Personal Responsibility

by HeartOfMan

Jinx makes a different choice following the death of her father. With a new goal in mind, she sets out to make things right. While this happens, Vi and Caitlyn become more involved in the conflict between Piltover and the Undercity, with Jayce and Viktor deciding how Hextech should be used after the mistakes both men have made. Nothing is certain, except nothing will be the same.

12. Hours, Days and Years

Hey guys! Happy late new year! I'm back with the next chapter of this fic and boy it's a tiny bit long, but hey, as long as it tells the story. This was a bit challenging to write, both in deciding what I should and shouldn't include, because a lot of stuff needed to happen in this chapter. It was mostly just me taking out what wasn't really necessary and replacing it with stuff that I couldn't really leave for later, so yeah. Pretty proud of this one, not gonna lie, so I hope you all enjoy it!

See you at the end!

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Ekko had seen a lot of change in his life, and he liked to think he'd gotten good at rolling with the punches. When it came to unwanted change, whether that be personal loss or the failure of a project or plan, he could soldier on with the best of them. He'd had to when he'd lost nearly everyone he held dear and was thrust into a position of leadership in the Firelights. Over the years he'd grown to expect change around every corner, not good or bad necessarily, just… different.

What threw him through a loop, though, was when something big happened and nothing changed at all. Ekko knew that the world was shifting all the time, transforming with every tick of the clock, but sometimes he forgot that just because something changed, it didn't mean everything shifted with it.

Sometimes things happened and life just went on, nearly exactly the same as yesterday and probably the same as tomorrow, and he had to tell himself that was just fine. Things would be a lot different if the world could be changed in a day, but it couldn't and Ekko needed to live with it. It was much easier said than done, however, especially when that fact was staring him right in the face.

Case in point…

"You good?" Ekko heard from his right and he turned his head, seeing Scar looking at him with a curious, almost worried expression on his face. The Vastayan leaned forward with a low hum, looking him up and down for a moment before sitting back, his large ears twitching for a second. "Ekko?" Scar asked, breaking the silence that had formed while Ekko stared blankly at him.

Ekko shook his head with a start, reaching up and rubbing his face while he suppressed a yawn. "Sorry man, I zoned out for a moment." He said, looking to Scar and then around the room, meeting Aerin and Pyne's gazes for a second before turning back to his second in command. "What were you saying?"

Scar's eyes flickered to the other two occupants of the room, sitting opposite them at the round, wooden table at the center of the room. Then his eyes focused back on Ekko before speaking. "I was going over our patrol routes for the day."

"Right, sorry." Ekko said, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the tabletop in front of him. "Go on, I'm listening."

Scar kept his gaze on him for a moment before turning to face the rest of the group, explaining the routes the various patrol teams would take, along with when each group would be coming back to base for rests and a resupply. Ekko did his best to focus on what his friend and teammate was saying this time, pushing aside the thoughts that had been running rampant inside his head.

This was one of the things that stayed the same, a staple of Ekko's day-to-day, and while he knew logically there was no reason for that to change, he couldn't help but feel a little disconcerted. They'd had Piltover's full support for over three whole weeks now, getting shipments of supplies and resources every week that would've taken them months to gather on their own, yet it felt like nothing had changed down here. He knew that wasn't true, he'd seen it with his own eyes, but it all seemed superficial to him. Whether they were doing hit and run on the Chembaron's businesses or patrolling the lanes, whether they were building their base from scrap they collected from the Lanes or materials imported from Piltover, at a base level they were still doing the same thing. It didn't matter that they had been doing good since their group's inception, nor that they were continuing to do so after their deal with Piltover's council, Ekko couldn't help but feel they weren't doing enough.

Ekko had spent the better part of his life fighting the corruption in the Undercity, relying on nothing but the combined strength and minds of the Firelights he led, but to ally with Piltover after all this time, and for almost nothing to really change?

It almost felt like a waste of time except that Ekko knew it wasn't, at least on an intellectual level. But knowing something and truly accepting it were two very different things, and there was a part of Ekko, deep down in his gut, that told him they weren't doing enough. That he wasn't doing enough…

It was impatience, plain and simple, but it was a feeling he couldn't shake.

Even the morning meetings he'd held for years with the higher ranking members of the Firelights, though saying their people had ranks made things sound a lot more official than they really were, they felt just a little bit pointless now. Every morning, Ekko, Scar, Aerin and Pyne would gather in one of the higher up rooms built into the tree, and there they would go over everything needed to keep the Firelights running each day. Ekko's presence was self-explanatory; he basically led the group and served as their tinkerer, building whatever the group needed and, if he didn't have the time to do it himself, showing others how to do the same. Whether that be their gear, from their hoverboards, their capture grenades or the voice-modulating masks they all wore, to the small buildings and other structures dotted around the compound - Ekko did it all. Scar was the one in charge of training their members, so that those among them who wanted to fight on the front lines had the ability to do so, along with organizing their movements and attack plans, though that was usually done with Ekko's help.

Aerin and Pyne's jobs were a lot more specific in nature, though Ekko would be first in line to say what they were responsible for was far more important than what he and Scar did. Pyne, a short, middle aged man with pale skin and short, graying hair, acted as their quartermaster, and was near enough in charge of all their supplies. Since the beginning of their group, Pyne had proven to be their most organized member by far, and had soon been put in the position of looking after and distributing all their resources. It was by no means an official position, nothing in the Firelights was, but everyone in the group respected his position enough to check with him before taking food, ammunition or whatever else was needed. It wasn't to do with him hoarding their resources or anything like that, but rather for the longest time they'd been living practically hand to mouth, so they needed someone to make sure they were putting their supplies towards the right things.

Aerin, a rather tall woman with dark skin and long, braided hair, was the Firelights' own medical expert. Not their doctor, never doctor, since she had a heavy dislike for the word for reasons Ekko didn't know, but it was her job to keep the Firelights alive and in fighting condition. She mostly dealt with injuries and illness in their base, but most times she'd join the Firelights on their missions into the Undercity proper, hanging back and out of the fight to act as a sort of first-aid in case any of them got injured. When she wasn't tending to them, Aerin was teaching medicine to volunteers because she knew she couldn't be everywhere at once, so having people to help pick up the slack was a must. That, and she was very vocal about "spreading the knowledge", because there could never be enough help when it came to saving lives.

Before Ekko signed on with Piltover's Golden Boy, becoming a Councillor of all fucking things in an effort to help stop the Undercity from imploding after Silco's death, the four of them would meet to discuss whatever they might need or planned on doing over the day, and in the past that actually felt useful. Now though, Ekko felt like he could predict exactly what the four of them would say, down to the exact words they'd use. Pyne would say they were doing great on resources due to the aid from up Topside, though they should still be careful with what they have, and Scar would go over the different routes each squad would take through the Lanes over the day, maximizing ground coverage and visibility to the people. Aerin's report was usually the most varied, even before allying with Piltover, but even that had mostly died down. With the influx of medicine and the recent addition of Talis' Hextech Healer, most of her work was being done for her.

Of course, she'd gone to great lengths to discover the limits of the device in its current form, and while she'd found a few things that Viktor would need to rectify, none of it was unexpected. The device worked by accelerating the natural healing process of a living organism, but that meant a person would be using energy at a rapid pace. Someone who was malnourished or had a weaker constitution overall might just… waste away, was the only way Ekko could think to describe it. The other drawback that Viktor figured might come up was how the Hextech Healer might affect diseases, namely that it didn't. It wasn't very complicated; the machine flooded the body with energy and enhanced its natural functions, allowing the body to heal injuries in a fraction of the time, and while it strengthened a person's immune system, it also seemed to empower any virus or other sickness afflicting them. It didn't help people suffering from illness but it didn't hurt them either, which as far as Viktor was concerned was a fantastic place to start.

Regardless, Aerin would have her work cut out for her for the foreseeable future, just like always, which was another part of why Ekko felt like they weren't really getting anywhere. He couldn't really tell anyone that, though, because he could see the effects the deal with Piltover were having. The Firelights had food and water to spare, along with the resources to improve their living conditions, and all the work they'd done in the Lanes had led to them gaining a decent reputation. More than they'd had in the time before Silco's death, where they'd been nothing more than a rumor to those outside of the Chembaron's employ. They weren't being heralded as saviors of the Undercity or anything like that, not with their clear connection to the Enforcers, but they were being seen in a mostly positive light which was more than Ekko had ever expected.

Honestly, Ekko thought, I'm just being stupid.

