The walk back was one that I won't forget. After we'd burned through enough energy to eat anything that Vander prepared, we slowed to a crawl. As we walked through the streets of Zaun, a sight I never thought possible played before me. The city was healing. There weren't as many bodies, but there sure are more Enforcers. They moved in units, stomping around corners and questioning the people of Zaun before heading towards the bridge. Despite what happened the past few days, the people of Zaun looked different. Besides the cuts and bruises most wore, they had something about them. They stood up straighter, some even smiled at us as we passed by. Instead of playing dead in the streets, the vagrants are hard at work putting the city back together. There were many others who were working on building new gadgets and utilities.
"I hope they stay away." Powder mumbled as her hand swayed by her side, slightly touching mine with every step we took.
Eventually I stopped looking into the eyes of anyone who passed us.
"Hey, what's up?" Powder asked.
"They have hope now." I answered absentmindedly.
"I wonder who could have done that?" she insinuated as she playfully bumped shoulders with me.
I'm in complete disbelief. The people of Zaun have practically changed overnight. Whatever Vander did, he managed to achieve in a few days what I failed to do for the last 4 years of my life. He and his band wiped out all the filth from Zaun in about three nights.
"I guess I shouldn't be so surprised, but this is what I always wanted." I confessed.
"It's what we all wanted, but none of us wanted it that bad." Powder added.
"Not bad enough to do what I've done. I guess it was necessary." I realized, but Powder stopped me.
"I don't want to hear you talk about that." she gave me a side-eye.
"...or you'll—" I started.
"Kick your—" she continued.
"Fine, got it." We continued walking, enjoying the silence, until I destroyed it.
"I'm still injured, you know." I'm going to see how far I can push her. Turning her into a bruiser like Vi might be my next pet project.
"So you'll have more of a reason to stay in bed," she reasoned, but then stopped again, with a shocked look on her face.
"What?" I asked, feeling a new sense of worry wash over me.
"I better not get in trouble for taking you out," she warned as her face scrunched up into an annoyed scowl.
I shrugged. "Maybe. But what are they going to do, spank you?"
Powder looked down at her feet, then looked at me again, losing her annoyed expression for a regretful one.
"If anything happens to me, I'll do the same to you." she promised.
"I'm touched, really. But, Powder, you'll be fine." I promised as I started walking towards the Last Drop. It was off in the distance, no bigger than my thumb. Powder grabbed my hand and yanked me back. I played into it, acting as if I weighed 50 pounds.
"That's how you break arms, you know." I jested. She smiled but then averted her eyes as she fidgeted with her thumbnail.
"I might have told Vi..." she confessed.
I raised an eyebrow.
"About us," she finished confessing, and I finished having a good day.
"Oh, okay then." I stated, feeling my bones being filled with ice.
She looked up at me in mild surprise. "You aren't mad?"
"Mad at you? You're going to have to do a lot more than that to get me angry." I said as I began looking up at the buildings around us.
Powder followed my gaze. "What are you looking for?"
"Trying to find the tallest building to jump from." I answered.
"WHAT!" Powder shrieked, causing the people around us to glance at us as they walked by.
"I said—" I began with an elevated tone.
"I know what you said! Why would you do that?" Powder asked through her teeth.
"Well. I'll never forget how hard Vi punched me the first time. She said that she would take it easy on me and clearly didn't. Comparing more of that, which would be even worse now, to falling from a building...well, you know." I tried to explain.
Her mouth fell wide open.
"I've noticed you do that a lot. It's dusty out here, you know." I warned.
Powder slammed her mouth shut and took my hand. It must have been a strange sight, seeing an angry blue-haired girl pulling the local maniac into the Drop. We slipped in as if we were here the entire time, until...
"You two had fun in the countryside?" a familiar heroic voice asked. I looked up to see Vander in the middle of talking to someone. "Head on downstairs. Everyone's there."
