J̵̢͖̰̙̺̠̖̬̻̬̠̀̍͌͗̋̔̈́̈́͝͝Į̵̜̬͚͍̰̤̼͇͆̇̌̋̾̆́͑̑̆͑̂͂͒̚͜N̸̢͎̟͖̠̙̂̐̋̈̿͂͝X̷͙̹̯̰͎̘͍̯̫͇̥̜̹́͋̒̎̔͛̕͘̕͠͠ ̵̟̬̦̠͎̟̙̱̣̗̗̗̼̙̰̿̋̈́̎́̽͌̎̈́͌̕͘̚Ị̴̆̄̉͋̍́
After Silco died, I was lost. I had accepted who – or what – I was but Jinx was an empty shell without her father, plagued by the same traumas and dark thoughts that haunted Powder. I had no idea what to do next and no one to guide me but the voices so I followed them. They told me to release these emotions and I did it the only way I knew how, by spreading mayhem and panic to others. I hid behind my new persona of the manic and impulsive criminal who lived to wreak havoc without care for the consequences. Someone who could find happiness and fulfillment from the pandemonium she brought because it was the only thing she could do.
I always made sure to leave a trail behind because half of the fun was the thrill of being chased. It was only later that I understood that it wasn't the chase itself but the one chasing that made my heart skip. Her heart skipped for someone else though. It still irked me that she chose an enforcer with a cute face and a nice ass over her flesh and blood. If only she loved me half as much as her little 'cupcake' maybe things wouldn't be half as bad as they are now.
It hurt me to know that at the end of the day, she would go home and fall asleep next to her girlfriend while I had to suffer for hours on end in my crippling loneliness. Why was it always her that got everything? It wasn't fair! If only she knew a fraction of my pain, she would have never abandoned me. That feeling of calling out for someone you loved but not having them answer. I just wanted her to feel that fear. I didn't actually mean to do it. Vi looked so tough on the outside, I never would have thought…
"Haha…sister thought I'd miss her…" I tried to fake a laugh but I couldn't. There was nothing funny about this. No joy to be had. My life was a string of tragedies and the worst part was that they were all orchestrated by me. The agony of that fact was too much to bear. I'm just a human. There's only so much I can take. I need…I need Shimmer.