Things were changing, but that change had turned into a bit of a routine by this point, and that was okay. All he had to do was keep reminding himself of that.

It was just so hard sometimes…

"Well, I have patients I need to tend to." Aerin announced once the meeting had finished, standing as she brushed her hair over her shoulder before walking towards the door. "Do try to stay in one piece today, boys." She said as she left the room, looking away from the rest of them, but Ekko and Scar got the message.

"If that's it, I'll be checking our stores for the day." Pyne said a moment later, following Aerin out the room.

Then it was just Ekko and Scar.

Ekko let out a sigh and pressed his palms to a face, muffling the noise as he leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees. He stayed like that for a moment, trying to drive away the thoughts that plagued his mind. He was having little to no success when he felt Scar place a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?" Scar asked as Ekko looked up at him, meeting his large, green eyes. There was a concern there that Ekko wasn't used to seeing in his friend, the Vastayan tending to keep his emotions to himself, and he felt himself wilting in the face of it.

"Nothing's wrong, really." Ekko denied, leaning back in his chair. He let out a huff before continuing. "I just keep getting the feeling that we could be doing more, you know."

Scar nodded and sat back, taking his hand off Ekko's shoulder and folding his arms over his chest. "We could always be doing more." He agreed. "But that goes for everyone, not just us. And even if we did do more, how do we know we'd be making things better than we are now?"

"We can't, but you could say the same thing about the Firelights in the beginning." Ekko said with a wry smile, not really sure why he was bringing all this up. He normally wasn't one for doubts, but then again it had been a very long time since he'd gotten so badly stuck on something… "It's not like we knew gearing up and gunning for Silco would do anything. We were all just sick of watching our home go to shit." He finished with a deep breath, thinking back on the days before their first mission. He'd been so young, then, running on rage and hope and the singular belief that he could change things in a single night, with nothing more than a mask, a bat and some new friends. "We all could've died that first night and nothing would've changed, or maybe things would've gotten worse with the Chembarons cracking down even harder on the people in the Lanes. We didn't know but we did it anyway, and look where we are now."

Scar hummed his agreement, a deep and gravelly sound that belied his calm appearance. "But we had nothing to lose back then, not compared to what we have now." He gestured to the door with a hand, or rather the small settlement just past it. "We've built something good over the years, and it isn't worth throwing it all away on a chance that maybe we could do more, because we weren't satisfied with what we've been doing. All the people who rely on us, before and after joining up with Topside - we'd be letting them down."

Silence stretched out for a moment after Scar finished speaking, as Ekko struggled to find the right words to say. "I get what you're saying, and I agree with it, but…"

"You feel like more should've happened by now." Scar finished Ekko's statement, and he nodded. "I feel the same, at least when you consider all it took for us to get to this point in the first place. Still, we're working with Piltover to stop the Undercity turning into a warzone because of Silco's death, so less news is good news, but you and I both know it won't last forever."

"The house is already burning, we're just trying to slow the flames, right?" Ekko asked.

"I think so. Maybe things won't fall apart and we'll all fix the Undercity, piece by piece, but the Chembarons will try something, sooner or later. The Lanes are too important to leave alone." Scar explained, and while it was all stuff Ekko knew and understood, simply hearing it helped more than he realized it would. "We've seen it with all the gang activity going on, like the shootout we and the Enforcers got involved in a few days ago."

"Which is why we're hitting the Chembaron's as much as possible. The more of their resources we take out leading up to all this, the less they'll be able to do to each other and to the Lanes when the fighting starts." Ekko summarized, and Scar gave a small smile.

"Pretty much. If we don't work as hard as we can doing that, if we don't properly prepare for all this, then someone will take Silco's place", Scar declared, the smile vanishing from his face, "and I doubt they'll be willing to work with Piltover. Or even coexist…" He trailed off, letting Ekko put his meaning together.

"Another charge across the bridge…" Ekko whispered. He hadn't been anywhere near the Lanes' first attempt at gaining ground in Piltover, but he knew people who had, and he knew what the outcome of a second attempt would be. Vander had stopped once he realized what the Undercity's independence would cost, should they continue down that path of rebellion. As much as it pained Ekko to admit the Undercity had never stood a chance in a fight against Piltover, and that difference in power only grew with the creation of Hextech. But with Shimmer flooding the Lanes and beyond, all it would take was one Chembaron with enough people and resources to turn Piltover into a bloodbath.

It wasn't like Ekko was over or underestimating either side, either. As things stood, Piltover's Council was trying for as peaceful a resolution as possible, something Ekko personally agreed with, but that put them in a pretty bad position to defend against an all out attack. If there was a Chembaron out there with an army of Shimmer-enhanced soldiers, like the ones that guarded Silco's factories, then they could give the order and have them descend on Piltover. Whatever the outcome, if Piltover fell or they responded in kind, thousands would die.

Scar was right: boring was better right then.

"You're right." Ekko relented, thumbing his nose before rolling his shoulder. "Maybe I'm not just used to things going well, and that I'm afraid it'll go wrong if I'm not constantly running myself ragged."

"You're pretty young", Scar shrugged, "so you probably haven't learnt this yet, but part of getting older is knowing when to be satisfied with what you've done, at least for a little while."

"Some people would call that complacency." Ekko said with a smirk, one that Scar returned.

"Sure, but I doubt those people have done much with their lives in the first place." Scar retorted, and Ekko barked out a laugh. "The world is always changing, but the kind of change you and I are looking for takes years to bring about. And that's all well and good but life goes on inbetween it all, and what's the point of our work if we don't get to live during that time?" Scar asked, but Ekko couldn't find a response, turning away with a hum. A moment passed in silence before Scar spoke again. "I think I know what's causing your problem." He said, and Ekko couldn't hold back a sigh.

"Really? We're doing this again?" He asked, fighting the urge to stand and leave because he didn't want to upset his friend. "I've told you before that my projects are going well. I've got working prototypes and everything!" Ekko said, throwing his hands forward for emphasis, before folding his arms with a huff. "It's got nothing to do with this."

"You sure about that?" Scar asked, though his tone told Ekko the question was rhetorical. "You were so excited for nearly two whole weeks after getting your hands on Hextech. Told me how you had three projects on the go, but I've heard nothing about it for a good ten days now. Wanna tell me what's happened?" He asked, leaning back in his chair with a small smile, making it clear he was prepared to wait.

Ekko considered ignoring him until he got bored, and then they could both go about their day, but Scar was his friend. He'd been there with him through it all, since they came together to form the Firelights. Deep down, Ekko knew he could trust him with anything. Well, nearly anything…

"It's my personal project." Ekko admitted, the words coming to him slowly at first, before they tumbled out of him. "It's been causing me issues for over a week now and I don't know what to do! The other two are going well, really well, but I just can't finish them because of this last one and it's driving me insane!" He shouted, his cry like a gunshot in the quiet room, before he took a deep breath. "It should work, I know it should, because this isn't regular science. This is Hextech: magic and steel put together, the rules I normally work with don't apply here - at least they shouldn't." Ekko finished with a snarl as he slumped back in his chair, the wind escaping his sails and leaving him short of breath.

"Okay…" Scar drawled. "I'm no good with this science stuff, even less so with magic, but it sounds like you're trying to do something new with Hextech, right?" Ekko shrugged, though that was probably enough of a confirmation. "But other than that you're not having any trouble? It's like building any other machine, just one that plays by a different set of rules."

"Something like that." Ekko sighed, thinking over the words he was about to say. "Hextech is a science like any other, just different and a little more complicated. Instead of working with chemicals and physical materials, it's runes and energy from another dimension, but the process is almost exactly the same. At the end of the day though, the majority of my work with Hextech is a continuation of work from others. That's how science evolves. It's like how I didn't invent the engine, but I know how to make one, and I know how to make it better than other people, because I've built on from what came before."

"But this final project is something new then?" Scar asked. "You're trying to make something that's not been done before? Why?"

"Because I think it's possible?" Ekko answered, honestly unsure himself. "Because I think it can help? Because I want to? Take your pick."

Scar looked at him with skepticism in his gaze, though he wasn't outright denying what Ekko was saying which was always nice. "Right… So, you're trying to build something that… wait, what are you even trying to build."

"I'm… not even sure how to explain it to you." Ekko tried, knowing the answer was bullshit, but how did you tell your friend you were trying to build something that broke one of the fundamental rules of nature? "It's probably easier to just show you when it's done." He shrugged, and Scar gave him a bemused look, before his expression settled into a small smile.

