After yesterday's event Ekko holed himself in the workshop. Just helping Benzo with his tinkering and killing time by either messing with his biology or thinking of ways to use charges. He was sitting on quite a bird's nest right now but he hasn't made any new abilities or upgrade his existing ones yet
His original plan is to wait and see if his meddling with Vander and Silco's relationship would work. And he's not touching grass-not that there's much in Zaun- until any hint of their cooperation reach his ears.
However, the universe had other plans. No matter what world you live, what universe you get reincarnated to, there's one constant thing you need to be aware of and that is that Life is a bitch. Ekko blankly stared at the man who barged into the store like he owned it. And he was not alone.
"We're closed." Benzo snarked.
"Well open up old friend. You've got an old friend to greet." Vander replied evenly as he walked in, Silco following behind. Benzo looked like he couldn't believe what he is seeing.
"I-you..wh- huh?" Vander just looked at one of his oldest friends, amused.
"...We've got a lot to talk about. Ekko! Think you can keep an eye out." Vander called out making the boy jump. He gestured outside, Ekko nodded.
"Sure. I didn't hear or see nothin, and the rest of the Undercity will be in the same boat until your say so." Ekko lazily saluted as he walked past Vander. When he got to Silco, the former? crime boss nodded at him. Maybe in gratitude? Maybe in acknowledgement? But it brought the attention of both Vander and Benzo.
'Great. More explanations.' Ekko sighed as he walked out the door. Not daring to look back. Cause he was sure Benzo and Vander were giving him looks that screamed 'Explain!'
'Life is a bitch. And I can't wait until I'm strong enough to be her pimp. She can be a bitch all she want but she can only mess with me after I got my money from that filthy hoe.' Ekko thought as he closed the door and leaned on it.
No sooner than he did, he heard shouts. Catching the passerbys' attentions.
"...Great. Walk along people. Let the old people sort their own problems." He called out lazily making them look away and keep walking.
*Crunch*
And there goes the window. It's gonna be a looong day. Fuck! It wasn't even ten in the morning yet.
Ekko sighed in despair. 'Why pass Ekko? Why? Why must thou meddle so much?'
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Thirty minutes later, the trio walked out of the store, hand in hand. Like it wasn't them shouting with enough volume to wake the dead. Ekko just stared at them deadpan.
"We're going to the Last Drop little man, close up the shop and follow after" Benzo called back as he made his way without waiting for a response.
Ekko just sighed as he get to work. It took about 15 minutes to cleam everything up even with his enhanced speed combined with Time Skip.
After locking the door behind him, he tool to the rooftops and went straight to the Last Drop. Maybe hanging out with the others might make this day a little better. Maybe he could help Powder with her new bombs or spar with Vi again.
After a few minutes of parkour, he got to the bar. He went in and immediately zeroed in on the basement door.
"Hey Vander. I'm gonna go see the gang for a bit. He called out as he went to open the door to the basement.
"They're not here right now." Vander called out. Making Ekko groan internally.
"Where are they then?" Ekko asked as he made his way to the exit. It was likely that they're in their usual hangout spot.
"Beats me. They went out the same time as me. Said something about a job." Vander said before going back to his conversation with Benzo and Silco. Not notcing Ekko froze.
Unknownst to anyone but Ekko, today was the day canon starts. And Vi and the others doing a job on a canon day?
'Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!' Ekko thought frantically as he hauled his ass out of the last drop, sprinting straight to the bridge. The force of his legs left craters on the ground as he pushed his body to the limit.
'HOW? How did this happen? Maybe it's not Jayce apartment they're gonna rob? Oh who am I kidding. Life's not that fair. Is this the famed fucking 'Canon Event'? So many questions and no FUCKING AMSWERS!' Ekko thought angrily as he made past the bridge. He stopped near the fountain in the plaza, looking around.
He remembered that the group in the canon timelime made it past here before going to the bridge.
Judging by the calm atmosphere, the heist is not completed yet or they're in the middle of it. The best way to confrim is
"....The roofs." Ekko muttered as he glanced at the top of the tall buildings. Taller than any he had ever seen in the Undercity.