I looked at the serrated piece of metal across the room. I just had to drag it a few fractions of an inch across my arm or leg and the drug would start pumping. My brain would be flooded with dopamine and I could live in a land of euphoria…at least until I inevitably crashed back to reality. Why bother with such a temporary solution? I should just aim it at my neck instead. Then all of my problems wouldn't be my problems anymore. I'll get to see my family again. I'll say sor – NO! That's what Powder the coward would do. Only she would do something as stupid as blowing herself up. It's all her fault. Everything is her fault.
What about Silco?
What about V-
V̴͍̳͈̤͈̱͔̣͓́́̈͆̒̾̍̏͝͠ͅI̷̢̗̭͖͖̥͙͎̗̜̜̾̍̂̅͊̄͒̓̆̒̌́͝ ̶̢̲̖̮̭̲̣̲̖͗͂̋̈́ͅḮ̴̠̈́͝S̸͓̀̈̔͊̓̄̿̀̈̾̒͘ ̵̨̛̗̯̩̙̘̎̓͌̊͋Ḩ̴̧͚͙̮̺̩͕̤͉̜̠̥̖̑̽͐̅̂͛́̀̅̈́̎̎͋͌͜͝Ę̸̛͈͎̥̻̙̊̈͊̓̽̈́̌͌̈̓͜ͅR̶̝͈̙̤̣̘̳̹͂Ȩ̸̭̩̪͕͎͉̠̱̙̂̊̄̓̄̈̀͜͜ ̷̼̝̟̠̳͙̰͙̱̻̹͐͐͆̍̄͒̒̉̄̒̋̌͝ͅT̷̟̫̗̊̈́̉̌̋̊͒́͐̒Ǫ̷̡̥͚̞͍͉̩̦̭̭͛̈́̂̐̐͋͒͋͝O̷̢̢̼̘̗̳̦͕͙̙͊͗̍͒͊̔͐̇̀̓̚ͅ
̶̧̮̪̥͈̆̈́̈́̌̀̔̄͒̋͘̕͠Y̸͙̺̤̳̖̝͇̮͇̓̾̓͛͜͝O̸̖͔͔̠͉̬̓̅̀̒̎̀͋́͒̃̈́̐̾̕͜͝Ų̸̖̩͉͈̣̜̻̰̣̦͑̿̓͒̈́͗͜ͅͅ'̵̻̼̲̤̏̌̈́͐R̴͉̠͖͔͍͈̆̅͂͊̋̾̈̿͗̿̎E̸̢̯̱͇̓̈̋̄̿̅̽͋̇̐̈́͝ͅ ̷̼̲̣̜͔̯̼̅̽͊̕Ą̸͈̩͈͎͇͕̞̲̱̜̦͖͛͊̈́̊̈̄̿͑͌͘͜͠ ̶̡̟̣̣͇̗̲̣̮̼͔̜̠͉͓̽͒̑̒͐̍͋̀̓̿͒̕J̸̢̙̫̦̫̱̮̱̜̥̰͇͕̏̐̽͐͐̋̊̊̅̎͂̽̕͝͝I̵͍̟͎͒̄͘͜ͅŅ̶̢͇͈̠͇̱̖̭̩̣̀̃͒̑̍̾X̴̲̃̄̌ ̸̨̱͓̖̟̘̻̫̣̺͍̲͙͔̀̔͂̀̉͗̎͋̀͝͝͝͝J̴̠̫̋͠ͅỊ̶̩̤̲̖̮͎̜̠͙̭̖̱̐͊̔̄̑̏͌̚N̶̡̗̼̺̦͇͉̟͓͉̮̻͌̚͝ͅX̶͙̫̀̉͛͂͂͛ ̵̨͙̱̮͈̜̳̙͒̿̉̇̈́̊͝͠J̴͓̙̃̀̓̒̌͊̐͗̒̇͂͛̂̕͠I̸̧̮͆̋̃͛̔͌͘Ń̴̹̙͖͕̪̰̼͈͚̰ͅẊ̶̢͎̟̰͓̫̘̬͋̓̍͐͗̈́͌̀̈́̾͒̀̃͜͝
̶̨̛̥͐́͗͛͗̑̔̈̈̔̊̊̕̕Ḑ̵̡̳͓̺͙̱̫͔̞̱̔̾̒̂̐̈̍͂͌̋̀͘͘ͅI̴̢͚̫̮̼̼̝͈͕̱̺͓͉͒Ë̴̢̻̳̣̖͕ ̵̳̘̰̮͓͉͇̔̍̓͋͆̊́̏͒͑͊̔ͅH̵̨̛͎̱͚͍̅̄͋̌̾̽͑̀̑̐͛͘͠͝Ȩ̸̝̖̜͕͙̖̬͕̖̍̓̂͂͊͠H̴̡̨͓͓̤͇͎̬̰̒̓͗̅͜Ȩ̸̺͉̳̜̥̖̙̑̿͌̈́̇̉̈̋̽̓͗͛ͅͅ ̵̻̃̉̋̏̈͛̈́̀̇͝͝D̸̦̫͚̭̳̼̯̲̠̳͕̠̺̄̑̀̆̓̄̀͌̏̄͆̕͠ͅͅI̴̛͎͍̔̈́̕͝Ĕ̷̟̫̥͕̻͔͚̘̭̻
"AHHHH!" NONONONONO. I'm scared. I'm scared. The room is filled with ghosts. I can't escape. They're all staring at me. I closed their eyes but they were still staring at me. "HELP! SOMEBODY!"