I looked at who sat on the stool in front of Vander. He's a pale man with finely combed hair, wearing a business suit and a matching jacket. Before Powder pulled me away, this man looked towards me, revealing his infected eyeball. Powder opened the door, and I shut it. We sat on the first two steps.
"Was that who I think it is?" I asked, dreading the answer.
"Who was that?" Powder asked, but I doubt that she's completely ignorant of him.
"That's Silco, I'm sure of it." I answered, still not believing that he made it outside without his guards.
"No way, that's him? He doesn't look—" she began with a smile creeping onto her face.
"He's one of the worst, if not the worst, in Zaun." I said with a dissociated anger boiling in my throat.
Powder must have felt it. Her smile faded as she stared at me.
"Most of the thugs I've taken down were from him." I recounted the moments where his goons and I crossed paths. They were an extension of him. They were patient and ruthless to the will of that man. And from what I heard at that time, his punishments for failure were the stuff of nightmares. It wasn't an option to mess up around them, I had to be smarter, I had to win. I felt Powder's hand rub mine, and those thoughts washed away.
"I need to talk to Vander about this." I told Powder.
Her expression matched my serious gaze with her longing to keep me grounded.
"Don't lose yourself." she appealed to me. Approaching a conversation with Vander about Silco might throw me off course. I'm under no illusion of what I'm capable of when under the charm of emotion. Vengeance, I've seen it end too many stories in Zaun, many of which I've played a major part in.
I only nodded in response.
"No." she squeezed my hand. "You tell me, right now."
I turn to her. "Tell you what?"
"Are you the boy wanting to get even? Or are you just a kid wanting a better life?" she queried, her gaze a vacuum that pulls what I want to keep inside. Why can't I let go? It's over. Vander fought for all of us. He took it in his hands and shed blood for our future.
"I understand." I can't find an answer.
"We love you, Owen, do you understand that?" she soothed as she touched her head to mine.
"That's the most surreal thing, loving someone like me." I admitted as I brought her hand to my lips.
Shuffling from below forced us to our feet. I looked over at Powder, who nodded her head downstairs. Our feet made contact with the steps below, as if it were our first time walking down.
"Hey, you two." Claggor greeted us with a book in hand, now there's a sight.
Claggor was sitting on the couch with a pile of books stacked high enough from the floor that it reached his knees. Mylo is at the workbench with a box of metal scrap, a big lock, and a book. It seems as if he's engrossed with cracking that lock. Vi was busy with the machine pads.
"Found a new hobby?" I asked as I walked towards my bed to gather scrap.
"Not my personal choice, but Vander made it clear, no more stealing, we're going to school," he stated with fatigue in his voice.
My mind slowed as those words rang through my head. "School?"
I turned my head to Claggor. Within my line of sight, Vi stopped punching as soon as Powder opened her mouth to greet her. They started exchanging words. Vi doesn't look too pleased to be speaking with her. Powder has a dismissive disposition, shrugging and rolling her eyes as they spoke. Vi leaned towards Powder as she spoke and shook her head in response to Powder's dismissive body language. She shot a glance over at me, irritation clear on her face. Those fierce eyes lingered longer on me than what I'm comfortable with. Then Powder pushed Vi with one arm. It took Vi by surprise, breaking her gaze at me, and she returned to Powder. Vi smiled while nodding her head. She then nodded towards the boxing ring. Oh, shit. Claggor looked behind him and returned to his book just as quickly.
"I don't want any part of that," he declared as he used his finger to focus on reading. I don't believe it.
Looking back towards the ring, they were now arguing, not loud enough to be heard, but they were getting animated. Powder stomped her foot while glaring daggers at her sister. Vi stood eerily still with her fist clenched. Then, she turned to a corner where two pairs of gloves lay. Grabbing them, she walked back to Powder and pushed the smaller gloves into her chest. The force sent Powder stumbling back, but she hurried to put them on, while Vi slipped hers on with ease. I walked over to Mylo, who was laser-focused on deconstructing the big lock.
"Hey, man." I lightly slapped Mylo's back as I stood beside him.
"Hey," he simply replied.
