Garou's neck twitched.
The sting of his recent losses was beginning to get to him, making him feel irritable; aggravated. People he passed by seemed to get the hint and kept well clear of him, turning away as he walked by. He wasn't sure, though; maybe it was due to him apparently looking and smelling like a walking corpse.
Would it matter to Blue? To the kid? Somehow, he hardly thought so; though he wouldn't know unless he found the two idiots…
He grumbled to himself at what little left he had to go on. After all, the rat was dead; half-devoured by the beast that had felled him.
And where'd that damned thing scamper off to, anyway…?
A shudder crept up his spine for no reason he could discern. In fact, he couldn't keep a straight thought; it felt as though everything around him was distracting his senses. He suddenly felt the urge to give a sniff at the air, and before he could ponder it he was sniffing again, filling his lungs through his nose; he suddenly found himself picking up on scents that he'd never smelt before, things that somehow felt far away from where he was standing. But he couldn't make heads or tails of any of it, so what good was it…?
His neck twitched again.
Maybe it was the coagulated blood he was drenched in, throwing off his nose; he needed to step into some water and wash the damned stuff off…
No— more than anything else, he was famished, he thought, running his dry tongue over his canine teeth. His stomach groaned something nasty at him; the hunger wouldn't be kept at bay. He needed to eat something, soon…
He remembered the spot-hitting meals he'd shared with Blue in her cave, those past few weeks; had her old man really checked the place properly? Somehow, he felt as though that was the one place she would go if she'd gotten away from the cruel rat and its motley crew of morons before it had perished.
He didn't much like the idea of entering that place and not finding her there, though; whether he'd be able to tolerate that feeling.
Ah— it's a stupid thought…
Who was that other dude she'd mentioned? He struggled to remember. She had mentioned needing to go visit some guy before everything had gone down; some dude with a funny accent, or something. Whoever he was, she'd mentioned that he was holed up in that weird, dingy place where that old doctor geezer had patched Garou up that one time, when he'd gotten knocked out by the green gas from that little force of peacekeepers the time they'd crossed the river.
Maybe he'd have seen her, maybe; it was better than nothing…
He was suddenly hit by the aromas of cooked meats and cured fish, taunting his nostrils as he passed a bustling food stand, hard at work dishing out meals to agitated people. Garou's stomach felt big enough in that moment that he didn't doubt he could fit in it all the contents of the shop's entire cold-chest.
His fingers closed into a fist. None of them would be able to stop him; he could tear through them all without breaking a sweat.
But he furrowed his face in frustration, releasing his breath as a sigh; it wasn't as though any of the clueless idiots had done anything to him…
Damn it all…
He supposed several of their appetites might have been spoiled anyway as he pushed through to the front of the line, prompting scores of held noses and disgruntled muttering. The cook gave him a startled look.
"What in the world…?" the man grimaced, wrinkling his nose. The strips of whatever meat he'd just fried up sat on the hot-stone on his tray, still sizzling and wafting their divine flavor through the air.
Garou reached his arm over the counter of the stall. "I'll pay for 'em some other time…" he said in a low voice, nabbing the hot-stone full of the steaming items from his tray. The heat of it barely hurt his hands, but the man was nevertheless taken aback by the move. Garou snatched a carafe full of water for good measure, and was subjected to a few jeers as he plodded off in the other direction.
The crumb-coated meats melted in his mouth, though he barely had the patience to savor them. Worse still, they barely left him filled by the time he'd finished, as though they'd somehow circumvented his digestive tract and had instead ended up in another realm of reality, and the smell of their honey coating lingered in the air as he sat there still wanting, just to tease him.
"You ate them so fast…!" spoke a child's voice.
Garou grunted and turned his head; facing him gawkily was some heavyset young boy holding his own serving of the same dish, one of the strips virtually turning cold in his hand as he stood there stunned. The kid had a stupid looking haircut, and a wide, flat nose.
"Hm? What of it?" he muttered. "I was hungry, kid— now buzz off…"
The boy did the opposite, taking a step forward.
"If you're that hungry, then you should have mine too, mister," the kid said, offering his plate out to him.
"Eh?" Garou replied in surprise.
"It's okay— it was my second helping anyway," the boy explained. "When I saw you push through all those people, I figured you must have had a good reason…"
He raised an eyebrow, but took the plate from him, only leaving the kid the one already in his hand. He devoured the dish without a moment wasted, feeling his chest groan approvingly. The carafe of water was emptied moments later, the boy still standing there and staring stupidly through it all.
Garou wiped his mouth clean. "You don't have anywhere else to be, kid…?"
"Uh, no… my dad still hasn't stopped working," he said, stuffing the piece of food he'd been holding into his mouth after noticing it had been dripping juices down his wrist.
Garou turned from him and exhaled, feeling far better than before suddenly; his body had sorely needed the sustenance.
