Here it is! The chapter I had spoken about in my other story.
This one takes place when Ziggs, Rumble, and surprise surprise, Tristana are younger. This is not at a really young age, but not that old. It's hard to explain, but you'll see.
Anyway, this is just more of a basis for how their relationship is when they're younger, because it's going to take an importance in the future.
Enjoy the chapter!
Beta'd by the one and only Soojimasu, I would go check out their story. It rocks.
"Come on Rumble, just try it out." Ziggs complained as he showed the crude-looking cannon to him. He had loaded up the cannon with another one of his explosive combinations. The last "bomb", as he so called it,was set off but ended up blowing up in his hands when he lit the fuse with matches he stole from home.
"It seems too dangerous, Ziggs. How about you Tristy? Y-You feel up to doing it?" Rumble asked the female yordle standing next to him. She smiled.
"Of course! Let's hope this thing takes me to the sky!" She shouted as she walked up to the cannon. It was small enough to be able to be picked it up. Ziggs carefully lit his new bomb and slowly slid it into cannon, loading a ball made out of scrap metal afterwards to be used as a cannonball. Tristana was careful to face away from the other yordles as she was trying to decide on how to aim the cannon.
"Should I aim this at the ground? I want to reach the skies, the clouds!" Tristana said as she looked up at the sky in amazement. Before Ziggs could answer, the bomb exploded, pushing Tristana back into the other two yordles. The knockback had sent her ten feet back, taking Ziggs with her and pushing Rumble away. Once the cannon had stopped its journey, Ziggs was finally able to see what his bomb was able to do. Not only did the cannonball hit a thick metal sheet of paper that Ziggs was planning to make something fun out of, but it had completely destroyed it, the cannonball going straight through it.
"Whoa…" Ziggs said in amazement once he was able to see the damage the cannonball had done. Once Tristana was back on her feet, she cheered loudly, turning to Ziggs with a smile on her face.
"That was so much fun!" She shouted. "I want to do it again, again!"
"Of course! I just need to make a new ball and Rumble may have to help on a new cannon and cannonball. We don't want the cannon exploding on you, now do we? Hehe. Rumble! How are you doing?" Ziggs asked as he ran over to Rumble who was still on the ground.
His eyes were closed and he seemed to be breathing.
"I think it knocked him out, Tristana." Ziggs said, worried.
She came running to check up on him. "Oh no. W-what do we do!" Tristana said in a panic.
"Don't panic, it's fine. Rumble's tough. He can handle anything. Let's just…get him to the couch in the shack, yeah." Ziggs said trying to remain calm. Inside he was freaking out. He hoped that it hadn't hurt him to a point where he wouldn't recover.
"The dirty one? That's not where I'd want to be put if I got hurt." The female yordle said negatively.
"Well it's the only place where we can put him. Come on, help me take him." Ziggs commanded as he grabbed Rumble's arms. Tristana grabbed his legs and the two hoisted him up into the air, slowly moving towards the shack that was in the corner of the junkyard where the three yordles would always go to play and get away from their home lives.
"He's kind of heavy." Tristana said, struggling to keep his legs up in the air.
"Too many cookies, I'd say." Ziggs replied, chuckling. Once they got into the shack, Ziggs had to open the door while still holding onto Rumble. They brought him into the shack and laid him on the couch at the left side of the shack. Ziggs was worried now. His bestfriend looked so lifeless and dead. It frightened him.
"Tristana, I'm scared for him…" Ziggs said quietly. "What if he's mad at me when he wakes up? What if he doesn't want to-" she interrupted him.
"Don't worry. He isn't like that," She retorted. A distant ringing of a loud bell in a tune echoed in the air. "That's the five o'clock bell ringing. I'm sorry Ziggs, but I have to get home. I don't want to get grounded again, missing out a day where you and Rumble make things explode is something I don't want to miss out on," She walked over to the shack door, opening it. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave. Take care of Rumble, alright?" she requested.
Ziggs nodded. "O-of course." Tristana smiled before she went out the creaky shack door, shutting it behind her.
Ziggs turned back to Rumble's quietly snoring body. "I'm sorry Rumble." He whispered quietly, grabbing one of the chairs that sat in a corner of the shack, bringing it up to the couch. He put his elbows on his thighs and placed his head on his hands, watching Rumble.
