Riding through Zaun on a circular vehicle were Powder and Ekko, weaving through the chaotic streets with reckless speed.
"Okay, Ekko, I'm getting dizzy—can we slow down? I'm so tired of bouncing from place to place," Powder groaned, clinging tightly to the handlebars.
"I was just thinking of heading back to Benzo's anyway," Ekko replied, smirking as he suddenly sped up, steering hard toward their final turn.
As they rounded the last corner near Benzo's shop, something darted into their path.
Their vehicle slammed into it.
Powder and Ekko held on for dear life, gripping the frame to keep from being thrown off.
But the red hillbilly who'd stumbled into the road wasn't as lucky.
His body flung violently, and his head scraped along the rough, trash-littered ground—gravel, broken glass, and bits of rusted metal tearing at his scalp as he skidded to a halt.
Getting off the vehicle, Powder and Ekko stumbled toward the red hillbilly, wide-eyed.
A dark blood trail marked the path his head had scraped across the trash-littered ground—glass, gravel, and rusted metal had torn into his scalp.
Ekko was already panicking. "What do we do, Powder?!"
"Why are you asking me that? You hit him!" Powder snapped, covering her mouth as she nearly gagged at the sight.
Ekko paced in a tight circle, clutching his head. "I didn't see him—he just came outta nowhere!"
Powder crouched a little closer, grimacing. "I think he's dead did we just kill someone."
"You think?!" Ekko yelped.
She leaned in just a little more, eyes scanning the mess of blood and broken glass—then froze.
Sticking out from beneath the body was a red tail, matted and streaked with blood.
Her breath caught.
It was him—the boy who had eaten with them earlier.
She barely even spoke to him. What was his name again? Jonathan.
Because he looked too much like someone from her nightmare.
And now he was lying face-down in the dirt, glass in his head and a trail of blood behind him.
"What do we do, Ekko?" she said, her voice small.
Ekko shook his head, trembling. "I—I don't know. I didn't mean to hit him, Powder. I swear."
He ran a hand down his face, eyes darting to the trail of blood. "I was just trying to get us back to Benzo's quick. He came outta nowhere—I didn't even have time to swerve!"
She stared down at Jonathan, guilt sinking into her stomach.
"We can't just leave him here," she whispered. "Even if he's… even if he's dead."
Both of them looked ahead—Benzo's shop just a block away, its old sign swaying faintly in the polluted breeze.
Ekko swallowed hard, wiping sweat from his brow. "Alright… we'll take him there. Maybe… maybe Benzo will know what to do."
He stepped behind Jonathan's limp body, careful not to look too long at the glass in his head. "I grab this leg, you grab the other."
Powder hesitated, her stomach turning. "Fine. Just… be careful. Don't go too fast."
"Not planning on it," Ekko muttered, his voice tight with nervousness as he crouched down beside Jonathan's body. He tried to steady his breathing. "On three."
They both steadied themselves, staring at the unconscious boy between them.
"One…" Ekko whispered, his hands gripping Jonathan's leg.
"Two…" Powder's voice was shaky as she crouched down to grab the other leg.
"Three!" They pulled in unison, their movements careful, dragging Jonathan's limp body across the rough, trash-littered ground.
Every scrape of glass against the dirt made Powder wince, and she tried not to look at the bloodstained trail they were leaving behind.
The weight of Jonathan's body felt like an anchor, but they pressed on, dragging him toward the safety of Benzo's shop.
The door creaked as they pushed it open, Jonathan's limp body dragging heavily behind them. They shuffled inside, the dimly lit shop filled with the hum of old machinery and gadgets scattered around. The faint smell of oil and metal lingered in the air.
They closed the door with a soft thud, the weight of their actions settling in. Powder's eyes scanned the cluttered shop, glancing over the strange gadgets and tools stacked on every surface.
"Where's Benzo?" she asked, a slight edge of panic in her voice.
Ekko looked around, brows furrowing. "He said something about going to Vander's. I thought he'd be back by now."
"Wait here, I'll go get Benzo," Ekko said, determination flashing in his eyes.
With that, he turned and headed back outside, leaving Jonathan and powder inside the shop.
Once outside, he quickly made his way to the circular vehicle and climbed in. He looked back toward the shop, his mind racing. "I'll come back with Benzo, and hopefully, we can get this whole thing sorted out."
He muttered to himself, trying to calm the panic rising within him as he started the vehicle and sped off toward Vander's.
