𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 || A Timebomb Fanfic

Chasing Shadows

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

Ekko sprinted across the darkened streets of Zaun, his heart pounding in his chest. Every corner of the city felt like it was closing in, the labyrinthine alleys twisting and turning, mocking his every step. He had to find Jinx. Had to stop her before everything spiraled further out of control.

“Jinx!” he shouted, his voice echoing off the crumbling buildings around him. But the only response was the distant hum of the city. No sign of her.

His mind raced as fast as his feet. He had been so close, closer than he’d ever been in years. She had let her guard down, just for a moment, and in that moment, he saw Powder. The girl she used to be. He had reached her. He had felt it.

But now? Now she was running again, her walls rebuilt, reinforced with anger and mistrust. And it was all his fault.

He slowed down for a brief second, his chest burning from the exertion. The Firelights had ambushed them. Sira. She had moved in without his knowledge, and now Jinx thought he had betrayed her. The look on her face—raw with fury, fear, and something deeper—haunted him.

I didn’t know. He had wanted to scream it after her, but it wouldn’t have mattered. Not then. Not now. Maybe not ever.

As he pressed on, dodging the occasional passerby and the various obstacles strewn across the road, a deep pit of guilt settled in his stomach. His mind kept replaying the moment over and over, each time worse than the last. Jinx—no, Powder—had finally started to trust him again, but Sira and the others had ruined everything.

He felt the burning need to confront Sira, to demand answers. How could she have gone behind his back like that? But he knew better. She wasn’t wrong about Jinx. In Sira’s eyes—and the Firelights’—Jinx was a threat, and they were right to believe that. But she was more than just the chaos she unleashed. At least, Ekko believed so. He had to believe so.

---

Meanwhile, Jinx was running too, though for her, it wasn’t just a matter of escaping Ekko or the Firelights. She was running from the mess inside her own head. She bolted across rooftops and leaped between gaps, her mind a storm of emotions she couldn’t control. Every breath she took felt like fire in her lungs, but she pushed herself harder, needing the burn to keep herself grounded.

Liar. Traitor. Fool. The words played over and over in her mind like a broken record. Ekko had nearly gotten her killed. How could she have been so stupid to let him get that close? For a moment—just a moment—she had almost believed him. She had almost let herself think that maybe, just maybe, things could be different.

But now?

Her hands trembled as she darted into the shadows, the cool steel of her weapons pressed against her skin, providing her a small sense of comfort. The Firelights were after her again, but what burned her up more was that Ekko had led them to her. He had to have known. He had to have planned it.

Right?

Her thoughts warred with each other, tearing her apart. She had trusted him—no, not trusted him, almost trusted him. That was different. She didn’t trust anyone anymore. She couldn’t afford to.

“Ugh! Stupid, stupid!” she hissed to herself, frustrated beyond belief. She punched the wall beside her, leaving a dent in the already crumbling brick.