Various Arcane x Reader

Chapter 9 - "I'm not going anywhere."

Instinctively, Y/n had grabbed Powder, protecting her from the fall.

Y/n groaned as her back hit the cold, cracked stone of the alleyway. The shock of the blast still rang in her ears. Powder whimpered softly in her arms, clinging to Y/n's chest with wide eyes filled with shock at the realisation that one of her bombs actually worked.

"Are you okay?" Y/n rasped, her throat dry from the dust now clouding the air.

Powder gave a shaky nod, as joy welled up in her blue eyes. "I-I didn't mean for it to be that big..." she stammered.

Y/n pushed herself up, wincing at the ache in her side, but never loosening her grip around Powder.

Through the smoke, Y/n caught a glimpse of Vi, bruised and bloodied, staggering out of the rubble-filled alleyway that she had been blown out into. A body lay motionless nearby, pinned beneath a collapsed beam. Around them, the dust began to settle.

Powder looked up and ran to her sister, not realising what her experiment had resulted in. Y/n winced, in an attempt to get up, only to wince and grab her side in pain.

Powder ran up to her sister, but something was wrong. Vi staggered towards her sister as Powder was beaming about how she had been successful for once.

"You did this? Why did you do this?"

She saw the brute's corpse behind her sister, with purple illuminous veins glowing in the darkness, only lit by a wild fire that was caused by her explosion. Her eyes focused on the figure, seeing that it was no other than who her siblings were here to save. The body was Vander's.

I... I didn't...I was saving you." Her voice trembled as her lower lip began to quiver. She averted her gaze, drawing her eyes away from her injured sister and her father figure lying on the floor, but it didn't spare her the view. When she looked away, her eyes landed on Claggor's broken and bloodied goggles.

The young girl began to hyperventilate as tears filled her eyes, "I only wanted to help." She began to sob uncontrollably whilst repeating herself, "I only wanted to help. I only wanted to help. I only wanted to"

"I told you to stay away." Vi interrupted, eyes empty, as her sister began to shake as tears started to cascade down her cheeks, "Please. Please. Please"

"I told you to stay away!" The pink-haired girl threw her fist directly at the younger girl's nose, making a loud crack echo down the alley as the fire nearby cackled along with the noise accompanying Powder's body hitting the floor.

"No. Why did you leave me?" The blue-haired girl cried only for her sister to grab at Powder's face and lift her head along with her body off the floor.

"Because you're a jinx. Do you hear me? Mylo was right."

"No. No. No. No. Violet, please." Powder cried only for Y/n to slam her shoulder into Vi. She quickly pulling Powder away from the older sister, wrapping Powder in her arms protectively, knocking the furious pink-haired girl back, her ribcage still aching from the impact of the explosion.

"And you sat back and watched!" Vi snarled, she lunged forward, putting all her weight on her front foot in an attempt to throw a threatening punch at Y/n, only for the girl to swiftly shove the youngest of the three behind her defensively.

Y/n grabbed Vi's wrist that she had sent towards Y/n, only for Y/n to yank her arm, sending her tumbling to the floor.

Y/n couldn't help but hiss at the strain that had been put on her arm. Vi looked at the two and stormed off in a rage, not quite comprehending that she had been beaten by the very girl she had trained.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye because before Y/n could even turn around, she heard a voice that sent her uneasy. "Hello, little girl. Where's your sister?"

Y/n turned around to see a horrifying scene before her.

"She left me. She is not my sister anymore." Powder growled into the scarred man's chest, hugging him closely.

Y/n instinctively turned and pulled Powder back, but Powder only pressed herself tighter against the man, seeking comfort that her sister had just torn away.

"You poor thing," he murmured, stroking Powder's hair with a gloved hand. "All alone now, aren't you?"

"She left me!" Powder sobbed, her voice cracking under the weight of her grief. "She hates me! Everyone hates me!"

"And who is this?" the scarred man asked, his sharp eyes narrowing at Y/n, who stood trembling, breathing heavily as she fought to stay on her feet.

Powder sniffled, her gaze flickering back to Y/n. For a painful moment, something tender crossed her tear-streaked face, a look of longing, of hesitation.

"T-That's Y/n," she said quietly, almost reverently. "She's... She's the only one who stayed. She... she stayed. She always stays." Powder repeated, still filled with emotion she couldn't seem to bear.

Y/n swallowed hard, taking a cautious step forward, ignoring the thugs looming nearby. "I'm still here, Powder," she said, her voice raw. "I'm not going anywhere."

Y/n dropped to her knees beside the scarred man, eyes locking onto Powder's ones teary and filled with fury.

Powder looked at her, and for a moment, the world around them blurred. The shouting, the crackling fire, the groans of wounded men, all of it melted away.