Chapter Text
Jayce didn't make good on his promise until a week later.
Council meetings and sleepless nights working on HexTech projects kept Jayce away from sneaking back to the Undercity and keeping the promise he had made to Viktor.
During the whole week Jayce fantasized about what it would be like when he returned. A part of him, the foolish and perhaps childish part, believed that when he returned everything would slowly return to the way it had been before. Viktor would return to Jayce, shedding his armor and his plan for the "Glorious Evolution" along with it.
That they could restore their relationship, both as partners and as lovers.
In fact the only thing that had gotten Jayce through the week was daydreams of being able to wake up next to Viktor again.
The early mornings when he'd wake up with a familiar weight on his chest only to look down and be greeted with the sight of a sleepy Viktor, his brows slightly furrowed like he was pondering equations even in sleep, and a soft snore filling the quietness of the room.
He'd daydream about the future he'd wanted, the one he'd used to imagine even when they had still been together.
It had started when Jayce's wandering mind began to jot down anything he could think of, his thoughts spilling onto the pages of his notes in neat writing.
At first it had been simple things like a concept for Sweet Milk cookies or a design for the Hex Gauntlets prototype.
But eventually his notes began to revolve around Viktor, as if he didn't already think of him enough.
He would write out his thoughts as if it were a diary rather than a notebook for scientific breakthroughs.
I have a partner: Viktor
I don't know his last name
Ask him his last name
Viktor Talis
He'd thought about it often after that, even bringing it up to Viktor once after a few months into their relationship.
All he'd gotten in response had been that amused smile where his eyes would narrow, head tilted to the side in inquiry.
"I don't know. Seems a little egotistical, don't you think?"
Jayce could still hear the echo of his voice in the empty lab. In fact he could almost convince himself that Viktor was here, sitting right beside him.
But even with this naive fantasy, another part of him, the realistic part, knew that Viktor had always been headstrong. That he would never give up on something he truly believed in, that if he wanted Viktor back, he was going to have to work for it.
That's why he went back to the Undercity despite the protest from a very worried Caitlyn who had seen the bruises from his last encounter with Viktor and had begged him to put an end to this silly dream.
But if there's anything Jayce and Viktor still had in common, it was that they were both headstrong, too stubborn to back down. Even if it puts them in danger.
As soon as Jayce entered the lab something seemed...different.
He would've expected it to be harder to sneak in since last time but surprisingly the door was left wide open. Almost as if his arrival had been expected. That should've been the first red flag.
Jayce still made sure to keep quiet as he walked into the room, eyes scanning the lab until they landed on a figure hunched over the table and scribbling fiercely onto overflowing pages.
At first he thought maybe Viktor hadn't noticed him walk in but the subtle flex of the HexClaw still protruding from the back of his armor said otherwise.
"Councilman Talis," The masked man said, not even bothering to look up from his notes. "You've returned. How stupid of you. But I guess you've never been one for making the best decisions."
Jayce felt his body shudder at the icy tone with even colder words spreading like frostbite to his heart. But he tried not to let that deter him.
"I promised you I would."
"Oh? Was that before or after you fled?"
"I didn't flee!" Jayce was surprised at his own outburst but he felt the need to defend himself.
That was perhaps the scariest part of this whole trip.
He felt the need to defend himself in front of Viktor. Both emotionally and physically
Something he'd never felt before.
Jayce was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of Viktor walking towards him, his armor making a clunking sound with each step he took.
"Why have you returned, Councilman Talis? You already know that I have no intention of returning with you to Piltover." He sneered, his hands clasped behind his back as he peered down at Jayce through the dark mask.
"Because I…" He trailed off, heart beating too fast for his chest as he tried to work through the nerves building up in his throat and threatening to overtake him.
He looked at the man in front of him. Or maybe machine, he couldn't tell how much of Viktor was made up of metal enhancements, taking all of him in until his eyes eventually landed on the mask.
While the craftsmanship was carefully articulated, an intricate design of molded metal the color of storm clouds but with a purpose to intimidate like the sound of thunder, Jayce couldn't help but wonder what was behind it.
Was it still pale skin? Was there even any human remaining behind it? Any trace of his Viktor? He desperately hoped so. He would give up his whole life's work if it meant Viktor was still in there.
He needed him.
And right now, Viktor needed him too.
They were partners
Jayce hadn't realized he'd been voicing his thoughts until a harsh snicker drew him from his fantasy, his attention returning to the man in front of him.
