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matchamilkislover · 5 months

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In The Darkest Corners, 13.

pairing: vi x fem!oc (reader with a name)

warnings: mature themes, just an overall minors beware, violence, just general arcane-ness. this one’s still pretty fucked up, at least for my standards.

word count: 2,957

author’s note: i low key feel sadistic after writing this chapter. but anyways, yes i know my paragraphs are long, no i won’t be changing them 😁 enjoy !!

don’t forget to read the other parts first!!

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Caitlyn's steps echoed in the damp corridor as she approached the cell where Vi was held captive. The dim light cast long shadows on the walls that seemed to follow her as she walked. As Caitlyn reached for the door, the clink of metal against metal reverberated in the cold air. Her voice pierced the silence as she whispered into it. “Vi? Are you there?” A quiet echo bounced off of the cold, hard walls of the cell, but the resounding silence made her nervous as the seconds passed. After what felt like forever, Vi's voice cut through the silence, sharp and incredulous.

“Caitlyn? What the hell are you doing here?” Vi hissed back, rising out of the darkness of her cell to approach Caitlyn. Her defenses prickled at the memory of what went down in front of the Council. More importantly, what she lost that day.

Caitlyn paused, her hand lingering on the lock. She met Vi's gaze, her expression unreadable. "I'm getting you out.”

Hope flickered in Vi’s chest, but it was quickly dampened by doubt. The skepticism dancing on her face hardened into a scowl. "Why? What's your game, Caitlyn?"

"Look, I know you may not have the best impression of me, but I’m here for Olive. She’s been missing, and I talked to the bartender at The Last Drop. He last saw her with Sevika, until she passed out and Sevika dragged her off. I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything about this?” Caitlyn replied, her tone measured.

Vi's fists clenched, the tension between them escalating. "You think I don’t know? That Silco wouldn’t dangle it in my face like some sort of fucked up little game? You think I haven’t been torturing myself in here, day in and day out, trying to figure out how to get to her?” She stepped forward menacingly as she spoke, until Caitlyn could almost feel her breath on her face. “But now you show up out of nowhere, claiming you want to help? For what, a Piltover PR stunt? Either get me out of here so I can fix this shit, or leave.”

Caitlyn's jaw tightened, and for a moment, the air crackled with unspoken conflict. "I know you don't trust me, Vi. But I need you to trust that I want to help you. To help Olive. Silco's grip on the Undercity is tightening, and we need to stand together against it." She paused, taking a suddenly shaky breath. “And…I, uh….I can’t lose Olive again.”

Vi scoffed and rolled her eyes, suspicion still etched on her features. "Why should I believe you? You've always been on the other side of this mess. You couldn’t even try to find Olive when she spent an entire year alone in the Undercity.”

Caitlyn sighed, the weight of their shared history pressing on her shoulders. "I know I haven't been the most reliable ally in the past. But circumstances have changed. We—"

Vi cut her off bitterly. "Save it. I don't need your explanations. Just get me out of here, and we'll go from there." Caitlyn was silent, caught off guard. Vi studied Caitlyn's face, searching for any hint of deceit. The cell seemed to shrink around them as the seconds ticked away. Finally, Caitlyn nodded, a begrudging acceptance in her eyes. She understood that the fragile alliance forged in the depths of the Undercity might not survive in the harsh light of the world above.

She pulled out some sort of advanced lock picking mechanism, and made quick work of the rickety cell lock. As the lock clicked open, the cell door swung open and Caitlyn stepped back cautiously as Vi quickly exited her cell. The tension lingered, a silent reminder of the delicate balance between trust and betrayal hovering around them. Caitlyn, acutely aware of the strained atmosphere, focused on the task at hand—getting Vi out of Stillwater. The dim light flickered overhead, casting erratic shadows on the walls. They were able to quickly sneak back out of Stillwater, Caitlyn following Vi’s quick, athletic maneuvering.

Once they were a ways away from Stillwater, Caitlyn put a hand on Vi’s arm to stop her. Vi flinched at the touch, like she was tempted to swing, but Caitlyn chose to ignore the movement. “Stop, Vi — where are we even going? How do you know where she is?”

The question made Vi sigh, like it was something obvious that Caitlyn was oblivious to. “I know Silco. I know where he keeps his facilities. I know exactly where he has her. Where he wants me.” Her face was hard as stone.

Caitlyn wasn’t convinced. “So what, we’re just going to walk straight into what is obviously a trap? The two of us? Even if we managed to get in, there’s no way we’d be able to get Olive out. Not without a full rescue team.” Her disbelief was palpable in her voice.

Vi closed her eyes, like she was thinking, and then shook her head. “I don’t care. I’ll figure it out. I won’t wait anymore. I have to find her.” She started walking again, but yet again, Caitlyn grabbed her arm to stop her, more forcefully this time.

“You’d be a fool to do this. Just wait one day, I’ll pull together a team of enforcers and we’ll face Silco and his followers together. Then we’ll have an actual chance.” Her voice was desperate, like she wasn’t just trying to convince Vi, but herself as well. Vi pulled away again.

“You can do that if you want, but I’ve learned my lesson with enforcers, and I’m not risking it again. Especially not with Olive involved.” She spoke with an air of finality that Caitlyn came to accept was not one to be questioned. She sighed.

“Fine. I’ll move as quickly as I can, but in the meantime, just…be safe. Please. For Olive,” Caitlyn replied in a gentler voice, softening in the subject of her childhood friend. Vi nodded, and then turned her back to leap into the Undercity, moving as quickly as she could while keeping her stealth.

—

This time when Olive awoke, she was alone. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved, or made more anxious by the absence of another person. She sat there in the silence, her back against the freezing wall of her cell, alone with her thoughts and fears. Was she really going to die like this? How soon would it be? Would, at the end of the day, it really be her own father that ended her life? A year ago, she might’ve been grateful to be free from the pain and confusion…but now, she had something to lose. Someone to lose. Even if it was a someone who left her. Alone. In the rain. Someone who she wasn’t even sure she would ever see again, if she did survive this. Before Olive knew it, she could feel tears dripping down her cheeks, and her ears suddenly registered the sobs leaving her throat. Her cries seemed unending, the cold in the air and the burning on her wrists disappearing into her sorrow. After what felt like forever and no time at all, she finally heard footsteps tapping down the corridor towards her, a mocking “tsk, tsk, tsk,” being murmured by the figure as they approached.

“What?” Olive choked out through her sobs. Suddenly, it didn’t feel worth it to save her words anymore. “Here to taunt me more? Make me feel worthless, hopeless, despaired?” She took a shaking breath and continued, “Well, I’m already there. You did your job. What else do you want from me?” The door to her cell clanged open and shut, but Olive still kept her eyes squeezed and trained on the floor. It wasn’t like she could use her hands to wipe her tears while they were changed behind her back, so squeezing the excess liquid out of her eyes was the best she could do. She listened intently as the figure knelt in front of her and grabbed her face in their hands. She wished she didn’t recognize their touch.

“Oh, dear, sweet Olive tree, don’t cry,” her father’s — no, Teeter’s voice made a terrified shiver go down her spine. He wiped her tears for a moment, but she flinched from his touch, now glaring straight into his eyes. Instead of pulling away, his grip on her jaw tightened. His voice turned from a fake sweetness to a true hiss. “Don’t you worry, dear daughter,” he drew out the pet name like a snake, “it’ll all be over soon anyways. We’re just missing one piece of our puzzle.” Olive took a deep breath, and glanced down at his hands before looking back into his eyes. Wordlessly, she reeled back slightly and, as hard as she could, spit straight in his face.

Her screams followed quickly after. “YOU MOTHERFUCKER,” she bellowed, her voice scraping even as she ignored it, “YOU FILTHY MURDERING FUCKING TRAITOR, YOU’RE DEAD. YOU’RE FUCKING DEAD. I WON’T LET YOU DO THIS AGAIN, I WON’T. YOU COWARD,” her voice echoed in the cell and down whatever corridors connected to it. Teeter grimaced and angrily wiped the spit off his face, using that same hand to then cover one of his ears as Olive screamed, the other keeping a tight grip on her face. He suddenly let go of her face and immediately slapped her as hard as he could, making Olive’s eyes blur and tears prick in her eyes. Before she could react, he gripped her face in one hand again, this time so tightly that her cheeks were completely squished together by her mouth.

“How dare you, you little bitch,” he snarled, pulling her close to his face. Even though her cheek was bright red and felt like it was on fire, Olive ignored the pain and returned Teeter’s glare silently. He huffed and dropped her. “Sevika!” He called in a suddenly airy voice, “I think our bitch needs a muzzle.” As Sevika turned from the wall outside of Olive’s cell and strolled in as requested, Olive’s stomach filled with dread. Her heart pounded against her chest, and she scrambled back against the wall, as if she would somehow be able to escape this. Teeter simply watched her and laughed cruelly. Olive’s eyes were wide as saucers while she watched Sevika approach, spinning a metal muffle gag in one finger.

Sevika’s voice broke through the momentarily quiet room. “I’ll take it from here,” she spoke gruffly through a half-smirk, only glancing at Teeter, who nodded and looked to Olive one more time. She continued glaring.

“I’ll see you later then, dear daughter,” he said sinisterly, kicking her once in the abdomen lightly and ignoring her whine. “Can’t wait for our next talk…” He turned and slinked out of the room, leaving Sevika to her own devices with Olive. The taller woman nodded a goodbye and focused her attention to Olive, who was glaring up at her from her position against the wall.

Sevika smirked. “Oh, my little bird, I wish we could do this in different circumstances,” she remarked cruelly, approaching Olive with the so-called ‘muzzle’ in her hand. “How nice would that be, hm?” Her voice was that of a mocking murmur, only fueling Olive’s hatred and dread. Olive bared her teeth in a grimace, holding back the urge to spit again.

“You’re disgusting,” Olive replied in a hate-filled voice. Sevika only laughed. Her laugh made something in Olive snap, and she reeled back and then spit straight into Sevika’s face (or as close as she could get from the floor). Disgusted, Sevika grimaced and then whipped her gaze back to Olive with a newfound anger in her eyes.

“You really want to act like a bitch? Then I’ll treat you like the little bitch that you are,” Sevika barked, roughly grabbing Olive’s jaw in one hand and yanking her up to where Sevika could more easily reach her. Before Olive could recover from the shock and spit a retort, the muzzle was being shoved onto her face. Olive half-choked on the gag as it invaded her face and mouth, making Sevika grin maliciously. With a click, Sevika latched the device on securely and shoved Olive back down to the floor, still gagging a bit on the new sensation and desperately trying to force her body to breathe out of her nose. Once she could breathe, she sent a hateful glare towards Sevika, who sighed and leaned down a bit. Her large body approaching Olive’s made the smaller flinch away, as if she would be able to get away. As if. Sevika rolled her eyes.

“You know, little bird, I would be a lot nicer if you made it easier,” Sevika said to her with a sigh, catching Olive’s chin with one finger as she tried to turn away and lifting Olive’s gaze to hers. “So pretty…” she murmured, “we’d have so much fun, you and I.” Olive could do nothing but glare in response. Sevika sighed again and removed her finger. “It’s too bad that you’re too much of a prissy bitch to take an opportunity when you get one,” she grunted and took out a cigar, lighting it and placing it between her lips to take a long drag before speaking again. “You could’ve had it good down here. But instead, you chose someone who won’t even attempt to help you. How sad.” Olive’s glare became fiery, and she lurched out towards Sevika, as if she could do anything. The chain holding her hands wasn’t even long enough for her to stand up, much less reach Sevika, and Olive was yanked back down by the chain as vigorously as she tried to get up. Unsurprisingly, Sevika laughed and cooed mockingly. “Aww, want to fight back, do we?” her voice hushed suddenly, “You’re ours now, little bird. And there’s no fighting back.” With that, she turned around and left the room, leaving Olive to moan in pain at the new restriction on her face.

—

The night wrapped Silco's stronghold in a shroud of darkness, broken only by sporadic lanterns casting long, eerie shadows. Vi moved with calculated determination towards the looming warehouse that covered Silco’s underground hold, her steps muffled by her strategic movements as she approached. Ideally, she would slip past the guards and into the stronghold unnoticed, but when it came to Vi, this wasn’t a very realistic option. Instead, she left a trail of unconscious guards behind her, bodies hidden by random objects or pushed behind barriers and into shadowy corners. Soon enough, she was within the twisted corridors of Silco’s headquarters. The echoes of distant conversations and clinking metal reverberated as Vi navigated the labyrinthine passages, her keen eyes searching for any sign of Olive. The information she had extracted from Caitlyn and Grint had led her here, to Silco's inner sanctum, where he practiced the majority and most important of his operations, as well as kept his long-term prisoners. Her heart pounded in her chest as she descended lower and lower into the hold, eventually approaching a heavily guarded door. With practiced finesse, Vi disabled the guards without a sound, their unconscious bodies now silent witnesses to her intrusion. The door, fortified and imposing, seemed to defy her entry. Vi gritted her teeth, muscles flexing as she used all her strength to pry it open. The hinges groaned in protest, but the door finally yielded. The corridor beyond was dimly lit, revealing rows of cells like crypts in the Undercity's secret catacomb. The air hung heavy with the scent of dampness and despair. Vi scanned the cells as she advanced through the corridor, her eyes searching for a familiar face. Eventually, she spotted a battered form huddled on the ground on the floor of the farthest cell, quiet pained breaths leaving the person’s body. Vi rushed to the cell, hands coming up to the bars as she looked in. Instantly, her heart sank as she recognized that the form was in fact a shivering Olive, seemingly unconscious on the floor of her cell.

"Olive!" Vi whispered urgently, her voice barely audible above the oppressive silence. Olive’s body didn’t move. Vi shoved the door open, nearly ripping it off its hinges, ignoring the fact that it was suspiciously unlocked as she rushed to Olive. She gently took Olive’s face in her calloused and wrapped hands, inspecting her as she whispered pleas for her to get up. “Olive, Olive please…wake up, Olive, please…it’s me, its Vi,” she begged, her voice breaking as she spoke and a breath of relief leaving her chest when Olive’s eyes blinked open.

But instead of looking relieved, Olive’s eyes widened and she immediately squirmed to try to escape Vi’s grasp, her instincts surging with panic even though she had yet to realize who had awoken her. Vi gently grabbed one of her arms and rubbed, continuing to identify herself until Olive finally seemed to hear her and paused, wide eyes meeting Vi’s. At first, she looked shocked, then relieved, and tears welled in her eyes as Vi pulled her into her grasp and held her for a moment. Vi then pulled away, moving to release her from her binds, but Olive’s eyes grew wide again, and she started to scream from behind her mask, muffled sounds being all that came out as she stared at something behind Vi and desperately tried to free herself again. Confused, Vi’s ears finally picked up on footsteps approaching from behind, not having heard them before as she focused on Olive. But by the time she realized this, it was too late, and something heavy hit her on the head before she could even turn around, the world going dark.

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tags!!: (lmk if you want to be added!)

@forestnymph666 @sevviesbabe

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matchamilkislover · 6 months

Text

In The Darkest Corners, 9.

pairing: vi x fem!oc (reader with a name)

warnings: mature themes, just an overall minors beware, violence, just general arcane-ness.

word count: 1,835

synopsis: more good stuff! this couldn’t mean anything bad, right guys? guys?

author’s note: hehe :)

don’t forget to read the other parts first!!

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ

Time had passed too quickly for Olive and Caitlyn, and soon Olive forced herself to retire to the guest room so that they could both get some sleep. When she opened the door, Olive expected to see Vi sleeping on the bed or doing something similar. But the room was empty. Her heart sped up instinctively with anxiety.

“Vi?” she called out timidly. The door to the en-suite bathroom suddenly opened.

“Need something, cupcake?” Now leaning on the door frame was a clearly just-showered Vi, wearing only a white towel wrapped tightly around her. Her wet hair was a mess against her head. Olive wasn’t sure where to look. She cleared her throat nervously, catching herself staring and quickly averting her eyes to look around the room. Vi smirked and raised an eyebrow. “What? Cat got your tongue?”

“No, I, uh…I just um, I just…you weren’t in the room, so I…” Olive trailed off awkwardly, internally cursing herself.

