SFW blog ][ hello, everyone ][ you can call me Dawn ][ I'm a bi nonbinary girl ][ my pronouns are she/her and sie/hir ][ I'm a 21 years old white latina and spanish is my native language ][ do not interact : zionists, proshippers/comshippers/anti-antis, MAPs/NOMAPs, TERFs/SWERFs/radfems, exclusionists ][ this is a side blog where I will post my fanfics ][ my main blog is https://www.tumblr.com/sometimes-you-laugh
Listen, imagine Viktor and Reader in the commune but their relationship is similar to that of Lady Tamayo and Yushiro from Demon Slayer.
Like Reader is the first person Viktor healed with his magic, he healed them because they were very injured and on the brink of death, and Reader, wanting to return the favor to the person who literally saved them, starts following him to help him in any way they can.
When Reader finds out Viktor is a scientist, they become so curious and asks a ton of questions, questions that Viktor is more than happy to answer.
Although Reader is similar to Yushiro, they are actually like a more mellow version of him, so they don't go around calling people "eye sore", they don't throw people for "disrespecting" Viktor, and by disrespecting I mean asking how old he is or things like that, and they definitely don't say things like: "Let's use those as decoys and escape!"
And maybe because this is the first time using his magic, Viktor's magical connection with Reader is kind of weak, his magic only healed them and didn't do or change anything else.
He can't read their mind or see through their eyes like he can with everyone else in the commune and he can't possess their body like he did with Salo.
What he can do is somewhat feel what Reader is feeling but only if he tries to and, because of that, he was able to feel when Reader's feelings for him changed from platonic to romantic.
Bonus: when Viktor dies/disappears with Jayce, his magical connection with Reader doesn't break, so they are more or less immortal, they spend the rest of their days traveling around the world and creating many paintings of Viktor.
After hundred of years, their paintings began to gain a lot of attention thanks to social media, they always change their identity and the public is under the belief that they are the descendant of the person who made the first painting, and when people ask them who the mysterious man in the paintings is, they always say: "Viktor the Scientist from Zaun" and began to tell his history.
[ Look at my DNI before interacting with my blog, please ]
[ Arcane ]
[ Sky x Reader ]
Sky: I'm so happy, I could kiss you!
Reader: Um… Neat.
*later*
Reader, lying face down on their bed: I said "Neat", Jayce. Who the fuck says neat these days? It's not neat to say neat, but I said it anyways because I'm fucking stupid.
Jayce, reading a book: Don't beat yourself up too much. Everyone gets nervous sometimes. Remember what I did when Viktor confessed his love for me?
Reader: Didn't you thank him?
Jayce: *closes the book and looks at the ceiling* I fucking thanked him.
[ Look at my DNI before interacting with my blog, please ]
[ Arcane ]
[ Jinx x Reader ]
[ Reader got isekaid to Arcane without watching a single episode ]
Sevika: So…
Silco: So?
Sevika: Are you really going to let her keep them?
*Both Sevika and Silco look towards where Jinx and reader are*
Jinx and Reader: *playing games on Reader's computer*
Sevika and Silco: …
Silco: It's been four hours and she still hasn't blown anything up, so yes, she can keep them.
(You guys can choose what games Jinx and Reader were playing.
I think Jinx would like the classic games like Purble Place, Jetpack Joyride, Fruit Ninja, Counter Strike, Angry Birds, Bad Piggies, Plants vs Zombies, Minecraft, etc.
Silco and Sevika would totally play Chess, Mine Sweeper and Solitaire.)
You wanted to make sure that he, unlike you, would actually see if his invention worked.
You wanted, no, you needed to see him achieve his dream.
You will be able to rest once you see that… or at least that's what you thought.
Well, you're not going to complain.
Years have passed since the last time you had friends.
Chapter 4: Don't ask for permission, change the world.
[Plain text: "Chapter 4: Don't ask for permission, change the world.". End plain text]
Chapter summary:
When Viktor goes to hear Jayce's trial, he can't help but remember the day he first set foot on the academy.
When Viktor helps Heimerdinger take Jayce's equipment to his lab, he can't help but remember how he become his assistant.
When Viktor helps Jayve get into the lab and helps him with his equipment to create magic, he can't help but remember how they have a ghost helping them.
Remember, english is not my first language so tell me if I wrote anything wrong.
Do not feed my work to AI.
Chapter CW/TW : none.
—
The moment Viktor set foot in the courtroom and prepared to hear the trial, he felt it.
The presence of someone beside him, someone who wasn’t actually there.
However, this was not the first time he had felt it.
It had been years since it stopped bothering him, so he decided not to pay much attention to it.
The first time he felt it was a few hours after he first set foot in the academy.
To this day he still remembers it.
His parents had accompanied him from the Lanes to the gates of the academy, telling him that it didn’t matter that he hadn’t been admitted, he belonged there and all he needed was an opportunity to prove himself.
Thanks to the uniform that his parents and the community bought for him, sneaking into the academy was easier than he thought it would be.
He couldn't be more grateful for everything they did for him and promised that he would visit them whenever he could.
To this day, he still visits them to check on their well-being and to make sure that his machine, the one he built when he was younger to protect his parents and neighbors from the Gray, was still working.
Then, after a few hours, he felt someone walking beside him.
He had discreetly looked to his side only to find… no one.
Viktor was confused but then thought that maybe it was the fear of being found out getting to him, so he tried to ignore it.
A minute later, the presence left.
Only to come back the next day.
Viktor was heading toward one of the classrooms, thinking of ways to go unnoticed when he heard two students talking a few feet ahead of him.
"Did you hear what happened?"
"No? What happened?"
"Apparently three teachers were shredding old papers and, without meaning to, shredded all the papers with the names of their students!"
"What?! No way! All of them?"
"Yes, everything is gone!
"How can someone do something so stupid?"
"I know, right?"
"Wasn't there a list of admitted students? Can't they use it?"
"No, even that list is gone! When I say that everything is gone, I mean everything!"
"What’s going to happen now?"
"From what I heard, they have to start from scratch and are going to ask their students to write their names on a piece of paper."
"That doesn't include us, right?"
"No, no. The classrooms are-"
After listening for a few seconds, Viktor was surprised to hear that one of the classrooms was the one he was heading to.
That makes everything easier for him, lucky him!
After arriving at the classroom with the other students and sitting down, the teacher told everyone to write their names on a piece of paper just as he expected.
When one of his classmates passed him the paper, he just stared at it for a second before writing his name along with a fake last name, one he carefully chose to avoid raising suspicion.
When classes ended and he left, he felt it again.
Someone was beside him, but when he glanced out of the corner of his eye, he saw no one there.
And just like yesterday, the presence disappeared after a minute.
After that, he didn't feel the presence again until a few weeks later.
Viktor was reading a book while sitting on a bench against the wall outside when he felt someone walk past him.
Which didn't make any sense because he didn't see anyone, didn't even hear footsteps!
And just like before, he didn't feel the presence again until a few weeks later.
He was in the library, looking for a book he needed for tomorrow's class.
After a few minutes without finding anything, he looked for the librarian.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, yes, how can I help you?"
"I'm having trouble finding a certain book and I wanted to know if you would help look for it."
"Oh, but of course! What book are you looking for?"
After Viktor said the name of the book, the librarian smiled.
"Oh, I know exactly where it is, follow me please."
However, before the librarian and Viktor went to look for the book, they heard something fall behind them.
The two of them turned around and saw that what had fallen was a book.
"Wait a second, please." The librarian told him before going to pick up the book.
However, after picking it up, the librarian stared at the book for a few seconds before looking at Viktor.
