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mangohgeckoh · 14 days ago

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Silco x Reader Chap 13 (Chemical Reaction)

A/N: On AO3 I've been posting versions of the chapters with songs that I hand-pick for the theme/message of each chapter and I am FINALLY getting to edit the chapters here on Tumblr to have them as well so definitely check those out! - Chemical Reaction Chapter 13 "Sacrificing Ourselves" Chapter summary: Silco is furious at the news of Vi's return, Roadie and Jinx do their own investigating, Ophelia sacrifices herself for Silco, and Roadie and Jinx have to fight the Firelights. - Song of the chapter: "Wasteland" by Royal & The Serpent "I've held on for as long as I can, For the ones that I had to defend, I've been strong every day of my life, If she wants, death could take me this time." -

That night, Ophelia watched a rage she had never seen before erupt from within Silco. His cool demeanor had been burnt to a crisp under his shouting.

After Sevika stumbled into the office and gave the news of the sister’s return, Silco had abruptly shot up from his chair and called for a meeting with his thugs. His office almost immediately spilled into his office, shaking with how he barked orders at each individual.

Ophelia stood next to Silco’s desk, watching him pace in anger as he racked his brain for a plan to catch the girl. His grunts’ eyes followed his body around the room, careful not to say anything other than a weak ‘yes, sir.’ After what felt like an hour of him pacing, kicking furniture over, barking orders at his poor thugs, he turned to his second-hand.

Sevika was sitting, doubled over on his couch, spacing out. Amongst his followers, a medic had been called and was tending to her injuries. Ophelia winced at the state of the woman. Her skin was now mottled with bruises and cuts of different sizes. “Sevika, you’ll be leading the first search party. I want every one of our informants in the lanes to drop what they’re doing and scour the Undercity to find them.” Too tired to object, she nodded.

“And none of you,” Silco started breathlessly, his hair a mess. “Utter a word about this to Jinx.” - Breathlessly, Roadie followed Jinx through the main stretch of the Undercity. For a girl with little muscle, she was fast. “But, if he finds out I was here-”

“Oh don��t be a baby!” Jinx batted his concern away as they neared The Last Drop. It towered over the Lanes, illuminating the street and nearby establishments in the ghoulish green light of a few hundred LEDs covering the building.

He gulped. If Silco found out he was here…Even worse, if his mom found out…

Why does he always get dragged into these situations with Jinx? Roadie considered as the club grew larger. Well, it was either these excursions with her or helping Kaz with running the orphanage…and Roadie would be damned if he had to change another diaper or spend hours in the kitchen to cook more stew. Plus, he had liked this time he spent with his sister. She didn’t treat him like he was made of glass, like his mom would.

“Roades!” Roadie snapped out of his thoughts when he bumped into someone. Jinx turned around and shushed him, sneaking to the front door. Chuckling, she gave him a mischievous look. “Watch this.”

The club was empty due to it being closed in lieu of recent events. That…no one shared with Jinx or Roadie. It was only occupied by a bartender, content with being tasked to clean the cups. His peace was interrupted when the front door swung open. The bartender froze as he inspected the door from across the club, but shrugged it off to the wind.

“Chuck!” The bartender nearly jumped ten feet in the air at the sound of Jinx manifesting across the bar, sitting on one of its empty stools.

“Thieram.” The man said weakly as he continued to clean. “Uh…my name’s Thieram.”

Jinx only smiled innocently. “Nice try, Chuck.” She tapped the bar twice while Roadie struggled to hop on the tall stool. He was shorter than most 12 year olds, which made him grunt as he finally managed to claw his way up to the seat next to his sister.

She didn’t notice his struggle, focused on trying to find out what Silco had hidden from her. “What’s all the hubbub?” The blue-haired girl asked, playing with the precious hex crystal.

Thieram stammered while pouring her a glass of juice. “Uh. Boss wants us to grab someone up.” Jinx hummed, taking the drink. “Someone? Anyone? Who are you grabbing?”

