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“Loris is finally back,” Maddie says from the doorway. Caitlyn almost springs to her feet but forces herself to calmly set down the files she’d been working through. This was covert, what she’d asked from Loris. Ambessa could not find out, so she hadn’t even told the other squad members. Ambessa would not be happy if she found out Caitlyn was working on a side quest that wasn’t martial law related.
“Send him up,” She tells Maddie. The junior enforcer nods and leaves the room. Caitlyn stacks the papers to the side, she’d been going through more of her mother’s research of the undercity pollution.
Loris knocks on the door. “Come in,” Cailtyn calls.
Loris was always difficult to read. Caitlyn had only seen emotion from the man twice, comforting Maddie from Jinx’s disturbing doll of her, and his distaste at Ambessa enacting martial law. He looks the same as always now, not giving anything away in his face.
“Well?” Caitlyn asks.
“I found her.” He passes her a piece of paper, an address written down on it. Caitlyn actually recognizes a street name from her mother’s maps. Navigating the underground will still be difficult without Vi. Another reason she has to get her back.
“You saw her?” Caitlyn asks, folding the slip in half.
“She doesn’t look good.”
“How so?” Caitlyn frowns. She doesn’t like that, she figured Vi was off doing whatever she wants in the undercity. Maybe even reuniting with her sister, since she doesn’t want her dead. Caitlyn tries to push that thought aside.
“She’s in the pits. Fighting. She looks different than we saw her. You should go sooner rather than later.”
Caitlyn’s afraid to ask what that means. But she’s been waiting for his return all week. Nine days actually since she sent him, not that she’s counting. “I’ll leave straight away. Maddie can handle things here.” She grabs her bag from below the desk, full of maps, food, a first aid kit and some clothes. She’ll likely get robbed within ten minutes down there without Vi.
“I’ll come with you,” Loris says.
“No. I have to do this alone.” She slings the bag over her shoulders, reaches the doors.
“You’ll need help. Getting her back. She’s my friend.”
Now she can see a flicker of emotion. Loris cares about Vi too. Not like Caitlyn, but she’s so glad to see someone else care about Vi. She had really become a part of the squad, not that she wanted it in the first place. The entire squad would go with her if she asked, but that would be drawing too much attention.
“Okay. I just need to change first. You remember the way?”
They take the bridge. It’s easy enough to claim some routine raid of the Chembarons left in the undercity. That one of them has ties to find where Jinx is. Once they’re over the bridge though, Caitlyn pulls a hood over her clothes for good measure. She kept the clothes Vi helped her get the first time. Had to patch up a few holes.
They don’t have their hextech gear, and nothing on them to make it obvious they’re enforcers. Things have grown increasingly strained between the Zaunites and enforcers since martial law went into effect. Caitlyn is almost grateful that their hextech has been glitching since Jayce disappeared, slowing down Ambessa’s process. She hasn’t been able to hit any targets directly since leaving Vi. Part of her blames her emotional turmoil, but she knows it’s because the weapon isn’t reliable, malfunctioning. Her aim can be trusted, but her weapon can’t. Vi knew this. Caitlyn notices new graffiti of Jinx up, the blue haired girl front-center, the colorful explosions across Piltover surrounding her. Caitlyn remembers Vi’s hand around her waist, keeping her from being swept away. She wonders what would’ve happened if Vi hadn’t done that. Would she have died in an explosion of colorful pollution above her city?
And how did she repay her, for saving her life, for saving her from the guilt of a child’s death the rest of her life? By-
“Come on,” Loris says, drawing her out of her thoughts. He leads her past a few familiar buildings, but they’re going farther down than she expected. She sees Zaunites more impacted by Shimmer, cringing away from them as they walk past. A mother comforts two boys, ripped clothes hanging off emaciated bodies.
Those aren’t animals. They are just like her, just born in a different place. This is what she wanted to change. Does want to change, with Vi.