"By any chance, isn't this the book you were looking for?" The librarian asked him before showing him the title of the book.
Viktor read the title and it turns out it was indeed the book he was looking for.
"Yes, that's the book I was looking for." Viktor looked at it with surprise and confusion.
"Well, here you go." The librarian smiled before giving him the book. "If you need anything else, tell me."
"Yes, I will." Viktor accepted the book. "Thank you."
After the librarian left, Viktor felt it again.
Once again he felt someone pass by his side, but when he turned around he saw no one.
After that, Viktor couldn't help but feel curious.
What exactly was this presence?
Trying to study it was a bit more fruitless than he had thought.
He discovered that once it appears and disappears, it doesn't return until a few weeks have passed.
After a few months, he came to the conclusion that all his encounters with it were just coincidences.
And this presence, whatever it was, was not hostile.
At the end of his first year at the academy, he dared to say with some doubt that the presence was actually… a ghost.
He is a man of science, but in a world where magic exists, anything is possible.
And this ghost is, dares he say, friendly.
A few weeks after that, he didn't pay much attention to it anymore.
It may sound bad, but what can he do?
As far as he can see, this ghost helps him from time to time but doesn't bother to initiate any kind of communication.
It's like a classmate.
They're on good terms but barely talk to each other.
That makes him think, was this ghost a student who died at the academy?
If so, was the body at least found and given a proper funeral?
Viktor likes to think so.
His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the doors opening.
He turned his head to the right and saw Jayce Talis enter the room followed by Sheriff Grayson.
It's time to see how this trial ends.
—
On his way to the laboratory with Heimerdinger, Viktor couldn't help but remember how he became his assistant.
It all started in his fourth year at the academy on a random day.
He was leaving the library when Heimerdinger had requested his presence in his laboratory.
"Professor Heimerdinger?" Viktor asked once he opened the door. "You wanted to see me?"
"Ah, Mr. Viktor!" Heimerdinger set some papers aside on his desk. "Yes, please come in and take a seat."
Viktor immediately noticed how Heimerdinger called him 'Mr. Viktor' instead of the fake last name, but he chose to ignore it and said nothing.
It was probably a minor mistake, nothing to worry about.
"Tell me, how is your stay here at the academy?" Heimerdinger asked him once he closed the door and took a seat. "Nobody is bothering you, right?"
"My stay here is going pretty well, professor." Viktor told him. "And please don't worry, no one is bothering me."
"That's good to hear, I'm glad!"
After that, the two of them began to talk.
"Do you know why you are here, my boy?" Heimerdinger asked him at some point.
"No." Viktor shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't know."
"Please don't apologize, you're not in trouble." Heimerdinger assured him. "Viktor, what would you think about being my assistant?"
"Me? Your assistant?"
"That's right! I’ve seen your grades and I’m impressed!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes! Did you know you’re at the top of your class?"
"Well, I don't like to brag, but I had a feeling that I was."
The two of them ended up talking a bit more and, at some point, Heimerdinger told Viktor that he would have access to his lab if he became his assistant and how much he would pay him.
"So what do you think?"
Viktor paused for a few seconds, he had a whole plan for when he finished his studies at the academy… and becoming Heimerdinger's assistant was not part of his plan.
"I'm afraid all of this is a bit sudden." Viktor told Heimerdinger. "I will need a few hours to think about it."
"Of course, of course." Heimerdinger understood. "Take all the time you need, don't feel pressured."
"Thank you." Viktor said before asking. "Did you need me for something else?"
"No, no, that's all." Heimerdinger shook his head. "You can leave if you want, my boy."
"Alright." Viktor got up from his seat and headed toward the door. "I will tell you my choice in a few hours."
"See you soon, Viktor."
Viktor stopped in front of the door, his hand a few centimeters away from the doorknob.
Once again, Heimerdinger called him by his first name.
He is overthinking, it's probably nothing, there is no way Heimerdinger found out… right?
Viktor had to make sure.
"Professor?"
"Yes, Viktor?"
"I couldn't help but notice that during all this you didn't call me by my last name."
Silence filled the lab.
Viktor turned around and saw Heimerdinger looking at the window.
"I'm sorry, I hadn't noticed." Heimerdinger said before looking at him. "Viktor, I know you are from the undercity."
Viktor grabbed the doorknob with a speed he didn't know he had.
"Please don't panic! I promise I didn't tell anyone! Only I know!"
Viktor stopped.
"… How did you find out?"
"The moment I thought about making you my assistant, I looked for more information about you." Heimerdinger told him before grabbing a small pile papers. "It was difficult considering that all the papers with information about you and your classmates had all been shredded, but I ended up finding this in the end." He took a paper from the pile and showed it to Viktor.
… It was an application letter, the one Viktor sent had to the academy… with all his information.
"The letter doesn't show any last name, but the name and writing style match yours."
That's it? He got found out because of that?! Because of the writing style?!
"… Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Because I think I know why you're here, but I would like to confirm it." Heimerdinger told him before asking. "Why are you here, Viktor? What are you trying to accomplish?"
"… I want to help the people of Zaun, when I was a child I created a machine to protect my parents and neighbors from Gray." Viktor said after a few seconds of silence. "I thought that if I came here, I could prove something and create more machines, like air and water purifiers, to help and protect everyone else in Zaun."
"And that's why, my boy, I didn't say anything." Heimerdinger put the letter back on the pile. "You have a good heart and you want to help your people."
"… Tell me, professor." Viktor gripped his cane tightly. "What will happen if I don't agree to be your assistant?"
"Nothing will happen, my boy. Even if you don't agree, I won't tell anyone, your secret is safe with me." Heimerdinger told him before smiling and jonkinly saying. "I'm also sure an old friend of mine would rise from the ashes and strangle me while calling me a hypocrite just for thinking about it."
Viktor looked at him for a few seconds. "I will see you in a few hours, professor." He said before opening the door and leaving.
He really needed time to think.
When classes ended, Viktor returned to the lab.
"Professor, I thought about what you told me." Viktor said once he entered the lab.
"Ah, and what do you think, my boy?"
"I have decided that yes, I agree to become your assistant."
"Oh, that's wonderful, Viktor! I promise you won't regret it!"
After that, Heimerdinger told him his schedule while writing it on a piece of paper.
Now, Viktor was thinking about ending the conversation there and leaving, but something stopped him.
There was something that piqued his curiosity.
"I hope I'm not overstepping, but I wanted to ask you a question." Viktor said before taking a seat. "Something caught my attention."
"Go ahead! What do you want to ask?"
"Was this old friend of yours, the one you said would strangle you and call you a hypocrite, also from Zaun?" Viktor asked.
Heimerdinger sighed before giving a nostalgic smile. "That's right, they were a great student and also a great friend. They had also sneaked into the academy a long time ago to help their people."
There were many other questions that Viktor wanted to ask.
Who were they? Were they able to help people? What did they make? How long ago was it?
… Were they the student who died at the academy? Were they the ghost Viktor meet?
… Did Heimerdinger even know there was a ghost in the academy?
"Can you tell me more about them?" Viktor asked instead.
"But of course, my boy."
And so Heimerdinger told Viktor everything about his old friend.
"It's a shame, really." Viktor had thought once he left the lab. "That they died still young in an accident."
But at least in the end, they enjoyed life and were able to help as many people as they could.
His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of Heimerdinger talking.
"Oh. That foolish boy." Heimerdinger said once they entered the lab with Jayce's equipment.
"Yeah, I must admit, his theory intrigues."
"If dangerous ideas didn't excite the imagination, we would never wander astray."
