Here we are, finishing Episode 2. And wow, let me tell you, this was a pretty hefty chapter to write. Lots of stuff here to digest and some mild divergence that will eventually spiral. Some more perspectives from new characters. All that kind of stuff. It was definitely the hardest one for me to get through. I practically had to beat my muse into submission to work with me. Hopefully it's of the same or even better quality than the last two chapters. One can only hope.

And wow! 65 favorites and 80 follows? You guys really are the best and I can't wait to continue this story along with you guys.

Chapter 3: Sacrifices

Marcus marched toward the entrance of the Last Drop, a squadron of enforcers in tow. Their boots stomped against the ground, like rainfall. As they walked through the streets, crowds of people parted ways before them, some were jeering at them but most were silently watching them.

It was always dismal whenever Marcus came down to the Undercity. Compared to the vibrant and bustling streets of Piltover, the Lanes were oppressive and dark. The air was always suffocating and wretched which was why he and all of his enforcers wore the gas masks. It made it tolerable to breathe in the nauseating atmosphere of Zaun. And it wasn't just the air quality that made the air almost poisonous; it was also the venomous reactions of the Zaunites whenever there was an enforcer presence.

Marcus agreed with the residents about enforcer presence in the Undercity. He would rather not spend even another second in the seedy underbelly of his city but the Council was demanding immediate action. The sooner he would find the culprits that they were searching for, the sooner he would be able to spend quality time with his wife and newborn daughter.

He threw open the doors and stepped to the counter of the bar, boots clacking against the wooden floors of the pub. His unit filed in behind him and stood at attention for his orders.

It was loud before he entered. He heard the muffled raucous laughter and clanging of glass against glass even before he had gotten close to the entrance of the bar. It was far more quiet after. The only sound remaining was the dull humming of the lightbulbs and the sound of outdated music playing from a jukebox. The instant that he stepped in, the patrons hushed and glared at them. There was no more merriness nor relaxation in the atmosphere. Only a silent hostility between each of them.

Marcus paid the surrounding rabble no mind. He didn't expect the respect of the residents of the Undercity nor their obedience. He didn't care about them much at all. His duty was to the city of Piltover and his family. And the only person that was relevant to his duty at the moment was the person in front of him.

He leveled a look at the person tending the bar whose demeanor was the only one that didn't change when he entered. Mercury was cleaning a dirty glass with a brown towel. He put down the glass and switched his attention to Marcus. He still had the bruise on his face from when Marcus had disciplined him the day previous.

The boy smiled at him and said, "Welcome to the Last Drop, I do believe you guys are new patrons of ours! What can I get for you?" He leaned against the counter.

Marcus had to admit that Mercury looked the picture of professionalism. He looked utterly relaxed behind the counter. He stood tall, entirely comfortable in his clothes.

Marcus knew the look of his clothing, it was from a popular clothing line up the river. The white-haired teen wore a black button up shirt tucked into grey dress pants. A similar gray vest was worn over his shirt, tight enough to reveal his toned figure. Marcus supposed that if one wanted to be successful in the Undercity, they had to be fit or functional. Mercury looked to be both. However, it was slightly dirty, scratched up, no doubt from the boy running around and not washing the clothes properly.

Mercury wore a face that seemed to be eager to hear Marcus' next words; his lips were curled upwards and his eyebrows were slightly raised. It was like the bartender genuinely thought that Marcus and his squad were regulars at their rundown dive. However, the teen's eyes were sharp as a hawk. They didn't budge from the enforcers the moment he noticed their presence.

"Four street rats will do," Marcus said.

Mercury chuckled, "Oh! Sorry, we're fresh out, I'm afraid." He didn't sound apologetic. "It's surprising but those are at a premium these days. Might I recommend something else? Maybe something a little light like…" - Mercury bent down to grab something from underneath the counter - "this fine bottle of Noxian Knockout." He presented a brown bottle that seemed filled with a dubious fluid.

"Enough with the jokes, Mercury-"

"I'm not joking though! Noxian Knockout sounds like it'll kick you in the face and literally knock you out but it goes down surprisingly easily. Isn't that right, Jern?"

A woman sitting behind to Marcus' right nodded her head and raised her glass. "That's right, Merc."

Marcus ignored them. "I'm not asking. Search the place," he ordered his subordinates. They nodded and each took to different places in the bar, some taking to the roof, some questioning the patrons of the bar, and one heading towards the back before descending the stairs.

Mercury shrugged. "Alright, it's your time you're wasting." He went back to cleaning more glasses. "I mean, look around you, man. It's a bar. I don't think you're gonna find any kids here. Kids think alcohol takes yucky."

"It doesn't matter what kids think or where I may or may not find them. What matters is, we're going to turn this damned place upside down and shake everything loose until what we're looking for falls out." Marcus slammed his fist down on the counter in front of him.

The teen before him backed a step, raising both hands in mock surrender. "Yeah? Well, I wish you luck on that." An unsteady silence held between them before Mercury put his hands down to his sides again.

The boy stepped back to his position and silently offered him the Knockout once more. Marcus didn't reply. Mercury shrugged and gave the deputy a tall glass anyway before he started pouring.

"I gotta admit, you've got persistence," he said while pouring. "I mean, what are the odds? Meeting twice in such a short time. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a crush on me. Sorry to say bud, but you're not my type. I don't swing that way. And you're too old besides. It'll never work out, darling." Mercury winked at him.

Marcus snorted. "You're the conceited type aren't you? Joking and teasing." He leaned in close to the teen's face. "Like it's going to cover up what you did."

Mercury didn't drop his smile but Marcus noted that it became significantly more strained.

"And pray tell, what did I do? I'm a law-abiding and proud citizen of the city, aren't I?" His tone was significantly more clipped, even more so than when they spoke in the Arcade.

"Not according to my informant." Marcus stood back. "He's an… well he's an old friend of Vander's. Actually, I think you know him too. He had quite a few stories to tell about you… Wings."

Mercury, for the first time since Marcus had entered the Last Drop, let his lips fall down. In its place stood a frigid expression. His eyes became razor sharp and bored into Marcus' own steel gaze. It seemed that he hit a nerve. The glasses that the boy was pouring overflowed.

A silence was held between the two. Mercury looked down at the glass and noticed the small spill that was slowly growing. He put the bottle away. Marcus noticed that Mercury's jaw was clenched tightly as he grabbed a towel and began to wipe the counter clean. The boy locked eyes with him as he cleaned.

Marcus didn't like the look that he saw in Mercury's eyes. The look of defiance. So proud, so arrogant. Like Mercury was above the law. Hiding and defending fugitives under some flawed notion of community.

That was the problem with the people of the Undercity, in Marcus' eyes. Their attitude. Their own self pity. They seemed to rally around the idea that just because they were born with less than the upper city, that meant that they had the right to take and take and take more than they rightfully earned. They took the belongings of his people, they took the goodwill of his people, and they took the lives of his people. And then they had the audacity to sit and play the victim when they had to take responsibility for their actions. It disgusted him.

His enforcers returned, standing in single rank. He looked at them for their report. They shook their heads; they hadn't found anyone.

He returned his gaze to Mercury. The smile had returned to his lips but the frost in his eyes remained. He shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "What can you do?"

Marcus surveyed the rest of the room. Each and every person in the bar was looking at him and his enforcers. All of them had stoic faces but Marcus knew the look in their eyes. They were laughing at him, mocking him. Their hideous laughter screamed in his head but there weren't any sounds coming from their mouths. He was repulsed.

Marcus spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear, "All of you mistake this… this arrogance for bravery. Like it's a noble thing what you're doing here." Marcus' face crumpled in rage. He was sure that true nobility was a foreign concept to Zaun. "There is nothing noble about you lot. I can see the crime on your faces, the blood on your hands. None of you are innocent here. And I'm going to make sure that all of you find the end of your ropes."

Marcus stomped out of the bar with his enforcers quickly, pushing past some of the guests who were in between them and the door. It seemed that the tip was wrong. He was going to have words with Silco.

Vander had just returned from running errands. After the crowd had dispersed the day before, Mercury had wanted him to take the day off to "relax", get his mind off the situation for a moment. He spent most of the day at Benzo's, sharing a few drinks with him, reminiscing on older times and good days.

However, he could never truly relax. A weight in his pocket kept his mind firmly on the tension brewing between topside and the Undercity. Grayson's message felt like a gun that he could fire only once. And whichever side he pointed it at, there would be blood and smoke. A reenactment of his mistake years ago.

He sighed to himself. What the kids did was stupid but it only acted as a catalyst. The city was a tinderbox that was ready to spark at the first opportunity. After they had marched against the topsiders years ago, there was an underlying strain between the two halves of the city. It could have been any incident, any time, which lit the fuse. It just happened to be Vi's botched job. Vander just hoped that he could put it out before it was too late.

As he neared the entrance to his home, the doors to the bar burst open and out came Marcus, the deputy. He seemed… pissed for lack of a better word and brushed past Vander. He didn't even acknowledge the much bigger man. A couple of enforcers also came out, marching quickly behind Marcus.

Vander stayed rooted to his spot for a moment, waiting for the enforcers to round the corner out of sight before he rushed inside the building. The enforcers were there for the kids, he was sure of it.

Vander slammed through the doors. The guests all glanced at him for a moment; their eyes were already focused on the door from when the enforcers had left. The air was thick from the tension.

Vander saw Mercury behind the counter. His head was slightly bowed, mindlessly wiping down the surface in front of him. He brought his eyes up to look at Vander. They were murky. For the first time in a long time, Vander couldn't tell what the boy was thinking. It reminded Vander of Mercury just before they picked up the two sisters.

Mercury held his mouth open for a second before speaking, "They're okay. Lights were off."

'Lights were off'. That was their code phrase to mean that the silent alarm had been triggered. Their alarm system would alert the kids to hide in the rafters in the basement. It was Powder's suggestion to use a toy monkey as their warning system.

"Shit," Vander cursed. "You alright? They didn't do anything, did they?"

Mercury nodded his head slowly. "Yeah… yeah. I'm good. Just made a bit of a spill is all. Check on the kids. I'mma mind the front." He finished cleaning the counter and began sorting the bottles behind him.

"Alright," Vander said.

He rushed toward the back, minding the guests on the way. He threw open the door to the basement. The room was thinly lit from the light streaming in from underneath the gaps of the floorboards. It was still hard to see in the room without a lantern or a lamp.