“Mmm. I see,” Vi said, her eyes trained on Olive. “Well, the bathroom is all yours now. The hot water feels great,” she continued slyly as she walked past Olive into the open room. Olive could feel her face burning with an intense blush.

“Sounds, uhhhh…sounds great,” she replied, failing to have a casual tone. Without another word, she shot into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Cringing at herself, she held her head in her hands and slid down to the floor against the door. Fuck.

When she could breathe again, Olive stood and forced to give herself a long shower, even though she felt bone-tired. She hadn’t realized how much she needed it until she let herself stand, finally clean, under the hot water and just think. She stayed there until the water started to feel too hot, at which point she gently turned it off and finally got out. She took her time drying her body and her hair, savoring the fluffy towels and clean mirrors.

When Olive finally came out of the bathroom, she saw Vi already laying on the bed, seemingly already passed out. Something about the sight made her smile. As quietly as she could, Olive crept over to the bed and laid down on the opposite side, facing Vi. She looked so peaceful — something Olive never really saw. Without thinking, she gently reached her hand out to stroke it against Vi’s face. To her shock, Vi’s eyes gently opened. Olive gasped quietly and went to pull her hand away, but Vi had already grasped it in her own hand. Without a word, the magenta haired girl closed her eyes again, still holding Olive’s hand in her own. Olive drifted off to sleep only moments later.

—

When Olive awoke, the first thing she noticed was how warm and comfortable she was. Moments later, she realized that was because she was gently wrapped in Vi’s arms, who held her from behind and was clearly still asleep. Olive slowly began trying to get up so that she could find Caitlyn, but when she was halfway up, Vi’s grip suddenly tightened and she pulled Olive back forcefully. Her muscular arms wrapped tighter around Olive so it was harder for her to get up again.

“Vi, I have to-“

“Shhh, I’m still sleeping,” Vi murmured, interrupting her before she could give an excuse. Well, Olive couldn’t argue with that — or at least she didn’t want to. She let herself sink into Vi’s body, and there they lay until they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Ol? Are you awake yet?” Caitlyn called. Olive sighed, knowing she needed to get up and deal with life when she wished she could just forget about it all and lay there with Vi forever.

“I’ll be up in a minute!” Olive called back. Wordlessly, Vi let her go and the two of them began to get up. They needed to be ready.

The three of them ate breakfast together in Caitlyn’s room, with her mainly watching Olive and Vi eat while she picked at her own food. The two of them seemed absolutely famished, Vi even more so than Olive. But it was Olive’s hunger that made Caitlyn truly sad. She needed to change the subject.

“So, the next council meeting is tomorrow. Before then, you two will need to come up with a strategy to convince them about — what was his name? — Silco. I expect you’ll need my help seeing as my mother is a council member.”

Olive nodded and swallowed her large mouthful of food before speaking. “You’re right. We won’t get anywhere without a plan, or your help. But first…there’s somewhere I need to go. Just for some closure,” Olive said, looking at Caitlyn like she was begging that she wouldn’t make her explain any further. Not right now. Thankfully, the latter nodded with silent understanding.

“Whatever you need.”

As soon as they had stepped beyond the Kiramman’s gate, Vi slowed to a stop and leant against a post. “So, are you going to tell me where we’re going, or is it a surprise?” She smirked, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

Olive looked down nervously. “Unfortunately, it’s nothing pleasant.” She sighed and looked up, right into Vi’s eyes. “We’re going home. To my home.” Vi instantly dropped her persona. Her demeanor softened.

“Oh.” Her face looked heartbroken and conflicted, like she wasn’t sure what to do. “If you want to go alone, I can-“

“No. I want you to come with me. Please.” Olive’s eyes were pleading — she couldn’t do it alone. Vi nodded. Olive took a breath and continued. “Luckily, we don’t have far to go. I lived right next door.”

As they walked up to the gate that preceded Olive’s once-home, it became clear that the neighborhood had been dedicated enough to their own looks to keep the house looking normal from the outside. But from what Cait had told her, nobody had actually bought the house or moved it. Not that anyone would want to, after what happened. Vi grabbed Olive’s hand in silent understanding and squeezed it. Olive looked at her, and Vi gave a small smile of encouragement. With a deep breath, Olive raised her free hand and pushed open the familiar gate. Her home was smaller and less grand than the Kiramman’s, but it still held the stature and upper-class expectations of Piltover. The front door opened easily in Olive’s hand, and when she saw what had become of her home for the first time, she had to fight the urge to simply crumple to the ground and sob. All that came out was a harrowed gasp.

“Ol, if it’s too much, we can always leave,” Vi soothed, but Olive shook her head.

“No. I need to know. I need to see,” she said, swallowing back the emotion that threatened to overcome her. She took her time taking everything in, from the wrecked overturned furniture to the decorations and memorabilia smashed on the floor. Traveling up the stairs, she could still see clearly the marks left by enforcers’ boots as they had trampled through her home. She peered down the hall, and noticed something strange. The self portraits that her parents had forced her to sit for each year of her life lay untouched. They must have been deemed unimportant from their high, secured place on the wall. Vi seemed entranced as she gazed at them.

“These are…all you. Your entire life, right here,” she murmured, transfixed. The more she looked at them, the more Vi noticed one specific detail. Each year, Olive’s hair grew longer, sometimes unrestrained, sometimes confined in a braid or long ponytail. In what was clearly the most recent portrait, her hair was a loose, thick wave that almost floated around her being. Vi stared at this for a few moments, then turned and gazed at Olive’s now cropped hair. It barely reached past her chin, and a lot of the time it was mostly tied up or pulled back. Vi contemplated this, wondering why she had left this behind with her own life. Olive noticed this and cleared her throat.

“I do miss it, sometimes. The hair. Living the kind of life where I can maintain something like that. But after I left, I…it was too much. Instead of being something I could appreciate, it was always in the way, always dirty or hard to manage. It was the last thing I had to leave behind.” Olive had to force herself to turn away from her portrait. From the smiling girl that sat straight and clean. “It’s just hair, anyways,” she said, turning away and heading towards her bedroom. Her final destination. Vi wanted to stop her, to say something, but she wasn’t sure what to say. What to do. Silently, she followed Olive.

Surprisingly, Olive’s room was just as she left it. Destroyed, of course, but at least it was her own doing. Her clothes haphazardly pulled out of her wardrobe and thrown wherever if she couldn’t bring it. Other belongings searched through and abandoned before she could have second thoughts. Her bed, dusty and messed about from her urgent bolting from her sleep. But there was one thing actually untouched. Her piano. Olive beelined for the grand instrument, sliding onto the bench like she always had. Her fingers ghosted over the keys, pressing random ones and watching the fingerprints she left in the dust. She could feel Vi standing adjacent to her, watching, but her focus stayed on the piano. Even her favorite piece was still open on the music stand.

“Through everything, this was something my mother and I could always have. Together,” she said, talking to Vi without turning. “One of us would play, and the other would sing. Sometimes we would do both.” A smile danced across her face as memories played in her mind. With a stretch of her fingers, Olive allowed muscle memory to kick in — and she began to play. The piano was slightly out of tune from being neglected for an entire year, but she didn’t care. She let herself be lost in the music, forgetting her own trials and misery. The mistakes she had made and the mystery she had yet to solve. As the song came to an end, her finger lingered on the last key, letting it fade out as long as it could. Olive stood slowly and turned back towards Vi, but as soon as her hands left the keys she dissolved into wracking sobs, crumpling to the ground like a piece of paper. Her hand reached out to the piano to hold herself instinctively, but all that resulted was a slamming of a discordant mash of keys. Vi moved quickly and caught her as she fell before she was able to hit the cold ground. Olive sank into her arms as her sobs continued, unrelenting. She didn’t feel the way Vi’s jaw clenched, or how she resisted her hands tightening to enraged fists behind Olive’s back.

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matchamilkislover · 6 months

Text

In The Darkest Corners, 4.

pairing: vi x fem!oc (reader with a name basically)

warnings: mature themes, just an overall minors beware, violence, just general arcane-ness.

word count: 1,525

synopsis: finally leaving the brothel, olive is hopeful vi found a lead. unfortunately, it’s not exactly the lead she was looking for - but it’s exactly the lead vi wanted to find.

authors note: there will be more explicit violence in this chapter because…reasons. vi being the main reason. anyways, hopefully i’ll get chapters 5-11 uploaded shortly after this one.

don’t forget to read parts 1, 2, and 3 first!!

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ

Olive awkwardly bid the woman in the fox mask goodbye and followed Vi through the doorway. The conversation wasn't half bad — but she knew what the woman would expect had she stayed much longer. She released an audible sigh as they exited the brothel and the smoke changed to a smog.

"So you're no stranger to Babette, huh?" Vi asked teasingly.

"That's none of your business," Olive responded with a scratch in her throat, like just the thought was upsetting her.

"Whoa, my bad, didn't mean to hit a sore spot." Vi lifted the hands in her jacket pocket as an informal defensive stance.

"So where are we going now, anyway? Did...Babette have any information?" Olive asked, desperate to change the subject.

"We aren't going anywhere. I'm following the lead Babette gave me, but it's better I do it alone. I'll find you later."

"I'm sorry, what? If you've got a serious lead, I'm coming with!" Olive exclaimed, her face knotted with offense and surprise.

"No, you aren't." Vi's eyes hardened as she stopped and stared Olive down, like she was committing some crime by wanting to be involved in her own investigation. "This is something I need to do myself. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't seem like much of a fighter, and I don't want to deal with being in charge of someone else's life right now." Her voice was firm. Olive knew she wouldn't bend.

"Fine." Olive crossed her arms. "As long as you don't get yourself killed before we figure this shit out."

Vi winked. "Wouldn't dream of it."

—

Olive grumbled to herself as she trudged to her shamble of an apartment, cursing herself for not trying harder to stick up to Vi. Not much of a fighter my ass, she thought. She hasn't even seen me fight! She sighed, knowing it was no use to argue about it with herself. She'd just have to wait and hope that Vi kept her word about finding her. Unless...

Once inside her apartment, she headed straight for the pack she'd been living in since she first left her old home with it. Deep at the bottom, where she hoped she would never have to reach, her hand curled around a metal object. Pulling it out, Olive took a long look at the pistol that once felt warm in her hands. She always resented the shooting lessons and tournaments that her parents forced her into, but now that she actually had a use for her unforgotten skills, she started to understand just a little bit why they enforced it so much. She gripped the weapon tighter in her hand, then checked that it was still loaded like she remembered before standing up and walking grimly out of her apartment.

Olive scaled the walls of the tallest building near her and began to travel along the raised pathways, jumping over gaps and scaling more stories as she needed to. While this wasn't her favorite form of travel, it would be the best way of spotting whatever Vi was getting herself into. She suddenly stopped when she heard Vi's voice.

"Filthy traitor!"

Olive got down low and peeked over the ledge she was on. What she saw was Vi slamming another person's face into a wall. Ouch. Upon taking a closer look, Olive gasped when she recognized Vi's opponent. Sevika? Olive herself had always stayed as far away as possible — that bitch was scary as hell. But she was also giant, with a metal shimmer-powered arm. The fact that Vi was holding her own against her, and actually kicking her around, was impressive.

And hot.

Olive followed the fight as it moved, watching as they slammed each other through walls and made hit after hit. When Vi launched Sevika through a wall into another alleyway, Olive cursed and quickly leaped across another roof and rushed onto a raised walkway to keep track of the fight. She watched as Vi grasped Sevika's throat and held her down with her boot, growling something to her that Olive couldn't pick up. When Sevika replied, she watched as Vi's face slipped into shock and her guard started to come down.

That was when Sevika stabbed her through the abdomen.

Olive gasped in shock, and after a moment she came back to herself and started fumbling to get her pistol out, cursing her stupid fingers. She felt helpless as she watched Sevika kick Vi down from where she was already crawling on the ground and then walk around to pull her up by her chin. Then Sevika raised her arm, about to recharge. Olive knew instantly that she was aiming to kill. Without a second thought, she pointed her pistol at the vial of shimmer that was about to recharge Sevika's arm, and shot. The vial burst open, shocking the great brute long enough to give Olive the chance to keep shooting. She aimed for her now failing arm again and again, but her target quickly jumped back into action, growling at Olive when she spotted her before dodging her shots and running off.

Olive instantly leapt down to the alley Sevika had left Vi in, calling out her name desperately as she rushed towards her. She shoved the pistol back into her holster and knelt down to check that Vi was conscious, or at least alive. To her relief (and surprise) Vi looked at her with a weak smile and held a hand towards Olive.

"You gonna help me up or not, cupcake?"

Olive sighed and pulled Vi up with both arms after holstering her pistol, laying Vi's arm along her shoulders so that she could hold most of Vi's weight while she still walked.

"Stop calling me that, my name is Olive," she said in a tone of half-assed annoyance.

"But you're so sweet, like a cupcake," Vi replied with a smile in her voice.

Olive rolled her eyes but kept helping her along down the alleyway in the opposite direction of where Sevika had gone. A shiver suddenly ran down her spine when she heard shouting and running in their direction.

"Shit," she hissed under her breath, about to hoist Vi more onto her figure so that they could speed up.

"Start running," Vi said, suddenly quickening her own steps with a painful groan. Olive did as she was told and started rushing down alleyways, taking whatever turns and detours Vi instructed her to. They slowed to a stop in front of a ledge that housed levels of scaffolding below it.

"Are you sure you can do this in your-" Olive was cut off by Vi leaping down on her own, and Olive rushed to look what she was doing just in time to watch her slam herself onto a horizontal pole, but keep launching herself down.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Olive cursed in hushed tones before following her lead. She did her best to avoid throwing herself around like Vi had done, but this wasn't exactly an easily navigable path. She dropped herself next to Vi and put her arm out to stop her before she started trying to move again.

"My apartment is just down the next alley, we can go there," She gasped, still trying to catch her breath. Vi nodded and, surprisingly, let Olive continue helping her as they made their way to her apartment.

They struggled up the steps, but soon enough Olive was kicking open the door with her free leg and led Vi to the mat that she used as a bed. The latter groaned and let her head fall against the wall as she shifted her hand that was covering her wound.

"Let me see," Olive said gently, reaching to move Vi's hand and then her shirt that was blocking her full view of the wound. She winced, seeing just how wide and deep Vi's wound really was.

"You're not a bad shot, Cupcake," Vi groaned, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm a great shot," Olive retorted with a sigh, moving to search for whatever first aid supplies she could make out of her few belongings. She found a clean cloth and some alcohol, and turned back to Vi to clean her up.

"This is going to sting," she warned before pouring a bit of the alcohol on the wound and quickly covering it with the cloth to soak everything up. Vi groaned and hissed in pain.

"You're not even gonna give me some of that stuff before you start pouring it on me?" She asked with a grimace. Olive shot her a glare and stood up.

"You need some sort of medicine for this." She stated, looking out the one tiny window in her apartment.

"Good luck on finding that," Vi retorted with another groan.

"I'm sure I'll manage. I'll be back soon." Olive turned and started towards the door, but Vi spoke again suddenly.

"Olive, I...Thank you," she almost whispered.

"Anytime," Olive replied casually before heading out the door and back into the Lanes.

Once outside, she cursed herself for being so confident in finding medicine in the undercity. This wasn't going to be easy.

#matchamilkislover #arcane vi #vi arcane #vi fanfic #vi x reader #vi x oc #arcane fanfiction #vi fanfiction #lesbian #some angst #league of legends #arcane x reader #piltover and zaun #arcane piltover #arcane #in the darkest corners #arcane fandom #vi #matchamilkis

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matchamilkislover · 9 months

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In The Darkest Corners, 3.

pairing: vi x fem!oc (y/n with a name)

warnings: mature themes, MINORS BEWARE, suggested violence, just general arcane-ness.

word count: 1,880

synopsis: after somehow successfully breaking back out of stillwater prison, olive still has a long ways to go with prisoner 516.

author’s note: originally published january 2023.

don’t forget to read parts 1 and 2 first!!

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"Holy fucking shit."