"Could it work? Could these stones really invoke magic?" Viktor asked while reading Jayce's notes.
"Nonsence. It's far too unstable." Heimerdinger shook his head before making sure he hadn't forgotten anything else in the box.
"Could you stabilize it?"
"Me? Why would I? That only leads to more problems and that poor boy has enough of them already."
Viktor handed him the book and Heimerdinger placed them next to the equipment.
"There. Come tomorrow morning, his research will be safely disposed of." Heimerdinger told Viktor before leaving the lab. "Lock up."
Viktor was about to leave too, but he stopped and looked at Jayce's notes.
Once Viktor made sure that Heimerdinger was gone, he grabbed the book and left the lab.
He needed to find Jayce.
It was raining when he finally arrived at his destination, but luckily he had brought his umbrella.
"Hello? How can I help you?" Jayce's mother, Ximena, kindly asked him after opening the gates.
"Hello, Mrs. Talis, I am Viktor, Heimerdinger's assistant." Viktor kindly told her. "I was hoping to speak with Jayce, is he here?"
"No, I'm sorry, but my son left a while ago."
"Do you know when he will be back?"
"… I don't know." Ximena sadly shook her head and tightened her grip on her umbrella. "We had a small fight, he was angry and said that if his own family didn't help him, then he would look for someone who would."
Viktor could see how hard Ximena was trying not to cry.
"I thought that maybe he needed some time alone, but I'm so worried."
"I'm sure he'll be fine, Mrs. Talis." Viktor gently told her with a small smile. "As you said, he just needs some time alone, so don't worry."
"Yes, you are right."
"I will take my leave, thank you for help."
"No problem, take care."
Once Ximena closed the gates, Viktor left.
He was deep in thought, trying to figure out where Jayce might be.
"Think, Viktor, think." He told himself. "Where would you be or what would you do if you were in his place."
That stopped him dead in his tracks.
… Oh fuck.
He has to get to Jayce's apartment as soon as possible!
—
It stopped raining a little before Viktor arrived at the building.
He looked around and saw light coming from the large hole in the wall of Jayce's apartment.
He took a big breath and got inside, he still had time.
Once he arrived at the hallway outside Jayce's apartment, he leaned his umbrella against the wall and opened the door.
Viktor entered the apartment but stopped when he saw Jayce near the edge.
He still can stop this, Viktor took a deep breath and tried to calm down before asking.
"Am I interrupting?"
That worked and Jayce backed away startled from the edge.
"The hell is your problem?" Jayce angrily looked at him before noticing the book in his hands. "What's that? Another list with my name on it?" He questioned Viktor before turning his back and looking back at the edge.
"Actually, yes, but only because you signed your notes." Viktor answered Jayce's question. "Every page, I might add."
Viktor told Jayce that he was intrigued and wanted to talk about his Hextech theory.
Jayce told him that it wasn't just a theory, that he saw with his own eyes what magic can do, the lives it could save.
"You've no idea how beautiful it is."
Jayce may be right, Viktor didn't know how beautiful it is, but that didn't mean that he didn't want to know.
"And now it's gone. No one believed me." Jayce looked back at the edge.
"Nobody's ever believed in me." Viktor approached Jayce and stood beside him. "A poor cripple from the undercity."
Once he was next to Jayce, he felt it.
A familiar presence, the ghost.
This confused Viktor, why was the ghost here?
However, this was not the right time to ask.
Viktor told Jayce everything, about how he was an outsider the moment he stepped foot in Piltover, about how he didn't have the benefits of a patron or a name.
"I simply believed in myself." Viktor told Jayce. "Which is why I'm here because I think you're on to something."
"No one thinks it can be done." Jayce had told him.
"When you're going to change the world, don't ask for permission."
Then he raised his hand and showed something for Jayce to take, his wristband.
Jayce looked at it before gently taking it from his hand.
"I don't even know your name." Jayce looked at his eyes.
"It's Viktor." He looked back.
Viktor almost got lost in his eyes.
In the end, the two of them talked for hours in Jayce's apartment.
Viktor wondered if Jayce was aware of the third presence in the room, but it seem like he isn't.
"You have to-"
"Crank it."
Viktor looked a little surprised for a few seconds before giving him a small smile. "Yes. Yes. You have to… crank it."
But one thing led to another and Viktor told him that his equipment was going to be destroyed tomorrow.
"Yeah, locked away in Hermerdinger's lab."
Viktor looked in his pocket and took out the set of keys.
"No. No. No. You heard the council. If we're wrong…"
"Better be right then."
"Why? Why would you risk this?" Jayce asked him.
"Do you think it was my life's ambition to be an assistant?" Viktor asked him back. "Scientists seek discoveries."
Jayce looked at him in the eyes.
"Ways to make the world a better place." Viktor looked at Jayce before looking at the chalkboard again." This Hextech dream of yours has the potential to to that."
Jayce looked at Viktor before placing his hand on his shoulder. "Our Hextech dream."
Sneaking into the academy was easy… too easy in their opinion.
Every time they arrived at a place where there was a guard, the guards would leave before they could come up with a plan.
Viktor would be confused if it weren't for the fact that he knows it's the ghost helping them.
Ever since they left Jayce's apartment, the ghost has been following them.
They had finally arrived outside Heimerdinger's lab… only to end up being discovered by Councilor Medarda.
Fuck.
But luckily Jayce was able to convince her, she gave them one night to impress her.
"Let's go." Viktor told Jayce before stopping.
"Viktor?" Jayce asked, confused.
Viktor looking at the keys in the door with confusion.
"When did I…" Viktor said before he shook his head and remembered the ghost was helping him. "Nevermind, let's go."
And now here they both were, inside Heimerdinger's lab.
"It's time to crank it." Viktor told him.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Jayce asked him.
Viktor made a face and didn't say anything.
Jayce looked at him before nodding, causing Viktor to lean over and press the button.
His device worked on the first try, but then, on the second attempt, a wave of energy came out of the crystal and broke a window.
And as if that weren't enough, another wave of energy out of the crystal, and the broken glass flew… straight towards them!
"Are you okay?" Jayce asked Viktor, ignoring the cut on his cheek.
"I'm fine." Viktor told him looking at Jayce's injury. "I should be the one asking you that."
"It's okay, I'm fine. "Jayce didn’t give it much importance. "It could have been worse."
Viktor then walked towards the door.
"Viktor?" Jayce asked. "What are you doing?"
"I have no doubt that the guards heard all of that and are running towards here right now." Viktor placed his cane between the pull handles. "We'd better hurry."
He saw Jayce look at him in shock.
About ten or fifteen minutes passed when they heard the guards trying to force the door open.
"Open up!" One guard kicked the door.
"Stop this lunacy at once!" He heard Heimerdinger yell.
"They're almost-" Viktor started saying before stopping.
Or rather, where it was supposed to be.
It wasn’t his cane that was keeping the doors closed, it was a chain with a padlock.
Where was his cane?! Where did the chain and padlock come from?!
Looking around, he discovered that his cane was leaning against the bookshelf.
He looked at his cane and then at the door with confusion.
"When did you change my cane with a chain?" Viktor asked the ghost while looking at the door.
"What? Viktor, what are you talking about?" Jayce asked him back before looking at the door.
Viktor considered telling Jayce that the question wasn't for him, but chose not to.
They both stared at the door for a few seconds before looking at each other.
"I didn't put that there." Jayce confessed.
Another kick to the door reminded them where they were.
"They're almost through. No pressure." Viktor told him.
"That sounds like pressure!" Jayce shouted.
One moment they were hearing the guards trying to force the door open…
The next they were hearing the same guards screaming before silence fell behind the doors.
