Prison Break

Part 2

Vi returned to hers and Caitlyn's apartment far sooner than she wanted to.  Of all the things she had to do to prepare, she knew this would be the hardest, and not just because she was shit at writing notes.  After taking off her gauntlets inside, she sat down at the table with a pen and paper.  Of the ten sheets of paper she'd grabbed, four or five of them found the floor in crumpled-up wads with only a few words.

"Hey, Cupcake,

I..."

"Dear Caitlyn..."

"Caitlyn,

I don't think I..."

"Cait,

you know I'd never..."

Vi hid her head in her hands.  Why did this have to be so hard?  Maybe because she knew it was gonna hurt Cait?  Because of how much she didn't want to be doing this at all?  She sighed, she knew she couldn't let herself stay stuck on this for long.  Taking a deep breath, she thought a bit about what she wanted to say before trying again.
The words came slowly at first, feeling awkward and horrible at the same time.  She couldn't tell the exact reason, obviously, and tried not to even hint at ig.  Technically, nothing she said was untrue, but somehow, it still felt like lying.  The one thing she wanted to be clear about, and found herself saying again and again in one way or another, was that it wasn't Cait's fault.
After what felt like forever, the note was finally done.  Vi read it over, figuring it was as good as she was going to get.  Glad to at least be done, she folded the ends in towards the middle, then, biting her lower lip, slid the ring off her finger, and placed it on top.  Taking a long exhale, she stood up and put her gauntlets back on, then left.
After leaving the apartment, Vi's next task was at the bridge, or rather, under it.  Luckily for her, it was already evening, and not long before the bridge was relatively clear of foot traffic.  Once sure she wouldn't be seen, Vi crossed, then slipped down onto the riverbank on the Zaun side, and under the cover of the structure she'd just been on.
Now, here was something she was good at!  She drove one oversized fist, then the other, into the earth over and over again.  Ultimately, the goal would be to get Powder to Ekko and the Firelights, but with the distance between Still Water and the refuge, on top of the condition her sister was in,  she figured she would need a safe place to rest for a bit.  Before long, she'd dug three tunnels, one straight back and one going off to the left side just in case the enforcers got bold and decided to come over here looking for Powder, and one that winded and twisted off to the right, where she would actually be.  Here, Vi dug out a room big enough for them to both sit or lay comfortably, as well as a small tunnel in the back heading up to the street, just in case they needed to get out quickly.  It wasn't the prettiest haven ever, but it would do for a few hours' sleep after ducking from shadow to shadow all night.
Once this was done, she only had one job left to do.  It was a hell of a treck through the city, and something of a game of remembering where to go, which was why it was the perfect place to bring Powder to recuperate.  If Zaun was the hidden dark side of Piltover, the Firefight Refuge was the even more hidden light side of Zaun.
After being let in, Vi made her way over to the mural in the center of the place.  It felt stranger now than ever, seeing hers and Powder's faces up there, among everyone they'd lost.  Even knowing her sister was still alive, they'd put her up here, the thought being that Powder was dead inside of Jinx.  She'd come to that thought briefly a few hours ago, only to be near instantly proven wrong.  Maybe in time, she would look like this again, healthy, happy, innocent.  With those voices that haunted her mind, though, Vi wasn't sure if she would ever see quite that same light in her eyes.
"You know, part of men's starting to think you have a death wish," said a voice.  Vi turned to the side to see Ekko walking up to her.
She folded her arms.  "Yeah, look who's talking, Boy Savior."
Ekko shook his head and gave a little chuckle.  "Fair enough."  He looked up at the painting.  "I guess...  this is the part where you say you told me so."
"Ah...  Lucky for you, I'm feeling kinda humble today."  Vi smiled, but it quickly faded.
"What is it?"
"She's sick.  I think it might have something to do with shimmer, but...  H-her hands won't stop shaking...  I went to see her, she started coughing up blood."
Ekko looked down.  "Never seen that before.  I'll see what I can do when she gets here.  A lot of us...  They were sick from shimmer when they came here.  Try not to worry too much."
Vi took a deep breath.  "I was thinking I'd find us a ride out of here once she was in a better shape to travel.  Somewhere far enough away that the enforcers won't bother to come looking for her.  What if...  What if she's...  not gonna get better?"
Ekko sighed and was silent for a few moments, then looked up at the picture of Powder on the wall.  "Maybe let her see the world before it happens...  let her make friends, so..."  He took a breath.  "...  So she can...  know how many places will...  only remember Powder."
Vi smiled.  "I think she'd like that."  Ekko nodded, then looked down again.  "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine.  I just...  Uhm..."
"I know.  I don't like thinking about it, either.  God, she's already been through enough."
Ekko gave a slight nod, then looked at her.  "I'll see what I can do about getting you two out of the city once she's here.  The Hexgates will probably be crawling with enforcers when they find out she escaped, but...  I'll find a way."
"Thanks, Ekko."  She hugged him tightly, then started to walk out.  After just a few steps, though, she stopped.  "Ekko?"
"Yeah?"
Vi bit her lower lip.  "If something...  goes wrong, promise me they won't find her.  Okay?"
Ekko swallowed hard, then exhaled deeply.  "I promise."  Vi gave a small smile, then left.