Zaun's future—something this big—ended up getting decided in a small drinking session like that. But it wasn't strange at all, because the people at that table were the three masters of Zaun—past, present, and what came after.
Vander of the Lanes.
Silco of the Sump.
And Logan of Zaun.
Vander had the people's hearts. Silco had the resources. And with both of those in hand, Logan formally unified Zaun. Unlike Vander—who had support but no money—and unlike Silco—who had money but no support—Logan took everything both elders possessed and locked in Zaun's foundation for real.
When the drinks were done, Logan brought Vander back to the Spirit Blossom Gang. On the way, Vander walked with a wobble in his step.
With the beast side suppressed by the orb Ahri had given him, Vander's human side was in control—and after drinking too much, of course he got lightheaded.
He was happy. Really, truly happy.
One massive claw hooked around Logan's shoulder as Vander kept mumbling into his ear.
"Even like this… it's still so damn good to be alive again."
"You think… Silco, we turned Zaun into this. This time, if we still can't change anything… do we even have the nerve to face her? She'd slap us both. She would."
"Vi, get those tattoos scrubbed off. And go find yourself a good man!"
"Hic… Powder, you're so good, so can we not rush into dating? Let me watch that kid Logan a little longer…"
"Powder… I owe you two so much… please, just let me stay with you for a while longer…"
Drunk Vander talked a lot—nothing like the stern "old man" Logan remembered.
Truth was, Vander had never been as cold as he looked back in the Lanes. They called him the Hound of the Lanes, but in personality he was actually a lot like Vi—way, way too alike. Hard on the outside, soft on the inside.
And Jinx was a bit like Silco: not as stiff-looking on the surface, but unshakable at the core. Was this just what happened when two different men raised two different kinds of kids?
With Vander leaning on him, Logan listened to the nonstop muttering and smiled.
"Logan, what's that?" Vander asked, pointing.
"An air purifier," Logan said. "Haven't you noticed? The air here smells way better than most places."
By the time they reached the Spirit Blossom Gang, Vander was basically sobered up. He'd drunk the most—well over a dozen bottles of hard liquor—but his insane metabolism had him clear-headed again in about half an hour.
"No wonder… So we're not living in the Lanes?" Vander asked.
"You just went to the Lanes," Logan said, speechless. He decided the old man was still a little foggy.
"Right. That place is Silco's." Vander scratched his head.
Plenty of Spirit Blossom Gang members were still resting at the base. When they saw Logan, they hurried to their feet to greet him. When they saw Vander, they were clearly scared—but they still stood straight and bowed.
This was the boss's… boss?
"Logan!"
Jinx's voice rang out. Logan looked up and saw her sprinting out barefoot.
Her pale soles slapped the muddy ground, toes spread wide. Even her toenails—painted a deep sapphire blue—were smeared with dirt and grit. Her long hair spilled down her back, and under the stark white streetlamp she looked dreamlike—like Disney's Rapunzel, except blue-haired.
With a wet, enthusiastic glomp like an octopus, she latched onto Logan. Her head tipped back, hair fanning on the ground as she looked at Vander upside down, flashing a huge grin.
"Welcome back, Dad!"
"Shouldn't you be giving me a hug?" Vander said meaningfully.
"It's fine. Vi will hug you." Jinx propped her head back up, then rubbed her cheek into the hollow of Logan's shoulder, sniffing him hard, her voice muffled and grumbly.
Then she looked up at him, displeased. "You drank."
"Just a little," Logan said.
"You won't let me drink, but you sneak drinks yourself?" Jinx was about to activate her skill—I'm going to make a scene.
She didn't even use to drink, but if Logan drank, she wanted to drink too. Logan wouldn't allow it, and… Jinx's personality was basically a cat. Hakimi-style: the more you tell her not to do something, the itchier she gets to do it.
And right as she brought up Vi, Vi appeared—leather jacket, tight pants, an apron tied around her waist, spatula in hand. She stood awkwardly in the doorway.
"Vander. Logan. You're back at the perfect time."
"Uh… dinner. I was… just making it," she said haltingly.
"It tastes like death, sis," Jinx said, still hanging off Logan, twisting around to talk over her shoulder. "Would you eat what you made?"
Logan supported Jinx by the hips and looked at Vi too.
Vander found it funny. "So, Powder—Logan really does all the cooking?"
