Author's Notes: Here is chapter 2. POV will be switching between Ekko and Viktor. It gives me a better chance to adventure into both character's mentalities and abilities. And it's amusing.
Disclaimer: All champions and such belong to Riot Games, except Serenity. She is mine. Good day. :3
Chapter 2- Meeting Her
"All will soon change." -Viktor
The clatter of metal hitting wood echoes around the empty area. The hum of machines and metal clanking fills the room as the sole occupant takes his seat. Viktor brings up multiple glowing screens around him as he sighs.
"Damage sustained on multiple surfaces. Shall we begin repairs, sir?"
Viktor looks at the glowing screen to his right that has a couple red dots marked. The metal chair he sits upon looks much like a giant, metal throne, but it hides so much more. Small robotic hands and other devices fold out from the sides as the scientist hits the repair button on the floating screen.
"Initiate repair sequence and bring up memory files," he states. The growl in his voice is gone; his helmet has been set aside for the time being as he sits alone. Viktor turns his face toward another glowing screen… well, what's left of his face. Small metal panels and bolts line most of his lower face. His dark eyes dart back and forth as he reviews the information gathered about the new champion in the Institute of War.
File Located: Ekko.
"Processing…" the computer responds. The devices start to move as they pick pieces of damaged armor away and replace them with new metal. Some sparks fall across Viktor's arm as he sits back. Letting the meager amount of data on Ekko scroll across the glowing screen, Viktor reads—quietly, efficiently—without stopping.
Was this really Serenity's brother? Had he filed the memory away or was it just not coming to him? Hadn't her brother left Zaun? Or maybe…
A blinking blue light popped up on the side of the screen as he finished the articles he could find. There wasn't much on Ekko yet. He had only recently joined the Institute of War. Viktor hit the blinking button.
"Accessing memory bank."
Viktor flicks files around on the screen as he searches for the ones he wants.
Files Located: Serenity.
He hasn't hidden those files away, but they haven't been touched in a long time. Viktor fishes a wire from the arm of his mech-chair and clicks it into a port along his neck. The scientist closes his eyes as data scrolls across his vision. The flickering numbers and words quickly solidify into moving images.
"This is… that boy…" he mutters to himself.
Viktor leans back in the mech-chair as the repairs move across his body.
"I remember…"
He was in the market… for what? Well, that was a brilliant question that will soon be answered. Viktor had his reasons for being there that day. Vendors of all sorts were always on the streets of Zaun. It was finding the right sellers that was the challenge. If you could find the right parts, the right pieces, at the right price… it was oh so sweet.
Viktor stepped to the side as a group of children wandered through the middle of the street, laughing and playing. He could remember those days growing up, but he was just beyond that now. Viktor was a young man now. A science man. He was getting started on a new project. A new project that could potentially revolutionize the world…
…He just needed funding and supplies first… and maybe a larger lab space at some point… He was waiting on renovations to his family home after inheriting it. It would be a start but money was his only downfall.
Viktor had no doubt his endeavors would get him into the College of Techmaturgy. But achieving any of his goals required more projects for his entrance portfolio. Impressive projects. Because not just anyone got into the college.
The scientist scanned a table of baubles and trinkets carefully. He was looking for disassembled parts, strong metals, anything to help build the devices he had sketched out at home. Mechanical automation was not cheap, but he wasn't going to pay an arm and a leg to get his hands on items from big corporations when he could obtain about the same quality through the street markets. He was investing in Zaun's local businesses and future, not the rich bastards in the corporate chains.
"You gonna buy something?" an older lady asked as she snapped open a fan to ward off the heat of the day. Viktor looked over the sparse selection of tech at the stand. A mech bolt here, a broken watch there. Nothing seemed promising. Viktor ran a hand through his dark hair as he gave a small nod to the lady. He moved on to the next stand. This one was only colorful rugs and woven mats. The third was for perfumes and suspicious looking "cure-all" potions.
"Pitiful…" he muttered under his breath as he didn't give the stand another glance. It was scam artists that ran stands like these that needed to be removed. Some people were foolish enough to not see through the lies and would waste precious income on useless items. Money he wished he had to spend…
Several stands later and no closer to his objectives, the scientist let out a sigh. The market was loud and teeming with just about everything but tech today. The promising potential was dwindling by the minute. Maybe he would have to make do with his current supplies.
