Future Winnings

Stories could only prepare someone so much before they experienced it for themselves. They were filled with bias, unconfirmed truths, and a mess of hopes and dreams that the one telling the story wanted to inject. Whenever Ekko told Isha of these stories, highlighting all the positives and downplaying all the negatives, she assumed it was because she was young and he didn't want to make a mark on her "impressionable" mind. 

Meanwhile she and Jinx had practiced shooting hats off of Pilties heads every Saturday when Isha was half the age. 

It had taken the better part of a decade to slowly squeeze the realities of the situation in the real world and Ekko's experience in the alternate universe. All he had focused his efforts on was creating a world that he had seen was actually possible. Feasible for a once thought long gone community. 

"She was everything I knew she could be Ish." Ekko had said, while he was tweaking the invention that sent Isha to the mentioned universe. "I couldn't believe how alive she looked. She convinced me that everything was possible, with one more chance."

"So why not stay there." Isha asked, sounded like the easy option. "I'm sure Mom would've done the same thing. Coulda found me around there too." 

Ekko had paused his working to make his way over to where Isha was sunk into her designated bean bag chair. He let his body fall into the bean bag, catching her with his arm as she was almost flung off. Isha giggled as Ekko tickled her sides, unable to escape from his grasp. 

After a few moments, and consistent tickles, he responded. "You know, I don't think your Mom would've stayed. Honestly I think she would've had the same revelation I did. I knew I had to come back because I knew that I had to get Zaun to what everyone else knew it could get to. And Jinx knew the same, she just had the wrong people telling her how to get there." 

Sure, Dad, she was sure the other place he had visited was leagues better than their well earned city. A collective mindset had given way to true progress and he said every day it got closer to what he saw. 

"It's all for her Isha. I just wish she was here." 

And then, when the city was about to hit its peak and likely stay there, Bilgewater came. 

It didn't take long for everything to go downhill from there. Yet, through the will of his hope, Ekko had produced something that could actually take her back. He knew, or in Isha's thoughts, hoped that keeping Jinx alive would be able to not necessarily balance or bring together the two cities any more than they were. But combat any outside enemies from coming in and breaking the fragile bonds. 

Ekko was a genius, but he didn't have the madness necessary to create machinations that could defend and more importantly attack the enemies. All his inventions and creations had been defensive and mostly pacifistic. Jinx however, with proper guidance, and some push from Isha could truly keep the cities of Zaun and Piltover on the map. 

The day she left, was the day she was certain that Piltover and Zaun wouldn't exist if she couldn't change the timeline. They had no chance, not after what Bilgewater had done. Their tree was one of the last safe havens, the only reason that Ekko and Isha could build the device. This time, it came with an attempt at care and precision. However, their time constraints hadn't been kind. 

"You sure this'll work Pops?" Isha swung her feet while she sat on the workbench, watching Ekko hastily put the final touches on the new device. 

He gave her a pressed look, for once not going along with her antics. Ekko continued fiddling for a stint, stopping once the device make a small humming sound. "It'll do what we hope, or we won't have anything to hope for Ish." 

Ekko grabbed the device by the strap and handed it over to Isha. Almost identical in shape and size to Ekko's Z-drive, their I-Drive (because Isha can name it whatever she wants, not like it was any better than Zapper) would allegedly take her back in time. The size would be just enough to best case potentially get her back to when she met Jinx, or worst case around when everything went to shit. 

The I-Drive was partially decorated by Isha, putting all the items and inside moments that she could remember. Much of her father's style was already in the craftmanship, and all she needed was the necklace that he made for her birthday. Isha rushed forward to hug her father. It wouldn't be long until she saw him again, but it was hard to give up one of the only people that understood her current situation. 

"I love you Isha, you'll be fine. You already know what you're getting into, and you know where to find me. Just keep Jinx intact okay, she hasn't seen or been through what we have now. She just needs you to get her here." Ekko squeezed her tighter, Isha could tell everything was telling him to make her stay. His fatherly instincts and gut told him one thing, while his genius told him another. 

Isha snuggled into his shoulder, smelling the oil and coal that came from smithing, a unique combination with the bark from living inside a tree his whole adult life. It was her father, the Boy Savior, and she was determined to give them the family they deserved. "Dad you know I've got the way back, I helped build everything too."

She tapped her hand against a pocket in her jacket, making sure they were still there. For her sake. 

They pulled apart, but Ekko kept his hands on her shoulders. "Alright, get going before I find a reason to keep you here." 

The past awaited Isha, and she would take it in stride. There was no chance like the past, all there was left was to push the button on the I-Drive. A button was a new design choice, milliseconds to pull the string took up time, which had seemed counterproductive in the second version. 

Isha gave her father one last hug, smiling before she pushed the button. "I love you Dad." 

Zaun was instantly recognizable, no matter the time or scenario it had put itself in. The architecture had the blue collar, purpose built style compared to the lavish, forgiving art that was Piltover. Even when they had slowly built the cities closer to each other, the bridges that separated them soon were how they met, Zaun became a streamlined steampunk style. 

Streets were no longer filled with strewn about trash, needles, and homelessness. It had stalls filled with various local goods, actual fauna that had different contraptions surrounding them to help them grow, and vehicles that were from Ekko's designs. His hoverboard the most popular patent after he taught a couple shops around the area how to make them. 

And that was the oppoisite of what she expected coming into the past; something filled with hopelessness and that feeling that no matter how much you clean up, there will be too much trash around you to poke your head over. The area in front of Isha was close to remembered, what she saw her hometown close to reaching. It was lacking something that likely would never fade from Zaun's streets. 

Scars. 

Everything around her was perfect. And in front of her, stood the bridge, filled so close to what she remembered from just yesterday when she had run errands. It was an active sense of de ja vu, where she could see the same people she conversed with everyday, yet they were in slightly different positions. 

