Upon his retirement, Heimerdinger felt lost. For centuries he’d been the head of the council, steering Piltover in a safe direction. It was no easy feat guiding the city of progress through the narrow tunnels of scientific innovation. It was an objective that took his utmost attention, leaving little time for him to personally invent or enjoy the finer things in life.


    He thought, maybe, descending to the Undercity and offering his assistance to the denizens would help him clear his own mind, but, he couldn’t have been more misguided.


    Jayce was right, this time: the Undercity was horrible. On every street corner stood a down-on-their-luck fellow huffing something or other. Every pass he made, someone would try to pickpocket him; If not for his hood, he’s sure every hair would’ve been plucked from his head. Even when he found a rare bright-eyed lad in one of the alleys, a parent shirked the child away as if the yordle would snatch him up if left alone. After seeing the rest of the city, he couldn’t blame the parent.


    So, there he was, walking down the docks by the bridge when he stumbled upon an impressive inventor by the name of Ekko. They hit it off, and here he is now: The Firelights’ hideout. An enormous hollow housing a suitably gigantic tree. The greenery sustains itself off the nutrients and water from the dilapidated pipe system, which carries groundwater and runoff to the flora.


    Across the massive tree, houses and facilities perch comfortably on the enormous branches like watchful ravens, overlooking the rest of the concrete hollow from their man-made nests.


    Eyes glared down at him from the moment he arrived. The former counselor accepts their distrust of him. He realizes now the consequences his neglect of the Undercity has wrought on millions of citizens over the years.


    Ekko snaps his fingers playfully, knocking him out of his self-imposed, mental stupor, “I need to go see about some inventory mismanagement or something in one of the nearby posts. Won’t be too exciting, but you wanna come anyway?” Ekko smiles, dropping his activated hoverboard before quickly leaping onto it. He holds his hand out to Heimerdinger, welcoming him happily.


    “Ah, yes! I was simply pondering some rather unexpected realizations. I suppose I still have a lot to learn, even about my own city!” Heimerdinger takes Ekko’s hand and hops on, taking to the skies with the young lad before deciding to make some small talk, “Did you see the recent news? Nasty stuff, I must say. I don’t envy poor Jayce’s position right now.”


    Ekko shudders, nodding his head, “I wonder who could’ve done that mess—‘specially up topside; The chembarons are monsters, but they always follow the money. What happened at the cemetery was just plain sick. It hurts thinkin’ about, honestly…”Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Heimerdinger can’t help but wonder how the Hextech partners are handling the Solver, too. Since he left, so much has already happened. Reports of gunshots from the academy and a double-homicide has left him worried sick. He’s been too preoccupied with Firelight business to head back, though he has been tempted. The professor also knows the gang—despite their benevolence thus far—isn’t keen on letting a ‘piltie’ know their hideout location and then waltz back home. Ekko took quite a bit of flak from his second-in-command for bringing Heimerdinger there at all. He truly appreciates the boy sticking his neck out to keep the yordle around.


    “We’re here,” Ekko swings down suddenly, launching behind a few boulders and down a ruined pipe until reaching a decently sized warehouse. The entire structure is dilapidated, the wood rotting and falling apart at every spot but the floor. Heimerdinger isn’t familiar with Undercity tactics, but he assumes it’s a form of camouflage.


    Ekko drifts down to the entrance and helps him off the hoverboard, slinging the homemade contraption onto his back with a satisfied sigh.


    “So, inventory, huh? Hehe! I do love me some organization!” Heimerdinger hops forward, Ekko following carefully. Something has put him on edge.


    “There should be guards here… get back,” Ekko pushes the professor behind him and raises his pipe. With a non-verbal count, he kicks down the wooden door of the ramshackle building, “I know you’re in there, show yourself!” Ekko barks, walking in slowly. He shines light between every shelf and every crate.


    The glint of metal catches his eye. He turns and notices one of the crates improperly sealed. In fact, the top seems somewhat ajar. He gestures to Heimerdinger, keeping his eyes locked ahead at the dark aisle of the warehouse.


    The professor leaps up and smacks the lid off, causing it to tumble and land with a creak. Inside the box, beneath broken cogs and rusted pipes salvaged by the Firelights, a shine of red reflects back. Heimerdinger pulls the box down and rummages through it, his furry hands stopping when he pulls aside a faded valve. Behind where the scrap rested his the empty leer of an eyeless face.


    Heimerdinger jumps back with a frightened yelp, thumping against the wall. Ekko diverts his eyes for just a moment, seeing the rolling head of Jave—one of the stationed guards—at his feet.


    Ekko sighs deeply. There’ll be time for mourning later. The loss of a comrade is something to lament in safety. Whoever did this will pay: for that he’s certain.


    Ekko clears each aisle quickly, banging his pipe loudly against the metal shelves that fill the building, “Come out, bastard! I might only knock half your teeth out if you surrender right now!”


    Turning his head back after clearing another aisle, Ekko greets the figure of the second guard he placed on duty. From far down the hall, Koran’s gaze meets his own. Her eyes are neutral, her body standing eerily still in static blue light. The Firelight’s form flickers slightly. She looks unnatural, as if someone painted her into the scene without shading or coloring.


    Ekko winces as she screams, the figure spasming before flickering once again, instantly resetting to the neutral state. Her body begins moving seconds later, each action exaggerated and fake as if puppeted by an amateur ventriloquist.


    She smiles, but no emotion appears in the static visage. Ekko calls out her name hesitantly, “Koran?”


    Her face blips, her mouth moving out of sync with her words, “Yes! Hello! That. Is me! I am… Koran! Can name you a give?”


    Ekko blinks, startled. The voice is clearly hers, but monotone, dry, and utterly inhuman. His confusion quickly turns to anger at the pathetic attempt at impersonation, “Don’t play with me, whatever you are. Show yourself.”


    “No no! It’s me! Wa-a-ait, is that a hoverboard..?” Her voice stalls out before shifting to become lighter and more robotic when Ekko ignores every word, “Why. Does. This. Never. Work?”


    The Firelight leader glares, stepping closer and closer. During his silent approach, the apparition flickers faster and groans dramatically. Whoever thought they could fool him with that needs a good lesson on the Undercity. And, what better way to teach than to beat the knowledge into their head?