Olive and Vi were just leaving Olive's old house when they heard running footsteps on the sidewalk, coming closer. Soon, Caitlyn came into view, and gestured for them to hurry up.
"The next council meeting. They moved it up. To tonight," she said, opening the gate for them. "We need to be ready."
Olive's heart felt ready to beat out of her chest. She and Vi were waiting just beyond the doors to the Council's meeting room, waiting for the signal for them to enter. Vi stood beside her, her face unreadable. The only hint Olive had to how she felt was the subtle sign of Vi's clenched jaw that she could see out of her peripheral vision. Before she knew it, Cailtyn was leading them into the room where each council members' eyes instantly latched onto the three of them. Olive could feel their eyes burning through her skin, reopening searing wounds that had barely healed. Vi's hand suddenly clenched around hers for a moment, a reassurance Olive didn't know she needed. Caitlyn introduced Vi but then trailed off as she turned to Olive.
"Olive Whitlock..." Salo murmured. His piercing eyes were slowly looking her and Vi up and down.
"This is ludicrous!" Hoskel suddenly thundered, pounding a fist on the table. "You have some nerve-"
"Excuse me!" Mrs. Kiramman cut him off with a sharp tone. "Calm your temper, Hoskel," she hissed.
"Please, we just need your ears, only for a moment," Caitlyn continued for her mother, stepping forward. She nodded towards Olive to signal that she should speak.
"I'm sure you're all aware of the...events that took place a year ago. Or where I've been since then," Olive began. "I would never believe it if I hadn't experienced it for myself. But, the undercity...it's being ravaged. Its inhabitants, eaten alive by shimmer and fighting for their lives every day. They're being run into the ground by violent crime lords, led by the puppeteer who rules over them all. Silco." A quiet round of gasps left the councilors' mouths.
"Silco? The industrialist? We've conducted investigations of him, there has been no sign of such organization." Bolbok questioned.
"And who led these investigations?" Olive snapped, now glowering. She knew. They all knew. Marcus, the dirty police chief that raided her home and ended her life. Marcus, the one who had held her at gunpoint on the bridge before being blown to bits by firelights. Bolbok sighed.
"What does he even want from us?"
"Power. He believes the undercity should be independent. He calls it the Nation of Zaun." Olive continued, knowing that she had the councilors wrapped in her words now. Jayce Talis suddenly cuts in, lifting a familiar object onto the table. One of Jinx's bombs.
"And who is responsible for this?" He asks, returning Olive's glower. Olive opened her mouth and glanced at Vi, but Vi nodded and stepped forward.
"Her name is Jinx," Vi said, finally speaking.
"And this Jinx has the gemstone?" Jayce asked. Vi nodded. "Then we need to go in by force."
"That could trigger war!" Another councilor protested.
"There are good people down there," Olive joined in, not having expected this sudden turn. A different councilor grunted.
"Yeah, about as good as your mother," The official muttered under his breath. Olive felt her swallowed anger flare inside of her.
"What the fuck did you just say?" She demanded, hurtling forward to where the offender was sitting. Caitlyn hurried forward to hold her back.
"Perhaps there is a diplomatic solution," Mrs. Kiramman interjected, looking desperate to calm the fire that had been started.
"You don't know war, Jayce. I do. It must be our last resort," Councilor Merdarda continued for her. Jayce scoffed.
"What? You want to negotiate with the undercity? With this- Silco?" He demanded angrily. Vi cut in again.
"This is fucking insane- have you learned nothing? He won't listen to you, you can't just talk to him! He hates all of you, and everything you stand for!" Her aggressive stance and movements towards the councilors put the enforcers standing by the door on edge. Mrs. Kiramman's face finally hardened.
"Enforcers, please escort them-" She was cut off by Vi.
"No need. I remember where your stupid fucking door is," She spat before turning and leaving, Olive close behind.
When they finally exited the grand building, night had fallen, and rain was pounding down on them. Vi was moving so fast that Olive was struggling to keep up.
"Vi, wait!" She cried out, grasping onto her arm. Vi turned towards her but pulled her arm away.
"I never should've gotten you involved with this. I never should've..." Her voice trailed off.
"What are you talking about? We can fix this, we can still-" Olive didn't even finish her sentence.
"No, we can't. We tried, okay? But if I keep letting you get wrapped up in...all this, you'll get hurt. Everyone always does," she said, continuing to walk away. Olive's frustration flashed.
"You can't just walk away from me, after- after everything! We're in this together." Her voice was firm, but her eyes were red and she had to focus to keep her lip from trembling.
"It's over, cupcake. I need to go back to where I came from, and you need to stay here, where you belong. You've got Caitlyn and a big, fancy house that you can fix up. You don't need me." Olive's heart squeezed at the hurt in her voice.
"You're wrong. I don't belong here anymore. I- I don't belong anywhere. But together, I know we could fix everything, I know we could find out what happened to my family and take down Silco and-"
"No, we can't!" Vi's voice came out harsher than Olive expected. "You'll be better off if you stay here, with Caitlyn. If you forget me." Her eyes were trained on the ground as the rain that soaked them dripped down her hair and face.