'I can't get a good view from down here. I need a vantage point.' Ekko thought as he went into a nearby alley and jumped straight up from the ground. As soon as he got onto the roof, he made his way to the tallest building in the district, leaping the incredible hulk style.
He made it there in no time. As soon as he got a bird's eye view of a good portion of the city's roof, he sat down and closed his eyes. Focusing on his self-biokinesis to make his eyes better. He kept them at 20/20 to make daily life easier but now he needs the extra resolution.
After a few minutes of carefully crafting his eyes anew, he scanned the city for the four children. His reflexes and his brain's processing power were upgraded years ago when he got good enough to do so it was easy to scan everything in sight while barely resting his eyes in one place more than a second.
After a few minutes of frantic searching, Ekko stomach dropped.
'Don't tell me they're already at the place.' While he knew the general location of the Academy, he didn't remeber anything about the apartment Jayce was staying. Just knew that it belonged to Caitalyn's family. 'Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuckity fucking-
"What are you doing here?"
"-JESUS!" Ekko whirled around with a jump. Nearly jumping off the roof he was standing on. Standing on the roof, opposite from him... is Vi. Followed by Powder, Mylo and Claggor.
"Jeez. Jumpy much?" Vi snarked with a smirk, making Ekko a little embarassed.
"Um..."
"So I repeat? What are you doing here? Did Vander send you? How did he know where to send you?" Vi fired off question one after another. Making Ekko's head spin.
"No. No. Vander didn't send me. I've been wanting to hang out with you guys and heard from Vander that you're on a job." Ekko replied truthfully. Making Vi looked at him skeptically for a moment before deciding to drop it... for now.
"That still doesn't explain how you found us?" Mylo chimed in from behind. Powder elbowed past him before walking forward to greet Ekko.
"...oh that. Yeah, some people saw you leaving this way. I asked a couple of 'em." Ekko quickly thought up a reply. Technically, someone was following them during canon so it wasn't a full lie, just not the full truth. Before Vi could say anything though
"Who cares about how he found us. We can bring him with us. C'mon Ekko! We've got a tip about a really rich dude up here." Powder said as she exicitedly dragged Ekko towards the group. Making him look back and forth between Powder's expectant face and Vi's reluctantly accepting one.
He thought with every neurons he got availible before...
________________________________
In the end, he made the decision to go with them. Better be there to make sure nothing goes wrong than to have it be out of his control.
"Soooo... where did you get this tip exactly?" 'Espacially since I'm not the one who gave it to you like in canon.' Was left unsaid but his tone was still full of curiosity.
"It was me! When you guys were enjoying the finer goods of Piltover a few days ago, I found a Piltie poorly disguised to blend in the Undercity, cross the bridge. So I followed him during one of those shows Powder wanted to watch. And guess what? He's got stuff for days." Mylo puffed his chest out in pride before continuing,
"After that, I memorized the road, drew a map- "Powder drew the map."-plan the route-"It was Vi" and now here we are." You're welcome for this opportunity." Mylo finished, unphased by Claggor's interjections.
"That's -'Fuckin ridiculous'- awesome." Ekko said with a shaky smile. His eyebrow wanted to twitch so bad. He's barely keeping the exasperation in... and his desire to strangle Mylo.
"Come on! We're wasting time." Vi said as she beckoned them over from the next roof, along with Powder.
'When did they even make the jump?' Ekko thought incredulously. Mylo and Claggor crossed it relatively easy. The latter not having any problem despite his weight. Ekko just leaped over with his super human strength.
"Show off." Powder teased, making Ekko rubbed his head.
"What can I say? It's a talent." He smirked back.
"More like freakishness." Mylo snarked as he looked down over the streets.
"Hey! People are born different ya know? Some are just more awesome than others." Ekko boasted with pride he didn't feel. Humor is a coping mechanism and he's coping plently.
"Whatever you say little freak." Vi scoffed playfully before turning serious.
"You really in on this? After this point, there's no going back." Vi directed the question to their newest addition for this gig.
