VI III

A thousand nights I have dreamed of this moment. The mist danced upon the waters as the neon hues of the undercity shined just beyond the clouds. Home sweet home. I cut the engine of the boat as we approached the eastern docks. The only way anybody was going to spot us now was by sound so to keep it at a minimum, I had the currents pull us to shore. It would take a few hours but it would be safe. "Now, I just need to figure out what to do with you." I decided to pick through my unconscious companion's clothes again to see if I could find anything useful but all she had was a badge, a notebook, and a few spare bullets. "Officer Caitlyn Kiramman."

Her long silk-like hair cupped her elegant face as she slept soundly. A few dark purple strands stuck to her red lips and something deep inside of me wanted to tuck it neatly behind her ear. Her uniform showed off her figure in a way that it probably wasn't designed to do and I was left wondering what a girl like her was doing slinging it with criminals. That's when I realized that I was staring for way longer than was appropriate and tore my eyes away. Apart from my reflection, she was the first girl I had seen in years, I rationalized to myself. My sense of beauty was probably just skewed from my time in prison. This reaction was normal.

"Ngh," she groaned as she stirred awake, "where…am I?"

Her sapphire blues locked onto me and she immediately put up her guard. Unfortunately, she seemed to have forgotten her little stunt from before and her harsh movement caused the handcuff to yank both our wrists. She looked down, flabbergasted at our situation, and I couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, you did that."

Her brows furrowed. "You left me with no choice! Just so that we're clear, I was going to talk it out before you assaulted me."

"I'm sorry my first instinct while breaking out of jail isn't to make friends with an enforcer that was pointing her gun at my face."

"I lowered the riffle…" she muttered to herself before looking at me. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" I asked as I slipped a makeshift bobby pin into the keyhole. "I'm trying to pick these damned handcuffs off."

"Why didn't you pick up the key?"

"Oh geez, why didn't I think of that? Of course, just pick it up!" I shook my head as I refocused on the task at hand. With a little bit of practice, handcuffs aren't typically that hard to get out of but this one was a model that I had never seen before. It wasn't a standard double lock and once again, my lockpick broke before I had any luck. "These aren't the handcuffs enforcers normally use. Are you really a cop or are you just playing dress-up?"

"I tamper-proofed mine so that criminals like you won't escape me."

"Do you also usually handcuff yourself to the people you arrest or do you just like me?"

She sighed, "I should have just shot you."

"Too late for that now." I let out a huff of frustration. "You just had to be a special little snowflake and notice me, huh?"

"Oh please, your disguise wasn't even that good. You're a girl wearing a male uniform."

"How'd you know I was a girl?"

"What? You have – Okay, now you are just baiting me."

I chuckled as she became flustered and after a moment of silence, I remembered something she said earlier. "What was that about knowing me? I've been in jail since I was seventeen, and I know you're not from the undercity, so where do you know me from?"

"All of Piltover knows you. Your sister included you in her little light show."

I jumped up at the mention of Powder and got right up to her face. "My sister?! Do you know where she is?!" For so long, my worst fear was escaping prison only to find out that my sister was dead all along. But her being mentioned now meant that she was still alive and if she was alive then I would find her. I was so happy at that moment that I could cry but suddenly, a feeling of dread overtook me and I grabbed her by the collar. "I swear to god if you people locked her up in some prison I will –"

"Calm down, your sister is fine!" My grip loosened at that and she pushed me off of her and straightened her shirt. "But she is one of the most wanted people in the city right now."

"What happened?"

"She kidnapped six officers and orchestrated an attack of terror against the citizens of Piltover."

I was shocked and denied it vehemently, "My sister would never do that!"

"She broadcasted the whole thing on video." I was about to argue more but she put up her hand to show that she wasn't the one that needed convincing. "Terrorism is the official term the Council is using but I do not believe that her intentions were completely malicious. If she really wanted to hurt Piltover, she could have easily done that by blowing up the Hexgates. Instead, she chose to expose the identities of the crime lords of the undercity, their weapons and methodologies, and the mole within the force."

Powder did all that? Little Pow-Pow that used to doodle on the walls? "Why?"

