THE FIRELIGHTS

"It could've all been nothing but a bluff, Ekko, and *still* you went after her!?", Caitlyn's voice started, in protest and angry. "Without even letting us know, we would've backed you!"

A justifiable anger at that, given the story she had just heard with Vi at the workshop on the Firelights' haven, one that now corroborated some of Camille Ferros' claims and some suspicions and motivations. Ekko's clear admission and reasoning of the thievery, now confirmed it was along with Viktor, pretty much closed the case on it's own, but now brought a greater problem than before - with inevitable retaliation coming the Firelights' way.

And, of course, it *had* to have the certain Everyone-Knew-Who in the middle of it, having somehow found the haven, attacked it and provoking Ekko into a fight, one that was costly for him and the group that, in much sense, was the only one ever fighting for the Undercity, unlike all the others whom took advantage of it.

"A bluff? From Jinx?", Ekko asked, insulted, almost laughing at that. "You let me know the day this ever comes outta her. Besides, it wasn't like you'd still make it in time, in case she came back!"

"You're not making it any easier, Ekko!", Vi stressed, picking the gemstone from Heimerdinger's device at the workbench. "This little thing just happened to explode the Council couple of days ago. It woke topside up to what it can really do as a weapon, and you still decided to rob it from them!"

"If it still amounts to anything, miss, I *did* try to advise him against it.", Heimerdinger stated.

"Well, where were you both these past days anyway, huh?", Ekko asked.

"Trying to find Jinx, ordered to defuse all this mess.", Caitlyn answered, bluntly. "And ending up praising Janna when we barely made it off the Lanes alive..."

"Yeah, that's on you, but here I had to bury a lot of old friends, and others were already thinking on bailing out, one already had.", Ekko defended himself. "I couldn't just stay down and do nothing!"

"Yeah, well, now you painted yourself a pretty big bullseye on your back.", Vi replied, her eyes then darting to Caitlyn. "No offense."

"Perhaps, if you can help me back to Piltover, miss Kiramman, I can talk to Jayce on this.", Heimerdinger suggested. "Make him see why Ekko did what he did."

"That's a lot bigger than just Jayce, Professor.", Caitlyn said, breathing out in frustration, before staring candidly to Ekko. "What do you know about Camille Ferros, Ekko?"

"What, you mean the old lady me and that Viktor guy faced up there?", Ekko asked. "Nothing much other than she's got shanks for legs."

"Camille Ferros?", Heimerdinger asked, his voice almost croaking, an expression of horror rising since he heard the name staring at Ekko. "You, and Viktor, and Camille Ferros, Ekko!? The Steel Shadow!?"

"There's that title too, like if that meant something.", Ekko replied.

"It does mean, with all due reason!", Heimerdinger said, angry. "What were you thinking!? She's an intelligencer, lad!"

"And that's topside-ish for spy and assassin!", Caitlyn followed, also angry. "The kind that makes brats out of Jinx and Sevika!"

"Quite the understatement, I got to know it firsthand!", Ekko retorted.

"She's also from one of the once most feared Houses in Piltover!", Caitlyn went on. "Makes a samaritan out of Silco, too!"

"You never even lived-", Ekko started, clearly stirred by Caitlyn's comment.

"Point is... even if you *had* a good reason, that was too noisy, Little Man!", Vi briefly raised her tone, cutting the rising steam between the Firelight leader and the Sheriff, before resuming normally, practically feeling Vander's shoes by now, especially given this was almost a total repeat on that day she now cursed ever since. "I mean, if that one ever finds this place...", she continued, gesturing around the workshop, meaning the whole haven in extension.

"About that...", Ekko started, taking a breather. "That murder granny *did* say she knew where we were."

"She knows, then!?", Vi asked, her mouth open, eyes wide.

"She said I could have the gemstones or the group.", Ekko said. "Course, she could've been bluffing too, but I had to choose."

"And you went for calling it, sweet Janna...", Vi almost choked on that, walking around, her hand running along her pink hair, her brain almost numb from all that.

"The likes of Camille aren't ones for bluffing, Ekko!", Caitlyn said, furious. "And now it's not just a target on you, it's on ALL of them!", she gestured to the workshop's door, where Scar was outside, guarding it from any potential snoopers who could gossip the wrong thing.

"Okay, so I've finally gone and done it, this time!", Ekko retorted, having clearly had it. "I'm to turn myself in, then!? Fine!", he raised his arms, as if expecting to be handcuffed.

