Chapter Text
The wind howled through the streets of the Lanes, covering the groans of the metal vents that wove their way through the lower level of the Undercity. Their origins were far up, coming from the wreck of infrastructure still cordoned off in Piltover. Although the Undercity hadn’t taken nearly the same amount of damage as topside had, they weren’t immune to the consequences of the battle.
The groans echoed off the walls of the ducts. The Lanes had never been lacking in noise, with movement and activity occurring into the early hours of the morning. But this was different. It was unwelcomed. With the wind, the sounds formed an eerie symphony that performed for no one so late in the night.
It wasn’t the first time the combination had been played for the Fissure Folk. However, it was the first time an additional voice added itself to the chorus. A deep rumbling, as if from the earth itself, set the base tone. It caused bits of gravel to vibrate off the ground and stirred the people within their homes. Although it had started low enough, the sound soon rose and rose until it crescendoed with a grinding shriek so loud that it was impossible to hear anything else.
The noise was nails on a chalkboard. It screamed relentlessly. And then it crashed. And then it boomed.
Lights flicked on and children cried from the startle. People ran from their homes to investigate the cause of the disruption. And those who did would quickly end up regretting it.
A wave of the Grey rolled across the Lanes like a tsunami, apathetic to whatever and whoever stood in its way. Most trenchers hadn’t ever breathed fully clean air in their lives. Even after the containment was installed decades ago, constant leakages coupled with the low-lying terrain of the Fissures collected the gas. Most got used to it. Those who didn’t or those who had an underlying condition causing sensitivity perished. It was harsh, but it was the nature of their lives.
This was far dissimilar. This wasn’t a lingering leak. This wasn’t a temporary malfunction. The Grey seemed to be condensed, concentrated to be even more suffocating. It thickened the atmosphere and invested into the lungs of anyone who had been curious enough to leave their home.
People ran back to their dwellings, slamming the doors and windows shut. However, the Grey managed to find its way inside. Whether it was through the smallest crack in a foundation, or through an improperly sealed gasket, or through a vent itself, it didn’t matter. It was inescapable.
The individuals who had emergency respirators and a clean air supply were lucky, but it only prolonged the inevitable. Once those canisters ran dry, they were just as vulnerable as the next person. The trenchers moved frantically, shoving towels into the leaks or wrapping cloth over their faces. But their tactics were fruitless.
There was no one who they could call. There was no emergency department that existed so deep in the Fissures. Even if there had been, they would have been equally as powerless. The trenchers were stuck, alone and choking, with only Janna to pray to. Even her hands seemed to be tied on the matter. No one, God or otherwise, could do a thing to stop the rampage that had released itself onto the Lanes.
~
Renata’s respirator hissed as she pulled it from her face. She and her assistant, Elodat, stood in the elevator of chem baron tower, waiting patiently for it to ascend up to the highest level. The building had been abandoned for the most part after the dissolution of the chem baron council after Silco’s passing. It was surprising; one of the most beautiful buildings in all of the Undercity had become nothing more than the world’s tallest greenhouse. It had so much more to offer than just vacancy. Renata was intent on not letting it stay that way.
The very top of the tower peaked past the smog that clung within the Fissures on a normal day and, now, it was one of the few areas with completely clean air. From its vantage point, one could see the expanse of water that flowed neatly into a canal that separated the two cities. One could see the muted neon lights from further below in the Lanes. One could see the high rises of Piltover that pierced the sky. Many of them were still dilapidated. Others, like the Hexgates, were obliterated completely.
If someone didn’t know better, they would think that the upper levels of chem baron tower were a part of Piltover rather than the Fissures. The aesthetic of the building was far more opulent than most of the structures in the Lanes, especially after the destruction from the Grey. The recent eruption had done quite a number on a large swath of the Undercity. Not only did it impact the people, but the acidic toxins weakened the buildings as well. Things were primed for a structure collapse. It was a tragedy. But, to Renata, every disaster also came rich with opportunity.
“Give me the statistics once more,” Renata said to the young woman. She tugged on her vest to straighten it and brushed dust from her white pants. The girl had given Renata status updates on the disaster as things were occurring, but Renata had always been one to comb over everything several times to settle her thoughts.
Elodat pushed her glasses up, securing them more firmly onto the bridge of her nose. She glanced down at the clipboard and paperwork in her hands. “The eruption took place near the Bonscutt Pump Station. It appears that the build up of pressure caused the station to fail, releasing said backup. People have speculated that this was due to the lack of collateral with the destroyed vents leading away from Piltover. At the time of the incident, it was estimated that the Grey affected forty percent of the Lanes. It has dissipated, now affecting approximately seventy-five percent but with less severe health consequences. About three-thousand people are experiencing the effects of contamination and…”
The girl trailed off. She had worked for Renata for the past seven years. Her boss had never been one to shield her from difficult circumstances but this had to be one of the worst. Elodat’s skin wasn’t nearly as thick as Renata’s.