Jayce and Viktor stared at the door before looking at each other.
"What's happened?" Jayce dared to whisper.
Viktor knows that he has to tell Jayce the truth, he wants to tell him that a ghost is helping them.
But they don't have time, they are so close to achieving what many believe is impossible.
"I don't know." Viktor whispered back.
Silence fell over them before they focused all their attention on the device.
Jayce first twisted the button to the right.
Viktor gasped when a memory came to his mind…
A memory that didn't belong to him …
Of a little boy and his mother walking through a snowstorm…
The little boy screaming for help the moment his mother faints…
A kind mage finding them and using his magic to take them to a safe place…
Wait, were those Jayce and his mother?
Jayce then twisted the button to the left.
Viktor gasped when a memory came to his mind once again…
Another memory that didn't belong to him…
Of someone falling from a window after an explosion…
And falling into the arms of a kind mage…
With runes surrounding them both, making the two of them float in the air…
Who is that?
Jayce then twisted the button to the right.
They both looked at each other.
A burst full of runes and energy came out of the crystal while the lab glowed a beautiful blue.
Jayce and Viktor floated in the air.
The crystal was shining inside a magical sphere, bathing the laboratory in a blue light.
Jayce lightly tapped a small gear toward Viktor's direction with a smile.
The gear was absorbed by the magical sphere and disappeared for a few seconds before reappearing, this time on Viktor's side.
Viktor watched the gear spinning for a few second before gently grabbing it between his finger with a grin.
"You've actually done it." He heard someone say. "But just because it can be done, doesn't mean…"
He looked towards the source of the noise and saw Heimerdinger.
When did the ghost open the door?
"This is not what Piltover's future looks like, my dear boys." Heimerdinger told them.
"That's for the Council to decide."
He saw Mel at the door.
"Perhaps it's time." Mel declared. "For the era of magic."
"Uh, Hextech. For the era of Hextech." Jayce told her.
Heimerdinger looked at Mel before looking at Viktor and Jayce. "You both are still in trouble!" He told them. "What you did was breaking and entering!"
"Breaking and entering? What did they break?" Viktor heard someone ask. "What they did was unlocking and entering, totally different."
Remember, english is not my first language so tell me if I wrote anything wrong.
Do not feed my work to AI.
Chapter CW/TW : mentions of past sexual harrasment (nothing explicit) (not towards Reader or any of the main characters).
—
Right now, Jayce was wondering when everything went wrong.
One moment, everything was going grate.
The next, everything went to hell.
He had returned from the undercity, having go there to buy materials that weren't available in Piltover.
He was on his way to his apartment with his friend and almost sister, Caitlyn, by his side, both joking and talking calmly as they carried the boxes with the materials.
He had tried to open the door, only to be confused when it didn’t work, and then he heard it.
Voices…
Inside his apartment.
…
There were people inside his apartment!
He dropped the box and tried to open the door, but it didn't work.
He tried to open it by force this time, but it didn't work.
Caitlyn looked at him confused.
He tried again, but it didn't work.
He was getting more and more anxious.
He tried to open it with a kick, but…
A force threw him against the wall and knocked him out.
The last thing he remembered was Caitlyn screaming.
"Jayce!"
His apartment… had exploded.
He wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious, he just knew it wasn't for more than 15 minutes.
The first thing he saw upon waking was an enforcer and a paramedic, both making sure that he was only slightly hurt and not, you know, dead.
"Where is Caitlyn? Is she okay? Is she hurt?" He asked before the medic began to examine him.
"No need to worry, she is outside unharmed." He was told. "In fact, she is the reason I got here so quickly."
Then the medic began the examination, checked his head and neck for injuries, checked his heart with a stethoscope, shone a flashlight in his eyes, raised two fingers and told him to follow them with his eyes, and started asking him questions.
"Do you remember your name?"
"Yes, my name is Jayce Talis."
"Can I call you Jayce? Or do you prefer I call you by your last name?"
"It's okay, I don't mind."
"Do you know where we are, Jayce?"
"We are in the hallway outside my apartment."
"Do you feel any pain? Headache? Nausea?"
"My head and back hurt a little, but other than that, I'm fine."
"What is five plus five?"
"Ten?"
"Seven plus seven?"
"Fourteen."
"Twenty-five plus twenty-five?"
"Fifty."
"Do you remember what happened, Jayce?"
"My…" He hesitated for a few seconds before answering. "My apartment exploded."
"Do you know why it exploded?" It was the enforcer who asked this time.
"Do not interrupt the examination, please." The medic told the enforcer before Jayce would answer. "I don't want to give him a wrong diagnosis."
The enforcer frowned, but did as told and didn't ask anymore questions.
"Do you think you can stand up without any problem, Jayce?" The medic asked him. "Or do you need help?"
Jayce blinked and thought for a second.
"I think I can." He said before getting up slowly.
"Can you see clearly? Do you feel like you're going to faint?"
"Yes, I can see." Jayce said looking at the open door of his apartment, there were enforcers inside. "And no, I don't feel like fainting."
"Good, good."
After a few more minutes, the examination was finally over.
"I recommend you relax and take it easy." The medic told him. "Eat something and drink some tea, you'll feel better at the end of the day."
"Thank you, um…"
"Terry Ferros at your service." He was told with a smile.
"Thank you, Terry." He smiled back.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, my work here is done." Terry said before putting the flashlight and stethoscope into a medical bag. "I have to go back to the hospital, but I wish you a good recovery."
"Thank you."
Once Terry left, he was approached by an enforcer.
"Jayce Talis, I am Sheriff Grayson." An enforcer told him. "I have some questions for you."
At that moment, Jayce knew he was screwed.
He was asked all kinds of questions while the rest of the enforcers checked all his belongings.
At some point he got so nervous that he felt like he was going to faint, his vision darkened, there was a ringing in his ears, and his legs felt weak.
"Can I sit?" He asked.
Grayson looked at him for a second before pointing to a chair that was near him.
"Let's go over it again."
In the end, all of his equipment was confiscated and he was handcuffed.
And now here he was, in a cell.
—
His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.
Jayce lifted his head and heard footsteps approaching, which made him get up.
The footsteps got closer and closer, it was…
"Imprisonment. What a curious principle!"
It was Professor Heimerdinger.
"We confine the physical body, yet the mind is still free." Heimerdinger said while looking at him. "I do love a good donundrum."
Jayce didn't know what do say to that, so he said nothing.
He looked around the cell while Heimerdinger spoke to him, half listening and half not.
"Be honest, now." Heimerdinger looked at him. "What manner of inquiry was this?"
"Professor Heimerdinger, I… I believe I've discovered something truly incredible." Jayce explained. "A way to harness magic through science."
Heimerdinger looked at him, speechless.
"Magic?"
"Yes!"
"… No."
"… No?"
"The Arcane is dangerous, Jayce." Heimerdinger looked out the window. "A force of nature. Science cannot control it."
"But maybe it can." Jayce tried to reason. "I'm closed to a breakthrough, I know it."
"How old are you, my boy?"
"I'm twenty-four."
"Well, I'm now three-hundred seven years old." Heimerdinger told him. "All my life, I've pursued the mysteries of science, only to discover some are better left unsolved… in the worst way possible."
That caught Jayce's attention.
"This, I'm afraid, is one of them." Heimerdinger walked towards the door. "Let me tell you something."
Jayce looked at him.
"You're not the first one who tried to create magic."
…
"What?" Jayce asked, surprised.
Someone else already tried it? But who?!
"Who is it?" Jayce asked with hope in his voice. "Maybe the two of us could work together and show that it is possible!"