N̵̨̡̳̲͓͈̦͔̞̲͙͉̭̬̪̘̦̘̣͉̩̭̯̯͊̈́̔́̄̌̾̈́͐̓̏̊͌̚̕̕͝ͅͅǪ̸̢̢̟̦̰̭̫͖̬̼͚͔̝̘̿̓̈Ḃ̷̢̨̧̨̢̧̨̛͕̭̫͖̯̭̹̣̝̫̠͉̮̬̺̹̞̜̪̳̗͍͕̥̟͈͍̤̦̗͓̩͎̍̋̑͐͑̋͒̐̎͐̇̒̎͌͛̉͒̽̂̌̈́͊̀̚͘͜͜͜͜͠͠ͅǑ̴̡͚̠̗̅̈́͋̇̇͛̄͌̎̋̀̂͌̈̿́̍͆̄͘̕Ḑ̶̧̨̛͚̺̱̣̱̩̠̭͇͈͓͉͎̟͓̬̬̺̺͈͉͈͈͍̲̜̃̈͆͑̂̊̎̌̊͂̑̚͘ͅỲ̵̧̨̢̨̙̜̞̬͇͇̪̭͔̰̻͓̠̪̠͕̬̜̰͔̺͔̠̭̙̠͓͔̥̳͍̦͚͙̟̠͚̏̾̈́̑͆̀̂͋̑͗̾͜͝ͅͅͅ ̵̨̟͚͙͕̗͗̚͝͝L̵̢̮͙̲̘̪͖̪̫͈̤̍́̈́̄̏̓̊̂̾̇̓́͗̉͆̓̐̈́̚͘͠E̶̢̧̳͔̗͇̙̰̠̫̯͍͎̦̳̞͇̼̥̺͚̜̜͕̻͕͕͇͈̙̝̝̟͚̥̝̟͕͖̣̬̝̗̰̞͛̑́͋͐̎̏̆͋͋͒̌̊͐͗̽̈̍́̑̿́͂̔͐̊̀͒͊̓̚͘͜ͅF̴̢̧̮͕̮͍̺̗̱̠̘̭̩̈̆̇͊̋̀̏͗̽̉͛̎͋̄̂͒̐̍̋͐̇́̋̆͊̀͆̿̔̐͛̐͒̅͘͜͠ͅͅT̵̢̢̡̹͉̭̱̻̱̙̦̘͙͎̻͚̄́̾̀̅́́̿̀́̍̃̈́͂͘͘͝,̵̡̢̧̱͔͕̹͎̤̟̞̼͓̦͙̪͚͓̖͈̪̼͉̳͚̯̦̼͈̖͉̖̥͈̺̈́́̐̓̌̽̿́͘͝ͅ ̷̨̹̺̥̺͕͈̦̣̖͑̇͐̔͆͋̔͐͋͂̊̂̀̓̃͂̍͘̚͝L̷̨̡̧̳̮̤̗̘̗̝̤̝͎̙̭͓̰͖̠̜̰͚͓̠̰͈̗̝̪͍̞͔͚̬̙̄̈͋̔̌̌̀͜ͅͅͅË̸̛͔͓̗̞̝͔́̈̽̐͐͊́̇͆̇̐̆͗̐̽͋̍̀̄̒͌̅̎͂̌́̎̈͋̈́͘̕̕̚F̷̧̲̮̞̩̹̥̤̃̒͂͂̓͗́̕͘͜ͅͅŢ̸̢̨̛̛̳̩̼͈͉͇̭͈͖̼̱̭͚͎͎͕̦̮̭̖̼̂̔͌̾̆̅̽̓͒̈́̄̉́̉̅̌͊́̀̈́̐̈͒̒́,̸̡̧̧̨̛̛͍̝̬̪͚͕̭͓̭͖̥͍̟̜̞͚͇̯̲͕̬̖͖̮͔̫̯͙̰̬̱̠̝̂͆̀̇̓̂̍̆̇̾͂̄̆̾̀̌͊̆̅̾̓́̀̿̍̓͗̆̓̅̿̿̚̕͘̚͝͠͝͠͠ͅͅ ̴̢̡̨̨̨͍̹̯̼̭̮̱̤̱͓͇̺͍̜̞̱̖͖̔̈́͛̂̒̀̾̈́͗͂̽̒̉̅̋̃̈̽̂͂̋̈́̊̅̊̚̕̕͠L̵̢̡̡̢̰͎͇̖̣̦̳̹̬̱̟͖͉͕̙͍̪̙̱̩̬̥̜͔̝̲͈̫̜͕̓́̈́͂̈͛͑̏͒̏̅͌͗͆͆̈́̃͋͐̒̄̍͂̾̇̈́̂̐̌̍̓͒̒̊̆̆͑̉̕͜͝͝͝͝͠͝͝ͅͅḚ̵̛̛̪̣̯̭̻̟͕̥͎͕̬̠̜̟̗̘̗̮̬̗̤̖̰̝̺̺͍̠̹͓͙͇͙̪̻͚̐̏̍̾̑͒̃͒̿̋̔͂͐̍͗̇̄̽́͗̋̾̂͗̓̕͜͝ͅͅͅͅF̵̢̨̢̡̡̧̨͕͍͔͔̙̮̰̺͈̣͙̹̯̝̫͍̭̝̼̘̪̘̜̬͇̲̱̭͉͖̩̖̺͚̠͇͚̠̑̀̂͂͑͊̒̏͒͂̽ͅŢ̴̢̙̬̱̞̲̩̼̣̖̤͚̙͉̩̮͚̼̟̪͍͔̬̯͇̯̟̪͇̰͉̦̩͓̱̝̮̹̯̣̳̖̳͍̙̟̳̂̈́̓̀̔́͑̈́͑̉͆̋̀̈́͊͐͑͂̈́͌͒̐͗̈́͋̓͊̅̀͘͘͝͝͝,̷̡̡̧̛̫͓̰̱̻̗͚͓̤̘̲͕̬̤̰͙̱̻̦̘̗͕̙̪́̓̅̇̊̈́͛̈̔̊̀͌̈́̎̆̈́̽̋̾̕͜͝͝͠ͅͅ ̵̢͓̖͍̥̺̪̃̓̌̆͂̊͊́̑̇̇͋̎͊̿͐̅̾͋̾̋̉̾̑̇̓̕͘͝͝͝R̴̡̛͍͓̀̂̇̌͗̒̔̌͋̓͆́̈́̽̎̍̚I̴̢̡̯̖̦͚̭̻͈̺̝̲̘̤̥̫̳͍̳̟̰̮̰̬̞̯͈̓̋̂͒̀͂͐͋̈̾̍͗͌́̑̀̓̀̏͐̈̀̂̽̉͘ͅĢ̴̧̨̧̛̞̮̺̻̜͖̯̬͕̮̭̹͔̼̻̜̬̠̳̫̼̳̲̘̰̟̫̺̜̻̣̯̫̦̖̯̩̺̫̱̰́͒̃͆̀̈́͗̂̀̾͆̋̈̏̎̅̆̓̂̆̅̓́̔͛̌̃͛̽͘̚̕͜͠͠͝͝͝Ḧ̸̡̨̢̛̛͕̪͖̩͎͙̗͔̹̣̟̖̺̪͔̥̩̜͍̱̖͔͇̩̱̥͓͚̗̖̝͔̹̀͛͆̀̾͂̓͑̈̿͛̆̈́͗̅̾̽͒́͐̏̈́̓͊̂̊̐́͊́͛̍̽͘̚̚̕͘͜͜͝͝͝T̶̺͉̳̝̗̲̰̘̈͌,̸̡̢̡͎̤̙̥͔̤͍̼̫̭͇͇̙̭̭̖͕̱̥̗̼̒͛̽͆͑̍̓̏̐͆̑̏̀̂́̈́̊̈́͋͘͘̕͝͝͝ ̴͚̠̮̫̞͈͖̆͊͌́̀͂̓̐̈́͋͂Ļ̷̢̨̡̥̯͎̟̪̖̺̭̫̩͔̬̞͎͍̗̥͍͈̹̭͚͉̜̆̓̀͂̒̄̎́̄̂̍̀̿̇̏̒͑̾̆͑͘E̵̡̨̡̧̛̛̛̱̹̘̗̱̦͎̹̜͙͚̯͇̯̯͔͖͈̞̹̠̝̮͈͕͍̯̝̐́̒́̀́̆͐̑͂͗̏̐́̿̂̈́̍̀̈́̀͐͆͐͌̇̽̄́͗̌̌͆̂̒̆́͐̆́̅̚͜͝͝F̴̛̻̰͖̃͌̎̂͊́͌̂̂̀̎̊̍̔͐̊͛͐̈́̚͝͝Ṫ̷̢̨̡̨̢͍͚̮̫̬̫͔̘͓͍̙̙̫͉̘͍̪̪̤̖̥̦̩̣̖̤̥̣̻̬̰͈͙̪̖͓̝̈̆̕͜ͅ
I begged but nobody came so I started shooting. Bullet casings littered the floor but the more I fired, the more they surrounded me. "STAY AWAY!" They grabbed my gun and one of the stray bullets ricocheted off a steel beam. I felt a sharp pain in my side and instantly, the Shimmer kicked in, keeping my body alive even though I didn't want it to. I laughed. I wanted to cry but I laughed instead.