Olive still couldn't believe they had done that. She'd done a lot of ballsy shit in the past year, but breaking into a prison and then breaking a prisoner out of said prison definitely took the cake.

"What? Never pulled a prison break before? Shocker," 516 retorted smugly. Olive rolled her eyes as she followed her towards the lanes, keeping up pace as best she could.

"You know, I still don't know your name," Olive remarked. "I can't just call you 516." As she spoke, she had a near miss with a pipe that apparently wanted her foot.

"Oh, you can call me anything you want," she replied with a devilish smirk. "But if you really want to know, my name is Vi." With a look back at Olive, Vi took one step forward off a ledge and dropped into an abyss of undercity. Olive stumbled to a stop, dumbstruck, unsure of whether to blindly follow or chalk it up to 'Vi' being crazy and call it a day. Except she couldn't do that - not if she didn't want to go back to square one.

Ugh.

Walking up to the ledge her companion had just stepped off of, Olive looked down and felt a wave of dizziness hit instantly. She had built up some skills over the last year, but this — this was damn near foolish. Regardless, today was apparently a day of firsts, and Olive wasn't about to lose it at the first drop.

She had to admit, the feeling she got when she let herself drop off of the high story roof was nothing short of exhilarating. She quickly tumbled onto the next level and raced after Vi, who was already quite a ways ahead of her. Olive refused to acknowledge her already aching muscles as she raced after the former prisoner, swinging across gaps and leaping off from story to story. After what felt like both forever and no time at all, they arrived at their destination.

The middle of the lanes.

Olive watched Vi breathe it in, staring at the smoke and neon lights littering the desolate streets like she had been waiting for this for forever. She watched her, entranced, until she realized what she was doing and shook it off. She can't afford to notice how attractive Vi was, not with what she would need to do, and especially because of her asshole persona — but she was undeniably attractive. Never mind that. Olive was pulled out of her thinking haze by Vi signaling Olive to follow her. Obliging, she jogged up to be next to her.

"Where are we going?" Olive asked, having to keep her fast pace to stay in step with the taller woman.

"Somewhere we can get a good start." Vi replied, looking back at her. "That is, if you can keep up." Olive rolled her eyes and muttered an insult under her breath, exaggerating the sway of her hips as she continued on with Vi. An awkward silence descended upon them and, desperate to at least not be completely miserable during this whole escapade, Olive spoke up.

"So, what does Vi stand for anyway? Vivian? Victoria? Vienna? Viola? Victor? Violence? Vi-"

"Violet." Vi cut her off abruptly. "It stands for Violet. But nobody's called me that since-...well, not for a long time. So don't get any ideas about it."

"Whatever you say, Vi-o-let," Olive replied cheekily, accentuating each syllable. Her breath was suddenly knocked out of her lungs when Vi grabbed her by the front of her shirt and roughly shoved her against a wall.

"I said, you don't get to call me that," she growled through gritted teeth, her face suddenly hardened and stony. "Got it?"

"Got it," Olive squeaked, taking a haggard breath when Vi decided she was appeased and let her go. "Do we have some sort of problem? If you keep grabbing me like that my shirt won't last the rest of the day." She glared at Vi from the side of her eyes, starting to regret whatever possessed her to break the brute out in the first place.

"No problem," Vi replied. "I just don't want you getting any ideas about us being 'friends' or anything. We're both only here to get what we want. No more, no less. Got it?"

Olive paused for a moment, caught off guard. "Got it. No friends."

The pair continued through the lanes until Vi came to a sudden stop in front of what looked like a particularly revolting food stand. The creature running the stand broke a huge, toothy smile when he noticed Vi walking up — did they seriously know each other? When she really thought about it, Olive wasn't all that surprised, but she still had a slight aversion to the smell wafting from the stand.

"Jericho, buddy! How's it been down here?" Vi exclaimed, a smile Olive hadn't seen before suddenly spreading across her face. Jericho replied with a series of grunts and gestured for them to sit down. Vi sat down instantly, Olive...apprehensively. She watched as 'Jericho' turned and started filling a bowl, seeing that when he set it in front of Vi that it was full of what looked like giant blue slug type creatures. Olive's lip curled up instinctively in disgust and had to hold back a gag. She watched as Vi gorged herself on the food, wondering how someone can eat something like that and still look hot. Impressive.

"I'm sorry, but are you going to question him or not?" Olive leaned over to whisper to Vi.

"No." Vi replied swiftly.

"But isn't that why we're here?" Olive asked, her voice rising slightly with urgency and confusion.

"We're here cause I'm hungry," Vi replied before stuffing her mouth again. "Oh, Jericho, this is better than I even remembered." She said in almost a moan as she finished off her bowl. Jericho grunted again and took the bowl, sliding a piece of paper towards Vi under one of his giant fingers in return. Vi shot Olive a knowing smirk and stood up without waiting for the other to follow.

"Where are we going now?" Olive asked as she and Vi traveled further through the undercity. Without a word, Vi flashed her the scrap of paper Jericho had given her. Olive's heart skipped a beat when she saw the symbol etched on it.

"The brothel??" Olive whispered harshly as she stepped in front of Vi and brought the both of them to a halt. "We can't. I-I won't do it, not if I don't need to."

"Shit, Olive, what the fuck are you doing?" Vi exclaimed, furrowing her brows. "Unless you don't want my or anyone else's help, we haven't exactly got another option. Just follow my lead and you'll be fine."

"You don't underst-" Olive cut herself off and took a breath. Not wanting to reveal too much about herself to someone like Vi, she continued. "Fine. But we need to be in and out."

"Whatever you need..." Vi replied sarcastically.

The two of them continued in silence until they arrived in front of the shambled building, which now seemed even more looming to Olive. Vi strode in confidently, which left Olive to linger behind until she forced herself to go in. The smell of smoke and sex filled her nostrils the way it had done so many times, and she felt like even the walls could see her.

"What information could I get from these people anyways? How?" She quietly wondered out loud to Vi, who slowed to face her.

"If you want people to talk to you, you have to convince them that you have what they want," Vi replied with a smirk.

"And what do I have?"

Vi circled around her, looking her up and down. "You're hot, cupcake." She suddenly moved in closer, forcing Olive against the wall and raising one hand to block her right next to her face. "All you have to do is choose — man, or woman?" Her eyes were dark with an intoxicating look, staring so deeply into Olive that she felt like she might melt.

"Right. Got it," Olive said breathlessly, still unable to tear her eyes away from Vi's. The taller pulled away slowly and smirked before she continued down the barely lit hallway. Olive straightened up and tried to swing her hips alluringly as she followed. At the end of the hallway, they came upon a door that Vi knocked on twice. When it opened, it revealed a small elfish woman that Olive often wished she didn't recognize.

"Vi," the woman said, gasping and putting down her teacup. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

"Hello, Babette," Vi replied as she slowly entered the room. Olive truly started to question her own decision making abilities as she followed.

"And Miss Whitlock," she continued with a hint of surprise in her voice, taking a long drag of her cigarette. "I do hope you've come by to tell me you've had a change of heart...you'd be so popular with the patrons." Babette raised her eyebrows as she looked at Olive expectantly.

"Sorry, but no, Babette," Olive sputtered nervously, avoiding Vi's suspecting gaze.

"Oh come now," the small woman continued. "Think about the earnings you would bring in. You'd just have to let yourself go a little bit."

"I said no, Babette." Olive stood awkwardly for a moment before turning around and walking out of the room, the silence booming in her ears. If she was going to be stuck in the brothel until Vi finished up business, she might as well try and do what she said.

Shit, was she going to hate this.

She strutted through the hall until she found a rather lovely looking woman in a fox mask.

"Hello," she said in what she hoped was a seductive voice. "I'm Amryn, love. What's your name?"

—

Vi sauntered down the hall with a new air of confidence. She knew who to find and where to find them — but first, she had to find Olive. A few doors down, she could hear her silky voice floating out of a room, along with someone else's. Approaching closer, she saw just who she was looking for, but not in the way she expected. Olive was draped across a chaise longue with one hand up, playing with a strand of hair. She had a sultry smile on her face, and was now listening to a woman in a fox mask talk about something or other. Not that Vi was listening — she was distracted watching Olive's suddenly intoxicating features. Shaking herself out of it, she stood fully in the doorway and leaned on the frame, crossing her arms casually.

"I hate to interrupt this lovely conversation, but I'm afraid we've got to go, Cupcake."

#matchamilkis #arcane #vi #vi arcane #vi fanfic #vi fanfiction #arcane fanfic #arcane fanfiction #vi x oc #vi x reader #arcane x oc #arcane x reader #league of legends #piltover and zaun #arcane piltover #arcane fandom #in the darkest corners

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matchamilkislover · 5 months

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In The Darkest Corners, 12.

pairing: vi x fem!oc (reader with a name)

warnings: THIS CHAPTER WILL CONTAIN EXPLICIT SCENES OF VIOLENCE AND OTHER POTENTIALLY TRIGGERING TOPICS. mature themes, just an overall minors beware, violence, general arcane-ness. heavy angst.

word count: 2,993

synopsis: everything’s gone to shit. i’m terrible at writing synopses.

author’s note: as i said in the warnings, this is NOT a lighthearted chapter. proceed at your own risk.

don’t forget to read the other parts first!!

tags:

@forestnymph666

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Olive's head pounded as she slowly regained consciousness. The first thing she noticed was the cold, damp air that clung to her skin, followed by the hard surface beneath her. Her eyes struggled to focus, adjusting to the dim light of the cell. The chains on the floor rattled slightly as she shifted, the metallic sound echoing through the empty space. With a groan, Olive tried to sit up, only to be met with searing pain and stiffness. Her body ached as if she had been put through the ringer. Panic set in as the memories of the bar and Sevika's ominous presence rushed back. She scanned her surroundings, realizing she was locked in a small, dark cell. The chains on the floor hinted at the cell's sinister purpose, but they remained untouched, leaving Olive to wonder why she hadn't been restrained. Her clothes clung uncomfortably to her damp skin, and she shivered involuntarily. Then the realization hit her – she was alone, likely in Silco’s clutches, with no one looking for her.

Minutes, maybe hours, passed before the sound of heavy footsteps approached. The door creaked open, revealing Sevika's figure outlined by the faint light from the hallway. A sinister smile played on Sevika's lips as she strolled in, the echoes of her boots reverberating in the confined space. She pulled a slow drag from her smoke as she regarded Olive, her casual yet piercing gaze unrelenting.

"Well, well, look who's finally awake," Sevika taunted, her tone dripping with malice. She circled Olive like a predator closing in on its prey. "You put up quite a fight back there at the Last Drop. I must admit, I'm impressed."

Olive's throat felt dry, and her voice came out as a hoarse whisper. "What... What do you want?"

Sevika laughed, a chilling sound that seemed to amplify the coldness of the cell. "Oh, sweetheart, it's not about what I want. It's about what Silco and Teeter want. And they want to have a little chat with you."

Sevika's words sent shivers down Olive's spine. Silco – the puppeteer orchestrating the chaos in the undercity. She had heard enough about him to know that crossing paths with him was a dire situation. Not to mention that somehow Teeter, his next in command, was somehow involved in this too. She had heard horror stories of his cruelty, his relentlessness. All she could do was hope that they were exaggerated tales, meant to scare more than anything.

Sevika took another drag, drawing out her exhale as she kept her eyes on Olive. Her voice continued over Olive’s racing thoughts. “But that’s not to say I can’t have a little fun while I’m at it. It’s rare I get a playtoy as pretty as you.” Sevika leaned in, her breath brushing against Olive's ear. "Let's have some fun first, shall we?" With a sinister grin, she traced a finger along Olive's cheek, leaving a trail of cold dread in its wake.

Sevika's torment was a cruel dance, choreographed to break Olive both physically and mentally. She reveled in the power she held over the smaller, savoring the fear that radiated from her like a bitter perfume. First, she circled Olive, her steps deliberate and echoing in the confined space. She toyed with the chains on the floor as she passed them, creating an unsettling melody that set the stage for the impending torment. The clinking of metal merged with the hushed sounds of Olive's shallow breaths. Then, with a sudden, forceful motion, Sevika grabbed Olive's chin, forcing her to meet her sinister gaze. The intensity in Sevika's eyes sent shivers down Olive's spine. Sevika's touch was a cold reminder of the power dynamics at play. She leaned in, her breath a venomous graze across Olive’s skin.

"I almost forgot your warm welcome to Silco's domain, sweetheart," Sevika purred, her voice dripping with malicious delight. "You should feel honored. Not everyone gets a personal invitation." Sevika's fingers trailed along Olive's jawline, forcing her to meet her eyes. "I've heard of your little escapades with Vi. Cute love story, isn't it? Too bad it led you straight into my hands."

Olive's jaw clenched, a silent promise of defiance. "Whatever you're imagining won't break me. Vi and I—we're partners, nothing more."

Sevika chuckled, her fingers tracing a maddening pattern on Olive's arm. "Partners, hm? I've seen the way she looks at you, talks to you, and it's not just friendly banter. There's a story there, and I'm itching to hear it. You forget that we have eyes everywhere."

Olive, despite the torment that ripped at her already aching heartstrings, remained resilient. Sevika's attempts to exploit the romantic tension between her and Vi were met with stubborn resistance. “There’s nothing there, believe me,” she retorted through gritted teeth.

Sevika ignored her denial, continuing her taunting. "You think Vi cares about you? She left you alone in this hellhole. Quite the fairy tale romance you've got going," Sevika sneered, her words cutting through the air.

“What? Are you trying to break me down? Leave me screaming for help, begging for her to come save me?” Olive spat back, holding back the tears that burned at the back of her eyes. “It won’t work. She won’t come, and you won’t get whatever you want from her. Or me.” Olive’s eyes burned into Sevika’s with a passion she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Sevika's laughter echoed in the cold cell. "Oh, sweetheart, you're so naive. This isn't a rescue mission, even if we wanted it to be. It's a wake-up call for Piltover and a nightmare for you." With a grimace, Sevika’s hand suddenly moved from Olive’s chin to a vice grip on her neck. “Now why don’t we actually get started, shall we?”

With a sudden shove, Olive was sprawling on the floor, her back hitting the ground with a thud. She reeled for a second before scrambling back, trying to get away from Sevika’s hulking form that was steadily approaching her. Sevika let out a low chuckle as she watched Olive, tracking her every move.

“Aww, scared, are we? Don’t worry, pet,” Sevika leaned down to Olive’s eye level, her voice lowering to a whisper. “I won’t hurt you. Nothing lasting, anyways.” With that, her hand curled around Olive’s hair and yanked, hard. “Now stand up,” she growled, voice suddenly rising in volume. Olive was forced to follow her hand, standing with Sevika while her scalped screamed in pain. The only sound that left Olive’s mouth was a muffled whimper through gritted teeth. All Sevika did in response was laugh sadistically.

The specifics of what Sevika did to her became a blur in Olive’s memory. Her skin burned from shallow cuts and slices, sharp pains and blunt aches from kicks and hits. She could feel parts of her crack and bruises start to form, but barely even fought back. The last few weeks had been torture enough for her - she didn’t have the energy or will to keep fighting now. The only times she remembered to protest were the moments when Sevika would slow, filthily scanning her body as she stood above her or softening her touch as she gripped Olive’s arm, or neck. These were the moments when Olive would kick her back or spit in her face, shoving herself away until her back would slam into one of the cold stone walls. Sevika would scoff or laugh and roll her eyes, continuing like nothing happened. Eventually, Olive’s consciousness started to flicker in and out as her body ached more and more. Seemingly satisfied by this, Sevika uttered only a triumphant grunt before leaving the cell and slamming the door behind her, locking it as she went. Olive accepted unconsciousness readily, desperate for an escape from the nightmare that her life had become.

–

The Undercity embraced Caitlyn with its oppressive atmosphere, a stark contrast to the polished halls of Piltover. She navigated the twisted alleys with cautious steps, her eyes scanning the dark corners for any sign of her missing friends. The Undercity, always unpredictable, seemed to stretch endlessly before her. With every passing moment, her worry deepened. Caitlyn's quest led her through the tangled web of clandestine paths and dimly lit hideouts. She inquired about Vi, about Olive, but received only furtive glances and cryptic warnings in return. The Undercity had its own language—one Caitlyn was only beginning to decipher. Eventually, she stumbled upon a murky establishment where whispers of a recent scuffle at The Last Drop reached her ears. A chill ran down Caitlyn's spine. Something wasn't right. The air in the Undercity crackled with tension, and Caitlyn's instincts told her that she was treading on dangerous ground.

