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Ekko sat outside of a small shop, looking at the faces walking by. He was hoping one of the faces would belong to his mother, but no. Suddenly he heard a man calling him over, "Psst, kid," he said. Ekko looked over to see a scrawny guy with a couple others behind him.
"Hi," Ekko said with a smile, "Who are you?"
The scrawny guy smiled back, "We got something for you," he said, motioning Ekko to come towards him, "Candy, other sweets. Come on."
Without thinking, the little boy walked over to the guys who led him down an alley. His smile fell when he didn't see any sweets like he had hoped. He turned around only to get a face full of someone's dirty fist. He fell back, holding his cheek and looking up at the men. One of the others kicked him in the gut as the others joined in. He tried to throw his arms and legs around in hopes they would back away, but his limbs were only kicked.
"What are you doing?!" A little girl shouted. She stood at the start of the alley way, holding a bunny by its arm. She had big bug eyes filled with tears, watching Ekko getting beaten.
The scrawny guy walked towards the little girl, "Why don't you piss off to whatever little shit hole you crawled out of, Hm?"
"My dad can kick your butt!" The little girl squeaked. Ekko scooted against a wall, hugging his own torso in hopes that it would calm the throbbing down.
The men only laughed at the little girl until a tall, muscular man stepped into view. His shadow covered the fear on their faces, "Leave the boy alone," he said.
"My boy," Heimerdinger spoke, waking Ekko up from a small nap, "My apologies for waking you up from your slumber."
Ekko stretched and rubbed his eyes, "It's fine. Is there a problem?"
"You explained to me that your pocket watch was broken. I believe I know a fine fellow who could fix that for you."
"You didn't talk to anyone from down here, did you? They're usually lying to you when they say they can fix it."
"I believe he is currently in Piltover City Hospital, but I can assure you he can fix it."
"Are we not gonna wait for him to get out of the hospital?"
"I believe he is longing for something to fidget with. Once he gets ahold of that stopwatch of yours, it will keep him entertained for the time being."
"Who is this person?"
"Mr. Jayce Talis. Quite intelligent in fixing small gadgets like that. I would find his partner for you instead, although I was unable to find him. Jayce is the best I can do for now."
Ekko felt a bit of sweat drip down his neck. The idea of being around the golden boy of Piltover scared the shit out of him. He was even a councilor now, but so was Heimerdinger... at one point, "I-I'm not sure about that. You can't just fix it?"
"Mr. Talis has my tools. You can trust him."
"Councilors aren't exactly the type of people I trust, no offense."
"I understand. If you will not come with me, I suppose I could take it there myself."
The Firelight wiped the sweat off the back of his neck and scratched his head, "I guess I'll just go." He had no idea what this councilor would do to one of his most prized possessions.
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The hospital was overcrowded with people hit by the attack. There was only one doctor and a trainee there with hundreds of injured people. There were rumors of pulling plugs on life support because they needed the vacant rooms so badly.
"He's this way, follow me." Heimerdinger ordered.
When they turned the corner to go down the dead end hall, Ekko saw Caitlyn's father pushing a patient in the room at the end of the hall. He looked back at Ekko then continued pushing. Man, did he look tired...
"That poor man," Heimerdinger said as they both watched him struggle a bit, "Between losing his wife, having to take care of his injured daughter, and hundreds of these people, he has to be fatigued. If he keeps going like this, he may just pass out."
Ekko sighed. There were good people in Piltover yet they were the ones hit the hardest. The worst Topsiders are the ones that get overlooked and the best ones suffer the consequences. Vi was right. Caitlyn really wasn't his enemy and she had no idea that the people she was supposed to look up to were monsters. It wasn't her fault that she was sheltered from the worst. And her father was probably just as clueless as she was and he had just lost his wife without knowing why.
"This way, my boy," Heimerdinger said, walking into one of the rooms.
Ekko followed him to see the brunette councilor in the hospital bed. He had a cast on his head, arm, and leg. There were a few scratches and bruises along with a black eye. He looked up at Ekko then down to Heimerdinger, "What is he doing here?" He asked.
"He has something you could work on," Heimerdinger assured, holding the stopwatch in his palm, "His pocket watch is broken. Would you be willing to fix it?"
Jayce took it and examined it, then looked at Ekko, "What am I supposed to get out of this?" He asked.
"What do you expect someone like me to give you for fixing a damn pocket watch?" Ekko hissed, "I have nothing for you besides that thing. What do you expect? The food out of my belly, the drink out of my cup? I have nothing but that. Either fix it or piss off."
"I'll fix the damn thing," Jayce hissed back. He shook his head then looked at Heimerdinger, "I need you to get my tools for me. They should still be in the lab."
"Of course, my boy. I'm glad you two are acquainted now. I will bring your tools to you tomorrow. Ekko, follow me."
Ekko looked at Jayce and scoffed before following Heimerdinger out the door. They walked out seeing two nurses rushing by them into the room Ekko saw Caitlyn's dad walking into. He peaked into the room to see the doctor in the floor, his hand on his chest. He was gasping for air and reaching his other hand up at one of the nurses.
"No," Ekko said to himself. Heimerdinger peaked around the door with him.
"That was bound to happen," The yorlde said with a sigh, "Perhaps we should pass the news onto Caitlyn before it gets passed on through gossip."
"I'm sure she would notice if her father didn't return home."
Heimerdinger began to walk off, but Ekko stayed, looking at the unconscious and wheezing man in the floor. One of the nurses had a comm and the other was checking Mr. Kiramman's pulse, "Dr. Kiramman's down, we need backup. Possible heart attack."
Ekko then followed Heimerdinger realizing there was literally nothing he could do. He wasn't a medical professional and he didn't have the strength to have the life of a friend's father in his hands like that. If he had a single clue what he was doing, he would've helped but he was clueless when it came to medical emergencies. He either froze in fear or didn't know what to do.
"We must pass the news along to his daughter," Heimerdinger said as they walked out of the hospital, "He's had a heart attack before. Mrs. Kiramman was out for weeks for it."
"I can't do it," Ekko said, stopping in his tracks. He balled up his fists and looked down at the cobblestone beneath his feet, "What if that kills him? I can't break something like that to Caitlyn. Not now."
"I suppose I will then."
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First time with a third person Ekko pov how do you like it? :)