"You know that excuse just gets more annoying as you use it, right?" He laughed, before reaching up and scratching the back of his head. "Just… make sure it doesn't blow up or anything like that."

Ekko nodded easily, waving off his friend's concern because the way things were then, the odds of his device blowing up or anything like that were incredibly low. Not due to any safety features Ekko had installed but because the device, for all intents and purposes, was just a hunk of unpowered metal. If he ever managed to get it powered, though, and something did go wrong…

Well, the less that was said about that the better.

"All I'm saying is to give it some time." Scar drawled, and Ekko turned to him with wide eyes which quickly narrowed, seeing the concerned, innocent look in his eyes. Ekko thought he might be messing with him, that he knew about his personal project, but there wasn't a hint of deception on his face.

Ekko couldn't help it; he laughed, his low chuckles spreading throughout the room as Scar fixed him a glare, like he didn't know why he was laughing but he didn't like it anyways. "Sorry, sorry, it's just, you're talking to me about time?" He explained, and he let out another bark of laughter as Scar rolled his eyes.

"You and your clocks…" He said with a huff, before chuckling. "You know, you keep this up and you'll never get a girl."

Ekko leaned forward and jabbed his friend in the shoulder before standing, smiling all the while. "Some of us have more important things to worry about." He joked, walking towards the door with Scar climbing to his feet behind him.

"You know who says that?" Scar said as he trailed behind him, the two of them stepping out and into the midday light flowing into their home. "Losers."

"Watch it." Ekko warned him, though there was no heat behind it. He walked forward towards the edge of the wooden platform built into the tree and leaned forward on the railing, taking a breath from what might be the only source of fresh air in the entire Undercity. "But yeah, thanks. I'll think about what you said." He declared, his eyes trailing down and to the open space at the base of the tree. A lot of the Firelights were milling about, talking, eating or otherwise resting in between patrols, or whatever duties they had throughout the day. What caught his eye, though, was the large group of kids huddled just outside one of the huts built by the outer wall of their base. They were all facing towards the tree, but even from up above Ekko could see their eyes weren't focused on it.

Instead, all their gazes were fixed on Professor Heimerdinger, sitting on a small wooden box before them as he spoke to them about something or other. As far as Ekko was aware, Heimerdinger hadn't agreed to teach any lessons today, so the kids had probably badgered him into spending time with them. He couldn't quite hear what they were saying but from the excited looks on the children's faces, it must've been quite the story.

"I'm still surprised at how much the kids love the Piltie." Scar commented as he leaned on the railing just beside Ekko, and he shot the taller man a glance.

"He's good with them, though I don't know if it's 'cause of him or the fact that he looks like a fluffy teddy bear." Ekko agreed with a curl of his lips, looking down towards his newest friend with fond eyes. "Or maybe because he can't say no to them."

"Probably that." Scar said with a grin, watching as one of the younger kids hopped to her feet and scampered towards him, wrapping him in her arms and lifting him off the chair. The ex-Councillor floundered in her grasp for a moment before a sigh wracked his chest, visibly resigning himself to his fate as she plopped back down by the group, the Yordle scientist sat firmly in her lap. The rest of the group huddled closer as Heimerdinger continued his story, and Ekko could respect the effort that went into remaining composed in his position. It couldn't have been easy, not with a little girl hugging him into her chest, but he was trying his best. "Still not sure how I feel about him, but I'm okay with him hanging around at least." Scar continued, drawing Ekko's gaze.

"That's good." Ekko said, stepping back and pushing his hands into his pockets. "He's not perfect and he knows it, but he really is trying to be better."

"I know that. It's why I'm not kicking up a fuss about him being here." Scar explained, turning around and leaning back on the railing, folding his arms across his chest. "Not everything's black and white, especially in cities like ours, which I've been trying to be more understanding of in recent weeks."

Ekko nodded with a hum. "We all do, especially since we're in bed with the Enforcers right now."

Scar leaned his head back until a loud click sounded, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Who'd have thought, huh? I guess we just have to change with the times." He said before pushing off the rail and stepping past Ekko, speaking as he walked. "Well, I'm gonna head down and check on the Yordle. Don't want the kids thinking they own him."

Ekko snorted as Scar headed down the stairs leading to the base of the tree, calling out after him. "Give him a bit to finish his story! You know how he gets about that!" He didn't hear a response but Ekko was pretty sure Scar heard him. The man's hearing was like… well, it was like a bat's, which was something he'd never say to the man's face. He wasn't sure if something like that was offensive to Vastayans, and he certainly wasn't stupid enough to try and find out. The truth of the matter was that Scar could hear a pin drop from what felt like a mile away, and Ekko was content to let it be.

And so, after looking down on everything he and his people had built for just a second longer, Ekko turned and headed up the stairs, a grim mask of determination settling on his face. A few moments later he reached a large steel door built into this section of their treehouse, with a round clock built into the metal and a sign underneath that said 'knock first', in bold, green letters. Fishing a set of keys out from his pocket, Ekko opened each of the three locks in quick succession, sparing a glance for the clock that he couldn't help but feel was a little gaudy. He'd built the door years ago, when he'd been younger and happier, as a way of saying the space behind it was his, because he'd felt it was cooler than just writing his name on it. He'd considered taking the clock out a few times over the years, but he couldn't bring himself to. Something about it made him feel better, if that made any sense. Something to hold on to.

Ekko shook his head and opened the door, pushing aside those thoughts and stepping inside his workshop, closing the door behind him with a sigh. Looking over the room which he'd come to call his own over the years, with barebones decorations making way for half a dozen shelves and cabinets that contained stars knows how many tools. Besides those, the only things that weren't to do with his tinkering was the single bed tucked into the back corner of the room, and the motley, round rung in the middle of the floor. His eyes drifted towards the workbench near the door, where he and Heimerdinger had spent a lot of time tinkering before Talis came to him with his offer, focusing on the new machine that rested atop it.

He headed towards the desk and slumped into the chair in front of it, taking in the device that had been plaguing his thoughts since he first built it over a week ago. The machine's round base was made from the best steel Piltover had to offer, according to Talis when he'd received the first delivery promised to the Firelights, and was about an inch thick with a ten inch radius. Expanding out from the center of the metal plate was a series of copper-lined grooves, equidistant from each other but growing in size as they moved further from the middle of the machine, like the rings within a tree. Inside each ring were carefully laid tracks made from steel, acting as miniature train tracks like the ones that transported goods all across the Undercity. Each carried a single tiny carriage, if they could even be called that, with a long, thin copper rod welded to the top, and that itself had an inch-and-a-half ring welded vertically to the top. Inside each of those was a series of small copper plates, each with a single rune cut into them. Each rune was different and could be removed and replaced with another, with the rod that held them being adjustable in length with a small screw at the bottom. Welded into the center of the device's plate was a single solid copper rod, unadjustable with a small, round wire cage attached instead of the runic rings on the others. The only other feature was a series of small knobs built into the rim of the metal plate, each corresponding to one of the device's rings and allowing him to move each rune independently, along with a large green button at the rim's center, standing out amongst the gray and brown.

This was what had been causing him so many problems recently: his Hextech Converter. It was a stupid name and Ekko knew it, but this wasn't the personal project he'd been working on. That was still nothing more than an extremely detailed blueprint sitting in one of the workshop cabinets. The Hextech Converter was what would allow his personal project to work in the first place.

Now if he could only get the fucking thing to work…

"Who ever said time travel would be easy…" Ekko drawled, leaning back in his chair with a sigh and gazing up at the ceiling.

Ekko wasn't sure what he'd been thinking when he decided to try and build a time machine. All he knew was that he wanted to build something personal, something unique that he could truly call his own work, not built off the back of some privileged Piltie like Talis. He'd told Scar that all science was built off work from the people who'd come before, and he accepted it for the most part, but when it came to the Hextech thrown into his lap by the fucking Man of Piltover, the pompous sumprat that he was, Ekko wasn't willing to just work with what he'd been given - not entirely. He needed one thing to prove that he wasn't just some copycat, taking the scraps Topside deigned to give to the Undercity, because his pride wouldn't allow it. And Ekko knew about pride coming before a fall, but he was a scientist for fucks sake; he lived to discovering the unknown, and using it to help the people around him.

So since Talis' Hextech occupied the realm of physical space, allowing for teleportation, the manipulation of weight, and a whole host of other effects to do with the material world, Ekko set his sights on the immaterial, onto something that he'd held dear for his entire life.

He decided to try and shatter time.