"Are you guys alright?" he asked into the darkness.

The kids emerged from hidden corners and dropped from the rafters in the ceiling. They had practiced hiding in the basement many times before with Mercury during games of hide and seek.

Mercury often complained to Vander about Powder being the hardest to find due to her small size and wiry frame. She was the most creative with her hiding places and it often took a team effort to find her, even in the confined space of the basement. When she didn't want to be found, she wouldn't be found.

The four kids were anxious. The darkness of the basement obscured their general features but Vander had raised them. He knew how they moved when they were nervous, especially after they got into some trouble. Mylo's eyes flitted back and forth across the room. Claggor had his arm crossed and one finger tapping his bicep rapidly. Powder bit her lip.

Vi approached from the bottom of the stairs leading to the main floor of the room.

She shouted, "No! We're not okay! They almost saw Powder! If they took her-!"

"No one's taking any of you, alright? Merc and I would never let that happen," he said. He would rather die before he would let them be taken by the topsiders. If they got their hands on the kids… he was sure that Piltover "making an example" was not a mild threat.

She shot back, "It's already happening! The enforcers stormed into here. Our home. They're not going to stop. They're never going to stop. And I know Mercury won't fight back, he's a damn pacifist and you're just… just sitting back and letting this happen! If you guys won't fight…"-she took a deep breath-"then I will."

Vander stood still for a moment looking at her. She stared back at him, defiance and rebellion on her face. Vander sighed deeply.

Perhaps he had too much of an influence on her when he was teaching her how to fight. She reminded him of himself when he was her age. Strong willed and hot headed, too damn stubborn for his own good. His brother used to temper him, make him see reason but after they had… parted ways he had to become more even tempered on his own. Not reasonable enough to not go across the bridge, however.

"I've heard these words before," he said softly. It felt like a lifetime ago. He was a different person then, an angrier man.

Vander motioned at her to come with him. Vi's face morphed slightly in confusion before she nodded and followed him. They left the bar and took to the streets, toward Vander's biggest regret.

"What are we doing here?" Vi asked.

She recognized where they were. How could she not? The Bridge to Piltover. It was the place where her and Powder's life had changed forever. The place that had connected the topside and the Undercity. The place where her parents were killed by enforcers and left her and Powder orphans. The place where Vander and Mercury had picked them up and they became a new family.

The bridge hadn't changed much since that day, at least on their side. There was less blood on it, less fire and smoke but she still saw traces of rubble and broken pieces of concrete on their side of the bridge. It was a memory for the people of Zaun, a memory that would never fade.

She looked across the bridge to Piltover's side. It was clean and spotless, no trace of any damage nor any indication of a fierce battle. It looked like the Pilties had cleaned up well. She was sure that the battle was quickly forgotten by them. It wasn't much of a battle for them. For the Zaunites, for her family, it was about fighting for better lives. For the topsiders, it was about maintaining the status quo. It was probably barely a blip on their radar.

Vander motioned for her to sit down with him on a bench that was just before the bridge. She took a seat beside him, unsure what to do. The place was a bad memory for most of the Undercity, so why did Vander bring her there?

A silence was maintained between them. Vi waited for his answer. She scrutinized his face. He seemed lost in thought, his eyes were staring in the distance, cutting through both space and time. It was like he was seeing the battle raging before his eyes. Vi looked with him. She saw the fallen bodies of her parents and herself being carried away by Vander and Powder being carried away by Mercury.

Finally, he broke the silence, "You still don't understand."

Vi was affronted. "What I don't understand is how you and Merc could work with them! You saw what they did. What they're doing."

Vander stayed quiet, looking at the bridge.

She took a breath, "I grew up knowing that I was beneath them. I want Powder, Mylo, and Claggor to have more than that." Was it a crime to want for more? To strive for more than what they were born with? To defend and protect her people and her family? The Council seemed to think so.

She looked down at her fists and clenched them. "And I'm willing to fight for it."

Vander finally looked at her and nodded, infinite patience and unending understanding in his eyes. "I know. So was I. So was Merc. The words that you're saying? We said the same things. We were just as angry as you, angrier even." Vander closed his eyes. "That's why I led us across this bridge. We thought that we could change things. That things would be better for us." He opened his eyes again and pierced hers with his gaze. "You want to know what we got out of it? Your parents, and other good folk on both sides, dead."

Vi looked down. Vander did as well, pulling out a pneumatic canister from his pockets to consider it. He rolled it around in his fingers as if to penetrate the shell to see the contents inside. Vi's eye caught a flower flying past her, caught in a slow wind. She traced where it came from to catch a somber sight.

All across the entrance to the bridge there were memorials to the fallen. Flowers and pictures and words of well wishes were littered around them. Each one that she could see was recent. Small candles were lit, illuminating the pictures of loved ones and fighting back against the dark of the night. Zaunites knew to pay their respects, even years later.

He continued, "Merc had the worst of it. After his parents died and I picked him up, there used to be a… I don't know. There was a dark spot inside him that I just couldn't figure out how to fix. How to heal. Then, when he got on that bridge and started fighting he just lost himself. He became an animal and killed people. When the dust settled, he was just… not there. I thought that he had died standing up but he was still breathing."

Vi had never seen Vander's face look so heartbroken.