"But...what about us?" Olive asked, her voice finally shaking, the tears that had been threatening to spill pouring out of her eyes and down her cheeks like the rain that already streaked them.
"Like oil and water. It wasn't meant to be." Vi turned around and left, disappearing into the dark, rainy night.
Olive waited until she was completely out of view before she let herself fall against a light pole while her body was wracked with sobs, head in her hands. She forced herself to hold back the screams that threatened to burst from her throat. She couldn't explain why it was suddenly hard to breathe, and why her heart felt like it was ripping apart inside her chest. It was a long time before she picked herself up and trudged towards Caitlyn's house, soaked to her bones by the rain and her face wrecked by crying.
—
Before Vi had reached the edge of Piltover, a thought crossed her mind. That council member - Jayce, was it? - had been the first to suggest they fight by force. For the sake of her own heart, she knew she had to make sure Olive stayed away; especially if she was going to do what she thought she was going to do. She waited a bit longer until she was sure Olive would have left the council building by now, and then headed back, ducking in and out of dark corners to stay inconspicuous. She was sure the enforcers wouldn't be too keen on letting her back in, and she liked doing things better this way anyways.
Vi slinked through the hallways of the dark building, searching for a sign of the council member. She eventually heard sounds of deep clanging and saw a faint light emanating from the bottom of a door. Bingo.
It took less convincing than Vi expected for Jayce to give in to her plan. This guy really is bloodthirsty. For what they were about to do, the more so, the better. The gauntlets felt so natural in her hands that she had to push away thoughts of the last time she had held something similar. Her focus stayed trained on Jayce as she leaned on one leg and reached out a gauntlet covered hand to him.
"We got a deal, pretty boy?"
—
Olive had nearly shocked Caitlyn to death when she showed back up at her door, soaked and still teary. The blue haired girl shushed her and led her inside, keeping an eye out to make sure no one saw the two of them.
"My mother really isn't pleased with the stunt you and Vi pulled at the council meeting today," she warned, making stern eye contact with Olive as she handed her a towel to dry off.
"I know, I- I'm sorry," Olive replied with a sigh. It was hard enough to face Caitlyn now as is, and this had only made it worse. "I'd just like to stay one more night. Please." Her eyes cautiously lifted to Caitlyn's, trying to read her old friend's expression.
"Oh Olive, of course you can stay," Caitlyn replied breathlessly as she scooped her into a hug, ignoring that Olive's clothes were wet enough to get her soaked as well. "But...where's Vi?"
Olive felt her tears build up again. She pulled away from Caitlyn. "She left me. I couldn't stop her. She said it was for the better." Olive choked out the last few words, her face falling into her hands again as tears streamed down her face once more. Caitlyn seemed to be at a loss for words.
"Olive, I-...stay as long as you need. I'm so sorry," Olive shook her head and cleared her throat.
"I can't stay long. It doesn't feel right for me to be here anymore. And I can't keep piling this on you," she replied softly. "Piltover is no longer my home."
The next morning, Olive woke early and got ready quickly. It broke her heart, but she knew she had to leave before Caitlyn could stop her and try to convince her to stay again. Olive knew that she wouldn't be able to say no this time. With one last longing look at her childhood home, Olive leapt off of Caitlyn's balcony and made her way towards the total nightmare that was now her life. Even if Vi wouldn't help her, Olive knew she couldn't give up on finding her mother. On finding the truth. So back she went to her grubby shack of an apartment, to working odd questionable jobs here and there to support herself, to saving bits of food for days on end when money was tight. At least there, she knew she could do something.
—
Vi could hardly hold herself back from racing into the facility they were headed for and getting the siege over with herself. She and Jayce were loaded with a whole command of enforcers, everyone itching to take down what they now knew as the source of Piltover's greatest headaches. If only she had known the dark turn this fight was about to take.
The attack on the shimmer facility was a blur of gunshots and bloodshed. Vi used the anger coursing through her to mercilessly take down any and all who crossed her path, ignoring the trail of those around her who had fallen. Finally, there was only one person left. A young boy that seemed oddly forceful in his determination to protect the facility. Vi recognized him as the one who had pushed the alarm in the building that alerted everyone of their presence and released the defense creatures. Vi knew that she had no choice in killing him. Apparently Jayce didn't have the same opinion. She had hardly caught her breath when enforcers descended upon her, holding her down to clamp handcuffs on her. She growled and shouted shocked protests, shoving whatever body parts she could into them to try and overtake them.
"What the fuck!" she growled, still fighting. Jayce's face was dark and overcast.
"Perhaps some time in Stillwater will teach you a well deserved lesson."
—
Finally done with Chapter 10! I apologize for any issues or mistakes, I just had wisdom teeth surgery and to say the least I am on a LOT of pain meds. Don't forget to do all the things! Love ya <3