Chapter Text
Sky finally knocked on the door of Jayce’s house. After a moment, a muffled voice came from behind the door, “Wait!” followed by a flurry of hurried sounds.
Piltover had just entered autumn, and the cool evening breeze wrapped around Sky’s body, sending a shiver down her spine. She had walked out of the laboratory, crossed three streets, and finally arrived at the door of the house. The sensation still lingered—like a small sandstorm, dust clouded her eyes, filled her nostrils and mouth, and she waved her hands, trying to grab something in the eye of the storm, but the sand slipped from her fingers, leaving nothing—Viktor's—
"Sky?" She snapped out of it, reality rushing in like the tide. Jayce’s face, backlit. The faint sound of running water from deep within the room. The cabinet at the entrance. A woman’s handbag on top.
"Is something urgent?" she shook her head, pushing aside the overwhelming flood of sensory information, "It's Viktor..." Her voice grew softer, disjointed words hanging on her lips without forming coherent thoughts. Why had she come to Jayce’s door?
Jayce, sensing something was off, flashed his trademark smile and, in a lighthearted tone, teased, "Feeling tense, are we? Is this about your ‘dating plans’? How’s it going?"
Sky finally managed to squeeze out a voice from her hoarse throat: “Viktor... died.”
Jayce’s expression stiffened, “What happened? Where is he? How are you sure he’s dead?” He gripped her shoulders, rapidly firing questions. Sky opened her mouth, her mind in disarray, unable to speak. Jayce realized he was too hasty and turned his head away, taking a few deep breaths before turning back to her, gazing deeply into her eyes. "We both need to calm down... What happened? Slowly tell me everything you know."
Sky struggled to piece together her memories, turning them into fragmented words: how she had pushed open the laboratory door and saw the Hexcore consuming Viktor; how she rushed forward, using all her strength to pull him away from the Hexcore; how she almost succeeded in saving him; how the Hexcore suddenly exploded in the next moment—her voice faltered, and she realized she was crying, her right hand trembling as it grasped Viktor’s cane, the cold texture of the cane’s grooves slightly calming her.
Jayce watched her, extending a hand to hold her left wrist. He bent down, his voice clear as it echoed in her ear, “It’s okay, it’s okay... It was in the laboratory, right? I’ll make a call, and we’ll go there together.” He pulled her inside, one hand reaching for the phone, the other still firmly holding hers.
Her numb senses from the trauma barely registered something: “Who are you calling?”
Jayce’s grip tightened, “The police.”
“Oh...” She realized how foolish her question had been, and how foolish her actions were—after the accident, she hadn’t called the police right away, but came to Jayce. She had subconsciously assumed their team still operated like it did in the early days, working in the legally gray area. Now, in some sense, those who controlled the Hextech could reshape the law.
Jayce’s hand dialed two numbers before halting. He turned his back to her, his solid frame swallowed by the shadow. His voice, as usual, but with a barely perceptible tremor, reached Sky's ears: “Sky Young, tell me the truth. Why did you do this? Was it out of jealousy, or some twisted love-hate?”
“What... are you talking about?” Her mind was a blank, unable to process the meaning in Jayce’s words. Jayce’s hand, like a vice, squeezed her left wrist, making it hurt. The sound of running water from the bathroom hadn’t stopped.
Jayce turned around, the living room lights so bright that Sky couldn’t see his expression. "We’ve worked together for seven years, so I’m giving you a chance, Miss Young. Please tell me the truth. You did this, didn’t you? Why frame Viktor?"
Sky finally realized she hadn't misheard, and the confusion and sadness quickly turned into anger: “Are you accusing me? I trusted you and told you everything, and now you’re accusing me, Jayce?”
Standing before her, his body battered and weathered like a volcano about to erupt, Jayce growled, “It’s Councilor Talis.”
“Why are you carrying his cane? You are destroying the accident scene!” Jayce pointed at her, and she flinched.
“Besides me and him, only you and Professor Heimerdinger have free access to the lab. Even if I didn’t call the police, they would still arrest you, especially since you're a...” He sighed angrily, “... Zaunite. I’m just fulfilling my civic duty! Miss Young, you’re going to spend the rest of your life in prison. For your own good, tell me why you did it!”
“I thought you were different from them, Jayce... Councilor Talis.” She lifted her head, forcing herself to meet his eyes, “Viktor was also a Zaunite. One Zaunite ‘killed’ another Zaunite, and you’re troubling the noble Piltover police over such a small matter?”
“Wha...?” Jayce was speechless for a moment, then let out a roar, “Are you admitting to your crime? What forces are behind you? What did Viktor do to deserve this?” He stepped forward, his thick arms wrapping around her neck, his muscles tense as he choked her. Sky’s left hand futilely tried to pry off his arm, but his strength was overwhelming, and she felt her breath shortening, her head swelling. Her tense cells consumed the air in her lungs faster than ever, and she let out a weak groan. The water in the bathroom stopped, and a familiar woman’s voice called out from inside, “Jayce? What’s going on?”
Jayce didn’t have time to respond. He dragged her toward the phone. As his fingers touched the dial pad, Sky used the last of her strength, raising the cane in her right hand and swinging it hard at Jayce’s groin. The sudden pain made Jayce scream and release her. Sky swiftly dodged as Jayce’s body crumpled to the floor.
“Without Zaunites, you wouldn’t have the achievements you have today.” Sky looked down at Jayce, who was curling up on the floor in pain, before striking him unconscious with the cane one last time, leaving her final words.
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Sky ran at full speed through the night in Piltover, tears streaming down her face as the wind whipped against her.
She only knew to run faster and didn’t know where to go. By the time Councilor Medarda emerged from the bathroom, she would find Jayce unconscious on the floor, and then she would call the police. When Jayce woke up, he would tell the police how Sky Young had mercilessly killed his best friend and colleague. And then, the whole of Piltover would recognize her face. Piltover Academy, her small apartment, the coffee shop and bookstore she frequented—there would be no place left for her.
As her thoughts spiraled, a route began to form more clearly. It was the place she loved and hated deeply, the place she and him would save with their lives, the place where she had come from.
It was time to return to Zaun.