"Hey, you good little lady?" 

Isha turned around to see a man that encompassed her whole profile. He wore a vest and button up shirt, holding a plant in a vase that clashed with his massive stature. Sometimes, Isha couldn't wait to finish her growth spurt. At least, what she hoped was left of it, so her dad would say. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." Isha cocked an eyebrow, noting the man's lack of surprise at her robotic voice. "Just new around here I guess." 

The man in front of her held out a hand, balancing the extremely fragile case in his other, "I'm Claggor, anything I can do to help you around here?"

"Uh," Isha's eybrows couldn't come down from their perch. This man was Jinx's old brother, who had definitely died years ago. And was not nearly as old as thi-

Wait. 

She knew exactly what was going on, it was too coincidental. But that meant...Isha sighed, drawing the attention again of Claggor. Great, now she had to figure out how to get in with a Jinx who wasn't even hers and rebuild a machine that had cost a life before. Well, it could be worse, at least she knew where she was. 

"Actually, you can help me, possibly." It all depended on when it was. She could be any time before during or after Ekko had arrived. Isha could always hope that he would be around in his alternate body, but the easiest solution was finding the answer. Thankfully, such an opportunity had arrived almost instantly, like some sort of plot advancement. 

Claggor grinned, looking completely pleased to help. A far stretch from her world, filled with those that would help but with a price, stipulation, or caveat. Flinching when someone disagreed, or scrutinizing a deal without constraints. It was going to take generations to get to what Isha was currently experiencing, she could clearly see that. 

"Sure, anything. Well, I have to drop this off though, so I can't be much help past verbal help you know." 

He received a shrug in response, "Looking for a Jinx or Ekko around here, heard this is the place to find them." 

Man it sounded weird saying her Dad's actual name. It's not Ekko, it's Dad. Duh.

Unsurprisingly enough, Claggor's demeanor became even more elated. He straightened up, almost dropping his flower holding object in excitement. "Really! They're my sister and her boyfriend! I actually am heading where they are right now, if you've got enough time for a long walk." 

He received another shrug, "Trust me I've got more time available than you think." 

The response was normal to him of course, because who would suspect that a random teenager could possibly be from an alternate universe with a time machine? 

"I assume it's something to do with that contraption you've got on you?" Claggor guessed. 

Right, Isha did happen to have a massive unruly glass cylinder on her hip. Speaking of recognizable things, she disrobed her jacket, tying it around her waist. Her oil stained tank top wouldn't be a great first impression, but she had a feeling that they would be too distracted by her I-Drive that it wouldn't matter. 

Isha patted the side of it, the tink of her hand against the glass reminded her that she really wasn't in a dream. "It was made by me and my dad, heard that you all around here have some experience with how we made it. Zaun's considered a pretty technologically savvy city from where I am. Same reason I can speak right now, is from a Zaunite that moved into my hometown." 

"Glad to hear our prideful town's accomplishments have made it past Piltover." Claggor beamed. He seemed happy that his underlying interest about her voice communication was answered as well. 

The two new acquaintances continued the travel to wherever Claggor needed to be.  As the route became familiar, Isha realized where they were going; the Firelight's tree. 

Her father had mentioned that in this timeline that the tree had flourished, but no one lived in or around it. The need for a safe haven had been, well, mute when no one had any imminent danger. So, maybe they just so happened to be heading in a direction that was exactly how Isha would find her way there. It didn't mean that she was in a slightly different universe than the one she thought she was in, one that maybe, say, didn't have any experience building a time travel device. 

Isha's worries were supplemented by the vine covered walls of the shop labeled "Bush's Botany" that they stood in front of. "They're in here?"

Claggor looked back at her, "Oh no, they're over at another place. This is just on the way, Harry is a great guy, said he would help me out with this project when I couldn't figure out something. It won't be long, this is a weekend project anyway, just dropping this off for now." 

Within a couple minutes, and a quick conversation, later they were back on track to the true destination. Claggor initiated  more conversation on her talking invention as they walked. She would have assumed that the technology to make something of the sort would take several years to come around, but considering where she was it was more likely they had already surpassed the inventions that Zaun and Piltover had finally begun to collaborate on. 

She could already tell that was the case looking around, the well cured contraptions that were half steam-powered half-Hextech powered looked fascinating. Something as what used to be a difficult and shoddy elevator was a smooth ride down to the Firelight's tree. The glass that encased them would have been deemed unnecessary and difficult to install for Zaun, but here it was a boring commodity. If these Zaunites were as technologically proficient as they were making out to be, maybe Isha wouldn't be here for long. 

Though she did like to meet who would've been her uncles. Maybe Mylo was around too. 

"Look, there they are." Claggor pointed toward the middle of the tree, where a couple was standing near a banister that wrapped around the trunk. He waved to them through the glass, earning a wave back.

A couple seconds later the elevator touched to the ground gently, another distinct difference from the screeching halts of the ones Isha was used to. It only momentarily distracted her from the coming meeting. 

Her parents began to make their way down the tree, and she shuffled her feet slowly in hesitation. What if they had no clue where the resources to help her continue her journey was? What if she was stuck here and couldn't remake the modifications necessary? 

Isha took a deep breath, steeling herself for her encounter. It didn't matter what she had to go through to save Jinx, especially if it meant meeting her all over again, time and time again. Knowing it wasn't her Jinx.

The now group of four converged, Jinx pulling her father by the hand while he trailed behind. "Hey Claggor, who's this?"

The brightness of Jinx's face was a gift in it's own right. And everything made sense, all the days that her father had spent trying to explain why he came back. The answer was right in front of her. She stepped forward, making herself present in the conversation, "Isha. Good to finally meet you."