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Finding Viktor and his community (or his cult as Jinx liked to call it) ended up being one of the best things they had been blessed with.
God, or whatever god existed in their world, had finally decided to bless them with something Vi had long since accepted would be impossible: A chance to be happy.
They had found a place where nobody would hurt them, where people were happy; a place where children could laugh and play without a care in the world--a place where nobody would ever get hurt again.
Of course, not everything was as simple- as things always were in the undercity, some people had tried to take and hurt the people who had taken shelter with Viktor and his people (Or as Jinx liked to call it: ShimmerVille. (And yes, the Irony was not lost on Vi...and Viktor who found it quite humoring) but no one expected two guardians to step forward and protect Viktor and his cause.
Those two guardians were Vi and, shockingly, Jinx.
Neither of the two expected to take such a role, but they had decided to stay in Shimmerville (Yes, Jinx was very satisfied when Vi finally accepted the name of their new base) so it was no surprise they had to eventually take charge, and defend the base from people trying to take advantage or hurt the people and of course, Viktor who was the heart of the community...literally.
It was difficult.
The two couldn't ignore the fact that Zaun was filled with gangs that would gladly try and take over what Viktor had built. Or some that would try and kidnap Viktor and do...well, it's best to say that Viktor would be lucky to walk out of there alive.
And they also couldn't ignore the fact that Viktor and his followers were against violence. Something that was quickly put to rest when Jinx, of all people, took a stand.
"I understand you two wish to protect this place, but please, there's no need to cause more chaos" Viktor raised a hand to try and calm them
Vi growled in frustration, the conversation had been going on for hours and they were getting nowhere; the only reason she was stomping over to his face was due to Isha placing a hand on her arm which kept her grounded.
"Ugh!" Jinx threw her head back "How many times do we gotta tell ya? This place is gonna get found and burned to the ground!" she gestured outside to the people who were going on about their day "And if you kick the bucket, so do they! What then?!"
She took a deep breath
"Look, I get it. You don't wanna hurt people, and neither do they. But you can't be a peacemonger. Not down here. Sooner or later some Chem-Baron is going hear the rumors about ya and they're gonna come and kill you or worse not kill you and experiment on you...just like they've done with every single person in Zaun that they've taken interest in"
"Powder..." Vi whispered softly
The name, while still making Jinx tense, is enough to shake her out of the lost look that she gets in her eyes. She shakes her head and looks at Viktor "I've lived in Zaun my entire life. I've seen the scumbags that fill the streets, praying on the people just trying to go on with their lives...hell! I was one of them at one point- or eh, I still kinda am. They ain't gonna leave you and your people live in peace"
She turned to Vi and took a deep breath "Unless ya let us do the guarding. You don't gotta worry about getting you're hands dirty or using weapons or whatever you pacifist goodie-to shoes don't like. We'll do it. We'll keep ya safe"
Viktor looked between the two of them
"Why risk so much? You've made it clear you hold no trust in me"
Vi snorted, placing a hand on Isha's hair "We don't have to trust you to know that you're helping people...and you're helping Dad. That's enough for us"
The man looked at the two of them "I don't wish to place this burden on you"
Jinx sighed "Alright, Mr messiah. You ain't forcing anything on us."
"We're doing this because we want to" Vi said softly "Besides..." she glanced down at Isha "We got people we want to protect too"
There was a beat of silence before Viktor sighed "Do as you wish"
Once they had Viktor's blessing the three got to work. Yes, the three of them as Isha did not want to be left out of the fun (And because Vi couldn't resist the way her eyes bored into her soul as she practically begged her to go with them)
They had separate roles
Vi would be spying in Zaun, keeping an ear on the gangs and the Chem-Barons; and also keeping a connection with the Firelights, Ekko had gone missing and hadn't returned so they were essentially trying to figure out what to do next.
Vi had wanted them to join her and Jinx in protecting ShimmerVille but...she just didn't want to risk bringing more danger to the people there. Not when Vander and Isha could get hurt by them.
Jinx and Isha had the easy part, as Jinx likes to put it, the fun part. They'd been tasked with building weapons; defense weapons to be more specific. They weren't allowed to put them anywhere near ShimmerVille but that didn't mean they couldn't put them outside of it to defend the base now did it?
Unfortunately, this meant Jinx had the boring task of leading those seeking Viktor, she was the only one who knew where certain traps were set and how to avoid the many weapons she had built.
This, however, was made easy with Isha by her side.
Sure Jinx was a "Symbol" of Zaun but she was still widely known as "The Loose Cannon" so it was no surprise that some people were afraid of her, but once they caught sight of Isha and her adorable little self? It was easy to get them to follow her. Not to mention that they had another choice but to follow Jinx so it wasn't too difficult. Besides, hearing the story of the people was quite fun in its own way.
It was easy, shockingly so that it felt second nature for the three of them.
It reminded Vi and Jinx of the times when they'd go on their little jobs for Vander when things were...easy and they were happy. Before everything went to shit.
ShimmerVille was different than The Last Drop, it didn't have the same homey vibe their old home gave, but it did the job. The four had managed to snag a place to sleep, and they had to admit that it was a good place for them. Not big, but good enough for them.