It wouldn't be as simple as that, though; he was trying to create a whole new branch of Hextech, for crying out loud! He knew it was possible, though. It had to be. In the notebook Talis had given Ekko, and all the books he'd found in Piltover since then, he'd learned about the supposed source of magic in their world: the Spirit Realm. Home to Yordles like Heimerdinger, the Spirit Realm existed in a space separated from their own, and it ran on a completely different system of time. According to practically every text he'd read, a day in there could last between a single second and a whole decade in the normal world, depending on where a person entered and exited the Spirit Realm, and where they went in between. That meant that at the most basic level, magic could manipulate time in some fashion, and Ekko had taken hold of that knowledge and ran.

Once he'd gotten his other two projects off the ground and in a decent state, he'd gotten to work designing the machine he'd use to control time, a device he'd come to call the Z-Drive. He'd needed to work out an entire book's worth of rune combinations to make the design even feasible, based on his own recent work with Hextech and all the machines shown in Talis' little notebook, along with everything he and Viktor had shown him over the past three weeks. He only realized his mistake when he started gathering the materials to build his Z-Drive, because his whole theory on time travel relied on the fact that magic could affect both time and space. The problem was that the Gemstones that powered all Hextech were attuned to material space on a fundamental level. Everything they did operated within the flow of time, how could they manipulate time itself in their current state?

Of course, Ekko wasn't so naive to believe that without testing it for himself, so he'd constructed a small test device with rune sequences that would, if he was wrong, would slow time in the space around it. Even if his runes were wrong and the Gemstone worked anyways, he was confident he'd get at least some form of temporal anomaly. But no, when he'd put the Gemstone in and turned on the device, the runes had glowed blue before shifting to a bright, stunning emerald. Then a second later the fucking thing exploded, sending shards of metal flying everywhere and nearly taking his eye out, the piece of steel deflecting off his goggles before they could do any harm.

Beyond all that, though, was what happened to the Gemstone he'd used for the test. It had shattered into a dozen or so chunks, losing the arcane energy it had held, but what should've been dull blue crystalline chunks were instead a deep, dark green. Green like the light that had shone before the device detonated, and Ekko knew he was on the right track. The fact that the runes had produced something completely new, glowing green before breaking, proved his theory on the nature of magic, at least partially. Ekko had read about the failed Hextech devices Viktor and Talis had built over the years, and the only time a violent reaction like the one he'd seen occur was when the fault lay in the machinery itself, not with the magic or the runes. The fact that the runes had tried to do something before the crystal shattered showed that his hypothesis on the malleability of time had some merit. All he had to do was find a way to transform the energy within the crystal so the runes could fully realize their effects.

That was where the trouble began. He'd combed through every blueprint for Hextech he could find, searching for any device that had even the slightest capability in altering the fundamental nature of arcane energy. He started by looking through the dozens of schematics for energy generators that Talis had designed over the years, moving on from there when he couldn't find anything that suited his needs. He spent hours going through anything he felt was even remotely relevant to his goals before coming up empty, but by that point he was in for the long haul, and Ekko figured the next best thing to do was to go through every single design in the book. If there was nothing there then he would've had to build something from scratch, which didn't bother him as much as he'd thought. It would've been another thing to hold over Talis' head, after all.

Thankfully Ekko found his answers on the literal third page of the notebook, in the first Hextech schematic Talis put in there, though he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. He'd spent hours combing through these different designs when all he'd had to do was open the book from the beginning, and he would've had his answer in seconds. Still, it was another step in the right direction, and he set about adapting it for his own design.

The machine in question didn't have a name written in the book which Ekko found a bit odd, especially considering its significance, but all that mattered was its function. This was the machine that Talis and Viktor broke into Heimerdinger's lab eight years ago to use, after it had been confiscated by the Enforcers. Its purpose was to alter the frequency of the original Hextech Gemstones energy so that it could be utilized in the material realm without any… violent reactions. By using runes to stabilize the gemstones frequency, resonating with their world as well as the Spirit Realm, the gemstones could be used to power any and all Hextech.

Ekko believed the same principle applied with his work. If he could somehow alter the energy being drawn from the Spirit Realm instead of the way it was expressed in theirs, then maybe he could transform a Hextech Gemstone into something that would power the Z-Drive.

That was the purpose of his Hextech Converter, as he'd taken to calling it, but it wasn't working.

Ekko took a deep breath and pulled open the desk drawer on the right, retrieving a little brown notebook and a single Hextech Gemstone, perfectly round and glowing a bright, brilliant blue. He placed the latter down beside the base of the Hextech Converter before opening the book, finding the next blank page and turning back one, reading over his notes from his last attempt at creating a new form of Hextech. It contained the exact positioning for each rune along with the height they'd been set at, and Ekko took a moment to look over the device before him, seeing that it matched his notes and was just as he'd left it. Then he turned back to the blank page and picked up the pen resting at the edge of the workbench, scribbling down new heights and angles for his next test as his free hand fell to the Hextech Converter, adjusting each rune as he went along.

It took nearly fifteen minutes for him to get each rune in position, going back in his notes and seeing which rune and where had the best effect, which usually meant the least disastrous. He even had to swap out a few of the runes there, a function he'd installed after the fourth failed attempt, and he realized that forging an entirely new stand took much more effort than simply making the runes interchangeable. Once all was said and done, though, and Ekko was happy with how the Converter was configured, he leaned back with a sigh.

"Let's try you out, then…" He whispered beneath his breath, reaching up to open the cage atop the stand at the center of the Converter. Then he swept up the Hextech Gemstone and placed it into the cage, shutting it after a second and locking it in place. The cage hadn't been part of the original design either since he hadn't considered such a thing necessary, but after his first attempt at using the machine led to the gemstone exploding into a dozen shards of crystal, he figured it was better safe than sorry. Now when he tried and failed to convert a gemstone, because that's how his tests always ended, they shattered within the cage instead being blasted across his room. It was just as disheartening, but a lot easier to clean up.

No, Ekko thought, pushing those thoughts aside and focusing on what was in front of him, this'll work this time. It has to.

Without another word, Ekko reached down to the hook attached to the edge of the desk, snatching his goggles from it and placing them over his eyes. Then, taking a deep breath, he slammed the bottom of his fist into the green button at the base of the device, watching with narrowed eyes as the runes and gemstone began to blaze with energy, casting blue light across the workshop. Azure electricity shot from the gemstone, connecting with each of the Converter's runes, causing them to hum with power before arcing off in a dozen different directions. One hit his left bicep and Ekko jerked back with a grunt, reflexively pressing his right hand to the spot before pushing himself back.

By this point the workbench was shaking violently, slamming against the back wall every few seconds as lightning arced across its surface, the blue light from the gemstone growing brighter and brighter, before it and the gemstone shifted colors, transforming into the radiant emerald that haunted his dreams. The breath left Ekko's chest as power unlike anything he'd ever felt before filled the air, pressing against his body like there was an actual, physical weight behind it, and a shiver ran down his spine. Green light flooded the room, then, feeling warm against his skin and banishing the shadows in the corners of the workshop. With a crash of thunder, lightning the color of grass exploded out from the gemstone, hitting him in the chest and face and cracking one of the lenses in his goggles. Part of Ekko thought he should take cover behind something, just in case, but he couldn't bring himself to move.

This was the furthest he'd ever gotten! Nothing before had even come close to this, in intensity or power or anything!

It was too good to be true.

A single crack appeared along the surface of the Hextech Gemstone, marring its veridian surface and causing the light emitting from it to dim. The lightning that poured out of the emerald orb pulsed for a second before disappearing entirely, and the hum of power filling the air vanished soon after. Ekko had leapt to his feet at some point during all this, anger and a forlorn hope raging within his chest. "No, no no no! Don't go out on me! Come on, come on…" He called out in desperation, begging that this would just work. But the gemstone's beautiful, jade light grew dim mere moments later before fading completely, a dozen other cracks appearing across the crystal as it did.

Then, with a final, mournful whir the Hextech Converter shut down, leaving Ekko alone in his quiet workshop, the weight of defeat hanging heavy in his gut. He looked down after a few seconds, a single moment that felt like an eternity, letting his hands fall to his sides even as they clenched into fists. Ekko drew in a series of deep breaths, not trusting himself to speak or even move right then.

Two, three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen, seventeen, nineteen, twenty-three, twenty-nine… Ekko counted, relying on the stable repetition of numbers to help him keep his cool. When things started to snowball, getting further and further out of his control, he found that the best thing to do was find something that he could control, wholly and unequivocally. Something like numbers, which come rain or snow would always stay the same. A minute later, when Ekko had counted all the prime numbers up to five hundred and seventy-seven; when his heart had stopped hammering inside his chest and his stomach wasn't twisting itself into knots, he stepped forward and opened the cage atop the Hextech Converter.

