𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫: aviva knows best

        ╰┈➤ 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: crappy writing,
short chapter

"YOU HAVE A SUBJECT IN MIND?" 

The men leaned over the glass container, their eyes locked on the mangled corpse of the cat inside. Silco stood behind him, nodding once. 

"When the time comes for the girl who once destroyed Zaun to rise again—not as a symbol, but as a savior—she must be more than eloquent. Her words will carry weight, yes, but so must her strength. Her body must be as unyielding as her resolve." he said, his tone steady, measured. "But that time hasn't come yet." 

"She's not ready?" the scientist asked. 

"She's not," Silco said firmly. 

"But for a test subject?" the scientist pressed, his words trailing off into an unspoken question. 

Silco's lips curled into a faint, humorless smile. "For that?" he drawled, his gaze sharp. "Someone just volunteered." 

"POWDER, WHY DON'T YOU—" 

Powder cut her sister off with a sharp shhh, her attention fully locked on her work. The small brush, dipped in a vibrant crimson, swept carefully over Vi's rough nail beds, the color rich and glossy against her skin. Vi raised an eyebrow, her other hand propped on her hip. 

"You're shushing me? This is my hand, Powder," she said, her tone half-annoyed, half-amused. 

Powder let out a dramatic sigh, her tongue poking out slightly as she focused on the last stroke. "And... done!" 

She beamed at Vi, holding up her sister's hand like she'd just created a masterpiece. Vi inspected her nails critically, her brow furrowed as if she were examining fine art. The bright cherry red gleamed under the dim light. 

"Not bad," Vi muttered, tilting her hand back and forth. "Where'd you get this stuff, anyway?" 

"Aviva," Powder replied with a casual shrug, already screwing the cap back on the tiny glass bottle. "Her nails are soooo long, and she always paints them. She made this color herself!" Her voice bubbled with admiration. 

"Of course she did," Vi muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. She leaned back in her chair, watching Powder shuffle to put the bottles away. "Where is she, by the way? It's been weeks." 

Powder froze for half a second, the clinking of bottles momentarily halted before she continued arranging them on the shelf. "I'm not really sure," she said, her tone quieter now. "She disappears sometimes, but she always shows up again." 

"Yeah, but... has it ever been this long?" Vi pressed, sitting up straighter. 

Powder hesitated, her fingers tracing the edge of the wooden shelf. "No," she admitted. "The longest she's ever been gone is eleven days." 

Vi frowned. "And how long's it been now?" 

Powder didn't turn around, her voice barely above a whisper. "Twenty-three." 

"Hm." 

"Hm?" Powder echoed, spinning around to face her sister. 

Vi leaned back, crossing her arms, her expression unreadable. "Hm." 

"That's all you've got? Hm?" 

"Yeah," Vi said, her lips quirking into a wry smile. "But it's a serious hm." 

Powder groaned, dropping into the chair next to her. "That doesn't help, Vi." 

"Relax, Powder," Vi said, patting her shoulder. "If I know Aviva—and I'm pretty sure I've got a good read on her—she'll show up. Probably all dramatic and mysterious, like always." 

Powder didn't respond, her gaze lingering on the shelf where Aviva's nail polish sat, the color gleaming faintly in the light.

"But I can tell this is stressing you. Maybe when we get time, we can go look for her," Vi offered, her tone gentler now. 

"Today?" Powder's face lit up with hope, her eyes wide and pleading. 

Vi shook her head, the corners of her mouth tugging into a faint smile. "Not with enforcers tearing up Zaun looking for us. When it all dies down." 

Powder let out an exaggerated groan, flopping onto the floor like her bones had melted. "But that could take ages!" 

Vi chuckled at her antics, leaning her chin on her hand as she watched Powder squirm on the floor like a restless child. "It's not like she's just wandering the streets lost, Powder. She's told you about her father and how he keeps her home. That's probably where she is." 