He looked peaceful sleeping, a lot more than he was when he was awake and about. He was so timid and shy.
He reached over to move Rumble's arm that was hanging limply from the couch. He placed it up against his body, hoping it wouldn't tire his arm out.
"I'm sorry Rumble…" He said quietly again, a tear going down his face.
After an hour of Ziggs patiently waiting for Rumble to, hopefully, wake up, he did.
At first he moved slowly, letting out a groan. Ziggs quickly got to his feet when he saw this andhis heart took a leap.
"R-Rumble?" Ziggs asked.
Rumble shifted in the couch, finally opening his eyes. He sat up slowly, grabbing at his head.
"W-what happened? My head hurts so much…ouchie." He rubbed at his ears softly, trying to calm the raging headache.
"Rumble!" Ziggs shouted running over to Rumble and giving him a big hug. Rumble awkwardly hugged back, confused.
"Ziggs…can you tell me what happened, please? I don't feel too good." Rumble groggily said.
Ziggs let go of Rumble, sitting back down on the chair across from the bed. "You…got hurt. Tristana went flying backwards when the cannon shot and it took you out and ended up taking me with her. It knocked you out. I was so worried. I thought you were never going to wake up." Ziggs recounted quietly.
Rumble stared off into space for a second. "Oh. That explains-"He clutched as his head, letting out a pained grunt. "My head hurts so much. C-can you take me home, Ziggs? Please?"
Ziggs stood up and nodded. "Anything for my bestfriend!" He shouted, chuckling happily.
Rumble stood up slowly, Ziggs grabbing him for support. "Thank you Ziggs." He smiled at Ziggswho smiled back. They began on their slow journey home, talking about their memories of their past and the hopes for the future.
"How was Rumble after last night?" Tristana queried.
She and Ziggs were on their way to the junkyard where they hoped to find Rumble. He was always there before them, either making a new weapon for Tristana to test out or some mechanical pets that run on unconventional fuels like prune juice or anti-freeze. Ziggs admired Rumble's ability to sit around, plan out what he wanted and do it no matter the cost. The thing he was working on most recently was something that he had been keeping hidden from his friends. He didn't want to tell them what it was until it was finished; it had Tristana riled up and Ziggs curious.
"He had a headache and wanted to go home. I took him home and we chatted along the way. The way we always do, as buddies who have a lot in common. I like that." Ziggs said grinning.
"I can tell. You two are so close it makes me feel left out sometimes," Tristana responded, giggling. "But that doesn't matter as long as I get to shoot things!"
"And you get to. Everyday. Even though Rumble has his own things he's doing, he makes sure to keep you going." Ziggs replied.
"And I love that. Maybe he made a new cannonball, but after he got hurt…"
"Yeah. I still feel really bad. I didn't know my bomb was going to do that much damage to the cannon, to the metal, and to Rumble. You didn't get hurt too, did you?" He asked her.
"No, not at all. It was fun! Feeling the rush of air as it moved by me!" Tristana said loudly in an excited tone.
"Calm down, Tristy." Ziggs jokingly replied. Tristana glared at Ziggs.
"Don't call me that." She growled.
"Oh come on. Why can Rumble call you that? 'Cause ya like him?" Ziggs teased.
"No. He-he…shut up!" She said crossing her arms and looking away from Ziggs.
"Oh come on Tristana," he nudges her. "I'm just kidding ya." Ziggs spoke, seeing the junkyard come in view.
Tristana kept her arms crossed and her brows furrowed in an attempt to stay mad at Ziggs.
"No." She replied angrily.
Ziggs sighed and chuckled."Always the same thing. Come on, race ya!" Ziggs said as he took off towards the junkyard. Tristana ran off behind him, trying her best to beat him. She had always won at races against never knew why, but in his mind, he knew she cheated.
Once they reached the junkyard, where Tristana, yet again, somehow beat Ziggs, Rumble wasn't anywhere to be found.
"Rumble!?" Ziggs shouted as he walked into the vast junkyard. He didn't hear Rumble's voice respond.
"Maybe he isn't feeling any better." The female yordle added, trying to be positive.
"Maybe." Ziggs agreed. Tristana went to go check in the shack while Ziggs went go search all the places Rumble happened to hide when he worked, ate, or happened to be crying at. He wasn't in any of them.