Vander was doing well, but he still wasn't himself...not entirely. But he was there with them. With Vi when she was tired or in the night when she had dreams of Caitlyn, or with Jinx when she was dealing with her...everything, or Isha who was, shockingly, innocent despite where she was raised and just needed someone to play with.
It was the most peaceful their lives had been.
Oh sure there was some trouble they had to deal with. Like that gang Jinx "accidentally" pissed off and had to deal with, or an angry pit fighter trying to get revenge on Vi, and of course their personal problems that they addressed and dealt with like the mature adults they were (Yeah, no that was bullshit but they were still okay!)
Things were...okay. Not perfect, not bad, just...okay.
Some days were bad and others were good. Just like this one.
All four of them were sitting outside the home, Jinx and Vi sitting side by side with Vander laying behind him his head on top of his hands with his body curled around the three girls (Much akin to a dog would) with Isha lying on top of him as she ran a hand through his soft fur.
Jinx crossed her legs and huffed
"Who knew we'd find a home with cultists, huh?"
The only response Jinx gets is a snort from Vi and an agreed chuff from Vander
"Well...our lives have always been a fucking mess so we really shouldn't be too surprised" Vi snarkily replied
Jinx let out a cackle at that, slapping her knee before she let out a deep breath. Her eyes staring at the people speaking with each other, children laughing and playing...if you had told her there would be a place like this in Zaun she would have called you more insane than she was.
"...I wish this place existed when we were younger"
Vi paused and glanced at her, before taking the view as well and sighing "Yeah...so do I"
There was a brief pause of silence before she took a deep breath
"They're looking for Vander"
Jinx snapped her head toward Vi "What?"
"The Enforcers and Abessa's men are looking for him...I think they're trying to turn him into a weapon" Vi whispered softly, knowing fully well that Jinx, Isha, and Vander could hear him.
Vander growled at that
"I was getting some intel on some on the gangs. Was on a rooftop when...when I spotted Caitlyn-" she swallowed, the memory of her girlfriend (Were they even still together?) "She was ordering some Enforcers to spread through Zaun...it's only a matter of time before they get wind of ShimmerVill"
"Pah" Jinx spat on the ground "I'd like to see them get through my traps. They're not getting anywhere near us. Not again"
Vi looked at her "And if they do?" she asked desperately "What'll we do then?"
Jinx paused and looked at her "Where's this coming from?" she asked as if she couldn't believe what Vi was asking "Ain't it obvious? We fight back. Just like we always have...or did- but you know, we ain't gonna let them take us down or let them take Dad"
"...Aren't you tired of fighting" Vi asked softly
Jinx blinked at her, but let her continue
"All of this fighting, the bloodshed, the...chaos. Aren't you tired of it?" she asked again "Don't you ever just want to...stop? Run away and leave it behind?"
...
"Where would we even go?" Jinx asked "Leaving Zaun and Piltover to go to another place? Where? Demacia?" she snorted "There's trouble everywhere, even if we don't cause it ourselves."
She sighed "Besides, where's all of this coming from?" she raised an eyebrow "This doesn't sound like the Vi I used to know"
Vi looked down at the ground "Well I don't really know what I used to be like"
She looked down at her hands
"I...I thought I did. I really did. But, after you-" she struggled to say the words "-After you blew the council up and got away...I was a mess. Still am. Didn't know what to do with myself. Joined the Enforcers because I knew Caitlyn needed me"
Jinx frowned "Not because you wanted to?"
Vi rolled her eyes "No. I'll never forget what Enforcers have done to our people. I just...I knew Caitlyn needed me and that gave me something, it gave me something to ground me to reality and not just...become a brute that punched people"
Letting out a deep sigh "And look how well that worked out"
"I mean..." Jinx glanced to the side "Part of it was my fault. And you didn't need to protect me like that, I did, y'know" she mimicked slicing her neck and sticking her tongue out "I don't like her but...She had a reason to hate my guts"
"Still...pointing a gun at a kid? I just-" she shook her head "I didn't want that blood on her hands...or on mine"
Vi raised her head "I just...I don't know what else to do. We're here and...happy?-" she paused "Yeah. Happy. But how long is that going to last?"
They were quiet for some time before Jinx sighed and leaned back on her hands "Nothing lasts forever...we know that better than anyone" she snorted at the end. Letting out a light laugh she bumped shoulders with Vi "But that's the thing about life. Sometimes things are fine...and the next they're all going Jinx"
Vi rolled her eyes and pushed her back, jumping as Isha slid down from Vander's back and fit snuggly between them.
"Besides, we got the kid and Dad with us...and this place-" she gestured to their house "Ain't it nice to at least have something to fight for? People and a Home?" she smiled softly and wrapped an arm around Isha
Vi paused and took the moment in. Isha giggled as Jinx ruffled her around and laughed louder as Vander sat up and let out a snort of air that blew her hair slightly. It reminded Vi of the good old days, when it was her and Powder, with Mylo, Claggor, and Vander. When they were all happy and together.
She smiled softly and wrapped her own arm around Isha
"Yeah-" she looked at Jinx "I guess it is nice"
And she knew, deep down, that this time they'd do whatever they needed for this to last.
Even if they had to make everything else burn, nothing would take their home. Not again.