What happened to her? Those people don’t deserve this just because Jinx killed-
She stumbles, catching herself on Loris’ back. The ground is sloping down, the area more crowded here. There’s a deep crevice in the ground ahead, people gathered around, shouting, cheering, hurling insults. It smells like beer and piss.
Loris shoves someone aside, creating a path for her.
“This wasn’t the address you gave me.” She has to yell in his ear for him to hear.
“We might find her here first,” He shouts back. Caitlyn peers over his shoulder, down into the lit up pit below. Two people face off against each other. One, a prisoner Caitlyn vaguely thinks she found hiding below Silco’s ship once, gold gleaming off his jaw. The other, she doesn’t even recognize at first.
“Yup,” Loris says, “She’s at it again. Their top contender, apparently.”
Caitlyn feels sick as she realizes the dark-haired woman is her Vi. Her pink hair is gone. The only hue of red is what seeps through the bandages on her arms and across her chest, dripping fresh from other open areas on her body. Caitlyn has to lean against the railing for support looking down at her.
“What is she doing?” Caitlyn asks. “What is this place?” All those people are making her sick, her head pounding. She wants to get the three of them out of here. This is a place of pain and misery.
“Pit fighting,” Loris tells her grimly.
This is her fault. She’s led Vi to this, of course she has. She remembers Vi’s face, the despair and betrayal written there, tears in the eyes of the strongest person she knows. Vi’s hurt way worse now, and there’s no tears in her empty eyes. She forces herself to watch as the fight starts, knuckles turning white on the railing.
The plan is to follow Vi back to where she’s staying, the address Loris had written down. The fight goes on for longer than Caitlyn expected. Because Vi won’t give up, even if she looks like she doesn’t want to be alive currently. It’s also clearly not her first fight of the day. Caitlyn sneaks glances when her stomach settles in moments of bravery. This is not how she’s used to seeing Vi fight. She’s only seen her fight to defend her before, or when they fought Jinx. This is just. . . senseless violence. Vi looks nothing but angry, only giving up when she’s knocked out cold. Caitlyn is holding back tears at this point.
Why is she doing this, punishing herself in this way?
“She won’t be out for long. She’ll go hom- to the place she’s staying. We can wait for her there,” Loris says.
“How do you know?”
“I did this for two days before I followed her after. There’s a pattern.”
This has been Vi’s life. For the past month. She should have sent Loris sooner.
“I don’t want her to feel ambushed,” Caitlyn manages to say. “I should’ve asked before, but did you see any sign of. . .”
“No sign of Jinx. I would’ve told you. Are you. . okay?”
He doesn’t know. No one knows what Caitlyn did to Vi. What happened in that fight. Not even Jinx saw what happened after.
“I’m just so worried about her.”
“We’ll get her home. She’s strong.”
But Vi shouldn’t have to be strong. Caitlyn doesn’t want to see her hurt ever again.
Finally they see Vi mostly upright and walk out from the crowd of the pit, which is starting to dwindle. That was the last fight of the night it seems. Caitlyn squints into the dark, trying to see what’s in Vi’s hand. Some sort of alcohol. Loris and her trail behind carefully, but Vi doesn’t seem to have much of a guard up, staggering almost blindly, taking several swings.
Vi stops at some building that’s barely standing. It looks similar to where she took Caitlyn when she was injured by Sevika, but worse. Vi waits a minute before stepping up to the same door. There’s no lock, no knob, nothing. It just swings open. She exchanges a glance with Loris.
“Which way?” She hisses to him. There’s no windows, but different hallways split off into rooms, some with doors, some hidden by curtains.
He points to blood on the ground. There’s several spots, but only one looks fresh. If she was thinking clearly, she would’ve been able to track Vi just fine herself. Instead she follows Loris.
They follow the trail to a small room, the door left open enough that she can see inside. She peers in, heart beating out of her chest. Will Vi be mad when she sees her? Will she yell at her? Did she go too far?
