Ekko presents his energy generator. It's a series of miniature wheels, gears, and pulleys. These simple looking devices are all contained within a miniature sphere. I don't know how he does it. He pulls a trigger in his hands that activates it. Within seconds, it turns on.
Ekko smiles, with achievement adorned on his face. "See that wire?" He points at a black wire that's connected to a miniature chamber. It slowly begins to glow. "It's charging."
My guards have the Zaun docks protected. Even they stole glances at the device and the chamber as they made patrols.
I'm dumbstruck in amazement. Although it's filling with energy slowly, it's working. No one is dead, and no riots are breaking out. With patience, we would have reached this point, maybe. "Ekko." I stood with a shaky voice, and Ekko stood with me, his smile fading. "You saved me."
Ekko shrugged, now wearing a smile of bashfulness. "I got this idea from you, without the whole BOOM part." He joked rather forcefully and looked to gauge my reaction. It seems as if he wants me to be comfortable with the idea of not being the sole leader in energy production. If I'm wrong, it doesn't matter.
I shook my head in disbelief. "You're the man." I congratulate him and raised my hand out. Ekko did the same, we slapped hands and hugged.
Such a simple design, generating energy, with next to zero risk to one's health. Pride and a bit of jealousy stewed inside me. Why couldn't I think up something like this? It's basically perfect if you have the patience to wait, and I clearly don't. As we separated, Ekko seemed intrinsically proud and outwardly relieved that it was all over.
I smirked with my hands on my hips. "I'm mad I couldn't think of it first."
He met my gaze and turned his face to laugh. "You can't always save the day." He wipes his mouth with his gloved hand. "You have to let the rest of us get some glory."
There is some truth to that. "Let me know if you have any ideas, I mean anything at all." I nod my head away from the pier.
Ekko held a finger up and gathered his devices, then walked with me. "You know I always have ideas, but I can't always be around to tell you what to do. That's your job."
I snickered as I waved at a passing soldier. "Can't boss people around until I'm 18." I grumble.
Ekko gave me an unaware look. "Really? Vander and Silco sound like they need your help."
The implications of that possibility swam in my head for a while. "You aren't just saying that, right?"
Ekko looks at me with his serious face.
I shook my head. "This is what happens when adults think they can fix everything because they're adults." I chastise.
Ekko let out a hearty laugh. "I know! Who do they think they are? Adults?
We carried out merriment pass the entrance to the pier and began walking towards the Drop.
Ekko's laughter infected me. "What do they have? Decades of knowing better?" I held my nose to stop myself from snorting, if that ever happened.
The laughter died down the closer we got to the Drop.
Ekko looks down at his devices. "It was bad before. What if they bring things back to the way they always were?"
We stopped just outside the bar and sat on the steps, out of the way of the patrons.
Scratching my nose, the idea of old people stuck in their old ways angers me. "We won't let that happen." I assure him.
Ekko began to fidget with his handheld trigger. Huh, he doesn't fidget often. "You know," he began. "Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if you got back into power."
That got me. Although I agreed to take things slow, I can't help but worry for the state of Zaun. I want the city to stand on its own two feet. Piltover will be a natural partner in business, nothing more. We have brilliant people here, Zaunites who have shown resilience, courage, and cunning in the bleakest of times. I bet everything on my people, compared to the pampered Pilties.
With a sly grin on my face, I ask. "Why do you want me to run things? Aren't you happy with the way things are now?"
Laughter erupts from within the bar. Fast-paced music blares from the jukebox. Glasses clink against each other.
Ekko's fingers start messing with the device. I watch, trying to understand it without asking him directly. "I've been having...dreams." He looks at me, searching for an answer.
My heart begs to race like the restless waves. However, I focused on maintaining my composure. "I hope it's sweet and happy dreams—"
Ekko glares at me to take him seriously.
I exhale and frown. "Okay, okay." Leaning back, I rub my legs in discomfort. "It's about us, the two cities in flames?"
He nods and swallows. "I can't fight her. I know what to do. I could have ended it earlier, whenever I wanted." He starts rubbing his knuckles, as if they weren't his own. "I don't like that guy, that Ekko."