Caitlyn's boots echoed in the dimly lit corridor as she approached the entrance of The Last Drop, the air thick with the pungent scent of alcohol and the hushed murmurs of patrons. The familiar creak of the tavern door announced her arrival, drawing the attention of the few souls brave enough to seek solace in the shadows. Caitlyn approached the bar, her eyes scanning the crowded room until they settled on the grizzled bartender, Grint. The atmosphere seemed to hush for a moment as patrons stole curious glances at the unfamiliar face in the tavern.

"Good evening," Caitlyn greeted, her voice cutting through the ambient noise at a volume only Grint could fully hear. "I'm Caitlyn. I'm a friend of Olive’s. I’m looking for information about a scuffle that happened here involving her. Can you tell me what you know?"

Grint eyed her for a moment, studying her with a cautious scrutiny. The lines etched into his face deepened as he sighed, deciding how much he should reveal. "Caitlyn, huh? Well, you've picked a hell of a night to walk into The Last Drop." He took a deep sigh before lowering his voice and continuing. “Olive's gone. Haven't seen her since that night. Silco's got her locked up. Word is, they're keeping her somewhere deep in the bowels of the Undercity.” He eyed Caitlyn nervously as he watched her reaction to the information.

As Grint recounted the events, Caitlyn's expression tightened. Her heart dropped when she learned that not only was Olive missing, but she had been taken by Silco’s top henchman; the situation was more dire than she had imagined. She took a moment to compose herself before asking the crucial question. "And where is Vi now?" Caitlyn inquired, her gaze unwavering.

Grunt hesitated, gauging Caitlyn’s determination. "You don't know what you're getting into, Caitlyn. Silco's reach goes far, and breaking into one of the prisons—"

"I don't care. I need to find Vi, and I need to find Olive. Tell me where they're keeping her," Caitlyn demanded, her resolve burning brighter than ever.

Grint sighed again, resigned. "Stillwater. It's heavily guarded, Caitlyn, especially now. Going there alone is suicide."

Caitlyn's gaze met Grint's, her steely determination unwavering. "I can't afford to wait for approval or a team. The corruption runs too deep for me to get one now anyways. I'm going in, and I'm bringing them back. No matter the cost."

The bartender sighed, realizing that Caitlyn's determination was unyielding. "I can tell you what I told Olive. Avoid the light, find a back door, don’t get caught."

Caitlyn nodded, a steely glint in her eyes. "Thank you, Grint. I'll find them."

As Caitlyn left The Last Drop, the weight of the Undercity pressed upon her, but she marched forward, fueled by a determination to unravel the mystery, rescue her friends, and confront the shadows that threatened to engulf them. She needed to come up with a plan.

–

Olive's hazy consciousness swirled in the dimly lit cell, her body still aching from Sevika's previous session with her. The ominous echo of footsteps reverberated, signaling the arrival of unwelcome guests. Olive’s heartbeat immediately quickened, terrified of whoever approached despite the unbreakable face she put on. The door creaked open, revealing the menacing figures of Silco and someone else, who stayed in the shadows. Although she couldn’t see his face, she was sure it must be who Sevika mentioned, Teeter. Olive tried to push herself up, her weakened body protesting every move.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Silco's voice slithered into the cold air. His eyes bore into Olive, calculating and cold.

The leering figure beside Silco slinked out of the shadows, as if on cue. When Olive was finally able to make out the details of his face, she had to bite back her terror. She instantly startle to scramble back into a corner of her cell, panting and trembling.

The notorious Teeter, Silco’s right hand man whose name terrorized the residents of the Undercity almost as if he were Silco himself, was none other than Olive’s father. Her father wore a twisted grin that sent shivers down Olive's spine. The truth unfolded in the dark shadows of the cell as he spoke, his voice a venomous revelation.

"Hello, daughter," he sneered, the words dripping with malice.

Olive's eyes widened, aghast at the revelation. "Father? What are you doing here?"

Teeter chuckled darkly. "Oh, my dear Olive tree, you really didn’t know yet, did you?” He clucked his tongue disapprovingly. “Well, if you can’t figure it out by yourself - and it seems like you truly can’t - yes, it was me behind everything you and your mother went through a year ago. It was me the whole time. And, to my pleasure, it was me who killed your useless mother.” He finished his final phrase with a bone-chilling grin, like it pleased him to finally say it to her face; it probably did. “I relished in killing her, and I’ll relish in killing you too. When the time comes, at least.”

For Olive, the words hung in the air like a toxic fog. Her mind raced, trying to reconcile the man before her with the one who had orchestrated the raid on her home, the one who had taken everything from her. Her shock was clear in the look on her face, on how she crumpled to the ground, hand covering her mouth and the dry sob that erupted from it. The truth unfolded like a grotesque tableau, revealing her own father as the architect of her deepest sorrows. He had always been a terrible man, yes – but nothing like this. Silco observed her reaction calmly, his eyes gleaming with a perverse satisfaction. He might’ve said something, but Olive didn’t hear it. Her hearing went dull, like a pitchy whine covered all of the other sounds around her. Her eyes glazed over with tears, and she barely registered it when her father pulled her face up with a veined hand and shoved her to the ground, laughing cruelly as he and Silco left her.

A while later – Olive has no idea as to how much later – Sevika returned to prepare a twisted memento for Vi. Olive registered her entrance, but her shock left her feeling almost numb, a quiet whimper being her only reaction to Sevika’s appearance. Sevika chuckled coldly under her breath, but said nothing. The cold steel of her blade glinted as she cut off a lock of Olive's hair, and the strands fell weightlessly into Sevika’s waiting hand, a feathered cascade of betrayal. Olive tried to look away, assuming whatever fucked-up task Sevika had needed the hair for had been fulfilled, but the larger caught her chin in her massive, calloused hand. With a perverse satisfaction, Sevika sliced a shallow line across Olive’s cheek, adding a few drops of Olive's blood to a piece of parchment. Olive hissed, glowering at Sevika with an unparalleled measure of hatred. The sting of the cut reawakened Olive’s senses, and she lashed a hand out at Sevika’s own cheek before the latter could stop her, her nails scraping across the rough skin. Sevika lurched back and growled, holding a hand to her face.

“You’ll pay for that, pipsqueak,” Sevika spat as she set down the parchment and advanced again towards Olive. Olive flinched, expecting a blow, but Sevika instead grasped the chains lying next to her. Before Olive could react, Sevika had roughly shoved Olive to face away from her and chained her hands tightly behind her back. While Olive pulled desperately, she was no match for Sevika’s strength, and the chains clunked to the floor with a thud, carrying an unexpecting Olive with them. Saying nothing, Sevika stood with her parchment and began to walk towards the door. Olive lurched forward, but was cut short by the chains, which tugged viciously at her already aching arms and made her cry out in pain. Sevika laughed.

“Don’t worry, little bird. I’ll be back for more later,” Sevika said as she casually strode out of Olive’s cell and locked the door. “Oh, and by the way – I’ll personally make sure this gets to Vi,” she hissed with a smirk, sauntering away as she ignored Olive’s cries. The shock and horror overwhelmed Olive as she listened to Sevika’s heavy boots retreat down the corridor, lapsing her better judgment as she sobbed and begged the empty air around her with a repeating “No”, her voice gradually weakening from soreness and the acceptance of her horrible fate.

–

In a cramped cell, Vi wrestled with her thoughts, a gnawing sense of helplessness clawing at her. Every desperate attempt to escape or somehow reach Olive met a resounding silence. The realization that she was trapped, unable to do anything, fueled a burning anger within her. The walls of the prison seemed to close in as Vi grappled with the weight of her powerlessness, each passing moment amplifying the urgency to break free and confront the looming shadows threatening to extinguish the light in her world. Unfamiliar footsteps quietly echoed down the corridor, interrupting her thoughts, but Vi didn’t care; not until the footsteps stopped at the bars of her cell and a vaguely familiar voice whispered to her.

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matchamilkislover · 6 months

Text

In The Darkest Corners, 11.

pairing: vi x fem!oc (reader with a name)

warnings: mature themes, just an overall minors beware, violence, just general arcane-ness.

word count: 1868

synopsis: just when everything can’t get worse, of course, it does. olive might finally be close to finding answers…but not in the way she wanted to. not like this.

author’s note: yikes! anyways, this is the last chapter i previously wrote and posted elsewhere before finally posting it here. we’ll see how long it takes me to write the next chapter ;)

don’t forget to read the other parts first!!

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ

Olive had always known that returning to the undercity would be dangerous, but she hadn't expected it to be this difficult. As Olive stumbled through the dimly lit streets of the undercity, she couldn't help but feel like she might have made the wrong choice. It was hard enough to adjust after just barely grasping onto Vi, and especially Cait, and now that she lost them, she found herself back in the place she had tried so hard to forget. Soon enough, she found herself drinking for hours at The Last Drop more often than not.

She pushed open the doors of the dingy bar again, the stench of alcohol and sweat hitting her like a brick wall as she made her way to the counter. Grint, the familiar bartender, grimaced as she came in. “Your usual?” Olive gave a heavy sigh and nodded, taking a long blink and leaning both arms on the counter. Grint eyed her warily before pouring her a shot of something that looked like it could strip paint off a wall. Olive downed the shot and motioned for another, her mind beginning to cloud. It wasn't long before she had reached that tipping point where all of her struggles seemed to trickle away.

That's when she saw a familiar face and giant figure approaching her from across the room. Sevika. Olive clenched her jaw and looked away, hoping and begging that Silo’s giant rat was heading for someone else. The thud in the barstool next to her confirmed her fears.

“What do you want?” Olive spat, slightly turning her head to glare at the larger woman. Sevika met her eyes and smirked.

“Same thing as you. To have a drink,” she replied smugly. Grint’s eyes flicked quickly to Olive before he slid Sevika a drink. Olive’s pleading eyes tried to meet his, but he had already looked away and moved across the bar. Olive cursed him in her head, but couldn’t blame him for not wanting to get involved. She threw back the rest of her drink and stood up. Unfortunately, Sevika had the upper hand on her, and when Olive stumbled the moment she tried to take a step, Sevika’s strong arm shot out and grabbed hers with a firmer grip than Olive would’ve liked.

“Why don’t you take a seat,” Sevika suggested in a voice laced with venom and dripping with honey. Olive took a shaky breath and returned to her seat. Last time she had tangled with Sevika, she had had Vi with her, so she felt almost unstoppable; alone, not so much.

"What do you want?" Olive tried to sound confident and forceful. Her voice came out slurred instead.

“Oh, just some company,” Sevika replied with a smirk. “But you know, it’s no fun to drink alone.” She gestured a robotic finger towards Grint, who seemed to gulp before pulling out a drink that looked fairly similar to Sevika’s and sliding it to her, who then slid it to Olive. “Drink up.” She lit a small cigar and began to smoke. Olive ran her fingers on the rim of the glass, but didn’t drink.

“Leave me alone, or you’ll be leaving here with one less arm than the last time we crossed paths.” Olive’s courage had appeared in a surge, but would be quick to fade. Sevika chuckled darkly.

“Oh, come one,” she crooned. “If you really meant that, you would’ve already done it. Or at least, you would have tried,” she said. Olive’s fickle courage vanished, and her hands grew clammy. A shiver went down her spine.

She tried to muster her courage again. “G-get away from me.” Fuck. Her stutter gave her away. She tried to stand again, but Sevika’s hand landed on her shoulder before she could even rise from her seat and kept her firmly in place.

“I’m not going to ask you again.” Sevika growled. “Drink.” Olive gulped and took a nervous sip. If Sevika was going to seek revenge on her now, at least Vi wouldn’t be there to see it. But still, she couldn’t help but wish that Vi was there. To her surprise, the world stayed relatively in focus, and her head didn’t start to spin out of control. She let go of a tightly held breath. Sevika had the nerve to laugh again.

“What, little birdy, thought I put something in your drink?” She asked mockingly. Olive rolled her eyes and continued drinking. The smirk remained on Sevika’s face. Releasing a puff of smoke into the air, she spoke again. “You know, I really do see what Vi saw in you.”

Olive was caught off guard. “Excuse me?” She spluttered, and her face grew red. Sevika leaned in.

“Just look at you,” she murmured slowly, head tilting as she looked the smaller up and down. She leaned back again. “Who could resist?” She took a long drag from her cigar and blew her smoke into the air above them, watching as it curled over their heads. Olive scoffed.

“You’re disgusting,” She shook her head as she replied and took another drink. Sevika shrugged and took yet another drag, paired with a sip from her drink.

“No, it’s true. I really do wonder what I’d have to do to get in your pretty little pants,” Sevika continued. “Maybe I should get myself thrown in prison to ask Vi.”

Olive was too taken aback by what Sevika said to even throw a retort back. Prison? Why would Vi be back in prison? Her mind flew back and forth from Sevika’s disgusting comment and what she had said about Vi. She clenched her jaw. “Fuck. You.” She stood up so angrily and forcefully that her seat clattered onto the floor behind her. But as soon as she had stood up, she was hit with a wave of dizziness and nausea, and the world went black, and she herself clattered to the floor.

Vi sat alone in her prison cell, her back against the cold stone wall. She had been locked up for only a few weeks now, but it felt like an eternity. It was as if time had stopped, and she was stuck in this endless cycle of pain and regret. The memories of Olive haunted her day and night, but all she could do was hope and convince herself that she had made the right choice. That Olive would be safe without her.

Vi had fallen back into her old habits in prison. She would pick fights with anyone who crossed her path, no matter how big or small they were. It was her way of coping with the pain and nightmares that consumed her. Soon enough, a vaguely familiar face crossed her path in the mess hall. Vulcar. A higher level henchman of Silco’s, known for his twisted habits but relatively low IQ. This was sure to be fun.

Vi stepped back and raised her fists, ready for a fight. "You don't scare me, Vulcar," she said, her voice low and threatening. "I'll take you on any day of the week."

Vulcar laughed, his deep, menacing chuckle sending shivers down Vi's spine. "Is that so?" he said, his eyes glittering with malice. "Well, I'm looking forward to it."

The two of them circled each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, Vi lunged forward, throwing a hard punch at Vulcar's face. He dodged it easily, grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back. Vi winced in pain but refused to give up.

"You're not getting off that easy," she growled, kicking out at Vulcar's knees. He stumbled back, and Vi used the opportunity to break free of his grip. She landed a solid punch to his jaw, and he retaliated with a vicious uppercut.

Vi stumbled back, her head spinning. She shook it off and charged at Vulcar again, but this time, he was ready for her. He grabbed her by the neck, lifting her off the ground and choking her. Vi gasped for breath, her vision starting to fade. She struggled against Vulcar's grip, but he was too strong. Just when she thought it was all over, he suddenly released her, shoving her to the ground.

"You're not worth the trouble," he spat, turning to leave. Vi lay on the ground, panting and wheezing, feeling defeated. But as Vulcar walked away, he tossed a crumpled piece of paper at her. "Here," he said. "Something to remember me by."

Once back in her cell, Vi slumped against the familiar stone wall and opened the envelope with hands she was desperately trying to hide the shaking of. Anything that Silco directed towards her intentionally couldn’t be good. But it was even worse than she expected.

She pulled out a torn piece of paper from the envelope, and her heart stopped. Words scrawled in purple ink littered the paper, but that’s not what caught her eye. What caught her eye was the lock of hair attached to the paper that had an unmistakable hue. Olive. Her heart sank deeper as she noticed the drops of blood near the hair and read the clearly threatening message written. It was short, and vague, but Vi knew what it meant. She knew what Silco wanted her to do. Soon enough, her fear turned to rage, and her blood boiled. First Powder, and now Olive? Trap or not, Vi would be damned if she let prison stop her again.