Loris opens the door further, and there she is. Passed out again on the bed. Caitlyn wrinkles her nose as she takes in all the empty bottles on the floor, on the shitty stained mattress too.
“Is that vomit?” She asks Loris.
Something creaks on the stairs behind them, Loris whirling at the same time as her. Her hand reaches for the hextech gun she doesn’t have.
Jinx stands at the top of the stairs, looking just as shocked to see her, blue braids still in motion. That kid isn’t with her. Caitlyn could kill her right now. She doesn’t have hextech, but she’s still armed.
But Vi, broken and hurting is in the room right behind her. The purpose of all of this.
Jinx speaks first. “I’ll tell you what, cupcake. You get Vi out of here and sober, fix whatever the fuck you’ve done to her to make her a sad flop, and I won’t kill you and your friend.”
Caitlyn pushes Loris behind her, hoping he’ll be calm and follow her lead.
“Okay,” She breathes. This is crazy, making a deal with Jinx of all people. She’ll kill them as soon as they turn their backs. But something in Jinx’s face is making her trust this time. She doesn’t look how she did when she had Vi and Silco tied at opposite ends of the table. She looks like. . . how Vi described her sister Powder.
“I’ll wait,” Jinx says. She looks more like herself now, arms crossed. “She won’t wake up for hours. Does this every time.”
“Does she know you’re here?” Caitlyn asks. Jinx doesn’t give her an answer, but Caitlyn knows. She’s been coming here every night. Looking after Vi when she’s vulnerable. Doing exactly what Caitlyn should have been doing.
Loris slings Vi over his shoulders, and Caitlyn is immensely grateful she brought him with her. She wouldn’t have been able to carry an unconscious Vi all the way back to the Uppercity. They awkwardly edge around Jinx on the stairs, but she stays there, just watching, something sad but hopeful in her eyes.
Would she still be asking Caitlyn to help Vi, if she knew this was all her fault in the first place?
She’s still unconscious when the medic runs their tests. They take her blood. The same blood that runs through Jinx’s veins. Caitlyn is so ashamed, looking at how small Vi looks in that bed.
Alcohol poisoning. Traces of other drugs in her system, shimmer, though it could just be from exposure. They start an IV, tell her she should wake up soon. They treat her new injuries, re-wrap old ones. Her body is a map of pain. There’s no bruise where Caitlyn hit her a month ago, but she swears it was right over where Sevika had stabbed her. There’s scars, from where enforcers hurt her for seven years in that prison.
Caitlyn had added to that. Maybe not physically, but mentally.
Maddie, Steb and Loris come in and out like a revolving door, bringing Caitlyn food, since she hadn’t remembered to eat herself since they brought Vi in. It’s been eight hours. Her coloring is looking better, at least. Caitlyn wants to wash the dye from her hair. They’ve left the makeup smeared under her eyes. She can see traces of past tear tracks. Something changes on one of the monitors, and she leans forward, taking Vi’s hand. Her eyes open slowly, blinking against the light. Caitlyn should’ve dimmed them, it is so much brighter here than that pit and where Vi was staying.
“Can you give us some privacy?” Caitlyn asks Maddie, who's sitting in the other visitor chair. The junior enforcer leaps to her feet.
“Of course. I’ll let the others know. So glad you’re awake Vi!” She says cheerfully before taking her leave.
“Cait?” Vi asks. Her voice sounds raw. Caitlyn wants to cry at the sound of her voice, how much she’s missed her.
“Vi. I’m so sorry, I- how are you feeling?” She has to stop her own word vomit, trying to focus on what Vi needs right now. The rest can come later.
“Hungover. Where am I?” Vi’s still squinting, eyes adjusting.
“The infirmary. Loris helped me bring you back.”
Vi is tugging at her IV before Caitlyn can stop her. She grabs Vi’s elbow after though, putting pressure on where she’s bleeding. The machine is beeping frantically now, Caitlyn watching Vi’s heartbeat climb up the roof.
