Chapter 4.5 Ekko's new friend

Ekko kept asking Sirion to help him with the repair, and despite his fatigue, Sirion finally gave in. He knew that since he had promised, he couldn't just refuse. Benzo, who had been watching this with a slightly displeased expression on his face, only shrugged. He was used to this endless stream of requests from Ekko, and he even seemed to find something funny in it.

"Okay, okay," Sirion gave in, knowing that he couldn't convince Ekko to leave without help. "A couple of hours, no more."

Ekko immediately broke into a smile, literally beaming with joy.

"Hooray! You're the best!" he cried out joyfully, jumping up on the spot, as if he had won some kind of game.

Sirion only sighed and led him through the store to a small utility room with a bunch of parts, tools, and an even bigger pile of scrap metal. Everything was scattered here, but Ekko seemed to know where everything was. He instantly got lost among all this and began to fish out the parts he needed from the stacks.

"And ask my permission?" Benzo asked sternly, folding his arms across his chest and looking intently at the boy.

Ekko froze, realizing that in the heat of the moment he had completely forgotten about this.

"Oh, oops," he scratched the back of his head, clearly unable to find a suitable excuse.

"What did I tell you about being careful?" Benzo continued, pausing to let his words sink in the boy's head.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Not trusting just anyone," Ekko muttered discontentedly, but a second later he beamed a wide smile. "Come on, Benzo, he's literally only a year or two older than me! He can't do anything bad."

Sirion just stood to the side, watching the squabble between Ekko and Benzo. Ekko vigorously defended himself, as if he was already used to such conversations. Benzo snorted, but continued to watch him closely. Ekko, in his usual manner, added:

"And if anything happens, I'm strong!" He patted his hand, feigning seriousness. "Just a little bit more growth, and even Vi won't be able to fight me!"

Sirion raised an eyebrow at this self-confidence, but said nothing. He still felt a slight tension from the presence of Benzo, who seemed to be looking straight into his soul.

"Ekko, I understand that you like to make friends," Benzo began calmly, looking at the boy, "but be at least a little more careful. Especially here."

Ekko only waved his hand, as if driving away his words.

"Everything will be fine, I promise!" He turned to Sirion and, tugging at his sleeve, led him further. "Well, let's go, we have something to do!"

Benzo sighed, looking after the boy and his new acquaintance.

"Just don't take anything apart," he said at the end, but there was a slight weariness and resignation in his voice.

Ekko, leading Sirion through the store, spoke:

"Well, will you help me? There are just a couple of little things to fix, nothing complicated!" Sirion only sighed, realizing that refusing would be harder than doing the job.

"Right here!" - Ekko exclaimed, showing Sirion a small device that resembled something like an old burnt-out generator. - "I tried to fix it, but it didn't work. Come on, okay? You know how it is!"

Sirion sighed quietly, hoping that he would quickly figure it out and be able to leave. But, unlike his usual work, he really had to be patient here. Ekko was constantly running around, asking questions and commenting on his every move. At some point, Sirion even felt his patience starting to reach its limit.

"Ekko, you can do it yourself, just... try not to rush and think first."

The boy froze for a moment, then put on a thoughtful face.

"No, can you take a look first?" - he said uncertainly. - "It's just that I've reassembled it several times already and I don't quite understand what the problem is."

Sirion looked at the generator and to his surprise he found the system window, noticing the new system function for the first time.

"Object analysis. Generator. Select diagnostic method:

1. Instant (Locked to level 10) - instant analysis and diagnostics of the mechanism with object repair upon touch. Will open when unlocking the Improvement section

2. Manual. Put your hand on it and you will understand the structure of the mechanism and find out the problem with further manual repair of the object."

Sirion paused for a moment, examining the new system interface window. His gaze slid over the two available diagnostic options. His heart beat with a small attack of admiration. For the first time in a long time, the system showed him what the 'Improvements' section would be responsible for. There were no hints before.

"Instant analysis and repair upon touching the object?!" - a thought flashed through his head. - "Maybe it will also be possible to simply improve the object upon touch?" "Okay, let's see," he muttered quietly under his breath.

"What?" Ekko immediately jumped closer, hearing the words.

"Nothing, just... give me a minute," Sirion said, placing his hand on the generator.

As soon as his fingers touched the device, he felt a strange, subtle warmth, as if invisible lines of energy were running through his hand. Images began to form in his mind: the complex internal structure of the mechanism, the intertwined wires, worn parts, and an obviously burnt-out central capacitor.