“Some girls.” Thieram’s eyes widened. “I mean, I mean not…I’m not grabbing girls.” He stammered, sweat starting to coat his skin. ”Other than the…those ones…I guess.” Roadie chuckled at how squirmy the bartender for The Eye of Zaun was.

“Focus.” Jinx said firmly, toying with the straw of her drink. “Who are they? Why wasn’t I invited to the party?”

“Uh, I don’t know.” The bartender resumed cleaning the cup. “They…they got in a fight with Sevika. They did a number on her.” Thieram winced at the prospect of someone getting the better of Sevika.

Roadie watched as Jinx continued to toy with her drink, now plopping the hex crystal into her juice. “Oh really? Which number?”

“It’s like a saying…” Theriam’s eyes lowered to Roadie. “Who’s-” Before he could finish his sentence, Jinx pulled him into a hug.“You're doing great chuck!” She quickly let go and swiped her drink from the counter, prompting Roadie to leap off the stool.

”Here, for your troubles!” Jinx said excitedly before turning around to head up the stairs. Roadie followed her but heard a scream followed by a small explosion from where they had left the bar.

“Where are we going?” He asked, wheezing from climbing the stairsteps.

Jinx didn’t need to turn around to say, “Paying the ogre a visit.” - “I’m busy.”

Begrudgingly, Kaz had let Silco enter the orphanage. He made a beeline for the Vastaya in the common space visible from the entryway. “Sevika has gone AWOL.” His voice was calm yet Ophelia’s Vastayan ears could pick up on how unnerved he was. She was passing out papers to the children who were old enough to work in the factories as well as wanted to.

“What?” Ophelia turned from the crowd of 12 year olds to the man stalking behind her. “Communication with her has…ceased.” She could practically sense how sleep deprived Silco was from how much darker his eye bags were.

The owner of the orphanage turned back to the children but her focus continued to be held by the man behind her. “For how long?”

Silco shifted from behind her. “A few hours.”

Ophelia scoffed. “Silco,” She handed another kid a paper to sign. “That is hardly enough time to-”

“This is…unlike her.” He interrupted, getting antsy. With every second the sister and the enforcer are getting closer and closer to escaping Zaun.

The Vastayan didn’t pick up on this, opting to chuckle at his random concern for his second-hand. “If I didn’t know any better I’d assume you were worried for her.”

Ophelia heard a scoff from behind her. “Nonsense. Sevika just so happens to be the leader of our scouting team in finding the…girls.” The last word rolled off his tongue in a growl. “Without her, that team is floundering without leadership.”

Once the documents had been handed out, Ophelia passed pens to the children so they could sign their names. Oh? Well, “I’m sure Ran can handle it.” The children froze when Silco grabbed Ophelia’s arm so she met his piercing gaze. “You don’t understand.” He growled in a low tone. “The sister…she needs to be found.”

Suddenly, Ophelia noticed a flash of emotion appear in his face. Worry. Her throat bobbed, thinking of Jinx. The destruction the sister would cause if she found Jinx. The girl may not have been her kid, but Ophelia still cared for Silco’s daughter.

Thin fingers found the tips of his collar. “I’ll keep my eye out for them, okay?” Her grip on his blazer tightened in assurance. “They’ll be found.” Ophelia whispered.

The children who finished signing giddily ran to her assistant, a red-head man who had a temper, Kaz. They handed their papers to him as he double checked the signatures. The assistant ushered the kids who had signed the paperwork to the entrance of the orphanage.

Silco’s eyelid tightened as he growled, begrudgingly nodding. Ophelia released her grip on his collar before turning to the line of children. “We’ll need to leave early to make it to the mining train.” Kaz nodded and opened the door.

“When will they return?” He asked, a grim expression on his face. Kaz wasn’t too elated when he caught wind of the children starting to work under one of the Chembarons for extra money. Especially so close to shimmer.

Posture straight, Ophelia walked past him, children following her. “Well before nightfall.”

- A woman, at least six feet tall, was waiting at the dock. From afar, she resembled that of a bird, as she was clad in a dark purple cloak, feathers sprouting out from the cloak around her neck to create an illusion to plumage.

