Sevika fiddled with her new arm. The movement felt natural, and despite its size, it was very light. After all, that manic brat still had her mechanical genius intact.
She turned to glance at Jinx, who was now lying down, with her arm up in the air, staring at her bandaged hand, where her finger had been ripped off by a shotgun. The child who had been following them watched Jinx, as if waiting for her to do something, or perhaps trying to find the words to say something. Sevika looked at them both and said, "You should build something like this for your finger." The child looked up at her, but Jinx didn't. For a second, Sevika thought Jinx hadn't heard her, but minutes later, a response came.
"Maybe I will. It's just fun to know that something other than my soul is also dead already." She curled up on her side and turned her back to Sevika. The child looked up at Sevika, expecting some kind of answer. Sevika raised an eyebrow. She knew Jinx was severely messed up, but her suicidal tendencies seemed to be skyrocketing these days.
For the first time in a decade, Sevika was against Jinx dying. Jinx was a pain in her butt, a constant trouble-making maniac who had no regard for anything she did. Jinx didn't care who she took with her, and that had cost them so much. For as long as Sevika remembered Jinx existing in her circle, she always wondered why luck was always on her side. Jinx should have died a long time ago; she'd had many chances to die, but somehow she always survived, leaving a ton of mess behind for Sevika to clean up.
But at the same time, Jinx was the only person she knew who had stood up against Piltover and actually caused damage. And she'd done it all alone...
Right now, Jinx had the whole of Piltover in the palm of her hand. The remaining councilors were in hiding, and the city was a mess.
All because of Jinx.
Sevika wasn't about to let all that go to waste just for a manic episode of suicidal thoughts.
She now recognized that she couldn't let her die, despite how much Jinx seemed to be seeking her own death. As the thought crossed her mind, she saw Jinx lift her pistol and point it at her face. "That spoiled brat," Sevika thought. She felt her breath catch in her throat. The child stood up upon seeing the gun.
"Don't you dare fucking kill yourself!" she screamed, but as she did, Jinx pulled the trigger.
The kid closed her eyes and gripped the sides of her hat, turning away. Sevika looked aside as a loud 'bang' ripped through their ears.
But instead of a bullet, a cloud of pink smoke hit Jinx's face. She inhaled it. Sevika wasn't sure if she wanted to know what that substance was.
The little girl slowly opened her eyes, still shaking.
Jinx started laughing, then sat up and faced Sevika with that insufferable grin of hers—the same one she'd had since she was a child. "Do you really think I'm going to kill myself?" Jinx asked with a manic laugh. Sevika could see the strain in her eyes, and for a second, Sevika could separate Jinx the maniac from the person in front of her. She was still very young; she looked small and frail, and most of all, she looked tired, like she was done with everything... like she was done with life.
"You seemed eager to lose that fight against your sister. Don't try to pretend you were actually fighting. Don't fucking play with me, Jinx. I know what you're doing. You were going to let her kill you, weren't you?" This seemed to anger Jinx. She stood up, pushing the kid out of her way as she walked up to Sevika.
"You think I'm fucking stupid? Killing myself would be an admission of defeat. No matter how much I want my brains blown out, I'm not going to do it myself! But you know what? I'm not about to let that stupid enforcer do it, either! It's... it's..."
"It's got to be Vi," Sevika completed her sentence. Jinx turned away at that, flinching several times.
"Stop it," she muttered, holding the sides of her head. Sevika immediately understood—Jinx was losing control again; she was hearing voices. Jinx then turned back to Sevika and said,
"Why do you even care anyway? If I die or not, and how I fucking do it, is none of your fucking business." Jinx's face was way too close to hers.
Sevika frowned, keeping eye contact with her.
"Don't surrender to her," Sevika muttered. Jinx kept her eyes on Sevika's. The older woman continued.
"That sister of yours deserves to take you down in a fair fight. She deserves to kill you in a way that's both satisfying and traumatic for her." Jinx bit her bottom lip. Sevika had struck a nerve, and she knew it.
Jinx turned away and started stomping out of the room like a child trying to look bigger. Sevika smiled in satisfaction; she had won this round... but this time, there was no Silco for Jinx to run to.
"This stupid place would be much better without stupid people like Vi," Jinx muttered. She stopped by the door and, without turning to Sevika, said, "Vander, Silco, Vi, and you. You all know nothing. I'll show you all."
As Jinx started to leave, the little girl got up to follow behind her.
At that moment, a distant memory crossed Sevika's mind. Silco's voice echoed loud and clear in her brain.
"Vander and all the others don't understand. I'll show you all," he had said, stomping out of his office, with little Powder following behind him.
She could almost see Silco in Jinx as she stormed out. Back then, she'd only side-eyed Powder as she followed Silco. This time around, she stepped forward and stopped the kid from following Jinx.
The child looked up at her, trying to break free from her grip. Sevika watched as Jinx walked out, and for a second, she felt a glimmer of hope. If someone could cause enough havoc to free Zaun, it was Jinx. Could this be what Silco saw in her?
She then looked down at the child. "Powder," she thought as she stared into the eyes of this scrawny, sickly-looking girl. But this was not Powder.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Isha," the girl said. Sevika released her grip from Isha's shoulder, expecting her to follow after Jinx, but she didn't. Sevika gave her an annoyed look and muttered,
"Jinx will come back. She always does."