Scarred For Life

Chapter 11

I stayed at Ekko's side, spotting him as he made his way down the dark pathway to the secret entrance of our home. Heimerdinger's small pattering footsteps filled our ears as we came upon the door. I made a series of knocks at the door, signaling to the firelights on the other side to let us in. The large metal door opened slowly allowing the light to poor into the pathway.

Scar took to Ekko's side quickly, helping him to sit down on a nearby boulder. Heimerdinger slowly walked onto to the grass with his jaw hanging open. I stood alongside Scar and Ekko as we watched him take in the sight of our tree.

"Astonishing!" Heimerdinger exclaimed. He turned to us with wide eyes. "You say all this came about in your own brief lifespan? How were you able to accomplish so much so quickly?"

"You'd be surprised what you can pull off when your life depends on it." Ekko chuckled.

I laughed with him to distract him from the fact that Scar had taken his leg in his arm, prepared to fix his ankle. I grabbed his hand quickly and smiled as Scar cracked his bone into place. Ekko let out a loud gasp and exclaimed in pain and shock. I giggled as Scar dropped his leg and Ekko let out a sigh of relief.

"Uh, why this form?" Heimerdinger said, holding up Ekko's board. "Surely, there are more efficient and safer methods of transportation."

Just then, Scar took his sphere and hit the ground.

"Firelights!" He growled, his voice echoing in the ears of all the firelights as they turned to us. Scar howled and roared to them. Ekko and I smiled, pumping our fist in the air. The firelights chirped and cheered. Heimerdinger looked around at the kids who had emerged in awe.

"It's not enough to give people what they need to survive" I said. "You have to give them what they need to live."

Heimerdinger smiled at me and began walking further onto the grounds, admiring more of our work. A few of the firelight children began congregating around him, greeting our new guest. He seemed to enjoy the attention, introducing himself and talking with them.

"What do you know about this guy?" I asked, watching Heimerdinger interact with the kids.

"He's a genius inventor, founding Piltover University and Piltover itself. He's lived for about 3 centuries now. I've talked about him before, he's kind of my idol." Ekko said, smiling.

"Yea I know all that... I mean what do you really know about him. Why is he so interested in the undercity all of a sudden? After all these years, why does he want to help now? What's his deal? And if he's such a big deal, why is he no longer a councilman?" My mind raced as I considered the possibilities of what we could be dealing with.

"Scar, don't start. If he wanted to turn us in, we wouldn't have made it down here" Ekko sighed

"What if he's working with Silco? That would explain why he's in the undercity and maybe the Council found out." I said, raising an eyebrow at the thought.

"Heimerdinger? With Silco? No way" Ekko chuckled.

"My apologies if I did something to make you think of such an allegation" Heimerdinger said as he walked over to us. "I assure you, my intentions are nothing but pure."

"It's alright, Scarlett here is just super cautious" Ekko smirked as he gently elbowed my leg.

"And I've got every right to be... since when does your kind offer their assistance to the citizens of the undercity?" I asked, mocking him.

"Be nice" Ekko groaned.

"No, it's alright" Heimerdinger sighed. "She's got a point. I have recently been awakened to the severity of the conditions that this city is under. For so long, we have been focused on protecting Piltover, forgetting that the undercity should be under our protection as well. We aren't able to see your suffering through the attacks on the city."