Inside the room, Ekko watched Jinx sprawled off to one side while a little girl sat beside her, playing with toys in Jinx's hands. The look in Ekko's eyes only grew more complicated.
"Snap!"
At the sharp sound of fingers snapping, Marsen shot Ekko an irritated look and leaned in to mutter by his ear, "What are you staring at? That's the boss's girl."
"Marsen… are they really together?" Ekko kept his eyes on Jinx's back. The cloud patterns on her small frame looked a lot lighter—like she hadn't repainted them much lately.
"What else would it be?"
Something unreadable flickered through Ekko's gaze.
Back in the Lanes, Logan and Powder's relationship had been pretty good. Ekko even remembered Powder asking him to fix a pocket watch, then giving it to Logan. Still, Ekko had always believed he and Powder were the closest.
Of course, that "closest" didn't include Vi.
In Powder's world, Vi was everything. Only whatever tiny sliver of space was left after that could fit anyone else.
Ekko and Powder were about the same age, and in Vi's little crew, they were the two youngest. Their adoptive families were tight, and they saw each other almost every day.
Ekko had to admit it—when he was little, he liked Powder. Everyone in the Lanes knew it. But after she changed, after she went with Silco, Ekko shut his heart down.
And now… looking at a Jinx who seemed a little more normal, Ekko wasn't exactly "falling back in love"—no, screw that. It had always been one-sided. Still… damn it, his mood was a mess.
"What, you're still staring?" Marsen grumbled.
"I told you—that's the boss's girl!"
Marsen was clearly annoyed.
Jinx was infamous—crazy and terrifying. At first, Marsen had been scared of her too. But now it was different, because when it came to weapons… she really built them.
The reason the Spirit Blossom Gang could take territory and do it with zero casualties was, to a huge extent, because of Jinx. The stuff she made turned every fight into a complete mismatch.
Gangsters, Chem-Barons' enforcers—none of them were loyal. They were just trying to eat. One gunshot, one guy drops, and the rest scatter like startled birds. Like, seriously—did anyone think they were united?
No way.
You get paid that piss-poor monthly wage and you're supposed to die for it? Get out of here.
But the Spirit Blossom Gang was different. Lately, Marsen had noticed everyone changing. He couldn't even put his finger on exactly how, but they were changing.
Less greedy. Less like thugs. Like the old gang shadow was fading away. People just looked… more alive.
Ekko let out a bitter little laugh, then turned his head toward Logan.
Logan was watching him with an amused, knowing look.
Ekko cleared his throat. "So what Zeri said was all true?"
"You're changing Zaun—helping the communities, protecting the people, and you're not taking anything from them?" Ekko asked seriously.
Logan nodded, then added immediately, "But I want to be clear, Ekko. Not taking anything right now doesn't mean we'll never take anything."
Ekko's expression instantly shifted.
But Logan continued right away.
"We're not taking protection money. We're taking taxes. Upkeep on community facilities, public power usage, sanitation—those things cost money. We won't take much. That's something I can promise you."
He said it plainly, honestly.
Working for free was never happening. Once a community was established, money was needed everywhere. Like the row after row of streetlights the Spirit Blossom Gang had built in Hope Community—paid for out of their own pocket—so the place could have light at night too. The electricity for that, going forward, would be covered by residents' taxes.
Seeing Ekko thinking, Logan laid out his whole plan.
If Zaun was going to change, it had to change from the roots. The Firelights staying tucked away in one corner—no matter how noble—couldn't truly change Zaun.
And Logan wasn't blaming Ekko for that.
Ekko had already done more than enough. He'd pushed everything as far as he could. The Firelights hadn't expanded their territory or openly helped other communities, but behind the scenes, they'd been fighting the Chem-Barons the whole time.
In places Zaun couldn't see, Ekko had been protecting people, helping them survive.
But to Logan, the issue wasn't that it couldn't work—it was that the timeline was too long.
And Zeri, standing right there beside Ekko, had done something even Ekko hadn't managed.
She'd fought alone, using sheer spirit to wake an entire community, bringing friends and family with her to resist.
So if Ekko and Zeri worked together…
Yeah. No wonder they were Zaun's twin prodigies.
"If that's what you mean, I get it. That's how it should be." Ekko nodded, and his expression softened a lot.
Then, as if he remembered something, he glanced back at Zeri. She was sitting properly, staring at Logan like she was trying very hard not to stare too hard. Ekko looked back to Logan and said:
"Right—Logan, her name's Zeri. She's from Zaun too, and she wants to join the Spirit Blossom Gang. So…"
"She's in," Logan said immediately.
He looked at Zeri and smiled. "Welcome to the Spirit Blossom Gang, Zeri."
"I—I—I—I…" Zeri got stuck on the first word, over and over, staring at Logan's face and failing to push out anything else. But the moment Jinx looked over—busy using both hands to tie Isha's hair into little bunches—Zeri's words suddenly came out smooth as butter.
"I'm happy too, boss!"
Zeri nodded with a stiff smile.
Logan cracked up. On the Rift, who actually wins—Jinx or Zeri? They both scaled into monsters late-game, didn't they?
Shoving the stray thought aside, Logan looked at Ekko and asked seriously, "What about you? You joining us or not?"
"I'm not planning to join you," Ekko shook his head, but then seemed to realize he'd said it too bluntly. He rubbed his nose and added, "At least… not right now."
"I'm interested in what you're talking about, Logan. I really am. But I'm responsible for the Firelights." Ekko's voice was firm.
Logan felt a little disappointed, but he understood. He nodded. "I get it."
Then Ekko added, "But if you can make a real move…"
Logan raised his eyes.
Ekko spread his hands and said quietly, "Then I can bring the Firelights into this with you. I won't lie to you, Logan—more and more people are coming to us, and our turf isn't enough anymore. If it's possible, I want them living out in the open. Somewhere like Hope Community."
"But the condition is this—you need to make a real splash. Something big enough that I—and my people—can believe in you." Ekko held Logan's gaze.
He meant it.
After hearing Logan out, Ekko was getting fired up too. Logan wanted to change Zaun—its system, its environment… and the Spirit Blossom Gang was already working on air filtration devices to fight the Grey.
Seeing sunlight again—that was every Zaunite's dream. Ekko wasn't any different.
So if he didn't have the entire Firelights behind him, Ekko might've already agreed.
Especially with Vi here. With familiar faces here.
"Hm." Logan rubbed his chin and smiled at Ekko. "So what counts as 'big' to you?"
"How about this."
"We take one Chem-Baron off the board. Sound good?"