Viktor was about to give up when a small body ran into his side. The scientist stepped to the side in surprise. "Sorry!" the culprit exclaimed as he tried to edge around Viktor with hurried steps. The boy couldn't have been more than ten, with cinnamon skin and white spiked hair… The anxious and excited look on his face made Viktor curious.
"It's…" words died on Viktor's tongue. The boy had a robotic limb in his arms. The cables were twisted and dead at the broken shoulder piece but still salvageable with the right tools. "Hey!" he turned as the boy took off down the street.
Viktor glanced around at the large crowd meandering about him. Did he have enough money to get the whole tech piece from the boy? Viktor cringed at the thought of his wallet size at the moment. If the boy asked too much for it he would have to pass it up. This was an opportunity that he couldn't ignore though; old automations were always a good thing to study for new ideas and the fact that the piece was practically whole…
The young scientist hurried through the crowded street. He weaved his way through groups of people as he tried to keep sight on the boy. The kid bobbed to the left. Then to the right. Then to the left again as he tried to hurry.
What was his rush? Viktor glanced over his shoulder. The boy hadn't stolen the tech had he? That could bring up more than one issue with obtaining it for research. Viktor kept an eye out for anyone else possibly tailing. No one seemed to care about the small boy, but that didn't mean he wasn't being followed.
After another few minutes of dodging and weaving, Viktor found himself stepping from the edge of the crowded market into a sparsely populated side street. He took in his surroundings as the boy ducked into a small shop on the left, three buildings down. This place was much less busy. It seemed like only a handful of shops were open here. Most had boarded up, broken windows. Large graffiti art adorned many of the brick walls and alleyways as he passed them. Viktor examined the nearest window sign that he could pick out between the old plywood boards.
Gaddun's Armory- Supplying All Your Armor Needs!
Viktor moved on to the next building and found nearly the same thing. "Strange…" he murmured. It wasn't odd to see abandoned buildings on the streets of Zaun, but armor and weapons were in high demand a lot of the time. Why were these places closed? They should have been booming with business. The vacant apartment style buildings could have held numerous families. Something was off, but he ignored the feeling.
A laughing group of teenagers passed him on the opposite side of the street. A couple of them glanced Viktor's way as he continued on his way. Each had similar looking bandanas and colors on their clothing.
A gang street?
Viktor frowned. This was not an ideal place to be. He quickly approached the open shop that the boy had entered. The teenagers seemed to lose interest and Viktor breathed a sigh of relief.
Fleckerstein Mechanics.
The hand painted letters scrawled across the dusty glass window like little soldiers scurrying to line up for drill. There was precision in the paint strokes, but the way some of the letters looped promised a much more artistic mind behind the painter. The door was wide open; Viktor wasn't surprised. It was a turning into a warm day.
"Come on! Come on!" Viktor heard the boy as he approached the window. Peeking in was hard through the dust. He could make out vague shapes of two people.
"Hold on…" a light feminine voice answered.
"I found it out by Jillian's place! Can you believe it!? It's perfect for the bot!"
"Now don't get too hasty. It's too big for that, and besides, the wires are shot. See?"
Viktor was curious now as he moved into the doorway.
Long silvery white hair. Soft orange-copper eyes. The gentle care when holding a project… the wide, cheerful smile….
It was… her.
The images grind to a sudden halt.
"Detecting abnormal biological fluctuations. Advising discontinued use of memory bank until anomalies subside… Sir?"
The computerized mech-chair had stopped the memory access in response to Viktor's subconscious reactions. He rubs at his eyes in annoyance. Or is it relief? Did she still affect him so strongly even with the upgrades he had made to his body? Purging emotions was the first intent of his glorious rise of evolution. But… had he missed some calculation to negate the feeling? The feeling of…
"Continue memory processing," he snaps at the computer.
"Proceeding," it replies, "Warning: continued use at such levels—"
"Just do it," Viktor cuts it off, "Ignore biological changes and do not interrupt again."
"Yes sir."
Viktor leans back in the mech-chair once more as images move behind his closed eyelids once more.
Viktor's gaze swept over most of the shop before lighting on the two seated at one of the tables wedged into the corner by the window. The place was like any other mechanics shop. Small tools and related items were strewn about everywhere. Wires hung from the wooden ceiling beams. He rubbed his chin as he took the shop in. Some chairs close to the makeshift store counter had recently been painted. Books lined the shelves on the other side of that; they looked like manuals and magazines. It was cramped and not much of Viktor's style, but one thing made the scientist continue inside.
The section of wall over the window table had different mechanical items and old tech pieces hanging haphazardly. Some were obviously of no use, but others… Viktor saw rebuilt robotics and polished metals. Someone here was a scientist.
