Arcane: Winds of Change

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As everyone left, Jinx kept her head down, silent and motionless. Vi walked over to Jinx and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, Powder. I'm sorry." Not knowing what else to say, she kept apologizing to express her guilt.

Jinx pushed Vi away. "Don't touch me!" Her expression was stormy. Vi looked at Jinx, at a loss for words. She noticed how her sister now seemed so different from the Powder she once knew.

"You all say I'm a jinx, that I mess everything up. I know. You want to know why I'm with Silco, right? He was there when I was at my lowest. Where were you?" Jinx moved around, pouring out her feelings.

"I'm sorry, Powder." Tears welled up in Vi's eyes.

"I didn't mean to leave you, Powder. I spent countless nights in that wretched prison, hungry, bleeding, lying on the cold ground. I just wanted to survive and return to you."

"Stop calling me Powder!" Jinx snapped hysterically. "Sure, you were taken during the factory incident, but what about the bridge? Where were you? With that Piltover girl you'd only known for days?" Jinx's anger blazed.

"You're just full of lies, sister. You've never kept your word."

"I didn't want to, either. I'm really sorry, Powder," Vi's voice cracked, her sturdy demeanor crumbling. "Are we still sisters?" Her voice softened, filled with anticipation. "You're all I have left, Powder."

Jinx's tone relaxed. "You love the Powder from your memories, my dear sister. You think Silco turned me into Jinx, but the truth is, Powder and Jinx have always been the same person. And that's me."

Vi stood frozen, looking at Jinx, wanting to argue back but unable to.

"The sister you love is just Powder. You think by destroying Silco, I'd revert to being the dragalong Powder? I thought you would still resist Piltover. I didn't expect you to point your sword at your own people alongside Piltover."

"No, it's not like that. There are good people in Piltover. It's not all as we thought," Vi interrupted.

"Alright, it doesn't matter," she said, perhaps comforting Vi, perhaps talking to herself. "The Powder you love has nothing to do with me anymore. But please, don't stand in my way, dear sister."

"That girl's name is Caitlyn, right? Kill her, and I'll still be your sister. Or don't ever appear in my sight again." With that, Jinx left the basement, leaving Vi behind, caught in turmoil and remorse.

"Let's go, Phil." Jinx tossed out the words as she emerged, heading homeward.

"Seems like your alliance recruitment failed. Here's a pass that allows you to leave Zaun. How you enter Piltover is up to you. Goodbye, Mr. Councilman." Phil tossed a token to Jayce before quickly following after Jinx. "Don't think too much, focus on happier things. Like, what's for dinner?"

Jinx turned to Phil, mulling over. "I want Ambarra frog sashimi, thank you!"

"Um... I think we should discuss and maybe try another cuisine." Phil quickly shook his head at the thought of such a meal.

Three days later, Jinx propped her chin up. "Phil, I want to join the fight too." Over the past days, as Phil and Silco kept her from the frontline, the bustling streets of Zaun under Silco's rule had become quiet, leaving Jinx feeling bored.

"Piltover keeps sending cannon fodder, so naturally, we're trading cannon fodder in return. If you're bored, you can go have some fun, but keep your distance; the battlefield is dangerous," Phil said as he poured a cup of tea. "What are you drawing? Crabs?" 

"Huh? I'm drawing Silco. Don't you think this emblem suits him? A spiky crab monster," Jinx whistled at Phil's question, proud of her creation. Due to the constant skirmishes at the bridgehead, Silco had decided to stay there to handle any sudden troubles. 

"You should show him. Perhaps if it makes him happy, he'll let you join the fun. Although, what's enjoyable about hanging out with a bunch of self-destructing robots?" Phil suggested. He hadn't been idle these days either. After exchanging tokens for a battlefield mech Urgot, he also secured an abyssal crab. A war machine like this? If they were to develop similar mechs, a hundred or so could challenge Bilgewater's invincible fleet, couldn't they? 

As they chatted, a knock sounded at the door. "Who is it? Come in," Phil lazily asked. The door slowly opened, and a furry head peeked in. "Is this the place Jinx mentioned?" 

"Oh! Ziggs, you're here," Jinx exclaimed with delight at the fluffy figure. 

"A Yordle? Jinx, where did you meet this guy?" Phil was equally surprised but held a positive impression of Yordles. They seemed like good luck charms, always present behind every significant force. Let him think—Demacia's humble Poppy, the Shadow Isles' sleepless Poppy, Ionia's lightning Poppy... except for those unlikable folks from Noxus, Yordles seem to be mascots for every power. 

"What? You can see him?" Jinx looked astonished. "I thought only I could see him." She assumed this little creature was a figment of her imagination since she'd never seen such a furry being before. 

"Alright, Jinx, I just need a place to stay for now. You said if I had trouble, I should come to you," Ziggs seemed a bit unhappy with how the two were discussing him as if he wasn't there. 

"So, what trouble are you in?" Phil, intrigued by these furry creatures despite their possible seniority, asked Ziggs. 

"I'm out of explosives," he said, glancing sideways at Jinx. 

"That many? You've used them all up?" Jinx couldn't believe it. Ziggs was someone she met in the lab two days ago, and she had no idea how he had snuck in. She even thought this guy was her fantasy. 

"Yes, I've made a big one, an unprecedented new invention. I think you should come and see it; you'll be amazed by my talent," Ziggs said, attempting to take Jinx with him. "Honestly, people just don't understand the art of bombs." 

"I'm off to find some fun, Phil," Jinx bid him farewell and went off with Ziggs to study explosives.