"You think I need you, Councilman Talis?" The metallic man asked, his voice edged like a dagger as he stalked closer to Jayce. "What makes you so sure of that? I have made nothing but progress since we've been apart. If anything, you were holding me back from achieving my goal. I am better off without you. You only ever held me back from completing my Glorious Evolution."
"If that were true, why haven't any of your plans worked yet?"
"Does this look like an incompetent plan to you?" The HexClaw on Viktor's back lunged forward, likely to prove his point and intimidate Jayce and he had to admit, he did flinch at the memory of those fingers digging into his skin and leaving blotchy bruises that Caitlyn had fretted over for a good day or two.
But Jayce persisted, taking a step forward to which he noticed the HexClaw retract less than an inch from its original position. "It looks just like the prototype we came up with back in our lab. Granted, it is faster, I assume you used a different motor to make it quicker." With each word, Jayce got bolder, at some point even reaching out to cup the hand of the claw in his palms.
"It's...efficient. The motor we had used before made it too slow. The claw, it isn't aesthetically pleasing but it-"
"It gets the job done." Jayce said, looking up at Viktor with a lopsided smile, one that held the hope and naivety of a child. "You were never one for how neat our work looked, making our inventions stand out was my thing."
As soon as he said it, he felt the energy shift. The room suddenly seemed suffocating and the silence, loud enough to leave him feeling defenseless and helpless.
The most notable change was in Viktor, the way his shoulders stiffened and his posture went tense as he stared straight at where Jayce was holding the HexClaw, the hollow and empty eyes of his mask making Jayce squirm as he tried to pull his hand back from the claw.
But Viktor wasn't having it. The claw gripped Jayce's hand and whatever trance Viktor had been in seemed to be broken because now he was staring straight at Jayce.
"It's you." The Machine Herald said simply. As if it were the most obvious answer to the simplest equation. "You are what I've been missing. Only you can make my work take flight. I need you."
Frantic hands grabbed at Jayce's shoulders, gripping much too tight, something didn't feel right. It wasn't the gentle touch of a past lover, the sweet caress that he was used to from Viktor. This was different, this was wrong.
But he still tried to remain hopeful, a weary smile on his face as he tried to ignore the growing pain and the knowledge that he'd probably have hand shaped bruises on his shoulders by the end of the day. "Does this mean you'll return with me to Piltover? We can be partners again."
"Oh Jayce, my brilliant, beautiful, naive, Jayce. What need have we to return to Piltover? We have everything we need right here. You will complete my work, together we can bring about The Glorious Evolution. We can rid humanity of their flaws, make them stronger, more efficient."
Dread washed over Jayce as he stood stock still, dumbfounded by what he was hearing. He hadn't even realized that Viktor had moved closer, now with an arm snaked around Jayce's waist to draw him flush against his body of armor. "You can't be serious…"
"Why wouldn't I be? Is this not what you wanted?"
"I wanted my partner back-"
"And here I am! Don't you see, Jayce? My progress would not be possible without your brilliant mind. We've invented great things together in the past and we still can. But you must open up your mind to the possibilities, to what we can accomplish."
Jayce made an attempt to get out of Viktor's grasp with his arms pushing against the steel chest of his armor. But it had seemingly no effect. In fact it only made the arm coiled around him grow tighter, like a snake constricting.
"Viktor," the name almost sounding like a plea, a prayer that Jayce hoped would be answered. "You know I can't help you with this. Look what you've done to yourself-"
"I've improved myself." Viktor growled, voice like steel as he defended his progress, like he always had when it came to their inventions.
"Are you even human underneath all of that armor?" He asked as he moved closer to the machine of a man. His hand, hesitant, as he reached up and traced the pad of his fingers along the steel that made up the ends of the mask.
Viktor, much to Jayce's surprise, didn't try to force his hand away. Instead he leaned into it, his own hand coming up to meet Jayce's.
"What need have I to be human? Being human only comes with limits. The human body can only withstand so much before it reaches its limit, some quicker than others. But with my advancements, I have created a new life for myself, I can finally reach my true potential. Isn't that what you wanted for me, Jayce?."
"Don't-" Jayce cut himself off for a moment. Because he knew what Viktor was doing. Jayce had laid himself bare in hopes of reaching out to his partner and yet here Viktor was, pulling at his heart strings like the ends of a marionette.