His hands were shaking as he unlocked the small latch holding the metal cage closed, and he told a deep breath to steady his nerves. Then he flipped the lid in a single, smooth motion, ready to catch whatever shards remained of the Hextech Gemstone. Only, much to Ekko's shock, the gemstone remained intact, sitting there, dim and empty and whole, unlike any of the gemstones that came before it. Ekko plucked it up with his forefinger and thumb, being as gentle as he possibly could, before letting it roll into his palm. The blue light and power that seemed to almost leak from the orb was gone, leaving a dull green crystal in its wake, but despite the failure something about it was… cleaner, if that made any sense. The gemstone was empty but unbroken, and something akin to pride welled up within his chest. It hadn't worked, and part of Ekko would always be disappointed about that, but he couldn't deny that something had changed. Why else would crystal remain in one piece, after producing more power and lightning than ever before, and for longer as well?

Passing the depleted, emerald gemstone into his left hand, Ekko picked up his pen and circled the notes he'd made for this experiment, underlining the date and experiment number for good measure. What he'd done here had worked more than anything he'd tried before - he needed to find out why, and if it could take him any further.

Before doing any of that, however, Ekko placed his pen down and reached down under his desk, retrieving a small, plain steel box and placing it on his workbench. Opening the lid with a finger, he looked into the box and saw the small collection of green shards and dust that he'd amassed during his failed experiments with time. The chunks ranged from large to small, forming a layer of green crystal at the bottom of the box, and Ekko gently placed the gemstone atop the pile. He then made sure it wouldn't roll around or break in there before closing the box, slowly placing it back underneath the desk after a moment.

That's a good sign. Sure, it didn't work, but that's okay. Ekko thought as he sat back down, rubbing his cheeks with the palms of his hands.

He just had to take his time and figure out what was different about this experiment than the others, or if it was just a case of having the right runes in the right positions. He'd need to hit the books again, going through his rapidly expanding collection of texts exploring the arcane. Each gave second hand accounts of various magical phenomena across the world, from the Freljord and all the way to Ionia, because none of the books Ekko could get his hands on were written by actual Mages. Piltover and the Undercity's fear of magic, because what else could it be called, was really screwing him over, but whining about what could've been was a waste of time. That time was better spent actually working, even if that meant reading for hours on end.

Ekko rolled his neck before standing, moving to the bookshelf in the corner and grabbing the first book he saw, looking over the title and its author before sitting down again. Researching like this would take some time, but that didn't matter to him. After all, Ekko would have all the time in the world when this project and the Z-Drive were done: maybe even more…

…

Ekko spent the next few hours skimming through as many books as he could, looking through chapter titles and the beginnings of each section for anything of relevance, and having very little luck at that. It was all stuff he'd read before, and in much greater detail as well, but he'd been hoping to find some inspiration somewhere along the way. It'd happened before over the years, where he'd be stuck with one project or another and come close to giving up, only to find the answer in something that he'd previously overlooked. Even if it didn't work, slowing down for a little while and going over the facts tended to help, if only a little.

Right then, Ekko would take all the help he could get.

He'd made it through twenty-six books, nearly halfway through his collection, when someone started banging loudly on his door. Ekko winced at the noise, having gotten used to the quiet while he read, before folding the corner of the page he was on and placing the book down. "One second!" He called, standing with a sigh, wondering who was looking for him now. Ekko dusted his hands on his trousers before he walked over to the door, running a hand through his hair as he grabbed its handle. Then he opened the door and came face to face with Vi, leaning against the doorway with her hands folded across her chest, the Atlas Gauntlets resting by wooden railing just behind her.

"I've been here fifteen minutes and you still haven't come and said hi." Vi complained with a smirk before pushing off the doorway, standing up straight as she rolled her shoulder and adjusted the goggles she wore on her head. Claggor's old goggles for that matter, which Ekko both did not understand nor know how to feel about. He had a few questions about it if he was being honest, like how the hell she had them and why she'd only just started wearing them, but Ekko didn't think it was his place to ask. "The hell, Little Man?" Vi called, drawing him out of his thoughts as she reached forward and flicked him on the shoulder, and Ekko leaned back with a grimace.

"How can I say hi if I don't know you're here?" He returned with a shake of the head, hiding his smile as he stepped out of his workshop and shut the door behind him. Vi moved back and out of his way as he grabbed his keys and locked the door, moving to stand by the rail and shoving her hands in her jacket pockets. "What're you doing here anyways?" Ekko asked as he stepped beside her, resting his forearms on the railing while he glanced her way. There was a small, happy smile on her face as she looked out over the Firelights' base, one that wormed its way into Ekko's chest, reminding him of just how much time they'd lost, yet telling him it didn't matter. Every now and again he'd look at Vi and feel a pang of sadness at just how much she'd changed over the years, but sometimes the opposite happened. Sometimes he got to see that, underneath all the rage and guilt and trauma, she was still the same woman he called a sister, all those years ago.

All she cared about was keeping the people around her safe; that would always be true, no matter how much time had passed. Whether they be her friends and family, or the people of the Undercity that they were all fighting to protect. Then Vi snorted, turning to him and leaning her elbow on the railing, a smirk replacing the smile she wore. "Finished my patrol for the morning and thought I'd head down, see how things were going with your lot." She explained, and despite how easily she spoke, there was a tension in her shoulders that Ekko couldn't help but notice. "So I took my guys back Topside and invited Caitlyn down as well." She finished, and Ekko let his head hang forward with a deep sigh.

"You brought Kiramman with you? Why would you think that's a good idea?" He asked, clasping his hands together for a moment. He saw the smirk drop from Vi's face just out the corner of his eye, a tense frown replacing it, and he stood up straight again, facing her directly. "I'm not having a go or anything about her", Ekko tried, both of them knowing that was only half true, "I'm just saying, Enforcers and Councilors aren't the most popular people around here, let alone the Sheriff who's also the Kiramman heir."

Vi shook her head, pointing a finger down towards the open grass at the base of the tree. "Things look fine to me." She retorted, nodding to where she was pointing, and Ekko followed her gaze.

The group of kids from earlier were standing in a small clearing just outside some of the huts, though more of the children had come together this time. One of the kids had even picked up Heimerdinger, placing him securely on his shoulder. The last of Piltover's founders didn't look upset by his current position, holding onto the boy's collar so he didn't fall off, and there was a big smile on his face. And at the front of the group, standing just a few feet away from the kids, was Caitlyn Kiramman, the latest Sheriff of Piltover. She stood out amongst the crowd in her Enforcer gear, especially with the top hat she'd taken to wearing around the same time Vi started wearing Claggor's old goggles, and Ekko couldn't say it looked bad on her. His eyes then fell to the rifle strapped to her back, along with the pistol holstered on her hip - both Hextech as far as he was aware. Then he spotted a different weapon in her hand, though one that looked far less lethal.

It was one of the rubber-band guns that Ekko had made for the kids, when they'd gotten bored one day a few months ago. To be fair, it'd been a pretty dull week for them all, and it was either build something for them or deal with them badgering him for hours on end. The choice had been obvious, both for practical reasons and because Ekko liked making the kids happy. The pistols were made of cheap wood with three separate slingshot mechanisms built into the mock-barrel, which would fire individually with each pull of the trigger. The reloading had to be done by hand, something Ekko had tried to make as easy as possible, but the kids hadn't complained so far so he'd assume he'd done alright. What Ekko couldn't understand was why one of the kids had given theirs to Kiramman. Those things were like gold dust to them, so why…

Ekko and Vi watched in silence as Kiramman dropped into a wide stance, bending her knees with the launcher held at her side. Ekko thought back to the stories of wandering gunslingers he'd read back when he was a child, meeting one another in the desert and dueling at high noon, the one with the fastest hand coming out on top. He looked at Kiramman and, while the outfit wasn't right, Ekko thought he could see a little bit of that fire in her eyes, and in the tight smirk breaking out across her face. "Pull!" Kiramman called, the sound reaching Ekko and Vi up in the tree, and three of the kids standing at the front of the group darted forward, each rearing back to throw something. A single, small object each left their hands, one that Ekko could only assume were coins, going by the shape and how the sunlight glinted off it.