A rush of euphoria washed away the voices and ghosts and the pain, anxiety, and depression that came with them. The world turned pink and I felt safe again. "This is the shit, Fishbones! You should try it some–" My voice trailed off as I saw the apparition that remained in the room. "Why are you still here?" I asked in a whisper. I'm supposed to be high right now; the ghosts shouldn't be here anymore. "STOP STARING AT ME!" I grabbed a brick and threw it as hard as I could but instead of letting it phase through, the ghost blocked it with a clockhand.
"Oh…you're real. Oops, that's awkward," I giggled as the intruder stepped into the light. Ekko. Did he hear what I was screaming before? I'd die of embarrassment if he did. 'Save me.' I clamped my mouth shut with my hand. The words nearly came out like vomit. Only Powder could say something so weak and disgusting. I looked up at Ekko and wondered what he was thinking. I wished he had killed me on that bridge. "Bet you wish you killed me back on that bridge, huh?"
"Yeah, I do," he responded with a stone-cold look on his face. There was no hesitation in his voice. No more boyish hope in his eyes that Powder was still somewhere in me. He could do it this time. A light at the end of the tunnel.
"Don't you dare pussy out this time," I said with a genuine smile as I picked up my weapons. One last ride before the lights went out. That's the way I should go out – with a BANG! Not hanging from a rope or with cuts on my arms. Someone should get to have the joy of killing me, at least then I would have done one thing right in life.
My eyes watched with glee as he opened the cylindrical container that was strapped to his body. A Hextech gemstone spun inside the device and I was dying to know what it did. "Oooh looks like the Boy Savior has some new toys. Are you gonna show me what they do, Ekko? Like old times?" I laughed maniacally as I unloaded all the bombs and bullets I had left, reveling in the chaos and destruction one last time.
Blue lightning spewed out of his gadget and the space surrounding him warped like an optical illusion. Time sped up for him and he zigzagged through my attacks at blinding speed. While I normally hated being outshined, I had to give him credit because he looked like a fucking superhero. Even dopped with supernatural reflexes, I had a hard time keeping up with him. It felt like he was always just a second out of reach.
But a villain ought to always have one last trick up their sleeve; something big to unveil after an epic monologue. Unfortunately, Ekko didn't seem to have gotten the script because he wasn't giving me any room to breathe so screw it! As Ekko came in for the finishing blow, I dropped my minigun and pulled out Fishbones from over my shoulder. His eyes widened and his hand went to his device the same moment my finger squeezed the trigger. "Bye-bye!"
BOOM!
The explosion knocked me off my feet and I fell for what felt like an eternity. As I looked up, I saw the night sky transform into a bright blue cosmos illuminated by waves of green, purple, and red aurora borealis. The stars were carried away on their ebbs and flows, causing the constellations to lose their shapes and reform again. It was only then that I realized that the sky was turning backward at a rapid pace as if the hand of god had spun the atlas that was our world.
Just as soon as my back touched the ground, I phased right through the floor into a river of cold water. A voice echoed above me, 'Jinx is perfect,' and I sunk deeper and deeper. With each meter, my hair grew shorter, the ink of my tattoo washed away and I saw my reflection on the water's surface become younger. At some point, my younger self stopped and swam for the surface while I kept falling deeper into the darkness. I struggled to keep my eyes open but I was fighting a losing battle.
Was this death?
Or was this…a second chance?
GASP!