"I don't think he's here." Tristana said loudly after she was done looking in the shack. Ziggs came out of the back of the pile of scrap metal, the place where Ziggs would go to think about what was going on in his life. Ziggs had found him crying back there one day after Tristana had gotten mad at him for not giving her a gun that squirted oil. His reasoning? Oil is useful for other things and it was hard to get it out of clothes.
"I don't think so either. I'm worried." The yordle said sadly as he sat down on a tire, putting his elbows onto his knees and his head on his hands.
"I wouldn't be worried. He's probably just trying to get better. We did knock the crap out of him yesterday. I feel so bad, too." Tristana said glumly.
"I do too. It's all my fault." Ziggs quietly said. Tristana sat next to him on the tire, putting her arm around him.
"It's alright. I'm sure he's not mad." Tristana said, looking up as a shadow approached them. Ziggs did the same, seeing that it was Rumble happily smiling.
"Hey guys." The blue yordle casually says to them.
"Rumble…" Ziggs says quietly, quickly getting up and bringing him into a hug.
"Whoa, whoa, two hugs in two days. That's a new record. Is something the matter Ziggs?" Rumble says, pulling out of the hug.
Ziggs looks down, trying to hide his enjoyment of Rumble being back. "It's just…I thought you'd be mad at m-me-" he stops, and turns to Tristana. "Er, us."
Rumble chuckled. "Of course not. To prove it, I brought this for you." Rumble said. Ziggs turned around and looked at what Rumble was holding out. They were goggles. The lenses, if you could call the thick glass lenses, were a bright emerald green.
"T-thank you." He said taking the goggles, taken back.
"You always talk about the smoke getting in your eyes when you light your bombs, so I bought you these with my allowance," Rumble said happily, looking down suddenly. "I…hope you like them." He said meekly.
Ziggs tested the stretchiness of the goggles' band. They seemed to be genuinely durable as he slid them over his stretched out as he placed them over his eyes. They changed everything to the same emerald green color, but it made everything look cooler.
"Woooow. Thanks Rumble!" Ziggs shouted, running back to the blue yordle and giving him another hug. "These are so cool!" Ziggs shouted, looking all around the junkyard, testing out the color change.
"What about me?" Tristana asked shyly over to the side of Ziggs.
"This." Rumble said bringing out a tiny gun from behind him. "Watch out, it shoots burning hot water. It always keeps the water hot, and you can refill it." Rumble said as he handed it to the female yordle.
She took the gun from him, and squirted it at Ziggs, making him reel and grab at his arm.
"Ah! That's hot! Hot, hot, hot!" he shouted, running around and rubbing his arm.
"Running around won't help you." Rumble replied, chuckling.
Tristana giggled and turned to Rumble. "Thank you. I can stop Ziggs from HARASSING ME!" she shouted chasing after Ziggs, squirting him with the gun.
Rumble laughed at what he was watching, enjoying his two best friends going at it. This is what he enjoyed most about his friends.
All three of the happy yordles sat under the cool shade, joyfully eating their lunches after a long day of being out in the sun in the junkyard. They had all decided to take a walk to the nearby park to have a picnic.
"Rumble." Tristana blurted, cutting the silence during their meal.
"Hm?" He asked back, too focused on his sandwich, a BLT that he absolutely loved.
"I'm sorry." Tristana apologized quietly.
"For what?" He asks back.
"I'm sorry too." Ziggs chimed in with an apology.
"Sorry?" He inquired, blatantly confused. "Why are you guys sorry? There's no reason to be, honest, things like that happen. I'm fine. I don't even have a bruise." He replied, smiling afterwards.
"You sure?" Ziggs added.
"Yes, yes, I'm very sure. I brought these presents to ensure that. I can see you like those goggles, Ziggs," Rumble said chuckling. Ziggs smiled and laughed, adjusting them. "And you like your gun, Tristy, so that's all that matters."
"Oh I do." The female yordle replied, sneakily bringing out the gun and squirting Ziggs' arm. He shot up to his feet and yelled.
"IT BURNS!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, running around the Rumble and Tristana, and then around the tree they were sitting on.
"He deserved it. Don't ask." Tristana said taking a bite of her tuna sandwich. Rumble couldn't help but giggle as he watched Ziggs run around as if he was on fire. He had to admit…he looked…almost…cute.
