Arcane: I have Plasmids F*** YEAAAAAAH!!!

Lukas sat alone in his office.

The dim glow of a lantern cast flickering shadows along the walls, stretching across scattered blueprints, half-finished sketches, and a crude prototype of the wireless radio.

A failed prototype.

Lukas sighed, rubbing his temples.

Nothing but static.

"If only Ekko or Powder were here… Man, I miss those two little geniuses."

Fontaine Futuristics had been doing better than he ever imagined.

The wireless telegraphs had swept through Zaun like wildfire. People clamored for them—shopkeepers, gang leaders, even some folks working with the Chem-Barons.

He had created something real. Something that mattered.

And yet…

Why did it feel like everything was about to collapse?

---

Lukas leaned back, sinking into the old sofa in the corner of his office.

The cushion gave a tired groan beneath his weight.

His mind kept pulling him back—to the conversation with Silco.

That man…

That monster.

Lukas had bluffed his way through Renni. He had played war with them, manipulated them, Bullshited his way to the top.

But Silco?

Silco was different.

More dangerous than anyone Lukas had ever faced.

His mind worked like a machine, every word sharpened to cut.

Should I have just killed him on the spot?

The thought sat heavy in his chest.

It would have saved trouble down the road.

But trouble wasn't something that could be avoided.

Not here.

Not in Zaun.

Lukas rubbed his face.

---

Silco was a product of Zaun's suffering.

Betrayed by Vander.

Drowned in the polluted waters beneath the city.

Lost everything on that goddamn bridge.

And yet—

He crawled out. He built something. He became something.

Lukas exhaled sharply.

"Two sides of the same coin… always dreaming of something greater, but never facing the same direction."

Zaun had tried to break them both.

Silco let it turn him into something worse.

Lukas refused to become him.

But I know what he will do.

I know the future.

Silco will take Vander. Will take Powder. Will tear apart the only home Lukas has ever had in this life.

Lukas clenched his fists.

I can't let him touch my family.

I don't know how much time I have before everything begins.

Before Canon starts.

Before Zaun turns to hell.

---

Lukas exhaled.

He needed to get out of this office.

The night was still young.

And he needed someone to talk to.

And if anyone could help him make sense of this, it was Vander.

The old man always had something to say.

Lukas grabbed his coat, shrugging it on as he left his office, boots echoing against the metal stairs leading down to the factory floor.

Workers were still scattered around, finishing the last orders of the day.

He wasn't paying much attention—until he heard the hushed voices.

And then—

A sentence that stopped him cold.

"Hey, did you guys hear? There was an explosion topside earlier today. Looks like some kids were responsible."

Lukas froze.

His breath hitched.

His stomach dropped.

No.

No. No. No. No. No.

He turned so fast his vision blurred.

His feet carried him before his mind caught up, running toward the group.

His voice was tight.

Panicked.

"Was anyone hurt?!"

His heart hammered.

Please. Please tell me I'm wrong.

Tell me this is a mistake.

Tell me—

One of the workers glanced at him, startled.

"Uh, I don't know. They haven't said much yet—"

Lukas didn't wait to hear the rest.

He ran.

He ran harder than he ever had in his life.

His lungs burned.

His mind screamed.

His body moved on instinct.

Please be okay.

Please be okay.

Violet, what the fuck did you do?!

The streets blurred around him.

The neon lights of Zaun passed like ghosts.

The Last Drop wasn't far.

He just had to make it in time.

They had to be okay.

---

The moment Lukas stepped into the Last Drop, he knew something was wrong.

The bar was quiet.

Too quiet.

The usual warmth of laughter, clinking glasses, and low conversations was gone.

Replaced by something heavy.

Something suffocating.

Something waiting.

Lukas's eyes swept the room.

Vander wasn't at the bar.

That meant only one thing.

He was downstairs.

Handling it.

Lukas exhaled through his nose.

Then, without another word—

He made his way to the basement.

The stairs creaked under his boots.

Dim lanterns flickered along the walls, casting long, heavy shadows.

And there—

Sitting on the steps, bruised and exhausted—

Were Milo and Claggor.

Both of them were hurt.

Lukas's eyes flickered over their injuries.

Milo's lip was busted.

Claggor's eyes was Swollen.

So.

The fight with Deckard still happened.

Good.

Saved him the trouble of kicking their asses himself.

The two boys barely reacted when Lukas approached.

They were too tired.

Too drained.

But the second they noticed him—

Milo sighed.

"Shit. Here we go."

Lukas stared.

Expression unreadable.

Then—

"What the fuck were you thinking?"

His voice was cold.

Sharp.

A knife pressed against their throats.

Milo flinched.

He tried to say something.

Tried to defend himself.

But then he saw Lukas's face.

And shut the fuck up.

Claggor exhaled.

Vander had already chewed them out.

They didn't need another lecture.

But Lukas?

Lukas wasn't Vander.

They never saw him angry.

He wasn't loud.

He wasn't explosive.

He was something worse.

Something quieter.

Something deep.

Something that meant he wasn't just mad.

He was disappointed.

And that?

That was so much worse.

Claggor rubbed the back of his neck.

"Look, we—"

"Where are the others?"

Lukas's voice cut through the air like glass.

Claggor hesitated.

Then sighed.

"Vander's talking to Vi and Powder's outside I think."

He nodded toward the door at the end of the hall.

"He told us to stay out here until he's done."

Lukas didn't react.

Didn't say anything.

Didn't even move.

Just stood there.

Thinking.

Then—

Without another word—

He walked forward.

Right toward the door.

---

Vander stepped out just as Lukas approached.