"Then, we picked up the two of you. And let me tell you," Vander smiled softly. "He lit up. I had never seen him like that before. You guys brought him back to life. He put his staff down right over there and never looked back."

Vander pointed to a short metal rod that was leaning against the railing of the bridge. It was rusted and the silver paint was cracked and had flecked off in some places, revealing greening copper underneath. It had a bulbous, golden colored orb affixed to the top of it, welded messily from what Vi could glean. It was dented and Vi could still see faint remnants of blood stains on it, even after the years of weather and abuse the staff had experienced since Mercury had left it there.

The last thing that Vi noticed were the wings painted near the top of the staff, right below the ball. She saw it last because the paint had all nearly been washed away. She could only see the faintest impression of the feathers and the shape of the wings themselves. Whatever fine details there used to be were all lost to time and age.

"Sometimes… sometimes, I think that some part of him never left that bridge. A part of him's still there, stuck in the dust and smoke. Standing dead on top of enforcers and our own."

There was a pregnant pause. Mercury never really talked about his life before he met the sisters. Whenever they asked, he would laugh loudly and change the subject. He might have thought that they didn't notice but they were more perceptive than he gave them credit for.

Vi asked him, "So why are you telling me this?" There was always a point to what Vander had to say.

"Because I need you to understand. If he were to lose you, any of you, then he would just fall apart. I can see it. He doesn't just love you guys, he needs you guys. And that doesn't just apply to him. It applies to you too." He gripped her shoulder. "If we fought, Vi, you would have to be prepared to lose everyone. Mylo, Claggor, Merc, Powder."

She couldn't imagine a life without her younger sister. Wasn't that why she wanted to fight in the first place? To protect her? Her family?

"You asked why I'm doing nothing? Why I made a deal?" Vander shook the canister in his hand before placing it back in his pocket. "It's because I'm tired of sacrificing good people for nothing. Nobody wins in war, Vi."

The silence settled between them again. Vi felt helpless. Damned if they do. Damned if they don't. Vander released his hand from her shoulder after giving it a little shake.

"What do we do? The enforcers are gonna come back," she said.

Vander shook his head wearily and let out a breath. He looked exhausted, like his age had finally surpassed him. "I… I don't know. I'll figure it out."

Vi got the distinct impression that Vander felt as lost as she did. Vi knew it in her bones. They would get caught eventually. It wasn't a question of 'if'; it was a question of 'when'. Unless someone turned themselves in, the issue would never blow over. It would never stop. The enforcers wouldn't stop prowling the streets, threatening her people, her family. The enforcers would find them, find Powder. They had to do something. But they couldn't fight. Fighting would mean something worse.

Vi glanced at Vander's pocket. Perhaps… She did have one thing she could sacrifice.

Mercury had finished closing down the Last Drop a few hours before. He swept up any dust from the shoes of patrons on the floor, mopped up any spills, and stacked chairs and stools. He would finish cleaning up later, he decided, and made his way down the stairs to the backroom basement. After that close call with Marcus, he wanted to make sure that the kids felt as safe as possible.

The room was lit with a small electric lantern. It emitted a soft light which served well for filling the space with warmth.

The three of them were sitting facing together on the floor in the middle space of the room. Mercury looked at each of them from the door at the top of the stairs, leaning against the frame. They looked restless, full of anxious energy and a small amount of excitement.

"So, let me guess," he called out to them. "You guys are pretty eager to get out there and fight, huh?"

They each nodded eagerly. Powder asked him, craning her neck up, "Are you going to join? I know you're no good with a gun but we could get you a pipe or a wrench or-"

Mercury raised his hand to stop her. He gave her a smile. "I appreciate the offer, Powder, but you know I'm not really into fighting. And actually…"-he made his way down the stairs-"I was gonna ask you guys to join either.

The kids in front of him were confused. He sat down before them.

"What? Why?" Mylo asked.

Claggor continued, "Yeah, I thought you were all about us defending ourselves." He adjusted his goggles on his head absentmindedly.

"I am," Mercury nodded. "I'm more than okay with you guys scrapping around in the streets and getting into little fights with each other. I know you guys can handle that. But this?" Mercury waved around the room toward nothing in particular. "This is some dangerous shit."

There was a heavy quiet between the four of them. He could practically see them processing his words before one of them broke the silence.

Mylo exploded, "What?!" He stood to his feet. "This is dangerous? When you were my age, you were rolling around with Vander! I just heard from some guys upstairs that you used to kick peoples' asses and fight the enforcers. What happened?"

Mercury stared into Mylo's eyes, underneath furrowed eyebrows. The boy was breathing heavily and had a clenched jaw.

Mercury looked down and responded right back, "You guys happened."

Mylo became quiet. He put his arms down and sagged his shoulders. There was a hush in the room as they were all looking at him. He slowly sat back down, his face slightly ashamed.

Mercury sighed and rubbed his face a little.

Powder whispered, "You don't believe in us."

Mercury looked at her and shook his head. "I do. I do believe in you guys. You guys are pretty fucking awesome."

Their lips didn't even curl up. They were all looking down at the ground in front of them.

He frowned, "It's just… I can't risk you guys getting seriously hurt doing something like this. You guys could even… I… I don't know what I would do with myself." Mercury sighed. "So please, please, if anything happens with Piltover or the enforcers, you guys have to stay out of it."