The sound of screeching wheels overwhelmed the mineshaft as the train came to a halt at its stop. Now adjacent from the woman, Ophelia could see a scowl plastered under the glowing green tubes that connected to the woman’s face. Renni.

“Good morning.” Ophelia greeted out of formality, body rigid on the now stationary train. There were no guards nearby, only older workers flanking her. They hopped onto the train to gather the large cans of shimmer and hauled them onto the loading deck that Renni stood on.

Her steely demeanor was further emphasized by her striking green eyes that bore into the Vastaya’s on the train. “I see that you had no trouble finding my neck of the woods.” Renni called out, her voice was calm as she towered over Ophelia. “I believe that you have brought me more hands?” Those striking green eyes drifted to the children sitting in the exposed car of the train.

With one slow languid motion, Ophelia emerged onto the loading dock to stand next to Renni. Taking the folder that she held, the Vastaya presented Renni with a document. The chembaron only scoffed, taking the piece of paper. “And this is?”

“My terms.” Ophelia said firmly, her hands clasped across her front. “I wanted to be sure we were on the same page.”

Renni’s lips twitched, but steel nose stayed stationary on her face, as she read the document.

“I assure you that they will make great additions to this establishment,” Ophelia turned to the children. “They are hard workers, that lot.” Her face softened at the sight of them before turning back to the towering Chembaron. “However, these are Zaunites. Amongst this, these children are under my protection.”

Ophelia started towards Renni, talons clicking against the metal of the dock. Once they were toe to toe, the Vastaya continued. “If I hear that they were treated with anything other than respect you won’t just have me to deal with.” Ophelia’s expression darkened and Renni’s demeanor slightly faltered. It was becoming common knowledge about Silco’s involvement with the orphanage.

There was a moment before Renni nodded before calling the children forth. “One more thing,” Ophelia called out as her kids began to ascend the dock. The chembaron only twirled around in annoyance. “I’ll have one of my own to supervise their treatment. Today it will be me.” Renni gave Ophelia a look with a mixture of annoyance and offense but she only grumbled something before turning to the kids. - Ophelia had found a perch above the many floors of the mines. Her attentive eyes hovered over the many workers mining around the walls of the factory. The ‘building’ was just many steel floors that clung to the walls of a massive cave in a ring shape. In theory, if she looked straight down the middle, the Vastayan could see the movement on all of the floors.

From what she could see from the ceiling, the kids were being treated by Zaun’s standards. Her feathery cape hung from her shoulder and dangled from the pipe she perched on as she watched the kids on the closest floor hoist pickaxes over there shoulders before smashing them against the wall.

While she supervised the children from above their stations in mining, the sound of an agitated shout cut through the droning sound of pickaxes clinking against the walls. “Hey!” Ophelia’s eyes glowed through the low light of the factory’s ceiling. She searched the highest floor of the mines for the commotion.

“Hey, Vastaya!” Her ear twitched and finally she located a thin man looking at her from the factory floor, hands cupped around his mouth. After rolling her eyes, Ophelia noticed a man standing next to him. Silco.

Ophelia hopped down from the pipe and sunk her talons into the walls of the cave to slow her fall as she descended to the factory floor. It looked like Silco was talking to the man as she skidded against the wall. Ophelia only caught the ending of the conversation when she hopped down next to the Industrialist. “-she has a name.” Her ears picked up Silco seething.

“I do hope that I am not interrupting something.” Ophelia’s voice caught the attention of the two men. The worker rolled his eyes before returning to mining. “My apologies,” Silco started, his posture rigid despite his neck hunching over. “The girls are getting farther with each second. Sevika is still not responding, I,” His teal eye shifted to the floor. “We need you.”

Ophelia’s throat bobbed as she looked over the children that picked away on the walls with their pickaxes. “I have my hands full at the moment.” Her answer was firm yet left her lips a little shaky.

Just as she turned to return to supervising, Ophelia felt pressure around her forearm. “Please.” Silco whispered, his grasp on her arm was firm. Her eyes met his mismatched ones, they were full of desperation and worry, something that Ophelia had only seen a few times in her many years of knowing Silco.