"She wanted us to be afraid. The city cannot function properly if its citizens live in constant fear of the undercity. By exposing the sheriff as the mole, she showed that the status quo was not an option and she knew that the Council would be forced to act so she gave them two targets to go after: Silco and Chross."

My chest swelled with pride as I listened and I could hardly believe how much my little sister has grown. "That's amazing!"

"I agree, however, she overstepped. Prior to leaving, she stole something that, if used properly, could pose a big threat to Piltover. She claimed that she would return it once Silco and Chross are taken care of but a promise from a criminal isn't good enough for the Council. That's why she is just as wanted as the other crime bosses."

"Is that why you were here today?" I asked accusingly. "To use me to get to my sister?"

"I didn't even know you were still alive until I saw your face. No, I came here to pursue a lead I found in the sheriff's home. There were correspondences between him and the warden regarding a 'Prisoner #516.' Their file wasn't on record when I checked so I decided to visit in person to see what he was hiding. I was planning on asking this individual what their connection to Marcus was until you had other plans."

"Well, it's a good thing I took you then."

"What do you – Wait, you're Prisoner #516?"

"Yeah, your piece of shit sheriff was the one that locked me up to keep his dirty little secret hidden. His deal with Silco got a few of you enforcers killed that night as well."

"So that confirms it then," she whispered to herself before turning to me. "Look, the way I see it, while we're stuck together, we can be each other's worst nightmare or we could work together. You get back to your sister, I get my information, the Council gets their gemstone and the undercity is rid of its true criminals."

"And we're all gonna hold hands and sing Kumbaya."

"I understand you have your reservations about us but this only works if we trust each other."

"You people shoved me into a stone box for six years, how am I supposed to trust you?"

"I'm not saying we become friends overnight," she said with a pause, "but it wouldn't hurt to try."

I looked into her eyes and at that moment, she was either the world's greatest liar or she really was a little goody-two-shoes trying to change the world on her own. But even with the best intentions, could a topsider really be trusted? It was easy to be on the same side when we were on calm waters but will her enthusiasm persist once the storm hits? True loyalty was shown during moments of hardship and I doubted she even knew the definition of that word. In the end, I decided to leave my options open. It was like she said, it was worth a try. "I promise not to attack you again as long as you help me find my sister."

"I guess that'll have to do for now"

As our conversation died down, the stress and exhaustion of the past few days finally caught up to me. My consciousness ebbed away like the water beneath and my eyes grew heavy from fatigue. The gentle rocking of the boat was like a soft lullaby; a promise of a sweet rest that I knew was a lie. I didn't want to fall asleep when I still wasn't sure about the person next to me but my body wasn't taking no for an answer. Just a short nap, I told myself as I leaned my head against the wall. My eyes flickered into darkness and the last thing I remembered was how warm the wall felt.

I see him again, coming to my bed, hands around my throat to prevent me from screaming. I killed him, I remind myself, I killed him with my own hands. I saw the light go out of his eyes and made sure that they would never open again. I did that. So why was he still coming for me? "Die already!" I screamed. Stay strong, Vi. What does Vi stand for? Violence. Snap his arms. Vicious. Break his jaw. Vice. Crush his throat. Violet. I run but my feet feel like they are stuck in a quagmire. Behind me, I hear the sound of his nails scraping the floor as he crawls closer and closer and I pray for the sun to reach me…before he does.

My eyes snapped open and I immediately scanned the boat to see if he had followed me into the waking world. Once I made sure he wasn't here, I leaned my head back and calmed my pounding heart. A cold sweat covered my body, making me shiver from the early morning breeze, and I pulled the enforcer uniform tighter around me. "You mumble in your sleep," said Caitlyn. Was that just an observation or an invitation to talk about it? In either case, I chose not to respond and thankfully she didn't inquire about it any further. It was just a dream. It'll all be better once I get back to Powder.

"Do you have any leads on where my sister might be?" I asked as we got off the boat.

"She seems to be running with an undercity gang called The Firelights. We pursued them when they fled the scene but as soon as they got to the undercity, they disappeared like phantoms."

