A/N: Can I just remind you that this fic is M rated? Thank you!

Instantly Ekko was out of bed and putting his clothes on, forgoing his red scarf and some metal bits that might be too flashy in the moon light. Without turning on the light he walked over to the window, making sure to stand in the shadows at the side. And sure enough Undine hurried past but stopped to look up at the window shortly. He couldn't make out her expression in the dark. The moment she turned around again, Ekko pulled the handle on the z-drive and the blue light enveloped him. He dashed out the door and down the stairs; an unwanted deja-vu of just a few days ago when he had sprinted out to safe his friend. This time he brought his sword straight away.

"'I won't let you become another face on the wall.' sounds like a bad omen now.", he thought to himself. But still wished with all his heart that this night would not end like the bad bad nightmare it was shaping up to be.

But on first try he couldn't even find her after he left his apartment building.

Rewind #1

He lost her after 5minutes of running around corners and barely seeing her tips of her hair vanish behind the next building.

Rewind #2

Once he figured out that she was probably heading home, he even found her again after he lost her at a later point. Just like she said, she must live far far away on the very other side of Zaun. But yet again, after about half an hour, he lost her out of his sight outside the centre of town. Which was funny, because here the streets actually got wider, broader and cleaner so it should have been so much easier to spot her. He started to get the feeling she was trying to shake him off. Maybe she was doing it just in case.

Rewind #4

He managed to follow her to her doorstep after once being nearly discovered (and rewinding) due to keeping too close. But now, here he was.

Undine's house was huge for Zaun standards. There was a little front garden, a bronze gate leading to it. The house itself had three stories, beautiful big windows and was overall utterly unkempt. The grass was growing wild, the name plate had been ripped of, the windows shattered, bricks were lying around from where they had literally fallen from the house.

"What the hell?!", he breathed out. Just who was that girl he had just spend the night with? He was starting to get a feeling that it might have been a bad choice after all.

As he was trying to figure out what to do next, he suddenly heard faint voices from the second floor. In one window, the faint flickering light of a candle went on. As quietly as he could, he jumped over the squeaky garden gate and tried the handle of the front door. It was unlocked. He crept inside, the tail of blue light following his every step. The inside of the house was just as run down as the outside. Dust gathered in the corners, the furniture was old and some things even mouldy. Tapestry hung from parts of the ceiling and most rooms didn't even have ceiling lights any more. With feather-light steps he went up the stairs to the second floor. Now he could hear the voices again. One was clearly Undine, sounding as bitter as before. The other he had never heard before, but it was most definitely male.

"Well, look at you. What a naughty little girl, going home with strangers at night like that. It's dangerous for you, you know?"

"Yes, I'm sorry." Undine's voice sounded broken, like she had to talk around a huge lump in her throat.

"Don't think I wouldn't notice, if somebody laid a hand on you like that."

Ekko was starting to really really fear the worst.

"Did he do you good? Don't tell me you were still with him when I called?!"

When he reached the top of the stairs, he saw the light coming from one of the three rooms, the door left ajar. Slowly, silently he crept on until he could make out what was happening inside. The voices had been oddly quiet just then, could they have noticed him?

The first thing he saw when his eyes adjusted to the light was Undine's face, contorted in pain. She was biting her hand so hard that blood was dripping down onto the table beneath her. Without thinking Ekko kicked open the door, sword at the ready. What unfolded before him, made him wish neither of them would have never left the house that night.

Undine was naked, her jumpsuit pooling around her ankles. She was bent over a table on which the candle stood, pushed and held down by a stranger's hand. The guy standing behind her was tall and lean, well dressed in a corporation's suit, his face mostly hidden in the shadows. And, and Ekko didn't even want to think about it, his suit trousers were halfway down.

Undine's eyes widened in horror. "No.", she whispered, just as the man behind her let out a deep growl. His free hand went underneath his jacket and pulled out a gun. Ekko was all ready to evade the shot and pounce but Undine whispered something and the pain in her voice nearly broke his heart, even though he couldn't even catch the words.

And so he turned the dial on his glove. Blue light erupted around him and he was back in his room.

Rewind #5

At the blink of an eye he was already out the door again. He had to talk to her, HAD to. He seriously regretted not getting up before when he had had the chance to.

Ekko couldn't believe he had mistrusted Undine. When he had barged into the room, where she had been… her only worry had been his safety. That man had been wearing a corporate suit, so he must have been on "official business" or so high up on the social ladder he just didn't care if anybody found him forcing himself on women. But if he saw Ekko, remembered his face, Ekko might be targeted, too. And that had bothered Undine more than him helping her, or him seeing her, or anything else. This was something really messed up. AND he had to reach her before she went into the building, before they were within view of it even. Because now he knew who had called and he must have already been waiting for her by then.