Powder huffed, puffing her cheeks like she was about to argue, but then deflated. "So... she's safe?" 

"Of course she is," Vi said with certainty. "And she's going to come right back as soon as she can." 

"You promise?" Powder asked, sitting up just enough to peer at her sister with those wide, expectant eyes. 

Vi smirked. "Well, no. But I have a hunch." 

"A hunch?" Powder groaned, rolling onto her back dramatically. "What am I supposed to do with a hunch?" 

Vi reached over, playfully flicking her sister's forehead. "Trust it. That's what."

AVIVA WAS INTELLIGENT.

Powder knew that, it was evident in the way she spoke, the way she walked, the way she carried herself. Aviva was clearly meant for more than the life she was given. Aviva might have been the brightest person she knew. Not only book smart, and definitely not even close to street smart. But she was people smart.

Which is an ironic attribute for a girl who was kept trapped in a lair for a majority of her life.

Aviva had told Powder on multiple occasions that Vi's blood was hot, too hot possibly, burning her from the inside. She said Vi was a natural-born fighter, and that was someone Zaun needed. Her father told her so.

But she thought with her heart more than her head.

Zaun didn't need that.

It was always peculiar to Powder how exactly she knew that considering Vi never really spoke to her much when she'd come around. But then again, Aviva seemed to know things. Things no one else seemed to notice, or maybe they just didn't care to see.

But Aviva was right, Vi was a fighter.

Or a lion like she called her.

A musician will always have it in them to create, no matter how broken the strings or cracked the instrument. An architect will forever feel drawn to build, even when the ground beneath them crumbles. And like a lion, Vi would always want to fight, her heart bound to the instinct to defend, to lead, to protect her pride, even when the world around her was crumbling.

"No we're not okay, they almost saw Powder what if they took her?"

Vi's voice was tight, the weight of fear heavy in her tone. Her eyes darted nervously around the room, flickering from shadow to shadow as if she could see the enforcers lurking just beyond the dim light. Her fists clenched, her jaw set hard, trying to keep the worry from spilling out. She had always been the one to protect, but this was different. It wasn't just about her anymore. It was about Powder. It was about all of them.

Vander's face softened with a mixture of concern and calm. He placed a hand on Vi's shoulder, the strength of it grounding her. His eyes met hers with an intensity that spoke volumes. "No one is taking any of you. Never let that happen."

Vi shook her head sharply, her chest rising with a frustrated breath. "It's already happening. You heard him, they won't stop. We need to fight back."

Such a lion.

Vi's fist struck the light above them, the bulb flickering with a violent spark. The sound echoed, a brief moment of chaos before the room settled into a tense silence.

"And if you won't, I will." Her voice was low, fierce—like a promise and a threat all at once. The air seemed to still around her, her words cutting through the tension like a blade.

Vander sighed, his voice heavy with a mix of weariness and resignation. "I've heard this kind of talk before."

Aviva did love being right.

𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐒!

This chapter is brought to you by @/Dairy_Queen4828 their comments motivated me because I was struggling to complete the chapter.

Let me clear some things out of the way bc the next chapter is the last chapter before the timeskip and it will be MUCH longer.

1. Now that I'm on the canon timeline I have to rewatch Arcane to get the dialogue right and that's when I remembered. Silcos lair is under the fucking water. Idk how Aviva is sneaking out. I'm not fixing it.

2. Nobody who died in canon will be surviving this

3. Second chapter silco is much too nice for my liking I can't think of why he would actually "love" Aviva like he loved Jinx so know that while he does care about her well being that's as far it goes and he's faking it for the shake of triggering the empathy he knew she needed.

4. Vander would have never dropped her on Silco's doorstep and if he did he never expected her to survive so ignore that mischaracterization bc I'm still keeping it.

I don't think I was able to build Aviva's personality, life, and friendship with Powder as much as I wanted to before the snap but that's fine I couldn't figure out how I would anyways.

Last really long authors note I'll be doing. Thank you for your support! Not proof read