Dressed in clothes covered in graffiti, Vi escorted Caitlyn to the Chem-powered Rising Scuttler. Vi remembered this thing used to be a dilapidated wreck, but now, retrofitted with Hextech, it looked plump and rounded, even though its basic structure was unchanged.
Surprisingly, compared to the version Vi remembered, the current Scuttler was actually quite cute. She never thought she'd use the word "cute" to describe this thing...
After all, it used to be nothing more than a giant cage.
"This is as far as I go. You'll have to walk the rest of the way yourself," Vi said, looking at Caitlyn. She let out a whistle and added, "Think you can find your way home, Cupcake?"
Caitlyn looked at Vi, then at the group of people standing behind her. They were dressed in a variety of clothes—short sleeves, long sleeves, coats, jackets, jeans, and even a knitted sweater. It was impossible to tell what season it was, but one thing was consistent: the graffiti on their clothes.
Pink and blue intertwined to form floral petals, a beautiful design.
"Don't call me that. And Vi, remember this: I let you go, but I will definitely catch you. You and your sister, who is evil to the core," Caitlyn said, taking a deep breath, her voice low and serious.
The moment she finished speaking, the expressions on the faces of the people around Vi soured, their gazes turning hostile towards Caitlyn.
But Caitlyn didn't back down. She took a step forward, meeting Vi's eyes.
Vi looked up at Caitlyn and grinned. "Don't be like that. You already let me out, what's the point of making me go back? As for you, if you ever want to play in a place like that again, just come find me anytime. I'll take you."
"You—" Caitlyn sputtered, her face flushing red with anger. She glared at Vi, let out a cold huff, and turned to board the Scuttler.
She had been away from Piltover for a week now. Her mother and father must be worried sick. If she didn't go back soon, it would become a serious problem.
Vi silently watched Caitlyn's retreating figure until she disappeared into the crowd.
Caitlyn... is so righteous. A little too righteous. And she has a soft heart.
Catch me and Powder?
Vi didn't believe it for a second.
Then, Vi turned around, raised a hand, and said, "Let's go. Time to get to work."
"Vi, who are we going to beat up today?" a scrawny figure asked excitedly as he sidled up to her.
SMACK!
"Shut your damn mouth. The boss said we're not going to fight, we're going to reason with them." Manju, who was behind Vi, slapped the guy on the back of the head. He said, "We're not a gang, kid."
"Right, right. My mistake."
"Of course," Manju added, "when reasoning doesn't work, we have to use our fists."
Vi heard this and burst out laughing, cracking her knuckles. She walked to the front of the group, waved her arm, and shouted, "Let's go, back to it!"
Vi never would have thought that just five days ago, she was mocking Leo for being a fool, laughing at him for undertaking a useless task. Did he think he was Vander? Trying to turn Zaun back to how it was? No, he said he wanted to make it better.
It was so stupid!
But now, she herself was enthusiastically dedicated to the same task.
Powder was still number one in her heart, but at the same time, Vi really liked this job.
She liked the feeling of being respected, of helping others, of protecting her home.
...
The Sea Shark District. That was its original name. But recently, a group of people wearing red, pink, and blue graffiti-covered clothes had appeared, loudly proclaiming that they were renaming the area. The Sea Shark District was now to be called the "Hope Community."
This naturally angered the local gangs. For three days, the area erupted in various small-scale street brawls. The surprising thing was, in this conflict that involved over a hundred people, besides two gang leaders who ended up dead, everyone else somehow only sustained minor injuries. Dammit, it was truly infuriating. The local residents had been hoping the thugs would fight to the death, that every last one of the bastards would die in the fighting.
The reality, however, was that the survivors were simply driven out of the community.
And as for the... no, it should be called the Hope Community now.
The local residents had grown numb to it all.
They were used to being exploited. Used to the power cuts at home when the chem-barons were mining. Used to the gangs showing up at their doors to demand things, beating and kicking them.
What difference did a new name and a new group of rulers make?
In the end... all that awaited them would be endless exploitation.
But then, a miracle occurred. After this strange group took over the area, they didn't round up the residents to lay down new rules. Instead, every day, a group of armed people in pink and blue graffiti-adorned clothes would just wander around the community.
Even more miraculous, this group that patrolled the community every day not only didn't demand anything from the residents, but...
Were they protecting them?
Oh my god!
They really were protecting them! Protecting this community!
Wait, is this still fucking Zaun?!
Today, a middle-aged Zaunite woman named Marna was carrying a tray with some homemade pastries on it. Her husband was a working-class man in Zaun, employed at a power plant under one of the chem-barons. She, in turn, made and sold pastries on the street to help make ends meet.
In the past, she would always be extremely cautious on the streets, avoiding the gang members. But over the last few days, Marna had gradually grown bolder.
She didn't know what the future would hold, but for now, this group that had appeared out of nowhere and renamed their district was genuinely not exploiting or bullying them.
That was good. That was already more than good enough.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up. Marna saw a group of people returning from outside the community. Two of them were being supported by others, injured but laughing loudly. It wasn't just Marna; others all around saw them too.
"It's Vi..."
"Looks like she's been in another fight. Heavens, her clothes are covered in blood."
"Quick, quick! Water! Does anyone have water?"
Seeing Vi and her crew, the residents of Hope Community immediately crowded around.
It wasn't that they had truly accepted this new group in just a few days, but rather that if this group left, the community would only become worse.
Besides, the community was genuinely getting better.
"It's alright, this is all someone else's blood," Vi said, taking a tissue someone handed her. She wiped her cheek and said with a smile, "Alright, next time you go to the Amaranthine-Brass Alley, the people over there won't dare to give you trouble anymore."
"But you have to wear our community's emblem," Vi added as she finished wiping the blood from her face, crumpling the tissue into a ball and stuffing it into her pocket.
This was another one of Leo's rules: no littering.
Dammit, it's another stupid rule, she thought. But she had to admit, as the streets began to get cleaner and the stench in the alleys started to fade, it really was nice.
"Can we really go over there now?" someone asked.
He used to do business in the Amaranthine-Brass Alley but had been cheated horribly by the chem-baron's thugs.
"Of course," Vi promised, patting her chest.
She chatted with the residents, and Marna offered her pastries to the others.
The group didn't refuse, readily taking them and starting to eat. They ate more and more, and the tray was empty in an instant. Marna felt a pang of regret seeing them all gone.
But then, a man walked up to her. Marna remembered him; his name was Manju, a small-time leader. He came up to Marna and said apologetically, "Sorry, they were all starving. Here's the money. If it's not enough, I'll go back and get more."
As he spoke, Manju pulled out a handful of coins and placed them on Marna's tray.
Marna was taken aback and quickly shook her head. "No, I can't take this..."
"It's alright, please take it. If you don't, and my boss finds out I was freeloading off you, I'll be in big trouble."
"Our boss doesn't allow us to take handouts," Manju said with a smile.
Marna nodded and accepted the money.
As Vi happily chatted with the residents, she failed to notice a short figure in a green coat and a hat slipping past her.
In the daylight, there was a soft click, like the sound of flowing electricity.
Under the hat, a mouth curved upwards into a smile. The girl murmured to herself in a cheerful voice:
"This place... is really different!"
"I like it here!"