A/N: Hey everyone! With the rewrite going a bit slower than expected, I've decided to not only post the finished chapters here but also KEEP the original version of the story due to their many differences and for reference. I hope you enjoy the upcoming content and remember that all chapters can be read with pictures and music on AO3 as well!

Aria of Isolation

Prologue: Solo

Tap, tap, tap. The graphite point poking at the empty paper as fast as the foot tapping against the crossbar of the stool. It wouldn't make words. How could it? It had been more than a year since he saw him face-to-face or even said a word to him. His free hand grasped his forehead. Eyes darting, sweating at the brow, chest tight with anxiety. Then, a snap. He broke the pencil again, tossing the halves away and lifting a new one from the mug.

"C'mon…" he thought to himself. "Say something…anything."

The tip ran along the paper at last.

Hi Rumble,
It's Ziggs

He crumpled it up, starting anew; another paper ball for the pile.

Hey buddy!
It's your best pal, Zi

Nope. One more for the pile. He thought some pacing would help. Walking around his lab, he could hear the hum of the ventilation system passively operating above him, the bubbling of chemicals he'd forgotten about. He was meant to do something with these ragged runes strewn about his side counter. Who cares? None of that was important now. But they should be. After all, he worked so hard to get where he was now. He should be happy. He should be tossing around his signature smile like everyone expected of him, running headlong into countless scientific breakthroughs in hextech. Yet here he was, perplexed by one of the world's simplest tasks: writing a letter.

He jumped back up atop his stool, ready to tackle his toughest project yet. A deep breath and the pencil went to work again.

Hey Rumble,
It's Ziggs. How are you? I hope you're doing great!
Piltover is great. Everyone here accepts me. No one's afraid of me here.

He paused.

I'm sorry for not being around lately.
I'm sorry for leaving you alone.
I know I said I'd be right back, but a lot has happened and
I'm sorry
I'm sorry that I
I hope you're doing great and
I'm

That was enough lies for one sheet. He was getting it wet, anyway. He crumpled up another one and off it went to join the others. The pencil fell from his hand, both now gripping his head in frustration and anger. Anger at the Academy. Anger at Heimerdinger. Anger at himself. Any harder and his nails would pierce his skin. He was happy about one thing, though; he was happy that no one would see him like this. His lab door was firmly locked, and the next sheet was already dilapidated in despair. Trickling tears from the ends of the fur on his cheeks. He hated this ritual. Yet this one was especially hard on him, just like the smash of his forehead against the tabletop. His ears drooped down past his leaky eyes. After all, there was a first time for everything.

"Happy birthday…buddy."

Crank, crank, crank. The wrench tightened the bolt in its hold. He could only taste the metal of the screwdriver between his teeth as he peered up into the battle suit's interior. It was getting worse and worse every day. Neglecting the trips back to the Junkyard for spare parts, never replacing a thing no matter how worn it became. He couldn't bring himself to return to that place, to travel that same dirt path, to pass under that same arch they looked up to; it was painful in every regard. It wasn't just him hurting from it, his battle suit was falling apart the more attempts he made to upkeep the same worn pieces. The bolts were rusty, the pistons worn down and the gear joints needed replacements. The long list in his head was demotivating enough and he shut the hatch door with unfinished business and all.

Rolling himself out and off his creeper the blue yordle took a glance at the homemade clock hanging on the wall. Its ill-fitted hands ticked. Noon. It was that time again, time for nothing to happen. But maybe, just maybe… He waited, staring at the garage door with ribbons of light surrounding it. Nothing. He even raised it up to look outside. Sun shining, birds chirping. Absolutely nothing. A part of him always tried to shake him away from this hopeless ritual yet another part was much more influential. It told him to go back in, lock up shop and head to the docks.

And so he would, opening the wooden drawer at his ragged desk for his key. There was another right next to it, entrusted to him. No, he couldn't go there either, not after the destruction he left behind. Get on with it, that part of him demanded, and off he went.

If it wasn't for a sound of ebbing tides and soft sea breeze these moments would tax him even more than they already did. On the hill overlooking the docks he sat curled up, arms over his knees that pressed against his aching chest. He could see the ship lower the sails and park along the wooden boards. Yordles boarded off the ship, some from a visiting voyage, some unloading cargo. Even humans found their way onto yordle soil. That left Rumble with a bad taste. Even worse, he was nowhere to be seen. He questioned why he put himself through this, if he was going insane and if he truly would never see him again. Worriment for the other had been long replaced with anger: would it even be safe to see him again?

"I knew I'd find you here," a feminine voice spoke up behind him. Caught in the act, he rolled his eyes to stand and face her. Tristana, standing there with her hands on her hips and face of disappointment. "Damn it, Rumble, not again! When are you going to stop this?"

"I was just…getting some fresh air," he lied, not that she would believe it for a second.

"Yeah? In the same spot you always go to when you're looking for him? You're really hopeless sometimes…"

"Leave me alone, okay?"

"Is this how you want to be on your birthday? Sulking alone out here?"

Rumble was silent because he knew she had a point; this pointless ritual wasn't worth the time of a yearly celebration. Feeling half his age, he scratched the back of his neck, unable to speak for himself; he was ashamed and must have looked pathetic. Tristana's hair flipped up with her huff of displeasure.

"Listen, how's about we do something together other than staying cooped up in your garage, huh? I'm sure anything would put you in a better mood than this!" she suggested. Rumble feared where this was heading.

"I'm not joining a mission with you and Teemo, y'know."

"No Teemo this time. Just you and me! How's that sound?"

Since the other's departure, Rumble noticed a shift in Tristana's behavior; she was hanging around him more frequent. He couldn't tell if this was out of pity or genuine interest. He didn't mind, however, harboring a soft spot for her as they grew up alongside… Damn it, he had to stop thinking about him. Play it cool, he told himself.

"I'm…pretty on board with that," he said, with a smug cross of his arms. "What did you have in mind?"

Tristana looked past him, noticing the humans mixed with the fellow yordles walking from the docks. While she harbored no ill will towards humans she found the plan too perfect to pass up. After all, it wasn't everyday humans visited their scaled-down world.

"Well, there're some human visitors we're getting. Probably from Piltover seeing as how they're clothed and all," she began.

"Yeah, don't remind me."

"They're probably going to be all over the city, too."

"I'm sure they're here to just shove their crowning achievements in our face or some shit."

"We can't have that, can we?" Her smug mug matched Rumble's before his turned to disbelief.

"You'd chase humans out of the city? That's not like you at all."

"I wouldn't! But…" Tristana began a not-so-innocent walk around Rumble. "Perhaps if some weird, highly unorthodox events that were completely not under my control were to happen and they get scared away…"

Rumble chuckled at this, "Good girl gone bad?"

"More like…gone playful."

He took a moment to consider his situation: nothing else was planned for his day other than avoiding places he should have visited by now. He had begun his slow descent into loneliness just as it was all those years ago and Tristana's presence was like a ripple in his still water. It was decided with a nod and a smile of rarity.

"Alright, I'm in. Let's give 'em a run for it!" Rumble pounded his fists together.

"I'm only doing this because it's your birthday so don't get used to me being your accomplice!" she giggled, motioning for him to follow her. He did comply immediately, looking over his shoulder at the ship that was preparing to set sail once again through the Guardian's Sea. Just one look and his smile was erased.

"It's been over a year since you left…" he thought to himself. "Ziggs…where the hell are you?"