A combined roar of laughter shook us awake from our musings.
"I don't like the other Owen either." I laid a hand on Ekko's hand when he started absentmindedly picking through his gloves. "Tell me about him, the Ekko the future wants you to be.
Ekko sighed deeply and began telling me everything. Being the leader of a group called the Firelights came with a heavy load of responsibilities. Our relationship, our brotherhood, was strained. Aside from the falling out of the power generation business, I feared his growing influence in Zaun. My paranoia pushed him away, as vagrants and frustrated Zaunites flocked to him. They couldn't handle the militarized society that Zaun has become. I provided everything: an army, a public health system, a schooling system, entertainment, freedom of commerce, land rights, marine rights, and registered marriage privileges. Still, they flocked to him, after everything that Owen offered, they began leaving his protection for Ekko. There was one thing that they couldn't stand. They could tolerate the militarized society but couldn't handle the sacrifices needed to keep the outside world at bay. Zaun needs strength, it needs a leader that will do anything to protect its people. Absolute control was necessary. As I sit listening to Ekko recall all of his dreams, I can't help but correlate them with my dreams. Silently agreeing and disagreeing with him, I can't help but feel a pull at my conscience. The memory came alive, like a lucid dream.
Ekko stands in front of me, prepared for battle. Surrounding us are the Firelights and their families. Each face I stared down once lived in my prosperous city. Each one a betrayal of my generosity, a generosity that I am loath to extend again. They look afraid, clutching their children and loved ones. Others look to want to join the fray, clutching their weapons, and hovering over us on their hoverboards. Then there is Scar, Ekko's second, standing confident with his arms crossed. He has every right to have faith in Ekko, I didn't help raise him to be a push over. The man standing across from me would have struck fear in my heart, if I hadn't removed it a year ago. The beautiful tree we found together, is flourishing with the help of the wild rune pulsing beneath us. The tree pulses with power, continuously singing the never ending song of eternity. Oh how I long to translate every pulse, every beat, but first, my dear brother. He threw his hoverboard off his back, far away from us. It was his way of letting me know that he was serious. He frowns, contorting his hourglass face paint. Gripping the handle of his neon green blade, he points it towards me.
"Don't make me do this, Owen." His voice is deeper, angry, with a hint of hurt.
I stand firm and resolute as I wield my dual hawk rune tip maces. "I'm bleeding citizens."
Ekko begins circling me as I match his pace. "You're losing control." He keeps his even tone.
I try to find common ground. "Piltover is the one we should be fighting."
His eyes blazed with fury. "You said there will be no more fighting. Then you gave everyone guns!" he all but shouted.
I didn't flinch, even though Ekko's conviction made me hesitate slightly. "They are becoming bolder every day. And our mutual...friend...is gathering her—"
Ekko launched forward with unreal speed, and I nearly slipped out of the way of his downward slash. "Don't talk about her!"
Usually, pissing people off would make fights easier, but anger gives him more fuel. "You're worried about her, I know you are."
He faces me with a face scrunched in anger. "You aren't a monster anymore....you're a machine."
A smirk lifts my lip. "Coming from the man who merged with the acceleration rune. It was the only way to keep up with you two." I reasoned. But Ekko shook his head.
Sighing deeply, he lowers his arm and relaxes his tense face. "It was way before Powder had her accident, and you know it. You just had to be the strongest." He steps towards me, I didn't falter. "You gave up on us and found strength in metal instead of your family."
My heart ached because he was right. It was my decision, no one pushed me to do this. My shoulders slack. "I did it for Zaun." I look down at my arms and peer through the torn hole in my sleeve. The organic metal was pulsing my enriched blood through me. "It was all for Zaun."
Ekko took another step closer, now two arm lengths away. "Was it worth it?" he asks with a face full of empathy and eyes searching for any sign of regret in me. However, I removed those eyes a long time ago for synthetic optics. Genetically better in every way. Very few people get them, opting for the contact lenses.
With the alternative worlds in my mind, there was no other possible future where I exist. "I'd do it all again." I said without a hint of hesitation.
