Chapter Text
Viktor had no idea how ended up in the Undercity in the first place on that day. Maybe it was longing for his home, the place where he grew up or maybe it was something else- but what mattered was the fact that he ended up here in the first place.
Some may call it coincidence, some may call it fate.
But looking back at that day Viktor was certain that it was fate.
Originally he just wanted to go for a walk to clear his mind after he and Jayce had finally archived that breakthrough they had longed for for so long. But instead of staying in Piltover he ended up here in the Undercity.
As usual he was walking with his cane when he suddenly felt like something terrible was about to happen. Viktor had no time to look around, to try to figure out what was going on when it hit him- a shockwave from an explosion.
His already fragile body was thrown to the side, landing against a building and as he was trying to remain conscious he could hear voices- screaming, crying- voices filled with nothing but utter despair.
Viktor had no idea how but he somehow managed to pull himself together enough to get up from the dirty floor and make his way to where the voices were coming from. His body was aching as he did so but he just knew that he needed to get there.
And so he did it.
He was standing in the shadows as he was watching the scene before him unfold, trying to make sense of what had just happened here.
At first it was the smell that hit him- the smell of death- a smell he was awfully familiar with due to the fact that he had grown up here in the Undercity.
But then he realized that there was something else in the air but that something also felt awfully familiar. At first he couldn’t see anything due to the smoke that was filling the air but eventually he saw it.
There were shards of the crystal embedded in the walls.
Those shards were so small that they could easily be overlooked but for a trained eye like his they were still visible.
Still trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened, Viktor’s thoughts were interrupted by two female voices, rather young ones. One of them was angry while the other one was sobbing in a way that broke his heart.
“I only wanted to help”, the younger girl with blue hair sobbed, repeating the sentence time and time again as the older one, a girl with pink hair was standing in front of her, visibly angry.
“I told you to stay away!”
“Why did you leave me?”
“Because you're a jinx. Do you hear me? Mylo was right.”
Her words cut like a knife, even for Viktor although he was not involved in the conversation. He could hear the hurt and anger in the voice of the older one as well as the devastation in the voice of the younger one.
The next words he heard only made the hurt worse.
“Violet, I need you. Please”
The next few words felt like a blur to Viktor, he couldn’t make out what any of the girls were saying as his mind was trying to process what must have transpired down here. But for some reason he simply couldn’t wrap his mind around it and so the next thing he heard, the thing that snapped him out of his thoughts was the wailing of one of the girls, the younger one- the one with the blue hair.
His heart ached at these desperate sounds.
A part of him wanted to reach out, to offer any kind of help but deep down he knew that this wasn’t his place to offer help as he was merely a stranger who just happened to oversee this event.
He wasn’t part of this.
Or at least that was what he thought when he suddenly heard footsteps and a voice that sounded vaguely familiar- even though he couldn’t really identify why.
All he knew was that this voice was enough to send shivers down his spine as soon as the man talked to that blue haired girl.
It wasn’t until later that Viktor realized that he no longer heard the angry voice of the other girl, the one with the pink hair, and even later before he started to wonder what might have happened to her.
In the present moment Viktor once again heard the blue haired girl yell something before he heard the sound of her hasteful footsteps approaching him and before he could form another thought that girl ran into him.
The force of the collision was enough to knock her to the ground and without further thought Viktor kneeled down and offered her a hand.
As he looked at the girl he felt his heart break. Her eyes, her blue eyes, were full of fear from what she had just witnessed, tears were staining her dirt covered cheeks and her small form was shaking so badly that she threatened to fall down again if Viktor dared to let go of her small hand.
He wanted to say something, ask her what had happened but before even a single word could leave his lips the girl spoke up.
“They are dead. They are dead and it’s all my fault”
With these words she once again started to sob and Viktor couldn’t help himself but hug her bac as if he wanted to show her that everything would be alright even if it may not seem like it right now.
As he held onto the girl and her trembling form her sobs started to quiet down before he could hear her say something.