"All the way Vi. All the way." Ekko assured.
"Good." Vi curtly said as she jumped down to an another building's ledges on the side.
'So dramatic.' Ekko thought as he followed through. Pausing a moment to catch Powder when she nearly slipped.
"Thanks Little man." She nearly slipped there.
"Anytime Powder, now let's go before your sister complete this gig on her own." Powder giggled but didn't say anything to contradict it. It was true. Vi looked like she was in a hurry. Maybe she was just anxious?
Ekko didn't dwell on in longer as he follow the group. Just staying behind Powder just in case, she slipped. She was sure footed but didn't have much strength to hold on so Ekko was looking out for that.
They made it around the ledge and Ekko heard the canonical script albeit a little later than it's suppose to be.
"Vi, are you sure about this?" Claggor spoke up.
"If we get caught-" "We're not gonna get caught. We'll be in and out before anyone's notice." Vi cut Claggor off as she jumped down to a lower roof.
The went down to it's side and slowly walked around the small ledges, their back against the wall.
"Should we even be here?" Claggor asked, a little nervous.
"If Vander finds out that we were up here-"IF he finds out." Vi cut in.
"But still, I think we should go back." Claggor said, making her face him directly. She looked past him and saw the reluctance on Mylo and Powder's faces. Ekko's was just indifferent. She has to say something to bring the moral back up.
"You think abyone topside is going hungry? Besides, this is exactly the sort thing Vander would have pulled when he was our age."Claggor sighed in defeat.
Vi continued in a softer tone. "...Look I'm going. Are you with me or not?" She met everyone in the eyes.
Claggor just sighed again, but he already made his mind up.
"Vander's gonna kill us." Ekko knew how the big boy felt. Vi stubborness is gonna get her or them killed someday. Ekko was just here to make sure it's not today.
"Yeah, only if we screwed up. So don't screw up." Vi said the last a little pleadingly, before jumping off the roof, catching it's edge and swinging on to the balcony below.
The gang was left alone for a few second before she called out.
"All clear!" They jumped down one by one. Powder jumped on Ekko's back, making the boy blink. Powder just smiled at him innocently.
He just scoffed at her good naturedly before swing down to the balcony. Her weight not even registering to his super human strength.
"Who locks their balcony?" Ekko heard Mylo complain as he took out his lock picking tool and worked his magic on the door.
Ekko let Powder down as he look around the balcony. The girl herself was looking various decoration and detail on the balcony. Having never seen one that was as decorated as this. Most building in Piltover didn't have it, let alone the Undercity.
"Whoa! There's a lot of enforcers down there." Claggor said as he looked over the streets.
"Means we're in the right place. Any luck on getting the door open?" Vi asked Mylo.
"Working on it. Since I'm the only one who can pick locks, I suggest you be patien-"
Vi didn't let him finish and just kicked the door in, breaking the lock and making Mylo nearly lose his shit from the suddeness of the action.
She paid him no mind as she went inside, Ekko and the others following her. Though Claggor smacked him on the way in.
"Animals" Mylo said as if he was appalled to be associating with them.
"... How can someone have so much stuff?" Claggor asked in awe. Though he wasn't expecting an answer, Mylo replied.
"Easy! Just born lucky." Mylo said sarcastically as he looked around before coming to a stop at a desk. Various trinkets thrown around.
"You know what Claggor? For once you're right. We're definitely not suppose to be here." Mylo agreed with Claggor's earlier statement.
"Alright gang! You know what to do. Grab as many valuables as you can. Now move out." Vi said as the rest went on their way to looting the place.
Ekko looked around the workshop, half heartedly looting the place. Subtley keeping an eye on Powder.
"Whoa! Check it out! I think this is a real Valdiani." Powder said to Ekko, awe evident in her voice. Ekko just want to what the hell is a Valdiani and how does Powder know of it.
"Oh yeah? What about this?" Mylo showed off his own loot. Clicking the button on it made the top part spin.
"That's just a nose hair trimmer." Powder said unimpressed killing Mylo's excitement, making him look at the device with dimmed eyes.