Ekko lifts his head and presses his lips together. "Alright then. Everything I've done was right." He lunged at me with a new purpose: to dispose of me.
We danced all throughout the night, trading kicks and slashes. It was one of many battles yet to come. Zaun needs a strong leader who will empower them to accept nothing less than excellence. And the Firelights accepted those who weren't up to the task. Whether it made them weaker as a group is hard to tell. When people form a society, that alone is strength. Learning how to live together in peace is power. Deep down, we all knew that. However, we all have our own vision of what peace looks like. I chose the peace that can stand tall and proud, out of Piltover's shadow. Singed and his assistant gave me what I have lacked all this time, a mind that can live and think simultaneously. While consciously fighting Ekko, I can muse in peace, and I can talk to you.
I snapped out of it and backed up to the pole behind me. The back of my head smacked into the pole, shattering the connection to that dream. Grabbing my head, I close my eyes in pain.
Ekko raced towards me and cupped my head in his hands. "Owen! What happened? Are you okay?"
The dream is lingering around my head, trying to sneak its way in. I wave my hands in the air as the dream floats over me, like a cloud without color. Ekko grabs my hand as he glances at the surrounding Zaunites that observe us before going about their business. "Owen, please, get up, you're causing a scene."
Getting up? after all of this? That can give my mind something to focus on and distract me from the dream. "Good idea."
He helps me up and guides me towards Benzo's Pawn Shop. "I won't let the rest see you like this." He unlocks the door and helps me inside. After he locked it again, we made our way towards his bedroom, where he allowed me to rest on his bed.
My forehead throbs with an unnatural aggression. Rubbing it didn't help at all, but the pain subsided on its own in time. "Was getting me in your bed all apart of the plan?"
Ekko placed his device down in a corner. "What?" He spun around with his face contorted in confusion.
I wave my hand dismissively. "Never mind. I never want to fight you, Ekko, ever."
He sat against his bed. "Never? Come on, that was kind of cool, huh? My big sword," he starts waving his arms as if he's reliving the moment. "And your twin maces!" He's getting animated, visualizing fighting that version of me.
It's heart-warming to see him acting like a child, which is something that I should be doing. But that vision was something that I've never seen before. It wasn't 'a separate random dream. I felt the implants, the patches of skin I replaced with living metal. That Owen chose not to let his family heal him. Instead, he forced his body to heal via cybernetics. He became more machine than man. I felt the living metal pretending to function as human flesh.
"Ekko..." I turn to him.
He stops and shifts his posture. "What?"
I tried to hold a sincere expression, but I lack the energy. "They look serious about hurting each other."
Ekko starts to chuckle. "They're just playing," he stressed his smile.
There's no way he can hide it, he's in denial. "Ekko...we were going to kill each other." I whispered with a hoarse voice.
Ekko shook his head knowingly. "Yeah... 'were... but since I told you, you'll fix it, we'll fix it." He said it with the assurance that I fail to grasp.
Sitting up, I stand to my feet. "You lost me. Tell me how this is going to work."
Ekko smiles and pulls out his trump card from his pocket, a yellow flower. "Looks familiar?" He twists the flower between his fingers by the stem.
I reached out and took it from his hand, slack-jawed. "Where did you get this? I got mine from the Piltover park."
Ekko turns to change his shoes. "I'll show you. We're going to go for a long walk," he grunts as he pushes his feet into a fresh pair of boots, then stands tall. "Let's go." Then he pauses as he observes my posture. "You can walk, right?"
Snapping out of it, I rotate my shoulders. "I'm ready for anything, especially a hike."
After locking down the shop, Ekko leads the way towards his special place he discovered. As we walk through Zaun, I try to see any sign of innovation. Annoyingly, the only notable changes are the neon lights that hangs from the businesses. Only the Benzo's shop remains free from the neon lunacy. We exit the lanes and the busy bulk of Zaun and head down into an opening in the dirt.
My face fills with worry as I watch Ekko climb in. "Ekko?" I follow him into the earth with a shaky voice.
As he leads the way, his small form is swallowed by the dark. "Yeah?" his voice echoes off the walls.