"That won't be possible, my boy." Heimerdinger explained. "They died a long time ago."
And just like that, Jayce's hope was crushed.
"Let me tell you a story, Jayce." Heimerdinger then told him their name. "They were young person from the undercity who sneaked into the academy and managed to get away with it for two years before getting caught."
"For two years?" Jayce asked, surprised.
"That's right." Heimerdinger nodded. "Do you wanna know why they did that?"
"Why?"
"Because they wanted to help their people any way possible, they come to Piltover to find a way and create something that would make life easier for everyone down there."
"Did they do it?"
"They did, by making prosthetics both for those of the undercity and for those of Piltover… but they got caught before that."
"What happened?"
"They were defending a girl who was being sexually harassed by her classmate, the situation escalated, and before you knew it, they started first-fighting the boy."
"Did they get hurt?"
"No, they got out of that unscathed! It was the boy who ended up with a black eye and a missing tooth!"
"Did they get in trouble?"
"Yes, when the enforcers stopped the fight, the boy tried to press charges against them, but the girl along with her friends and classmates spoke in their defense. Turns out she wasn't his only victim! He had harassed more than twenty students and threatened them to keep them silent."
"More than twenty?!"
"Yes. In the end, they all pressed charges against him and he was expelled from the academy."
"But then what happened?"
"Unfortunately, they were still in trouble. You see, the enforcers started investigating and found out that they weren't a student, so they were arrested and taken to trial. Three counselors wanted to send them back to the undercity, while the other three wanted to send them… to Stillwater Hold."
"What?! But why?! They didn't do anything to deserve that!"
"I know, I said the same thing. The students became furious when they heard the second option and protested, they started, and I'm not kidding, screaming about how unfair it was and demanded justice, even accused the counselors of being exactly like the expelled boy."
Jayce didn't blame those students, to be honest. It was suspicious that those three councilors wanted to send them to Stillwater.
"So I suggested a solution: they would become a student at the academy and stay in Piltover, at least until they finish their studies, and when that happens, they will return to the Undercity. In the end, me and the first three counselors voted in favor of it, and they officially became a student at the academy. During the years they still had left here, they perfected their prototypes and met a young man who, without either of them knowing it yet, would become their husband in the future. Their prosthetics were so good that they ended up catching the attention of a young Camille Ferros who, unfortunately, could no longer walk due to an accident and commissioned them to make prosthetic legs for her. In the end, she became their patron and started sponsoring their prosthetics."
That caught Jayce's attention, wasn't that Terry's last name?
"By the time they finished their studies, they had fulfilled their dream of helping people and had married their husband. Everything was going grate… until."
"Until?"
"Something happened, an explosion, one so big that they were thrown out the window. We all thought they had died, but it turns out they were saved… by a mage."
Jayce softly gasped at that.
"After that, they became obsessed with magic, to the point of neglecting their health and wanting to incorporate magic into their prosthetics. We all expressed our doubts and told them how dangerous that was, yet they continued and Camille showed her support. A year later, they tried to create an artificial heart with the intention of extending life, all because they didn't want anyone else to die young. They put all their other projects on hold and worked on the heart for almost a year, but one day…"
"… One day?"
"One day, their husband came to my lab crying and heart-broken, begging me to confiscate everything they create with magic and to destroy it. Something went wrong and they ended up being disintegrated… they were killed by the very thing they tried to create."
Jayce was speechless and, to be honest, what could he say?
"That's why I want you to stop all of this, my boy." Heimerdinger looked at him. "I don't want history to repeat itself."
Jayce looked away.
"Own your mistakes before the Council, admit your work was dangerous, but speak nothing of magic." Heimerdinger told him before knocking on the door. "Do that and I theorize you'll get away with, un, how do you say, a slap on the wrist."
And with that, Heimerdinger left the cell.
—
Ever since the trial ended and he was expelled from the academy, Jayce couldn't shake the feeling that he was being followed.
He felt like someone was walking beside him, but every time he looked, there was no one.
The only times he didn't have that feeling was when he was at home with his mother and when he was talking to Caitlyn.
The feeling came back after he had left those places and followed him even when he got to his apartment.
When he finished writing the note and approached the edge, he shivered.
Why did he feel like someone walked through him?
Then he felt that someone was in front of him, but that was not possible, there was no one.
He took a step and then heard-
"Am I interrupting?"
It was Heimerdinger's assistant… and he had his notes.
He was intrigued and wanted to talk about his work.
He believed in his dream and wanted to help him with his research!
Jayce couldn't believe it, was he dreaming?
"No one thinks it can be done." Jayce had told him.
"When you're going to change the world, don't ask for permission."
He had never heard such words before.
Then he raised his hand and showed something for Jayce to take, his wristband.
Jayce looked at it before gently taking it from his hand.
"I don't even know your name." Jayce looked at his eyes.
"It's Viktor." He looked back.
Jayce almost got lost in his eyes.
In the end, the two of them talked for hours in his apartment.
It was so pleasant that Jayce even forgot the feeling of a third person, one that didn't even exist, in the room.
"You have to-"
"Crank it."
Viktor looked a little surprised for a few seconds before giving him a small smile. "Yes. Yes. You have to… crank it."
But one thing led to another and Viktor told him that his equipment was going to be destroyed tomorrow.
His research was everything, his whole life!
"Yeah, locked away in Hermerdinger's lab."
The sound of something metallic caught his attention, he looked at Viktor and saw a set of keys in his hand.
"No. No. No. You heard the council. If we're wrong…"
"Better be right then."
"Why? Why would you risk this?" Jayce asked him.
"Do you think it was my life's ambition to be an assistant?" Viktor asked him back. "Scientists seek discoveries."
Jayce looked at him in the eyes.
"Ways to make the world a better place." Viktor looked at Jayce before looking at the chalkboard again." This Hextech dream of yours has the potential to to that."
Jayce looked at Viktor, his partner, in amazement before placing his hand on his shoulder. "Our Hextech dream."
Sneaking into the academy was easy… too easy in their opinion.
Every time they arrived at a place where there was a guard, the guards would leave before they could come up with a plan.
They weren't complaining, of course, but they were still confused! Where were the guards going?
It didn't help that Jayce still felt like they were being followed.
They had finally arrived outside Heimerdinger's lab… only to end up being discovered by Councilor Medarda.
Fuck.
But luckily Jayce was able to convince her, she gave them one night to impress her.
And now here they both were, inside Heimerdinger's lab.
"It's time to crank it." Viktor told him.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Jayce asked him.
Viktor made a face and didn't say anything.
Jayce looked at him before nodding, causing Viktor to lean over and press the button.
His device worked on the first try, but then, on the second attempt, a wave of energy came out of the crystal and broke a window.
And as if that weren't enough, another wave of energy out of the crystal, and the broken glass flew… straight towards them!
"Are you okay?" Jayce asked Viktor, ignoring the cut on his cheek.
"I'm fine." Viktor told him looking at Jayce's injury. "I should be the one asking you that."
"It's okay, I'm fine. "Jayce didn’t give it much importance. "It could have been worse."
Viktor then walked towards the door.
"Viktor?" Jayce asked. "What are you doing?"
"I have no doubt that the guards heard all of that and are running towards here right now." Viktor placed his cane between the pull handles. "We'd better hurry."
Jayce looked at him shocked, Viktor was willing to risk his cane for him?
His partner has to be a dream.
About ten or fifteen minutes passed when they heard the guards trying to force the door open.
"Open up!" One guard kicked the door.
"Stop this lunacy at once!" He heard Heimerdinger yell.
