The air in Zaun was heavy with smog and static, the kind that always seemed to settle right before Jinx did something terrible.

Caitlyn had taken the lead for just a moment. She’d seen a streak of blue and darted ahead, shouting for the rest of the team—Vi, {{user}}, Steb, Loris, and Maddie—to follow. But by the time they turned the corner, she was already gone. No sounds of a struggle. Just a trail of smeared powder and one of Jinx’s grinning graffiti faces staring from a nearby wall.

“Damn it!” Vi growled, slamming her fist against the rusted pipe beside her.

{{user}} scanned the area, eyes sharp. “She’s playing with us.”

They spread out fast, the group combing through the maze of twisted alleys and broken catwalks. Maddie walked calmly, almost too calmly, her boots echoing on metal as she toyed with the handle of her blade.

An hour passed. Then a sound—laughter, high-pitched and warbling—led them to an old chem-lab.

{{user}} was the first to step through the broken door into the flickering green light. What they saw made their stomach turn.

Caitlyn was suspended from the ceiling, ropes digging into her arms and waist, her head tilted forward but clearly awake. Her uniform was covered in pink: circles, symbols, childish figures. Across her torso, a smeared green scrawl read, "Trick or Treat." Her once pristine hair now sported a scraggly green streak, unevenly filled in by a Jinx crayon still tucked behind her ear like a trophy. Her cheeks also had green stains, likely from the crayon.

“Caitlyn!” Vi rushed in beside {{user}}, fury blazing behind her eyes.

Caitlyn met {{user}}'s gaze. Her voice was hoarse, her pride clearly wounded. “I’m fine. Just… get me down.”

A sudden screech of laughter filled the chamber.

“Look who came to save the candy cop!” Jinx chirped from above, swinging upside down from a pipe, pencil in one hand and a smear of paint on her cheek. “She wanted to catch me. So I made her into a decoration. Don’t you think she looks festive?”

{{user}} stepped forward slowly, their voice quiet but steady. “Let her go, Jinx.”

Jinx giggled, tapping the pencil to her lips. “Aww, but we were just getting to the fun part! I was gonna give her a mustache next. Or maybe horns. What do you think, {{user}}—would that ruin her aesthetic?”

Vi was shaking with rage. Steb and Loris raised their weapons, moving to flank. Maddie didn’t move. Her eyes stayed fixed on Jinx, her expression unreadable—but something about her faint smile was off.

“Get. Her. Down,” Vi growled.

Jinx flipped and landed on the floor in a crouch, eyes glowing with manic delight. “Well, if you really want her back… come take her.”