My heart raced as I sped up to catch him. "Are you trying to murder me in the dark?" Huh, I actually sound worried as my voice bounces off the walls.
Every step Ekko took was one of confidence, as he made keeping up with him a challenge. "Of course not. You have to trust me, Owen." He doesn't seem upset by that question, maybe he's getting used to my paranoia of everyone.
It took us a long while of walking. The roots around us gave off a weird glow. Not quite illuminating, it glowed softly. It was still dark, but there were enough roots around us to make visibility possible. The dirt around us is moist and impossibly fertile, Piltover would be jealous. The humidity grew denser the further we traveled. Soon, which didn't feel soon enough, sunlight emerged ahead.
Ekko increased his pace. "Almost there! Come on!" He rushes off into the light at the end of the tunnel.
There was a certain pleasure in chasing him out the tunnel. Or rather, a relief from being surrounded by the potent richness of soil, mysterious glowing roots, and the dark. Usually, near pitch darkness doesn't bother me. But that darkness was beyond eerie, beyond strange, it's truly unnerving.
I can't see him, only the glowing opening ahead. "Ekko?" I yelled as the tunnels began to close in on me. I can't get enough air as I sprint towards the light. "Ekko!"
"Hurry up! You have to see this!" His voice is so far away, I can barely hear him over my own greedy breathing.
The opening widens as the walls close in on me. Running out at full speed, I sprint into a green paradise, or something close to it. Ekko stood in the center, taking in the sight of green, there is green everywhere. There are also every color of flowers that I can't begin to comprehend. The grass beneath us is thick and as moist as dirt. The roots, flowers, and vegetation seem to spring from that enormous tree in front of us. If I were to see the tree as a face, what springs from it, the roots, must be the whiskers, and the plants are the beard. Ekko ran his hand over the grass, I did the same, soft and firm.
Taking in a deep breath, the air here is thick, somehow. "This is incredible, to put it bluntly."
"It can be our own hideout!" Ekko spreads his arms and breathes in the dense air. "All ours."
I walked forward past Ekko and pressed my hand against the tree. Ekko walks beside me, observing my narrow-mindedness.
"Owen?" He pats my back.
I snap out of it. "With this, we can clean Zaun's air." I turn to Ekko with wide eyes. "We can make Zaun a better place to live! Despite the trash Piltover dumps on us!"
Ekko finally realized the implications and nods approvingly. "Yeah! The flowers and stuff. It can clean the air. I mean, grass is already starting to grow, I've seen it." He points at the tree. "This will only make things better."
I smiled as I ran my hand over the rough bark. "I think I found my next big project."
Ekko pulled me into a side hug. "That's what I like to hear. If anyone is going to lose sleep over a project, it's you."
We turn around and start heading back. "Every hour of sleep lost is worth it to change Zaun." I stopped in front of the hole we came from.
Ekko stopped a step ahead of me. "What's wrong?"
The hole ahead holds a darkness of pitch blackness. He looked towards the hole and back to me, immediately sensing my fear. "Don't worry." He grabs hold of my arm. "I hold you through it."
We began to move forward slightly, my steps slowing down the closer we approached the hole. What is wrong with me? This shouldn't make someone like me be afraid. I called down lightning and came back. I started a civil war and raised an army, the dark shouldn't scare me. But here I am, shuttering, making Ekko work too hard to just walk. "I'm sorry, Ekko...I can't...I-"
"I'm not leaving you, okay?" he assures me. He said it with a confidence that a leader should have, a leader that isn't afraid of the dark. "And if you fall, I'll carry you back."
I snickered and fought to stay standing as he led me into the dark. "Fighting is easier than this."
Our steps are silenced as the dirt swallows our feet. The darkness engulfs us again. The only thing that keeps me from breaking down into a fear-raged lunatic is the glowing veins that illuminated in response to us.
"I think it's funny that you're such a monster in Zaun, but you're afraid of this?" he mentions half in thought.
I think for a moment. The dark hasn't bothered me this much. Maybe it's thanks to the neon lights that ignite all of Zaun. You kind of don't need a sun on certain streets. "You know, I usually don't sleep in buildings that don't have a business building around them."