Wait…cute…no. The blue yordle shook his head, trying to get those thoughts of his mind.
"You okay?" Tristana asked.
He shook his head and nodded, smiling an 'I'm okay' smile.
"Yeah, yeah." He said, hearing as Ziggs' shouting was starting to die down. He slowly came to the picnic area, rubbing at his arm and scowling.
"Don't do that to me, it makes my arm burn after." Ziggs said quietly as he sat down and grabbed his sandwich, an ordinary sandwich with ordinary ingredients, something that didn't fit Ziggs, and resumed his lunch.
"Hey, I wanted to shoot your face, but I know that'd turn out worse." Tristana rationalized back.
"Right." Ziggs responded, irritated.
Rumble chuckled. "You guys are always going at it, it's so funny to watch," He got up and stretched a little. "This is why you two are my bestfriends." He added, laughing.
"Has anyone told you it's bad to stretch after eating?" The female yordle scolded.
"That's totally a lie mothers tell you to be a good kid." Ziggs remarked.
"Is not! My mom always tells me that!" Tristana said getting up, her fists clenched. Ziggs did the same, mimicking her.
"Is to!" He shouted back.
"Is not!" She shouted back. Rumble sighed, walking over to the spot where Tristana and Ziggs were shouting. He saw the Tristana's gun on the ground and picked it up.
"Is to!" Ziggs shouted back, trying to outshout Tristana.
"It's neither!" Rumble said boldly, squirting both of them with the gun, emitting loud yelps of pain.
It was later into the night at the Junkyard. Tristana had to go home, so Ziggs and Rumble were left alone. Ziggs was working on his latest invention, his "Supreme Bomb" as he had called it. It scared Rumble to know what the bomb did, but he wouldn't question it. He was testing out the explosive properties of the metals around the junkyard, using bombs and firecrackers that Ziggs made just for practice.
"Ziggs?" Rumble asked, looking away from the sheet of bendy plastic he had found.
"Yeah?" He answered.
"What do you want to do when you grow up?" Rumble asked quietly, walking over to Ziggs.
"Hmmm…" He replied, thinking the question over. Rumble brought up a chair that was standing by the spot where Ziggs was at, sitting across Ziggs in his workplace. He was currently trying to get a metal to work with him, but from the big ball of jagged metal edges, he knew it wasn't working.
"I would assume bombs." Rumble added in.
"Yeah, bombs are for sure in my future," He said looking like he was daydreaming. He looked over at Rumble. It was hard to see his emotions now with the goggles. It was a lot easier to tell when you could look into the emerald eyes and lifeless lenses replaced the gleaming emeralds. "What about you? Do you have any sort of idea?"
That was a good question. What did he want to do in this future?
"I…something with sure. You'll see why I say that soon." Rumble said mischievously.
"Keeping me at the edge of my seat as always." Ziggs replied, adjusting his goggles.
"Do you…do you ever think of leaving Bandle?" Rumble asked quietly. Ziggs was taken aback by the question.
"Leave Bandle?" He repeated quietly. "Rumble, I think we're too young to think about that. We have other things to think about. Like me. I'm concerned about what juice I am going to drink tomorrow." Ziggs said in a serious tone.
Rumble let out a tiny chuckle. "You're right," He said looking up at the sky. The sunset was starting now and the sky was slowly darkening. Stars began to slowly show up. "I should be more concerned about how crazy Tristy is." Rumble added.
"Oh, be glad you can call her Tristy," Ziggs replied, turning behind him and looking for something to add to his bomb. "She squirted me the first time to get back at me for calling her Tristy. She doesn't let me." He said, crossing his arms and scowling.
"It's 'cause she likes you." Rumble replied casually. Ziggs face went into immediate shock.
"Likes me?" He asked quietly. "You're dumb, Rumble. She likes you!" He added loudly.
Rumble shook his head. "No, she likes you. You can tell the way she looks at you." The blue yordle retorted.
"The same way you look at me?" Ziggs dumbly responded. Rumble was caught off guard by this comment.
"N-no." He stuttered an answer.
"Heh, I'm just joking Rumble!" Ziggs exclaimed loudly, patting Rumble on the shoulder over his workspace. "Take a load off, Rumble, you're too tense. I think you need some food or something." Ziggs joked, chuckling afterwards.