"They're almost-" Viktor started saying before stopping.
Jayce looked at him with confused.
"When did you change my cane with a chain?" Viktor asked him while looking at the door.
…
"What? Viktor, what are you talking about?" Jayce asked him back before looking at the door.
It wasn’t Viktor's cane that was keeping the doors closed, it was a chain with a padlock.
They both stared at the door for a few seconds before looking at each other.
"I didn't put that there." Jayce confessed.
Another kick to the door reminded them where they were.
"They're almost through. No pressure." Viktor told him.
"That sounds like pressure!" Jayce shouted.
One moment they were hearing the guards trying to force the door open…
The next they were hearing the same guards screaming before silence fell behind the doors.
Jayce and Viktor stared at the door before looking at each other.
"What's happened?" Jayce dared to whisper.
He was starting to get scared, what was happening?
"I don't know." Viktor whispered back.
Silence fell over them before they focused all their attention on the device.
He first twisted the button to the right.
He heard Viktor gasp.
He then twisted the button to the left.
Jayce gasped when a memory came to his mind…
A memory that didn't belong to him…
Of someone falling from a window after an explosion…
And falling into the arms of a kind mage…
With runes surrounding them both, making the two of them float in the air…
Wait, was that?
He then twisted the button to the right.
They both looked at each other.
A burst full of runes and energy came out of the crystal while the lab glowed a beautiful blue.
Jayce and Viktor floated in the air.
The crystal was shining inside a magical sphere, bathing the laboratory in a blue light.
Jayce lightly tapped a small gear toward Viktor's direction with a smile.
The gear was absorbed by the magical sphere and disappeared for a few seconds before reappearing, this time on Viktor's side.
Viktor watched the gear spinning for a few second before gently grabbing it between his finger with a grin.
"You've actually done it." He heard someone say. "But just because it can be done, doesn't mean…"
He looked towards the source of the noise and saw Heimerdinger.
How did he open the doors?!
"This is not what Piltover's future looks like, my dear boys." Heimerdinger told them.
"That's for the Council to decide."
He saw Mel at the door.
"Perhaps it's time." Mel declared. "For the era of magic."
"Uh, Hextech. For the era of Hextech." Jayce told her.
Heimerdinger looked at Mel before looking at Viktor and Jayce. "You both are still in trouble!" He told them. "What you did was breaking and entering!"
"Breaking and entering? What did they break?" Jayce heard someone ask. "What they did was unlocking and entering, totally different."
Remember, english is not my first language so tell me if I wrote anything wrong.
Do not feed my work to AI.
Chapter CW/TW : injuries caused by broken glass.
—
"This entire time, I thought I needed to dampen the oscillations." Jayce said before sitting down.
"The crystals will only stabilize at high frequency."
While Jayce and Viktor talked to each other, you looked at the chalkboard with fascination… and confusion.
Everything they wrote there was complicated, unique, never seen before, beautiful, magical.
But you could only understand half of what was there, you saw symbols and equations you hadn't seen before.
So many years have passed since the last time you did something related to science, so many that you've even lost count.
But not enough for you to forget something like this.
A realization hit you.
It's not that you've forgotten, it's that you had never learned this before.
Science has changed… and so has math.
Science and math have changed… again!
"You have to-"
"Crank it."
Viktor looked a little surprised for a few seconds before giving a small smile. "Yes. Yes. You have to… crank it."
"It works."
"Eh… on paper."
"Well, you know what they say." You smiled before stopping. "Nevermind, I forgot what I was going to say."
Dear Janna, you hate when that happens!
"Well, we could test it if we had access to my equipment." Jayce sighed tiredly.
"Which is being destroyed tomorrow."
"What?!" You and Jayce asked in shock.
Viktor looked back at him. "Oh. I… yeah. I, I meant to tell you."
"That research is everything." Jayce pulled his hair. "My… my whole life."
While Jayce was panicking, you still didn't know what to feel.
Sad because his invention was going to be destroyed just like that? As if it were nothing?
Relieved because that meant a certain person wasn't going to steal it? And then claim that he was the one who built it?
After a few seconds, you knew what you were feeling.
Fury.
You felt furious about the fact that someone was going to suffer what you suffered years ago!
You can't let that happen! You won't let that happen!
"Maybe if we showed them the equations, they'd let us-"
"We need more than promises." Viktor interrupted him. "We need proof."
"Not without the crystals." Jayce sat down. "The enforcers took them all. They're gone."
"Yeah, locked away in Hermerdinger's lab."
"I can do it!" You told them. "I can bring the crystals back to you without any problem."
The easiest part is getting in without drawing attention, you knew the academy like the back of your hand!
The hardest part is figuring out how you're going to get out of there with the crystals without drawing attention…
To hell with it, you'll break the window!
"No. No. No. You heard the council. If we're wrong…"
"Better be right then."
The sound of something metallic caught your attention, you looked at Viktor and saw a set of keys in his hand.
"Wait, are those?" You asked grinning.
This day was getting better and better, how exciting!
"Why? Why would you risk this?" Jayce asked him.
"Do you think it was my life's ambition to be an assistant?" Viktor asked him back. "Scientists seek discoveries."
"And discoveries are like butterflies." You thought while watching them with a smile. "They aren't meant to be kept in jars."
"Ways to make the world a better place." Viktor looked at Jayce before looking at the chalkboard again." This Hextech dream of yours has the potential to to that."
Jayce looked at Viktor in amazement before placing his hand on his shoulder. "Our Hextech dream."
Your smile was slowly replaced with a frown, a memory came to your mind.
You shook your head, the memory leaving as quickly as it came.
You've seen this story before…
You just hope it doesn't have the same ending.
"So, when are we leaving?" You crossed your arms and grinned.
—
You three finally arrived at Heimerdinger's laboratory.
It was a bit difficult to get into the academy without drawing attention, but luckily you used stones to take care of the guards.
… That sounded wrong.
What you meant to say is that you threw stones to make noise to get the guards' attention while Jayce and Viktor sneaked into the academy.
Right now you were watching as Jayce held a small flashlight while Viktor tried to open the door.
"So far, so good."
A part of you wanted to go in and grab the crystals right now, but you decided to wait for them to open the door.
You screamed as a bright light suddenly blinded the three of you.
"Hmm. Willing to risk exile for your endeavor." Mel held the flashlight. "That's quite the conviction."
"Councilor." Jayce said nervously. "What a surprise to see you, huh?"
"Mel, holy fuck!" You screamed with one hand on your chest. "You almost give me a heart attack!"
"Wait a minute, this isn't my bedroom." Viktor said while looking at the door, pretending to be confused. "How could I have…"
"Wait a minute, can I even have a heart attack?" You asked with a frown.
"Please. We can prove that it works." Jayce looked at Mel.
"Hmm. You couldn't do so earlier today, how is tonight any different?" Mel questioned.
Viktor slowly got up. "We figured out how to stabilize it."
"You're the Professor's assistant."
"No, he's my new partner." Jayce said while looking at Viktor.
While Jayce and Viktor were talking to Mel, you began to slowly open the door, placing each key in its corresponding slot.
The sound of someone whistling caught the attention of you four.
"Shit." You cursed.
"Councilor, this technology, it's real." Jayce told Mel. "And no matter what happens here, it's going to change the world."
After placing the last key in its corresponding slot, you got up and walked over to where the guard was.
Seeing that he was an older man, you simply kicked him from behind the knees and held him by the shoulders, carefully lowering him to the ground.
"Ah!" He yelped. "My knees! What happened?"
Once the guard was on the ground, you walked back to where the others were.
"I got us more time, where were we?" You asked.