The silence returned. It wasn't the normal, comfortable that they usually had between themselves. It was the silence that came when kids didn't want to agree with what they were told. It took a while before they looked back at him and slowly nodded their heads.

Mercury put his hand out in front of him, palm facing down to the ground. "Promise me," he said sternly.

They each looked at each other with uncertainty before nodding in resolution. They laid their hands on top of each other.

Powder looked at him, "I promise."

Mylo looked at him, "I promise."

Claggor looked at him, "I promise."

They pulled their hands back and he beamed at them. "Thank you, guys."

He was truly glad that they agreed to his request. He could trust them to help themselves in just a normal street brawl but a civil war in Zaun? It would be devastating and he already knew who would win. The thought of them participating, of losing, sent shivers down his spine.

Mylo asked him, "Well, alright. What do you want us to do if you don't want us to get involved?"

Mercury smirked at him, "Well, I'm not just gonna let you guys be defenseless, am I? You guys remember the tap code?"

Powder and Claggor perked up. Mylo groaned.

Their tap code was something that Mercury had made up for fun a few years ago and he taught it to the rest of the kids. He would play games with them and make bets with chores on the line. Whoever could decipher his messages the fastest would be exempt from the chores whilst the slowest would receive the bulk of it. Powder and Claggor took to it like fish to water. Mylo and Vi, on the other hand, were not quite as adept. They were often seen doing the dishes and washing the clothes while Powder and Claggor would be lounging around and tapping out insincere words of encouragement at them.

Of course! Powder tapped her fingers on the ground to her.

Claggor tapped his finger on his goggles, How could we not?

This… is… dumb, Mylo tapped his knuckles to his forehead.

Their disappointment was quickly forgotten, replaced by excitement and, in Mylo's case, dread.

Mercury laughed, "Since you guys remember it so well, we'll be able to sneak around and not get caught by enforcers so easily. You guys wanna play a game? Loser gets dunked in the river tomorrow."

"Yes!" "Yes!" "No!"

Mercury guffawed. "Majority rules! Prepare yourselves!"

Powder and Claggor cheered to one another. Mylo put his face in his hands. With that kind of attitude, Mylo was going to be dripping wet the next day, Mercury thought.

For the next hour, they played with their tap code. Mercury tapped out long strings of nonsense sentences like "I kicked the bridge banana. It smells like fire waffles." He didn't want to give the kids too much of an easy game. Powder and Claggor usually deciphered his code within seconds of each other. One of the pair won every other game and it stoked a competitive spirit between them. Mylo… well Mylo was definitely getting dunked in the river the next day.

Mercury tapped out one final sentence. Powder and Claggor were paying supreme attention to the finger that was producing the code. Mercury could have sworn that if the Last Drop were to suddenly burn down around them then they would burn to death still staring intently at what he was tapping. Mylo was on the floor, his brain steaming, and groaning about the smell of the river he would have to wash out. He gave up about ten minutes into the game. Powder and Claggor were continuing just to one up the other.

Powder and Claggor both jumped up at the same time, "Ruffle ducks are not loyal bites!" They both looked at each other and growled.

The scrawny girl jammed her thumb to her chest. "I got it first!"

Claggor retorted, "Nope, that was me!"

Mercury held up his hand. They both silenced and looked at him. He delivered his verdict. "Powder…" She looked adorably hopeful; she bit her lip and made her eyes as big and watery as she could. "I'm sorry, Claggor got it first."

She immediately deflated and fell to her knees. Claggor pumped his fists in the air in victory.

He couldn't actually tell who got it first, he just wanted to see how Powder would react if he told her that she didn't get it. It was just as hilarious as he thought it would be.

"And that means, Claggor…" Mercury started. Claggor stopped his victory dance. "...that you get to see your gift first!"

It was time for Duty 3! Provide for your younger siblings and spoil them rotten! Each of the kids looked at him in excitement. They loved it whenever he brought gifts.

Mercury told them to wait in the room for a second while he ran up to the counter in the bar. He opened a secret compartment underneath and grabbed four, small, wrapped boxes and quickly made his way back.

The minute he opened the door again, the kids were crowded around him. He warded them away from him with his legs; his hands were full with the boxes. "Get back, get back I say!" The kids quickly retreated, hissing all the while. "You guys can be real clingy sometimes, y'know that?" Mercury shook his head in amusement.

He ushered them back toward the middle of their room and they all sat down on the floor cross legged. They looked extremely eager, their eyes hungering to tear open the gifts casings and reveal contents within.

Mercury spoke, "Alrighty, I was going to save this for the holidays but with the situation being what it is, it could be a while till things calmed down. So, I wanted to give this to you guys while it's this calm. Here you go, Claggor."

He handed the goggled boy a small, thin box wrapped with green paper. The younger teen ripped apart the wrapping and gasped when he saw what was inside. It was a pair of the newest model of the enforcer goggles.

The straps were a sleek black leather that gleamed against the light of the lantern which lit the room. The rims around the lenses were a golden color. On the sides of them were small buttons and notches. The lenses were made of a light, tinted green glass. It was certainly a mark better than Claggor's many years old previous model.

