The Sixth | Ekko

Chapter Fifty-Seven

"Mind explaining how you're still alive?" Ekko asked, stepping off his aeroglider and releasing his hold on Jinx. The reality of seeing the blue-haired woman caused his state of mind to quake and fracture, slivers of confusion and resurfaced grief filling the cracks.

The others arrived shortly after, stepping off their gliders and standing around idly to listen to the incoming conversation.

Jinx stumbled off the board, catching herself last minute. The paralysis from the dart didn't last long, and she could move freely now. She groaned dramatically, her head falling back and her shoulders slumping. "Do I have to?"

Ekko's eyes narrowed, irritation spiking while the shock of her being alive faded to the background in the midst of her childish behaviour. "Considering everyone thought you were dead for the last four years, yeah, I'd say so." He leaned forward and picked up his board, standing up straight again and sliding it behind his back, where it clicked into place on Momo's jacket.

Jinx watched as Scar rolled the door closed to the main entrance of the Firelight hideout, trying to form a proper response in her head. She turned away and started walking aimlessly at a slow pace. "I probably should've died," she said, her head tilting to the side as her arms folded across her chest, hugging herself. "If it were anybody else, I'm sure they woulda kicked the bucket, no questions asked. But me, well, I'm pumped full of shimmer."

Ekko stood in place after removing his mask, staring at the back of her head with an unreadable expression on his face. Jinx had explained the origin behind her pink eyes four years ago when he asked her about them. That's when he learned that their fight on the bridge led to Silco getting Singed to save her life using shimmer.

He swallowed the thickness growing in his throat. "There's gotta be more to it than that."

"Course you'd want the full scoop—sprinkles and all," she said with a sigh. "I slipped into a vent last minute."

"A vent?"

"Yep."

His face contorted into confusion. "Then where the hell have you been?"

She paused, her step faltering before her foot retreated, settling beside the other as she stood still. "Here... there..." A pause. "Demacia, mostly."

"Why didn't you tell me you were still alive? Tell Vi? We thought you were dead."

Jinx turned around sharply. "I was ending the cycle."

"...cycle?"

Jinx seemed to hesitate, then shrugged in false carelessness. "I just thought you'd all be better off without me." She turned and started walking again, her footsteps wide and purposefully uncoordinated.

He watched her, still unmoving. He knew that he should've been unnerved by her casualness in this situation, but he was also aware of her tendencies. "Then why come back? Why fake your own death just to pop up out of nowhere four years later?"

"Someone convinced me to come back... that it was the right thing to do. Something about proper closure." She wandered towards the mural. "Woah, that's a lot of new faces," she said, beholding the vibrant new additions. Her eyes paused on a depiction of what looked to be Sevika's face. "Sevika's dead?" she asked, turning her head to look at Ekko in alarm.

He stepped forward to stand beside her. "That's her sister."

Her face scrunched in confusion. During all the time she spent with the older woman, never had she mentioned that she had a sister, let alone a twin. "Sheesh, how much did I miss?"

"Four years' worth."

She turned back to the mural, taking in the new faces, seeing that she was amongst the batch—as well as the other her from the alternate reality Ekko had told her about years ago. The focal point of the whole mural was someone who looked distantly familiar—a woman with brown hair and green eyes. Surrounding her were bundles of forget-me-not flowers.