"I know it sounds impossible, but when have we ever let that stop us?" Jayce continued. "Please, just give us a chance."
Mel thought for a few seconds. "One night, gentlemen. Impress me, or I'd suggest you pack your bags." She said before turning off her flashlight and leaving.
That made you smile. "Thanks, Mel."
Once Mel approached the guard, she was surprised to see him on the ground.
"Harold? What happened?"
"Oh, Councilor Medarda!"
"Are you hurt? Why are you on the floor?" She asked before helping him get up.
"I think my knees gave out, I felt as if someone had kicked me." Harold told her. "I'm starting to think that I'm too old for this."
"Come with me, let's find a chair for you to rest."
"You're too kind, Councilor Medarda."
The three of you calmed down when you saw them leave.
"Let's go." Viktor told Jayce before stopping.
"Viktor?" Jayce asked, confused.
You saw Viktor looking at the keys in the door with confusion.
"When did I…" Viktor shook his head." Nevermind, let's go."
The doors finally opened.
—
While Jayce was welding the last details on his invention, you were snooping around the lab.
It went on like that for a few minutes before something caught your attention.
You stopped walking and started staring at a specific statue.
A statue that had written… "Stanwick Pididly".
…
You were about to grab a book and throw it at his face when Jayce's voice stopped you.
"It's all here."
You turned around and saw Viktor giving Jayce a crystal, Jayce then carefully put it on device.
You watched in amazement as sparks began to coming out of the crystal and the cables glowed.
"It's time to crank it."
You laughed softly at that.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
You started laughing out loud when you saw Viktor make a face that screamed "no, I do not".
Jayce looked at him before nodding, causing Viktor to lean over and press the button.
The device made a loud noise before starting to spin rapidly, orbiting around the crystal with enough speed to make the papers fly around the room.
"I don't think it's gonna hold! Look at the buildup!" Jayce got nervous.
You watched as the room glowed blue and more sparks came out of the crystal.
It was beautiful.
"The resonance will swill stabilize it." Viktor reassured him. "Trust me."
The device spun faster and faster until the crystal calmed down along with the device, causing the papers to fall to the floor.
"I told you it would work." Viktor told Jayce with a smile. "All yours."
"It's never done that before." Jayce whispered. "All right. Here we go."
Jayce carefully twisted the button between his fingers, watching as the crystal and the device started to move.
Everything was going well until something more powerful than a spark came out of the crystal, something like a burst of energy.
You watched the device in amazement while Jayce and Viktor struggled to stay on their feet.
“Disengage!”
Another burst of energy came out of the crystal and then, after a second, a loud noise caught your attention.
You turned around and saw that the window… had shattered, broken glass was softly floating in the air.
But as if that weren't enough, another burst of energy came out and then the broken glass suddenly flew toward where you were.
"Shit!" You cursed before moving your arms to protect Jayce and Viktor from the broken glass.
Jayce was finally able to press the button, causing the device to turn off.
"Incredible."
You inspected your non-dominant arm and saw that there were about three or four pieces of broken glass there, which you removed one by one.
"Are you both okay?" You asked, they didn't reply.
While inspecting them for injuries, you frowned when you saw that Jayce had a cut on his cheek.
"Are you okay?" Jayce asked Viktor.
"I'm fine." Viktor told him looking at Jayce's injury. "I should be the one asking you that."
"It's okay, I'm fine. "Jayce didn’t give it much importance. "It could have been worse."
Viktor then walked towards the door.
"Viktor?" Jayce asked. "What are you doing?"
"I have no doubt that the guards heard all of that and are running towards here right now." Viktor placed his cane between the pull handles. "We'd better hurry."
You frowned before cracking your knuckles.
They don't have to worry, you will take care of the guards.
About ten or fifteen minutes passed when you heard the guards trying to force the door open.
"Open up!" One guard kicked the door.
"Stop this lunacy at once!"
You looked at the door in shock and confusion.
Hermerdinger was here?! How?!
He has the shortest legs you've ever seen!
"They're almost-" Viktor started saying before stopping when he saw where his cane was.
Or rather, where it was supposed to be.
It wasn’t his cane that was keeping the doors closed, it was a chain with a padlock.
Where was his cane?! Where did the chain and padlock come from?!
Looking around, he discovered that his cane was leaning against the bookshelf.
He looked at his cane and then at the door with confusion.
"When did you change my cane with a chain?" Viktor asked while looking at the door.
"What? Viktor, what are you talking about?" Jayce asked him back before looking at the door.
They both stared at the door for a few seconds before looking at each other.
"I didn't put that there." Jayce confessed.
Another kick to the door reminded them where they were.
"They're almost through. No pressure." Viktor told him.
"That sounds like pressure!" Jayce shouted.
"Open the door!" Another guard kicked the door.
"Okay, that's enough!" You shouted before leaving the lab.
You approached the guards from behind, grabbed them by the collar of their uniforms... and pulled.
Screams came from the guards as you dragged them away from the lab doors.
"What?!" Heimerdinger looked back and saw the guards being dragged across the floor out of his sight.
Meanwhile, inside the laboratory, Jayce and Viktor look at the door with surprise and confusion.
One moment they were hearing the guards trying to force the door open, the next they were hearing the same guards screaming before silence fell behind the doors.
Jayce and Viktor looked at each other.
"What's happened?" Jayce dared to whisper.
"I don't know." Viktor whispered back.
Silence fell over them before they focused all their attention on the device.
A few seconds later you found a closet, opened it, and then threw the guards in there.
"Sorry not sorry!" You told them before closing the door.
You walked over to where Heimerdinger was and carefully picked him up.
"Ah!" He yelped. "What's happening?!"
You took a few steps away from the doors and lowered him down on the floor.
"And stay there!" You told him before entering the lab again.
"I'm back, what did I miss?"
You arrived just in time to see runes circling the crystal.
You approached as Jayce began to twist the button once more.
He first twisted the button to the right.
You and Viktor gasped when a memory came to the mind of you both…
A memory that belonged to neither of you…
Of a little boy and his mother walking through a snowstorm…
The little boy screaming for help the moment his mother faints…
A kind mage finding them and using his magic to take them to a safe place…
He then twisted the button to the left.
Jayce and Viktor gasped when a memory came to the mind of them both…
A memory that only belonged to you…
Of you falling from a window after an explosion…
And falling into the arms of a kind mage…
With runes surrounding you both, making the two of you float in the air…
He then twisted the button to the right.
You looked at them while they looked at each other.
A burst full of runes and energy came out of the crystal while the lab glowed a beautiful blue.
You watched in amazement as Jayce and Viktor floated in the air.
The crystal was shining inside a magical sphere, bathing the laboratory in a blue light.
Tears of happiness fell from your eyes.
They did it, they created magic!
You walked over to the chain and unlocked the padlock without any difficulty.
Once the door opened, you went to pick up Viktor's cane while Heimerdinger entered the lab.
He looked at Jayce and Viktor in disbelief.
You smiled seeing Jayce lightly tap a small gear toward Viktor's direction.
The gear was absorbed by the magical sphere and disappeared for a few seconds before reappearing, this time on Viktor's side.
Viktor watched the gear spinning for a few second before gently grabbing it between his finger.
"You've actually done it." You heard Heimerdinger say. "But just because it can be done, doesn't mean…"
He can't be serious!
"This is not what Piltover's future looks like, my dear boys." Heimerdinger told them.
"That's for the Council to decide."
You smiled seeing Mel at the door.
"Perhaps it's time." Mel declared. "For the era of magic."
"Uh, Hextech. For the era of Hextech." Jayce told her.
