Ekko looked up as he sat leaning to the tree that gave them their home. He was reading a report from Jayce on what happened to him in the Anomaly when Scar surprised him with a guest.

"I came here to negotiate with Scar, but I didn't know the kingpin returned," the one-armed woman greeted him.

"I got the gist of what happened while I was gone. How are you holding up?" He motioned for her to sit down next to her, an offer she took without hesitation.

"Situation's pretty bad. Jayce wants us all to fight united, but that's easier said than done. The chembaron's are gone, there's a power vacuum. I would normally say that's a good thing, but this is not the time to be divided over petty squabbles. People hate the Noxians and would love to fight them, but they also hate the Topsiders too. Right now, most would rather stand by and see them all kill each other."

She took out a cigar from her pocket but didn't get far in the motion as she noticed the look Ekko and Scar gave her. She followed their gaze upwards, towards the leaves of the tree, still in decay. She put the cigar away, and continued.

"Something needs to change and it needs to happen fast. The Noxians sent their ships home, probably to bring in more reinforcements. They'll be back in a few weeks, at most a month. The only way this ends is with us being screwed over once more. The Topsiders win without our help and they'll punish us for being absent. The Noxians win and we get a new dictator, probably worse than the current ones."

"I'm afraid a lot more than that is on the line," Ekko sighed.

He gave her the short version of the corruption spreading around the tree and the anomaly at the Hexgate.

"Shit. Damn scientists, always playing with fire and letting us burn for their mistakes. If this is true, then we absolutely cannot let the Noxians win. At least Topside knows of the danger with pretty boy at the helm again. We need to rally the people."

"The Firelights will fight." Scar nodded in agreement. "Any plans to get your people on board?"

"I might convince a few with this Anomaly thing, but we're not seeing many signs of it yet in the Lanes. Most would probably think that I went insane, or that I'm trying to trick them. Other than that… I'm out of ideas. I was hoping you would have something that could help. Something I couldn't think of."

Ekko sighed.

"If the Lanes don't listen to you, then I doubt they will listen to us with all the bad blood between us." He looked into the direction of Jinx's room. She could help, but it's barely been a week. Are we really sending her back into this hell already?

"There is someone else here you should talk to. Jinx is here."

"What?" She immediately stood up. "I heard she was arrested on Kiramman's orders. Did she escape? Why did she come here?"

"Sort of. We… reconciled."

Her eyes widened.

"Well I'll be damned. If you two can make peace with each other then maybe there is hope after all. Where is she?"

"Don't be too hard on her. She's still grieving," he asked of her as he pointed out her room. She looked down for a moment, gathering herself before she started moving again.

"I know. I am, too."

"Well what can I say, it really is you," Jinx heard the voice as her door burst open.

"Sevika! You look… as shit as ever. Got used to living one-armed or did you just run out of money for the parts?"

"Charming as ever. Not many good technicians left in the Lanes, kid, and those are doing more important work. We're in the middle of a war, you know." Of course she knows.

She entered her room and sat down next to her as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Jinx was in the middle of… painting something, it seemed. It didn't look like anything to Sevika.

"Look, kid. You have been a pain in my ass since the day we first met. It's thanks to you that I lost my real arm." She looked down at the empty metal stump protruding from her left shoulder. "I had to clean up after your shitty antics one by one. I don't think anyone wanted you gone as badly as I did. But still – it's good to see you alive."

"You too, old wench."

She snorted.

"Now, don't get too sentimental on me, I'm not Silco."

They sat there for a while, with Sevika watching her work. The painting soon started to resemble something — an enormous beast with a human face, embracing three people — a recreation of their reunion with Vander.

"So you came here for what? To watch me draw? Or you're waiting for the right moment to rub it in my face that the fantasy I've been living out there really didn't last forever?"

"I came to say that I'm sorry about them." Jinx put down her brush. "Vander and the girl."

"You warned me about Isha. And I didn't listen."

"What could you do? Kid refused to let go of you even if you tried with pliers." She couldn't help but smile as she remembered how Isha stood between Vi and Jinx during their battle a few months ago.

"I saw how you two lived, kid. Never thought I'd be saying this to you, but you did good with her. It's not your fault. If it's anyone's fault, it's that damned Noxian's who's been spewing shit into Kiramman's ears and tormenting our people. And that scientist's who turned Vander into… whatever that beast was."

"Surprising to see you be angry at that, considering that you betrayed him."

Her smile faded.

"Vander had my respect for a long time. But I'm not like you kid. I don't cling on to people." Jinx visibly flinched. "People change. I'm loyal to the Undercity, not to the people who try controlling it."

"Is that why you stabbed him in the back and joined Silco?"

She sighed.

"Vander was a good man. He led by example, and everyone respected him for it. Silco, in contrast, was a terrible man. He led by force, and everyone feared him for it. They both tried to be the voice of Zaun, but in time they both grew soft and weak. You know the one thing they had in common? You."

"Gee, thanks. I guess I'll add that to my Everything I'm at fault for list."

"Now, I can see a lot clearer. I think both of them got it wrong. I think neither one of them was fit to lead us."

"Then who do you think is?" she asked, already knowing her answer.

"You."

"We've been through this talk before," she snapped, standing up. "I'm no Symbol. How could I lead an entire city to war when I was unable to care for even a single child?"

"Listen to me. You have been through everything this shithole has to offer, the worst of it all. You lost your parents. You lost your adoptive family. You smuggled drugs and killed people in order to survive. Even your blood is purple. Shimmer runs in you as it does through the city. Day after day, this rotten swamp has eaten you, chewed on you and spat you out. And yet… here you are. You defy your fate and look for hope. And you ask me why you're the one? You are not the Symbol of Zaun, kid. You are Zaun. Every one of us out there can see some part of you in themselves. And like it or not, they look up to you, just like Isha did. As an example to follow. To keep fighting."

Jinx sat back down and they just stayed there in silence for a while as she mulled over Sevika's words. She remembered the prison break, the people they rescued, and the looks on their faces as they passed her by.

"Isha wanted me to fight too. Fighting got her dead."

"You do what you want kid. But the fighting won't stop just because you're not there. The only question is what remains of us by the end of it."

Sevika stood up and left Jinx to herself, moving towards the exit.

"Which part of me do you see in yourself?" Jinx asked, as her aunt-like figure stepped out of her room. She took a few seconds before giving her answer.

"I wasn't always this pragmatic, you know. I used to have a family too."