Are you even human underneath all that armor?
Jayce supposed he'd gotten his answer.
Because no human would be as heartless and cruel as this. No human would be as apathetic and unfeeling as this.
And Viktor had done it to himself.
All the procedures, failed, in progress, or successful, were all in an attempt to get rid of this humanity.
An attempt which was at least somewhat successful.
And he had done it to himself
A part of Jayce hadn't been able to come to terms with that until now.
He had come up with scenarios in his head where none of this was on Viktor's own accord.
Scenarios that often included the HexCore with its siren call, pulling his partner into a false sense of safety and confidence until he couldn't resist any longer and followed every demand, every order to make himself stronger all for the HexCore's gain.
Because Jayce couldn't stand the thought that there wasn't someone else behind the curtain pulling the levers.
He couldn't stand the thought that his partner would do something like this to himself on his own, with no other mastermind to blame.
Jayce wished there was someone else to blame.
He had to admit though, as he felt the anger boiling inside of him, invading every crevice, every vein, every particle of his being, Viktor was onto something about emotions being human weakness.
Most of the time when Jayce got upset, he at least had some sort of outlet, a way to vent it out.
But he wasn't at the forge right now.
And he wasn't holding his hammer.
In fact, he still had the side of Viktor's mask clutched in his hand. And right now, overcome with anger, the mask felt like that of a red scarf to a bull.
That's what fueled him to pull the mask off, something that even Viktor didn't seem to anticipate but responded quickly to.
A sharp cry was pulled from the man in front of him and the first hint of any emotion, panic.
He pulled away, his hand coming up to quickly cover his face from view while the HexClaw stood guard, preparing for more surprise attacks from the offender.
"Viktor I-"
"Damn you!"
Jayce had never been afraid of Viktor in his life, intimidated maybe but never the raw fear he felt right now. That feeling was reserved for people like Silco, but never Viktor.
Right now though, right now he was terrified.
Viktor stood in front of him, body stiff and on guard with the only trace of humanity coming from the gold iris where his fingers couldn't quite cover completely.
He couldn't make out much more of Viktor's face, and he wasn't given much of a chance before the HexClaw lunged towards him, an attack Jayce barely dodged as he ducked down at the last minute and retreated behind the counter.
"You little prying Pandora." He heard a voice snear, dipping down to a lower octave once the mask was placed back on his face.
With every clink of metal he heard moving towards him, Jayce shuffled back, grappling around for anything he could use as a weapon.
"What did you think was going to happen? What were you thinking?" The cruel voice continued to taunt the owner not too far away. "Your curiosity has always gotten the best of you, Jayce. But it won't be a problem for much longer. I can remove that, improve you as I've improved myself. You'll see, I'll make sure of it."
Jayce didn't doubt that. If there was one thing he'd learned through the years spent with Viktor it was that he was persistent. And Jayce didn't want to stick around long enough to find out how exactly he planned on doing that.
Without so much as a second thought or even a backup plan in case this one didn't work, Jayce sat up, quick as a flash before bolting for the door.
Of course the chance of making it through this excavation unscathed was slim which is why he shouldn't have been surprised when he felt a burst of scolding heat down his back and the sting of bright hot pain caused him to double over.
"This whole thing would be so much easier if you would just comply. You're making this harder than it needs to be." Viktor said casually, as if he hadn't just scathed Jayce's back with an expertly aimed Lazer blast from the HexClaw.
Enough to injure but not enough to kill.
Like a dog with a shock collar and quite frankly, Jayce didn't like his role in this analogy.
Jayce grit his teeth, eyes screwed shut as he tried to stand up straight or at least enough to get his hand back on the door.
He heard the dreadful hum of the claw, an executioner song counting down how many seconds he had until it charged up to shoot him again.
As soon as he managed to open that door, he shot through it almost as quickly as the HexClaw's lazer.
The burning pain was tolerable the first few minutes of running but his body threatened to collapse as he slipped through the alleys and past many open stands.
Almost there
C'mon
You can do it
Just…a little..longer.
His thoughts became foggy and muddled as dots formed in the corners of his vision. It was like trying to think through TV static.
But I'm so close!
Please
Please..
Jayce gasped for air as the Hexgates came into view.
He was nearly there!
He could do it!
But Jayce had never had the best of luck, that much was obvious when his vision completely blacked out and he felt his body fall heavy against the streets of the Undercity.