Her heart melted. She knew the reason why this affected her more than when he had used to manipulate her was due to this being pure emotion. His steely demeanor was stripped away to show who he was in that moment.

A scared man.

Sighing, Ophelia nodded. “Okay.”

A father.

“I’ll help you.” - The Undercity was a maze. The streets winded in, sometimes counterproductive, surprising ways. To most Topsiders, a trip to Zaun is like walking into a Murk Wolf’s den. However, Ophelia was no Topsider. No, she had been raised in the fissures and knew the streets of the Underground like it had been written on the back of her hand.

It also helped that Silco had contacts strewn all over Zaun. And his resources were diverse and coffers filled to the brim with hexes.

After a few days of searching, Ophelia turned to bribery. Specifically with the Shimmer-heads that littered the alleyways. They’d do anything for even a taste of Shimmer. After patrolling a few alleyways and asking around, one addict had stepped forward claiming they had seen the fight between Sevika and a girl that fit the description as Jinx’s sister.

Ophelia narrowed her piercing yellow eyes. “Where did they go?” With a shaky hand, the shimmer-head pointed down the alleyway where the fight had taken place. But the new information and directions didn’t intrigue her, it was the dark crimson that stained the cobblestone that had caught her attention. With a lazy toss of the sparkling purple vial in her hand, the Vastaya scaled a nearby building’s wall and followed a trail of dry blood.

After hopping from building to building, the little rays of sunshine that pierced through the smog floating above Zaun had faded away.

Ophelia’s talons hooked on the side of the roof she stood on, looking over a massive drop off. A large steel tower that looked like it was ready to crumble at any second was looming over hundreds of tents that littered the inside of the canyon. Under the tower was a building.

Of which her ears picked up voices. After listening for a few more minutes, Ophelia turned and lit a flare as she observed the building below to ensure the two girls didn’t notice the bright green smoke billowing from above the canyon.

A trio of faded silhouettes manifested through the fog in between the building she had been standing on and another. Silco stepped out, flanked by two of his men before glancing at her.

Ophelia hopped off the roof to return to him. “They’re taking refuge under the tower. One is wounded.”

Silco sneered. “The two of you, with me.” He turned to Ophelia after addressing his men. “Stay far. Do not engage.” Despite his words leaving his mouth in tense and angry tones, Ophelia could sense…worry within the man before he stormed off to the decline of the drop-off.

With the strength of a Zaunite and the agility of a Vastayan, Ophelia was able to leap across the canyon and sink her talons around the shabby metal tower. Her body tensed when she heard the tower groan from under her. Thankfully it wasn’t loud enough for the two below to hear.

From atop the tower, Ophelia could spy Silco and his underlings coaxing some Shimmer-heads into following them closer to the building under the tower. Her feathered ears honed in on the two feminine voices coming from the building under the tower before it went silent.

A woman with pink hair bursted out of the building but stopped in her tracks when she saw the industrialist staring at her from several feet away, shimmer-heads begging at his feet. Silco only chuckled. “Vander’s prodigy.” His angry exterior now vanished to show almost a playfully sadistic persona. ”I’ve regretted that we never had the opportunity to speak.”

Ophelia’s eyebrows furrowed. So this was Vi. “What have you done with my sister?” The woman growled, another woman appeared behind her, trying to get her to return to the safety of the building. Ophelia readied a sharp feather in her hand in the event that she needed to toss one.

“I’ve freed her.” With that, Silco dropped the vials of Shimmer his hands held, the men that had been begging at his feet now gulping the purple liquid. “Candidly, I thought you were the prize of your secondhand family.” His lackeys dropped the last of the shimmer vials to the other forsaken men while the ones around Silco started to contort, their bodies reacting to the drug.

“But…Jinx…” Even from so high above, Ophelia could see his eyes soften at the thought of his daughter. “Oh, she is more than I could have ever imagined.”