Then his eyes fell back to Kiramman, just in time to see her draw the faux-pistol a little above her waist, aim towards the coin furthest to the left and fire, the first rubber band flying through the air and knocking the coin off course. The motion was so quick that Ekko barely recognised what happened, even as Kiramman's hand swerved to the right, aiming and firing at the second and third coin in a single, smooth motion. The last two bands hit the coins dead on, pinging off them and clattering to the dirt an instant after the first, and Ekko could scarcely believe the cheers that followed. The whole group of children began to yell and shout, running up to the Sheriff and screaming about how awesome she was, how much she must've practiced and could she teach them someday? Even Heimerdinger looked impressed, sitting atop the shoulders of a now shouting child, rushing towards the Piltie. Kiramman only smiled and handed the rubber-band gun back to one of the kids, talking about something that Ekko couldn't hear over the sheer noise the group was making.

Ekko couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up and out of him, a mix of awe and disbelief coloring his next words. "Fuck me running…" He drawled louder than he intended, and he heard Vi snort from beside him.

"Easily the best shot in Piltover." Vi said with obvious pride, something Ekko found odd but didn't have the balls to comment on, reaching up and adjusting the straps on Claggor's old goggles. "You've gotta admit it's impressive."

He shook his head, pushing off the railing and turning away from the scene down below. "She ain't half bad." Ekko said, knowing full well he was downplaying her abilities because, fucking hell, those would've been extremely tough shots with a properly made gun, let alone some wooden toys he'd built with zero concern for accuracy. He'd only seen one other person who could shoot as well as her, but thinking about her led to regret, and old feelings he just couldn't shake. "I'm just glad that this Sheriff isn't some useless paperpusher." He said, enjoying the way Vi rolled her eyes with a huff.

"She's a lot more than useless, Little Man." Vi said, tapping him on the shoulder. "Seriously. She works harder than anyone I know, and she never lets her name or her position get to her head. Caitlyn takes that responsibility extremely seriously." She finished, and Ekko turned to her with narrowed eyes.

Ekko knew they were friends. He'd seen that firsthand after he'd captured them and taken them here, where Vi vouched for a complete stranger, let alone a Piltie, and said Piltie offering herself up in Vi's place. Trust like that was rare, especially since Ekko knew they'd only met a few days prior. But the way Vi spoke about Caitlyn Kiramman, the admiration that bordered on reverence, it spoke of something a little bit larger than friendship. This wasn't the first time Ekko had seen hints of something like that between them, that had been the long and tender hug the two shared on the bridge before everything went to shit, but he'd chalked that up to Vi crushing on another pretty girl. He wasn't so sure now, not after everything he'd seen since they'd turned up on his doorstep, alongside Talis and his proposed alliance.

He wasn't sure why he didn't just let it go then, like he'd done so many times before, but instead Ekko met Vi's gaze and spoke. "You know, you talk like you're in love with her." He said in as relaxed a voice as he could, immediately regretting opening his stupid mouth, because this was so not his business. Still, he kept his eyes on hers as she rocked back a little, her jaw hanging ever so slightly.

Then his oldest friend took a deep breath, turning away from him as she wrung her hands together and looked down at the ground - at Kiramman. "That's 'cause I am." She said quietly, succinctly, because what else needed to be said.

Ekko turned and leant back on the railing, looking down towards Kiramman as well. By then she was sat down on the grass, surrounded by twenty or so kids as she regaled them with a story, much like Heimerdinger had done a few hours before. Heimerdinger for that matter looked to be jumping in every now and again, adding something to the tale that had the kids around them bursting into laughter. Ekko let the moment pass in relative quiet, gathering his words as Vi's expression softened next to him, looking towards her partner. "She know?" He asked, his words quiet enough that Vi could ignore him if she wanted to.

Vi chuckled just a little, shaking her head and running a hand through her crimson hair. "Of course she knows, man. The hell do you think I am?" She chided with a smile, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. The mirth in her eyes quickly faded however, replaced by something serious, yet no less happy for it. "Things between us are… incredible, is all I can really think to say. She makes me so happy, Ekko." Vi said, something old and desperately lonely seeping into her voice. Tears gathered in her eyes, threatening to fall, and suddenly Ekko felt like the world's biggest jackass. He hadn't meant to put her on the spot like this; he didn't know why he said anything in the first place! "I had nothing, you know, and-and suddenly she waltzes in and completely flips everything on its head." She carried on, and Ekko quickly found himself lost in her words. "Next thing I know I'm running around the Undercity to find Powder, and when that… when that goes wrong she's by my side the whole time. Now I have friends, a job, a warm place to sleep at night, and someone who genuinely loves me. It's more than I ever thought I'd have…" She finished, resting her arms on the wooden railing and letting her head hang low.

Ekko let her words sink in for a moment, stunned into silence. This was Vi, tough as nails with a scathing word for the entire world, and she'd just opened up so completely to him that he didn't know how to react. It took him a few moments of contemplation to find the words, the sound of wind and not-so-distant laughter filling the silence left in her wake, before Ekko could speak. "I'm happy for you, I really am, and I…" he trailed off with a breath, words failing him for a second, "I'll be nicer to her from now on." He promised, reaching out and placing his palm on her shoulder. Vi placed her hand over his, squeezing it tight for a moment before relaxing, and Ekko felt a little bit better, like he hadn't totally upset his friend. He then took a deep breath, forcing his usual cocky smile to his face. "But don't think this means I'll be getting all buddy buddy with Talis. Guys still a prick, as far as I'm concerned."

Vi chuckled, lifting her head and fixing him with an amused look. "Jayce's a pretty cool guy, Ekko. Give him a chance, you might have more in common than you think." She said, and it was Ekko's turn to roll his eyes, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"That hurts, Vi, it really does." He said with a laugh. "The two of us work with machines, that's about the only thing we have in common."

Vi ran her hand across her nose, stifling a sniffle that Ekko pretended not to hear. "I'm not even gonna argue with you on that one." She huffed. "Have you made any progress with our little mystery?" Vi asked, changing the subject, and Ekko ran his hand through his hair with a sigh.

"The green lightning?" He asked just to be sure, continuing when Vi nodded. "I'll be honest, I've not learned much since then. Cut me some slack," he said right when Vi was about to interrupt, "I've been busy with other stuff. I've done some reading, though, and from what I can gather green lightning usually happens in storms, though we just don't see it because the lightning happens inside the cloud. Apparantly it can happen during volcanic eruptions, but who knows about that." He explained. "None of those fit with what we saw a few days ago, Vi."

"So we're still thinking it was some kind of machine?" Vi asked, standing up straight and meeting Ekko's eyes. "Any idea what it might be? I've spoken with Jayce a few times and the best he can come up with is some kind of large battery, one that can be rigged to let out its energy in a single burst."

"Well, since Jayce said it, it must be true." Ekko snarked, before quickly pressing on as Vi glared harshly at him. "Okay, listen, if it is a machine then it's a tiny bit beyond me. Maybe I could make something capable of producing that much energy, along with shutting down the entire Lanes for a moment, but having it just dissapear in a few moments? I'm a scientist, Vi, not a fucking wizard." He said emphatically. "Remember, me and my guys got to where it would've been after ten seconds, and we found nothing." Ekko concluded, drawing a deep breath.

Vi hummed for a moment, biting her bottom lip as she clearly thought something over. "Could it have been Hextech?" She asked after a long moment.

"It could've been", Ekko admitted, "But honestly I doubt it."

"Why?"

"Well, generating and discharging that amount of energy with Hextech would be child's play, but you've gotta think about this logically." He explained, Vi watching him with rapt attention. "If someone gets their hands on Hextech and is smart enough to use it, I just can't see them making something like that. There're a hundred other ways to use Hextech and get similar results, ones that don't cause a blackout as well - having a Hextech device capable of something like this and actually doing it is… well, it doesn't make any sense."

"Do you…" Vi began, trailing off as she considered her words. "Do you think Powder might be behind it?" She asked, and Ekko took a long, drawn out breath as he searched for the right answer to that question.

"I… don't think so." Ekko said slowly, diplomatically, because he knew how sensitive a subject Powder was for Vi. "I can see her making a bomb with Hextech, among other things, but one that uses electricity? It's not her style.'

Vi clasped her hands together, body growing tense as she digested Ekko's words, and he waited on her response. "Okay…" She spoke up after a long moment. "But what if-" She tried, but Ekko quickly cut her off, already knowing where this is going.