"So I did good?" the boy looked on excitedly as he watched the young woman tinker with the mech arm he had been carrying earlier.
"You did well," the woman corrected the boy. She set aside a small screwdriver and swiveled her chair to face him with a bright smile, "Now this could go on that model TK-431 we got our hands on the other—"
The words died on her lips as bright copper-orange eyes landed on Viktor. The boy looked over and his same golden eyes widened a fraction. She couldn't have been more than eighteen… at least not older than Viktor himself at twenty.
"Hello!" she was quick to get up, "Welcome! Um…Have a look around the shop. We here at Fleckerstein value our customer's time and interests."
The boy reached for the woman's apron as she moved around a case filled with small, glittering trinkets, "Sis… the arm…"
"Another time Ekkota," the woman hushed him.
"Actually… that is why I am here," Viktor wasn't sure how to put it without sounding creepy. He had followed the boy through the market with intent to purchase the item. The wall of miscellaneous mech behind the siblings looked promising as well.
"I didn't steal it!" the boy exclaimed.
"Ekkota," the woman hushed him again.
"I didn't!"
"I noticed it when he bumped into me in the market… I am looking for pieces for my research," Viktor decided to be straightforward. It was common for things to go missing from peoples' pockets in Zaun. That was why Viktor kept everything of value either at home or inside the jacket he always wore. It was safer.
The woman gave a small roll of her eyes. She nudged her brother toward a door in the back of the shop, "Ekkota go work on your project. No one is blaming you for anything."
She looked at Viktor with a questionable expression. So the boy had a history of doing such things? He could tell by the worried look in her eyes.
Ekkota grabbed a rather large, tube-like device from a work table in the back and grudgingly slipped out of the room.
"Please forgive him. He's only eight," the woman stated.
"Children will be children," Viktor let a nervous chuckle escape. He was awkward with small talk.
"What can I help you with today? You said the… mechanical arm here?" the woman gestured to the work table where the item had been abandoned for the moment, "Well it's not much. 'Fraid the wires are shot and the plating will need welding along the—"
"Yes… and possibly some of the others," Viktor responded. Straight to business. He was fine with this.
"Come have a look," she waved him over.
Viktor was more than eager to get a close look at the jumble of items hanging from the wall.
"This is a motor for a fully built FH model," the woman started into a list of items as she pointed them out, "We also have a few accelerometers and magnetometers for the motion sense relative to Runeterra's gravity. There are a couple of wireless receivers here for…"
The young scientist was taken aback at how quickly and efficiently the woman rattled off her information. Considering the extent of his own knowledge, she wasn't wrong on anything she pointed out. Viktor found a smile cross his face. It had been a long time since he had found someone outside his own work that could identify so many things with one glance.
"…I guess if anything here isn't what you're looking for… we have a couple bigger things in back. I've been trying to rebuild some of the things we get when I can get the parts."
"You work often with these?" he had to ask.
"When I get the time," the woman chuckles, "Keeping an eye on my brother and running shop can slow it down. My father's the owner but he's usually out of town on repair jobs for big shots."
"I would like to see what you have built… uh…" Viktor made a useless gesture as he fished for a name.
"Serenity," the woman obliged as she turned to lead the way further into the shop, "And you are?"
"Viktor. Viktor Ivanov," he responded.
"Nice to meet you Viktor. I don't get tech-savvy customers often," she smiled, "Most just come for a quick fix or tools that fall into our hands…"
The images fizzle away as the cinnamon-kissed woman walks into the back room. Viktor opens his eyes to the darkness of his chamber. He stares at the glowing screens for a time as his breathing slows into deep rhythmic breaths. He ponders everything that happened after that one meeting. His life had changed. Everything had been brighter… more promising… and then…
Viktor rises from the mech-chair and makes his way over to the small bed crammed into the corner among the machines. He doesn't want to think about what comes next in the story, so he concentrates on the matter at hand.
He remembered the bright smile of the young boy. He remembered the enthusiastic drive to build his own machines. His sister had encouraged it. It seemed the boy had succeeded… and now he was in the Institute of War. Why? Viktor had a feeling it wasn't just to better Zaun. The new champion had every intention of stopping Viktor's glorious evolution. It had been clear enough with the incident in the hall. How foolish the teen was; he didn't know the full story or Viktor's true intentions.
"Ekkota…" he mumbles the name quietly, "Ekko… you've changed."