——————————————
Coming back from the last drop, Ekko was riding the circular vehicle, but Benzo, too big for it, had taken Vi instead. Vi held on tightly, her curious gaze fixed on Ekko.
"So what did you guys do this time?" Vi asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ekko sighed, his hands tight on the controls. "It's easier to show than explain," he muttered, tension creeping into his voice.
He brought the vehicle to a stop at the bloodstain, the dark trail streaking toward the shop like a warning.
Vi's eyes locked onto it instantly, her casual air vanishing as her expression turned serious.
"Where's Powder!?" she snapped.
"She's inside the shop," Ekko said quickly, pointing toward the door.
Vi followed the trail with her eyes, her jaw tightening. She rushed to the shop, boots crunching against the grime of the street. At the door, she paused only for a second, taking a breath—bracing for the worst.
But as soon as she opened the door, she was nearly knocked backward.
Powder lunged at her, arms wrapping tight around Vi's waist.
Vi froze for half a second, then let out a shaky breath and returned the hug, her hands gently smoothing over Powder's back.
Ekko stepped inside just behind them, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh… I probably should've said something."
Vi pulled back from Powder slightly, her hands moving quickly to check her for injuries, her eyes scanning for blood.
"You're not hurt… then what's with the blood trail, little man?" she asked, turning to Ekko
"We, uh… hit someone with the vehicle," Ekko admitted, wincing.
"I wasn't driving," Powder chimed in quickly, raising both hands in self-defense.
Vi shot Ekko a look. "Seriously?"
"It was an accident! He came outta nowhere!" Ekko said, throwing his hands up. "We didn't know what to do."
Vi's expression tightened, her voice low and serious. "Where is he now?"
Powder pointed toward a cluttered corner beside Ekko's gadgets. "I hid him there."
Vi didn't waste a second. She marched over. Ekko followed behind her, heart pounding.
Lying there, half-covered by a tarp and surrounded by scattered scrap, was the red-haired boy—Jonathan.
Unaware to everyone, deep inside his skull, something was happening—something unnatural.
Tiny sparks of movement flickered within the torn brain tissue. Like threads weaving themselves back together, neurons began reconnecting, tissue knitting slowly, methodically. His brain was regenerating, silently rebuilding itself in the dark.
Vi stared at the body in silence, her eyes narrowing as they traced the shape of the red tail.
It clicked.
"This is the guy from Jericho's," she muttered. "The one Powder was freaked out by."
She glanced at Powder, who shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.
Vi crossed her arms, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth despite the situation. "Well… I guess that's one way to get over your fears," she said, trying to lighten the mood.
Ekko didn't get it so he looked confused.
Powder didn't laugh. She just looked at the body again, that uneasy weight pressing in on her chest.
"I didn't mean for this to happen," she mumbled.
Vi noticed Powder's expression, her attempt at humor falling flat. She sighed, walking over to her. "I know you didn't, Powder," she said softly. "But it happened. We can't change that now. We just need to figure out what to do next."
Ekko still seemed confused by Vi's comment, but he sensed the tension in the room. "So, what do we do now?"
Vi rubbed the back of her neck, her expression serious. "I'll hide his body in an alley. Just hope he wasn't important to anyone who'll come looking for him."
Powder and Ekko both looked down, the gravity of the situation settling in.
Vi took action as she gave her orders. "Clean the blood. Don't tell anyone about this—just forget it ever happened."
Ekko and Powder nodded, silently agreeing to the weight of Vi's words.
Vi carefully lifted the body, her movements deliberate and heavy with responsibility. With a determined expression, she turned and left the shop.
As Powder and Ekko started to clean the blood inside, Vi carried the body to an alley behind the shop.
Vi carefully tossed the body against the wall—he was already damaged, so it shouldn't have mattered.
"Ow," a groggy voice mumbled.
Vi froze.
Her eyes widened as the body twitched, a low groan slipping from his throat.
"What the hell?" she muttered, her heart skipping a beat.
Crane slouched against the wall, one hand weakly pressing to his temple as his head began to slowly knit itself back together. The gash along his scalp had partially closed, bone and skin mending with eerie precision—but parts of it still glistened raw, and the healing was far from complete.
He winced, disoriented, eyes fluttering open in confusion. "What… happened?" he croaked, voice raw and uneven.
"Are you even alive?!" Vi blurted, staring at him in disbelief. Her eyes locked onto the glass still jutting out of his skull, glittering with dried blood under the alley's dim light.