"How has Vi been lately? Was she more...Vi than usual?" I asked as I looked from the boxing ring back to the workbench. The sisters seem to be still arguing, but this time more controlled.
"Actually." Mylo finished disassembling the lock and looked at the book, turned a page, and began reassembling it. "She's been pretty jittery lately. What were you two up to?"
"Can't take a stroll around town with a friend?" I asked as I picked up a tiny spring and played with it.
"A friend, huh?" He chuckled as he pulled apart the lock when he was halfway done assembling it and began to add things that looked strange to me.
Before I could question him on it, there was a loud bang. I snapped my head their way to see Powder clenching her stomach. She's bent over in what looks like immense pain. Vi held a mostly stoic expression. She laid a glove on Powder's back and gave a gentle push downward, probably insisting that she take a knee. However, Powder's tenacity held her up. I wonder if I should.... I'll take it on the chin. My legs carried me over to the side of the ring. Thankfully, neither of them acknowledged me. Powder pushed Vi back with her shoulder, but it looks as if Vi simply went with the flow. She gracefully retreated and prepared for engagement. This seems like something that I shouldn't get myself involved in. Looking behind me, Mylo and Claggor are deep in their desired hobbies. That has to be deliberate. The sisters must have done this numerous times before, but this seems personal. The sound of that impact was frighteningly loud. Powder forced her body to obey her and took steps closer towards Vi, who in turn punished Powder for doing so. Vi threw a jab towards Powder's head, thankfully, she managed to block it, but Vi packed too much power for Powder to handle. The guard was destroyed, leaving her wide open for anything. Vi followed up with a right uppercut, Powder successfully blocked it due to pure instinct.
Vi dropped her guard. "Come on, hit me."
Vi's no-nonsense disposition was making me nervous, she wouldn't seriously hurt Powder, would she? Powder appears to be indecisive, not wanting to feel Vi's power again but wanting to return the favor. She inched closer to Vi, who simply stood there unprotected. She slipped Powder's first swing, targeted for the head. She stumbled to where Vi was previously. Here I thought she was just a hard-hitting brawler, but she knows how to move her feet as well, perfect. She bounced gracefully off her feet as if she weighed nothing. Motivated by anger, Powder charged at Vi, throwing punch after punch, hitting nothing but air. This went on for longer than what I thought was necessary. What was the point in this? To humiliate her? To teach her a lesson? Then it occurred to me, this family is more connected than I thought. Someone tattled, and now we're paying the price. Powder, in frustration, threw a wild hook that sent her into the ropes. Sweat poured down her face, making her shake her head to keep her vision clear. Vi lost her patience and threw a monstrous hook of her own. Powder didn't have time to react to put up a full guard. Instead, Vi's punch landed on Powder's right arm. She stumbled backwards until her back hit the corner pads. This is unnerving, however, I shouldn't interfere. Vi has no true intention of hurting Powder beyond what she can handle, I hope. That's a new sensation, huh, Hope? She stomped towards Powder, who threw a left cross that was immediately parried. Vi landed an uppercut to Powder's liver, who crumbled to the canvas. That was it. I jumped into the ring; my legs protested against it, but I didn't care.
"I think it's my turn." I announced with my typical attitude, sporting a toothy smile.
"I'll deal with you in a minute." Vi shot at me. She wore a face that I haven't seen before, focused wrath.
"Sorry, I don't have a minute. I want to play now." I jested. Powder struggled to move from the fetal position, her face twisted in pain.
Vi turned to me. "You don't want this, not today."
I dropped the act. "Whatever you have going on, I'm getting involved."
I walked over to Vi and met her face-to-face. To her credit, she didn't budge. It wouldn't surprise me if she's Vander's biological kid. After our brief standoff, she allowed me to pass her.
"I'll be taking that." I said as I pulled the gloves off, Powder. I could feel Vi walking away to the opposite side of the ring.
"Stop. Please. Just." Powder gasped between breaths.
