I'm The Monster ( Jinx X Fem Reader )

Epilogue

It never gets old; the whooshing of the air below my feet, billowing past my cheeks as I race beside Rue through the long forgotten parts of the Undercity. My colorful mask inhibits my vision only slightly, my peripherals being slightly blinded, but I can still hear her laughs from somewhere to my left. The hoverboard gifted to me by Ekko himself whirs with technological life below my feet. I had nearly become one with it over the past six months I had spent with the Firelights.

Arriving at the meeting place that fateful night had been difficult. I shudder at the thought of it. Even so, I had solved Rue's riddle, knocked thrice on the third door, and been picked up by Rue herself, along with three or four other Firelights to cover her ass as I rode back to their camp with her on the back of her hoverboard. Then, I had stared at the back of her head, forcing myself to breathe and not look below me; now, I laugh, and relish in the feeling of racing so far above the ground with such ease.

Suddenly, Rue becomes visible on my right, a mischievous look on her face.

"Wanna go poke the bear?"

She can't see my eyebrows furrow behind my mask.

"I don't know what you mean." I call back.

Without another word, she gestures for me to follow her. It's the cover of night, and we're free to do a bit more, even if Ekko would be pissed to hear of our whereabouts. Rue skates past the border between the forgotten lands and the more populated areas, sticking to routes that keep us out of sight.

It's only when the sights become more familiar that my stomach begins to turn.

"Hey... Raven?" I call her fake name, due to our slightly exposed surroundings, but she either doesn't hear me or chooses to use her selective hearing. Against my better judgment, I follow ahead.

The sights are becoming painfully nostalgic, more and more hurting my eyes until I realize that Rue has paused. I come to a stop beside her, hovering in mid air. She raises a tentative finger to where her mouth would be behind her mask, and points directly downward. When I follow her gesture, the wind is knocked from my lungs. I clutch the strap of my shoulder bag tightly, as if it would help.

The building we're hovering above is Silco's study, the point of the roof resting nearly five or six feet below our quietly whirring machines.

"Wouldn't it be insane if we just ransacked this place? It would be too easy!" Rue exclaims quietly, but excitedly. I take a forced breath.

I had nearly done so myself.

The aftermath of my actions did not go unnoticed to me; I heard about the absolute chaos that took place in the streets. Jinx went on a rampage the night I left, blowing things up waywardly. The next day, when Silco had arisen in a fit of anger and agonizing pain, he had pushed through it to lead a charge through the streets of the Undercity, shouting my name and insisting on my whereabouts from passersby. Through the grapevine, I had even heard that Sevika kept her mouth shut. For that, I'm still grateful to this day.

It took Silco at least two months to finally give up on my existence. I'm sure he quickly began training my footprint on Jinx's soul out of her. I try not to think about it- instead, throwing myself into whatever I can do to help Ekko, and the cause. I told them everything I knew, showed them everything I had seen, educated them on everything I experienced. My brain had become an open book for them, something that I offered with open arms.

I shake my head, giving Silco's study one last glance. "This was a fun ride, but let's head home."

Rue rolls her eyes, something I can hear in her tone more than see, before kicking her hoverboard into gear again and rushing past me. "You're such a party pooper."

I have to suppress a roll of my eyes as I speed up to catch her; that is, until something catches my eye. It looks like a little glowing figure. I slow down, descending until I hover a few feet above it.

That's when the faintness of a word scrawled in glow in the dark paint becomes visible across the roof that this small, glowing figure rests upon.

It says my name.

In a chilling trance, I descend even lower, stepping gently off of my hoverboard. What I thought was a figure I can now see is more of a shrine, almost; A large slab of rock, almost like a headstone, has been inscribed with my name as well. What may be seen as miscellaneous things sit scattered around it. To me, though, they aren't miscellaneous. A small bomb, the pin pulled and the bomb deactivated; it's the first bomb I made with Jinx. A small array of knives, all of them with green dots on the ends of the hilts. The knives I had crafted in my time with her, my recovery. A small bouquet of daisies and roses; they're fresh, obviously picked very recently.

"Jinx...?"

Her name leaves my breath in a puff of sadness. I had avoided using her name at all after that night, even when describing what I had experienced to Ekko. The usage makes me cringe.

I hear the whine of another hoverboard speed across the sky above me, Rue calling my cover name.

"Hey- why does this roof say your name?"

My eyes are wide, and I find it hard to peel them from the flowers. The whole thing looks eerily similar to a grave site.

"I... I dunno." Clutching the strap of my satchel again, I step back onto the board. "Let's get out of here."

As I speed off, a small piece of paper escapes my bag. If I had seen it, I would have paused, went back for it, erased the rooftop of my existence. Instead, I cruise onwards with Rue, towards home.

It reads;

There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about her. I have to consciously try to remove her from my mind whenever my thoughts begin to wander even slightly. I keep trying to convince myself that it was for the best, and trust me, some part of me knows it was, but it's hard. I love her. God, I love her so fucking much. But I can't be with her. I want her so badly, but I can't have her. I have to keep telling myself that, and I will. God damn it, I would give anything to go back to how it was, before I tried anything with Silco. I know it would be no different, but... I don't know. Maybe I wish to go back even farther. Before I set out on this bullshit journey to avenge my parents. I would never know who killed them, or why, but... Maybe that would have been better than this. Ignorance is bliss, sometimes.

The next thing that note sees after it leaves that journal is slender, knowing hands, picking it up from the rooftop.

To be continued...