𝐄𝐤𝐤𝐨 | 𝐃𝕚𝕣𝕥𝕪 𝐋𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝐀𝕟𝕚𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕤

14. The Good Side

"I've never belonged anywhere, Ekko. Not in Piltover, not in Zaun. But if I know one thing, it's that Piltover doesn't deserve to thrive while we rot down here. They're selfish, and their choices killed my father and doomed my mother. I want them to feel what we've felt— what I've felt— all these years."

The sentiment in me was so raw that I even startled myself, but I couldn't stop.
I looked Ekko in the eyes, his white hair catchy as ever. My chest rising and falling, and I let it all spill out.
"That's why I joined Silco. He's the only one who's ever promised to make Piltover pay for what they've done. For what they've taken from us. Vander was still too good to them, still gave them a chance. But I won't."

The silence that followed was deafening.
Everything echoed in my head like a cry for understanding I wasn't sure I actually needed.
I knew what I wanted. It had been made clear.
Ekko stayed silent for a long few seconds, his arms folded and focused on the mural. I could see the wheels turning in his head, his jaw tight as he absorbed everything I'd just said.
Finally, he spoke, measured but heavy with emotion.
"I get it," he started, "I get the anger. I get wanting them to pay for what they've done. But Silco's way? It's not good at all. It'll never be."

I wanted to argue, but he shut me up instantly.
"Look around, Shark. Silco's been flooding the Lanes with Shimmer for years now. You've seen it. He doesn't care what it does to people."
He then faltered, and gestured toward the space around us.
"Everyone here was an addict or a victim. They lost their families, their minds— everything— because of that poison. They didn't deserve that."
He inched closer, his voice gaining strength.
"You're not wrong for wanting justice. But your boss doesn't care about justice. Silco doesn't give a damn about Zaun. He's just making it worse. He's turning us exactly into what Piltover thinks we are."

I looked down, uncertain of what to say to make it better, knowing I couldn't.
"And yet..." he continued, now moving his gaze to the majestic tree in the centre of it all. "If one single seed has made it down here, we can too. We all needed a home, we just need each other to make it happen."

Those words struck me like a hammer, cracking through the walls I had built around my own convictions.
I looked at him, really looked at him, and for the first time in years, I felt a flicker of hope.
He wasn't wrong but again, when has he ever been? I exhaled slowly, nodding.
"You're right, Ekko. I see it now. He's only been tearing us apart."
The rock pressing on my chest didn't lift entirely, but I knew then— really knew— that Silco's path wasn't the one I wanted to follow anymore.

Hurried footsteps rushed towards us, a Firelight skidded to a stop right in front of the painted wall. His face was pale, his breathing ragged, and his words tumbled out fast.
"Enforcers!" He exclaimed, panicked.
"They're sweeping the area near the south tunnels, they're close."
Ekko's head snapped up, his body immediately tensing.
"How many?"
"Couldn't count," the Firelight said grimly.
"They're armed and searching for something. We barely made it back through the upper vents without being seen."
Ekko was already in motion, walking and giving orders.
"Stay here," he told me over his shoulder.
"Like hell I will," I retorted, catching up to walk side by side with him.
"You can't fight like this, if needed. You're still—"

"Still what? Useless? Weak?" I snapped, anger flaring in my chest. "I've fought enforcers before. Don't tell me to sit back and do nothing."
His jaw tightened, he had no time to argue.
"Fine," he growled.
"But if you collapse out there, don't expect me to carry you back."
"Deal." I shot back, observing him call the other Firelights into action.