I tried to remember if I had met anyone in prison that was from that gang but it wasn't ringing any bells. "Alright, let's look for a way to get these cuffs off and hopefully some of my old contacts know where she is." I walked over to the closest building and turned to Caitlyn. "Have you ever done parkour before?"

"Why can't we just walk there?" she asked.

I looked at her incredulously, "We're two girls that are handcuffed together dressed in enforcer uniforms. That may be cool where you're from but down here, that is asking to get jumped."

"Okay, fine," she said as she looked up nervously. "I've never done this before but I'm in pretty good shape physically."

"Then you'll be fine, just copy what I do. If my little sister could do this when she was seven then you can too." We started our climb and for someone who had never done any urban climbing in her life before, she was doing surprisingly well in mirroring my movements. However, half the battle was conquering the fear of the fall, and based on her hesitation, I would say that she had never climbed without safety gear before. Since we were bound together, I could only go as fast as she did and I could have sworn that the sun rose and set again in the time it took us to climb ten feet. "Today, cupcake."

"If you wanted to get me killed there are more subtle ways of doing it," she bit back as she took a glance down and froze up again.

"Hey, eyes up. Stop looking down and start climbing with some confidence."

"What if I fall?" she asked genuinely.

"I'm not gonna let that happen." I tugged at the handcuffs that connected the two of us. "If you slip, I'll catch you."

She drew in a deep breath and let out a small laugh for the first time since we'd met. "You say that all nobly as if you wouldn't die with me if you didn't." I smiled as she started to move again, this time at a much more reasonable pace, and I resumed my climb as well. There was a little bit of grit underneath those pretty features and I couldn't help but respect it. Once we got a rhythm going, the rest of the way was fairly mundane until we hit the last obstacle in the course – a gap where we had to explode upward and catch the next hold above. The distance wasn't that large but the issue lay in the coordination.

If we both don't commit to the jump at the same time, then neither of us was going to make it. "Alright, now's the time to put your money where your mouth is." I turned and repeated her words back to her. "This only works if we trust each other."

"Ready when you are." I gazed into her eyes to look for any signs of hesitation and she grinned. "Don't worry, I'll catch you if you slip."

"Fat chance with those skinny arms," I laughed. "On three then. One…Two…Three!" Time slowed down as both of us let go and jumped. The feeling of weightlessness in the air was exhilarating but the moment lasted for a mere second before my hands reached out to stop our fall. Our bodies hit the wall and we grabbed on for dear life until the momentum wore off. Caitlyn let out short gasps of air as her cool demeanor from earlier was replaced with happiness and relief. "You learn fast. A few more lessons with me and you might stop climbing like an eighty-year-old grandma with no legs."

"I'll have you know that I aced my physical examination back at the academy."

"Well, this isn't enforcer daycare anymore," I said as I hoisted myself up and helped her onto the roof. Her eyes widened as she saw the heart of the undercity for the first time. The light from above filtered through the fumes leaking from the tangles of corroded pipework and reflected from the stained glass of its industrial architecture. Through the smogged twilight, the dark mirror of the city above glowed a vibrant green. "Welcome to The Lanes." The unfettered development of volatile technologies and reckless industry has changed my childhood home more than I could have ever imagined but luckily, remnants of the past remained.

A wave of nostalgia hit me as I saw the sign of Jericho's fish shack. It wasn't opened yet but the big guy was already hard at work with the prep. I knocked on the back door of his stall and when he recognized me, a big goofy smile spread on his face from ear to ear. "Hey Jericho, I'm back." We were ushered in and warmly welcomed with a meal for both of us. Looking at the empty stools, I could still picture the four of us eating here as kids and dine-and-dashing afterward. The smell of his food would always bring us back and we'd end up paying what we owed him just to get another taste of his famous grilled fish.

The fresh fish was perfectly cooked on the charcoal grill and the sweet and spicy sauce elevated it to a whole new level. After years of prison food, I had forgotten food could taste so good and I wanted to give him a big kiss on his cheek. "Give it a try, it'll surprise you," I said as I looked over at Caitlyn and saw that she hadn't touched her food yet. "It's not your fancy restaurants from Piltover but we know how to cook good food as well."

