Chapter 22
As they emerged from the tunnel, the dim light gave way to a surreal glow. Thousands of tiny green bugs, their bodies shimmering like emeralds, lifted into the air. Their delicate wings fluttered, creating a soft, ambient hum that filled the quiet. The sight was mesmerizing, like something out of a dream.
"What are they?" Caitlyn asked, her voice tinged with awe as she watched the swarm dance upward, lighting the darkened path like floating lanterns.
Vi crossed her arms, her gaze following the firelights. "We call them firelights," she said. "Never seen so many, though. Must be something special tonight."
One of the insects darted close to Ivy, and she instinctively swatted at it, grimacing as it buzzed past her face. "Yeah, real special," she muttered sarcastically, earning a soft chuckle from Vi.
Caitlyn, ever curious, stepped closer to one of the glowing bugs that had landed on a rock nearby. She extended a hand cautiously, marveling as it took flight again, its tiny glow fading into the mass above. "They're beautiful," she murmured, half to herself.
"Until they get in your face," Ivy quipped, rubbing her temple where one had nearly collided with her. But her tone was lighter, as if even she couldn't entirely resist the ethereal beauty of the moment.
Vi smirked, shaking her head at Ivy's reaction. "Not everything's out to get you, you know."
"Could've fooled me," Ivy replied with a grin, though her eyes lingered for a moment on the glowing cloud overhead. It was rare to find something so peaceful in the chaos of the Undercity. She wouldn't admit it, but she was just a little enchanted too.
They stood there for a moment longer, the firelights drifting around them, before Vi gestured for them to move. "C'mon," she said. "We've got places to be."
While walking Ivy slowed her pace, letting Caitlyn and Vi walk ahead, their conversation too quiet to hear. She fell in step beside Ekko, who had been unusually quiet since they left the sanctuary. His head was down, and his grip on the bag slung across his shoulder was tight, his knuckles pale against his dark skin.
"You're awfully quiet," Ivy remarked, staring straight ahead at Vi and Caitlyn. "What's going on in that head of yours?"
Ekko didn't look at her, his eyes fixed on the ground. "Just thinking," he muttered.
"About the gemstone? Or the big risk you're taking by trusting an enforcer?" Ivy asked, her tone light but probing.
He gave a small, humorless chuckle, finally glancing her way. "Both, maybe. Mostly about how this might actually change things. Or if we're just handing over our last chance to people who'll mess it up again."
Ivy nodded, her expression softening. "I get that. Trusting anyone from topside after what we've been through...it's not easy. But Caitlyn? She's not like the rest of them."
Ekko raised a skeptical brow. "And you know that how? She's still from the Topside, Ivy. That doesn't just disappear because she's tagging along."
"True," Ivy admitted. "But I've been watching her. She's different. I think she actually cares about what happens down here. She listens." She hesitated, then added, "And she's got guts—I'll give her that."
Ekko sighed, his grip on the bag relaxing slightly. "Maybe. But if she turns out to be wrong, we're the ones who'll pay for it."
Ivy shrugged. "Risk is part of the deal, isn't it? The Undercity's always been about survival—one gamble at a time."
Ekko stopped walking for a moment, forcing Ivy to pause too. He looked up, the determination in his face mingled with uncertainty. "Do you really think this could work? That this could make a difference?"
She stared at him, her usual sarcasm replaced with rare sincerity. "I don't know," she said honestly. "But if there's even a chance it can, isn't it worth trying?"
He studied her for a moment before nodding, his usual confidence flickering back into place. "Guess we'll find out soon enough."
They resumed walking, falling into step once more. Ahead of them, Vi glanced back, her eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of Ivy and Ekko deep in conversation. Caitlyn noticed too, but said nothing for a moment.
As they walked through the dimly lit city of Zaun, Caitlyn slowed her pace, glancing over at Ekko. He seemed to pick up on her unspoken request, his sharp eyes catching hers. Without a word, he nodded and jogged ahead to catch up with Vi. The two began talking, their voices soft but light, the occasional laughter echoing faintly back to Caitlyn and Ivy.
Ivy noticed the shift, turning her head slightly to glance at Caitlyn. The enforcer walked in silence, her expression unreadable. Ivy raised an eyebrow, waiting for Caitlyn to speak, but the silence lingered, stretching between them like a fragile thread.
Eventually, Caitlyn broke it. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, her voice laced with sincerity.
Ivy blinked, caught off guard. "Sorry about what?" she asked, though her tone held a trace of wariness.
"About not telling you the truth about the gemstone," Caitlyn admitted, keeping her gaze fixed on the path ahead. "You deserved to know what it was and why it was so important."
Ivy stopped walking, tilting her head as she studied Caitlyn. Her sharp eyes searched the enforcer's face. "Why didn't you tell me, then?"
Caitlyn stopped too, exhaling softly. She turned to face Ivy, the dim light casting shadows across her features. "Because I didn't trust you," she said, her voice steady but tinged with regret. "At first, I didn't trust any of you—Vi, you, Ekko. I thought keeping the truth to myself would protect everyone. But I realize now that it only made things harder for us all."
Ivy's lips twitched into a faint smirk, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yeah, well, trust isn't exactly easy to come by down here," she said, her tone softening slightly. "But you're not wrong. It would've made things a hell of a lot easier."
Caitlyn nodded. "I know. And I'll do better."
