8 Mylo’s Ultimatum

“Okay, got it. I’ve got it,” Mylo encouraged Ekko. “It’ll be fine, no problem.”

“If anything happens, I will grab you really fast and get you out,” Ekko said to him. Ekko had checked out everything he could, and he found out two things while he studied the situation.

He stuck around that woman who was begging Jinx for information. He only had to stay hidden behind a tree for five minutes before she started to breakdown, clearly remembering and even saying names.

The runes that stuck around for a short prevented time manipulation.

He also learned the longer he was in an area, the bigger and more wide spreading the effect became. It also lasted for longer protection.

He also learned unfortunately? He could give people some sick fevers. The wild runes probably caused them, giving people a terrible flu. Touching. Lingering. Too close.

Parallels really didn’t like each other. So the best way to get her out, was to be as simple as possible. Buy her.

Since he was a lot more limited in the parallel, Ekko found his universe’s Meddler to see what he needed to learn. And? He was one bad mother fucker, in both morals and magic. So was the whole squad of magical creature holders.

A real name couldn’t be found for him, or a real location. He was hard to actually catch, preferring to have others watch his property in different places in time. So, even if Ekko managed to find the other world’s Meddler, he would be a fake anyhow. The real thing rarely came out unless something went wrong.

And when they found him? This guy wasn’t even human, he was some corrupted animorph form. That meant he could end up being very strong.

He’d have different people buy and sell things for him, which let them not be sold themselves into the system. He did have certain prizes though that were not for sale.

While learned all of this language, he involved Mylo and Claggor more too. He found out that instead of losing Vi, Powder lost everyone else. Mylo, Claggor, and Vander. She had been raised by Silco, but not well.

All of that shit already plagued her life before this crap! It’s like eternity decided since he fixed every other Powder out there, one of them had to get the brunt of everything. Well, screw that! He was finding a way out for her.

Even if he had to drag her into his own dimension, he would figure it out. Though, how to do that when she was immune to the Zero Drive was a big question, he would figure it out.

The Meddler’s best tricks were also going to be his undoing. He knew guys for hire who messed around in time for clients who paid well to him. He kept his creatures on the worst leashes because he always claimed that he could manipulate people to forget the people they love, to cause them misery, or even make them kill each other.

He even held a guilt spell over the few that escaped him, to drive them crazy with the voices of people they wronged.

Claggor and Mylo were essential since they weren’t alive in that dimension. It meant they didn’t produce wild runes. If they saw Jinx too, they could make her feel better about what happened, which would lessen the guilt spell.

They were also supposed to give Jinx a note from Powder. She wanted to write to herself.

While this all seemed impossible, it was the guys for hire that would be his downfall. Of all the time traveling buddies that messed around to have a good time?

Was another him. When he found out his information, he pretended to be Meddler and set up a meeting location. After they met, the other one was all in on helping. Even his friend Azreal was trying to help, even though this guy enjoyed making paradoxes.

Ekko tried not to yell at these idiots, but it was hard! They were part of the problem, dancing around with things in the past. He mainly played nice though, they didn’t know the depths of who they were associating with.

That Ekko gave them not only the goods on Meddler, he was a special version of Ekko who could travel along different times and parallels without consequence, so he went to Jinx’s universe and checked it out too.

He also apparently had different ways to get an unmatched amount of money and the clothes of stinking rich that bought magical creatures. Ekko didn’t care how the less than legal version did it, as long as they had the means to purchase her.

And that day was here. Mylo was going to be the one trying to buy her from Meddler’s double.

Since the Meddler would know what Ekko looked like, Mylo would step in his place, but use his name. Mylo was also decked to the nines in his threads, looking like he could afford anything.

Still. One word, and Ekko would get him out.

---

Mylo cleared his throat and went into the tent. Just do it confidently. “I am here to buy Meddler’s goods.”

A person looked toward him. “I’m Meddler. Which goods?”

Which goods? There was more than just Powder in trouble? “I’m looking for good property to do my bidding.”

“Oh.” The fake Meddler started to write down in a journal. “Name?”

“Ekko.” Mylo watched him. He didn’t even stop writing. This one didn’t recognize Ekko at all.

“Okay, here are the prices.” The fake Meddler scooted the journal down to him.

Mylo looked at it. There was one yordle to buy simply called Ancient Yordle. According to Ekko, this might be the one called Captain Teemo, that tried to help him with Powder’s information.

And Powder was called ‘Jinx’, just like Ekko said she would be. Only her prices were . . . “What are these?”

“One hour. Two hours. Price for each,” he answered.

An hour or two. “I don’t think you understand me, my good man,” Mylo tried. “I want to buy her.”

“She is rental only, not buy. The only thing I can do is give you this.” He took the book back. “I could make you a regular for the next month for one hour, at that price.” He scooted it back.

Damn, Powder was expensive. That Ekko got them a boatload of money, but even those prices? “She must be a-a magificent specimen to call for this pricing.”

“She is that and more,” the fake Meddler agreed.

“Well, her being immune to magic manipulation, that’s what I am interested in,” Mylo said. “How much just for that? An hour of figuring that out?”

“Same price.”

“Same?”

“Yes. Use her that way for the hour if you wish.”

