Chapter 2

Ziggs P.O.V.

I wasn't happy about my hunch being correct, but at least it was something. I had run to my room and came up with a quick sketch of the Institute and the buildings surrounding it. I tried to make it as simple and realistic as possible and when I had it done, I looked over it quickly, to check if anything was missing. Then I hurried to find Tristana, who was with Teemo. I hadn't included him in my plans, but another brain on the job was actually a positive thing. I explained briefly what had happened and what we'd found and I showed them my map, explaining roughly where the security cameras were located. They listened intently and even asked a few questions.

"So, you're saying" Teemo spoke after I'd finished "that if Tristy had left the Institute, she would've been spotted by the cameras here or here."

"Yeah."

"But you watched the footage and you found nothing."

"But where is the mech, then? Where's Rumble? How come they've disappeared?" Tristana asked, her brow furrowed as she inspected my drawings.

"I don't know! That's what we need to find out!" I nearly yelled, throwing my hands up into the air before they rested against my head.

"And the magic detectors, are they reliable?"

"They told me they were 100% trustworthy. Like, they can't be wrong, all magic leaves traces and all magic can be detected."

"Let's look at it from a different point of view." Teemo started, frowning. "Why don't we treat it as if Rumble's disappearance and Tristy's disappearance are two different things?"

"But that's impossible!" I whined, slamming my head against the table.

"Hear me out, Ziggs. Let's focus on finding Rumble. So there are no security cameras in the living areas. What if he just took off from there?"

"No, I'm with Ziggs. There's no way Tristy and Rumble's disappearances are a coincidence. But this doesn't add up. They didn't teleport their way out, they didn't leave using the main gates…"

We discussed it for a few minutes, feeling like it got us nowhere. So, I decided we should take a break. It was getting pretty late, and it had been a long time since I'd had anything to eat. With all the things going on, I'd ignored my grumbling tummy.

"I'm going to get some food. You want anything? We can't come up with something on an empty stomach." I said, getting up.

"No, I'm fine. I'll look over your sketches while you're gone." Tristana said, shaking her head.

"I must say, these drawings are impressive, Ziggs." Teemo whispered, a small smile on his lips. "Didn't know you had it in you."

"Yeah, he's quite the artist." The female yordle answered, grinning back at him.

"Thanks." I muttered, my mind elsewhere. "Teemo? You want anything?"

"Eh? No, thanks. We had dinner a while ago."

On my way to the canteen to see if they had any leftover food, I found Poppy and Heirmendinger talking, probably about Rumble. I asked them to join me and they followed me while she was explaining what had happened earlier.

I offered her some food, which she gladly took. She had skipped dinner with me to watch the footage, and then we'd just forgotten, too wrapped up in the recent events.

The two yordles went back with me and Poppy and I started eating while they went over what we already knew. They were silent before Heimerdinger spoke.

"The only explanation I can come up with" He said, his finger tracing over the drawings "is that Rumble tampered with the security cameras."

"What?" I asked, incredulous.

"It's literally the only thing that makes sense. No magic, he just vanishes? It's scientifically impossible."

"But he wouldn't do that!"

"He would if he wants to get away! And to me it seems pretty clear that he does! Rumble's good with this kind of thing. He could've forced the tape to loop or something while he escaped."

We were all silent, letting that sink in.

"He's pretty smart, Ziggs." Poppy whispered, crestfallen. "If he'd wanted to leave, he'd make sure to make it impossible for us to track him down."

"Did he know about the security cameras?" Teemo asked.

"They are pretty obvious to spot." Tristana stated, pointing at one in the corner.

"I didn't know that there were security cameras!" I lashed out at them, my fists hitting the table. "What makes you think he would know?"

"There's one right there! Anyone could spot them! You're just not very observant." Poppy seemed pretty frustrated, but not as much as I was.

"And Rumble is?" I inquired, defensively. I knew him better than any of these yordles, and there they were, pretending that they did.

"He noticed when I got a new haircut." Tristana whispered, looking down at her intertwined hands. No doubt she thought that Heimerdinger was right.

"That's because he likes you." I snapped back at her.

"Ziggs." Poppy's face had softened. She placed a hand on my shoulder and gazed into my eyes with what was probably a comforting look. "I know you're only acting like this because you don't want the truth to sink in, but I think you need to calm down."

"You calm down when it's your best friend that's missing!" I snarled, getting up and brushing her off. "I'm leaving for Bandle. Where did I put my rucksack?"