Ivy held her gaze for a moment longer before sighing, her expression relaxing. "Alright, sweetheart," she said, the nickname slipping out with a teasing edge. "We'll see if you mean that."
Caitlyn's lips quirked into a small smile at the nickname, and the two began walking again. As they walked in step, Caitlyn glanced over at Ivy, her expression softening as a faint smile tugged at her lips. "You always do that," she said after a moment.
Ivy arched an eyebrow, tilting her head slightly. "Do what?" she asked, genuinely curious.
"The nicknames," Caitlyn said, her tone somewhere between exasperated and amused. "Princess, Sheriff, whatever comes to mind in the moment."
Ivy smirked, the teasing edge in her gaze returning. "What? You don't like them?"
Caitlyn shook her head, a small laugh escaping her. "It's not that. It's just...you do it so naturally, like it's second nature. Why?"
Ivy shrugged, her smirk softening into something more thoughtful. "I don't know. I guess it's my way of keeping things light."
Caitlyn considered that for a moment, her smile fading as she nodded. "I guess I never thought of it that way."
Ivy nudged her shoulder lightly. "Hey, don't overthink it, Princess. If it really bugs you, I can stop."
Caitlyn looked at her, a shy smile breaking across her face this time. "No, it's fine. Just...don't expect me to start calling you 'darling' or anything."
Ivy chuckled, her smirk growing wider. "Fair enough. But I think 'darling' has a nice ring to it. You should consider it."
As they walked, Ivy glanced over at Caitlyn again, her expression thoughtful. After a moment, she broke the silence. "So... about what Ekko said that day about Silo paying enforcers, working with them. Do you think there's any truth to that?"
Caitlyn's head snapped toward her, her brows furrowing. "No, it can't be," she said, her tone firm but with a flicker of uncertainty beneath it. "Enforcers take an oath to protect people, to uphold the law. Working with someone like Silco... it would go against everything we stand for."
Ivy hummed, her gaze dropping to the ground as her thoughts wandered. She remembered the words of the woman at the brothel—the cryptic warning."Word is, they've got connections in both Piltover and the undercity. Dangerous connections. The woman's words echoed in her head.
Caitlyn caught the distant look on Ivy's face and stepped a little closer. "Why?" she asked, her voice soft but pressing. "Does something make you think otherwise?"
Ivy hesitated, glancing sideways at Caitlyn. "I don't know," she said slowly. "It's just... there's been talk. Things I've heard, things people have said. Like there's more to the story than what we see. And..."
Caitlyn's expression grew more serious as Ivy trailed off. "And?"
Ivy sighed, shaking her head. "There's this woman I talked to, in the brothel. She hinted at some... connections. Between topside and the undercity. Dangerous ones."
Caitlyn's lips parted in surprise, but she quickly masked it with determination. "Do you believe her?"
"I don't know," Ivy admitted. "But it makes me wonder. How else does someone like Silco keep his grip so tight? It's not just fear or shimmer—it's influence. And influence doesn't stay confined to the undercity."
Caitlyn's jaw tightened, and she looked ahead, her eyes clouded with thought. "If it's true... I'll find out," she said firmly. "And I'll stop it."
Ivy studied her for a moment, noting the conviction in Caitlyn's voice. "You really believe you can change things, don't you?"
Caitlyn met her gaze, unwavering. "Someone has to try."
Ivy smirked faintly, but there was a hint of respect in her eyes. "Alright, Sheriff. Let's see if you're as good as you think you are."
Caitlyn laughed, shaking her head as they continued walking. The air between them felt lighter. Ivy slowed her steps, letting the others walk ahead, and took a moment to look out over the city she'd known since childhood. Zaun was just as chaotic and rough as ever, with its jagged skyline and the dim glow of shimmer factories casting an eerie haze over everything. Yet, there was an odd kind of beauty to it, too—a resilience in its people, a stubborn refusal to crumble despite everything it had been through.
Her thoughts drifted to Caitlyn. The enforcer, with her polished demeanor and her perfect hair, was everything Ivy had grown up despising. If someone had told her a month ago that she'd be walking alongside an enforcer from topside, she'd have laughed in their face—or punched them, depending on her mood.
Ivy chuckled quietly to herself, shaking her head. The thought seemed so absurd now. A month ago, she would've been ranting about how much she hated enforcers, about how they were the ones responsible for everything wrong in Zaun. She would've said she wanted nothing more than to see them pay for what they'd done to her parents
But now...
Now she was walking next to one, and not just tolerating her presence but actually starting to enjoy it. She thought about Caitlyn's determination, her unwavering sense of justice. It wasn't the kind of blind, self-righteous justice Ivy had always associated with enforcers; it was something more personal, something real. It seemed as though Caitlyn wasn't just doing her job—she genuinely wanted to make things better.
Ivy sighed, a small smirk tugging at her lips. The world had a funny way of shaking things up when you least expected it.
"Who'd have thought?" she muttered to herself.
Caitlyn glanced back at her from a few steps ahead, tilting her head curiously. "Did you say something?"
"Nothing," Ivy said, waving her off with a grin.
As Caitlyn turned back, Ivy's smirk softened into something more thoughtful. Maybe—just maybe—this strange partnership wasn't the worst thing that could've happened. And, dare she admit it, she was beginning to see the faintest flicker of something she hadn't expected: friendship or something more.