In Zaun, in a sludge pit out in the mine works, the residue of chemical compounds pooled together, clumping in some places, melting in others, and giving off wave after wave of foul stench.
This was one of the worst pollution zones in the city. Even experienced miners rarely came here to dig. Risking your life for that little bit of money was the kind of thing only someone with no way out would do.
The wastewater flowing down from the topside, along with all the discarded chemical waste the Chem-Barons tossed away without a second thought, ended up collecting in this pit.
In truth, almost nothing lived here. Not even moss, the kind of thing that could survive almost anywhere.
Twitch could be called the loneliest living thing in the place.
He fed on corpses here, and when he got thirsty, he licked the water out of the puddles.
Twitch had once had a mother, and a whole litter of brothers and sisters.
Then one day, they drank from the puddles, and they all died.
Twitch simply went on the way he always had, scavenging for food, drinking water.
He felt a little stronger than before, which seemed like a good thing.
He put together a crossbow from broken scrap parts. Even though he had not seen the light in a very long time, he still sometimes wondered what the world above was really like.
Was it just as dark and silent, with nothing but the sound of running water for company, or was there something else up there?
For the first time in his life, Twitch might have found something that could be called a dream.
...
Caleb was rubbing at his brow, exhausted.
The situation at the Dredge was an absolute nightmare.
If he dragged everyone up from down there, some of them really were criminals who had done awful things and deserved to be thrown in.
So what, was he supposed to let Jinx go in and cleanse the place with explosives?
But there were also people down there who had been framed.
The people inside were hard to sort through, because Piltover at least had crime records.
With Silco and Marcus helping, some wrongful convictions could still be corrected.
But the Dredge was supposedly already turning into a bloody club.
That tumor stuck deep in Zaun was a headache of the highest order.
"You wanted something from me?" A tall, slender figure stepped in from outside.
"I definitely did." Caleb slowly lifted his head, with dark circles around both eyes.
The night before, he had spent the whole thing helping Singed work through Mundo's remains.
Only after Singed had finished explaining all the chemtech concoctions that could be produced from the body had Caleb returned to the office and managed to catch a little sleep.
"This miserable job can go ruin somebody else's life!"
Even while yelling that, Caleb still obediently called Caitlyn and asked her to come over.
"It sounds like something's happened over at the Dredge. You and Vi should go investigate."
Caleb technically only governed Zaun, but for one thing, he and Caitlyn were familiar enough with each other, and for another, his rank was indeed higher than hers.
So he did not bother being polite about it.
"I heard things are calm on your end, and Vi's just doing manual labor with the Firelights right now."
There were practical reasons Caleb picked those two, and not because he was trying to play matchmaker.
Vi's labor could be replaced by a few extra people or some heavy machinery, but Ekko and Heimerdinger could not afford to be delayed any further.
Jayce, as a councilor, was busy managing the Hexgates.
And Viktor... that was even less of an option. He was laid up in bed.
Jinx was a little maniac, and Caleb genuinely feared she would collapse the mine altogether.
After thinking it through, Vi was the right person for the job, but she was too reckless.
That was why Caleb had called Caitlyn in.
More than Vi being rash, Caleb was worried that once she pulled out one of those superhero-level finishing punches, she would cave the whole mine in with a single hit.
That was the thing about her and Jinx being sisters.
Where else did anyone think Jinx got that temperament from?
Silco's entire gang had always prided itself on staying controlled and composed, and she was the only oddball in it.
And if you went back even further, did anyone really think Vander, the man who had led the people of Zaun, and even Silco, onto the bridge, was some calm and collected sort?
That was why Caleb had brought Caitlyn in from Piltover.
The two of them already knew each other well, which would make the job twice as effective.
"Mission accepted." Caitlyn snapped off a salute, then turned and left.
She had nearly died of boredom these past few days, with nothing to do but practice at the range on her family's estate.
The moment she heard there was a field assignment, she rushed over without wasting a second.
After all, her dream was to serve the city.
And with the divide between the twin cities on the verge of disappearing, it made little difference to her which one she served.
...
"Come on out."
After Caitlyn left, Caleb spoke toward the ceiling.
"How did you know I was there?"
Jinx dropped lightly onto the desk, her face sour.
She did not like Caitlyn. She always felt like her sister had been stolen away by someone from the topside.
But she also had to admit that Caitlyn really was... good.
"I didn't."
Caleb's expression stayed calm.
"Tch." Jinx turned her head away in annoyance.
She did not really know why Silco wanted her to listen to this man.
But since Silco had said it, and Vi seemed happy enough with the arrangement, she had just gone along with it.
At least he had not moved a single thing in the office.
She could not decide whether that made him worth praising or worth cursing.
"How's the hunt for the last one, Alina, going?"
Caleb's heart still had not fully settled.
Singed could be left aside for the moment. He was a scientist. As long as the funding was there, he could stop producing Shimmer immediately.
After all, the man could mix fresh batches on the spot fast enough anyway.
Brewing up a modified dose of Shimmer for Viktor took him barely any time at all.
A great deal of the Chem-Barons' wealth and luxury came from Shimmer.
In fact, the most popular drink right now was Shimmer wine.
Because the amount of Shimmer in it was so low it barely affected the human body, Caleb had not bothered dealing with it.
Could drinking too much still affect someone?
Caleb had done the math.
Going by the dosage of Shimmer used to heal Vi that one time, a person would probably need to drink around a hundred liters to get that kind of effect.
A hundred liters.
At that point, Caleb would sooner believe some idiot had drunk themselves to death by sheer volume.
"She's at the Dredge. I don't want to chase her in there."
Jinx instinctively started to lean back in the chair, then lowered her head when she realized the person sitting there had changed.
"Let Vi and Caitlyn deal with it together in a bit."
Caleb did not pay it much mind. He understood Jinx well enough.
She was crazy in front of outsiders, and crazy when she was alone.
But in front of someone who really knew where she came from, she quieted down.
Just like the Powder she had been a long time ago.
"Do you know any yordles?" Caleb suddenly asked, as if remembering something.
"Sure. I know a bunch of them." Jinx played with the lock of hair hanging over her forehead and answered casually.
"Any of them like bombs? High voice, always insisting he's not short-tempered?"
Caleb pressed on.
He kept thinking that if Ziggs really was living in Zaun, there was no way he and Jinx would not know each other.
"Yeah, of course. Ziggs." Jinx idly fiddled with the Hex Claw.
"What about him?" she asked, tilting her head.
"He's been using Hextech residue to run explosive tests in Piltover." Caleb sighed. "They're short on people over there right now."
"What do you think?"
Caleb did not like the little lunatic, but if Ziggs was Jinx's friend, he still had to take her feelings into account.
"Lock him up." Jinx's reaction was calmer than Caleb had expected. "Why isn't he running his experiments in Zaun?"
"Maybe he saw the Chem-Barons hanging outside."
Caleb smiled a little, then continued.
"So, how about you let me meet this friend of yours?"