The woman’s voice grew louder into a threatening shout. “I’m gonna find her and erase whatever fucked-up delusions you put in her head. But first I’m gonna bring your bullshit empire down all around you.” With the aggression oozing from her voice, Ophelia kneeled farther on the beam of the tower she sat on, readying to toss a blade at the women if she tried anything.

Silco only rolled his eyes, unafraid. “You don't know limits, girl. It's what got vander killed. What drove your sister away. And it’s why I'm here right now.” The men now fully contorted, started towards the two women, snarling and growling at them.

“Yeah, well, you talk too much.” -

It was incredible how fast it had happened. With one swift punch from Vi, the rickety tower swayed and started to collapse. Ophelia almost had fallen off as she tried to make an escape, hopping from beam to beam, before noticing Silco running. His body struggling to keep up with the rate that the tower was falling at.He wouldn’t have made it in time to get away from one of the tower’s larger metal poles.

“No!” Ophelia’s talons pushed against the falling tower, her body met the ground, with several sharp pains cutting through her limbs, just in time to push Silco to the side so the tower couldn’t crush him.

Her body crashed into his, pushing him out of the way before the pole completely overwhelmed her body. -

The blue smoke billowing from her flare began to falter until it had run out. “Jinx…” Roadie’s voice was soft and sympathetic, but was overshadowed by another’s voice.

“Powder?”

Jinx and Roadie turned to see a young woman, from what he could tell was a little older than Jinx, with red hair cautiously inch towards them through the fissure’s fog. Jinx’s blue eyes trembled once they recognized the girl’s features. “Vi?”

Roadie thought the woman was attacking as she lunged for Jinx, he jumped back ready for combat. Instead of a fight, the girl embraced Jinx, tears streaming down her face. Roadie didn’t know what to think as he adjusted his stance. In surprise, the hex crystal slipped from Jinx’s fingers and clinked on the floor.

“I’m so sorry, Powder…I…,” The girl Roadie came to know as Vi gently pulled away from the embrace to see her sister’s face. She brushed a tear off Jinx’s cheek as she continued. “I tried to come back. I promise, I did. But I…I got arrested.”

“Marcus?” The blue haired girl said in realization.

“I don’t know. I…it doesn’t matter. I just never thought I’d see you again.” Roadie eyed the woman cupping Jinx’s cheek in suspicion, his combat pose faltered as he started to circle them slowly as he readied for Vi to pull a fast one on them. Vi didn’t notice the boy pacing behind her, only embracing her sister once more.

Jinx’s voice croaked through the fog. “Are you real?” Vi only pulled away with an encouraging smile, squeezing her sister’s arms gently. “Yes, of course. It’s me, Vi, your sister.” She stammered. “I’m here, I’m right here.” Vi continued to reassure her sister, almost stumbling on her words as Jinx assessed her.

All of a sudden, Roadie gasped as tears erupted from Jinx’s eyes. “Things changed when you left, I changed.” She said in between sobs. Vi’s grip on her sister’s arms only tightened in an attempt to console her. “I know, Pow-pow, I know. You did what you had to do to survive.”

Short of breath, Vi took a moment to steady her breathing. “Me too. It’s okay,” Vi pulled her sister in for another hug. “What matters is that we’re together.”

Roadie’s ear ticked at the sound of clanking metal behind them. He whipped around in time to catch a hooded woman appearing from the fog. Her eyebrows furrowed at the sight of the three of them. Jinx, following Roadie’s worried gaze, saw the woman and drew her gun. “Who’s she?” Jinx spat.

Roadie’s teeth gritted as the hooded woman sneered. “Who are you?”

Vi, trying to diffuse the situation, spoke in calm slow words. “It’s okay. She’s a friend.” Her attempt to ease the tension was in vain as realization dawned on Jinx. “Sevika wasn’t lying? You’re with an enforcer?” Roadie’s eyes, still staring at the new woman, widened at the information of her being an enforcer. His talons started to skid against the rough cement of the building’s roof as he backed up to where Jinx and Vi were.

Enforcers were monsters. Known as their own entity in the Undercity when they dared to show. The officers had cut down their own people during the Day of Ash and continued to exercise their power across Zaun. Now aligned with Jinx by her side, her hold tightened on her machine gun.