She stuffed the letter in her pocket and stood, slamming herself against her cell bars. “HEY!” she yelled at the top of her lungs, disregarding the sting in her throat. “LET ME OUT! NOW!” her continued yelling only received cruel chuckles from the few other inmates and lone guard that resided on her floor. She ignored the desperate emotions clawing at her as she banged on the door. “God fucking damnit…” she moaned, sliding to the floor in front of her cell door. She punched the bars once more before she brought her hands up to hold her head. “No…”

As time passed, Caitlyn grew more and more anxious about Olive. She hoped she might’ve heard from her by now, but no such luck. Jayce had been avoiding her like the plague as well, which couldn’t mean anything good. As she paced around her room for the millionth time, repeating in her head over and over again what had happened the last time they saw each other, her resolve finally hardened. If Olive wasn’t going to come to her, Caitlyn at least had to go to her to make sure that she was okay. The thought of going into the Undercity for the first time, let alone going by herself, of course terrified her; but what terrified her more was the thought that something might have happened to Olive. That she knew now where Olive was, but if she didn’t go searching for her this time, the guilt she would have if something happened to her best friend would eat her alive. So, under the cover of night, Caitlyn slipped out of her room and off of her balcony, headed directly for the very place she swore she would never go.

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matchamilkislover · 6 months

Text

In The Darkest Corners, 10.

pairing: vi x fem!oc (reader with a name)

warnings: mature themes, just an overall minors beware, violence, just general arcane-ness.

word count: 2,009

synopsis: the infamous council meeting - and the aftermath.

author’s note: it’s going down, i’m yelling timbeeeerrrrr

don’t forget to read the other parts first!!

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ

Olive and Vi were just leaving Olive’s old house when they heard running footsteps on the sidewalk, coming closer. Soon, Caitlyn came into view, and gestured for them to hurry up.

“The next council meeting. They moved it up. To tonight,” she said, opening the gate for them. “We need to be ready.”

Olive’s heart felt ready to beat out of her chest. She and Vi were waiting just beyond the doors to the Council’s meeting room, waiting for the signal for them to enter. Vi stood beside her, her face unreadable. The only hint Olive had to how she felt was the subtle sign of Vi’s clenched jaw that she could see out of her peripheral vision. Before she knew it, Cailtyn was leading them into the room where each council members’ eyes instantly latched onto the three of them. Olive could feel their eyes burning through her skin, reopening searing wounds that had barely healed. Vi’s hand suddenly clenched around hers for a moment, a reassurance Olive didn’t know she needed. Caitlyn introduced Vi but then trailed off as she turned to Vi.

“Olive Whitlock…” Salo murmured. His piercing eyes were slowly looking her and Vi up and down.

“This is ludicrous!” Hoskel suddenly thundered, pounding a fist on the table. “You have some nerve-”

“Excuse me!” Mrs. Kiramman cut him off with a sharp tone. “Calm your temper, Hoskel,” she hissed.

“Please, we just need your ears, only for a moment,” Caitlyn continued for her mother, stepping forward. She nodded towards Olive to signal that she should speak.

“I’m sure you’re all aware of the…events that took place a year ago. Or where I’ve been since then,” Olive began. “I would never believe it if I hadn’t experienced it for myself. But, the undercity…it's being ravaged. Its inhabitants, eaten alive by shimmer and fighting for their lives every day. They’re being run into the ground by violent crime lords, led by the puppeteer who rules over them all. Silco.” A quiet round of gasps left the councilors’ mouths.

“Silco? The industrialist? We’ve conducted investigations of him, there has been no sign of such organization.” Bolbok questioned.

“And who led these investigations?” Olive snapped, now glowering. She knew. They all knew. Marcus, the dirty police chief that raided her home and ended her life. Marcus, the one who had held her at gunpoint on the bridge before being blown to bits by firelights. Bolbok sighed.

“What does he even want from us?”

“Power. He believes the undercity should be independent. He calls it the Nation of Zaun.” Olive continued, knowing that she had the councilors wrapped in her words now. Jayce Talis suddenly cuts in, lifting a familiar object onto the table. One of Jinx’s bombs.

“And who is responsible for this?” He asks, returning Olive’s glower. Olive opened her mouth and glanced at Vi, but Vi nodded and stepped forward.

“Her name is Jinx,” Vi said, finally speaking.

“And this Jinx has the gemstone?” Jayce asked. Vi nodded. “Then we need to go in by force.”

“That could trigger war!” Another councilor protested.

“There are good people down there,” Olive joined in, not having expected this sudden turn. A different councilor grunted.

“Yeah, about as good as your mother,” The official muttered under his breath. Olive felt her swallowed anger flare inside of her.

“What the fuck did you just say?” She demanded, hurtling forward to where the offender was sitting. Caitlyn hurried forward to hold her back.

“Perhaps there is a diplomatic solution,” Mrs. Kiramman interjected, looking desperate to calm the fire that had been started.

“You don’t know war, Jayce. I do. It must be our last resort,” Councilor Merdarda continued for her. Jayce scoffed.

“What? You want to negotiate with the undercity? With this- Silco?” He demanded angrily. Vi cut in again.

“This is fucking insane- have you learned nothing? He won’t listen to you, you can’t just talk to him! He hates all of you, and everything you stand for!” Her aggressive stance and movements towards the councilors put the enforcers standing by the door on edge. Mrs. Kiramman’s face finally hardened.

“Enforcers, please escort them-” She was cut off by Vi.

“No need. I remember where your stupid fucking door is,” She spat before turning and leaving, Olive close behind.

When they finally exited the grand building, night had fallen, and rain was pounding down on them. Vi was moving so fast that Olive was struggling to keep up.

“Vi, wait!” She cried out, grasping onto her arm. Vi turned towards her but pulled her arm away.

“I never should’ve gotten you involved with this. I never should’ve…” Her voice trailed off.

“What are you talking about? We can fix this, we can still-” Olive didn’t even finish her sentence.

“No, we can’t. We tried, okay? But if I keep letting you get wrapped up in…all this, you’ll get hurt. Everyone always does,” she said, continuing to walk away. Olive’s frustration flashed.

“You can’t just walk away from me, after- after everything! We’re in this together.” Her voice was firm, but her eyes were red and she had to focus to keep her lip from trembling.

“It’s over, cupcake. I need to go back to where I came from, and you need to stay here, where you belong. You’ve got Caitlyn and a big, fancy house that you can fix up. You don’t need me.” Olive’s heart squeezed at the hurt in her voice.

“You’re wrong. I don’t belong here anymore. I- I don’t belong anywhere. But together, I know we could fix everything, I know we could find out what happened to my family and take down Silco and-”

“No, we can’t!” Vi’s voice came out harsher than Olive expected. “You’ll be better off if you stay here, with Caitlyn. If you forget me.” Her eyes were trained on the ground as the rain that soaked them dripped down her hair and face.

“But…what about us?” Olive asked, her voice finally shaking, the tears that had been threatening to spill pouring out of her eyes and down her cheeks like the rain that already streaked them.

“Like oil and water. It wasn’t meant to be.” Vi turned around and left, disappearing into the dark, rainy night.

Olive waited until she was completely out of view before she let herself fall against a light pole while her body was wracked with sobs, head in her hands. She forced herself to hold back the screams that threatened to burst from her throat. She couldn’t explain why it was suddenly hard to breathe, and why her heart felt like it was ripping apart inside her chest. It was a long time before she picked herself up and trudged towards Caitlyn’s house, soaked to her bones by the rain and her face wrecked by crying.

—

Before Vi had reached the edge of Piltover, a thought crossed her mind. That council member - Jayce, was it? - had been the first to suggest they fight by force. For the sake of her own heart, she knew she had to make sure Olive stayed away; especially if she was going to do what she thought she was going to do. She waited a bit longer until she was sure Olive would have left the council building by now, and then headed back, ducking in and out of dark corners to stay inconspicuous. She was sure the enforcers wouldn’t be too keen on letting her back in, and she liked doing things better this way anyways.

Vi slinked through the hallways of the dark building, searching for a sign of the council member. She eventually heard sounds of deep clanging and saw a faint light emanating from the bottom of a door. Bingo.

It took less convincing than Vi expected for Jayce to give in to her plan. This dude really is bloodthirsty. For what they were about to do, the more so, the better. The gauntlets felt so natural in her hands that she had to push away thoughts of the last time she had held something similar. Her focus stayed trained on Jayce as she leaned on one leg and reached out a gauntlet covered hand to him.

“We got a deal, pretty boy?”

—

Olive had nearly shocked Caitlyn to death when she showed back up at her door, soaked and still teary. The blue haired girl shushed her and led her inside, keeping an eye out to make sure no one saw the two of them.

“My mother really isn’t pleased with the stunt you and Vi pulled at the council meeting today,” she warned, making stern eye contact with Olive as she handed her a towel to dry off.

“I know, I- I’m sorry,” Olive replied with a sigh. It was hard enough to face Caitlyn now as is, and this had only made it worse. “I’d just like to stay one more night. Please.” Her eyes cautiously lifted to Caitlyn’s, trying to read her old friend’s expression.

“Oh Olive, of course you can stay,” Caitlyn replied breathlessly as she scooped her into a hug, ignoring that Olive’s clothes were wet enough to get her soaked as well. “But…where’s Vi?”

Olive felt her tears build up again. She pulled away from Caitlyn. “She left me. I couldn’t stop her. She said it was for the better.” Olive choked out the last few words, her face falling into her hands again as tears streamed down her face once more. Caitlyn seemed to be at a loss for words.

“Olive, I-...stay as long as you need. I’m so sorry,” Olive shook her head and cleared her throat.

“I can’t stay long. It doesn’t feel right for me to be here anymore. And I can’t keep piling this on you,” she replied softly. “Piltover is no longer my home.”

The next morning, Olive woke early and got ready quickly. It broke her heart, but she knew she had to leave before Caitlyn could stop her and try to convince her to stay again. Olive knew that she wouldn’t be able to say no this time. With one last longing look at her childhood home, Olive leapt off of Caitlyn’s balcony and made her way towards the total nightmare that was now her life. Even if Vi wouldn’t help her, Olive knew she couldn’t give up on finding her mother. On finding the truth. So back she went to her grubby shack of an apartment, to working odd questionable jobs here and there to support herself, to saving bits of food for days on end when money was tight. At least there, she knew she could do something.

—

Vi could hardly hold herself back from racing into the facility they were headed for and getting the siege over with herself. She and Jayce were loaded with a whole command of enforcers, everyone itching to take down what they now knew as the source of Piltover’s greatest headaches. If only she had known the dark turn this fight was about to take.

The attack on the shimmer facility was a blur of gunshots and bloodshed. Vi used the anger coursing through her to mercilessly take down any and all who crossed her path, ignoring the trail of those around her who had fallen. Finally, there was only one person left. A young boy that seemed oddly forceful in his determination to protect the facility. Vi recognized him as the one who had pushed the alarm in the building that alerted everyone of their presence and released the defense creatures. Vi knew that she had no choice in killing him. Apparently Jayce didn’t have the same opinion. She had hardly caught her breath when enforcers descended upon her, holding her down to clamp handcuffs on her. She growled and shouted shocked protests, shoving whatever body parts she could into them to try and overtake them.

“What the fuck!” she growled, still fighting. Jayce’s face was dark and overcast.

“Perhaps some time in Stillwater will teach you a well deserved lesson.”

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matchamilkislover · 6 months

Text

In The Darkest Corners, 8.

pairing: vi x fem!oc (reader with a name)

warnings: mature themes, just an overall minors beware, violence, just general arcane-ness.

word count: 1538

synopsis: it always gets better before it gets worse.

author’s note: i put in a small bit of happiness in this one. as a treat. you’re welcome :)

don’t forget to read the other parts first!!

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ

Vi and Olive ventured into Piltover as quietly they could, Olive biting her lip and swallowing cries of pain from her leg. The farther they walked, the more she began to falter, and each step felt like it may be her last before she finally collapsed. Vi kept sending her worried glances from where she supported her.

“Ol, you’re hurt, we need to stop,” Vi urged, trying to slow them to a stop. Olive gritted her teeth and kept moving.

“No, we can’t. We’re almost there, and stopping would be too risky,” she replied, hissing when she took another step but not stopping. Vi sighed but kept with her, supporting as much of her weight as she could without fully carrying Olive — she had a feeling her companion would resist that as well. Finally, they turned onto a lamplight street lined with giant gated homes, and Olive took an audible breath.

“This is it. Her house is right over there,” Olive said, pointing to what looked like the largest house on the block. Vi wasn’t sure whether to laugh or roll her eyes. “We’ll have to go around the back and climb onto the balcony. Something tells me her mom won’t be all that happy to see me,” she continued, picking up the pace. Vi was taken aback.

“Climb? Seriously?” She raised an eyebrow and looked Olive up and down. Olive shrugged.

“I’ve done it loads of times. It can’t be that hard,” Olive replied. “Come on, we don’t want anyone to spot us.”

Olive was wrong. As it turns out, it was very hard to climb a balcony after getting slammed to the ground and your leg slashed with explosive bits of metal and glass, even if you’d done it a hundred times. After watching Olive try over and over again to launch herself onto the wall, Vi sighed and walked over to stop her. Without a word, she grabbed the shorter confidently and threw her over her shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes. Ignoring Olive’s hushed cries and protests, she casually scaled the wall with one arm while the other held Olive securely against her. When they reached the balcony, Vi hauled them gently over the railing and set Olive down on her good leg. Olive immediately turned and whacked her on the arm, glaring with her eyebrows furrowed.

“What the hell is wrong with you?! Why would you do that?!?!” She accused in what seemed to be some sort of whisper yell.

“You were taking too long,” Vi replied with a shrug. “Would you rather I not help you and have us get caught?”

“There is a difference between helping me and throwing me ov-“ Olive’s rant was cut short by the sound of the glass balcony door being kicked open. Olive spun around to see just who she was looking for standing there, aiming a shotgun at the pair of them.

“Caitlyn?”

“Olive?” Caitlyn’s face went slack, and she lowered her weapon. She sputtered for a moment from shock, looking Olive up and down wildly like she couldn’t believe it was really her. Her face broke out into a smile. “Olive!” she gushed, dropping the gun to run over to Olive and squish her into a hug. “I thought I might never see you again!” Olive immediately sank into the tight hug, a smile she hadn’t felt in a long time spreading over her face. After what Olive was sure must have been quite a while, the two finally pulled apart.

“Where have you been? I kept thinking I would see you again eventually, but…” Caitlyn trailed off. Olive sighed.

“I couldn’t come back. Not after what happened. We’re actually here because, well…we need your help.”

—

After Olive explained the whole situation to Caitlyn, the latter sat silently on her bed for a good few minutes, contemplating.

“So you want me to go through my mom, the great iceberg, and convince her to let you have an audience with the council, to bargain with the gemstone that we can’t tell anyone about beforehand?” She asked, seeming to question the scenario. Olive and Vi looked at each other, a grimace on Olive’s face.

“Look, we know it sounds ridiculous, but unless we want everything to go up in flames, there’s nothing else we can do,” Olive pleaded, reaching out to touch Caitlyn’s hand.

“Silco’s done enough already. Without interference from Piltover, he’ll destroy anyone left in his way. Including topside,” Vi cut in. “There’s no other choice.”

Caitlyn sighed. “Alright. I will have a talk with her. In the meantime, you need to get that leg fixed up and some rest,” she said, eyeing Olive’s leg. She had been so distracted, Olive had nearly forgotten the searing pain going down her calf. Nearly. “I’ll bring you supplies. Can you do it on your own or…” Caitlyn trailed off, looking back and forth from Olive to Vi. It was clear from her body language that she still didn’t trust Vi, but trusted Olive enough to not outright question her judgment — at least not at the moment.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” Vi replied. She was talking to Caitlyn, but she only looked at Olive.

“Ooohkay…?” Caitlyn said, raising an eyebrow before gently getting up off the bed and exiting the room to assumably grab a first aid kit.

“I think your friend doesn’t like me,” Vi said to Olive, only half joking.

“It’s not that, she’s just…never met someone from the Undercity before. Especially living with a council member for a mom, you can imagine she doesn’t exactly have the best impression,” Olive said, sighing. “I didn’t…before.” She looked at Vi with a gentle expression, like she was waiting for Vi’s reaction.