A startled Caitlyn held her breath, trying to keep her control, even with all that, before she let her air out. "Doubt that'd make any difference, now...", she said, her eyes moving to the door. "And the Ferros aren't the forgiving kind.", she then stared back at Ekko, having to deliver the big one. "You have to leave the treehouse. All of you."

Ekko's eyes widened. "We don't even got a place to go, they're gonna be open targets out there!", he retorted, upset.

"They're easy targets in here!", Vi argued. "You even thought about that before you headed upstairs!?"

"Well, didn't account for a killer old lady who might've learned on us, forgive my lack of foresight.", Ekko said in sarcasm, looking at Vi with some disappointment. "And I thought you'd relate, Vi, you having been there."

"And I thought you would've learned from me...", Vi said, disappointed, taking a deep breath, looking aside. Caitlyn herself shook her head at that.

"Forgive my interruption, but I'm afraid we've also *another* problem, perhaps bigger than law enforcement reprisals.", Heimerdinger said. "Viktor's invention, that Ekko happened to have helped steal."

"What Viktor thinks can help heal him.", Caitlyn nodded. "Jayce told us about that, but not much. Not even what it's called."

Heimerdinger shook his head sadly. "No doubt he'd believe you'd deem it dangerous, also...", he mulled over. "None would blame you, miss. Viktor calls it the Hex Core, a machine meant to read all the engraved runes, learn combinations and adapt and grow. That is, according to him."

"A translation device for runes then?", Caitlyn asked. "To further Hextech research?"

"Can't see how that's dangerous.", Vi said.

"Because it's pure Hexite crystals, forever active and tapping into the arcane, it's limitless boundaries, including it's... darkest corners.", Heimerdinger said, images of the past flowing through his mind. "Of course many would not understand the danger, given it was eons ago, what happened. When such power was tapped on and then explored... and then exploited. First for curiosity, and then... for conquest. And then cataclysm happened."

"Just like the blue balls, then?", Vi asked.

"Much worse, young lady.", he said, pointing at the gemstone Vi still carried on her hand, which she then raised to look at it. "This Hex Core device is about *thirty times* that gemstone in scale. Your mind can hyperbolize the damaging potential."

Vi and Caitlyn then glanced in dread at the gemstone, and then recalled the explosion at the Council.

"That's what you helped Viktor get out of Piltover?", Caitlyn nearly croaked, staring at Ekko, her mouth opening, but no sounds coming out of it.

"If it's any worth, I wasn't sure of that thing either.", Ekko said. "So much that I told him, a person to another, he was better off getting rid of it. You didn't see it, but it sure as hell didn't look a machine to me, thing was like if someone dropped a truckload of sludge on it, it was like organic metal or something. Almost like all of Viktor's face, too."

"Organic metal?", Heimerdinger raised his eyes in horror. "Are you telling me it... mutated!?"

"And he's now with this thing... down here... where it might blow or do some other wacky shit and possibly take all the Lanes, and everyone in them, with it!?", Vi asked, the anger rising out of her. "I-I got noth-"

Suddenly, bangs at the workshop's door were heard, as a nervous Scar opened it up. "It's Nills, he's got shot.", he said.

Ekko immediately started moving to outside the workshop, following Scar as Vi, Caitlyn and Heimerdinger followed Ekko, all from outside and to the base of the tree, where Nills was laid at the base, as other Firelights were tending to him, and a small crowd was forming around. Nills could be seen with a large stain of blood by the left side of his belly, breathing heavily, clearly fighting the pain. Ekko approached Nills and knelt besides him as Caitlyn, Vi and Heimerdinger remained close to them.

Nills noticed Ekko. "Many of them...", he said, panting. "Too many-"

"Easy, Nills.", Ekko said. "Eyes on me."

"A big group, close to here.", Nills continued. "This way."

"Enforcers?", Vi stepped forward.

Nills grunted, baring his teeth. "...red.", he said. "Dark red."

Ekko's expression became one of dread, as so did Vi and Caitlyn whom stared at each other. "Ironhands.", the Sheriff said.

"You think...", Vi said.

"It's just like her, to avoid getting hands dirty when she can.", Caitlyn nodded, baring her teeth. "Just *too *perfect."

Ekko started breathing heavily as he backed off, letting the others tend to Nills, before turning to Scar. "How much we've got to defend with?", he asked the Vastayan lieutenant.

"The Ensnarers, you mean?", Scar asked back, knowing Ekko just couldn't be mentioning manpower, not after what happened nights ago. "Not much, we never had to handle more than twenty."