"Powder, keep an eye out for anything valuable...before Mylo fills the bag with Junk. Ekko, help her with whatever she needs and keep your ears open for the people that lives here." Vi said in passing as she dumped a load of goods into the bag.
Mylo just rolled his eyes and scoffed before going back to finding loot. Ekko nearly lost sight of Powder as she went around the apartment. In the background, he can hear the others talking about a glowing crystal as he went after Powder.
When he found her, she was looking at a sandwich with sparkling eyes, making him chuckle. She turned around at his voice.
"Ekko! You gotta try this! It's even better than the food at Jericho's." Powder thrusted the sandwich towards him.
"I'm good, thanks." Ekko refused but Powder was insistant. Ultimately he gave in, like every time before. The sandwich was nostalgic. He didn't remember how good the food in his last life is, he knew the general taste and knew they're supposed to be good but this body is used to the foods from the lanes with the occasional Piltie Sweets thrown in. It's good to eat some familiar food after over a decade.
As Ekko was reminiscing about fucking sandwiches, Powder clicked a mechinism on the briefcase beside the sandwich plate. As she went on to open it, Ekko dropped the sandwich-with great reluctance mind you- and tried to stop her but it was too late.
'Fuck me and my love for real food.' Ekko thought as another one of the requirements for canon progression was met. The first was coming here obviously.
"Whoa! They're so pretty." Powder whispered in awe as she pluck on the stones from it's place.
"Careful Powder, what if it explodes?" Ekko said as he tried not to show his nervousness.
"Huh? Why would you think it explode?" Powder asked quizzedly.
"B-because... I-I read about them. They're magic crystals. And they explode when you drop them hard enough." Ekko explained.
"Really? You mean like this?" Powder as she dropped the stone. Ekko heart nearly leapt out of his throat as he used everything he had to catch it.
"WHAT'S the matter with you? I just said these explodes!" He yelled the first part before softening his tone when she looked like a frightened kitten.
Ekko took a deep sigh, "Look when I said they explodes, I meant an explosion big enough to level the entire floor. And we're at the very top of these floor." Powder still refused to look at him. Causing him to sigh again before he leaned down to hug her. He shoulders shook as she sniffled. He shouldn't yell at her. Not when she was already so fragile. He never did it before. He was literally her rock, no matter what she did, he followed her like a shadow. This is the first time he has act like he did.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was just worried you're gonna kill yourself. You do a lot of crazy things but you knew what you're doing then... most of the time.-" Powder giggled a little at that.
"-but this stuff is dangerous. The owner knew it too. That's why he didn't just put them in a box where they can fall or break easily. Just promise you'll be more careful with your life okay?" Ekko said softly as she nodded and finally hugged him back.
"Mm'right. Can we take this with us? They're so pretty." She mumbled softly as she eyed the crystals. Ekko sighed again, he has a feeling he's gonna do it alot today.
"...alright fine. Just keep them secure. We don't want them setting off unwanted explosi-"
"MYLO THE CHAIR! EKKO! POWDER! WHERE ARE YOU! WE NEED TO MOVE. NOW!" Vi's voice yelled out as Ekko jerked. He looked at Powder, meeting her eyes before they nodded at each other.
"Don't panic. I'm here. Put the crystals in your pouches carefully. I'm gonna hold the door " Ekko said as he went back outaide the room to the door's lock nearly broken down by Jayce.
He quickly went to the door to push against it, keeping it still and reinforced it's durabilty with his power.
"Move! Move! MOVE!" Vi yelled as she rushed everyone out.
"Ekko! Where's Powder!?" Vi demanded as she looked back at him.
"I'm coming." Powder yelled out as she ran out of the room she was in. Ekko looked over and his stomach dropped.
'Damn it! I brought more time. Why didn't she put them away more carefully.' Ekko thought as he traced a crystal fall down the floor. Right between Vi and Powder.
Powder noticed it when she looked back to call him over and saw him looking down. Her eyes widened as the crystal started pulsing erractically and glowing.