Pain. That was the first thought that went through my head when I woke up. Every single nerve in my body felt exposed to the open air and the agony was crippling. A slimy sensation emerged from the bottom of my feet and when I looked down, I was horrified to see a swarm of worms crawling up my body and into my head. Each one a new set of painful memories added to my already broken mind. How many times have I gone through this? How many more times would I have to suffer this? Again and again and again and again.
This must be hell. Was Ekko the devil? Only the devil could invent something so twisted. He locked me in a prison of never-ending torture while dangling the hope of a happy ending in front of me. This must be his ultimate revenge. Even if I were to die, he'd just reset and make me relive it all over again. Or maybe he really was still trying to fix it all. "HAHA!" Wasn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? And they said I was crazy! Isn't that funny? "HAHAHAHA!"
R̷̢̠̭̼͝Ơ̶̳̱̟̖̙̏͐̇̈̀͛͗̆̽̀̌́U̷̢̨̮͍̠̞̰̐̂̕Ņ̶͍̫̣̖̺̟̰̩̙̙̹͚̎̆͛̋͐D̷̨͔̘̬̱͋̋̆̍́͛́͝ ̷̧̱̜̫̮̘̝̘̼͔̬̊̽̏̅̓̃̈́̽͒ͅÅ̶̩̬͉̔͗̀̉̽̑̊̌̍̑Ń̶̡͈̜̮̼̗͉̝̳̞̺͖̩̄̆͌͋͐̓͆̎͊̃̚̚D̶̛̿͌̀̊͐ͅ ̸̨̙̩̥̻͖͓̼͉́̈̈̐R̷̨̡̛̻͍̭̹̽̎̆̓͆̿̌̓̉̈́̈̈̀̕Ơ̸͈̙̹̱̮͎̩̹̭̤̫͇̙̆́͂̿͒̈̈̀̀͋̽̕͘ͅU̵̝͖̩̜͈̿N̶̛̙͈̳͈͎̱͓̞̘̮̫̹͉̫̈́̃̊͒͌̔͛̉͆̅̉͠͝D̷̢̧̞͉̦̭̮͎̥̘̠̺̼̖̬̈̍̏̉͒̂͋͌́͝ ̵̟̰̪̤̗͙͔̤̭̩͆T̴̫̙̮͕͉͕̬̖̽͜H̷̛̛͍͕̯̫͙͍̰̪̮̪͕̹̤͕̆̓͝Ȩ̷̱̥̫̞̻͋̏̿̆̊͌̏ ̵̙͉̪͆͊̀̓͌͛Ć̸̢͖͎̱Ą̶̢̛̥̺̝͖̲̬̤̭̭͓͕̺͍̑̿̆̉̌̐͗̄͂̿̇Ŕ̴̹̑̏͊̋̊̽̚ͅǪ̵̛̞̫͇̮̦̞̤́̀͆͊͑̐̑̎̓͛͠Ȕ̶̡̯͚͎͔͙͙̬͓͈͊̈́͋͝S̸͇̺̞̣̟̟̗̣͓̜̀̐̏̇̓̈́̆͗͑̑͘̚̕͜͜͝E̴̛̱͍̼͍̬̲̹̝̤̍̆L̸̢̼͙̫̮͙̲͈̺̳̊̊̈́͂̓̕ ̵͓̳̜̺͔̱̘͌̀͊̑͋͋̎̿̔̽̀̑̈́̕ͅW̷̢̛̭̜͉͇̾̈́̉̿̌̓̓̚̕͝I̷̧̺͎̜̖̮̲͍͓̫͚̻̻̘͆͜T̵̛̫̣͕̞̿̍́͋́H̵̦̔͋̃͊̑̓́̾͘ ̸͇̭̹͎̹̪̬́͑̐̊͋̈́ͅͅN̴̯̰͆̓̎͘Õ̴̧̓ ̵̡̳̱̹̟̟͉̗̲͔͓͓͖͎͇̿̔́Ę̴̺̞͊̏̽͆̆͑̈̈́́̔͝͠S̵̡̜̟͎͚͔͎̺̝͕̲͉̝̔̐C̸͉͒̈́͐̎̂̇̓̎͠͝Ả̸͍̜̮̈́P̸̳͚̤͈͚͇̺͚̫̩͚̅͐̐͛̊̐̿̆̊͝͝͝E̷͎͉̹̩͛̀̍̓̋̀̇̊͊̑͊́!̷̛͙͕̠̠͎̞̫̪̫͇̫̝̂̌̌͐̃̊̽̀̾͝
"Whee!"