“I’ve always thought the same thing about topsiders. Look where we are now,” Vi replied, shrugging. “I guess we were both wrong.” A soft smile appeared on her lips.

“Maybe.” Olive replied quietly. Before either of them could say anything else, Caitlyn loudly reentered the room, carrying hoards of medical supplies.

“I took whatever I could find,” she said nervously. Olive held back a giggle.

“Thanks Cait, really,” Olive said, smiling. Caitlyn nodded, shot another uncertain look towards Vi, and then turned and walked straight out of the room — presumably to go sacrifice her ass to her mother for the two of them. Once she was gone, Olive and Vi looked at each other in sync and both laughed.

Olive was no longer laughing once Vi was picking debris out of her leg. She winced and let out a sharp hiss of pain when Vi got a particularly stuck shard of glass out.

“I’m almost done,” Vi said in a surprisingly soothing voice. She looked up at Olive when she spoke, her eyes filled with something Olive hadn’t seen before. Olive bit her bottom lip and nodded, closing her eyes when another piece was pulled out. By the time Vi was done cleaning and fixing up her leg, Olive was out of breath, and her eyes were red from the tears she had been holding back. Vi looked up worriedly, looking like she was about to move or say something when the door suddenly opened again.

“I don’t know how, but I convinced her. We’ll be at the next council meeting!” Caitlyn exclaimed, a shocked smile on her face. Olive returned the smile.

“You’re amazing, Cait,” she said, about to stand to hug her again before thinking better of it.

“Anyways, I’m assuming you two will be staying here because…well, you know. The only guest room we have ready right now is the one next door to mine, but-“ Olive cut her off with a wave.

“We’ll be fine. Don’t even worry about it, you’ve done enough,” Olive said. “Vi, why don’t you go on ahead. I think Cait and I have some catching up to do.” She turned to Vi and smiled expectantly. Vi nodded and stood to leave, her hand grazing over Olive’s as she moved. As soon as the door closed behind her, Caitlyn’s interrogation began.

“Tell. Me. Everything.”

—

“…and I think that’s everything!” Olive finished her lengthy explanation of the last year of her life with a heavy sigh. Caitlyn gawked.

“That is most certainly not everything! What is going on with pinkie over there??” Caitlyn said, quieting herself as if Vi could hear them through the thick, grand walls.

“What do you mean?” Olive replied, trying to seem clueless. Her blushing face betrayed her.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Olive Whitlock. I have never seen two people with so much tension in my goddamn life!”

Olive laughed nervously. “We’re just friends, really,” she continued, trying to convince herself as well as Caitlyn.

“Bullshit.”

“I-“ Olive cut herself off with a sigh. “She could never see me like that. As long as I get to know her, I don’t care,” she continued, looking down at her fumbling hands.

“You’re so clueless, Ol,” Caitlyn replied with a sigh.

“Cut it out!” Olive couldn’t help but start giggling. Before long, the two girls had dissolved into laughter.

And even if it was just for a moment, Olive felt like maybe everything could be okay again. Like it used to be.

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matchamilkislover · 6 months

Text

In The Darkest Corners, 7.

pairing: vi x fem!oc (reader with a name)

warnings: mature themes, just an overall minors beware, violence, just general arcane-ness.

word count: 2,1765

synopsis: everything continues to go to shit.

author’s note: apologies to my 9 followers for posting all these chapters all at once. love you guys <3

don’t forget to read the other parts first!!

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ

When Olive came to, her head was spinning and her throat felt dry from thirst. She could feel her hands chained behind her, and something covered her head so she was unable to see her surroundings. After taking a moment to realize what was happening, she pulled on her chains to see if they would loosen. All she got in return was a sharp pain in her wrists — it was clear that her abductor was not a beginner in the practice.

“Hello?” she called out tentatively, ears trained on hearing any small movements or distant sounds. What she got in return was loud footsteps coming towards her and a hand roughly ripping off the sack on her head. The first thing to hit her was bright light streaming into the room, making her squint and try blindly rapidly to adjust to the light. The first thing she saw was a masked person who didn’t seem older than 12 leaning over her. Shocked at first, Olive nearly jumped. That is, if she hadn’t been chained while on the floor.

“Who are you? Where am I?!” She spat, lurching forward to see if she could knock into her watcher. They said nothing, cocking their head almost robotically before moving towards a large opening in the wall that was letting in the bright light. It was when Olive turned to follow their movements that she spotted the figure perched on the opening.

The person was dark skinned with a large portion of his face painted with a dramatic white shape, which matched the dreads that sat on top of his head. He was glaring at Olive like he regretted not already getting rid of her. Olive returned the look.

“What have you done with Vi?” She demanded. He continued glaring. “Look. I’m the reason she’s here in the first place. Whatever you want with her, take me instead. Just let her go!” Olive tried again to tug at her binds, to no avail. Suddenly, another figure swung around the side of the opening.

“My hero,” Vi crooned, leaning against the wall with a smirk.

“Vi!? Wh- I thought they were going to hurt you!” Olive exclaimed, her shock obvious on her face.

“Vi says I can trust you. After the stunt you pulled with my firelights, I find that hard to believe,” the still unnamed man said, his glare unwavering.

“I’m sorry, you attacked us and then abducted Vi! What else am I supposed to do?” Olive retorted with a similar look. Vi rolled her eyes.

“Olive, this is Ekko. He’s an old friend,” Vi explained casually.

“Okay, if he’s such a ‘friend’, why did you end up unconscious, being hauled off to whatever this place is? And why am I still chained by my goddamn hands?!” Olive tugged again and transferred her glaring to Vi.

“Ekko, please?” Vi sighed and looked at him. Looking apprehensive, he sighed and walked over to Olive, reaching behind her and removing the chains with a few movements. Olive moved her hands in front of her and examined her sore and reddened wrists. Ekko held out a hand and helped her pull herself up from the ground. Once standing, she stopped, looked around, and laughed.

“What the fuck am I doing,” she said, in disbelief of what her own life had become. Ekko chuckled.

“You seriously think this is funny?” He said with a smile.

“If I don’t, I think I’ll lose it,” Olive replied with a smirk. “Vi probably already told you everything, but I’m Olive. Most people call me Ol,” she said, holding out a hand to shake. Ekko slapped his hand against hers and curled his fingers into hers to do a casual shake.

“Let’s hope you don’t feel the need to topple anyone else over an edge.”

—

Ekko led them through the sunlit tree community, explaining it to Olive, who clearly hadn’t gotten the same introduction as Vi.

“So,” Vi muttered under her breath to Olive, “everyone calls you Ol, huh? That’s news to me.” The taller girl smirked and raised an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah, most people who actually know me call me Ol,” she replied, shrugging. “I just haven’t met anyone I felt like I could trust like that in a while.”

“Oh, so I’m not someone you can trust?” Vi came to a stop.

“Well, when you meet someone for the first time while they’re in prison, trust isn’t exactly the first thing on your mind.” Olive rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t sure I could trust you. Now I am.” She shrugged and kept walking. She heard Vi chuckle behind her and follow her in step. Meanwhile, Ekko led them to a stop in front of a large mural.

“Now, let’s talk about what we’re all actually here for.” His face had turned serious. “Can either of you tell me what this is? More specifically, why Jinx had it?” He twisted a lever on a large cylindrical container he had been holding to reveal the blue gemstone that Olive had first seen on the platform. She furrowed her brows together, trying to figure out why it seemed so familiar. Suddenly, she gasps.

“That's a gemstone - the key to all of Hextech’s technology. My mother suddenly had one right before…everything,” Olive said, trailing off as dots started to connect in her head. She had to focus. “Regardless, that needs to be returned to Piltover and the Council. It’s not safe in anyone’s hands, period.”

“No way!” Ekko exclaimed in what almost seemed like offense. “They got enough power as is. I think it’s time we take some of it back!” He pulled the container closer to him.

“No,” Vi suddenly spoke up. “She’s right. The Undercity is already falling apart enough without hoards of enforcers coming in here looking for that thing.”

Ekko sighed, clearly apprehensive. “And how do you suggest we return it without getting arrested ourselves?”

“I know someone,” Olive piped up. “We were friends when I was still…living in Topside.” She gulped nervously, eyeing Ekko. “Her mom is a council member. If we play our cards right, we just might have a chance.”

“Fine.” Ekko grimaced. “But if we’re doing this, I’m the one actually giving it to them.”

Olive shrugged. “Why not?”

—

The trio made good time traveling through abandoned tunnels and back alleys to reach the bridge that connects Piltover to the Undercity. Eventually, Olive fell slightly behind while Vi and Ekko took to the front, conversing in hushed tones that Olive couldn’t quite pick up.

“So…you two are just friends, huh?” Ekko teased.

Vi resisted the red threatening to flood her cheeks. “Yeah, little man. We’re uhhh…we’re just friends,” she replied, shoving him playfully on the shoulder.

“I don’t think ‘just friends’ look at each other like that, idiot,” Ekko retorted, shoving Vi back.

“Whatever,” Vi said, rolling her eyes sarcastically. Olive watched them, unable to hear their conversation, but craving the connection she could tell the two had; even after seven years apart.

By the time they snuck through a mechanism of the giant bridge and climbed onto the actual structure, night had fallen. They walked at a steady pace across the bridge, weaving around strange barricades that stood with no one to actually monitor them. Unusual, but Topside was always doing something. They were guided by flickering street lamps and the green glow of Ekko’s hoverboard. Suddenly, Olive heard Vi’s footsteps stop behind her and she turned around.

“I can’t leave her again.” Vi stated solemnly.

“You can’t change her,” Ekko replied, also having turned around.

“I have to try.”

Ekko scoffed and walked towards her. “Don’t get yourself killed,” he said before wrapping her in a hug. Olive couldn’t help but wonder just how well they had known themselves in the past.

“No promises,” Vi replied with a smile. But her eyes were on Olive. Ekko and Vi split and Olive froze for a second before throwing herself forward and wrapping her in a hug as well. A strange feeling fluttered inside her when Vi wrapped her arms around her as well. Olive almost got lost in her heartbeat, her breath, how she felt. But she couldn’t forget that this was a goodbye.

“It’s been real, Cupcake. Thank you. For everything,” Vi said quietly in Olive’s ear. Feeling tears threatening to fall, Olive shoved her face into Vi’s chest and held her tighter. After what felt like both forever and no time at all, the two drew apart, Vi’s hand lingering on Olive’s cheek before she finally pulled away fully. Olive watched with a breaking heart as Vi turned and slowly walked into the fog that covered the Undercity end of the bridge.

Once Vi had disappeared, Olive and Ekko turned and continued down the bridge. After what felt like only a few moments, gigantic lights flashed in their eyes, and a man’s voice loudly shouted at them to stop. The two of them raised their hands to protect their eyes from the blinding light, and the man started to walk towards them.

“Olive Whitlock…never thought I’d see you here again,” the man crooned, finally coming into view.

“Marcus?” Olive asked, shocked that the one time they try to go Topside, he’s the first one she runs into. The one who’s voice she had heard first a year ago, when she had been run out of her own home and lost her family for what might be forever. “We…we don’t mean any harm, we found something that was lost,” she pleaded, hoping they would at least turn off the lights. Marcus raised an eyebrow and scoffed.

“Oh yeah? And have you got any proof of that?” He asked menacingly, his gun already in hand.

“No!” Ekko exclaimed, holding his hand over the container holding the gemstone protectively.

“Ekko…please. We have too,” Olive bargained, looking at him with pleading eyes. He sighed apprehensively, but moved to open the pack. The second Marcus laid eyes on the gemstone glowing inside, he aimed and shot Ekko directly in the chest.

“Ekko!” Olive screamed, about to move towards his body that had flown back from the blow, but Marcus was already pointing his gun at her. Olive thought she might have heard Vi yelling her name in the distance; but maybe it was wishful, or desperate, thinking. Olive backed away, her hands up and her heart beating fast.

“You never should have shown your face here again, Whitlock,” Marcus spat, closing in on her. Before he could shoot her too, what looked like hundreds of glowing green mechanical bugs — firelights, as Olive had heard them call — descended upon them. They landed on the ground, on enforcer’s shoulders, even Marcus’s gun. They ticked menacingly until suddenly, the air exploded with their tiny but powerful bodies, filling the air with smoke and the effect of many small fireworks. The world went black.

Olive awoke a few moments later, her back aching and a sharp pain in the side of her leg. She tried to push herself off the ground, but cried out when she tried to put weight on her injured leg and quickly realized that she may not be able to walk on her own. Shit. The beams were now flickering, having been partially destroyed by the blast, and an eerie whistling floated quietly from a ways down the bridge. Olive whimpered and almost succumbed to the pain again when footsteps came racing towards her and someone suddenly slid down into her view.

“Vi?” Olive whispered, looking up at her. Vi nodded, her face flooded with worry. She quickly pulled Olive’s arm over her shoulder and wrapped her own arm around her, pulling Olive up to a standing position where she was barely on her own weight at all. Olive felt Vi’s head suddenly turn up and followed the movement to see Jinx waltzing toward them. She held the container with the gemstone confidently. Upon seeing the two of them, Jinx gritted her teeth and suddenly showered them with bullets with her giant gun. Vi instantly pushed the two of them apart with such power that they flew to opposite sides of the bridge. Olive knocked her head into the rail and was flooded with dizziness, closing her eyes to try and focus her senses. When she opened her eyes, she saw Ekko flying towards Jinx on his hoverboard, yelling a battle cry as he zoomed towards her. Vi was back to Olive’s side in an instant, pulling her back up onto her feet. As she did, Ekko attacked Jinx, hitting her gun out of her hand with his staff as he sped past her. The force of the hit knocked her down, and he sped back over, yanking the container away from her and sliding to the stop between Jinx and them. He shoved the container towards them, yelling at them to go. With one last desperate look at her sister, Vi turned and led them quickly past the light. Into Piltover.

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matchamilkislover · 6 months

Text

In The Darkest Corners, 6.

pairing: vi x fem!oc (reader with a name)

warnings: mature themes, just an overall minors beware, violence, just general arcane-ness.

word count: 1,576

synopsis: everything goes to shit.

author’s note: i have nothing to say. enjoy the chapter!

don’t forget to read the other parts first!!

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ

Olive’s face turned to horror as she watched the now shimmered addicts grow and change right next to Silco. She had to get them out of there. Realizing that Silco was completely focused on Vi, Olive quietly slipped out behind her and headed for the rickety scaffolding that held up a giant neon purple eye. One of the symbols of what she now realized was Silco’s takeover — and what also happened to be the main source of light in her apartment. Clenching her jaw, Olive focused all of her weight and strength into her shoulder, and slammed herself into the main post holding up the scaffolding. Fuck, that hurt. Ignoring the shooting pain in her shoulder, she slammed the post again, rearing up for another hit when Vi’s voice caught her attention. Olive glanced over and saw Vi raising her fists in a fighting stance as the shimmered advanced on her.

“Yeah, well. You talk too much.”

Vi suddenly moved towards Olive and turned to slam her fist into the post Olive had just been ramming with a yell. The punch was so powerful, a force immediately rocketed up the scaffolding to where the tubes shaping the eye were attached, and the structure began to crumble. The two of them were frozen for a moment, watching it creak and start to fall forward, before Vi grabbed Olive’s arm and took off running. Even though Silco and his goons were fully distracted by the giant pieces of metal and wood and fluorescent tube falling on top of them, Olive and Vi kept running. The last thing Olive heard from the incident was Silco’s infuriated roaring.

Olive wasn’t sure why, but Vi kept them sprinting through the lanes, pushing herself over ledges she would usually be able to climb easily and cursing out anyone who got in their way. That was, until, she abruptly stopped, her eyes trained on something in the distance. Olive backtracked a few steps and looked in the same direction to see a plume of blue smoke rising from an abandoned tower in the distance.

“Powder,” Vi whispered under her breath, breaking into a full sprint towards the smoke. Not sure what was going on, but refusing to be left behind in such a situation, Olive followed. As they grew closer, she was able to spot a seemingly teenaged girl with long blue braids holding the device that was sending up the smoke. Vi’s sister. She had called her powder, but then why had Silco called her Jinx? Whatever her name was, Vi seemed desperate to reach her.