Crane blinked at her slowly, dazed. "Are you alive?" he asked, his voice rough. As he spoke, the glass shards began to push themselves free from his head with quiet, sickening cracks and pops, clattering to the ground one by one.
Vi just stared, frozen. "…Yeah. I think I am alive," she said, almost unsure now.
Crane's eyes flickered with a strange clarity as his mind pieced itself together. "René Descartes, is that you?" he rasped, his words laced with dry humor as his brain worked through the complex process of regeneration.
Vi let out a sharp breath and rolled her eyes. "Who? Actually, nevermind—get up," she said, her voice firm but with a hint of concern.
She slipped an arm under Crane's and hoisted him up, steadying his weight as he leaned against the wall.
As she adjusted her grip, she glanced at him sideways. "Do you… remember what happened to you?" she asked carefully, hoping he didn't.
"I… uh, don't recall," Crane muttered, blinking slowly. His eyes were unfocused, and his voice carried a distant, hazy tone. Inside his skull, signals fired off wildly—his brain struggling to reconnect pieces that hadn't fully regenerated yet.
Vi let out a quiet exhale, more relieved than she'd admit. "Good. Let's keep it that way," she mumbled under her breath.
"Did you say something?" Crane asked, his head slightly tilting, brows furrowed in confusion.
"…No. You must be hearing things," Vi replied quickly, already turning away as she started walking, keeping a firm grip under his arm to steady him. "Come on, let's get you somewhere before you pass out again."
They started making their way out of the alley, Crane limping slightly with Vi supporting most of his weight.
"Where are you taking me?" Crane asked, his voice still hoarse, eyes flicking around warily.
"Just to a shop," Vi replied smoothly, keeping her tone casual. "So you can relax."
She didn't mention Powder or Ekko—no point in making him think too hard. Truth was, she just needed them all in the same room so the kids could stop thinking they'd killed someone.
As they walked toward the shop, Crane's exterior finished healing—cuts sealed, bruises gone, and the glass wounds no longer visible. But inside, his brain was still catching up, reconnecting thoughts and memories at a sluggish pace.
He gently shrugged Vi's arm off, straightening with a slight wobble. "I can walk now. I'm not a puppy."
Vi paused mid-step, raising a brow. She watched him stumble a little ahead of her, then smirked and muttered under her breath, "Could've fooled me."
Jogging ahead, she reached the shop first and pulled the door open.
Inside, Powder and Ekko looked up from where they were still scrubbing the floor.
"Vi—did you hide the body?" Powder asked, wide-eyed.
Vi stepped aside, letting Crane shuffle in behind her.
"Not exactly," she said with a shrug.
"…"
Powder and Ekko stared, mouths hanging open, completely speechless.
In the thick silence, Crane lifted a hand. "He—"
"YOU'RE ALIVE?!" they both shouted, eyes wide in shock as they took in the sight of the boy they ran over—standing, talking, and looking perfectly fine… aside from his dirt-covered clothes.
"I think therefore—"
"Yeah, he's alive," Vi cut him off. "You two overreacted for nothing."
Ekko ran up to him, dropping his cleaning supplies in a panic. "I'm so sorry," he said, his voice full of guilt.
"For what?" Crane asked, still massaging his head, his expression a mix of confusion and mild discomfort as his brain continued to regenerate internally.
He looked between Vi and Ekko, waiting for an explanation.
"Nothing," Vi quickly interjected, her voice smooth and casual. "He's just… confusing you with someone else," she said, hoping Crane wouldn't remember.
Crane's eyes sharpened, his expression clearing as the last piece of his brain fully regenerated.
A sudden realization hit him, and he smirked. "You totally ran me over," he said, his voice dripping with dry amusement.
Vi clicked her teeth in frustration, cursing under her breath. Her plan had failed. "I was hoping you wouldn't remember," she muttered, a little defeated.
Ekko and Powder exchanged nervous glances, the weight of the situation settling back in. "You're… really okay?" Powder asked hesitantly.
Crane cracked his neck, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "As I said before, if I think I'm alive, I'm alive."
Ekko crossed his arms, his brow furrowed. "Being alive and being okay are different."
Crane straightened up, his smirk returning. "Then I'm great, okay?" He paused, eyeing them all. "And I would like some compensation from you guys."
Vi let out a short laugh, shaking her head. "Haha, no."
———————————-
The Minecraft movie was so good.