.•What Once Was•. (vixreader)

On One Condition.

With Vi's digits intertwined with yours, you both made your back way towards Ekko.
Up on the balcony again, Vi finally had a chance to take in her surroundings without a blindfold preventing her from doing so. Her cerulean eyes seemingly widened as they landed on the place you called home. "Is that a real tree?" She gaped, a sliver of a grin on her face.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Ekko replied, a small but apparent smile on his lips. He was proud of showing off.
"When we first saw it, we knew this was the place. If a single seed could make it down here, so could we."

"You both built all this?" She questioned, turning to look at Ekko, before her gaze landed on you.
"Not alone," You breathed out, turning to look at Ekko for reassurance, before turning to look at Vi.
"After Vander... died, Silco flooded the Lanes with shimmer. He didn't care what it did to people. Everyone here was an addict or a victim."
You continued as Vi listened intently, her eyes drifting down towards the lower level, looking over the kids that played below. Bex was amongst being them, catching sight of you both before motioning towards her friends. They all greeted her, holding up their hands in the traditional way to signify a hello.

"They needed somewhere safe to start again."
You finished, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. She exasperatedly sighed, looking elsewhere.
Guilt gnawed at her expression, you could see it in the way her brows furrowed together.
"I should have been there. For you both. For everyone." Vi murmured, the sad look in her eyes present yet again.
"That's a good way to drive yourself crazy."
Ekko replied nonchalantly, exhaling a deep sigh.
"If I just went with you that day, maybe none of this would have happened." He finished, his face expressing a disappointed demeanor.

"Or maybe you'd be dead. Or... changed."
Vi replied, turning to face away as she contemplated all the events. Ekko caught on to where she was heading to, and his brows furrowed as a frown tugged at his lips. "Powder's gone, Vi. All that's left is Jinx, and she belongs to Silco." His words were definite, with no room for discussion or rebuttals.
"You're wrong! She's still in there. I can reach her." She spat, her brows pinching in slight ire.
"You can't." Ekko answered matter of factly.
"I know my sister."

You could only look down at the floor, woeful of the fact that Vi was so persistent to get her little sister back, but you knew it wasn't possible.
Ekko shared a knowing look to you, before turning to Vi.
"I've got one more thing to show you."
Ekko asserted, his shoulder blades tight as he descended the stairs and looked back.

Vi looked at you slightly confused, before you nodded your head as a motion for her to follow along.
The three of you walked down the stairs and headed for the mural. Once standing before the adorned wall, littered with long-lost faces, Vi looked over at it with a hint of sadness.
"This is everyone we've lost. The price of our freedom. Some of it was Enforcers, most was Silco. Your sister works for him not because she had to, but because she wants to. I'm sorry, but that's who she is now."

Vi was about to remark, before her eyes landed on the mural again, noticeably looking at Powder's portrait up on the wall. The sun was beginning to set, its streaks of light shining down almost tauntingly over the blue haired girl. There was a pang of hurt in your chest. You simply took ahold of her hand, allowing her to turn to you. Inhaling a deep breath, you looked her in the eyes.
"I of all people know that dreaded man more than anyone. And believe me Vi, we've tried to bring that sweet girl back, but there's no use. Silco is a manipulative bastard who has brainwashed her, and it's irreversible."
Vi simply held your hand a little tighter, looking down at the floor as the faintest of tears brimmed her eyes.

You felt pity for your poor Pinky, knowing that she had spent every single year after that tragic day hoping she'd be able to find her sister. Hoping that when, if, she ever left the confines of Stillwater, she'd be able to find her little sister the way she'd unwillingly left her. But things changed, and Vi was having a hard time digesting that. You couldn't blame her, you only sympathized.