so fast that I wasn't prepared for it, and by the time I'd gotten my ass into gear and jumped down, they managed to back Jayce onto a small walkway across two sections of the factory. I took out one that was gonna get him in the back before they rushed us. I guess you can imagine the rest…"

Caitlyn nodded, visibly mulling over the story as they limped through the moonlit streets. "And you and Jayce managed to beat these… things - I really don't know what to call them."

"Yeah, but there's something you should know, and please", Vi begged, "don't interrupt, okay?"

"Okay…"

"Right at the end, Jayce had started shooting the Shimmer guards with his hammer, because apparently it's also a magic cannon, and when he got to the last one it started running." Vi's words caught in her throat, then, because she wasn't sure if she should finish the story. She'd said Jayce was like family, what if this changed something between them? Vi didn't want to be the reason for another broken relationship, but she didn't want to lie to her, either.

She had to bite the bullet, in the end. "I don't know whether it was trying to escape or reposition when it was circling the bridge, because honestly those things didn't seem all that smart, but Jayce's shot hit the kid who pulled the alarm."

Caitlyn stopped dead in her tracks, causing Vi to stumble and nearly fall if not for her tight grip on the woman. "They didn't make it, did they?"

An old, resigned grief forced its way up through Vi's chest, and she had to force down the bile that rose up with it before she could speak. "He fell over the railing and down to the bottom floor of the facility, right by where the Shimmer was made. I don't even know why he was there!" Vi could barely even recognize her voice for how hysterical it had become. "I swear, the Enforcer's tried to get everyone out of harm's way, but the kid just stuck around to watch the whole thing go down, and somehow he went all the way from the back wall where the button was to the fucking edge of the factory floor! I don't…" Vi took a deep breath, feeling the panic taking over her even as she fought to remain calm and composed in the face of tragedy. "I can't, please…"

She couldn't, though, because now Caitlyn knew the truth, and she was going to leave her behind just like she deserved and she'd be all alone again and-

"Vi! Vi!"

Someone was touching her face and she needed to defend herself, but her hands were full and she couldn't see properly and now she couldn't fight off the guards who'd come to beat her again even though she was the one who'd been attacked-

Soft fingers gently cupped her cheeks and Vi came back to herself, leaning against the wall of an old storefront, faded with time, with her knees bent and the sack at her feet. Caitlyn was there, she hadn't left, and she was looking at her with such fear and worry that Vi thought they were under attack for a moment. "You need to slow your breathing, Darling…" She whispered, face leaning close to hers again, but this time there wasn't any weight on her body, and Vi looked down to see Caitlyn standing strong on trembling legs. "No, look at me, okay?" She chided slowly, though the words were warm, and Vi looked up, meeting eyes like slices of sky.

"It wasn't- please, please- I can't-" It felt like someone was grabbing her heart and lungs and squeezing.

It wasn't his fault. It wasn't my fault. Please don't leave me. I can't lose anyone else…

Caitlyn's right hand fell to her chest, resting just above where her heart beat wildly in her chest, like it was trying to break free and escape into the night. Her thumb brushed just above her cheek, wiping away tears Vi refused to let fall. "Breathe with me, okay? In and out. That's it, there you go." She whispered as Vi dragged in air through her lips, watching the rise and fall of the Topsider's chest with rapt attention, doing her best to mimic the movements. "You're doing great, Violet."

In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

It's okay… I'm okay… I'm okay…

Second by agonising second, Vi regained control of herself, coming down from her bout of panic under Caitlyn's caring eyes, but something wasn't right. It'd been so long since anyone had comforted her like that, so she should've felt happy, relieved, even, but all that fell beneath the shame of what she'd just done.

She shouldn't be putting her bullshit on Caitlyn like that. It wasn't fair, and she didn't have the right either way.

But when Caitlyn leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss against her cheek, flashing her a gentle, proud smile, like Vi had just done something incredible as she did, there was hope in her heart that she hadn't driven Caitlyn away.

"How're you feeling?" She asked, taking Vi's right hand in hers, wisely leaving her gauntleted fist alone.

"I'm fine." Vi said, though it was only half true. She'd be feeling better when Caitlyn was back in the safety of her own home. "Thanks, Cupcake."

"Will you ever stop calling me that?" She asked, but the laughter in her words said that she knew the answer already. "Do you need to talk about it?" Caitlyn prompted, keeping her eyes on the redhead even as Vi looked down to feet.

Vi was honestly taken aback, though maybe she shouldn't be. Caitlyn was a kind person who saw the best in nearly everyone, after all, even to someone as fucked up as her. Even after Vi had left her behind, even after Powder kidnapped her for use as a bargaining chip to get at Vi, she was still trying to help her.