“...And fourteen children dead. All under the age of three,” Elodat finished.
Renata shook her head but her expression remained objective. “Poor souls. They are the very reason we worked so hard to maintain the ducts. The adults… our bodies can tolerate the toxins to a certain extent. But the kids… they’re too weak.”
Her heart truly did go out to the families for their loss. However, Renata chose not to let the sympathy linger. No amount of it would actually yield an ounce of a difference. Only action would. And with that action, she would be able to kill at least two birds with one stone.
“There’s no word from Piltover on any repair efforts or remediation being implemented,” Elodat continued.
Renata let a short, low growl escape from her. “That’s not surprising. I don’t care how much effort they put into their appearances, they’ll never be able to shield my eyes from the truth. One trencher on the council. One trencher on the Enforcers. Three months later and what’s there to show for these meager additions? Absolutely nothing.”
The woman had her informants everywhere and Piltover was no different. The information they fed her was the same as that which had been curried for years. Piltover is working to stabilize their own infrastructure first, the battle against the Noxians did a number. Piltover is issuing a massive recruitment campaign to replace the Enforcers who were lost in the war. Piltover has officially torn down every single fence at the border yet they’ve increased the tolls. Of course they only wanted to do so now that they were reliant on the trade with the Undercity to restimulate their economy.
Long ago, Renata had decided that she was going to pursue the long game. Despite her internal bitterness to Piltover, she actively engaged in business with them. She would sell to the devil himself if it meant her making a profit. Renata’s perfume products were infamous amongst the noble houses. The irony of that exchange wasn’t lost on the woman. These very people were funding their own downfall and they wouldn’t realize it until it was too late.
The Piltovans knew of her but they didn’t truly know all that made her tick. She was a business tycoon in the Undercity and, unlike the other chem barons, Renata worked tirelessly to maintain a clean reputation in their eyes. She would be less assuming that way. None of them could possibly know the searing hatred contained within her. The topsiders had been the cause of her greatest loss, the cause of this- Renata rippled the fingers of her prosthetic. I will never forget.
“No one has the sense to say things as they are. No one aside from me,” Renata continued. “Sevika is ineffective at best, a traitor at worst. She couldn’t keep the other chem barons from killing each other and she couldn’t protect her boss from death. Not that I mourned the loss of that slippery bastard much anyhow.”
Silco had been very familiar with Renata’s capabilities and influence. And, for that reason, he had extended an invitation to her into the council of chem barons that he coordinated. That had been easy for her to turn down. She firmly believed that most chem barons were just lackeys who had failed upwards. Each was incompetent in their own way. Renata knew that people tended to band together because they needed one another’s power and she refused to be solely another link in that chain. Not when she could be its anchor.
“To be frank with you, Elodat, I still don’t know what the man was thinking with that Shimmer business. Look at how much it crippled the city. Probably for the best that it’s as good as gone now. A real leader doesn’t need to turn her people into addicts in order to get them to act as one unit.”
Renata tinkered mindlessly with her left arm. Its panels were adorned with magenta streaks that the woman regarded like tattoos. The outer plates were gold- pure gold. Many others who sported prosthetics made theirs appear like the precious metal, but Renata actually had the funds to make it solid rather than gilded.
“You have a plan for that matter?” Elodat asked innocently. She brushed a strand of dark hair behind her ear.
“I have a plan for every matter, child,” Renata answered. “And, unlike Silco or even Vander, I have ones that don’t require near the same level of violence. Only simple-minded men resort to such a thing so easily.”
Violence was a messy thing. And Renata didn’t like messes. Much like the attire she wore, she preferred things to be clean and precise. Her mind was just as strong and capable, if not more so, than anyone’s sword. Why use a hammer when she could use a scalpel?
“This person we’re meeting with… what if she disagrees with that strategy?”
Renata chuckled. “This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve worked alongside one another. Besides, I provide people with two options: do what I want or do what I want but with more steps. Much like you, she’s young. But she’s ambitious. And I believe that we share a mutual interest. Take notes, Elodat. You’re going to witness a master class in the art of persuasion.”
~
The air was thinner as Renata and Elodat stepped out of the elevator. Any trace of the Grey was long gone, lost several stories beneath their feet. A dry heat enveloped them. The sun’s rays were magnified by the panes of glass that formed the dome of the penthouse of chem baron tower. And, within it, were dozens of long planters that boasted a varied assortment of strange and exotic plants.