"Woah," Claggor whispered. "This is so cool! I thought these weren't supposed to come out to the public for another few years." The boy looked up to him, eyes wide in wonder.

Mercury winked. "Let's just say, I have my ways. C'mon, try it on!"

Claggor took off his old goggles. The boy looked at them in nostalgia for a moment. Mercury remembered the day Claggor had got them well. The boy had swiped them from an enforcer who visited their bar a few years ago who was so intoxicated that he had practically crawled out of the bar, goggles all but forgotten. His source of intense drunkenness may or may not have been Mercury giving the man increasingly stronger drinks to cover for the young boy.

Claggor placed them on the floor beside him. He slowly put on the new goggles over his eyes. He blinked a few times as he adjusted to the new tightness and new leather. His eyes were enlarged, not only in shock but also from the distortion in the lenses. He looked around the room in wonder and laughed quietly to himself.

"These goggles are way sturdier than your old ones. I bet I could chuck a sharp rock as hard as I can at them and there wouldn't even be a scratch," Mercury explained. Claggor tested his words by scratching roughly at the lens. When he removed his finger, there was only a slight smudge from the boy's hand. "Oh! And there's also a zoom feature and a night vision feature and a couple of other stuff. Not really sure how they fit that in but it's pretty damn cool."

Claggor reached across to Mercury and embraced him in a hug. "Thanks, man! You're the freaking best, dude."

Mercury laughed and returned the younger boy's embrace, patting him a few times on the back. "I know, I know. I'm pretty damn cool."

Claggor released his hug and went back to his previous spot. He immediately became absorbed in a world of his own, fiddling and messing around with the buttons and settings of the goggles.

Mercury looked at the other two kids. They were impatiently waiting for their own gifts. Their legs were shaking up and down rapidly and they had hopeful faces for the quality of their own gifts. Mercury smirked to himself, he would try his best not to disappoint.

"Alright, My-My. Your turn."

Mercury handed Mylo a much thinner but longer box wrapped in a yellow paper. The boy snatched the box out of his hand and eagerly began pulling apart the packaging to get to the item within. He threw the trash to the side to inspect his gift.

Held between his fingers was a golden device with many small prongs and rotatable needles at its tip. It had a brown leather grip and engraved on the side were the words, Darian Works.

Mylo looked at the oldest teen with his mouth open. "Is-is this…"

Mercury nodded at him. "Yep, that's a state-of-the-art Darian Lock Pick."

"Dude, there are only a couple of these in the world… how did you even get this?" Mylo asked in astonishment.

"Like I said to Claggor, little bro." Mercury hid the lower half of his face behind his hand and looked at the lot of them with mysterious eyes. "I have my ways…"

He had actually gotten it a few days before, the same day that the job that they took went wrong. He had been saving up for their gifts for the past couple of months and went topside to Piltover to look around for them. He had cleaned up his clothes and he was practically invisible on the streets, just another average citizen of the city.

Claggor's goggles he had managed to find in a low-key black market. He haggled for the price and actually managed to convince the seller that he was selling junk that was outdated. Mercury had a feeling that merchant didn't have a great business sense.

For Mylo's gift, he had to sneak into a technology expo and replace the actual lockpick with a display lockpick which wasn't actually functional. He had managed to pin the theft on another thief that had the same idea that he did except was way less subtle and effective at it than Mercury. The teen had been doing those kinds of jobs since before he started working at the counter. It was almost laughable.

Vi and Powder's gift? Well, he couldn't manage to swipe them and they cost a pretty penny; the merchant actually knew exactly how much his product should cost. But Mercury was sure it would be worth it. They would love it.

Mercury explained the features of the lockpick to Mylo. "Alright, so that pick will be able to go through just about any lock, common or uncommon, and it'll get through them real fast. Like, it'll be able to pick them in about half the time it would take with your old one and won't be as hard to use."

Mylo laughed in giddiness. "Sweeeeet!" He grabbed his old lockpick out of his pocket and tossed it away behind him. Just like Claggor before him, he quickly became absorbed with his present.

Mercury smiled at him before finally turning to Powder. She was practically bouncing on the floor with anticipation. Damn, she looked too precious. It was time to tease her some more.

Mercury hung his face. He sighed deeply and said, "Sorry, Powder. I don't have anything for you. Maybe next time." He shook his head in disappointment at himself.

Powder laughed and punched him on the shoulder. It felt like she tried her best to hit him as hard as she could with a pillow. "Liar! You have it in your lap, silly!"

Mercury gasped in fake surprise, he looked down and sure enough on his lap were two boxes. One blue and one pink. It was convenient for him that the two sisters had hair colors that he could easily identify them by. He wasn't complaining, it made getting gifts much easier. He just got Powder things that were blue and Violet things that were pink.

He slapped his hands to both of his cheeks. "Wow! I am silly. I can't believe I forgot about these things."

Powder giggled some more. "Oh!" She made a noise and held up a finger. "Hold on! I got something for you this time!"

Mercury was stunned. Powder finally had the presence of mind to give gifts as well as receive them? For a kid in Zaun, that was a real mark of maturity. Was she really growing up? Mercury wondered if perhaps time was flying by far too fast.

Powder went back to her and Vi's bunk bed before pulling out a small bag from underneath her bottom bunk. She reached inside it and rummaged a little bit before she pulled out a glowing blue crystal. She ran back to her spot and plopped back down on the floor.