And by whatever gods sat in the stars above, Vi wanted to let her in, but the words wouldn't form right, coming to her as a jumbled mess of grief and heartbreak that felt both like yesterday and a lifetime ago.

"I'd rather not, if that's okay." Vi said, nearly regretting her decision as the flash of hurt acceptance that flashed over Caitlyn's disappeared, covered by that same kind smile she wore. But this was for the best. Vi didn't need to be looked after - she hadn't earned that right.

"That's alright. Do you feel up to finishing the story?" She asked, and while she could tell the question was worded in a way to help her relax, she could tell how desperate Caitlyn was to know the rest of what happened. It was in the lines of her face, the way her brows pinched downwards in worry and frustration in what Vi felt was her own perceived failures, which, in her opinion, was stupid. Caitlyn hadn't done anything wrong - not once. If anything, her only crime was ignorance, but everyone committed that sin at least once in her experience.

Still, Caitlyn had asked her to finish the story, so she did. "We went down to clear the rest of the facility but we started arguing when we reached the bottom floor", Vi surmised. "It would've turned violent, but he decided to let me leave with the Hextech. He'd had enough of the fighting, while I'd barely gotten started", she said with a laugh that sounded fake, even to her. "Then I went to The Last Drop and beat Sevika's face in. Cost me a gauntlet, but I got her arm so I'd call it even. Then Powder got me, and you know the rest."

And as Vi's explanation of last night's events came to an end, Caitlyn fell silent for a moment, turning away ever so slightly as she thought things over.

"That's… quite the series of events." She spoke after nearly a minute. "I can't even begin to imagine how you or Jayce must be feeling. I won't make excuses for what happened", she said, a semblance of steel entering her voice. "But you did what you believed was right, and I won't hold it against you. Maybe I would have before I met you, but now I understand that life is so much more than the black and white view I had of it as a child. I won't lie to you, however, as there will be consequences for your actions, just as there will be for all of us. But, Violet…" And the way her name rolled off Caitlyn's tongue, like fine silk, had Vi suppressing a shudder, because she needed to listen to her words. They were the difference between life and death for her, salvation and damnation. "You can't give up, even though you've suffered more than any person should ever have to. We have to make this right. Everything. Piltover, the Undercity, all of it. Not because it's our duty, but because we might be the only ones who can, and because it's the right thing to do."

Caitlyn looked at her with such hope in her eyes, like Vi might be something more than the stupid girl who broke her sister, someone better, that Vi almost believed it.

"And if we fail?" She asked, instead of giving any sort of agreement or disagreement.

The Topsider let out a frustrated laugh, like the emotions she'd buried were fighting to break free, and for a second she wanted to comfort her, just like she'd done for Vi, but it wasn't her place. She'd just break her beyond repair; it's all she was good for, after all. But Caitlyn was stronger than most people Vi had ever met, and her next words were spoken with clarity: "Then nothing will change, and we'll just have to carry on. But think of all the lives we'll save if we succeed! Isn't that worth the effort?"

Vi wanted to believe it was, but these days she wasn't sure if there was anything worth saving at all, other than Powder.

"There's one issue with this, though", she countered. "I'm pretty sure Jayce's gonna have me arrested on sight."

Caitlyn disagreed, shaking her head. "He's a good man, if a bit dense and eager to please. He won't try anything like that, and in the extremely unlikely scenario that he does, I'll put a stop to it."

Vi wasn't so sure about that, not out of a lack of trust for her friend, but rather she knew that people changed after taking a life. It was a line you couldn't walk back across, and even if you were forgiven, even if you forgave yourself, you would never be the same again. Caitlyn knew Jayce, but she didn't realise that Jayce might never be himself again. He could go over Caitlyn's head and have her thrown right back in Stillwater, and there would be nothing either of them could do about it.

But Vi wouldn't abandon Caitlyn, not ever again. She'd die before she went back on that promise.

"You give a good speech, I'll give you that." Vi admitted, plucking up the sack with her remaining gauntlet and stepping beside the Enforcer, pulling her against her side so she wasn't putting any more weight on her bad leg. "Come on, let's go see Pretty Boy."

They headed into the night, their futures held in each other's arms.

So that's chapter two, let me know what you think!

Truth be told, Vi, Jayce and Ekko are my favourite characters in the show and I feel like that might be a bit too obvious here, but what can you do. They're all so complex and badass and I just love them. Especially Ekko, because everything about him is slick as fuck. "The Piltover Enforcer"? Boring for someone so cool. "The Defender of Tomorrow"? Nice and fitting, if a tad pretentious. "The Boy Who Shattered Time"?

Bad. Ass.

Anyways, leave your thoughts and I'll see you all next chapter!