He caught up with Undine at about two thirds of the way. Crossing into her path from a side alleyway he made a grab for her arm. Instinctively she dogged by flickering away from him, the shock clear on her face. She turned to run away, maybe to gain some time for coming up with a nice explanation.

Ekko just said: "I saw what is going to happen in 18 minutes and 43 seconds."

Undine froze.

"Y-You shouldn't … how…", she started saying, tears filling her eyes. "Why, Ekko, why did you follow me? You shouldn't be here!"

Her hands found his shirt and shook him desperately.

"What kind of Zaunite are you to stick your nose into other peoples' matters like that? Do you even know what he is going to do to me, to YOU, if he found out we just spend the night together? And I've been trying so hard to hide it, just this once! Why couldn't you just leave this alone… " Her questions turned more and more into sobs and the last sentence Ekko could barely understand. He just held her close until the sobbing stopped. There was one thing he had to ask. His voice was quiet and colder than he had intended.

"Why do you let him do that to you?"

Undine didn't look at him when she answered, slowly, quietly.

"My – my family has debts – huge ones. My parents gambled and drank, and then gambled some more. And then they died. And I was left with debts I could not dream of ever repaying. That guy.. that monster you saw had been their advisor for years. He just made everything worse. And I was too young. Smart, maybe. But no money to show for it. I was able to make my living with a bit of things here and there but none of that could have paid for the sums they asked for. I – I couldn't sell the house and now it's rotten as well-"

"Why couldn't you? It's – was – a good house for Zaun standards."

It took her a little to find the right words. Her mouth opened and closed a few times and when she finally spoke, her voice was devoid of all emotion. "My parents. They were murdered in there. I spent weeks afterwards pulling out the carpets and scrubbing the floors underneath because the blood and gore had soaked through. Who'd buy a house like that?!" A bitter laugh. "I couldn't get a job, I couldn't sell the house, so I sold myself. And at least for that, he pays well. And it's going on for so long now, I can't even remember how it started. I'm so scared of him. So, so incredibly afraid of what he can do to..."

"Do I want to know how old you were then?", Ekko asked. His face was contorted in disgust, though luckily Undine couldn't see. He was scared of himself at that moment.

Nervous and defeated Undine just stared at her leather boots.

"Fourteen."

Ekko nearly broke his wrist punching the wall. It did nothing to cool the red hot anger within him, but now his hand hurt as well. Undine flinched.

"Please, Ekko stop.", she pleaded.

"How could I? How is this allowed to happen, why didn't anybody do anything?", he was practically fuming.

"It's ok, it's my fault... I've gotten used to it." Again she flinched under his stare. "He… they give me drugs, to make it easier on me. That's nice right? It makes it hurt less."

"On what earth is that a good thing?! They don't even seem to help." He thought back at the small pool of blood underneath her hand earlier… later.

"They don't charge me..", she stopped herself when she saw his face. "I didn't take it last night because I thought I'd only spend the night with you. That I wouldn't need them, for once in my life."

Ekko felt like screaming. Just how was he supposed to deal with this? Suddenly, he felt a trembling hand in his. Undine was still not looking him in the eye. Her voice was small and scared when she said: "Ekko, I have to go now. I can't just not turn up, he'll just hurt me more next time. Will you … Will you do me a favour? A last one."

He didn't know how to respond to that. He just pulled her into his arms again and kissed her forehead. "Anything.", he found himself saying.

"Turn back time and let me go alone. I can't do this, if I know you know. Not tonight. Please I've done this before. Don't try to save me."

Rewind #6

But he couldn't just sit around at home either. So he left, walking much more slowly this time, towards Undine's unsellable house, the feeling of being useless weighing him down more and more with every step. He crept inside and up the stairs again and sat down next to the open door. The flickering light of the candle only deepened the shadows in the hallway, hiding him even from himself. He left before that monster did and hid somewhere down the street. As quietly as before he tailed him to his house, a mansion on corporate grounds, just like Ekko had expected. Then he went home.

Undine had been quiet throughout the entire thing.

A/N: A not so little note on the side, but I feel it is important nonetheless. I hope everyone here is aware that this story is a work of pure fiction and that nobody came to harm in the making of it. But sadly enough, for a scary amount of people on this planet this is reality. And I am not romanticizing any of it, nor saying it is good or acceptable in any way. I hope the way I write this story clearly shows just how much it can hurt a person both physically and mentally.

People, no matter of what gender, age or background can be so unfortunate as to fall victim to abusive relationships, blackmail and rape. Or like in this story, all of the above. I simply wanted to take this opportunity to say that nobody deserves this. Nobody. For no reason whatsoever. And if this is happening to you or somebody you know, just know that there are people out there who wish to help you. All you have to do is reach out to them!

Lastly: please stay safe and help those around you if in need. Thank you for reading.