The Sixth | Ekko

Chapter Sixty-Four

"Looks like we're out of commission for a while," Scar said as he wrapped gauze around Ekko's injured knuckle.

Ekko watched the Chirean's meaty fingers work with an unexpected grace, his clawed nails manoeuvring the gauze without creating a single tear in the scratchy fabric.

"I'm not hurt that bad," Ekko said, voice tense.

Scar finished and pulled away, sitting back in his stool. "Yeah well, the rest of them are." He turned to look over his shoulder, seeing Zeri sitting on the edge of one of the cots while staring down at her bandaged hands. "She targeted their hands. Can't really fly into a fight without being able to hold our bombs and weapons."

Ekko slowly closed his fingers, testing the tightness of the bandage before lowering his hand into his lap. "Yeah."

"Something's wrong with her. There has to be. Six wouldn't attack us like that on her own," Zeri said, having been told by Ekko, along with the rest of the group, that the masked woman was Six, and that she was actually alive.

"Seems about right to me," Belladonna spoke up suddenly while leaning in the doorway to the infirmary, the makeshift curtain 'door' pulled to the side. Both of her hands were bandaged and loosely gripped her elbows as she hugged herself. "We can only imagine how much guilt she's carrying with her. She probably just thinks she had no other choice but to join the bad guys."

Zeri hopped off the bed, her face scrunching up into a scowl. "That's bullshit and you know it!"

Scar and Ekko watched silently as the two surviving Vatalia members went back and forth.

"Do I?" Belladonna pushed off the doorframe and stepped into the room. "You're forgetting just how long I was a part of the Vatalia. I was there when Six came back from a mission that killed the other leaders."

Ekko felt his muscles tighten at the mention of the other leaders. Momo had never elaborated on what happened to them.

Zeri's frown remained. "How is that her fault? She lost her friends and you're blaming her for it?"

"The mission was her idea. She insisted on it, even though the others were hesitant because of how dangerous it would be. She convinced them to go somehow, and it ended with their deaths. Everyone but her." Belladonna dropped her hands to her sides and exhaled slowly, as if trying to remain calm. "I'm not saying she directly killed them, but her decision-making skills suck, and it cost people their lives. Hell, most of our community got wiped out because she left the traitor issue alone for too long. She wasn't meant to be a leader, and now all she's left with is guilt. It's no wonder she turned out this way."

Ekko stared down at the crystal ring wrapped around his finger as he contemplated what Belladonna had said. Momo did have a tendency to blame herself for things, and this would be no exception. However, there were too many things that didn't add up.

"She didn't join Daunter willingly, and I doubt her actions right now are her own either." He looked up at Zeri, then Scar, and finally stopped at Belladonna. "Before, she refused to kill. But tonight, she tried slitting my throat. That wasn't her. She wouldn't do that. It would go against what she believes as a healer and member of the Vatalia."

"People change," Belladonna argued, moving to stand closer to Scar.

"Not that fast. When I found her the other night, she was still her. Civil. She wasn't trying to kill me. The opposite actually—"

Scar raised an eyebrow at the implication, causing Ekko to cough awkwardly.

"There's also her change in weapons," he said once he recovered, his voice lingering with subtle hoarseness from his earlier coughing. He reached into his pocket with his uninjured hand and pulled out Momo's dart he kept on his person. "Before, she used darts that doubled as a healing agent. She was trying to help us, despite being forced to work against us." He ran his thumb over the dart's bumblebee wings. "But tonight, she used daggers with the intent to hurt us, even considering killing me at one point. That isn't her. Something's going on."