Chapter Text
"My mouser didn't work." The girl said, her eyes watering. "You said it would."
"I said that it could work, Powder." Viktor sighed. He picked up his cane, and walked towards her.
"I keep trying, but I just- I just-" She started to cry again, and Viktor could see her small shoulders shaking. He sighed again, and knelt down on his good knee. He patted her on the shoulder.
"It's okay, Powder." He tried to reassure her. "Scientists keep trying. Even when we fail, we don't stop. That's the important part."
"Okay." She nodded.
Viktor pushed himself up. The muscles in his leg spasmed, and he grit his teeth and forced himself to swallow the cry that was about to fall out. He coughed instead, hand gripping the fabric of his shirt.
"Viktor? Viktor!"
He blinked, attempting to refocus.
"I'm fine, Powder." He tried to smile. It was a weak one, more like a grimace, and he could tell that it scared Powder. "Don't...don't worry about it."
"But...you're not okay."
"...it's getting dark, Powder. You should go back home, Vander would be worried." He changed the topic. The dim light bulb flickered on above them, showering the small room with a faded white glow.
"Okay, Viktor...wait!" She turned back, and pulled out a pouch. "I almost forgot." Viktor's eyes widened as he saw the blue glow of the gemstone. Even from where he stood, he could feel the
power emanating from it.
"What...what is it?" He asked.
Powder shrugged. "I don't know. I was thinking if you...if you could take a look?"
"...yes." Viktor reached out a finger, and, before he could pull back and hesitate Some more, tapped lightly against the surface of the gem. "I can take a look." He murmured, as a sharp, cold shock traveled down the tip of his finger, sending a tingling sensation down his arm.
Powder placed the gemstone in his hand, and Viktor clutched it, feeling its pulsations through his palm. "Powder...where exactly did you find this?"
"I...um, I just..." she stammered, clearly not wanting to tell him something. Viktor may keep to himself, but customers talk, and he began to piece together a bigger picture. Powder, the others she ran with, whispers of an explosion...
"...wait- what I heard today," Viktor paused. Powder shrunk into herself a little, but her expression gave away what she knew. "Powder, I heard something about an explosion topside..."
"It wasn't me!" She cried. "I didn't do anything!"
"No, no, I know it wasn't you, Powder." Viktor held up a hand. He poured himself a glass of sweetmilk. "Would you like one too?"
"O-okay." Powder nodded, and Viktor poured her one too, before setting the glass across the bench. He placed the gemstone in a sealed pouch before he sat as well.
They sat there, and sipped at the sweetmilk. Topside. Piltover. The gilded city that loomed over the Undercity. Even there, there should not be many places that would be able to produce something...like this. "I would not tell anyone, Powder, but knowing where this came from would help me figure out...well, what it is and how it works."
She shrugged. "I just followed Vi and the others."
"Ah." He would need to figure it out himself, then. The need to know more, the fire of curiosity, began to burn in his chest.
"Wait!" Powder cried, before gulping down the remainder of her drink. "I...we heard about the place from little man!"
"Ekko?"
She nodded. "Don't tell him that I told you, though."
He smiled. "Of course not. I promise."
Fortunately for Viktor, Benzo's place was not far from his own store. He pulled his coat up against his chest. Nights in the lanes were cold, and he could see a few stragglers stare at him from the shadows of alleyways. They would not touch him. People in the lanes knew who Viktor was. They knew better than to attack one of the only doctors they had.
"Benzo!" Viktor greeted the man.
"Doc!" Benzo chuckled. "What brings you here?"
Viktor grinned. "I'm looking for Ekko, Benzo. Do you know where he might be?"
"Bah, the boy? He could be anywhere. Or everywhere." He rested his arm across the countertop, a black smudge across rough hands. "What d'you need him for, anyways?"
"I have something in need of fixing. I hear he has been quite the engineer."
"C'mon now, Doc, we all know you know plenty 'bout fixing things." He rolled up his sleeve to reveal a large scar. "Fixed me up right and good."
"Hah," Viktor shook his head. "I just need to ask him about...something, that's all." He was not a good liar, and he knew from Benzo's raised eyebrow that he did not buy any of Viktor's explanations.
"Hmm...well, boy's most likely running off with Vander's lot."
"Thank you, Benzo. Next time you need anything fixed, it's on the house."
By the time he left, the skies over the Undercity had darkened considerably. Small droplets of rain began to wash away some of the smog and filth lingering in the air, and Viktor took in a deep breath.
