10 - Ekko

The distinct sound of metal clanking on metal woke me up. I opened my eyes, finding myself on the couch. I told Jinx to sleep in my bed after we fixed the goddamn lock and she surprisingly didn't argue with me. No complaints, though.

When I sat up, the first thing I noticed was her bright pink hair. That was something I had to get used to. She was picking at the purifier on my desk. My legs walked me over to her.

"Good morning." I said, kindly.

"Shhh. I'm almost done." What a nice way to greet someone at this early hour. It seemed like she figured out that the purifier was broken and was attempting to fix it.

"I appreciate your help with this, but it's alright. I can do it, you're unfamiliar with the mechanism"

"Ah, don't worry. I figured it out. The motor was broken, so I fixed that, and the connectivity on the transmitters were weak, that's why the alarm system didn't go off when the motor died." She looked up at me, removing her safety goggled. "I got this, you can go back to bed, sleeping beauty." She smirked. 

"Thanks, but I prefer to be productive." I rolled my eyes. "I'll make us breakfast."

"Woo! Best chef in town." She added. I laughed in response.

__

"Well," I started, opening the door to the new apartment. "This is it."

Jinx looked around the space admirably. Shivers was all that I felt. I couldn't believe she was here. That she was going to live here.

"There's tons of room. We can do our research here. Your cave is far too cluttered." I couldn't help but feel offended by her remark, although, she had a point. I agreed.

"You can bring your multiverse device too. Get it out of your way." She offered. A drop of anxiety rushed through my blood. I'd rather her not talk about that. In an attempt to close the subject I said that it better stay at my place. My effort failed.

"Why?" She asked. "What is so special about it that you keep hiding it from me?" The drop running through my blood transformed into a pool as she went on.

"Why are you making it anyway? What's this obscure desire to find another universe?" An ocean. "And based off of the dates in your notebook, you've been doing this for at least five years. Why do you-"

"Stop!" I couldn't take it anymore, I had to shut her up. "We will work on the arcane destruction wherever you wish." Ending the conversation I turned to leave.

"If another universe does exist," she started, "it's possible that the arcane was never discovered there."

"So?" 

"No one there knows about what the gemstones can do, meaning no one bothers looking for them."

I remembered collecting pieces of the arcane in the alternate universe. No one has touched them all those years...

Triggered by my lack of response, Jinx edged me, "You catching on there, Mister?"

"We could hide the gemstones there... Jinx, you're a genius." I turned back to her and watched her sarcastically place her hands on her hips. I smiled. Then, I felt my smile fade away. Hope left me just as quickly as it came, if not quicker. I was not ready to hit Jinx with the realization that had just hit me: her plan would not work.

"Now," she began, "you obviously don't like talking about it, but let me just ask—what's the problem with the device? What's it missing?"

I sighed in despair. She just asked the question I kept asking myself all these years. Only difference was that I knew what was missing. A brutal fight started within me: one thought was urging me to tell her the whole story, while the other engaged in disclosing only the minimum. 

"It's missing a gemstone." I finally answered. Jinx opened her mouth to speak, but almost instantly changed her mind. The dilemma was clear. We can't use the gemstones to hide the gemstones. 

"It doesn't respond to other power sources, believe me, I tried them all."

"Okay... well then, I guess we should start easy. Let's fire it up with a gemstone." She said, casually while reaching in her pocket. My eyes widened.

"You understand that this is highly illegal."

"The other day someone was surprised I was worried about risk, no?" She mocked me. My vocals let out a quick hum, admiring her wittiness. Excitement suddenly wrapped me from all around. There was something to look forward to, somewhere to input ambition. I looked into her eyes, silently thanking her for this opportunity. Her simple presence was enough for me to believe that there's a God who creates angels and frees them into the world. Perhaps he sent her to me.

I figured my lengthy stare might have made her uncomfortable, since she started to awkwardly play with her disorienting, pink hair. "We can start today?" She said.

"Jinx, this could take years..."

She shrugged. "I'm in no rush."

