The air felt thick. Ekko still wasn't sure whether or not Jinx was going to attempt to kill herself again or if he was finally getting through to her. She still hadn't spoken a word to him, only gave him a strange look.
Her eyes shifted to the makeshift time machine that he, Heimerdinger, and the Powder from another dimension had made. Ekko watched as a hint of curiosity filled her eyes. He followed her gaze to see her small signature monkeys circling the machine. Their eyes met and Jinx crossed her arms in expectation.
Ekko sighed. "I'll explain everything. Just…" his gaze travelled to the barely visible ground below them. "Take a step away from the edge."
Jinx's eyebrows raised, unimpressed. She also peeked over the edge, looking back at Ekko before stepping off. Ekko was quick, hand already on the handle to the machine, tugging hard and moving towards Jinx as she levitated back to her former position just four seconds ago. Ekko's hand was stretched out, ready to grab her arm this time if need be, but it seemed Jinx had other thoughts.
Her expression grew thrilled. "Time travel?!" She exclaimed.
Ekko's jaw dropped. "How did you—?"
"Well, time may be seamless for you, but I saw the way your face paint practically disappeared. You saved me from falling, just now, didn't you?" Jinx said smugly, her mood from a minute ago nearly unrecognizable.
"I told you I'd explain," Ekko said.
"Once again the boy savior can't help his true nature."
Ekko rolled his eyes at her words, but he was grateful when Jinx finally did move away from the edge of the platform towards the center of her lair. Her hand traced over drawings on the wall and she frowned.
"Out with it. What do you want from me?" Jinx asked.
The question briefly caught Ekko off guard. His mind flashed back to what felt like just hours ago, when Powder had asked him that same question. The difference in tones was surprising. He crouched in front of Jinx who was now sitting with her back against the center wall of her lair.
"The war between Piltover and Zaun is going to go down any minute now."
"Pshh," Jinx scoffed. "You think I didn't already know that? What, do you think I'll help Zaun and become Jinx the hero?"
"I'm not asking you to help Zaun. Vi's gonna be fighting in the war, and you know that. Help your sister, Jinx. Help me,' Ekko said, a tinge of desperation evident in his voice.
Jinx tilted her head at him. "I have a new name for a reason, Ekko. Any time I try to do something right, it all goes wrong."
Jinx's gaze fell, her fingers now tracing over the spray painted bunny ears on the floor of the platform. The smoke from the fire was becoming thicker, and Ekko knew he needed to get them out of there.
"You gotta keep on trying, Jinx. Maybe after this you'll think about changing that name back."
A mix of emotions ran through Jinx. Anger, hurt, guilt, shame. She'd come here to finally break the cycle, like Silco had told her. But that wasn't something she could just tell Ekko. He already thought she was crazy. She didn't need to add another reason to the already growing list. Was leaving Vi really the right thing to do?
It had to be. Jinx clutched her head as voices filled her mind. Vi was going to be much better off, not having to worry about her manic little sister anymore. Sure, she'd mourn, but she'd get over it. And when she did, she'd be doing good.
But what if something did happen to her during the war? Even if Jinx had gone through with her suicide mission, she couldn't forgive herself knowing she'd given up on herself when Vi needed her most. Maybe Ekko was right about this. She'd give it one more try, make it her new mission to keep Vi safe. And afterwards...
Jinx took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Fine. I'll fight to keep Vi safe. But don't think you can stop me from doing this once I've done that."
Ekko sighed in relief. He'd take what he could get. This was a step in the right direction. He hoped that explaining his experience in another dimension might help bring out the Powder in Jinx. He stood back up, extending his hand to her. Jinx took a few seconds before even looking at him, rolling her eyes at his gesture. She slapped his hand away and pushed herself up on her feet.
"C'mon, we can go out this way," Jinx said. "I still wanna know what my monkeys are doing on your machine there."
Ekko chuckled lightly. "You have no idea."
Hi :)
If you were disappointed with the ending or lack of Jinx and Ekko scenes after his trip to another dimension, then this is the story for you. Please let me know how you liked this chapter.