“I wanna leave this place”
Her words once again broke his heart as he understood what she meant by that- she had nothing left here.
Even leaving with a stranger was better than staying in a place like this- a place that only reminded her of pain and trauma.
“Can you take me with you? I promise that I won’t be a jinx”
-
He had no idea why he did it or how he he managed to do it but eventually he and the little girl, who’s name was Powder, arrived at the academy. His plan was simple- to get her inside and figure out what he was supposed to do tomorrow.
That was his plan.
But as a matter of fact the reality looked very different because even before he was able to fully open the doors there was that familiar voice of Jayce, his voice filled with relief as he saw the face of his partner.
“Viktor! You’re alright” he exclaimed and before Viktor was able to say anything Jayce hugged him- and managed to knock Powder over in the process.
The small girl, who was previously hidden under Viktor’s coat, let out a smal “Uff” as her butt hit the floor and Jayce looked at her, visibly confused.
“Who is that?” the taller man wanted to know as Powder hid behind Viktor, once again shaking and with so much fear in her eyes.
Viktor sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to come up with a good explanation for what had happened even though he knew that he needed to be at least somewhat honest with Jayce.
“I found her at the scene of the incident”
That was all he said and even though it wasn’t the full story it was technically the truth.
After all, he did find Powder at the scene- he just didn’t mention that she was directly involved and- looking back at the conversation he overheard- she seemed to be at least somewhat responsible for it.
But Viktor did not care about that.
Powder was now once again basically hiding behind him when the two men heard another pair of footsteps approach them and as soon as they heard these steps they also saw Mel heading down the corridor towards them.
“What’s going on?” she asked, the concern in her voice unmistakable as she first looked at the two men and then at the small girl.
As soon as she spotted Powder her previously hardened expression softened and she kneeled down so she was eye to eye with the girl.
“Hello dear”
Her voice was soft as she gently reached out to the girl in order to show her that she had no reason to mistrust her.
Powder was still hiding behind Viktor who sighed and looked at Mel.
“As I had just told Jayce, I found her at the scene of the incident in the Undercity. She told me that she had nowhere to go and so I brought her with me” the scientist explained and Mel looked at him, her expression turning serious.
“Viktor, there might be people out there looking for her”
Viktor was about to reply something when Powder suddenly spoke up, her voice still shaking as she spoke to the woman in front of her.
“No. They are dead”
Mel felt a shudder running down her back as she heard the girl say these words, causing her to straighten back up and look first at Viktor and then at Jayce, her expression serious.
“She can stay for the night. But we will have to figure out a permanent solution”
Although her voice was stern there was a certain softness to it, which caused Viktor to smile and nod.
“Of course” he replied before turning his attention back to Powder.
“You will stay with Miss Medarda for tonight, okay? You can trust her. She is on our side” he reassured the girl and even though there was still a certain hesitation in Jinx’ eyes, she eventually nodded and walked the few steps over to Mel, who was holding her hand out, a soft smile on her lips.
-
That night Viktor had trouble falling asleep as he wondered if he did the right thing and what the consequences of his actions would be. As he was lying in bed, tossing and turning, he suddenly heard a knock at the door.
“Yes?”
Without an answer the door opened and Jayce entered, looking just as restless as Viktor felt.
The smaller man set up in bed as he looked at his partner who sat down at the desk and sighed before he spoke.
“Why were you in the Undercity, Viktor?”
There was a certain note of curiosity in his voice as well as a note of accusation.
Viktor sighed, running his hands through his hair before looking at the dark haired man and answering.
“I… have no idea. I just had a feeling that I needed to be there” he admitted, looking at the sheets of his bed while waiting for an answer.
“Well maybe it was a good thing that you were there. I think you just saved that girl’s life” Jayce smiled, his words causing Viktor to smile as well as he once again ran his fingers through his hair, shifting his glance from the sheets to the ceiling.
“I just hope you’re right. That I did the right thing.”