"Vi, she hasn't shown up in weeks." Ekko interrupted, his words harsher than he might've intended, but he felt this needed to be said. "You think she shows up then, after everything that's happened since you last saw her, and then she just disappears again? That's not her, Vi; trust me." He said, begging her to understand where he was coming from. She hadn't seen what Powder was capable of - not really. She hadn't seen much Jinx enjoyed the fight, the slaughter; how she smiled with every kill. Sometimes Ekko wished he could forget that and everything about her, or at least the monster she'd become, but people like them rarely got what they wanted in the end.

Piltover's Deputy looked at him with hard, gray eyes, and for a second Ekko went back to being the scrawny kid following her around like a lost puppy, back in the days when Powder filled his chest with butterflies instead of dread. But Ekko wasn't the same boy hanging around The Last Drop - he was a leader, and a fighter, and he stared Vi down, almost daring her to say something. Ekko wasn't sure what Vi saw in his eyes then, but the steel left her gaze, replaced with a gentle, nearly proud smile. "I'm sorry. I…" Vi began, though the words seemed to escape her after a second. "Do you think the color of the lightning is important?" She asked, and Ekko took a moment to think over the question, reeling a little bit from the sudden shifts in topic.

"I mean, maybe? Naturally green lightning wouldn't happen down in the Lanes, and Hextech's lightning is usually blue-"

"Usually?" Vi interrupted him this time, her curiosity piqued, and Ekko cursed himself for the slip of the tongue.

"One of my projects produces green lightning but", Ekko strained, before Vi cut him off again, "if someone managed to crack what I'm working on before I did, and they used it for that, then they're a bigger idiot than should really be possible." He said, every word being the truth because if someone did manage to crack time travel using Hextech, and they used it as a glorified generator… well, Ekko would hang up his goggles and call it a day. Whatever had happened at the end of the shootout the other day, it had nothing to do with his work on the Z-Drive.

"This project you're working on, is it the one that's been giving you trouble?" Vi asked, and Ekko shut his eyes with a huff.

"Scar told you?" He asked, though he didn't wait for Vi to respond, carrying on after a second. "Of course he did. Let me guess, you ran into each other on patrol today and he sent you to check in on me."

Vi nodded, looking genuinely sheepish. "Guilty." She laughed, reaching up with a finger and scratching her cheek. "But I think it's a good thing, Ekko. You have friends who care about you, and want to make sure you're okay."

"I am okay." Ekko sighed, but Vi didn't believe him if the look of concern in her eyes was any indication.

"Then you wouldn't mind telling me about your project, then? You promised you would", Vi said, her smile all teeth as she threw his words right back in his face, "right around the time I asked why your new bat was shaped like a green clock hand."

Ekko thought over his words for a moment, considering how much he should tell her. He knew Vi would try her hardest to understand, she always did when they were kids, but this was a bit bigger than the things he built as a kid. If it worked the way he wanted to, the Z-Drive would have the power to change everything, or at least enough that Ekko wouldn't be able to tell the difference. He could fix everything with it, every bad thing that ever happened to them all: to him, to Powder and Vi, to Vander and Benzo and Mylo and Claggor - they could all be happy! But he didn't know if Vi would approve, and the fact was that her opinion mattered to him a lot, and if she disagreed…

He couldn't take the risk. "I'm having a few issues with the project, but it's nothing that I won't get past." Ekko said carefully, being cautious with what information he gave out.

"Think I can help?" Vi asked, and Ekko just smiled at her, injecting as much confidence into the grin as he could.

"How much do you know about Hextech?" He asked, not really expecting a serious answer, but Vi just shrugged.

"Not much on the technical side of things", she admitted, "but I've been using the Atlas Gauntlets for a little while now, and I think I've learned a couple things. Hit me." Vi finished, and Ekko seriously considered hitting her on the shoulder, just because it sounded funny, but he soon thought better of it.

"It feels like I'm on the edge of a breakthrough, one that could blow this whole project wide open and give me everything I've been working towards, but there's something blocking it. The runes, the frequency, the positioning, the materials - something's wrong." Ekko explained, the words getting away from him a bit as he held out his hands, like he could see and hold the problems in front of him if he focused enough. "I just can't figure out what it is, and it's honestly getting to me a little…"

Vi processed his words for a few seconds, nodding to herself before she spoke. "Well, I have no idea what you're working on or even the science behind this Hextech stuff, but I feel like you might be focussing too much on the 'science' part of things." She said, and Ekko felt his expression scrunch up in confusion.

"I'm not even going to pretend to understand what you mean." He said, narrowing his eyes as Vi let out a huff of laughter.

"Come on Ekko, for the smartest guy I know, you do sometimes miss the obvious." Vi said like it had any relevance, pressing on before Ekko could ask just what the fuck that all meant. "Hextech is science and magic, but I'm getting the feeling you've forgotten just what magic is. You're talking about frequencies and positionings like they're the be all and end all with this stuff, but not everything about magic can be summed up in equations and diagrams. I'm no expert, but even I can tell you that there are things about the arcane that can't be explained scientifically. Hell, it kinda feels like that's the whole point, Little Man."

Ekko just stared at her for a long, drawn out moment, waiting for her to get to the point, or to just say that she was messing with him, but he could tell she was being completely serious. "Maybe you're right, but I really can't see how that helps me."

Vi hooked a thumb towards the Atlas Gauntlets in response, the two oversized steel gloves resting knuckle down on the wooden platform a couple meters from them. "Well, you know about what Jayce and I discovered after he fixed up my gauntlets, a few hours before we came down to meet you?"

"Yeah, something about Hextech responding to your thoughts and intentions." Ekko answered, having listened to Viktor's excited rambling about the subject a few hours after first meeting the man. "But that's only with Hextech devices themselves, which doesn't really help me here."

"You think the cogs and still in the Atlas Gauntlets are what's listening to me?" Vi asked, shutting Ekko up. "It's the magic that hears us, I don't think it matters what machine it's built into. At least that's what I think." She backtracked, suddenly sounding a little self-conscious.

"No, no", Ekko cut in before Vi could draw in on herself, "what you're saying makes sense, in a roundabout sort of way." He stepped forward as he spoke, rapping his knuckle against he shoulder and drawing a small smile from her, meeting her eyes with a smirk. "Thank you for the help, Vi, really. It means a lot. I'll see if I can't-"

Ekko heard the base's main gate opening as he spoke to Vi, and at first he dismissed it. People going out on patrols, small supply runs, or even excursions into the Lanes weren't uncommon, especially with the added support from Piltover. But then he heard Scar screaming out; "Medic! We've got wounded! Help us!" And Ekko spun round and pressed himself against the railing, looking out across the base and seeing Scar in full patrol gear, carrying one of the Firelights in his arms. Behind him were two others, holding another Firelight's limp body between them. Both were unconscious. Both were bleeding out.

Ekko broke out into a sprint across the wooden platform towards the stairs, not waiting to see if Vi followed him, because he already knew she'd be hot on his tail. He kept his eye towards Scar and his group as he descended the large tree, seeing Aerin and some of her helpers rushing out of the medical hut, each carrying stretchers, bandages and other medical equipment that Ekko couldn't make out while he ran. He heard heavy footsteps from behind him as he leapt down each set of stairs, rushing past the people peeking out of different rooms built into the tree, hoping to get a look at what was happening.

He barrelled down the final set of stairs and hit the grass running, dashing across the open space and towards Scar's group, seeing Caitlyn rushing towards them out of the corner of his eye. Heimerdinger wasn't far behind her, his tiny legs carrying him as fast as his legs could carry him, but he paid them no mind as he skidded to a stop beside Aerin, carrying a stretcher between her and one of her assistants with one of the injured Firelights laid out on it. He looked past them and locked gazes with Scar, Ekko brushing past their honorary physician and almost crashing into the Vastayan. "What the fuck happened, man! Are you okay!" He cried, immediately checking him over for any wounds, before Scar waved him off with a loud grunt.

"I'm fine! It's only those two who got hurt." He said, and the two of them took a step back as the other injured Firelight was carried away. The two who'd been carrying them followed after Aerin and her lot, throwing aside their masks and rushing into the medical shack. Just then, Caitlyn and Vi reached them, the latter having donned the Atlas Gauntlets and looking towards the rapidly closing gate with a worried look in her eyes. "But Ekko…" Scar said, drawing his attention, and Ekko was floored at the genuinely fearful look in his eyes. "Those were three of our scouts watching over the Dredge. There's been a breakout."

The air left Ekko's lungs like he'd just been punched, and the world seemed to spin for a second. "You're sure?" Ekko asked once he'd managed to pull himself together, on the off chance that he'd heard wrong.