Large pitcher plants from Ionia. Sickly smelling corpse flowers from Ixtal. Small sapling wisterias native to Piltover. Tinier herbs and buds filled the spaces in between the larger plants. Their color was a stark contrast to what Renata was used to. She spent most of her time deeper in the Undercity and the moniker “the city of iron and glass” was all too fitting. She had to squint to darken the environment to her liking.
A young woman tended to the plants at the far end of the cultivar. Much like Renata, her left arm was replaced with a limb augmentation. However, while Renata’s was very much in the form of a normal human arm, the woman’s was silver and spindly. Its claw-like fingers helped her rake dirt and pierce soil to deposit seeds down deep. Renata had to scoff at the crown of petals the woman wore. She could place any tiara or coronet on her head, it would never make her anything other than a chem baron in the Undercity.
“Corina Veraza,” Renata called out sweetly. She moved down the open row in between the planters. Corina looked up and set down her supplies. Despite smiling at the older woman, Corina’s dark brown eyes still retained a degree of suspicion in them.
“Renata. I must say I was quite surprised to hear from you again. I thought that you had passed off supervision of your perfume division to one of your associates at Glasc Industries. I haven’t heard from them in several months. Not many Pilties buying the product while the city is still in ruin now, huh?” Corina asked.
“I’m afraid your speculation is correct. Just another example of why it’s important to diversify,” Renata answered. “But, I am not here to discuss that business venture.”
“No? Then which did you care to speak with me about?” Corina folded her arms across her chest. Although they had always had a decent working relationship, Corina was not deaf to the gossip about the woman. She knew enough to tread carefully this early on in the conversation.
“I assume that you’ve heard of the effects of the Grey rupture several days ago.” Renata said. Corina nodded. “All those people affected and not a thing to be done about it. And, to think, the children who lost their lives…”
Corina put her hand to her stomach instinctively.
“Thank the Gods that you and your son weren’t closer to the epicenter. What is he, now? A year and a half, two years old?” Renata asked.
Corina narrowed her eyes at the woman. “Two and a half,” she said cautiously.
“Can you imagine what could have happened? Terrible to think about,” Renata continued. “Doesn’t it make you wonder what projects in Piltover could possibly take a higher precedence than the safety and lives of innocent kids in the Fissures?”
Corina let out a sad laugh. “The Piltovans would place their morning coffee higher than the lives of any trenchers.”
Corina’s hatred of Piltover didn’t come from any personal encounters themselves. Rather, it stemmed from the animosity that so thoroughly steeped the cities for generations. Her ambitions were to finally level the two. Whether that came from elevating the Undercity or lowering Piltover, Corina didn’t particularly care. And, she wanted to do so without involving herself in the warring that constantly plagued the other chem barons. It was for that reason that she had followed Renata’s example, declining Silco’s request to have her in his chem council years ago.
“And therein lies the problem, no?” Renata raised her eyebrows. “Trenchers helped them win their war and what do we get? Only more neglect. The time for waiting is far past. It’s been three months and not one measure has been taken to improve things down here. That’s why I’ve come to you. I understand that you’ve been working on breeding a new species, is that correct?”
“Yes,” Corina answered. She immediately knew what plant the woman was referring to. “It’s a project that I’ve been developing for some time now. I still can’t seem to perfect it, however. Such limited resources.”
She raised her arms out to the side, motioning to her cultivar. It was easily the largest one in the Undercity and Corina took a great amount of pride in that. Yet, she was certain that it would be dwarfed by the gardens in the neighboring city. Despite all of the education and wealth on the other side of the river, Corina knew that only she possessed the knowledge to utilize the plants to their fullest potential.
“That’s where I can be of assistance. Allow me to fund your work. I have all the connections in the world. Just say the word and any materials you could possibly want will be yours.”
Corina cocked her head at the woman. “Why?”
“Because I want to help my city and I’m confident that your project will do just that.” Renata’s words had a righteous tone that was definitely intentional.
Corina licked her lips, a sly smile splaying over her face. She caressed one of her plants gingerly, its pollen coating her prosthetic fingers. “To what gain? We’ve worked with each other long enough for me to be certain that you don’t make any investment without a guarantee of its return.”
“Smart girl,” Renata conceded. “Let’s just say that the success of your project would be the first step in carrying out an initiative that I’ve found myself leaning towards as of late. The details of it depend completely on your work but… to put it simply, we need Zaun as a unified front. You say you know me Corina so you’re aware that I don’t forgive debts and I never forget them. All of what we achieve together will be to raise Zaun to its rightful place. And, to remind the topsiders of the consequences of their negligence. That starts with us. That starts with a healthy, united Undercity.”