You know how I was talking about Mr. I-Don't-Know-Your-Name not being the type of person to do something without insurance?
Well, I was bullsh*ting.
In reality, I just didn't trust him not to blackmail me if, no WHEN I get famous.
Tying up loose ends is a specialty of mine. My record is 5 of them within a minute by the way.
Anyways, now that I'm in Zaun, I was reminded by 3 champions.
Viktor, Blitzcrank, and... Ekko.
I played Viktor and Blitzcrank the day before I woke up in Runeterra.
And as for Ekko... he's my main.
Why is he my main? Well, because of his rewind.
It's a free get out of jail card.
At least in most scenarios anyways.
His time-rewinding abilities were linked to his lore, like most champions.
And with him being my main, of course, I knew a lot about his lore.
I could even say I know him better than he knows himself.
Anyways, in his lore, he found a shattered hextech crystal and its fragments in a demolished laboratory. I'll find them before he does.
Why do I need his time rewinding abilities?
#1; It's cool.
#2; I'm an engineer. My experiments WILL blow up in my face once in a while, possibly ruining precious materials as well. Ekko's, no MY rewinding abilities will make my life easier.
Anyways, the laboratory was Viktor's, that I was 80% sure of.
Now, how do I know if I found the right crystal?
Well, going by his lore, I'd know them if when placed close together, they will 'sing'.
Let's go dumpster diving.
...
I painstakingly searched through Zaun to find any signs of a demolished laboratory.
Needless to say, it wasn't easy.
There were too many labs in Zaun that has been demolished because of failed experiments, and the green smog in the air didn't make it any easier for me to look for one.
I decided to give up today, before going back prepared tomorrow.
Ekko, I've played you since season 6, don't disappoint me please.
I headed out of Zaun as fast as I could, not wanting to be there any longer.
When I crossed the boundary of Zaun and Piltover, relief melted into my bones at making it out alive.
"Haaa.... I'm alive..."
Yeah, that's how relieved I felt.
Anyways, I headed home and noticed that there was a letter for me on the table, probably left by my parents.
'Hey buddy, we'll be gone for a week because there is an assignment that we need to do, so please be safe. There's money on the table and food is in the cupboard. Love you.'
"F*CK YEAH!!!"
I didn't noticed that I shouted it out loud, but that doesn't matter.
All that matters is that I'd be able to use their equipment for my lamp AND for the Zero-Drive.
A/N: Zero Drive is the name I decided to go with for time rewinding machine.
I doubt Ekko had access to special equipment when he created the Zero-Drive.
Why did I assume that?
Well, the crystal exploded into a vortex of magic dust, creating a temporal (time) distortion. It took the alternate Ekkos working together to stabilize the fabric of reality that they'd torn apart.
Knowing my ego? That probably won't happen. Working together, I mean.
Using the equipment that I'd (hopefully) have access to, I should be able to skip the process of exploding the crystal and go straight into harnessing the power into an object.
It's a sound plan. One that should work.
...
The next day I went back to Zaun for my second dumpster diving trip.
Well, lab-diving might be more accurate.
Anyways, the first place I started off today was the place furthest from any seen building.
First time's the charm?
Yes, yes it was.
As if God himself has rewarded my hard work, I found the crystal in Ekko's story.
Yes, the very same ones.
How did I know?
After searching through rubbles for the fragments, I placed them together and they sung.
One thing that surprised me was the fact that they actually had a nice tune to them.
After gathering the fragments, I was in no rush to leave until I remembered something.
In The Boy Who Shattered Time (Ekko's story) after he collected the crystal and its fragments, vigilnauts came for him.
I clearly forgot about this fact as I only realized the moment the euphoria wore off.
Get the f*ck out of here? No time.
Hiding? My specialty.
I lifted the rubbles and entered as deep as possible, hoping to evade one of them.
Bad idea, I know. Safest? Not really. Most chance of surviving? Probably.
I really hope I surv- oh I hear them.
"Find the core, lest you invoke 'His' wrath."
"As you command."
*BAM*
The sound of rubbles crashing against the ground repeated over and over, louder and louder again in my head.
In a flash, what little light in Zaun was exposed to my eyes, and at that moment, my heart palpitated.
'Sh*t!'
Whatever protagonists power I have probably came into play here.
A voice, my saviour, sounded out, "Why are you crawling there? No one's gonna survive underneath that many rubbles."
"Better be safe than sorry."
"'Safe than sorry my *ss' You just want to eat some dirt don't you?"
"You think I'm some kind of animal?", followed by the sound of someone standing up
"Yeah, you probably are."
Then, they started walking away.
I really DO have a talent in hiding don't I?
'I'll go after 5 hours.'
...
5 hours turned into 7, 7 turned into 8, 8 turned into 10.
Eventually after what felt like days, I finally had the courage to stand up and get out of the rubble.
As I moved the rubbles off of me, I noticed that I was heavily bruised and dirtied from all of them.
'Thank god Shaun's parents are away...'
I cautiously made my move, going through alleyways. Yes, alleyways.
'I'd rather meet Warwick than those guys...'
Again, my protagonist powers came into play, and I did not meet any resident evil-doers.
I crossed the boundary that separated Zaun and Piltover, and I felt liberated; free like a bird.
I hopped my way back to home, washed up, and dressed my bruises as best as I could.
It's amateur work, but good for now.
Actually, calling it amateur would be an insult to amateurs, but anyways, I went straight for Shaun's parents' laboratory.
'And God said, let there be equipment.'
I chanted the phrase in my head, as if it was a mantra, and I mustered up the courage to open the door.
"F*CK YEAH!"
Well, you can probably guess the result from my reaction.
"Now... let us create the lamp first. Our cheat code is, unfortunately, of lower priority."
Never thought I'd be stealing from mom and dad huh?