When Logan got home, Jinx was in the middle of tinkering with weapons with Isha.
Isha, being clever, had put together something that was unmistakably "Jinx-brand" at a glance—a grenade with a round body and a chomping mouth on top. The jagged metal teeth were painted in all sorts of colors, making it look exactly like a little monster toy with its mouth open.
Except it wasn't a toy at all.
The blast radius on Isha's grenade was at least five meters, and the shrapnel and ball bearings inside were even worse. In a crowded place, if Isha threw that thing, killing or injuring twenty people would be effortless.
But there was one key part of the Flame Chompers grenade that Isha still hadn't mastered.
Because the grenades Jinx made weren't just packed with electricity—they also had an adhesive effect. Which meant that anyone too close would get hit with current, their body numbed and locked up, unable to escape the blast radius.
Still, it wasn't surprising. In all those years, Zaun had only produced one Jinx—someone who could turn a heap of junk into weapons that could stand up to the topsiders. Her talent and genius were beyond question.
"Logan, Vi said you found me a mom."
The moment Logan made any noise, Jinx snapped her gaze toward him and marched right up, hands on her hips.
"What? Found you a mom?" Logan blinked, completely thrown. Since when did he go find Jinx a mother? What was this even about?
"Vi said it. She said you and Silco took a middle-aged woman to the Council building, and that woman's living in Silco's office." Jinx blinked those big eyes at Logan and kept going. "What does she look like? Is she pretty? Hey—Silco hasn't been with a woman for years. I thought he was like Vi."
After making up with Vi, Jinx had discovered an entirely new world. She'd realized it wasn't just men and women—women could be with women too, so then… what about men with men?
And because of that, she'd actually worried about Silco for a while, because that would be… unusual.
But now? Looks like Silco wasn't unusual after all.
"What are you thinking? Vi says something and you just believe it?" Logan laughed, flicked Jinx on the forehead, then walked into Isha's room and crouched to examine the grenade.
Isha immediately lifted her hands and offered it to Logan, wearing a face that clearly said: Praise me.
Logan took it, smiling, and ruffled Isha's hair into a mess.
Jinx ran after him, still pressing him about Silco.
So Logan explained that Renata was here to help Zaun make money, and told Jinx what the woman's deal was.
And Jinx, being Jinx, did what she always did—Logan spoke, she listened like every word was interesting. Maximum enthusiasm, maximum emotional support.
————
In mid-November, Logan, Viktor, and Jayce went to an abandoned mine in Zaun. They went deep inside and hid the Hexcore—sealed inside a metal box—somewhere no one would think to look.
When they came back out, Jayce said they should build an iron door and seal the place off to be safe, but both Logan and Viktor rejected the idea.
An abandoned mine with a fancy iron door on it would basically be a sign that said: There's something valuable in here.
Zaun was getting better, sure, but most people still hadn't given up the old "traditional craft" of theft and robbery. Otherwise, why would Vi still be running teams all over Zaun every day?
So leaving it alone was the best camouflage.
Besides, Logan had shoved the metal box straight into the rock with one punch, then grabbed a few stones and packed them over the opening. There was no reason anyone would ever find it.
Later, Vi could assign a few people to patrol the area more often, and that would be enough.
Time passed quickly, and soon December arrived.
Renata had been working in the Council building for over half a month now. In that time, she produced several planning proposals about Zaun's future business direction. Three of them were approved by Silco and put into action.
The first was to promote chemtech—to strip it of its frightening, ugly reputation and erase Piltover's ingrained association with the word: something that reeked of rust and decay.
Renata wanted chemtech to become just as elegant and alluring, so they could profit off Piltover's disgustingly wealthy people. In Renata's eyes, Zaun's chemistry wasn't inferior to Hextech at all—especially chemtonics. Used properly, they could lift the spirit, heal wounds, and more. And the key point was: the cost to make chemtonics wasn't high, but the selling price…
Her second proposal was that Zaun should use the Sun Gates to establish formal ties with the major powers across Valoran—bringing a few Piltover merchants along as well—so the great nations wouldn't only know Piltover, but would also learn Zaun's name and reputation. Zaun's mineral resources were abundant, and those were scarce resources that could be sold at high prices to nations currently fighting wars.
The third proposal was to reform mining and factory operations—adopting Glasc-style factory rules with some harsh constraints removed, rather than clinging to Zaun's old conservative practices.
Because of this, Silco began to value Renata even more. Her presence pushed Zaun's industrialization forward at a faster pace.
Her control over her family's chemtech wasn't perfect—far from it—but she'd taught herself the craft of transmutation.
And that skill was exactly what Zaun needed most.
In front of Piltover's Hexgate, Mel looked at Ambessa—who had only two or three people with her—and said evenly, "Mother, don't come to Piltover again. You aren't welcome here."
Ambessa said nothing. She only looked at Mel with a complicated gaze, her feelings tangled when she thought about Mel saving her.
Was she moved? Of course she was. A mother receiving help from her daughter—how could that not move her?