We are done walking in the dimly lit and extremely humid dark. Only Ekko knows how to navigate this. Every step needs to be planned carefully to avoid the softest patch of dirt. I don't want to find out what would happen if our feet got swallowed. Ekko kept talking about random stuff, bothering me every two seconds. It was annoying, but I understood why he did it when we reached the end. This time, I charged ahead when I saw the light. Ekko didn't argue, as he knew he shouldn't. In fact, he found the whole thing amusing.
Rolling onto the dry dirt, I nearly kissed it. Never would have thought that I would miss the feeling of dusty Zaun.
Ekko's boots grind against the ground as I thank the ground for not being fertile. "Feeling better?" he asks in the worst sympathetic tone I've ever heard.
Standing to my feet, I glare at him. "NO ONE will know about this." I grumble with my arms crossed.
His amused expression gave way to one of begrudging acceptance. "Fine...fine, but only if—" He raised his finger. "-You get back to work."
He's speaking my language, using leverage like this to get what he wants. I'd do the same if I were in his shoes. The question is, why is he doing this exactly? Threatening me to take Silco's seat again?
"What do you really want from me?" I ask as I look into Ekko's eyes.
He has the nerve to appear uncomfortable for a second. "You have to hurry up, Zaun needs that army and the wall." He shifts on his feet, not knowing where to turn.
I nod towards the Last Drop, and we begin the hike back. "Doing this keeps that future from coming. And I'm sure you know what future I'm talking about."
Ekko kicked a rock out of our way. "You mean...those dreams are...real?" His face contorts in confusion and denial as he asks that.
I nod, watching his face deny my words. "Those dreams of us? They are possibilities of our future. They may not become our exact future, but at this rate, it's going to be close to it. That's why I want to keep being a kid." I explain.
Ekko scowls halfheartedly. "But the war...the riots...Zaun has to be ready."
I recall the war. Future one-eyed Caitlyn mentions Noxus reinforcements. Can't clearly recall what Noxus is. It has to be a foreign nation with a powerful military. Wouldn't have been warned about them if they weren't worthy of it. "But Ekko, if we can see the same future...then you know."
His face went gloomy for a bit, then shifts to his usual happy-go-lucky self. "Yeah, but I have a plan." He pressed a thumb in his chest. "Me this time, not you. I know how to avoid all of that."
"Seriously?" I asked as we approached the main road to the Drop.
He nods. "You get to still 'be a kid' while taking odd jobs here and there. While getting to study on how to improve Zaun."
Diving into my mind for a bit, I faintly remember our future selves working together. It was just like old times, but they have so much tension. Ekko and Owen had a falling out a year ago. In that future, they worked together begrudgingly. Rumors of war made the Zaunites panic. They accomplished much in that year, then Jinxers and the Firelights clashed. Long story short, things got messy, and Owen swore to avenge Ekko.
I lift a finger. "I'm getting the feeling that if we follow our future selves plans, things will end the same, but much sooner."
Ekko shrugs as we approach the bar, which is just as busy as we left it. "Trust me and do what I say for a couple of months. It will be different this time."
"Alright." I look through the window to see the place is packed. "We've got to push through this crowd."
Ekko pushed up his sleeves. "I'm ready."
Together, we ran inside and navigated the bar full of matured, drunk afterbirth people. Vander and Silco have their hands full, giving us the time to reach the basement door with zero casualties. We descended down the stairs and embraced the musky air.
Ekko rummaged through the box of spare paper before I could reach the bench. "I remember the designs from my dreams." He grabbed all that he needed and spreads them across the bench. "There's what I'm thinking."
Standing beside him, I observed his drawings diligently and absorbed his expertise on the matter. One after another, page after page, he drew all that he deemed important for me to work on in the coming years. Cybernetic implants, neurolinks, metal vehicles, warp gates, energy weapons, space exploration, a grand temple of Janna, Zaun University, the militarized Zaun, and the matter fabricator equation.
Scratching my head. "Half of these things will be the reason why the world hates us." I warned him.