Most of the patrons at the Last Drop knew him, and Viktor knew most of them. He lowered his head and slipped in among the crowd headed toward the bar.
"Doctor! What brings you here?" Vander wiped his hands on a piece of cloth and gestured toward the stools. Viktor sat, and Vander handed him a glass.
"I didn't-"
"On the house, doc," Vander tapped the benchtop. "You here for business, or?"
"Benzo's looking for little man," Viktor replied quickly, sipping at the drink, a smooth burn straight from the throat and into the stomach. He does not indulge often, not with his body the way it was, though it felt good to give into temptation, at least once in a while.
"The kids are off somewhere," Vander shrugged. "Now," he leant across the table. "The thing about topside..."
"Everyone has heard of it, Vander." Viktor replied. He shook his head. "Topside would not ignore this." The gemstones, the power he felt from them- he had a feeling that those in Piltover would do anything to get them back. "Do you have a plan?"
Vander sighed. "Don't worry about it, doc, I'll deal with it."
Viktor nodded.
The door swung open, and the other patrons turned for a moment, before settling again once they saw that it was only Vander's children. Ekko and Powder followed behind the older ones, slinking into the shadows.
"Ekko!"
"Doc! Hey, what are you doing here?" the boy shifted his gaze toward Vander. "Enforcers." He whispered urgently, and Vander looked toward Viktor.
"They can come to my store." Viktor said quickly. "But they'll need to move quickly."
Viktor stood silently in the shadows as the enforcers pushed their way into the Last Drop. He was young when Vander led the people of the Undercity across the bridge, and too sick to join, but since then, no enforcers had dared to set foot in the Lanes. Until now.
He met Vander's gaze as the enforcer spilled blue flames over the bar. Vander shook his head, and the people in the Last Drop held their tongue and their weapons. Not for much longer, Viktor thought. People have short memories, and with Piltover lording itself over the Undercity while people fought for their spillover, the Lanes were aching for another revolt.
"Thank you, Viktor." Vi said, as she led the others out from underneath the trapdoor.
"We look out for each other." Viktor told her. Like them, and so many others in the Undercity, he was an orphan, too.
"We...should go."
"The enforcers are still looking for you." Viktor said. "Are you sure it's safe to leave?"
"We know a place."
"Ah, be careful, then." He turned to Ekko. "I do have a word from Benzo..."
"From Benzo?"
"You should go back to his place. I'll take you there." Viktor watched as the other four left.
"Thanks, doc."
"Before we go, I do have a question for you..."
That night, Viktor stayed up in his workshop, contemplating the gemstone. He rubbed his temple. "Topside...the Academy district..." he whispered to himself. He would need some more information before attempting to uncover its nature. It does look like he must make a trip to Piltover. He glanced at the gemstone Powder gave him. He was in this now, well and truly.
There was someone else who could help him with this quandary, perhaps, but...Viktor shook his head. They've parted ways a long time ago, and Viktor did not know if he could be trusted, or if he was even alive.
He had his own ways of leaving the Undercity unnoticed by both sides. Viktor pulled the hood and cape over his head. Before he headed out, he hesitated for a moment, and reached for the hidden drawer in his workbench.
It's better to be protected than to be caught unaware. Viktor hoped that he would not have to use it. At least his leg has ceased to give him any more issues.
One last chance, he thought as he headed out. Once last chance to turn back and try to forget this all happened. Viktor shook his head. He cannot leave this alone.
The journey was relatively smooth, all things considering. Like a ghost, Viktor passed through the Lanes easily, his cane mostly hidden by the long hem of the cape. There was a strange, twisted beauty to the Undercity, and it was especially prominent in the night. Dark shadows and flickering lights, the light of the moons hidden by dark clouds, leaving only an edge of light.
The glimmer of dawn had began to shine by the time Viktor made his way to the edge of Piltover.
There was another in his path. The man had not noticed his presence. He wore the signature coat of senior Academy students. The stranger took a step forward, and then another.
"Am I interrupting?" Viktor called out before he could stop himself.
The man stumbled. "W-who's there?"
"Why would an Academy student be out so...early?"
"I'm...no longer a student of the Academy." Ah. That was why he was here.
"Shouldn't you be at home, then?" Viktor asked. He shouldn't get distracted, but- perhaps this topsider would know something about his dilemma- especially if he was an Academy student.
"I...don't have a home. Not anymore."
"Well." Viktor gestured to the faded outline of the Undercity. "Looks like you've got nowhere to go but down."