“Your sister is Jinx?” The enforcer scowled, disgust washing over her as she locked eyes with Jinx from across the roof. Vi stepped away from Roadie and Jinx, hands slightly up. “Caitlyn, just listen, we can work this out.” Caitlyn. Roadie memorized that name. The enforcer’s name was Caitlyn.

Jinx’s weak voice cut through the fog. “This is a trick! You’re playing me!” Roadie stepped behind her, starting to feel the situation escalate. “Shut up! I’m not in the mood.” The half-Vastayan winced as Jinx randomly spoke again, without being provoked.

Caitlyn gave Jinx a confused look. “We didn’t say anything.” The three barrels of Jinx’s machine gun rotated as she pointed the massive gun to the new woman. “I wasn’t talking to you!”

Vi quickly stepped between the potential line of fire. “Powder, it’s okay…” The red haired girl calmly spoke.

“Stop calling me that. It’s Jinx now. Powder fell down a well.” “You’re not a jinx. God, I never should of-” Vi was cut off when the barrels of Jinx’s gun were shoved mere inches away from her face.

“Stop talking to me like I’m a child!” Roadie watched as his sister began to have an episode, her mood shifting and contorting every second. “Was that why you came? For this stupid stone?” The red-haired woman’s eyes glanced at the glowing orb on the ground, eyebrows furrowing. “No, I don’t even know what that is, I…”

Jinx chuckled, her lips twisting into a lupine smile. “You’re a class act sister. Sister thought I missed her. Bet you wouldn’t miss her.” Her finger ghosted the trigger, making Roadie’s heart drop.

“Powder! I’m here for you. Only you.” To his surprise, Vi slapped the gun away from her, starting towards Jinx. “You can fire that thing if you want but I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going to abandon you again.”

Jinx watched her sister for a moment before wincing, fingers knotting into her hair. “Everyone, shut up! I need to think.” Roadie’s ear twitched at the sound of whirring in the distance. Jinx must have picked up on it too as she regained her posture, gun ready. “Do you hear that?”

Suddenly, an explosion of green erupted from the pipes behind them. Green lines cut through the sky, circling around the four of them. Roadie followed the green glow to see a masked individual on a hovercraft.

The Firelights.

The men on the hoverboards circled for a few seconds before closing in. They had canes and pipes, swinging them when they cut through the air. Jinx growled, pulling the trigger and firing on the gang. But they were too fast. One masked individual had landed a punch on Jinx’s skull. In an attempt to aid Jinx while she dealt with the goon, Roadie flung sharp feathers from his plumage at the attackers on the hoverboards. Unlike his mom, he missed every shot he took.

Vi was helping as well, she had caught a Firelight that landed on the ground, knocking his lights out. “Grah!” Roadie and Vi turned to see red blooming on Jinx’s leg.

“Powder…” Vi started. “Powder!” Suddenly, Vi’s body fell limp to the ground from getting clocked in the skull. A large figure raises his spear above Vi’s spine but freezes when another masked figure emerges from behind him. “Take her.”

“No you won’t.”

The leader turned to see Roadie squared up, a small feather dagger in hand. He was drugged with adrenaline, but he didn’t realize how outnumbered he was. The Firelight leader only chuckled, rising to his full height. “Take your best shot, kid.”

Talons drawn, Roadie reached over his shoulder and turned a valve that connected to the shimmer conduit on his spine. The purple drug flooded his veins, pumping him full of confidence, energy and strength. With a battle cry, he flung himself at the masked individual.

Roadie’s wrist had been grabbed and used to fling his wait over his shoulder, his skull crashing against the roof. The commotion made Jinx notice, her eye widened at the sight of Vi and Roadie on the backs of the Firelights. Just as she pulled the trigger, the leader smashed a smoke bomb on the ground. Once the smoke cleared, the girl looked around, innocence coating her face. “Vi?” She asked the silence. “Roades?”

The roof was empty.

She was alone.

Again.

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