Ekko closed his eyes in frustration, before his eyes turned to the crowd, whom were all staring at the scene and then at him and those behind him. "If we gotta... how long can this place hold?", he asked.

"If they don't have any large bombs or ordnance, we'll be lucky.", Scar answered. "Even the door can hold some blasts, but other than that I'm not sure."

While they talked, Vi took the glances at the concerned crowd, unknowing of the danger ahead and how to deal with it. Her look eventually reached that mural, where all of the former loved ones, whom made the Lanes the home it was, all enshrined. Beneath all the obvious blue and pink 'artwork' whose calling card was beyond doubt, she still could recall the faces of those she long lost.

The brothers, the friends... the little innocent sister.

Most above all was *him*, barely visible due to cleaning efforts of what was clearly her former sister's 'handwork', but she still could recognize the look, mullet and beard of the late Hound of the Undercity himself. Her late foster father.

'These kids look up to you.', Vi could hear his voice on her mind. 'When people look up to you, you don't get to be selfish. Whatever happens... it's on you.'

"So we're getting out of here?", one amongst the crowd asked. "Where do we go then?"

"I'll tell you where.", a female voice stepped forward, confident. Vi. "Go to your home and stay there, and hunker down. We'll handle them."

"What?", Caitlyn asked, caught off-guard. "Vi, are you out of your mind?"

"No, I'm done staying in the corner and doing nothing while everyone is suffering or dying for it.", Vi answered. "And I've something or two to say to those Ironhand fuckers.", she glanced for a second at her bandaged-wrapped knuckles.

"Vi, it's them we're talking about!", Caitlyn protested, gesturing to the Firelight crowd, the kids, the refugees, those who wouldn't be able to fight. "And Medarda said the last-"

"Medarda isn't here!", Vi cut the Sheriff off. "*We* are! Besides, they're the ones going rogue, killing on sight, we're just doing our supposed job, right? Or is the 'protect and serve' thing just a pretty motto?"

"They've got an army, Vi!", Caitlyn alerted. "And gods know how many guns!"

"Yeah.", Vi said, the fire burning up in her. "And what else? You wanna leave, Cait, I'll let you. But I'm staying, you being the Sheriff or not. And deep down, I know you want in, with your naive 'doing the right thing' stuff that can get into peoples' nerves, sometimes. But you gotta choose between sticking to the badge or doing the right thing that matters, for this one."

Caitlyn looked aside for a moment, not being able to believe this, trying to process all of that.

If anything, the right thing would've been Ekko indeed turning himself in, even if it were fruitless at this point, the gemstones returned, showing that the law was *still* in effect, despite all the events. But the worst of it was that her partner did have a point. Like it or not, the Firelights did need help, even more against a group that just didn't seem it'd stop on their own murderous rampage, all in the name of 'justice'. Not until someone would stop them, the hard way.

It even seemed, as Vi implied, that sticking to the badge was, in fact, hiding behind it.

Caitlyn looked straight at Ekko and Scar. "You know that, *even* if we manage to beat them, Camille will find other people to throw around here.", she said. "In bigger numbers and well-armed too. Even I and Vi won't be able to handle that."

Ekko, looking at Caitlyn's eyes, could see that same glimmer of truth and honesty she was on, that convinced him to attempt and return the first gemstone he laid his hands on, days ago, to the enforcers at the Bridge of Progress. But then, as the events unfolded that none would forget, especially Sheriff Marcus pointing a gun to their faces, he should've been the wiser and just rebuked whatever Caitlyn said. But he knew it was all things even she couldn't control, she was just as caught in the middle of it as Ekko was when Silco first rose to power. Him and every one that now comprised this place.

"We'll still get ready to move out.", he nodded, looking then at Vi. "Thanks for the assist."

"Well, let's get ready.", Vi nodded, too, turning around to unfold her bag where she carried the gauntlets, getting them out and wearing them. She saw Ekko and Scar had moved out too, as did some Firelights, while a pair took Nills out of the tree and somewhere else, supposedly to heal.

Heimerdinger returned to the workshop, no doubt to prepare the inventions Vi saw to the true test to come. Caitlyn went to a corner to unholster her collapsible rifle, starting a weapons check, as well as the ammunition she still had. Probably she'd have plenty more in the upcoming fight.

As Vi wore the gauntlets, she took another glance at the mural, at Vander's barely visible face and nodded.

She could only hope that was what he always attempted to teach her about.

What he was trying to mold her up into, since he took her on that Bridge...