"What about Bilgewater?" I asked. Considering her involvement there, she probably would want to return.

"There's nothing there for me to go back to." A saddening mood consumed her. I let the reason of her sorrow remain a mystery. I nodded, accepting the situation, trying to process the circumstances.

"Okay." I finally said, thinking out loud. "I need to get some work done, but I'll come by in the evening." She said something, but I wasn't listening. "Oh, almost forgot..." I pulled out a card from my shoulder bag that I prepared earlier today, giving it to her. "Take this. It's a temporary slip to get food and supplies around here. As long as you don't request anything outside of the written region, you're good. When people get to know you and start to trust you, you won't need it anymore. As I said, just temporary." 

When she took the slip, I noticed her mechanical middle finger. That worried me: it could be a coincidence that her facial features looked a lot like Jinx's, but with a second coincidence, such as matching fingers, could cause skepticism. I made a mental note to get her gloves. She thanked me for the slip, and I left.

__

I headed to the Core after dropping off the water purifier at Sector #3. There was some work to do around the office, so I did that before moving on to Jinx's file. It didn't take me long to write up because I left all elaborate/explain questions blank. Just wrote the bare minimum.

As I was placing the file into the storage cabinet, Scar walked in.

"That's your girlfriend's file?" He asked. God, he was annoying.

"She's not my girlfriend, cut it off, will you?"

"Well give me a name, I don't know what to call her." He said innocently. I told him it's Jinny, he said it was a pretty one.

"Have you talked to Mika at all?" I asked him, curious.

"Yeah, I tried, but he wouldn't tell me what made him so angry. Says he's not allowed to say."

Mika could be mad, but he sure was good at keeping secrets. Smart little guy.

"You know, Vi came by today." Scar continued. I sent him a confused look, pushing him to explain.

"Apparently, you've been acting odd lately. She came to find out more information from me." Pause. "Why didn't you tell me you've been robbed, man?"

"Now you too! I wasn't robbed! My lock broke, I was replacing it." I defended myself, frustrated.

"Okay, okay. Calm down, buddy. Don't stress."

"Thanks for the advice, but I have to go." I grabbed my bags, and left. "Bye, Scar."

A few minutes passed when I realized that I left my watch in the storage room. I cursed under my breath, realizing I had to go back. Scar was on my nerves already, so the thought of having to see him again without the chance to cool off was not a pleasant one. I took a deep breath, gathered myself and headed back.

When I entered the storage room, I found Scar's back facing me. He had a file open in his hands. I felt tension build in my stomach. He wasn't an investigator, nor a member of the crew. He had no right reading files. He shut it the moment he noticed I returned, but that instance was enough for me to see who's file it was. Jinny's.

"Scar. What are you doing." I spoke quietly and seriously.

He answered with such confidence, it made me sick. "The crew asked for a file. I came to grab it."

"You were reading a file. Her file." I said, addressing both issues at once. A mix of extreme dejection and resentment filled every inch of my entire being. He didn't trust me and felt the need to go as far as breaking the most standard rules in this community. How did our loyalty to one another deteriorate this rapidly?

Scar sighed. "You are hiding things from me. Not just me: Vi, the crew. There's barely any words on this file. You even have Mika keeping his mouth shut for you."

"If I am hiding something, there must be a good reason. You are not to judge my decisions without knowing anything."

"Tell me then! So that I know!" He yelled. "I'm starting to think you'll get killed for whatever you're hiding. At least I can back you up if I know!"

It was as if steam was exiting my nostrils. My breathing was so thick and warm.

"I won't give you away. No matter how shitty your situation is. Just tell me."

He wasn't going to back off. Not now that I had admitted my secrecy. The only way out was to tell him.

However, that didn't mean I had to disclose everything...

A/N: Happy new year! I've been reading recent comments and y'all are so lovely <333 there's so many Ekko x Jinx fanfics out there, I can't express how happy I am that you chose to read this one :) so thank youuu! I will not let you down teehee, at least, I hope so :D

Short note this time, nothing to share except gratitude :)) <3

Word count: 1597