Vi beat Olive up the tower by a few minutes, so once she had reached the top, Vi was already closely embracing her sister. When the blue haired girl spotted Olive, however, she gasped and pulled away from Vi, aiming her giant machine gun at the former.

“Powder, it’s okay, she’s a friend,” Vi soothed, reaching her hands out to try to calm her sister.

“Sevika wasn’t lying, you’re with some topsider girl?” Powder accused while still aiming her device. When she shifted, her foot hit a small crystal ball that had a blue glow to it. Strange. “This must be a trick. She- she has to be an enforcer or something. You’re tricking me!” She cried, riling herself up. “Shut up! I’m in no mood!”

“We…didn’t say anything,” Olive responded, confused.

Powder shifted her gun to Olive again. “I wasn’t talking to you!”

“Powder, it’s okay,” Vi said, still trying to calm her down.

“Stop calling me that!” She yelled. “It’s Jinx now. Powder fell down a well!”

“You’re not a jinx, I never should have called you that-“

“Stop talking to me like I’m a child!” Jinx swung and pointed her gun at Vi. “Is that why you came? For this stupid stone?”

“No, I don’t even know what that is, I…”

Jinx laughed. “You’re a class act, sister. Sister, thought I missed her. Bet you wouldn’t miss her…” her eyes wandered sporadically like she wasn’t only talking to Vi. Her finger clicked on the trigger and the machine suddenly started spinning.

“I’m here for you, Powder, only you!” Vi shouted, knocking the gun away from her face. God, that thing looked heavy. “You can fire that thing at me if you want, but I’m not going anywhere! I’m not going to abandon you again.” Her voice quieted as she reached out to stroke Jinx’s arm.

Jinx backed away and started looking around strangely, holding her head. “Everyone, shut up! I need to think.” She suddenly shot back to attention and aimed her gun once again. “Did anyone else hear that?”

Looking around, Olive started to hear glimpses of hi-pitched voices and the creaking of metal slowly approaching. Turning around, she looked up just in time to see masked figures on glowing hoverboards start to exit from the giant pipes in the cliff behind them. Not waiting a moment, Jinx started to bombard them with bullets. The flying figures descended upon the trio like a swarm of bugs, dipping so low that Olive had to duck to avoid being hit. They shot in diving circles around the tower to confuse them. For Olive, at least, it was working. As they drew closer, Jinx started her manic shooting again, and Vi started fighting with the ones who drew close enough. Olive kept low and behind different objects to stay out of sight, watching the fight closely to find a place where she could be useful. Suddenly, she spotted the blue ball rolling to an edge of the platform near her after being knocked aside by Jinx’s foot. Olive darted out and caught it right as it was about to fall over the edge, but when she did, one of the attackers spotted her. She rolled back behind the pole she had been using as a hiding spot and leapt to her feet. The woman who had spotted her dived forward on her hoverboard, and Olive ran from her, almost making it to duck behind two metal crates before the woman caught up with her and pulled her back by her shirt. Olive stumbled back and turned to face the woman as she hopped off her hoverboard, only getting a glimpse of her before the woman punched Olive in the face so hard that she was knocked flat on her back. Her head went spinning, and her hand opened from where it had been holding the orb tightly, her body lax as she tried to stay conscious. She could still hear Vi struggling in her outnumbered fight, and started to panic when she hear her cry out and hit the ground while Olive was still unable to get up.

The masked woman knelt down next to Olive and snatched the blue crystal out of her hand. Olive’s eyes opened in time to see her pull a pin out of a small device, and black smoke flooded out, making it impossible to see on the entire platform. Shit. The woman tried to reach over and grab Olive, but she was already up and moving. They must have grabbed Vi as well. Looking around as best she could, Olive spotted the green glow of one of the attackers’ hoverboard started to rise off the ground and ran towards it. She took a running leap and shocked even herself as she grabbed on to either side and hung on as the rider tried to get away.

“Let her go, motherfucker!” She shouted through smoke that made her choke on her own words. She heard the rider start to yelp as her weight pulled on the hoverboard, causing it to tilt uncontrollably. With one strong pull of her left arm, the rider was sent tumbling to the ground, and Olive maneuvered herself to be at least fully clinging onto the hoverboard as it continued flying. She knew better than to try and stand hands free on the hoverboard — her clumsy ass would be on the ground in a second. “Sorry,” she whispered to herself as she watched the person fall, feeling a little guilty. But she had to focus. She needed Vi, and she wasn’t about to lose her now.

She followed the other riders back through the pipes and unfamiliar parts of the undercity she wasn't sure she even knew existed until now. It would have been almost fun, if her arms weren’t aching like crazy and she wasn’t following the people who had just abducted her companion. Finally, they reached what appeared to be just a normal rock cliff. But as they drew closer, a sort of mechanism started to reveal an opening to another part of the city. Olive was in disbelief. She slid into the entrance right as it was about to close, and finally let herself fall off of the hoverboard. After taking a few steps, the full view of what she was entering came into view, and she was rendered speechless. A giant tree curved and twisted up to the sky, and built into it were a number of homes and other structures. Beautiful paintings covered each flat surface.

But there was one problem. In the few seconds that Olive had been left behind, she had lost sight of the others — meaning she had lost sight of Vi. She was about to rush forward when footsteps suddenly came up from behind her, and a blunt object slammed into her neck.

The world went black.

8 notes · View notes

matchamilkislover · 6 months

Text

In The Darkest Corners, 5.

pairing: vi x fem!oc (reader with a name)

warnings: mature themes, just an overall minors beware, violence, just general arcane-ness.

word count: 1500

synopsis: vi needs attention for her wounds from her fight with sevika, and olive is determined to help her. even if it causes her to be a little careless, even for a moment.

author’s note: after i post this chapter i’ll be making a master post with all of the chapters so they can be found easily!

don’t forget to read the other parts first!!

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ

Olive headed first towards the center of the undercity, where most inhabitants hung around — and where she was most likely to find what she was looking for. She kept her hood up and her head down as she trudged through the filthy streets, avoiding making eye contact with anyone. Neon lights flashed across her face in the dark, and she could only hope that they didn't reveal her to any of Sevika's goons that may be hanging around. As she walked, she began lifting her head to search for anyone who looked like they might have information (and would give it up willingly, which was less than likely). She nearly screamed when a purple-veined arm suddenly reached out from a dark corner and grabbed her wrist.

"L-Looking for something, m-miss?" The person asked, pulling themselves out of the shadows. He was a small man that was clearly malformed by an addiction to shimmer. Large broken glasses sat on his crooked nose, and his eyes were desperate, like most shimmer addicts, but they were also kind. Olive couldn't help but have a feeling that he might truly be able to help her.

"I'm in need of medicine. My friend, she got stabbed, and- and it's bad. I don't know what else to do," she replied, turning to look the man straight in the eyes. He let go of her wrist to push up his glasses and cleared his throat.

"I think I know someone who m-may be able to help you, miss." He wrung his hands nervously, like her wasn't sure Olive would believe him.

"Take me to them."

Perhaps this wasn't the best idea. Olive grew more and more nervous as the man led her into the darker parts of the Undercity — the parts she hadn't yet dared to venture into. Shimmer addicts lurked left and right, and Olive had to stay on high alert to avoid their desperate grasps and begging cries. Perhaps it was the eyes that frightened her the most; bloodshot, and void of their now lost humanity. A shiver crawled down Olive's spine. Just when Olive was about to break and admit to the man that she couldn't do it, the light of what looked like a small stand or shop appeared in the distance.

"He s-sells potions, miss," the small man suddenly said. "He should be able to help your friend."

Olive caught herself nearly racing to the light. When she reached the small counter, she was met by a growling face behind a gate.

"I need something for my friend. Sh-she's been stabbed. Badly." Olive spoke breathlessly, conflicted by feelings of pure fear and determination. The potion-maker turned without a word and began doing something behind the gate. After a moment, he turned around with two vials in his hand. One larger, almost filled with a clear liquid, and a smaller one that seemed to be some form of...shimmer? Olive wasn't exactly in the position to be questioning it.

"Trade or coin," The creature grunted, clearly insinuating that payment was required for the glowing final ingredient.

"C-coin," Olive stuttered, pulling out a jingling pouch from one of her pockets. "Will this be enough?"

He opened the grate to pull the pouch through and looked at the contents. "Good." He closed the pouch and returned to the vials. With surprising gentleness, he poured a single drop of the smaller vial into the larger, which instantly took on the vibrant hue. He then corked the bottle and shoved it through the small slot before slamming the grate closed. Olive gulped and picked up the now glowing vial, tucking it into the most secure pocket she had.

"So how do we get out of here?"

Olive raced after the small man she had been traveling with — he was surprisingly quick on his feet. After what still felt like forever, they reached a part of the lanes that Olive was actually familiar with. She stopped, turning to her guide with an anxious smile.

"Thank you, so much. Really," She said quietly. The man shook his head.

"O-oh it's n-nothing, really," he replied, looking back down at his again wringing hands. "Even th-though I'm like this n-now, I s-still have to h-help someone in need." He looked up at Olive with huge eyes. "G-go," He continued, "it sounds like your friend needs you." Olive nodded and bid the man goodbye before turning and racing through the streets towards her apartment. Hopefully she hadn't taken too long.

—

When Olive banged through her apartment door, her eyes first fell on Vi's slumped body. And her closed eyes.

"No," she whispered, "No, no, no, no, no, no." She rushed over to her, kneeling down and taking Vi's face in her hands. "Vi? Wake up, come on." Cold sweats started on her body. When Vi's eyes slowly fluttered open, Olive's shoulders sagged as she let out a sigh of relief.

"Did I make you nervous, Cupcake?" Vi asked quietly, half lifting her mouth in a smile and looking up at Olive. She suddenly groaned and held her abdomen where she had been stabbed, hissing when her hand came in contact with the wound.

"Hold on, I've got something for you," Olive hushed her quietly, pulling out the glass vial. Lifting up Vi's chin, she lifted the vial up to her parted lips and tipped the contents into her mouth. Vi slumped at first after drinking, but then her eyes suddenly flew open and flashed purple. She let out a roar of pain and her torso shot up, jolted with what was clearly a sudden pain. Olive was able to gently grab on to her arms when Vi's torso leaned into hers, trying to let her down slowly. Jolts continued to hit Vi's body, and she began whimpering in Olive's arms. Her hands naturally cupped Vi's face, looking into her eyes and gently circling her thumbs on her cheeks. "Easy, easy, easy," she soothed, finally being able to fully lean Vi back against the wall as the rushes of pain seemed to stop. Sighing, Olive stood back up and waited a few moments for Vi to come back to herself. Once Vi opened her eyes fully and began to sit up, Olive focused.

"We need to get you back on your feet," she said quietly, leaning against the wall. "I'm assuming Sevika has something to do with this Silco person? Whatever's going on, we need to be more careful." She took a deep breath and crossed her arms. "What did Sevika say to you, anyways?"

Vi seemed to consider something before answering. "I have a younger sister — Powder. I thought she was dead, but apparently not. Sevika told me she works for Silco." The last bit seemed to pain Vi more than she was letting on.

"How do you not know if your own sister is dead or alive?" Olive asked in what she quickly realized had been a condescending tone.

"You're one to talk," Vi scoffed. "It's hard to check up on people from a concrete cell." She stood up abruptly, advancing towards Olive. "Aren't you the one who came to me since you couldn't find your own mother on your own? You, who still doesn't know where she is or if she's alive? Shit, it's like you don't even understand how clueless you really are." Her glare pierced Olive's body.

Olive glared back for a moment before sighing. "You're right. I'm sorry," she replied, shrugging and letting her arms fall by her sides. She was about to continue talking before they were interrupted by a sudden clanging. Vi's face hardened as she turned and started stalking towards the door. The sounds of clanging and small cries continued.

But when she opened the door, Vi's stony face turned shocked when she saw who stood outside.

Silco, armed with two goons and crouching shimmer addicts that reached for the vials of the purple liquid he held in his hands.

"Vander's prodigy," he began. "I've regretted that we never had the opportunity to speak." Upon hearing his eerie voice, Olive took a few steps towards the door to look out, and saw her first glimpse of Silco. He was a small man, yet still somehow terrifying to take in. Half of his face was covered with horrible scarring, and his eye in the same place had been replaced with a large black orb with a small orange iris. But the true shock came when Olive caught sight of the face of one of the shimmer addicts who took a vial from his hands. She gasped when she recognized him — that was the man who had helped her find the potion for Vi.

It was her fault they had found them.

"What have you done with my sister?" Vi asked menacingly, taking a few threatening steps forward.

"I've freed her," Silco replied with a casual smirk. "Mistakenly, I believed you to be the prize of your so-called family. But, Jinx...She is better than I ever imagined."

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matchamilkislover · 9 months

Text

In The Darkest Corners, Preface.

pairing: vi x fem!oc (reader insert, basically y/n with a name)

warnings: adult themes, explicit violence, angst, parental trauma, yadayadayada, specific warnings will come will specific chapters.

author’s note: I’ve been writing this for a while but just now decided to get a tumblr account again, so now I’m adding it here. All updates after the most recent chapter 11 will be posted here and on ao3 and wattpad. I’m not super familiar with the tumblr layout anymore, so my aesthetics won’t be great, but please bear with me! Lastly, just to cover my bases, I obviously do not own any storylines or characters taken from the "Arcane" Netflix series.

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡

Olive has never lived a perfect life - but that doesn't mean it wasn't cushy living in Piltover. That is, until her home is raided by enforcers and her supposedly corrupt parents ripped from her hands. Unable to stay in her home, she's forced down the drain into the Undercity. And when she gets there, the crowd isn't exactly...friendly. A year later, she finally gets a clue as to where her parents are and what really happened topside. Maybe breaking into Stillwater Hold and stumbling upon one of its most revered prisoners wasn't the best idea, but maybe it will prove to be the best luck she's had in a long time. That is, if prisoner 516 stops being a dick long enough to let that happen.

#arcane #vi #vi arcane #vi fanfic #vi x reader #vi x oc #some angst #lesbian #arcane fanfiction #vi fanfiction #league of legends #arcane x reader #piltover and zaun #arcane piltover #in the darkest corners #arcane fandom #matchamilkis

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matchamilkislover · 9 months

Text

In The Darkest Corners, 2.

pairing: vi x fem!oc (reader with a name)

warnings: mature themes, suggested violence.

word count: 1,242

synopsis: after breaking into stillwater, a top-security prison, olive finds the prisoner she’s looking for to be even less friendly than she expected. and a bit more aggressive.

author’s note: originally published january 2023.

don’t forget to read part 1 first!!

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ

Olive froze. Whoever was in that cell, it certainly wasn't her mother; but by the look and sound of this inmate, she wasn't sure if she should be all that relieved. But she knew what she needed to do. Taking a deep breath, she spoke.

"I'm Olive. Are you inmate 516?" She asked with as steady a voice as she could muster.

"Depends who's asking," the figure responded gruffly. The voice sounded dark and vaguely female, but Olive wasn't sure. All she could see was a muscular figure pacing back and forth.

"I was told you might have some information I'm looking for," Olive continued, trying not to let the inmate intimidate her.

"And you broke into this shithole to get it? Must be important then." They chuckled darkly.

"It was all Achlan-" Olive was cut off.

"Achlan? Don't tell me you work for that bastard." The figure suddenly stopped and turned towards her. She seemed to be a woman with cropped hair and sharp features, but apart from her aggressive stance, Olive couldn't make out any more details.

"No, I don't. But that's not the point." Olive took a breath, mustering up her courage to step over the red line marked on the floor and get close to the cell bars. "I've spent the last year searching for my mother, Eleanor Whitlock. I've heard whispers of her working with industrialists in the Undercity, but nothing more than that. You're my only lead."

Inmate 516 sighed and resumed her(?) pacing. "Sorry, I've never heard of any 'Eleanor Whitlock'. By the sound of it though, my guess is she was some rich topsider that got too close with undercity business and reaped the consequences. Not uncommon."