"Mm-hm! Logan's cooking is so good," Jinx said, then launched straight into a complaint. "Not like some people—beat me up, then comforted me by saying she'd cook for me, swore her cooking was 'one-to-one amazing,' and almost blew up the kitchen."
"Seriously, what's the difference between that and Sevika's dumb big-sis routine? One of them can set the house on fire just by cleaning. The other can destroy the stove by cooking."
Then she cackled and threw another jab. "Ha—hey, you should stop chasing that female enforcer and go chase the dumb big-sis instead!"
"Jinx." Vi bared her teeth, forcing the name out one syllable at a time as she leaned forward and advanced.
"Run, run!" Jinx slapped the top of Logan's head like she was kicking a horse into gear, ordering him to carry her away.
And Logan absolutely played along. Holding Jinx like a backpack on his front, he took off in a flash—only leaving a sentence behind:
"I'll cook dinner. Vi, you talk with Vander."
Vi walked up to Vander, and before she could even start, her old man asked slowly, carefully—
"Are they together?"
"Yeah," Vi nodded. Then she looked at him and added, "You're not going to say no, are you?"
"Vander, I'm really supportive of Logan. Because he really, genuinely loves Jin—Powder. He spoils her like crazy. If it wasn't for him, the gap between me and Powder wouldn't have been fixable."
"A lot happened these years. To me—and to her." Vi's expression was serious. "She isn't the Powder we knew anymore. She's Jinx now."
Vander stared at Vi, surprised. He knew how much his daughter loved her sister. If Vi could approve of a man—if she was willing to hand Powder over—then that man had to love her all the way down to the bone.
"You understand how strong Logan is better than anyone," Vi continued. "He's even become the boss of all Zaun now. But even so—he makes Jinx breakfast in the morning. He makes her dinner at night. Before bed he blows her hair dry."
"He doesn't even like listening to adventure stories, but he'll still sit there and patiently listen while Jinx reads him her bedtime book."
Vander listened, feeling emotional—and also feeling like Logan was, honestly, really damn good. If he put himself in Logan's shoes… would he have treated his wife that way?
Then, suddenly, Vander's face darkened.
"Wait." His voice dropped. "What do you mean Jinx's bedtime book?"
"…What, they're sleeping together now?"
"No. I don't allow it!" Vander's fangs flared, eyes sharp and furious.
Powder was still just a kid!
How could they be sleeping together?!
Sure—Zaun had plenty of teen mothers, but that didn't mean Powder had to be dragged into that kind of thing!
"Relax," Vi said, reaching out to calm him down, laughing a little. "Yeah, they sleep in the same place. And what—didn't I sleep with them too?"
She wasn't making it up. When the Spirit Blossom Gang was at its poorest, Isha, Vi, Jinx, and Logan had all slept in the same spot.
Vander just stood there, stunned.
"You… you were in there too? Weren't you… that… you know… that thing?" he blurted, completely confused.
"What the hell are you thinking?" Vi barked, half-laughing in disbelief. "Vander, I can't even talk to you."
She turned and walked off.
"Wait—Vi, explain it clearly!" Vander chased after her. "What do you mean 'sleep in the same place'?!"
"Don't come back from the dead with your head full of trash!" Vi snapped, striding ahead, impatient.
Vander followed anyway, determined to squeeze out the truth.
But there wasn't any "truth" like that to squeeze out!
Spirit Blossom Gang members were all around. Ekko had a wrench in hand and was working with Heimerdinger on a new air purifier—but even he couldn't help drifting over to watch the show.
Looking at Vi and Vander's backs, Ekko smiled.
This… was really nice.
But then he shook his head, the smile fading.
Everything was getting better… but some things still couldn't be changed.
"What's wrong, kid?" Heimerdinger noticed Ekko's mood. Standing on tiptoe, he patted Ekko's leg with a tiny hand. "You look a bit down."
Ekko looked at Heimerdinger, took a deep breath, and shook his head. "It's nothing, Professor."
"I'm not down," he said quietly. "Because I don't have time to be down."
"Come on, Professor—let's keep going. We'll finish the second air purifier by tomorrow."
Ekko forced up a smile, steady and determined.
He wouldn't let himself sink into it—because like he said, he didn't have time.
There was too much to do, so much that Ekko didn't even have room to think about his own problems.
And he would carry Benzo's spirit with him, and keep walking forward.
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