"It's not that," she said as she looked around, "I'm just wondering where the utensils are."

"Just eat it with your hand," I said as I held up a piece of sauce-coated fish.

She looked at me like I was a barbarian and shook her head, "I will not!"

"Suit yourself," I shrugged. "Who knows when our next meal will be though." She struggled for a while longer but in the end, she was also starving after all that exercise. I laughed as she tried her best to look refined but there was no avoiding the mess. Jericho was nice enough to bail her out with a napkin once she finished and when I looked underneath mine, I saw a simple symbol of a green hourglass. I pocketed the item and gave him a nod of appreciation. "There's one more thing we need your help with," I said as I held up our handcuffs. He chuckled heartily as he slammed his meat cleaver into his shoulder guard.

"Nalkren kigija? (How did that happen?)"

"Lavor ij zut…kink."

"What did you just say?" asked Caitlyn with a voice full of suspicion.

"I asked if he could cut these off for us."

"No, I heard you say something about kink. I swear, Vi, if you –"

Before she had a chance to finish her threat, Jericho grabbed both of us and shoved us behind the counter. A few moments later, I heard sets of footsteps approach the stall and my blood froze as I heard a woman's voice. "Collections," said Sevika. I clenched my fist as I remembered her betrayal of Vander. She was a well-respected figure of The Lanes and her choosing to side with Silco incited others to do the same. Had she not done so, perhaps things would have turned out differently. Caitlyn must have noticed my agitation as she put her hand on mine and shook her head.

"Naog hola. Dez kurrauz. (No money. Come back later.)"

"You got fish brains too, half-breed? We said pay up!" another voice shouted.

Jericho growled and Sevika stepped in, "A lot of our men eat here. Pay us half and give us a discount and we'll call it even."

There was a tense pause before Jericho finally relented, "Gee. (Fine.)"

A bag of coins was tossed over but the trouble was not over yet. "What the fuck is this? This isn't even half!" the other voice yelled. "This really all you got? How about we have a look behind the counter and see what this toad is hiding from us?"

"Leave it," ordered Sevika but that didn't stop him.

The footsteps approached closer and I prepared myself for the ensuing fight. But as soon as the man put his hand on the counter, Jericho grabbed it and the next thing I heard was the sound of the meat cleaver hitting the chopping board followed by a bloodcurdling scream. "Ij doram? (Need a hand?)" laughed the chef as he tossed the appendage into the trash like a fish head and walked out from behind the counter.

"What the hell are you thinking, Jericho?" asked Sevika.

"Jiak nalkriuk ishi agh lat ayh naog. (I decide who steps into my shop and you are no longer welcomed.)"

"Fool." The fight continued but it was clear that Jericho was outmatched. The sound of each blow made my blood boil and every fiber of my being wanted to step out. But at the same time, I was so close to seeing Powder again. Didn't I promise myself that she was the most important thing in my life? Was it really worth risking it all here?

"Why did you leave me?!"

"I'm sorry, Powder," I whispered to myself, "but if I don't do this, then you don't need a sister like me."

I jumped over the counter without another thought and rushed at Sevika.

Sm0keyPanda: Glad someone got the reference XD

Voraces Lector: Imagine what she'll have to put up with when both of them get together 0.0

7hanatos: You already know ;)

Warlocktoungue: I'm glad you enjoyed the character for the brief 'screentime' he had. I would have fleshed him out more but again, I wanted to keep the focus on the romance since that's what people probably clicked for and honestly, is what I enjoy writing more :P For Cait's reason for being at Stillwater, I hope this chapter answered your question and was a fun little way of bringing in the canon Council's Archives in. Hope you enjoyed this week's chapter and I look forward to seeing you next week!

FenrisInside: Thanks a lot for taking the time to drop a review, I really appreciate it! It has been interesting trying to stick to the canon structure while fitting in all the changes I made along the way. I gave a lot of thought on how things would develop in a way that made sense and was pretty happy with the escape plan route. It puts Vi in an active role in gaining her freedom and ties in the light show from Jinx nicely. Hope you enjoyed this week's chapter as well :P

PandoNee-chan: Won't be much longer, that's all I'll say ;)