"Diagnostics complete. Problems detected:

Burnt central capacitor. Damaged insulation on power cables. Voltage inconsistency for current configuration."

Sirion pulled his hand away, amazed at the precision and clarity of what he saw.

"I see what it is," Sirion said quietly, pulling his hand away. Ekko was immediately at his side, his eyes shining with curiosity.

"So? What is it?" "Did I screw up badly?" he asked with undisguised excitement.

"Not that badly, but you did a couple of things wrong," Sirion answered, picking up the tools. "You need to replace the wire here, otherwise it will simply burn out the next time you start it. You also mixed up the capacitor."

"Oh, really?!" Ekko exclaimed, slapping his forehead. "I was sure everything was right!" Ekko seemed impressed. He immediately grabbed the nearest tool. "Then let's fix it! You tell me what to do, and I'll help!"

"Okay. Let's start with the capacitor. We need to find a replacement. Do you have something suitable?" Sirion sighed mentally.

Ekko scratched the back of his head thoughtfully, and then suddenly exclaimed:

"I have! I had a thing, I saw it somewhere around here! I'll bring it now!" and he flew out of the utility room.

Sirion was left alone with the generator, pondering how exactly to fix it and glad for at least a short respite from Ekko's energy. He returned literally a minute later, dragging a box of parts and scrap metal behind him.

"Found it! There's definitely something here that should work!" the boy slapped the box on the floor next to Sirion.

"Great, let's see," Sirion said shortly, starting to sort through the parts. Soon he found the necessary capacitor, slightly worn out, but still suitable for work. "This one will do," he nodded, showing the part to Ekko. "Now I need a soldering iron and insulating tape."

Ekko immediately rushed to rummage through another box, pulling out the necessary tools and materials.

"Here, take them!" he held them out so fast that Sirion barely managed to catch them.

"Don't rush so much," he muttered, quickly unpacking the soldering iron.

The work began to boil. Sirion carefully unsoldered the old capacitor and then installed a new one, checking each contact. Ekko stood nearby, watching with bated breath, but still handing over the necessary tools from time to time.

"Here, take the screwdriver... Now the cable! Oh, I already got the tape!" he said hastily, trying to please.

"Easy, Ekko. If you start rushing, we'll do something wrong," Sirion warned, continuing to connect the wires and repair damaged areas of insulation. After twenty minutes of intensive work, the last cable was connected, and the device's body was closed. Sirion wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded.

"That's it. Now we need to check if it works."

Ekko enthusiastically grabbed the generator, ran to the outlet, and turned it on. The indicators on the device lit up, and a second later a characteristic hum came from it.

"It works! Sirion, you're just a master!" - the boy exclaimed joyfully, jumping up and down with happiness.

Sirion smiled involuntarily, seeing Ekko's sincere joy.

"You helped too, so this is our joint work", - he said, getting up from his seat.

"Really?!" - the boy's eyes lit up even more. - "So, I'm not completely hopeless?"

"If you listen and try, then no. You even have potential", - Sirion nodded, and then added. - "But you need to learn to be more patient."

"Yes, everyone tells me about patience!" - Ekko solemnly raised his hand, as if making an oath. Sirion shook his head, but still felt that this day had not been in vain. - "You just know, it's hard to sit still, I can't describe it in words."

"Ha", - he chuckled at Ekko's words. - "You're a restless fellow, as if time is not under your control."

"Hey, I'm a fellow, you're not much older than me!"

- Not much, but older, - answered Sirion with a slight grin, folding his arms over his chest. - And the elders, you know, can always make fun of the younger ones a little. So don't be impudent, kid. - Ekko narrowed his eyes, clearly pretending to be serious.

- Ha, then I'll say that you're really ancient. How old are you? Sixteen? Seventeen? And I'm almost twelve! Very soon, you won't even notice the difference. - Sirion grinned at his words, shaking his head.

- Okay, okay, I agree. You're almost an adult, - Ekko smiled slyly, clearly pleased with his small victory.

- Exactly! And soon I'll even overtake you! In the meantime, let's get to the next thing. I still have a lot of stuff that needs to be fixed.

Sirion sighed, looking at the mess of parts and tools on the table.

- You know, you surprise me. Where do you find so much energy to do all this and still run around all day?

Ekko shrugged, grinning.

"I guess I just have too many ideas. I can't sit around doing nothing."

"And you lack patience," Sirion added with a hint of irony.

"Well, that too. But I'm definitely not boring, right?" Ekko laughed, already sorting through another box of parts.