“Well, she doesn’t have magic. What else would . . .” Mylo regretted it instantly as he flipped the page. He just went on automatic, took the book and headed outside.

Ekko was waiting with Claggor when-

Wham! Mylo made his feelings known physically in an instant sucker punch. “Do you have any idea what you did to my sister?!” He wrestled with Ekko on the ground. “Playing with time, was it worth it?!”

“We can’t own her, all we can get is . . . an hour. And it’s expensive, and I don’t care! You are meeting with her, an hour, each day, and every day, until you free her!” Mylo could not be more disgusted. “How could you let this happen?”

Ekko got back up, and he tried to say something but all he got out was . . . “I didn’t . . . think. She was just . . .”

“Just a parallel pawn,” Mylo finished for him. “She is your responsibility now. Until you fix this? I-I don’t want you seeing Powder again!”

“Whoah, Mylo-” Claggor tried to talk back. “That’s going too far. No matter what it says, Ekko’s never hurt Powder. We’ve all done a lot to see.”

Mylo gave him a book he had gotten, probably from inside.

Claggor looked at the cover, and then opened it. He didn’t read much and just gave it back. “Don’t . . . just don’t come to the bar, Ekko.”

“Not until you fix this,” Mylo insisted.

“Just don’t come,” Claggor said again. “Because you can’t fix this. This happened. Get her out. Get her safe.”

“I need that fucking book.” Mylo got the book back. “I need more. I can buy her yordle friend.”

“Buy it.” Ekko gave him everything extra he had. “Here. Everything.”

Mylo took the money and turned back around. He went back into the tent holding the book. “Forgot.” The fake Meddler didn’t seem to care that he took the book. He handed it back. “An hour per day, every single day, for as long as I can.” He started to put some money down. “I’m guessing I can invite others.”

“Of course, she’s your property, invite anyone you want.” The fake Meddler made new notes, and pulled out another journal. “She was helping with Boat, but Boat already had her children, so she is opened for business.”

“The yordle, I’ll buy that too.”

“Oh, good.” He seemed delighted at that. “I need you to fill out your information in his book, hang on.” He pulled over another book and flipped through a few pages Mylo also saw. “We will just put this on the end of the book here. Signature here and here.”

Mylo wrote Ekko’s name down for it too. He wrote the same address information as there real place, it was an address he knew for sure. Then as he finished, he saw her. “Powder.”

She was locked in arm and leg cuffs. Wearing some kind of outfit if his sister Powder wore it, he’d beat Ekko just like he did today. Her eyes were dragging to the ground, not even seeing him yet.

All he wanted to do was shout for her, but if he broke character, he could ruin everything.

“Jinx. You have a new renter. Teemo. You’ve got a new master.”

Mylo watched a yordle approach him. It’s eyes spelled not to mess with it, and he wouldn’t. “Hello?” Then, Powder lifted her face to see him.

Her eyes. Confused. Bewildered. “Parallel,” he said to her. “Hard to explain.” Still, it didn’t matter, she moved straight toward him, almost tripping on her leg chain as she looped the chain around the back of his neck and hugged him.

“Mylo!”

Right. Meddler was leaving, he didn’t even care anymore, business was done.

“You’re a friend of Jinx’s?” Captain Teemo asked him.

“Brother,” he said. He had to remember what he was supposed to say. “I know that this version of me is gone, but it’s not your fault, Powder. Me and Claggor, we get it.”

“How?” Her eyes were stuffed with so many tears as she looked back at him.

“It was some kind of weird magic. We lost Vi in our world the same way to it.”

“It was. I tried to stop bad guys, but it was too strong. It wasn’t an accident.”

“You didn’t know it’s strength, so it was an accident,” he insisted.

“I’m sorry!” She hugged him again. “I was the biggest Jinx that ever lived. Still am.”

Right. “I know I gave you a lot of shit when you were little. I’m sorry about that, I was just jealous of you with Vi. It’s not like that anymore. Not one bit.” He wrapped his arms around her too. “If I could get you out of here, Sis, I would, but Ekko’s gonna come see you an hour each day- our Ekko, the parallel Ekko to this world. Until we can break you free.” She didn’t answer. He reached into his pocket. “This is from Powder. Our Powder.” He slid it toward her hands and she grasped it. “We won’t let her come, but she wanted to say some things.”

“Don’t ever let her come, don’t ever, ever let any version of me come,” she declared as she took her arms away from around his head. “I just get a few minutes to associate.” She looked toawrd the yordle. “Captain Teemo, he’s going to be the best ever.”

“Right, yeah, Ekko is definitley going to free you after this stuff,” Mylo told him.

The yordle didn’t respond. Probably didn’t want to believe anything until he saw it himself.

“Next time, it’ll be Ekko,” Mylo promised. “I’m going to try to come again to see you, and Claggor too. If you want.”

“Yes! Yes. And? Is Vander still alive too?” Such questioning eyes.

“Yeah, but we didn’t tell him anything about this. It’s just Claggor, me, Ekko and Powder who know about stuff.”

“Don’t ever let her come,” she repeated. “Don’t.” She leaned against him instead of shovering her chain behind his neck again. “It was so good to see you. To talk to you. Thank you.”