"Here." She pressed the crystal into his right palm before closing her fingers around it. "You said that you like unlucky things. Maybe this will be a real unlucky charm for you. Everything's been going kind of crazy since we got this." She frowned for a bit, lost in thought.

The white-haired teen inspected her gift. It filled his palm with a faint blue light and seemed to contain some sort of wild energy. He chuckled and put it in his pocket. It was a neat gift, maybe he could find someone who would know how to manipulate it and turn it into a necklace or something for him to wear.

Mercury smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks, Pow-Pow. That's really sweet of you!" He poked her on her little button nose.

The little girl slapped his hand away from her nose. She held out both of her hands in a "gimme" motion, her face breaking into an impatient expression. "C'mon, c'mon! I can't wait anymore!" The sudden bout of maturity had disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Alright, alright," he chortled. He picked the blue box out of his lap. "Here you go, you little jinx of mine!"

Before he could hand her the blue box, Vi opened the door. Mercury blinked in surprise. Mylo and Claggor snapped out of their respective dazes to look at her as well. She looked oddly… contemplative. Mercury's head tilted. She was holding a stuffed bunny in her left hand.

He remembered it; he had gotten it for her as a gift. It was his first gift to her, in fact. Time and the elements had not treated it well. It was dirty and dusty. The original white fur was greyed and blacked from years of neglect. The last time that Mercury remembered seeing that bunny was when Vi lost it when some kids tossed it into some power lines and it became stuck.

Powder waved at her and said, "Merc's giving us gifts! C'mon, sit down!" She patted a spot on the floor next to her. She tapped out, Here. She seemed stuck in the competitive tap code mindset.

"Um… In a little bit," Vi said.

Mylo smirked at her and asked from his position on the ground, "How much of a tongue-lashing did Vander give you?"

"He gave enough…" she muttered. She still stood at the base of the stairs to their room.

Mylo dropped his smirk and looked at her inquisitively.

Mercury also furrowed his eyebrows slightly in worry. Vi was usually not that quiet. The only time she was that quiet that Mercury recalled was when he and Vander had picked the two sisters up from the bridge.

He stood up. "You alright?"

He walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked back up at him. Her eyes were dark but they held an absolute resolve that he had never seen before. She smiled slightly before nodding her head. Her expression didn't reach her eyes.

"Yeah… yeah I'm alright. It's just, uh… I just wanted to say thanks," she stammered.

He was slightly bemused. "Uh… sure, I guess. What exactly am I saying 'you're welcome' for, again? I haven't even given you your gift yet!"

She chuckled a little bit. "For being good to us. I don't know, I don't think I've ever said it to you before."

Mercury blinked before grinning again. "Well, yeah! I try my best, y'know? Uh, what's going on?" he asked in concern.

Vi shook her head hurriedly. "Oh! Nothing. I was just gonna give something to Powder really quick before I headed out. I need to see Ekko about something."

"It can't wait till tomorrow?"

She shook her head again. "Nope."

He searched her face once more. Vi had smoothened her face and her tone as well, giving nothing away to him. He thought to himself for a moment. The recent times must have been hitting her hard. And Vander had given her a talk and while Mercury didn't know what it was about, he knew that Vi must have been taking it seriously. He thought that Vander would be happy to see Vi that pensive.

"Alright. If you absolutely must, then you may go, young lady." He gestured grandly to the stairs. He crossed one foot in front of the other, bowed slightly, put his right hand in front of his heart and stretched one arm toward the entrance to the stairs.

She chuckled a little bit and punched his shoulder. Unlike when Powder punched him, Vi's hit actually packed a… well a punch. "I'm only a few years younger than you."

"A few years is an eternity of experience, young lady," he said with great wisdom.

Vi rolled her eyes in good humor before moving past him. She kneeled down to Powder. The pink haired girl handed Powder the bunny that she had gripped in her hand.

"Hey, Pow. So I, uh, I've wanted to tell you this for a little bit now so I guess I'll just do it." Vi took a deep breath before presenting the bunny to Powder. The short, blue-haired girl hesitantly took it. "What makes you different, makes you strong. And this bunny? Merc gave it to me a long time ago and it made me feel super strong. So, I wanted to give this to you so you can be strong on your own too."

Powder tilted her head in confusion. She looked down at the dirty bunny like she was wondering if it would imbue her with some super powers. She looked back up at Vi and nodded her head slowly.

They kept their eyes on each other for a bit. Vi ruffled the hair on her sister's head before turning to the two boys.

"What? No gift for us?" Claggor joked. He was still messing around with the settings on his new goggles.

"'Fraid not. Maybe next time."

Vi walked in between the two of them and patted them both on the heads. They were stunned for a little bit because Vi had never done that before. "I'll see you guys later."

Vi then turned around and walked out of the room, leaving them all quiet and befuddled.

Mercury turned to face Powder. She looked up at him, the stuffed bunny held loosely in her hands.

"On second thought," he said, "I think I'm going to save my gift for you for later."

"Why?"

"Well," Mercury sat down on a seat that they had pushed to the wall, "It's part of a set so I want to give it to you and Vi together. It'll be like a sister only thing!"

Powder nodded her head before hugging the bunny in her arms close to her chest.

