Get a taste of my rocket!

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At this moment, the happiest person was Seraphine.

While listening to the conversation inside, she tuned into the melodies of the three souls nearby. Her cheeks flushed, and she couldn't suppress a giggle.

Caitlyn's soul sang of her determination to delve into Zaun alongside Vi, heroically avenging her father and eradicating the darkness that plagued the undercity.

Vi's soul was much like her words—direct and unyielding, singing of how her iron fists would pave the way from Zaun's harbors to the Last Drop, ultimately defeating Silco and saving Powder.

Jinx's soul, on the other hand, was chaotic yet playful, humming about how she'd gleefully turned her adversaries into nothing but riddled corpses.

The three of them were endlessly fascinating to Seraphine. Before they'd even crossed paths, they'd fought countless battles with one another in their hearts.

From inside the room, Caitlyn's calm voice broke the silence:

"Vi, I understand your approach has merit, but you saw Viktor's strength that day. We can't just barge in—it won't work."

"Ekko will help us. And the truth is, Silco still has Powder. I have to rescue her!"

Vi's response was firm, her tone unshakable.

"Powder... rescue..."

Jinx, crouched outside the window, froze for a moment. Her face twisted in a mixture of emotions.

Caitlyn's voice turned colder. "Let's not assume Ekko will help you. And Vi, stop deluding yourself. The 'Powder' you know is gone. She's Jinx now."

"She's in Silco's hands!" Vi snapped, her voice rising.

"She's only like this because of him. If we take down Silco, she can go back to who she was."

Jinx sneered bitterly.

'Take down Silco? Go back to who I was?'

Her fingers tightened around her rocket launcher. A bitter thought crossed her mind:

'If you had just taken me away that day… maybe, just maybe, I'd be sitting with you in that fancy house right now.'

But life doesn't work like that.

Seraphine blinked, piecing the story together from the harmonies of Vi and Jinx's souls. The memories were raw and sharp:

One fateful night, Silco had ambushed Vander, intending to inject him with Shimmer. Vi, along with her companions, had stormed in to save him.

But then, Powder—determined to prove herself despite being dismissed as a burden—interfered. Her recklessness caused an explosion, killing both sides indiscriminately.

Vander and Vi's comrades perished that night. Only Vi survived, but her heart was shattered. In anguish, she lashed out at Powder, calling her a Jinx.

That same night, Vi was taken to Piltover by the Enforcers, while Jinx was left behind and taken in by Silco.

Seraphine let out a soft sigh.

No one was entirely right, nor entirely wrong.

But after that night, the bond between the sisters was irreparably fractured.

Vi remained the Vi of old, but Powder was no longer just Powder. She had become something else—a blend of the innocent girl she once was and the unpredictable force now called Jinx.

From the room, Caitlyn's voice rose sharply again.

"Do you know how many innocent people in Piltover she's killed?"

The weight of those words hung in the air before Caitlyn's tone softened, shifting from anger to something more personal:

"And Vi… can you even let go of that night? I live next door to you. I hear it every time you wake up screaming. Night after night, you dream of that moment, whispering, 'Why didn't I stop her? Why didn't I keep her home, safe with me?'"

Safe?

Jinx felt her grip on the rocket launcher loosen. Her face, usually a mask of wild energy, was now etched with complexity—resentment, sorrow, contempt, and a faint glimmer of something else. Relief, perhaps.

Vi… Vi was still the same as always. She still thought she knew best, thought she had all the answers.

She had never asked what Jinx wanted, never tried to see things from her perspective.

And yet, for reasons Jinx couldn't quite explain, she suddenly felt a pang of familiarity—an echo of the sister she had once known, the sister she had lost so long ago.

"It's over, and I'm so sorry for everything she's done in Piltover. Maybe if I had taken her with me back then, none of this would have happened. But no matter what she's become, I'll always believe that when I finally see her, she can go back to being the same Powder she used to be." Vi's tone was resolute, her voice firm with conviction.

Outside the room, Jinx listened to her sister's heartfelt words, but instead of warmth, all she felt was disgust.

Sometimes—especially in recent days—she found herself questioning.

'Does Vi love me for who I am, or just the idea of me?'

But now, she knew the answer.

Vi didn't love her. Vi loved the little sister she once was, the one who didn't exist anymore.

The Vi of today couldn't accept Jinx. No, Vi was still clinging to the hope of "fixing" her, of bringing her back to being Powder. But Jinx didn't want to go back to being that weak, helpless girl.

And if she couldn't change back? If she refused?

Jinx didn't know what Vi would do. And honestly, she didn't want to find out.

What she did wish for, more than anything, was to hear a single sentence from Vi:

"It doesn't matter if you're Jinx or Powder. You'll always be my sister."

But she knew better than to hope for that.

Just as Jinx was lost in her thoughts, Seraphine's expression abruptly changed.

Grabbing Jinx's arm, she swiftly manipulated her hoverboard, and they floated out of the manor just in time.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion erupted where they'd just been standing. The wall crumbled as a hole appeared, and Vi, clad in her hex gauntlets, emerged with her fist raised.

"Who's there?" she demanded sharply, her eyes scanning the area.

Her gaze fell on Seraphine first, then shifted to the blue-haired girl holding a Gatling gun.

Her expression darkened instantly.

"Powder?"

"I'm Jinx!"

Jinx hesitated for only a moment before pulling the trigger. A barrage of bullets spewed forth, tearing through the ground and sending debris flying.

A nearby tree toppled, creating a barricade between her and Vi. If Vi hadn't dodged quickly—or if Jinx hadn't intentionally missed—Vi would have been riddled with bullets.

"Go!" Jinx yelled, turning her back and running. Seraphine hurriedly followed.

CRACK!

A gunshot rang out.

The sound of shattering glass followed, and a bullet pierced Jinx's calf. She stumbled but gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stay upright.

Her vision blurred momentarily, but her grip on the Gatling gun tightened.

She turned, glaring at Caitlyn, who stood at the window with her rifle aimed.

"Powder, put down the gun! We're not here to hurt you," Caitlyn called out, her voice calm but firm.

"Damn it, call me Jinx!" Jinx shouted.

Pain lanced through her leg, but she switched her weapon to her bazooka and rested it on her shoulder. Her lips curled into a defiant, almost mad grin as she aimed it directly at Caitlyn.

"Don't!" Vi quickly moved between them, desperation in her voice.

"If you do this, there's no coming back from it!"

"Coming back to what?" Jinx's voice dripped with venom. Her sneer deepened as she spat,

"Do you really think I'm still that useless little Powder who couldn't do anything right?"

"No," Vi said, her tone softening.

"I've never thought that. I've always believed you could do anything. But right now, you need to calm down. Please."

CRACK!

Another gunshot rang out.

Caitlyn pulled the trigger, her face cold and unwavering. The bullet shot toward Jinx, weaving past Vi, who tried to intercept it.

Jinx barely had time to react.

"Surround Sound!"

Seraphine's voice rang out like a melody. Her hoverboard glowed with blue and green waves of light, surrounding Jinx just in time.

The bullet struck the blue shield and lost its momentum, dropping harmlessly in front of Jinx's forehead.

The green light wrapped around her injured calf, pushing the bullet out and stopping the bleeding.

Jinx's eyes widened briefly before narrowing. Her voice was filled with bitterness as she hissed, "This is what you wanted, Vi? You disgust me!"

Fear flickered in her eyes, but she didn't hesitate.

She pulled the trigger on her bazooka with all her strength.

The rocket roared out, trailing smoke as it sped toward Vi and Caitlyn.