"Now, now. You can't have all the fun." I pushed the glove onto my hand. "Probably should have helped you out of here first."
Powder shook her head.
"Ah well, this won't take long." Something tells me that things are going to be different this time around, I can feel it in my bones.
I turned towards Vi, who's resting on the pads. She pushed herself off of them and wasted no time walking towards me. Her eyes held such a well-controlled fury. I'm impressed. I wonder how fast my ass is going to get kicked. Walking forward towards possible doom, I braced myself to counter her overwhelmingly intimidating presence. Remaining loose, I relied on my back foot to give me power and to allow for a quick retreat, and I'm going to need it. Vi pushed a jab towards my head, and I countered with a punch to her side. It bounced off harmlessly, but she knows that I'm not afraid to touch her. Turning the notch up to 100, she held nothing back. It took the close calls of two punches grazing my head for me to take this seriously. Digging in deep, I recalled Vi's movements previously, her habits and tendencies. It served me well at first, surprising Vi as I landed three fully flushed punches to her face. But with every punch that I landed, it was returned in full. Her punch broke through my guard and landed on my cheek. Not bad, thought it would hurt a bit more. We exchanged brief moments of feints before trying to land the haymaker that will end this dance for good. Vi weaved from side to side. Wait a minute, I've seen this before. She pulled her right arm back. She always favors her right arm for the big punches and the left for the precise punches. The right arm launched towards my head. Without reading those subtle clues, that would have taken my head clean off. Vi fell into me due to me ducking under her. Grabbing her by the waist, I guided her fall towards the closest corner. I slammed into it sideways. I pushed my shoulder against her and wailed on her exposed side. I only managed to sink two good punches in before her obliques discouraged me from persisting any further. Backing up was a big mistake on my part. As I allowed her to get a swing on the side of my head. I couldn't hear or feel anything but a burning sensation on that side. Her next attacks fell into a pattern that was strangely predictable. Clearly, she's trying to set me up. To play it safe, I decide to make her miss her shots. I lowered my guard and moved on my toes. The next few of Vi's punches were slower, but somehow packed more energy behind them. She was getting visibly upset from missing all of her punches. No way, this is a dream. With every punch Vi missed, the more out of control and angry she became. It got so bad that her once pristine style devolved into that of a child throwing a fit. Sweat flew from her arms as she lazily threw punches until she could barely move her arms.
"Huh, are we done yet?" I asked, shocked that this fight turned out the way it did.
"No way." Mylo's shallow voice rolled into my ear.
Well, this is a problem. I don't want to disrupt the power dynamic here; however, she did hurt my blue scarecrow, so that can't be tolerated. I pushed Vi backwards by the face, finally getting a surprised look from her.
"I thought we were fighting. Do you need a break?" I asked.
That gave her enough energy to charge forward and throw punches like she used to. It was in vain however, each punch slowed to a miserable paddle at the air. If I had fought Vi toe-to-toe, I would have been destroyed. Fortunately, today I chose to learn from a past mistake. After Vi threw another labored punch, I bent my knees and turned my body into a punch that made Vi crash to her knees and start lurching on the canvas. It was the hardest punch I think I ever threw in my life. And it still wasn't enough. Even though Vi could no longer throw effective punches, she still stood on her feet. Saliva hanging from her lips, she stumbled forward and drew back her arm. This is beginning to be too painful to watch. Regardless of this entire silly game we played. I've grown quite fearful of that fighting spirit. If she ever manages to reach adulthood, she alone will change the world. That might have been an overestimation, I need to focus. She fell into me. Within my arms, she still tried to throw punches. How far is she willing to go to prove a point? I'm starting to see a lot of me in her.
"Come on now, it's over, just stop." I demanded, but Vi wasn't hearing any of it.
She made every attempt to break my ribs, but I can see the effort on her face; she can't stop. Whatever is motivating her to push past her limits, it's going to get her killed. I can tell because I'm the same way. She won't stop until she proves herself as worthy.
"Don't make me do this." I warned.