"Vi LOOK OUT!" Powder yelled as she pushed her sister away. The crystal was already destabilizing and on the verge of exploding.
Vi loomed at what her sister was referring to and went back towards her sister to put her out of harms way.
"DAMMIT YOU TWO! WOULD IT KILL YOU TO JUST RUN INSTEAD OF PUSHING EACHOTHER!" Ekko roared out angrily as he pushed off the ground with all his considerable speed, picked up both of the sisters and-
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
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When Vi came to her senses, the first thing she thought of was how her body ached all over. And the second was-
"POWDER! Where's Powder?" She sat up abruptly. Making her whole body ache. Someone rushed to her side.
"Easy Vi. You've been out for three days." It was Claggor. He went on to say something but Vi didn't hear it. Her mind was on one thing.
"Claggor, where's Powder?" She asked again. More firmly.
"Powder's fine. She was not hurt in the first place." Claggor replied but his tone was strange. Vi looked up at him and saw that he couldn't make eye contact.
"Claggor?" He winced subtley but still noticebly at her tone. That's her don't you dare lie to me tone.
"What. Happened." Vi asked as she stare at him with burning curiosity.
"I...uh... it's... it's bad." Claggor said lamely.
"Bad? What's Bad? And how bad is it.?" Vi demanded as she sat uo straighter.
"Um... like... gosh why did I have to do this... it's enforcers bad. It's stillwater bad." Claggor said as he silently pleaded with her not to ask her questions.
"...Fine. Get me out of this bed. I want to see Vander." At that Claggor winced again. This time more noticebly.
" That's... gonna be hard." Claggor said as he went to do as she said.
"Oh C'MON! Will you please just stell me what's going on? And why can't you take me to Vander?" Vi said exasperatedly as she glared at Claggor. The poor boy didn't deserve this but she was tired, sored and apparently was in a three day coma. She just wanted some answers. And fortunately, answers came. Just not from who she was expecting.
"Because child, Vander has been arrested by the enforcers. He's been put to Stillwater as of two days ago." Leaning by the door frame was a thin man with slicked back hair and one mostrous looking eye.
"Who are you!?" Vi demanded, hostile before what he said caught her attention.
"W-what do you mean Vander's in prison. Answer me!" Vi took a step forward, gaze buring with fury.
"Spirited and with a temper, just like your father." Silco said nostalgiacally before answering.
"Your little heist a few days ago has consequnces. Heavy consequences. Vander took the blame by saying he stage the robbery and gave himself up after the enforcers caught your group. And the boy..." Silco trailed off, something like remorse passed through his eyes before he took a deep breath and turn his gaze onto her.
"What boy? Mylo? Claggor? Ekko?" Vi asked before her eyes widened at Silco's nod at Ekko's name.
"What happend to him?" Vi was tired of repeating that question.
"He-"
"Vi?" another voice cut off Silco's sentence.
Vi looked over and saw Powder. Relief passed through her at seeing her sister before her state made Vi blink.
Powder looked like death warmed over. Red eyes puffy like she has been crying non-stop. Tearmarks staining the grime and dirt on her young face, looking like she has not washed her self for a the past three days.
"Pow-Pow?" Vi asked as she opened her arms for a hug. Her sister waited no time in rushing over for a hug. Her shoulder's became wet as Powder cried. Vi whispered sweet nothings to her as she comforted her younger sister. Throughout all this, Powder was saying something. It took a while for Vi to figure out what she was saying.
When it hit her she looked across the room in shock, to meet the other occupants' eyes, for them to tell her it's not true. But Claggor's solemn nod and Silco's sympathetic one confirmed it.
She played the words in her head again in shock as she hugged her sister tighter.
'Ekko's dead'
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A/N: DUN DUN DUN! That's it folks gg. The story is now done. Orrrrrr you can take this cliffhanger and wait for the next chapter. You thought this was gonna be a retelling of Arcane with no originality? Think again! It's officially AU from now on.
Also I made you guys a 4k chapter as an apology for not updating earlier this week. Toodles.