The Sixth | Ekko

Chapter Sixty

Six slammed closed the cover of the book she was reading in frustration.

She'd been reading for hours on end, the developing strain behind her eyes causing the words to grow fuzzy.

Daunter had a new task for her—find out anything and everything about alternate realities and the theorized merge. Now she spent all her time sifting through Singed's old books or trying to create a serum to enhance the runts' strength beyond what it already was.

She was even losing out on sleep, as Daunter would pop into the laboratory in the middle of the night to ensure she was still working.

So far, nothing she read had anything pertaining to alternate realities. Her readings had migrated from Singed's notes to a small stack of books that had been kept underneath the workbench. They were soiled—the pages damp and tearing at the edges, mould plaguing the paper. She initially believed that they didn't hold much significance, because if they did, she thought Singed would have kept them in a more secure place and ensure their quality persisted.

Her suspicions had been right, as the four books were history books for various places in Runeterra. The only proof that it had been read was a folded parchment bookmark placed in the middle of Ionia's section.

The only things she knew about their situation were observations she'd made on her own. Neither of them had any control over when or for how long they would end up in the bodies of their alternate selves. It also seemed to be something that was limited to those with burn marks—at least from what she could tell. Ekko nor Heimerdinger had mentioned anything that could hint at it, and with the amount of time she spent with Ekko before their forced separation, she probably would've noticed if something was up.

A sense of weakness washed over her, causing her posture to slump and her eyelids to grow heavy.

She hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep until a nudge on her shoulder woke her up. Her eyebrows scrunched in disturbed confusion, until her eyes opened and she realized what had happened.

Daunter was there, leaning his side against the workbench beside her, arms crossed over his chest as he eyed her expectantly.

She sat up slowly and rolled her neck, the sounds of popping filling her ears.

"Find anything?" Daunter asked.

She inhaled deeply and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "There's nothing in these books, or any of his notes."

Daunter's nostrils flared, displeased. He pushed off the workbench and started walking around the lab aimlessly—something he usually did in her presence.

Six wondered if it helped him with his evil plotting or something.

"The doc only took the stuff he thought was important," he said, his hand raising to rub at his chin while he thought. "He might've left something behind."

"How do we even know he has anything about alternate realities or whatever?"

"If anyone does, it's him. Fucker hoards and has a fucking scroll collection." His arms dropped to his sides and he turned around. "I'll get Starley and Four to have a look."

Six shot up from her chair, nearly stumbling over when her bootlaces caught in the footrests. "I can go. I'll know what to look for," she said almost too quickly.

Daunter's stare was unwavering. "And why should I let you out of your cage again?"

Six supressed the urge to roll her eyes. "You've already searched my memories. You know that I planned on coming back last time. Why would this time be any different?" She was making a convincing argument, but truthfully, she just wanted a break from all the reading and serum creating.