Fanfic #221 The Ink Is Dry by ProdigalSnake(Arcane)

This fanfic is an au where Ekko found powder first instead of Silvio. I really like this fic because it's an interesting concept and it has interesting story elements as the story progresses.

Synopsis: I hate the rain. They say it washes away the pain of yesterday but all it has ever done for me is bring more of it. When Vi asked where they took Vander, deep down I knew it was going to rain again tonight. What if Ekko had found Powder before Silco?

Rated: T

words: 40k

https://archiveofourown.org/works/35622181/chapters/88810858

Here's the first chapter:

EKKO I

I hate the rain. They say it washes away the pain of yesterday but all it has ever done for me is bring more of it. When Vi asked where they took Vander, deep down I knew it was going to rain again tonight. Cold water seeped through my shoes as I ran as fast as possible toward the old cannery. Benzo once said, 'If you change nothing, nothing will change.' Twice I have lost to the rain, but this time was going to be different.

By the time I arrived, half the building had been blown to hell with the flames threatening to swallow the other half. People were so busy running out that nobody cared to stop the kid running in. The smoke was so dense that it would have been impossible to breathe without the oxygen mask I picked up from the dead enforcer. Unfortunately, it did nothing to protect my eyes from the exposure or help me find my friends.

Navigating through the dark smog was difficult enough as is but to make matters worse, the building was literally falling apart. The sound of croaking steel was the only warning I got before a burning column came crashing down. I rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed but the scattering embers caught my exposed skin. The scalding pain made me scream in pain, but I gritted my teeth and pressed on.

If any of my friends were still alive, I wasn't going to let them be buried in this fiery inferno. Suddenly, I heard a piercing cry, "Violet! Please!" Powder. Her voice jumpstarted me into a full sprint, the pain of the burns forgotten. Never have I heard her sound like that. When I turned the corner, I found her kneeling alone on the ground, crying and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Powder!" I rushed to her side and before I could even ask if she was okay, she threw herself at me all but tackling me to the ground. Her small arms desperately wrapped around my body and all I could do was hug her back, whispering gently like my mother used to do. "It's okay, I'm here now. It's all going to be okay."

"Vi…she…she left me…I only wanted t-" Her broken gasps for air turned into coughs as smoke invaded her lungs. I quickly pressed an oxygen mask onto her face and finally, she looked up at me. Her face was stained with dirt and blood, but it was the crippling sadness within her eyes that was the most contrasting to the Powder I knew.

"Come on, Blue," I said as I got us on our feet, "I'm getting us out of here."

"Hello, children." A chill ran down the back of my spine as I heard that soothing voice. I immediately turned around and found myself face to face with the monster that had Benzo killed. The man with the devil's left eye. His gaze moved to Powder and I instinctively stepped in front of her. "Where's your sister?"

"Powder, run!" I yelled as I charged at him full force, pulling out my wrench for a makeshift weapon. But I was just a kid and not everyone is a natural-born fighter like Vi. One of his goons slammed his fist into my face and I felt blood pour down my nose. I was tossed aside like a doll causing the contents of my bag to spill all over the ground.

"Ekko!"

"I'll ask one more time," said Silco as he brandished his bloody blade. "Where is your sister?"

The world was spinning around me and I wasn't even moving. My nose was broken and it hurt like a bitch but at that moment, nothing was worse than seeing Powder so scared. I spat out the blood in my mouth and reached for one of the aerosol cans rolling around. "Hey dumbass," Silco turned around and the look on his face was worth a hundred broken bones, "catch."

BOOM!!!

The flash of fire and sound gave me the opening I needed. I reached for Powder's hand and the moment she grabbed on we were off. Silco roared like a madman but by then it was already too late, we were gone. By the time we got back to the undercity, my lungs were screaming for air and my legs were ready to give out under me but we couldn't stop yet. Powder looked ready to pass out but she still held onto my hand and kept pace.

We ducked through narrow dark alleys to avoid being seen by anyone who could be in Silco's pockets. Streets were swarmed with bodies as The Lanes was up in arms that night over the enforcer's threat at The Last Drop. Tension was already running high over the search for Vi's gang but now it was being dialed to eleven with Vander MIA and explosions loud enough to wake up the city. The undercity needed a leader now more than ever.

Eventually, we made our way back to Benzo's and although all I wanted to do was crawl into my bed, Silco could be right behind us and more enforcers could be coming to check on the dead ones. We couldn't stay here. "Grab as much stuff as you can and bring it to the Wheelie. We'll need to find somewhere safe to stay for the night." Powder nodded but her eyes were still hollow and sapped of life. I wanted to ask what happened but there would be time for that later.