Sirion just grinned, accepting his fate in the form of a new broken mechanism that was worth helping fix. They were about to continue working on another of Ekko's inventions, when Benzo suddenly walked into the utility room.

"Ekko, your friends are waiting for you," he told him.

"What," the boy was surprised. "But they were supposed to be free at seven in the evening?"

"It's already seven in the evening," Benzo calmly reminded, folding his arms over his chest and frowning slightly. Ekko froze, realizing that he had completely lost track of time.

"Oh, seriously?" - He slapped his forehead and rushed to the door, but then stopped abruptly and turned to Sirion. - "You wait here, okay? I'll be quick!"

Sirion only managed to nod before the boy flew out of the room, leaving behind a loud slamming door.

"Is he always so... energetic?" - Sirion asked, barely holding back a smile.

"You could say he's the embodiment of energy", - Benzo sighed, shaking his head. - "I wish he'd think before he did something sometimes. But he has a good heart, and that's important."

Sirion glanced at the tools and parts scattered across the table.

"It seems he wasn't planning on stopping. We'd only just finished one, and he was already eager to take on something new."

"Yes, that's typical of him", - Benzo agreed. He glanced at the device Sirion and Ekko were working on and added, - "You did well. Ekko rarely lets anyone into his business. You've earned his trust, and that's worth a lot."

Sirion just nodded, a little sheepishly accepting the praise.

"I hope this won't cause any problems. I just wanted to help."

"As long as you don't bring trouble here, there won't be any problems," Benzo answered seriously, but then his tone softened. "And Ekko, after all, needs a good example."

"I'm not sure I'm up to the task, but thank you for trusting me," Sirion chuckled. Benzo nodded slightly and headed for the door.

"Ekko won't keep you waiting long. If you need anything, just ask."

When the door closed behind him, Sirion was alone in the utility room. He looked around the work area, feeling a strange warmth from Benzo's words. "An example for Ekko? Maybe there really is something good in this," he thought, preparing to continue working until the boy returned.

He decided to walk around the room and look at the details of the room, which was apparently Ekko's personal room. Sirion rose from his chair and began to slowly examine the room. This place was clearly Ekko's personal space. Although everything looked quite chaotic, Sirion felt a strange harmony in this chaos.

There were drawings and diagrams on the walls, some of which seemed to be plans for new inventions. In one corner there was an old table, on which a whole mountain of tools, spare parts and something that he could not immediately identify was piled up. The floor was covered in various kinds of wires, and in the corner there was a small cabinet, the door of which was slightly ajar, showing several boxes inside with the sign "DO NOT TOUCH".

Sirion ran his hand along one of the wooden surfaces, dirty with dust and something similar to machine oil. He noticed that many things here had been hand-made: the ceiling light was connected to the power grid with a strange hybrid wire, and instead of a regular chair, Ekko had used what looked like a broken office chair base with a new top secured with metal straps.

This guy clearly knows how to improvise, Sirion noted to himself, feeling some respect for Ekko's tenacity.

His gaze fell on the small table next to the bed. On it sat a small mechanism that Ekko had apparently been trying to assemble. A clock with a cracked face and a missing hand.

"Hey, since we have about an hour left, let's spend it with my friends, I just told them about you and they don't mind," Sirion looked up from another detail he was examining and froze when he heard Ekko's words.

"Your friends?" — he asked again, trying to hide the sudden wave of surprise and anxiety, because he guessed who these friends were.

"Yes! They're right nearby, I invited them here. Come on, it'll be fun, you'll meet them!" — Ekko was smiling so enthusiastically that it was almost impossible to refuse him.

Sirion thought about it. He didn't like sudden meetings, to be honest, he hadn't planned on meeting any of the other main characters in the story, at least until he got out from under Finn's wing. But on the other hand, refusing right now, after Ekko had clearly tried so hard, didn't seem like the best option.

"Are you sure they're interested?" — he asked carefully.

"Of course! I told you that you're cool, and anyway, we all want to talk to you. Even though they don't like things that can be fixed or assembled, but I said that you're a cool guy, so they'll definitely be interested!" — Ekko clearly thought that this argument would finally convince Sirion.

"Okay," Sirion sighed, realizing that he had almost no choice. "Just for a little while, I still need to get back to my business."

"Excellent!" Ekko jumped up happily and ran out of the utility room. Sirion looked after him, frowning slightly. The meeting that had not yet begun was already causing him anxiety, but he still decided that it was not that important now.