The older man took one look at him—

And stopped.

His expression was unreadable.

But his eyes?

His eyes saw everything.

He studied Lukas's face.

His posture.

His breathing.

And after a moment—

He asked.

"Did you know?"

Lukas stopped.

His breath stilled.

"No."

He didn't blink.

Didn't hesitate.

And Vander?

Vander believed him instantly.

Lukas could see it in the way his shoulders eased.

In the way his eyes softened just slightly.

But Lukas didn't care.

Not right now.

He walked right past Vander—

And into the room.

The door shut behind him.

Vander didn't follow.

Didn't say anything.

Didn't try to stop him.

Because he understood.

This?

This was between them.

Between Lukas and Violet.

And inside the room—

Sitting on the couch, staring at the floor—

Was Vi.

Bruised.

Exhausted.

Silent.

Waiting.

And Lukas?

Lukas was fucking pissed.

---

Vi didn't look up.

She already knew why he was here.

She already knew what he was going to say.

Vander had already given her hell.

And now?

Now she had to sit through this.

Another lecture.

Another speech.

Another reason why everything she had done was wrong.

She was too tired for this shit.

So she sighed.

"Just say it already."

Lukas didn't react.

Didn't move.

Didn't blink.

Then—

In a voice unlike anything Vi had ever heard from him before—

"You fucked up."

He stepped forward.

His boots heavy against the floor.

Vi still didn't look at him.

She didn't speak.

That pissed him off even more.

"Look at me."

She didn't.

His jaw tightened.

"I said, look at me."

She did.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Her eyes were tired.

But not regretful.

And that?

That was the problem.

---

Lukas exhaled sharply.

Ran a hand through his hair.

Then—

"You could've died."

His voice was low.

Not loud.

Not shouting.

Not angry.

Just cold.

Just quiet.

Just disappointed.

"You could've killed someone."

Vi clenched her jaw.

Lukas's hands curled into fists.

"You could've lost Powder."

That—

That made her flinch.

She looked away.

Stared at the floor.

But Lukas wasn't done.

No.

Not even close.

"You think this is a fucking game?"

His voice was sharper now.

"That this is just some big middle finger to Piltover?"

She stayed silent.

Lukas stepped closer.

"You don't get it, do you?"

Vi's fists tightened.

"Get what?"

Lukas exhaled.

"You think this is about us versus them?"

His teeth grit.

"You think this is just about getting back at the assholes who keep us down?"

A bitter chuckle.

"You don't see the big picture at all."

Vi's eyes snapped back to him.

"Then what, Lukas? Huh?"

Her voice was raw.

"What's the big picture, then? Enlighten me."

---

Lukas laughed.

Not a real laugh.

A hollow, bitter thing.

"You still don't get it."

He stepped even closer.

"You think Piltover's the enemy?"

His voice dropped.

"You're wrong."

Vi's breath hitched.

"You want to know what the real enemy is?"

Lukas leaned in.

And then—

He whispered it.

"History."

---

Vi froze.

Lukas straightened.

Crossed his arms.

"The real enemy is the story we're trapped in."

His voice was calm.

Measured.

"The cycle that keeps repeating."

His eyes burned.

"Zaun fights. Piltover punishes. We suffer. We get angry. We fight again."

His jaw tightened.

"And nothing. fucking. changes."

---

Vi's breath came out uneven.

She didn't want to hear this.

She swallowed.

"Then what, Lukas?"

Her voice was quiet.

"You? You think YOU can change it?"

Lukas didn't blink.

"Yes."

Vi scoffed.

"You're delusional."

Lukas tilted his head.

"And you're predictable."

Vi's fists tightened.

"The fuck does that mean?"

Lukas exhaled.

"You're so goddamn stuck in the way things are, that you can't even see the way they could've been."

His voice was sharper now.

"You act like this is the only way."

His hands curled.

"But it's not."

---

Vi stood up.

Slow. Deliberate.

For the first time since he walked in—

She looked him dead in the eyes.

"And what's your way, then?"

Her voice was low.

Challenging.

"What's your grand fucking plan, Lukas?"

Her chest rose.

"Because I don't see you fighting."

She stepped forward.

"I don't see you throwing punches."

She grit her teeth.

"You talk like you're different, but all you do is run your mouth and stay holed up on that factory of yours."

Her voice was sharp now.

"You say I don't see the future, but what about you?"

Her eyes burned.

"What the fuck do you see?"

---

Lukas didn't move.

Didn't flinch.

Didn't waver.

And then—

He spoke.

---

"I see a city."

Vi blinked.

Lukas exhaled.

"A real city. A free city."

His voice was even now.

A steady thing.

"A city where we don't have to fight to survive."

His eyes flickered.

"A city where we don't have to crawl for scraps."

His breath came slow.

"A city where Zaunites can dream."

---

Silence.

Vi's throat felt tight.

Lukas took a step back.

Ran a hand down his face.

And then—

His voice softened.

---

"You don't have to believe in it."

A pause.

"But don't get in my way."

His gaze met hers.

Steady.

Unwavering.

"I won't let you."

---

Vi didn't move.

Didn't breathe.

Because for the first time in her life—

She realized something.

Lukas wasn't just talking.

He meant it.

Every single word.

And that?

That scared her more than anything.

---

The tension cracked.

Lukas sighed.

Ran a hand through his hair.

And just like that—

The moment was gone.

He turned toward the door.

Stopped just before leaving.

Didn't look back.

Just spoke.

---

"Patch up your hands."

He tossed some bandages onto the table.

Then—

A pause.

A slow inhale.

His voice, quieter now.

Tired.

"I'm done talking to you."