"Care to share what you find so amusing?" asked Singed with a frown.
"You wouldn't get it," I said as I shook my head and chuckled, "it's between me and him." Tears were coming out of my eyes from how hard I was laughing and I was seriously getting lightheaded. Dark spots flashed all across my vision and my skin turned a grayish tint. My breath just couldn't catch up and my body was wracked by a seizure. When the spazzing finally stopped, the room was filled with an eerie silence.
"Hmm, was the last dosage too high?" he pondered as he set his tools down on the table and leaned in to check if I was still alive or not.
Ṗ̵̗͔̭̄́͝Ş̶͖͚̥̫̜̳̠̝̱͙̈́̋̓̑̏̈́̌͂̿̑͗̀͛̑͜͜͠Y̴̧̦͖̪̼̥̙̣̅̅͊̅͐̀͛̆͑̓̅̌̓̋̕C̶͔̳̖͍̰͇͉͔̗̳͕͖̱̈́̀H̸̠̳͇͕̰̝͖͎̲̐̓̽̈́̇̀̚͝È̶̡̢̢̠͔̭̪͚͙͙͈̜̗͕̿ͅ!̸̭̤̰̱̍͂
Suddenly, two of my fingers hooked the sleeve of his coat and yanked the hand he was holding his weight with. "Wh…"
As he stumbled forward, I latched onto his throat with my teeth and tore it out like an animal. Warm blood poured out of the wound onto my mouth, down my chin, and into the inside of my top. Ptooey. "You're full of openings." His eyes were wide as he watched the piece of flesh hit the floor. One of his hands tried to plug the wound while the other reached for the missing piece as if he could just put it back. He tried to call for help but the only noise he could make was a wet choking sound.
Without any more supervision, I broke one of my arms free from the restraints and the rest came off easily. The throbbing pain felt mild in comparison to what I had just gone through but the Shimmer within my body healed it all the same. What bothered me more was the salty, iron aftertaste in my mouth and the sticky blood that was now cooling down on my skin. "You've gotta take care of yourself, doc," I said as I walked over to the miserable cretin with his own syringe in hand. "Here…have some medicine." I stabbed the needle into his neck and watched as his body convulsed for a few seconds before the light went out of his eyes. "Sweet dreams."
After the doctor died, I looked around the room and wondered what I should do next. The thought of getting back to Ekko and Vi was the first that crossed my mind but it elicited a war of conflicting emotions. All of a sudden, every iteration of Jinx had something to say and it was like my head was being split apart. The torture he has put me through is a hundred times worse than anything Singed could have done yet the affection that the Powder of this timeline has for him is still here.
He trusts me.
"Yeah, for now! Wait until he remembers all the shit you've done!"
He is there for me.
"It wasn't even supposed to be him that found you first!"
He l̴̲̭̫̺͎̥̣̥̺͋͋̆̓͋̂̈́̓͋̄ǫ̷̰̤̗̞̠͎̻̳̬͎̔͆̔͑͐̀͌̂͑̅ͅ-̴̟̔͗̇͌̾̀̋̍̉̊̈́̀̈́Ḥ̵̨̭͙̜̝̗͓̹͈͇̠͎͓̯̃͌̈́̐́́͗A̴̪͎̩̺̖̳̯͕̓̂̐͋̊͑͋͜ͅT̷̥͂̎͆̐͋͠v̷̩̥̭̖͔̥̰̉̌̔̆͠ͅE̷͇̭̻̜̲͙̯̐̆̊̓̉́͛͝S̷̢̢̤̜͈̳̘̠̠͎͖͕̘̒̀̽̒̓̓͆͐̎͂̈́̇̿ me.
"Fine, you want to see him so bad?" I rustled through Singed's clothes and picked out his keys. "I'll show you what he really is. Might as well have some fun before time boy resets everything again."