"No!" Olive exclaimed. Her voice came out louder than intended, and she silently kicked herself. "My mother wouldn't have done anything like that. I know her. I've heard whispers of her working with the industrialist, Silco, but-" The inmate suddenly rushed forward and grabbed Olive by the front of her shirt, pulling her close to the bars — and her suddenly illuminated face.

"She worked with Silco?" She growled, glaring so hard that Olive thought her eyes might burst into flames. Olive was stunned, not only by the fact that she was currently being held so tightly she was lifted onto her toes, but also by the appearance of perhaps the most attractive person she had ever seen.

The inmate's face was angular and littered with scars, her nose clearly having been broken more than a few times and a roman numeral tattoo marked under her left eye. Olive could tell that she was strong as hell, not only by the fact that she was lifted off the ground, but also by the sight of her stocky, muscular build that was accentuated by large tattoos. She had to force herself to pull her eyes away from the inmate and focus on the task at hand.

"No," she gasped out, "I-I'm not sure, I've only heard his name mentioned once or twice. I thought he was just doing normal business." Olive's chest rose and fell heavily as she struggled to keep her breathing even.

The muscled inmate dropped her. "You topsiders really don't know shit, huh? The undercity's going to eat you alive."

"Not if I can help it." Olive replied. "And you're going to help me. I need information, now."

"Oh I can get you information," 516 smirked, leaning on the bars with her hands dangling lazily around them. "Just not from in here."

Olive held up the keys that had been digging into her palm and sighed. "I just know I'm going to regret this."

Shit. She quickly realized that the many keys on the ring were NOT labeled, and she had no way of knowing which one would unlock 516's cell. She began jumbling with the keys, fitting each one into the lock and growing more and more anxious as she started running out of keys.

"Would you hurry the fuck up?" The inmate hissed, earning her a glare from an already stressed Olive.

"Sorry, I'm not exactly a prison break-in pro, as you can probably tell," She hissed back. Finally, a key slid into the lock easily and clicked. Right as the lock opened, however, voices echoed towards the two of them from down the hall.

"Somebody had to have taken my keys," a low, scratchy voice growled. Olive could see glimpses of what seemed like two large figures — guards, she realized as her heart dropped — who were flashing torches into each cell, clearly looking for whoever had stolen the keys. Looking for her.

The prisoner acted fast, unlike Olive, who was frozen in fear. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, she had forced open the door and yanked Olive inside, pushing her up against a dark niche in her cell with her hand covering Olive's mouth. Wordlessly, 516 held Olive in a firm grip and kept her eyes and ears trained on the now closed cell door.

Meanwhile, Olive's heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest. Here she was, hiding from a guard during a prison break-in, and all she could think about was how she was being held against the wall by a very attractive person who had nearly half a foot on her in height. Shit, she needed to focus. The guards' steps were drawing closer.

"Who's down here again, 516? Yeah, that one's trouble alright." Another gruff voice, clearly belonging to another guard, grunted out with a rough chuckle. Olive watched as 516 clenched her jaw and gently let her go, holding up her finger to signal to Olive to stay silent as she waltzed towards the center of her cell — where she would be most visible. Olive held her breath.

One of the guards ran his thick baton along the bars of the cell as both guards walked into view. With a sinister smile on his face, the same guard with a baton looked 516 up and down with another gruff chuckle.

"Cause any trouble lately, 516? Seems my friend here is missing his keys." The other guard grunted.

"I'm flattered that you would think of me, Flock, but I unfortunately have no idea where Flick's precious keys have run off to," She said smoothly, pulling off the boldfaced lie brilliantly.

"Shame. We haven't had a...talk in a while," Flock responded, resting his baton on the floor and letting a vicious expression take over his face.

"I know, so sad." 516 replied sarcastically with gritted teeth. "Maybe next time?"

Flock's smile widened, showing rows of sharp teeth. "Oh, there's always a next time."

Once the guards had sauntered away and there was silence for a few moments, Olive let out a long-held breath and let herself slump against the wall.

"I'm never doing anything like this ever again," she sighed quietly.

"I hate to break it to you, but we're about to do a lot more of this," 516 replied with a playful, yet still grim air to her. "Now all we have to do is get out of here."

#matchamilkis #arcane #vi #vi arcane #vi fanfic #vi fanfiction #arcane fanfic #arcane fanfiction #vi x reader #vi x oc #some angst #lesbian #league of legends #arcane x reader #arcane x oc #piltover and zaun #arcane piltover #arcane fandom #in the darkest corners

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matchamilkislover · 9 months

Text

In The Darkest Corners, 1.

pairing: vi x fem!oc (y/n with a name)

warnings: mature themes, explicit violence, parental loss, angst.

word count: 2,441

synopsis: After falling from her graceful life as part of a respected family in Piltover, Olive Whitlock takes matters into her own hands to solve her mother’s disappearance. Unfortunately, the only real clue she’s gotten in a while leads her to Vi, a less-than-friendly Stillwater inmate with a bone to pick.

author’s note: originally published january 2023.

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ

1 year ago.

BANG.

Olive was ripped from her sleep from the sound of doors shutting and closing in quick succession, followed by footsteps racing down the hall. Frozen by shock and uncertainty, she listened for only a second before she heard the heavy front door slam in and what sounded like a dozen pairs of boots stomp in, accompanied by deep shouting and the crashing of furniture and other belongings being destroyed. Without a second thought, she leapt out of bed and ran to her door to see what was going on. She whipped her door open to find her mother hurrying down the hall with her arms full of unfamiliar papers and strange objects.

"Mom? What's going on?" she whispered towards her mother's hunched figure, trying not to alarm whoever was invading her home. Her mother's head whipped around to face her and she dashed almost inhumanly toward Olive.

"Leave. Now. Or they'll catch you," her mother hissed, her eyes alight with fear and something else that Olive didn't recognize. "Out your balcony. Go!" Before she could speak, Olive's mother shoved her back into her room and, with a final glance, whispered "If we live, we'll find each other." With that, she pulled Olive's door shut and disappeared.

After a moment of shocked hesitation, Olive turned away from the door and set into action. Knowing she didn't have time to change, she ripped what clothes she could fit into her pack from her wardrobe and pulled a jacket over her pajamas. Hearing the thundering footsteps and muffled shouting travel up the stairs, she pulled on her boots and slipped through her glass balcony doors. Climbing over the ornate railing, her last glance into her lifelong home was of blurred enforcers busting through her bedroom door as she slid down her balcony and tumbled into the lamplit streets of Piltover.

Current.

Olive slipped quietly across a familiar alleyway in the Undercity, sticking to the shadows and praying that she ran into no one. After the night she lost her once plentiful life in topside, her luck had only gone south. Rumors about her mother's corruption and alleged betrayal of the high houses and individuals of Piltover only needed a night to spread before Olive couldn't escape them. Afraid of being apprehended by enforcers as well (or worse), she fled to the Undercity. It would never be safe, but she knew that here no one could recognize her or what her family had done.

In the past year, Olive had scraped her way by in the Undercity, always working odd jobs and barely slipping under people's noses when things went south. She had her fair share of cuts and bruises, but as long as she was alive or at least not wildly broken, she was persistent in continuing her investigation into what really happened to her mother that night. Most of the work she did involved shady dealings that she traded for information, but so far, she'd been met with snarky remarks and vague statements alluding to what *may* have happened.

Maybe this job will be different.

All she had to do was make a small - albeit strange - delivery; how hard could it be? She slipped past buildings and snuck around brawling groups and staggering shimmer addicts to the low, almost invisible basement building that she was delivering to. Peeking through the smoky window, she could see almost nothing besides a decrepit wooden door and a sign warning others not to enter. Maybe I can just leave it at the door and move on? She wondered - but sighed when she remembered she had specific instructions to drop it off with the receiver. If she were a native to the Lanes, she might have had the insight to just leave the package at the door anyways and do her best to evade the consequences later. But even after a year of fighting her way through the darkness, she still couldn't abandon the manners and instruction obsessed habits that her upbringing had given her.

Grumbling, Olive wrenched open the outer door and paused at the wooden one inside, considering whether or not to knock. Deciding it was best to not catch the inhabitant off guard, she knocked heavily on the door and stood back in case they came out swinging. Not much to her surprise, the door was ripped open by a hulking figure with enraged eyes and the smelliest breath Olive had encountered yet. Gulping, she held up the package and mustered up the courage to speak.

"From Achlan," she squeaked, ready to drop it and run at a moment's notice. Don't get her wrong, she could hold her own if she needed too - but she'd rather not need to in this instance. The large creature, who Achlan, her employer, had identified as 'A big lug of a man' grunted and took the package with one large gruff hand. Frozen, Olive just let him take it and continued to stare at his gnarled face.

"Need anything else, pipsqueak?" The man growled, looking almost murderous at the fact that Olive had apparently overstayed her welcome. Sputtering an apology, Olive backed up a few feet before turning and running the opposite direction, heart thundering in her chest just from the thought of spending any more time in that dusty doorway.

Olive ran as fast as she could through the lanes towards her employer's main camp, scaling a few walls (with some struggling) and launching herself across gaps between buildings that would usually send her stomach turning. Finally, she caught a glimpse of the crooked stack of buildings that her destination inhabited. She slid down the roof and shambled wall of the building she had been perched on, and tried to look confident as she strode towards the building that seemed rather looming when she really looked at it. On the ground floor stood the Undercity's iconic brothel, a haram of substances and lust that constantly hung in the air in and around it. Olive really tried to avoid the place simply so she wouldn't be lured in by the promise of payment, but for this job, she needed to go inside to access the stairwell to the upper floors.

Taking a deep breath, Olive avoided the eyes of the few people lurking outside and pulled open the door, slipping inside and rushing towards the stair at as fast of a pace she could go without looking suspicious. She almost made it before a smooth, husky voice called out to her.

"Hey miss...you look awfully lonely over there; leaving in such a rush?" The masked man called, stalking towards her with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Yes, I am leaving, actually," Olive replied, her breathing shallow as she tried to continue on without making eye contact.

"Ah ah ah," The man continued, reaching out to snatch her wrist before she had a chance to slip away. "You're really going to leave a paying customer unsatisfied?" he asked with a smirk.

"I don't work here," Olive hissed in reply, trying to snatch away her arm; the man's grip was surprisingly strong for his lanky build.

"Oi!" A deeper voice suddenly called, causing both of them to whip their heads towards the stairwell. "She's with me."

Olive recognized her employer instantly and shocked even herself with how relieved she was to see him. The masked man released her wrist immediately, muttering a nervous apology and slinking away into another room of the brothel. Olive had never been so thankful for such a terrifying man's nerve-wracking effects.

"You, up here," The large man on the stairs grunted, gesturing towards Olive. Nodding, she scampered up the rickety wooden stairs after his thudding footsteps. Upon reaching his door, he opened it gruffly and didn't bother to check if Olive made it inside or was even following him. Reaching a large desk littered with objects, the man sat down and faced Olive with an unimpressed look on his face.

Her employer was an almost ogre-like man with bulging muscles and strange bumps littering his green-tinged skin. They called him Achlan, and by now, Olive had heard enough rumors to know why his name and his looming presence sent people scattering.

"You finish the job?" He asked, seeming rather bored.

"Yes, sir," Olive said, the words seeming to jolt out of her almost trembling mouth.

"Good. You may leave," He replied, waving his hand toward the door and looking down at his desk.

"I'm sorry, but my payment..." Olive stuttered with her eyes to the ground.

"Ah yes, you're the one that wanted information. Strange request. Let's see, you want to know about Eleanor Whitlock, yes?"

She nodded a response.

"Something tells me you already know plenty about her family history...so why come to me? Surely you've tried to do some sleuthing on your own."

"Yes, sir, but if you could just tell me something — anything you know," She pleaded in a quavering voice. For a few moments, there was silence.

Then Achlan spoke.

"Stillwater Hold, inmate 516."

Olive was struck speechless. In a daze, she walked down the stairs and out to the street, paying no mind to anything, or anyone, around her. Stillwater Hold? What could an inmate there possibly know about her mother?

What if...No. Olive refused to even suspect that her mother could have ended up in jail. She'd had to face a lot of things in the past year, but even now she couldn't face the thought of it. Clenching her fists, she let her anxiety turn into anger, and was basically boiling by the time she reached the one place she knew she could get information about Stillwater - The Last Drop.

The neon glow emanating from the gigantic eye hit Olive's vision before she even spotted the building. The run-down and rather nasty bar was a common watering hole for residents of the Undercity, and no matter how hard she tried, that didn't exclude Olive. Her ears were flooded with noise when she opened the groaning door, and she held back a wince at the stench of alcohol and body odor. Making a beeline for the bar itself, she slid into an empty stool and waited for the familiar bartender to turn toward her.

"Olive, what can I do you for?" The dark, broad-shouldered bartender asked, a small smile whispering on his lips.

"I'm not drinking tonight, Grint," Olive replied with a serious face. "I need advice." Leaning in closer, she waited for him to do the same before continuing.

"Say I wanted to find a certain prisoner at Stillwater...Could I, you know, do it?" She asked in a lowered voice. Grint almost laughed.

"Not unless you want to get thrown in there with them! My advice, if you want to see anyone in that hellhole, you better be ready to stage a full break-in. Not that they're expecting anyone to break in — who in their right mind would want to get in there? Except you, of course." He chuckled and shook his head like Olive was presenting some ridiculous idea. She wasn't.

"And how would I go about breaking in?"

Avoid the light, find a back door, don't get caught. Those were the instructions Grint gave her before being pulled away by other customers at The Last Drop. How Olive was going to pull this off, she wasn't sure — but she'd be damned if she let another clue go unsearched. Taking a deep breath, she started carefully navigating her way around the jagged rocks of the island that Stillwater inhabited. She hissed like she had just been stung when the searchlight nearly grazed her calf. She went to hell in a handbasket alone just to get to the island, and that supposedly wasn't even the hardest part. Eventually, she reached the tall, intimidating building and started to scout it for entrance points.

Shit.

The only point of entry she could find besides the very obvious front doors was a second story window that seemed like she would need about five more years of rock climbing experience for. But time wasn't going to slow down for her to figure out another plan, so she latched her hands and feet into whatever holds she could find and started to climb.

How in the world she did it, Olive wasn't sure, but climb the wall she did. The window was, of course, locked, but it was nothing that a lock pick and a little elbow grease couldn't take care of. Within minutes, the window was open, and Olive was in. Seconds later she regretted every life decision she ever made when she spotted a gigantic guard sitting no more than 20 feet away. That is, until she heard him snoring. Her breathing started again and, after a moment to check that he was truly asleep, Olive began creeping towards him as slow as she could stand to go. Upon approaching the guard, she noticed a ring of keys on his belt. Isn't that a little too obvious? Olive wondered, but hey — she wasn't one to pass up such an opportunity. Her fingers made quick work of the key ring, and within seconds, the keys were in her hands. Now she just had to figure out which cell was 516's.

Initially, Olive figured that 516 must be on the 5th floor, considering that the inmates on the floor she was on seemed to all reside within the 100s. But the higher she went, the lower the numbers got; until she made a frustrating realization. The higher the number, the lower the floor — which meant that inmate 516 must be quite a bit underground. After kicking herself for wasting time, Olive descended floors until she reached what appeared to be the lowest floor, and the home of inmates listed in the 500s. Most of the cells down here seemed to be empty, and as she passed more and more cells, the unexpected sound of fists hitting concrete started to echo in her ears. Her blood chilled, and of course, it was only fitting that as she drew closer and closer, the light started to dissipate, the length of the hallway started to shorten, and the pounding only grew louder.

"Hello?" Olive called barely above a whisper towards the cell marked 516. The fists stopped. Olive came to a nervous stop in front of the cell door, fiddling with the keys in her hands. She caught sight of flashes of dark pink hair and heavily tattooed skin. The occupant tilted their head slightly towards Olive, exposing an angular face with a scarred lip.

"Who the hell are you?"

#arcane #vi #vi arcane #arcane fanfiction #vi fanfiction #vi fanfic #vi x reader #vi x oc #some angst #lesbian #arcane fanfic #league of legends #arcane x reader #afab!reader #piltover and zaun #arcane piltover #arcane fandom #in the darkest corners #matchamilkis

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