"R-right…" Rumble said quietly looking away and blushing. For a while now, every time Ziggs had made contact with Rumble, his heart skipped a beat. He didn't know why it was doing that, or what made it happen, but he had to admit, it brought joy to him. He loved it when Ziggs hugged him out of nowhere, despite the fact that it made him feel awkward at the same time.
Ziggs looked up and pointed up to the sky. "Look! The stars are out!" He happily shouted, standing up and grabbing Rumble by the hand, making his heart jump again. "Come, let's go!" He said pulling Rumble to his feet and dragging him behind him. They ran out of the junkyard in a hurry and ended up going to the same park where they had lunch, but this time, they lay down in the middle of the field, looking up at the sky.
"What are we doing here?" Rumble asked in a worried tone.
"Just look up at the sky, Rumble," Ziggs answered lazily. "Calm down, take a breather, look up at this beautiful sky."
Rumble nodded and turned his face up back to the sky, taking in the sight of the beautiful stars. He hadn't really taken the time to see the night sky for what it was. He was always too busy working on his newest invention, sitting at home and working on other things, or just too much in a rush to relax.
"You see that one?" Ziggs asked pointing up to a really bright star in a cluster of stars that were dim to the point that they looked like they were nonexistent.
"Yeah." Rumble answered.
"I call it 'Rumble.' Why? 'Cause you're just like this star. You're bright in a sea of deadness, but you don't know it. At least, not yet." Ziggs explained.
"That sounded very deep coming from you, Ziggs. Are you sure you hadn't thought that over a bit too much?" Rumble said, chuckling.
"Maybe," Ziggs replied nonchalantly. "Okay, yes, but still. You worry too much, Rumble. You need to relax, to enjoy life. You're too much of, 'Oh, what if this? What if that?' No, no, no more of that. Every night, we're going to come here and watch the stars and relax. You need it." Ziggs said in a scolding tone.
"You're not my real dad." Rumble replied jokingly.
Ziggs stood up quickly and pointed down at Rumble. "Well if I was, you sure wouldn't be like this!" He shouted loudly, obviously joking. His voice echoed off the few trees in the dark park.
Rumble stood up too, mimicking Ziggs' position, his face scowling in a mock of angriness.
"I wish I was adopted!" He shouted back angrily, bursting out into laughter afterwards.
"You're bad at acting, Rumble. Good thing you don't want to do it when you're older, ha." Ziggs teased.
"Yeah, good thing. I'd get booed off the stage the instant I get on." He added, laughing.
All the sudden Ziggs pointed quickly up to the sky. "Look!" He shouted, instantly turning Rumble's attention to what he was pointing. It was a shooting star. Rumble caught enough of it to be able to identify it was one.
"Wow….I've never seen a shooting star before." Rumble said, astonished.
"Make a wish." The other yordle said.
"A…wish? Why?" Rumble asked in a hushed tone.
"Well you obviously haven't seen a shooting star, Rumble. Whenever you see one, you make a wish. It'll come true." Ziggs said looking back up to the sky, as if waiting to see another shooting star zipping by.
"A wish that'll come true? Okay then…" Rumble replied, closing his eyes and thinking.
"I wish to stay close to Ziggs my whole life…"
"So what is this it Rumble wants to show us?" Tristana queried as she and Ziggs were on their way to the junkyard.
"I don't know, but last night, before we went opposite ways at the corner, he told me he'd reveal what he has been working on for the past month. He said it's ready." Ziggs said excitedly
"Oooooh, about time." Tristana responded.
"Right?" Ziggs responded.
"Sooo, what did you and Rumble do last night?" Tristana asked curiously, almost as if she knew something.
"Why do you ask? Did he tell you something?"Ziggs asked back.
"Maaaybeee…" Tristana replied.
"Wait, how?" Ziggs asked back, surprised.
"Walkie-talkies." The female yordle boldly stated.
"Okay, and what did he tell you?"
"Make a wish. That's all I'm going to say." Tristana replied, crossing her arms and looking away.
"Okay then…" The yordle said, unsure of what to say.
"Rumble really looks up to you, Ziggs. A little too much if I'd say myself…" Tristana trailed off.
"W-what do you mean?" Ziggs asked, confused.