“Don’t look at that,” Vi scowls. “And. . . let go of me.”
It wasn’t long ago that Vi was holding Caitlyn’s arm like this. They both remember how that ended.
“If I let you go, are you going to run out of here, back to the pits?”
“Yes.” Vi’s eyes bore into her, and there it is. Hurt, not anger. Caitlyn can’t stand it.
Caitlyn just got her back. She can’t let her go, back to that place, to that spiral she was in. The medics said she was lucky not to have permanent liver damage.
“Vi, please. I know you don’t want to be here. But I’m sorry. You were right. Our hextech is glitching. I didn’t even realize at the time, but my shot hit off your gauntlet, it was not supposed to. I did miss. I would have missed. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.” When she looks back to Vi, she’s staring at the wall. Even her eyes look darker. She startles when Vi raises her hand up, a smear of blood at her elbow, to poke her face.
“What are you doing?” Caitlyn asks, Vi’s index finger staying against her cheek.
“Making sure your apology is real.” Vi’s eyes meet hers again. Less hurt, but it’s still there. And now there’s the anger she expected. “Can I go now?” Her arm drops back to her side. Caitlyn misses the contact, however small and strange it was.
“What? No. You need to let them put another IV in.”
“I just want a drink.” There’s a whine to her voice. Caitlyn realizes she’s shaking, and she doesn’t think it’s from their talk. It’s withdrawal.
“Did you hear me? You were right, Vi. I’m sorry for what I said. What I did.”
“It doesn’t change anything. I can’t be an enforcer. I can’t believe I. . . I can’t be what you need.”
“I don’t care about that anymore. Revenge isn’t what I needed. I need you, Vi. I’m sorry I ever thought otherwise.”
“But you’re still going to hunt Jinx.”
Caitlyn takes Vi’s face in her hands slowly, giving her time to pull away. But she learns into it even, just as desperate as Caitlyn.
“I found Jinx. When we came to get you. Jinx asked me to. . . bring you home. And I did, and neither of us hurt each other. We were both wrong. Your sister is still alive, and she still cares about you. She loves you as much as I love you. A whole lot.”
“Oh,” Vi says. And then she’s curling into herself, curling into Caitlyn who moves around her, arms moving from her face to around her shoulders, careful of new wounds and bandages. Caitlyn knows she’s crying, just as she was in the tunnels, but she’s here now, she’s not going anywhere. Caitlyn presses a kiss to the top of her head.
“You need to rest, heal. It’s not going to be easy, but I’ll be here. I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. I thought you wanted space, I thought. . . I don’t know what I thought. I didn’t think you’d go
there,
Vi.”
Vi’s calming down as she speaks, heartbeat still too fast for Caitlyn’s liking. She brushes through Vi’s black hair, re-familiarizing herself.
“I didn’t think you’d forgive me, for stopping you.” Vi mumbles it into her neck, but she hears. She understands.
“Forgive you? I should’ve been thanking you.” Caitlyn wipes the rest of her tears with her thumb. They don’t say anything for a bit, just holding onto one another. She doesn’t know for how long, but eventually Caitlyn makes herself pull away.
“There’s a few people outside who would want to see you, when you’re ready. And I should ask the medic to get you more medicine. You must be in a lot of pain.”
“Pain’s all gone,” Vi says, but Caitlyn can still feel her trembling against her. She tries to move off the cot but Vi clings to her, making a sound so much like the one she made in the tunnel that Caitlyn stills, horrified before realizing what the problem is.
“I’m coming right back,” She soothes, squeezing her hands. “I promise, Vi.” Vi’s hold slacks, allows her to slip away. But her eyes never leave her.
She opens the door quickly, ushering the rest of the squad in and getting the medic’s attention. Then she’s right back by Vi’s side. A shadow eclipses the window, and Caitlyn glances over in time to see two flashes of blue hair disappear.