The first thing I did was run up to my room and pull out the box of belongings I hid under my bed. It was all that I had left of my old house; a few photos and my father's old broken stopwatch. I had to leave so many pieces of memories behind and now I would have to do it again. The thought of Benzo and my parents made me want to cry again but every second mattered. I gathered the parts I thought were useful or could be sold and stepped out of the shop for the last time.

By the time I came out, Powder was already outside waiting for me beside the Wheelie. "Where to now?" she asked. We needed to lay low somewhere safe, preferably with someone we could trust. Not many places like that down in the undercity but luckily Vander's name still meant something. Passersby gave us strange looks as we rolled up to the neon doors of the most famous brothel in the undercity.

Madam Eva, the yordle brothel-keeper, was surprised when she first saw us but was quick to welcome us in. A cup of hot tea was set before us along with warm blankets to wrap ourselves in. "I heard what happened at Benzo's, I'm glad at least the two of you are alright." She turned to look at Powder, "Vander, is he…" When Powder shook her head without looking up, Madam Eva's face grew more somber. "I see. Things are going to get hard around here without him looking out for us."

"Silco is going to pay for this. He's going to have The Lanes to answer to."

"It may not be so simple, my boy. Silco has the muscle and he has the money."

"But Vander was a hero!"

"Vander was a peacekeeper and war is brewing on the horizon," said the yordle as she took another puff of smoke. "Human life is short. They are quick to forget the past." At that moment, one of the masked workers entered the room and looked at Madam Eva. "Rest up children, you've both had a long night," she said as she got up off her seat and stepped out.

I turned to Powder who still had her head in her arms. "Cheer up Blue, we can go look for the others tomorrow."

"There are no others."

My heart sank at the realization that Milo and Claggor didn't make it either. I should have never followed that man home then Vi would have never stolen from him and none of this mess would have started in the first place. "What about your sist-"

"She's not my sister anymore! She left me! I never want to see her again!"

Her voice was full of venom but the tears in her eyes when she looked up told a different story. She wasn't fooling anyone, least of all herself. "You don't mean that," I said quietly as I held her angry gaze.

"She hit me. She's never hit me before. Ever." The anger gave way to sadness as tears started rolling down the side of her cheek. My heart clenched as she let down her walls and showed how much she was hurting at that moment. "She hates me now."

"No, no, no," I wrapped her up in my arms and covered both of us with my blanket as if it would protect us from everything bad that's outside. "Vi loves you more than anything in this world, Powder. You know that better than anyone."

"I really messed up this time, Ekko. The monkey bomb…I didn't know it would be like that…"

Not everything she said for the next little while made sense or was coherent but I listened. Some things just need to be let off your chest so that it doesn't suffocate you. I caressed the back of her head like Vi did as she fell asleep beside me. I wondered to myself if anything would have changed if I went with them or if I would have ended up dead myself. I wasn't able to save Milo, Claggor, or Vander but at least I was able to save you Pow-Pow.

Just as I was about to close my eyes for the night, I heard Madam Eva's voice coming from the corridor outside. I thought about ignoring it but all of a sudden I was overcome with paranoia. What if she had sold us out to Silco? She said it herself, people are quick to forget the past. I carefully set Powder's head down on the couch and snuck out to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"We should tell them."

"Not tonight. They have already lost so much today."

"You won't be able to shelter them forever. Not even Vander could do it. Silco will spread the word too. He's nothing if not opportunistic when it comes to throwing mud on topside's reputation."

"How could the enforcers just kill an unarmed girl like that?"

I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach and I wished I had never gotten up. "Kill who?" I froze as I heard Powder's voice behind me. She pushed her way into the room and asked again. "Who was killed?"

"Oh sweetheart," said Madam Eva as she forced herself to face Powder. "I'm so sorry."

"Who did the enforcers kill, Madam Eva," asked Powder as her voice broke. "Tell me. Tell me it's not my sister."

"Vi's body was seen being taken away by the enforcers. Your sister is dead, child."

"No, no, no, that's not true!" she screamed as she ran out of the door.

"Powder!"

I chased her outside and for the second time that day, I found her crying alone on the ground. "Please give her back! I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said! Please give my sister back, I'll do anything! I'll do anything…" When I saw her, I felt rooted to where I was standing unable to approach her. After all, what could I say or do that could be of any comfort to her? I looked up at the sky and begged whatever divine entity was out there, 'Let me go back in time and fix this. Please. Just once.' But they were deft to my prayers as they were to hers. The heavens only blessed the fortunate with the sun. All it has for people like us is the cold rain.