"It's…no, nevermind. I can't say." Tristana thought about what she was about to say.
"No, tell me." Ziggs said, annoyed.
"I can't. It's not something Rumble told me, it's something I think is true…" Tristana said as they began approaching the junkyard. "Just…don't think about it," she said smiling over to Ziggs. "Don't worry." She repeated.
"Fine." Ziggs replied in a grudged tone. They had finally reached the junkyard, only for Rumble to not be seen.
"He's probably finishing up on this thing he is working on," Tristana replied. "Rumble!?" Tristana shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing off the corners of the junkyard.
"I'm over here!" A quiet voice said from afar. "I'll come out in a second!"
Tristana turned to Ziggs. "He'll come out in a second." She said.
"I think I heard." Ziggs replied sarcastically. Tristana gave Ziggs a little shove, giggling.
"Don't make me get my gun out." She threatened. Ziggs put his hands up defensively.
"No! Please, anything but the boiling gun!" He shouted, scared.
Tristana laughed and looked over to her left. Rumble was starting to slowly come out from behind a big pile of junk. He slowly walked over to the other two yordles, a smile plastered to his face.
"Okay, so you came to see what I've been working hard on for a month, right?" He said to them. They both nodded in response. "Well, prepare yourselves! I'll go get it, wait here!" he said ecstatically before running off to the back of the pile again. The only thing that gave them a sign that he was actually coming back was a mechanical whirring of some sort.
"What is that?" Ziggs asked, moving over to try to get a peek of whatever it was.
"I can't tell." Tristana replied, moving over to try to do the same thing as Ziggs. Their questions were answered once Rumble appeared from behind the pile. He was on top of some sort of machine; it was basically a rounded platform of some sort that allowed Rumble to sit in it. From the bottom of the rounded platform were two long, metal legs that led down to mechanical joints, then leading on to some sort of bowl-shaped metal for the 'feet' if you could call them that.
"What is that!?" Tristana said loudly, slightly scared.
"It's my mech!" Rumble shouted, the mech slowly making its way to the other two yordles.
"It's kind of slow…" Ziggs said negatively.
"Well I'm still working on it!" Rumble replied excitedly, pulling a lever that made the mech go twice as fast, which wasn't all that much faster.
Ziggs began making his way over to the mech, knowing that it'd take too long for the mechto reach them. Tristana followed behind.
"So why'd you make this?" Ziggs asked as he approached the mech, being able to see more of what it was made of up close. Rumble had stopped the mech.
"Well, I want to be taller. I want to be looked up to, not only by yordles but by humans, too." Rumble said from atop of the mech.
"So this is your escape?" Tristana asked as she ran her hand along the metal leg of the mech. It was at a complete stop right now, but it was still able to keep the platform high up.
"It's not my escape. It's just what I've wanted to do for a while," Rumble said as he leaned over the mech's edge, looking down at Ziggs and Tristana.
"So, what else can this baby do?" Ziggs asked, tapping at the metal.
"Well, I can show you. I would back off, this thing has leaked oil all over the place, fallen over, and more. It's dangerous." Rumble summed up. They two yordles did as he said, and he turned the mech back on.
"What kind of engine does it use? It's hard to tell." Ziggs asked, having to somewhat yell from his distance.
"I have no idea, it's strong but not loud, and I like that." Rumble replied, looking at all his buttons and levers carefully, not wanting to touch the wrong one.
"Show us what this thing can do!" Tristana said excitedly. He nodded and pulled a lever. The mech instantly shot fireworks up into the sky, exploding at a certain point.
"Say, are those my fireworks," Ziggs said looking up at the sky, watching the fireworks explode in a flurry of blue. "Well that looks really nice." Ziggs said in amazement.
"That was so cool!" Tristana shouted, jumping into the air.
"There's more!" Rumble shouted happily, pulling another lever. The mech then shot out water from its. Hot, burning water. And it so happened to hit Ziggs.
"IT'S SOO HOOOT!" Ziggs shouted, rubbing at this face and arms as he began to run around.
Tristana burst out into laughter, falling onto the floor and grabbing onto her gut. "That. !" She shouted, going into a fit of hilarity. Ziggs ran around like crazy, rubbing at his fur as if it was going to help. After minutes of Ziggs running around, he had finally calmed down. Tristana, on the other hand, stayed on the floor, too tired to get up after a fit of laughter.