I looked around me frantically until Heirmedinger cleared his throat, forcing me to look at him.

"Ziggs, don't do this. Don't put your career on the line for him." He warned, his face stern.

"He'll be back, Ziggs." Teemo smiled, probably thinking that would make me calmer. "And with another mech or something. Maybe he just needs some alone time."

"Just because you're a loner doesn't mean he fucking is." I growled, taking him aback. His face showed surprise and then sadness and I clicked my tongue. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's just… I don't think this is like when he made Tristy. He warned me then. He was excited about it. He wanted to prove his point. This time he's just vanished and we've got no lead and it's really upsetting… and…"

I started sniffing and sobbing at that point. I let my body fall limp against the chair and I felt Tristana hold my hand and smile sweetly at me.

"It's hard for us, too, Ziggs, but we're here for you. Trust us. And trust him. He's coming back. Please don't leave."

"What would you have me do?" I yelled, tears rolling down my cheeks, wetting my fur. I shut my eyes tightly, maybe to stop myself from crying any more.

"I'll talk to the Tribunal." Poppy whispered, sounding dead serious. "They'll conduct an investigation if you're that worried. But don't risk your career. You'll regret it if it really isn't something important."

Poppy came back with Vi and Caitlyn tailing behind. There had been the ones put on the case and had even came to hear us out, which was impressive, considering how late it was. I went over everything, while the others contributed by pointing out the stuff I'd accidentally left out.

"OMG, it's so cute!" Vi squealed, a teasing smirk on her face. "Yordles conducting an investigation! Cupcake, I say we let them continue on their own, it's just too adorable for us to interfere."

Her partner shot her a look before she cleared her throat. "Just ignore her. We'll do everything we can to solve this case."

"Thank you very much, officers." Poppy said, offering them a seat.

"I'm sorry, this might be a bit upsetting but I have to ask you some questions. Please answer truthfully and keep in mind that anything you omit will just hinder the investigation."

"Of course." The female yordle answered, eyeing me suspiciously.

"First of all, was Rumble acting strange before his disappearance?" Caitlyn asked, cocking her head to the left as she prepared to write down anything we might say.

"Yes!" Tristana hurried to answer. "He was very secretive! I mean, he's always been a bit reserved but he was acting strange. He would hardly be with us, and when he did, he looked scruffy, wearing the clothes he'd worn the previous day and stuff like that."

"He wasn't eating properly." Heirmendinger spoke carefully. I turned to look at him, surprised he'd picked up on that. I mean, I had, but because he was my best friend. Was whatever that had happened to him that obvious for everyone except for me? Was something wrong with Rumble that I hadn't picked up on?

"Care to elaborate?" Caitlyn asked.

"He would hardly go to the canteen, and when he did, I barely saw him eat anything. I mean, I don't know what it was like at his apartment, but…"

"He's right, he wasn't feeding himself properly." I said. "Not even at his place. I didn't notice, I…"

I stopped myself from sobbing when I saw the sad look the officers gave me, obviously struck by how much I cared for him.

"I'm sorry…" I sniffed, wiping my face with my paw.

"Don't worry. We understand. Did anything happen to him for him to act this way?"

There was a silence I decided to break, thinking about what she'd said before.

"He'd been rejected."

"What do you mean? Had some of his work been rejected or…?"

"I rejected his affections for me." Tristana whispered, a lump in her throat. "I didn't do it bluntly, and it was a long time ago, but Ziggs and I both think it had probably sunk in."

"The last time I spoke to him it was about this. He'd realised she didn't like him in the same way."

"Anything else that was off about him?"

"He was never in his home when we went to see him." Tristana stated.

"He claimed to be working on Tristy in his lab all the time. That's pretty much all I can think of." I whispered.

"I'm sorry, Ziggs." Heirmedinger got up. "I really think Rumble's run away. I'm not going to be of much help and it's really late. If you need me to answer any questions, I'll do so gladly, but that won't change my opinion on what's happened. Good luck on your investigation and I hope Rumble comes back soon, but I'm leaving."

He nodded curtly at us before toddling off.

"It does seem like he wasn't happy with his life." Vi yawned, stretching. "I think he run away, too. Hey, Cupcake, mind if I hit the sack too?"

Caitlyn turned to her partner, a mixture of confusion and suspicion on her face.

"O…kay?"

"Night, yordles!" Vi had already turned around and was walking away as she said those words, waving back at us.