"You wanted. To play. This is how. You win." Vi huffed as every word drew more energy out of her.
Oh well, I tried. I maneuvered behind her, allowing her momentum to let her fall in the robes, which launched her back towards me. Lining up my shot, I snapped my left haymaker and landed on her chin. We both hit the canvas. I'd put everything I had into that punch. As I lay next to Vi, I tried to keep my head steady. Striking down your hero is a soul-crushing experience.
"Whoa, okay. That's enough." Claggor said as he climbed into the ring and ran over to us.
"Unbelievable, you beat her! You actually beat her!" Mylo ran over to Vi, whose eyes were open and moving but weren't following anything in particular.
"Shut up, Mylo." Vi muttered in a surprisingly calm voice.
"What?!" He was startled by Vi not being completely knocked out.
"I'm still 10 years old, you know. I can't knock anyone out, especially with gloves on. By the way, Claggor." I lifted my hands. "Can you help me out?"
"Yeah, sure." He pulled them off easily.
My sweaty hands flopped down to my sides. My right hand landed next to Vi's arm. Mylo has already pulled her gloves off.
"Today has been a journey of...annoyance. I'm going to bed. Excuse me." Instead of getting up to walk out, like a normal person, I rolled out of the ring. It was a dumb decision, as I crashed onto the hard concrete. Unsurprisingly, gravity hits harder than people, a lesson that I may never learn. The good news is that Powder was sitting there the whole time, holding her stomach. She's looking at me as if I've grown a second head.
"What?" I asked.
"Why did you do that?" she asked with her lip curled up in annoyance.
I shrugged. "I'm tired, so I rolled."
"Now your head is bleeding." Powder grunted as she pressed her hand against my head.
"Yeah, that was pretty stupid." Claggor added as he rested on the ropes over us.
"Thanks, pal, you know what to say to make me feel better." I joked.
"Hey, no problem," he responded in full sincerity.
"I'll get a rag." Vi said as she slid from the ring and walked upstairs. Mylo slid out beside her, looked back at us, and shrugged as they climbed the steps.
"All that work, just for her to walk it off." I commented. In truth, I'm glad I only wounded her pride and nothing else, hopefully.
"You should have stayed out of it. It's normal for them to do this." Claggor stated as he lowered himself to the floor with the help of the ropes.
"She never hit me that hard before." Powder admitted as she stared ahead of us.
"You can tell me all about that later. I'm going to roll to my bed now; try and stop me." I started to roll, and Powder's hand fell off. Claggor lifted me from the floor and cradled me.
"Yeah, Vi should have held back a bit." Claggor speculated as he walked to my bed and carefully laid me down. Powder followed, wiping the blood off on her shirt.
"Do you ever wonder if maybe it's time to switch out the boxes?" I asked as Powder pressed her hand against the not-so-serious cut on my head.
Claggor scratched his forehead. "I don't think we have anything else."
"No more boxes? I mean, a bag of dirt will do." I suggested.
"You're not sleeping on bags of dirt." Powder left no room for argument, so I made room.
"What if it's good dirt? Like the kind that grows fruits, veggies, and stuff?" I asked.
"Sounds like a gross misuse of resources." Claggor concluded.
"What's gross is not changing old boxes out for new boxes." I fumed.
"What's all this talk about boxes?" Mylo asked as he approached with a damp rag. He handed it to Powder, who pressed it against my head and cleaned the wound.
"That. It is between me and the big guy." I decided. Claggor shook his head. "Anyways, we need to talk about our guest."
They got quiet suddenly. Vi knelt beside Powder and held up a roll of bandages and ointment. Together, they treated and bandaged the wound. They performed the duty as if they've done it dozens of times.
"Silco wants to work with Vander on building a better city." Vi finally broke the silence.
"Seriously?" I thought for a moment. "This isn't some sort of front to buy time for a comeback?"
Vi shook her head. "He fought alongside Vander back in the day. He did it again once he saw Vander fighting the other gangs."