Wait!
"What now?!" I snapped my head around as if I would see Powder standing beside me but instead, it was the cage Warwick was in. She didn't say anymore but it was clear what she wanted me to do. I looked at the lock and then back down at the ring of keys in my hand. "Tsk. No more yappin' after this." The cage door swung open and I stepped in silently as the large wolf's body gently rose up and down with each breath. I needed to pull out the tubes from his chemical chamber but it was the very thing that was keeping the beast sedated. "Hmm…fuck it."
PSHHH!
"This thing is embedded on your back so it'll take a lot more effort to take it off but at least I made it stop pumping stuff into you. I can relate since I've had a lot of stuff pumped into me…wait, that didn't sound right." The chimera began to stir and his nostrils flared at the smell of blood on my body. He growled lowly as he raised his head and barred his fangs at me. "Are you going to hurt me, Mr. Wolf?" I put my hands up and did my best impression of puppy dog eyes. "You wouldn't hurt poor little Powder, would you?"
There was a flash of recognition within his eyes. A vague sense of familiarity that stayed his predatorial instinct. The drugs were no longer there to haze his mind and I took the opening to wrap my arms around his head. He was tense, perhaps scared that I would hurt him as Singed had, but the matching cuts and needle marks all over my body probably put him at ease. "I knew you wouldn't hurt me," I whispered in a lullaby tone as I ran my hand through his fur. "How about teaming up with me for a little while? I know I'm not your favorite but I'm still your little girl, aren't I…Vander?"
My footsteps echoed off the metal bar flooring as I approached his office and I found him in his usual thinking pose, with a glass of whiskey in one hand and his head in the other. I poked my head in the room and spied on him like a kid who couldn't fall asleep but was too scared to disturb their parent's work. How nostalgic. "Who's there?" Oops, looks like my boots gave me away. I bite down on my lower lip to stifle a giggle and stuck my upper half around the corner.
"It's me!"
His face remained calm but his eyes betrayed his shock as they darted around the room, looking for an escape and thinking of his next move. "How did you get out?"
"The doctor let me go. 'You're free now,' he said. 'Run free.'" I laughed at my own joke but Silco didn't find it as funny. "Alright fine, I ripped out his throat with my teeth. But it wasn't my fault, okay? He was pretty much asking for it, sticking his neck so close to me."
Silco swallowed nervously, "And my guards?"
"Oh they're also super dead," I said nonchalantly before lowering my voice to a whisper. "You should really hire some better guards. Someone real bad could get in here while you're alone."
There was a moment of silence as he looked at me. "Who are you?"
"We spoke not too long ago when you tortured me for information."
"Yet you're a different person."
'Don't cry. You're perfect.'
I grabbed his face with my hand and forced him to look me in the eye. "Do you remember me?" His familiar mismatched pupils stared into mine and I searched for any sign of the Silco I knew but found no recognition in them. "Of course not." The disappointment hurt more than I thought it would. It hurt more than the knife he tried to drive into my heart as I caught it with my bare hands.
The blade slid across the floor, leaving a trail of blood across the ceramic tiles. The pain helped clear my mind. This Silco wasn't my father; he could never be my father in this timeline. The only person in this world that still remembered me was Ekko and he wished I didn't exist. If I didn't exist then he would have his Powder back. If I didn't exist then Vi would have her little sister back. If I didn't exist then maybe there could be a happy ending for everyone.
But I do exist.
"You all want to get rid of me?" Laughter bubbled up from within as I wiped my bloody palm all over Silco's face. "Well fuck you! I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to carve my existence into this world for everyone to see and we can all suffer together." The crimson liquid smeared the makeup that was covering up the decay of his eye and once his face looked like a right mess, I pushed him back against the chair.
"If you are going to kill me then just get on with it."
"Me? Oh no, absolutely not. I'm not trying to relive that awful experience again, are you kidding me?" I said as I got up and walked to the door. "But him…I'm not so sure he's as easily convinced." My silhouette became replaced by that of a monstrous wolf on all four. Its nostrils flared as it followed the scent of my blood all the way to Silco. "No matter how hard you try, the monsters always find a way out."