Ekko covered his mouth as he laughed. "It's going to be different this time. Plus, you'll stop me if I go too far." He lifts a random piece of paper towards me, and I take it.
Upon looking it over, it's a board of some sort. Don't know what he wants to do with it, it must be his personal project. "Yeah, it's going to take us a while to vent all of these ideas." I placed the paper down and grabbed his shoulder. "We have to keep this a secret, for now."
He nods and pats my hand. "We'll start with the matter fabricator first. That'll give us all the stuff we need to build the rest."
Pulling my hand away, I grab a pencil. "We need to stay on a strict schedule. Time is not on our side." I inform as I start drawing a chart, laying out our responsibilities.
Ekko follows my drawing with laser-focus curiosity. "I won't be too sure about that."
From that day, we began to work towards improving Zaun together. This must have been the reason for my high affinity for him earlier. Since the moment I met him, there was this strange pull that I couldn't figure out. Then the dreams happened: us fighting, his demise, and then the void within me. There was something that destroyed our brotherhood. Something that pits us against each other, to destroy our familial love. Bringing him harm in any way is a difficult path to walk. That limitation needs to be broken. I'm willing to bet that's the reason why we crossed paths: my unwillingness to stop him earlier. That boundary needs to be broken. For that horrific future to be avoided, that mental barrier needs to be shattered. I have a plan, a simple plan. It might be the only way for my mind to mature. For me to accept the fact that hard choices need to be made to secure a safer future for us all. Birthdays and months came and passed. We work well together, as I've always thought we would. But I need to cross that line, it has to be done. I chose the day after I carefully prodded Ekko's pride. He is just as hesitant to bring me harm as I am to harm him. So he needed to be provoked. It was a playful provocation, a slight jab at his boxing skills in front of Vi, his idol. She unknowingly played her part as well, seeing this as a way to promote a healthy rivalry. So here we are, standing across from one another. Vi acts as the referee, and everyone else acts as support. Vander stands next to Benzo and Silco, the three wearing their own visages of pride. Sevika leans against the wall, her eyes on me. It was difficult to convince her to attend, not like she has anything special to do late at night. Mylo rocks from side to side, trying not to look nervous in front of Gert, and failing. Claggor stands next to Lis and Summer, his stature making him seem like their big brother. And Powder appears oddly excited. Caitlyn had to pull her back from the ring occasionally. In retaliation for touching her shoulder, Powder would push and elbow her. They haven't exchanged any harmful blows yet. They have a better rapport than I expected. Vi waves us forward and instructs us on what she expects. As she speaks, Ekko and I meet eyes. He's clearly loving the near silence of the atmosphere. No one is cheering or giving any advice. Only the silent anticipation of a boxing spectacle between two kids. We've trained for this...I think. Ekko is slightly more fit than the average 11-year-old Zaunite. I've stuffed my face since the moment I thought of all this. Taking my training into my own hands might have been more of a hindrance than anything. Ekko had all of Vi's attention up to this point.
"Touch gloves." Vi ordered. We pushed our gloved fists against each other. Ekko stood solid, as if I pushed off a tree, typical. He wore a smirk of confidence that looked natural on his face.
Vi points at the opposite corners. "To your corners."
We backed into our respective corners, lowering our stances.
Vi looks at the both of us, then throws down her hand. "Fight!"
I charged to control the center first, while Ekko chose to circle me, since he failed to control the middle. He shifts from side to side, trying to keep me guessing when he'll commit to a solid position. Then his jab came. It was easy to slip, as it was an arm jab, his weight not fully behind it. I made my advance, with Ekko staying just out of my reach. He's trying to get a measure of my arm length and step. Vi taught him well. A straight cross shot out, his weight behind it. I bent my knees and landed a straight shot of my own to his body. As I stepped back, he lunged with a jab to avenge the punch to his body. Right there, with thoughtless instinct, I pushed off my back foot and launched a cross to his head. By some stroke of luck, I missed. Or Ekko tilted his head to the right at the last second. Either way, our arms locked, and Ekko clutched me.
Vi stepped in to separate us. "Fight."
This is going to be annoying.