Chapter Text
Her shoulder screamed in pain from being dislocated und relocated in a matter of seconds after she crashed into the platform after Vander shut down and dropped back towards the hard ground with them.
And she felt as if she was being ripped apart. Vander… Or rather the monster that once was their father, had gripped her leg and stomach and weighted her down with all of his weight while Vi held her by her underarm and prevented them from dropping at least 50 meters.
But nothing hurt more that to see the pure devastation on her sisters face.
She only had on of the gloves left and couldn’t pull them back up. And the monster was still in the picture as well. It would attack as soon as it got solid metal under its claws.
„Let me go“ she finally screamed out. She had too. If the bolts holding the platform gave in she wouldn’t be able to save her sister. No matter how powerful the shimmer in her veins was, it wouldn’t be possible.
„NO“ Vi simply screamed back. Of course she wouldn’t just let her go. She was trapped in a cycle just like Jinx was. Destined to forever run on hope and wishful thinking, never to give up on anyone important to her.
A smile forced itself onto her face before she finally whispered „Trust me, please“
Vi’s eyes widened and she gritted her teeth.
She wouldn’t do it. A thousand thoughts shot through her brain, looking for another way to get both the monster and herself away from Vi. Away from the failing bolts in the wall.
But it happened. Vi opened her eyes, tears welling up in the corners, a forced grimace, a small smile on her lips before she replied almost inaudible.
„I trust you“
And then she let go.
Knowing that she didn’t have the time to linger on the moment she turned around in the monsters claw and took his face, her fathers face, into her hands for one last time. In the back of her consciousness she heard Vi scream but her focus was solely on the man in front of her. She gave him a last smile before focussing back on the quickly closer coming ground and pulled out her bomb. The same one she wanted to user for herself until Ekko gave her a new reason to continue fighting.
Pulling the trigger just meters from the ground she channeled all of the power left in her and pushed herself forcefully out of Vanders claws and used his body to catapult herself in one of the higher vent shafts that connected the core of the tower with its ventilation system. Barely inside she felt the burning heat graze her back, heard the deafening roaring of the explosion and felt the pressure wave pushing her further into the vent.
Then everything was silent before her ears started to ring and darkness crept up on her.
Vi couldn’t move. After the explosion she dared to look over the edge of the platform once, only seeing dust and a few metal pieces on the ground. Her sister nowhere to be found.
She couldn’t help but to lay back down and cry. It was her fault. In the end Jinx finally got what she wanted. Death by her hands. It was her who let go. It was her who trusted her. How could she have been so stupid? She had already tried to die by her hands! How could she think that she wanted to keep on living all of the sudden? Stupid Vi, always making the wrong decisions.
She didn’t know how long the was already laying on the platform before she opened her eyes after hearing a familiar sound coming closer. Her vision was still blurry but she would always recognize him.
Only when he tried to step off his board she found the energy to do anything other than to stare and to cry.
„Don’t“ she rasped out. Her voice coarse from screaming for as long as she did. „The platforms gonna come down if you step on it“
He quickly understood and retreated his foot and she follow his gaze shift from herself to the loose bolts in the wall.
„Right…“ he replied slowly before shifting his gaze back towards her and asking the question she already dreaded „Where is Jinx?“
Her tears multiplied again and with a choked voice she simply muttered „Gone.“
His brows furrowed, his lips started to quiver and he started to look around panicked „Gone? What do you mean Vi?“
„She blew herself up with Vander.“
His gaze shifted towards the ground of the tower.
„And she had told to trust me“ Vi continued before a laughter ripped itself from her throat. „And I was stupid enough to believe that she had a plan to get away from the explosion“
Ekko’s gaze shifted back towards her while she started to laugh almost as manic as her sister used to.
„She wouldn’t do that“ he finally replied after watching her for a few moments.
Her laughter ceased as quickly as it came. „And yet she did“
Ekko’s gaze rested on her for a few more seconds before drifting back towards the abyss underneath them. She could watch his eyes shift from left to right, searching every centimeter for a trace of her until they suddenly stopped, fixed on something she couldn’t see while lying on her back.
She slowly rolled over on her stomach and sat up before following his gaze towards some holes on the side of the tunnel.
Their eyes met again after staring and contemplating for a while and he simply muttered „I’m gonna check it“
Vi followed his slow descend and felt a tiny spark of hope lightening once again.