"Are we done?" Rumble said, bored, atop of mech. The amusement of watching them wore off quickly, and he was left to stay on top of his mech. He did, after all, want to show them the last thing he had added to the mech.
"Yeah." Ziggs said neutrally, standing to the side of the mech, in case Rumble wanted to squirt him again. Ziggs didn't seem to be hostile towards Rumble after being sprayed at by hot water.
"Well!" Rumble shouted, standing up. "There's one more thing I want to show you guys. It's the last thing I've added to my mech and it makes me really excited!" Rumble said, barely able to contain his excitement.
"Oh? Come on, Rumble, don't hold off," Ziggs said as he walked over to Tristana, shaking her body. She had fallen asleep. "Looks like Tristana's asleep. She's going to miss it." Ziggs said, trying to shake her. She wouldn't budge.
"Oh well. You get to watch this, then. You'll love it, it's one of your favorite things that isn't explosions or bombs." Rumble said as he sat back down.
"Ooooh! I'm ready for this, haha!" Ziggs chuckled.
"Okay, stand back a good amount. You'll see why." Rumble cautioned. Ziggs nodded and stepped back a good two feet.
"Okay, show me! I'm at the edge of my seat!" Ziggs said excitedly, jumping up and down. Rumble nodded and pulled a lever. Nothing happened for a split second, and then, in a burst, the mech exploded.
Ziggs shielded his face from the explosion, not wanting to get hit by any shrapnel. A big puff of black smoke had come from the explosion and was now covering the area where the mech was, including where Tristana was at, asleep.
"Rumble! Rumble! Are you okay!?" Ziggs shouted into the cloud which was now approaching him slowly. There was no answer. "Buddy!?" He shouted. His heart began racing. He ran into the smoke in a rush, his first target being Tristana. He was going to be able to find her body more easily, and the fact that she was asleep wasn't going to protect her in any way.
He ran to her body and grabbed her by the feet, dragging her out of the slowly moving cloud. Once she was out, he looked back into the cloud.
"Rumble!? Buddy, please! Answer me!" He shouted. He could hear a quiet groan coming from inside the cloud. He took off towards the groan inside the cloud. "Rumble!?" He shouted. The groan came again. He went towards the groan, coming across Rumble's body. All his fur had been colored black from something, some of it missing in places. He was on his side, his body looking limp and lifeless. The only thing that gave hint that he was still alive was his groaning.
Ziggs leaned over his body, putting his hand on his shoulder and turning his body. Rumble's eyes were open, but he couldn't seem to move his body.
"Rumble…" Ziggs said quietly, a tear going down his cheek. It was twice now he had seen Rumble so hurt and helpless and it hurt Ziggs in the inside.
"Z-Z-Ziggs…" Rumble whispered, barely audible.
"Rumble…wh-what was that supposed to be? That explosion." Ziggs asked him quietly. Rumble cracked a small smile, letting out a small chuckle, before grabbing at his stomach. It hurt him to laugh, but he was able to move.
"A…flamespitter. You love fire, right?" Rumble whispered.
Ziggs nodded. "I do, but…you injured yourself just to make me happy, Rumble." Ziggs said quietly. Rumble nodded.
"I-I'm sorry for my poor decisions." He replied.
"Don't be." Ziggs answered immediately.
"I…I can't…it hurts." Rumble said quietly.
"What does?" Ziggs replied, looking over his body.
"My body…it hurts…please…get me help…" Rumble whimpered. Ziggs nodded and stood up quickly.
"I'm sure people heard the explosion, but I'll get help. Don't worry, buddy," Ziggs said before going down and leaning over to Rumble's head, grabbing at his cheek, in an almost-caress. "I won't let you go." He said. Rumble's heart seemed to flutter, and it made him light headed, making it harder for him to stay awake.
"Z-Ziggs…" Rumble said before Ziggs was able to stand up.
"Yeah, buddy?" He replied.
"Ziggs…I…I think…" Rumble choked out, going into a coughing fit.
"Yeah?" He asked cautiously, tears going down his cheeks, landing onto the ground next to Rumble's head.
"I…I think that I..." His eyes began to slowly close.
"Rumble?" Ziggs asked.
"I…love…"
"…you." He said in his head before blacking out.