"One of the guys who went in there", Scar said, pointing towards the medical hut, "he was with the other two scouting the Dredge. He said things were normal until the entire front entrance to the mine blew open, and a few hundred people poured out the place, carrying guns and barrels of stuff that he couldn't make out."

"Fucking shit…" Ekko drawled, earning an emphatic nod from Scar and a worried glance from Vi, right as Heimerdinger reached them, stepping up beside Caitlyn.

"The three of them flew in closer, trying to get a look or something, but someone must've spotted them because the entire group started shooting at them." Scar told the three of them, pressing his hands to the back of his head and pacing back and forth. "He was the only one to make it out without being hit, and he had to carry the other two away when they couldn't ride their boards anymore. They were barely responding by the time he got them to my group."

"Where are they, anyways?" Vi cut in, drawing their attention.

"The rest of them are patrolling the outskirts of the Lanes, and I told them to send someone back in case the prisoners start attacking." Scar explained. "I'll need to head back out there in a minute, but I needed to tell you this, Ekko." He said, turning to him, and Ekko nodded back solemnly.

"Wait, hold on." Caitlyn spoke up, holding a hand out towards them. "What the hell is the Dredge?"

Scar looked towards Ekko, clearly leaving him the task of explaining things to the Sheriff, but Vi beat them to the punch. "Think of it as the Undercity's own Stillwater, only it makes Stillwater look somewhat nice in comparison."

Caitlyn rocked back, eyes growing wide in shock. "I thought the Undercity didn't have its own prison?"

"Of course it does", Scar said with a scowl, "but like hell any of us would tell you Topsiders about it. All you lot would do is open up the fucking place and causing more trouble than its worth."

The Topsider went silent at his words, and Ekko took the opportunity to speak. "It's not like it's a well known thing. Think of it like an urban legend that people like to pretend isn't true. It was an old chem-mine left over from the days before the Lanes that the Chembarons took over, and they filled the place with the people they wanted gone. Goons and lieutenants who fucked up or tried to take more power than they should, along with anyone who a Chembaron just didn't like. They'd be taken and sent off to work in the mines. It was either that or they got killed and had their body sold like they scrap metal."

Caitlyn's face went pale as he spoke, taking a deep breath as he finished. "And the people down here knew about this?"

"Most people have heard of the Dredge", Vi picked up where Ekko left off, "but not everyone believes it's real. I knew about it 'cause my father told me about it, a while before he died. I'm not sure about the rest of you." She said, turning to Ekko and Scar.

"We learned about it a couple years after we started fighting the Chembarons." Scar spoke up, stopping pacing and putting his hands in his pockets. "Followed rumors of kidnappings and discrete shipments, and one day we found the entrance. It didn't take us long to work out what was going on inside, and when we did we decided to have scouts constantly monitoring the place, in case something ever went down."

"Like it just did." Vi added, unhelpfully.

"Yeah, and now we have to deal with a few hundred angry, prison-hardened cyborgs who probably have a bone to pick with the Chembarons and Piltover as a whole." Ekko summarized.

"Cyborgs, my boy?" Heimerdinger asked, breaking his prolonged silence and drawing their attention. Caitlyn actually shifted back a little, having clearly missed his arrival before standing still again.

"The mines are filled with enough toxic chemicals to kill someone in less than a day, if they even survive that long. From what we've heard, the guards pay the inmates for their work in machine parts to enhance themselves with, just to make their lives a little bit easier." He told the Yordle, and the Professor just held a hand over his chest, his face aghast. "Look guys", he called out to the group, "we can go over the rest of this later, but first we need to figure what the fuck we're doing in response to this."

"That… sounds like the proper course of action." Caitlyn agreed, receiving nods and hums of agreement from the rest of the group.

Ekko led them away to a place where they could work things out in private, his mind whirring with activity and a fear that he couldn't forget.

…

It had taken little under twenty-five minutes to come up with a decent response, at least with the information they had. Scar would take all the Firelights they could spare and start reinforcing those already out in the Lanes. Caitlyn and Vi would head back to Piltover and inform the Enforcers of what had just gone down, spending what little time they had left before their next patrol preparing for what might happen in the coming hours. Heimerdinger had gone with them, volunteering to go and inform the Council about the Dredge and the breakout that had just occurred. He wasn't a Councilor anymore, but he had assured Ekko that he still held enough sway to have his voice heard and, failing that, Jayce and Viktor would always listen to him.

Ekko didn't do anything like that.

No, he headed back up to his workshop as quickly and quietly as he could, locking the door behind him and heading straight for his workbench. Then he reached into the desk drawer on the right and pulled out another Hextech Gemstone, slamming it into the cage at the center of the Converter without a second thought. He didn't change any of the runes or their positions, he didn't even bother writing anything down in his notebook. He just shut the cage, held onto the side with his left hand and pleaded with whatever gods lived in the sky that this would just work.

Please. Please. I need this to work. I don't know if you can hear me, but listen to what I'm asking of you. Not for me, but for the people of the Undercity, and for the assholes living up Topside as well. Ekko thought as he took a deep breath, narrowed his eyes and slammed the on button with his free hand. Please work.

Blue light and lightning filled the air, crackling and humming with power that Ekko could barely comprehend, standing so close to its source with his hands resting on the device, but he didn't let go. Not then, not ever. Not even as the light radiating from the gemstone grew, and grew, and grew, until it was like an azure star was burning just in front of his eyes.

Ekko averted his gaze, tightening his grip on the device as he pleaded in his mind, thinking of what he wanted from this, for the people he wanted it for, and blue light turned green. By now the entire table was shaking, vibrating with the sheer power flowing through it, and him as well, and for a moment Ekko worried it just might shake him apart. He didn't dare back down though, instead forcing eyes onto the emerald sun hovering atop the Hextech Converter, green lightning flickering through the room and arcing across his body.

He thought of Benzo in his old store, and Vander working the bar at The Last Drop. Ekko thought of Powder, with eyes like the ocean, and Vi, who carried the sky on her shoulders without complaint. He thought of Mylo and Claggor, and everyone else who had fought and died for this city, for their home, and he took those thoughts and memories and shoved them forward.

A single crack appeared on the green gemstone.

Ekko didn't let go, didn't give up, instead remembering all the time he and Powder had spent up in Benzo's attic, playing and tinkering until the lights went out, and she had to leave for the night. He took the memories closest to his heart and offered them up like a sacrifice, shutting his eyes as he felt something reach out and accept them. Even with his eyes shut, Ekko could still see the green light pulse and flare, electricity hitting his skin, and he focused on that feeling until it was all that remained. Until the outside world stopped mattering and all he could feel was the energy, the magic, that coursed through his body.

Distantly, like he was standing a world away from where he was, he heard more cracks breaking out across the Hextech Gemstone, but he paid it no mind. It didn't matter.

A single second stretched and condensed impossibly inside his mind, inside the place that Ekko thought his soul might reside, and for the briefest instant he thought he might know what eternity was.

Then Ekko's eyes opened, coming back to his body and losing whatever arcane presence had made itself home within himself, and he looked to see the Hextech Converter had stopped. And sitting within its cage, cracked and imperfect and alive, was a single green Hextech Gemstone, glowing with an impossible power that set Ekko's heart alight.

It was with shaking hands that Ekko undid the latch on the cage, opening it and picking up the gemstone and holding it as gently as possible, like it might break with the slightest touch. He felt its strength as soon as it touched his skin, however, and a grin broke out across Ekko's face as he turned and practically sprinted towards one of the cabinets on the other side of the room. He threw open the cabinet door and pulled out the device on the top shelf, a small, cylindrical object made of steel and copper, like the container he'd kept the first gemstone in as he took it up to Piltover. He rushed back to the workbench placed the prototype Z-Drive on its surface, nearly dropping the machine in his excitement, and he placed the new Hextech Gemstone within the device, watching as it hovered in place and sent energy coursing through arcane steel. The series of runes he'd carved into the metal erupted into emerald light, and Ekko shut the glass lid with a trembling breath.

Then he flipped the switch on the front of the Z-Drive, and the world stopped spinning.

---

And there we have it! The Dredge is open and Ekko's got his own little Time Stone! Those of you who know what the Dredge is from League lore should be starting to see where this story is heading, at least in the near future, so I hope you're as excited as I am for that. Anyways, I really tried to dive into the more magical aspects of Arcane's story, with regards to Hextech and the like, and while we haven't reached the peak of all the magical stuff to come in this arc, we're getting close to it.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you next time!