But more than that, Ambessa felt furious disappointment, like iron being wasted.
As she stepped onto the Hexgate, Ambessa looked down at Mel's departing back as Mel turned away, and she let out a sigh.
"Still too soft…"
Even as she said it, the corner of her mouth curved upward.
Zaun—at the end of the year—saw another new community rise in the Sump, built above the Firefly Community.
Constructing it was a major project. It took a full month to clear the old abandoned scrap yard, removing filth and leveling the land clean. And in the center plaza of the community stood a brand-new air purifier.
The new air system reduced noise, lowered efficiency to cut energy consumption, and yet it was already a fourth-generation purification unit—more than enough to maintain the air quality in this community. It might not be as good as the Hope Community, but here, if you stepped outside at night and breathed, your lungs filled with a crisp, cool clarity.
The cold air raked your throat and lungs like a blade, like it was scraping out all the toxins that years of polluted air had left behind.
The community's name was Reborn—Zaun's first council-funded neighborhood after the city-state was founded. And the people living there were workers who had once scraped by down at the Zaun docks.
December 25th.
Today, it snowed in Zaun!
The flakes were small and thin, but it was enough to make Jinx and Isha light up.
"It's snowing! Logan, it's snowing!"
Snow was rare in Zaun. For Jinx, this was only the second time she'd ever seen it.
For Isha, it was the first time. She ran outside like a little fool, stood in the snow, and copied her sister—mouth open, tongue out, trying to catch snowflakes as they fell.
A flake landed on Jinx's tongue and instantly melted into icy water. She swallowed by reflex, then her face crumpled and she started spitting at the ground. "Pfft—pfft—pfft! It tastes awful!"
"Yeah, because the snow falling down from up there is still polluted." Logan laughed at Jinx's puffed-up cheeks, stepped forward, and pulled his hat down onto her head. "You get that metallic taste."
The blue hat with cat ears covered most of Jinx's face. She lifted both hands to hold it in place, then looked up.
Up there was Piltover.
For the last few days, Piltover had already started preparing for Progress Day. Lots of foreign visitors arrived early, ready to take part in the city's grand annual festival.
The streets were draped in decorations and bright displays. The great clans' crests were set out along the commercial avenues like proud badges. Even the Zodiac Vault was packed with merchants, depositing their money early so they wouldn't have to haul heavy bags of cash around.
"Logan, New Year's is almost here. This year I'm setting off huge fireworks." Jinx suddenly grabbed Logan's hand and said it with absolute seriousness.
She'd set off fireworks on Progress Day before, but she'd always been celebrating alone.
Because Progress Day was a Piltover holiday—and a Zaun wound.
No one would go join that celebration with her. Not even Silco. On Progress Day, Silco was always gloomy, sitting alone in his office all night, his mood terrible every year. Jinx never dared bother him then.
Everyone else stayed inside, drinking in silence, listening to the noise from up in the canyon—listening to the glittering city's laughter spill down on them.
But this year was different.
Because this year, Jinx had Logan.
This year, someone would celebrate with her on Progress Day.
Progress Day… should have belonged to Zaun in the first place.
"Okay," Logan said. "What kind of fireworks do you want?"
"I'll make them myself! I'm making one that outshines Piltover's Progress Day. I'm going to launch it right when they launch theirs and scare them to death!"
"And what else?" Logan asked.
"What else?" Jinx blinked.
"We're celebrating too, Jinx. This is the first New Year since Zaun's rebirth. We're doing it big." Logan said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "This is when we prove to Piltover that we can live better without them."
Two days ago, Logan had stood in Zaun's meeting hall and announced a festival celebration for Progress Day.
The Zaun council passed it unanimously. Even Jayce, the temporary councilor, attended the meeting and voted in favor.
After more than a month in Zaun, Jayce hadn't gotten thinner—if anything, he'd started hanging out with Ekko. Every day after work he went to bars to drink, and Councilor Talis had grown a lot less polished, caring less about his image. His stubble had gotten wild enough to be a little alarming lately.
Silco agreed with the festival, but he didn't like the name "Progress Day." So he changed it to—
Rebirth Day.
Piltover could celebrate their Progress Day.
Zaun would celebrate its own Rebirth Day.
"Will it be lively?!" Jinx's eyes went bright.
Logan grinned, scooped up a thin handful of snow mixed with mud, and patted it onto Jinx's cheek. "I promise."
"Ah! Logan!"
"Don't run!" Jinx shivered from the cold, shrieked, and immediately bent down to scoop up snow.
Logan spun and ran, shouting over his shoulder, "Don't mix rocks into it, Jinx! That's not how snowball fights work!"
"I don't care! It won't hurt you anyway!"
Jinx held up a huge rock—about the size of two fists—with a bit of unmelted snow stuck to it. And she was calling that a snowball?
Isha watched, giggling, then bent down and started packing snow too. One in each hand—two lopsided, muddy "snowballs"—and she chased after Logan and Jinx.
This year, Zaun was going to be loud and lively.
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