Vander spent some time on the bridge, reminiscing. It was perhaps the worst mistake that he made, leading those people across. It led to the death of many of his good friends. It wasn't by choice that Benzo was one of the few friends he still talked to. Vander used to visit a different friend every few days. They would clink glasses and complain about the Pilties together. After the battle, his weeks were mostly just him and Benzo.

And yet, he received Vi and Powder out of the whole ordeal, two wonderful children who he would happily give his life for. And yet still, it was his fault that their parents were killed. He wondered to himself, if he wasn't such a hot headed idiot, if he actually thought about the potential sacrifices that he would make, would they be leading happier lives? Away from him, away from his blunders?

Vander had many regrets in his life and the pain of them never faded. Regret was the cold and dull pain that only grew worse as time went on. But he could never call taking in the kids a mistake. It was, perhaps, one of the only things in his life that he did right.

He left the memorial to his failure and returned to the Last Drop. The streets of Zaun were quiet. He felt a cool wind brush by him, ruffling his hair and beard, rustling his clothes. It never really got cold in Zaun, only varying degrees of mild to warm temperatures. No one died from a cold night, which he was grateful for. The flickering street lights illuminated his way as he trudged back. The weight of memories slowed him down.

He stopped briefly before the Last Drop and took in the sight of his home. Their home, really. It was right in the heart of the Undercity. It was a good spot to put it, lots of foot traffic flowed through the center of the Lanes. The neon sign that signified it shone brightly against the dark of the night. His business was one of the few that actually kept their neon lights on even after hours. To show solidarity.

He had opened the bar a few decades before. His brother had scouted out the location, in fact. They ran it together for a while. That was before their argument. Before one of Vander's biggest regrets.

Vander sighed lowly before slowly pushing in the door and stepping in. It was empty of any guests but Mercury was behind the counter, doing some late clean up and organizing. There was no music playing from the jukebox so there was no casual ambience. It was just the clinking of glass against glass as Mercury rearranged bottles and cleaned them. Mercury had turned off the lights around the edge of the building so there were just the hanging lights in the middle of the room and above the counter which illuminated the room and cast deep shadows.

Powder was on a stool in the front. She was slumped over with her head on the counter in front of her. Vander could only see her back and the back of blue-hair covered head.

Chairs and stools were stacked neatly on top of their tables and the floors were swept and mopped clean. Mercury always made sure to clean up after they closed to prepare for the next day. Vander took care of the financials when he was available.

Vander walked behind the counter and grabbed a light juice to pour for Powder. He pulled out a glass from their shelves and set it in front of the young girl.

"Where're the kids?" he asked Mercury.

The teen continued cleaning. "Oh, Mylo and Claggor are downstairs. I got them gifts so they're messing around with them a bit."

"And Vi?" He hoped that the girl was taking his words to heart. War was no place for a young child, especially not one that thought they were ready for war. He thought he was ready. He became truly ready after one battle and he never wanted to see another one.

Mercury responded without looking at him, "She stepped out. Said that she needed to see Ekko for something."

When Vander finished pouring Powder her drink and she reached to grab it, he noticed something tucked into the girl's arm. It was a dirty, stuffed bunny. Vander's eyes narrowed. He hadn't seen that bunny in years. It was Vi's favorite toy. He remembered her running around everywhere with it when she was a few years younger. When did Vi give it to Powder? he wondered.

Mercury chuckled. "And she looked pretty damn serious too. I thought it was best to give her some space, I have no idea how to deal with that kind of mood." Mercury stepped next to Vander and tilted his head. "Old man, where'd you bring her?"

"The bridge. We had a talk about that night and why I… made a deal…"

Everything seemed to slow down around him. The room became darker and the world became silent. Vander's eyes widened. He quickly patted his right pocket. Empty! He checked his other one. Shit!

The world resumed normally again. The bell on top of the door rang and in walked Benzo. He had a smile on his face and a few books in his hands. "Hey there, you old codger! I got something for you."

Vander's mind whirred quickly. The bridge. The bunny. Benzo. Vi needing to see Ekko. Shit! That idiot girl!

"Merc, we gotta go. Vi's about to do something stupid." Vander grabbed Mercury by the shoulder and brought him alongside the older man to run out of the bar. The teen dropped some of the glasses that he was holding which shattered against the ground and made a mess. Vander didn't even register the sound of broken glass. All he was focused on was getting to Benzo's.

Powder looked at them in bewilderment.

"Whoa! Whoa! What's going on? What's Vi doing?" the boy shouted outside. He quickly stepped into a running form, following right beside Vander.

Benzo followed behind them as well, sensing something was amiss when he saw Vander's face. "Yeah, what's the matter?"

Vander yelled back to the both of them, "Vi stole my message to Grayson! She's about to turn herself in!"

He could only hope they weren't too late.

Author's Note

So, here we get Mercury's backstory. He was not always such a rosy guy. Also, gifts and presents! Tis the season right? Maybe I should write a Christmas chapter someday. Just not this day. Or even the next day. I've got the third episode to write out.

And if you were wondering about the trauma that he'll get in the next episode? Oh yeah, there's gonna be some pretty serious trauma. Or will there? This is an Arcane story so one option is more likely than another. I trust you guys to guess which one it is.

As always, comment and review!

Till next time.