Caitlyn looked startled as she tried to get her head back on the current investigation.

"When did you last see him?"

While everyone there except me told her about the time he went to the canteen for breakfast and then not have anything to eat, I spoke about the time I'd gone to see him.

"I even invited him to come do something with me… but I was too stupid to realise something was up…"

"Ziggs." Tristana put a paw on my shoulder, and I turned my head to look at her. "Don't beat yourself up about this. None of us noticed."

"Ziggs, I think you need to rest." Poppy sighed, her face full of worry.

"It is late." Caitlyn cocked her head and stared at me. "We will continue tomorrow. I have no more questions to ask."

I wanted to whine, to complain about it, but they had all done more than enough so I just settled with burying my face in my paws and quieting an incoming sob.

"He's taken it harder than I thought." I heard Teemo whisper to the other yordles.

"You go on, I'll take Ziggs to bed." Tristana placed an arm over my shoulder and closed the gap between us, leaning in. One of her paws reached out to remove my hands from my face, and she looked into my eyes when I finally uncovered it. "Ziggs…"

"We will find Rumble." Caitlyn spoke, and when I gazed at her, I found her standing up, a determined look on her face. "We will bring him home safe and sound. No, actually, you will. I am certain of it."

"Yeah, Ziggs. Just you wait, he'll be back." Teemo smiled sweetly at me.

"Thanks everyone… for… for everything you're doing for him… and for me." I tried to smile but it was forced and hard, so I ended up giving up. "Good night."

"Sleep well." Poppy muttered as she walked away, looking back at me with worry.

Caitlyn bowed before heading out and Teemo snuck off before I noticed. Tristana and I were the only ones left in the room and I couldn't hold in the tears anymore.

"Hey, hey, don't cry!" She whispered, wiping the droplets away with her thumb.

"I can't help it, I miss him so damn much!"

"Aw, Ziggs, everything will be okay." She muttered, grabbing my head and rocking it gently against her chest, maybe to pacify my loud sobs. "We really should go to bed, though."

"Yeah…" I sniffed, forcing myself away from her grip. I avoided her gaze as I got up and started walking out of the room. She followed close behind, not daring to break the silence and before I knew it, we had reached my apartment.

"Don't cry." She managed a smile. "It doesn't suit you."

"I know." I croaked in between sobs.

We were eating our breakfast at the canteen when Caitlyn waved at me.

"Good morning, yordles." She said when she was within earshot. "I've had specialists inspect the tapes and the footage. The security cameras haven't been tampered with and the footage hasn't been forced to loop or anything."

"Okay…?" Teemo muttered, unsure of what to say. Tristana turned to me, a worried look on her face.

"What does this mean?" Poppy frowned, swallowing her cereal and lowering the spoon.

"What are you talking about?" Kennen asked, intrigued.

"Wait, wait." I stammered. "So, we're back to square one?"

"Seems like it." Caitlyn whispered, a sympathetic look on her face as she stared at me.

"But then… what other option do we have…?" I mumbled, looking back down at my now soggy cereal that I didn't really want to finish.

"Good morning." Heimerdinger spoke as he put down the tray with his breakfast on the table. He watched the human and then cocked his head to look at me. "What's going on?"

"The cameras haven't been tampered with." I sighed, pushing my food away and lowering my head.

"Oh."

"So, ahm… what are we going to do now?" Tristana grabbed my hand as she spoke gently, looking into my eyes.

"Really, what's going on? I don't understand anything." Kennen snapped, irritated after being ignored for so long. Poppy sighed and quickly informed the other of what had happened.

"Hmmm. What if he climbed out of a window or something?" He muttered after a small silence.

"Rumble? Climbing out of a window?" Heimerdinger nearly chocked on his breakfast. "Are you daft?"

"Or escaped through the roof?" Kennen was trying hard to come up with ideas, so I really couldn't be angry with him.

"He couldn't have done it with Tristy." I mumbled, feeling a little disappointed.

"But she's here… Oh, wait, never mind, you were talking about his mech."

Caitlyn cleared her throat, maybe to make us focus back on her.

"I could ask them to look again, just to be sure." She offered, but it was clear she thought it was hopeless.

I was about to reject her politely when the doors of the canteen opened with a bang and Vi came running in, a smirk on her face.

"Ziggs! Cupcake!" She screamed as she pushed her way to our table. She was panting by the time she got there but the smile was still on her features. "I've got a lead!"