"…Is your dad the only one you can hang out with, or something?" he finally replied to the kid with a grunt. "I'm sure the other kids 'round here are out making the most of all this bedlam…" He rose to his feet and brushed some crumbs from his knees.
The boy kicked lightly at the dirt, growing glum. "Yeah, but… I don't like playing with them— they all pick on me."
Garou shook his head, refusing to entertain any of this. "Then just get stronger, kid— this ain't any of my problem." He made his move to leave, but the kid wasn't taking any hint.
"How'd you get so big and strong, mister?" he asked in wonder.
Garou paused briefly. "By fighting my own bullies— I told you your crap ain't my problem," he said curtly. "And quit calling me mister, alright? I ain't some old geezer…"
The boy looked mildly apologetic. "Oh— s-sorry, mister…"
Garou rolled his eyes. "Where's your dad working at— can't you go find him…?"
"Oh," the boy replied, looking around, "yeah, maybe… I think he was at The Last Drop before…"
Garou's eyebrow crept upward again. "He works for the old man, does he…?"
"For Silco…" the boy nodded.
I guess the whole damn city probably works for him, at this point…
Garou suddenly felt the cool kiss of water on his skin, as raindrops began to break through the industrial canopy above them. They wasted no time growing heavier, and louder, until the air began to turn cold.
"Just get back home, alright kid?" he grumbled. "Don't go followin' me…"
With that, he finally turned and left him. As he marched, he noticed the water washing the dark residue off his wounds and down his fingers. He closed his eyes for a moment, tilting his head upward to the looming storm-clouds in the darkened sky. The rain stung as it pattered down and seeped into his right eye, but he figured it would help cleanse it, so he lifted his eyelids and allowed it in.
As the downpour worsened, it began to remind him of his journey across the sea, when the deafening symphony of wind and water-spray were the bane of his ever-sleepless nights.
He begrudgingly hurried toward shelter, trying to remember the way back to the place he was going.
It's this way, right…?
His memories of this city were still coming back to him, day by day…
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There was a coolness to the air, and a dread building back up in her stomach.
Jinx eyed above at the black clouds that crept over a midnight-blue sky, pressing steadfastly forward before her sister could slow. They'd been lock-step most of the way, neither willing to yield the lead as though some contest were occurring between them to decide who was aware of the surest route, though it did feel defeating trying to convince Vi that she'd grown up when she still called her 'Powder'…
Isha was strangely trailing behind them, she noticed, in contrast to her usual manner in which she would confidently and sometimes foolishly run ahead of Jinx wherever she'd happen to be going. She wanted to sling the kid over her shoulders, just as she knew Garou would were he here with them, but she was severely lacking the strength. The jolt of energy from the dose of Shimmer Viktor had given her had since faded, and her body felt like it was in survival mode again.
Vi's ever-calloused hand found her shoulder as she faltered.
"Are you sure you're really up for this right now, Powder…?" she said softly.
She shrugged her off, leaning down to speak to Isha. The kid still looked even more distraught than she was, and it was breaking her heart.
"Hey," she murmured, running a knuckle against her little cheek. "We doing okay…?" She hoped her tone might lift her up, even if only a little.
Isha planted a little finger on Jinx's chest as though to reflect the question at her.
"I'm… I guess we'll find out, huh…?" she said, being frank. "Listen— we gotta stay out of sight for this one, okay? My sis is… let's just say, wanted by the wrong kinda people. Or, well— they're the right kind of people for us, I guess… it's complicated…"
She felt that Vi had been about to say something, when the rain began to fall.
'Crap…' she grumbled, but it hardly mattered; they were almost there.
She looked at Isha again. "Well, looks like your present's gonna come in handy sooner rather than later, kid," she managed to grin, placing the spring-loaded fold of hydrophobic fabric in the girl's hand for her to activate. "Away from your eyes, 'kay?"
Isha did as instructed, pushing the button flush with its handle and watching it whip open to create a shield from the rain. She yanked Vi by the hand to stand underneath the thing with them.
"Topsiders call 'em 'umbrellas', or some fancy word— I can't remember." she explained over the sound of the downpour. "Hold onto it tight, okay? Don't let the wind take it for a ride— there's one'a them fancy Hextech gems in there, after all." She pulled the casing of the handle open from the bottom, showing Isha the glowing blue stone and seeing her eyes light up a little.
"What is it…?" Vi spoke into her ear.
"It's a—" She gave her a quick sideways glance, before thinking better of what she was about to say. "Um, nothing— just a thing I pickpocketed from some Piltie…"
She returned to speaking with Isha, lowering her voice to nary above a whisper as she leant down toward her ear. "Don't do it yet, but remember how I showed you? Just give the handle a twist in both directions if you're ever in danger, alright? It'll keep you safe."
The girl seemed to understand, so she stood again, beginning to wish she'd brought her poncho. Vi had since moved over to the edge of platform, having only her hood to protect her skin from getting wet.