"So that's why there were so many bodies." It made sense. Silco has every incentive to play nice. He's that kind of person, but why wait this long? If he wanted to, he could have started the clean himself up. But if he wasn't as influential as I thought he was, then maybe he had just enough power to control the gangs through manipulation, threats, and bribes. If that's the case, then assisting Vander in the fights could have been his escape from managing the local gangs.
"What are you thinking?" Vi asked. They all looked at me, anticipating my response.
"Firstly, I appreciate all the attention, really. I feel like a rat surrounded by crows." I express. They collectively groaned in amusement. "Secondly, consider this. What if Silco truly wanted what's best for the people of Zaun?"
I can see their collective brains hard at work.
"I mean." Mylo began, scratching his neck. "He has the largest gang, and he used to be close to Vander. If he really wants the same thing as Vander, he has a strange way of showing it."
"Strange is an understatement. He's no different from the rest of the bosses. The only difference is that he wears a suit." Claggor argued as he walked to the couch and sat to resume his reading.
"That's one way to look at it." I considered that possibility to be the most likely. I didn't have time to look into his eyes when I met him.
"Didn't Vander call him his brother once?" Powder piped up.
"He did once. I don't think he thought we were listening when he used to talk us to sleep." Vi recollected as she rested her hand on the top of my head. "But if Silco was plotting to stab Vander in the back again, he would know."
"Yeah, he seems to be smarter than I thought." I shared as I relaxed into the bed.
Vi snickered. "What? You thought Vander was just a bartender?"
"Every day, he showed me just how much he understands people. Everyone here has an unusual amount of respect for him." I hinted.
"What's so unusual about that?" Mylo asked as he sat down on the floor.
"He must have an even hand in fear and respect from people. I'm sure that charm isn't just in Zaun either." I speculated.
"You're thinking too hard about this." Vi patted my head.
"He'll never tell us the full story on exactly how he managed to make the gangs behave, for the most part, before all this." I breathed deeply. "I'm going to have to ask him about this when that other guy leaves."
"Well, you have to wait a while. They're going to the council in Piltover." Vi disclosed. Claggor and Powder turned to Vi in shock.
I locked eyes with Vi as I sat up. "Seriously? For what?"
"For a meeting." she looked around to see the expressions on our faces. "Don't worry, they aren't getting arrested for anything."
"Can you be sure about that?" I asked, trying to keep my composure.
"He asked me to trust him. Believe me, I made a fuss about it too. But you know him; he's pulling out all the stops to make our dreams possible," she explained as she stood.
"If only I could cry, but I'd rather just pass out." I stated as I laid back down. Powder flashed me a smile and stood to her feet. The sisters looked at each other with neutral expressions. It sure would be a shame to have this start all over again. I'm not in the mood nor the condition to tolerate that drama. Fortunately, they both broke into a fit of laughter. Vi grabbed Powder by the head, ruffled her hair, and kissed her on the forehead. Powder growled in mock displeasure and hugged Vi. They separated, Powder scampered off to the workbench, and Vi joined Claggor on the couch.
"So that's it then. No more of the same old, same old." Mylo said as he crawled closer to me and leaned against the bed.
"No more stealing." I recounted.
"Nope." He pulled out a toothpick from his belt and picked at his teeth. Disgusting, but okay.
"No more getting into fights." I rubbed my fists.
"I wouldn't say that exactly. Zaun is still Zaun," he countered with a hint of joy in his voice.
"Huh, you wouldn't move to Piltover anytime soon, would you?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"For nothing in the world. I was born here, I'll die here," he said without a hint of hesitation.
"That's a bit extreme, but I like the loyalty to the grime we inhale every day. Put it here." I raised my hand.
"You're such a smart ass." He grinned as we slapped hands, pushed our thumbs together in a lock, pulled back into another finger lock, shook hands, and then separated with a snap of the fingers.
"You need to teach me that someday." Vi requested as she looked up from a book.
"Too bad. One unique handshake per person." I stipulated.
Vi chuckled. "I'm looking forward to it."