"Take it slow on the way down, you two," she called out, beginning to clamber her way down to ground level.
Jinx shrugged at Isha, hoping to entertain her. "She's right— you should hold my hand until we're down," she told her. "Wouldn't want you to crack your head, kiddo…"
Isha hugged her again, and Jinx sighed; she knew what plagued the girl's mind, and it plagued hers too, except that she didn't believe it… she didn't believe either of them; Garou wouldn't go down from the likes of Smeech's crew, or even Renni's Chemtank freaks. No— he'd fought and beaten the likes of them before. There was just no way. They both had to be mistaken, somehow…
She'd was only willing to believe her own eyes.
"C'mon," she urged her.
Vi was waiting for them halfway down, offering out her hand. "Your boots will just slide off the edge here— careful," she shouted. All but Isha were getting drenched by that point.
"I've got it," she yelled back, dropping onto the same platform as her, half of the way down. "Can you lift Isha down, maybe?"
Vi nodded, and reached up for the kid, who shot a tentative look. Vi slipped her hood off. "It's okay— I've got you…" she said.
Isha's eyes found Jinx's for a moment instead, so she returned her an easy expression.
She's my own flesh and blood, kiddo…
Jinx had to wipe off her eyes on her sleeve by the time they reached the ground below, feeling her makeup running down.
"Powder," Vi called in her ear, "if there are people there, when we make it—"
Jinx glanced up, seeing Vi's attention drawn over at something behind her. She saw the flash of lightning as she turned.
Two of Silco's men stood before them; two she recognized well, at that. Big brawny Krester stood to the left and beside him was Dustin, who would always manage to entertain her. The thunder caught on after the flash, rumbling deafeningly around them.
She could feel Vi tense up beside her.
"Jinx…!" Krester yelled out. "You're in one piece— Boss has got us combing the city for you!" He almost seemed happy to see her.
"Is that— is that—?!" she heard Dustin squeal, but he wasn't looking at her.
It occurred on her then that it was very possible plenty of Silco's men would have had first-hand experience with Vi…
The glance she shared with her was brief, but she sensed her sister's fear.
She spotted Krester's expression shift as he stood up tall all of a sudden, watching Vi stride forward. The gun had slipped into Jinx's hand unconsciously.
Fuck…
She'd found it exceedingly rare over the years to have experienced any kind of hesitation while her finger was on the trigger, but Dustin's widened eyes as the barrel was pointed his way gave her more pause than she may have ever felt.
She barely had to imagine what the consequence would be for letting these two get back to Silco though; how he would react to the knowledge that Vi was…
FUCK.
The sound of the shot was swallowed up by the rain, and by the sound of wet smacks of punches impacting flesh as Vi engaged ferociously with Krester. Part of her did almost want to watch, if only to see whether her sister had lost any step over the years; it didn't appear as though she had.
Her heart was still pounding. She could make Silco understand, she thought to herself. She could… just, not like this; she needed to be the one to break it to him…
Poor Dustin, she felt suddenly, unable to tear her eyes from his body. He'd always seemed a little scared of her, and it seemed now that maybe he'd had good reason to be the entire time…
She quickly shot a glance down at Isha, who was timidly observing the brawl taking place, from under her umbrella. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Vi slip in the rain.
Gotta finish it now…
She crept by Krester without him noticing, and it was as plain as memory as any from when she'd been younger, attempting to circumvent the man while he chaperoned her on Silco's orders. She thought that maybe those times had been simpler…
She plunged her knife into his back, straight through his heart, and felt his strength give out.
Vi had clambered up again with her fists cocked only to find the man's body dropped to the ground. Vi gave her a look.
She felt numb…
Her sister took them both the rest of the way, but by the time they returned to Renni's compound, there was hardly the graveyard of bodies that Vi had described, and that Isha had attested to. Vi noted that the corpses had likely been moved by the men Silco had sent in search of her, back when they'd been under the impression that this place was where they would have found her.
There weren't the pools of blood she'd expected to have found, either; washed away by the rain that still fell on their heads.
The point— Garou, alive or not, wasn't here. That foreboding flame still remained alight, but so did her hope.
"I have to go back, then…" she said, almost as a whisper. Somehow, her sister still heard it, as she grew alert to her meaning.
"Powder— I get it, trust me, I do," she said pleadingly, cupping her face again, "when I took us searching for mom and dad all those years ago, I wasn't willing to believe they were gone until I saw their bodies there on that bridge either, but… if you go back to Silco now, he won't let you go again— not after all of this…"
She found her sister's eyes, pondering her claim. She realized that she wasn't entirely sure what Silco's reaction would be, at least not exactly… she supposed it was also possible that he thought she was dead, too.
But if he found out what befell Dustin and Krester, would he ever forgive her? And if Jinx chose to protect Vi against him, then what would he do?
A breath escaped her shakily. She still had to know…
"Where's your friend at—?" Jinx asked, resolving herself in what she needed to do.