Heimerdinger looked at Mel before looking at Viktor and Jayce. "You both are still in trouble!" He told them. "What you did was breaking and entering!"
"Breaking and entering? What did they break?" You asked him before starting to float towards where Viktor was. "What they did was unlocking and entering, totally different."
Once you were near Viktor, you carefully placed his cane in his left hand.
"No, wait." You looked towards at the window. "I guess that counts as breaking, doesn't it?"
"Who are you?"
It takes you a few seconds to process Viktor's words.
"What?" You looked at Viktor.
"I asked." He looked back at you. "Who are you?"
Your eyes widened open like never before.
You can't believe it, he can-
"You can see me?" You softly asked him.
Now it was Viktor who was looking at you with widened eyes. "Yes, I can." He whispered.
"What kind of question is that?!" You heard Jayce ask. "Of course we can see you!"
One moment you were looking at Jayce, the next you were right in front of him.
"Can you repeat that?" You asked him.
Jayce looked at you, he was spechless for a few second before softly saying. "Of course we can see you."
You were in shock for a few seconds before you grabbed Jayce's hands and started spinning around.
"I can't believe it!"
He yelped while you screamed in excitement.
"You can see me, you can see me!"
You let go of his hands, causing Jayce to spin wildly in the air to one side while you spun to the other.
"So many years have passed since the last time I spoke to someone!" You exclaimed with tears in your eyes. "So many that I even lost count!"
You try to take deep breaths to calm down while everyone in lab was watching you in shock.
"My name-" You try to introduce yourself. "My name is-"
Heimerdinger interrupted you, calling you by your name. "Is that you?" He asked in shock.
"Heimerdinger." You looked at him with a smiled. "Yes, it's me."
"I thought you were dead." He confessed.
"I'm sorry to tell you that it's true." You told him. "Yes, I am dead."
"Are you telling us that you are…" Mel began to ask.
My name is Dawn and I hope you guys enjoy this multi-chapter fic!
English is not my first language so tell me if I wrote anything wrong.
Do not feed my work to AI.
Chapter CW/TW : none.
—
"Did you hear? A building exploded!"
"Is this a joke? Of course I heard it! It would be impossible not to! It left a hole in the wall!"
Slowly, you lifted your gaze from the different types of flowers to then see two men talking.
You were outside a flower shop, not to buy, but to look at all the beautiful flowers, from daisies to peonies and from lavender to hydrangeas.
You debated whether to stay and keep looking at the flowers until the flower shop closed as usual or to follow the two men and listen to the gossip.
Unfortunately for the flowers, your curiosity and love for gossip were stronger.
"I will come back tomorrow morning." You told the florist before leaving, she didn’t reply.
You caught up with the two men and started walking alongside them.
"A building exploded, you say?" You asked them, they didn't reply.
"How did that even happen?"
"Apparently some people from the undercity broke into the building to steal."
"You mean from Zaun." You told him.
"Ugh, but of course! Were they caught?"
"No, but guess what? The one who was arrested was the man they stole from."
"What?!" You and the other man exclaimed in shock.
"But why?"
"From what I heard, he created the thing that exploded."
"What was he making? A bomb?" You asked incredulously.
"What the hell was he making that caused a explosion that big?"
"I don't know."
"Do you know his name?"
"I think his name is James? Jason? Something like that, I'm not sure." The man shook his head. "I only know that he will be taken to trial and that the workshop belongs to the Kirammans."
"The Kirammans?!"
"Trial, huh?" You asked before walking away, leaving the two men alone.
This is something you need to see.
You started walking toward the building where the trial was going to take place, you knew the way there like the back of your hand.
It's not the first time you went there to watch a trial… and it certainly won't be the last.
—
You sighed upon seeing the empty room.
Now that you think about it… maybe you should have waited longer to hear the man say when the trial was going to start.
You walked over to a wall and leaned back against it, then slid down and sat on the floor.
After waiting for about fifteen or twenty minutes, you started to feel bored.
You decided to take a nap even if it was something you no longer needed, anything you dream of is better than being bored for an unknown amount of time.
If you had to guess, you would say that about thirty or forty minutes passed before the sound of the large doors opening woke you from your unnecessary nap and your intriguing dream.
"Oh, come on." You said before getting up. "Just when it was getting good."
Upon seeing the civilians and the enforcers, you decided to go ahead and took a random spot that was close enough to the round table to see and hear better.
You looked toward the doors and saw the counselors arrive, among them was Cassandra Kiramman and Heimerdinger.
If what that man said is true and the workshop really belonged to the Kirammans, then this man was screwed.
You decided to look at the nails of your dominant hand to pass the time a little, even though years had passed and they still looked the same, when the sound of footsteps and something else made you look up and see a man leaning on a cane beside you.
After a second, you recognized him as Viktor, Heimerdinger's assistant.
"What's up?" You asked before slapping yourself in the face out of embarrassment for making such an unnecessary introduction, he didn't reply.
Fortunately, the sound of the doors opening pulled you out of your embarrassment, you lifted your head and saw the accused enter the room followed by an enforcer.
As the man walked toward the round table, the windows slowly closed, stealing the light from the room until nothing was left but darkness.
A beam of light shone on him a few seconds later.
"Jayce Talis." You heard Cassandra say. "You are accused of ilegal experimentation and endangering the citizens of Piltover."
Oh, so his name was neither James nor Jason? Got it.
"What do you have to say for yourself?"
"The materials were far more dangerous than I was aware of, and I… I now know my actions were against the Academy regulations." You heard Jayce say after a few seconds. "What I did endangered people. It was reckless, and for that, I'm sorry."
"You heard him, folks, he is sorry." you joked. "Come on, give him another chance."
"I ask the Council's forgiveness, and I hope that I can continue my studies."
"As jayce's patron of many years, I can speak of his character." Cassandra revealed. "I believe that one day he will be a great contributor to our society."
Wait, she is his patron? And she is defending him? Maybe he's not as screwed as you thought.
"He destroyed a building."
Nevermind.
"Do you have anything to show for your work beside an explosion?" You heard Mel Medarda ask Jayce.
"Uh, no. It came to nothing."
"So, you're saying your study was meaningless?"
"It was revolutionary!" Jayce exclaimed.
"Revolutionary how?" Mel questioned. "All I see is a boy meddling with things he doesn't understand."
You cover your mouth with your hand in surprise before smiling, you tried so hard not to laugh and failed miserably.
One thing led to another, now all the counselors were talking to each other at the same time.
"Oh, come on! Can't they talk one at a time?" You frowned. "I don't understand anything they are saying."
"I was trying to create magic!" Jayce confessed.
Silence fell all over the room.
"Magic?" You whispered in surprise before looking at Viktor to see that he also was surprised.
"Arcane talents are something you're born with." Shoola explained. "They can't be fabricated."
"Actually, I believe it is possible." Jayce revealed.
"Has anyone even tried it before?" Mel asked.
You looked at Heimerdinger and, when he said nothing, you sighed in disappointment.
"The Arcane is the curse of our world." Bolbok decided to speak. "My race was nearly destroyed by it."
"Surely, we the pioneers of science, can use it for good." Jayce's words made you smile.
It also made you think about the time you tried to create magic.
Unfortunately, you never got to see if it worked.
"Jayce, enough." You frowned at Heimerdinger's words.
"This is the city of progress, think of the wonders we could create!" Jayce continued. "Let me prove-"
"Enough!" Heimerdinger interrupted him.
"Come on, let him talk." You said crossing your arms.
"You don't understand what's at stake." Hermerdinger told Jayce. "But how can you? That's a burden only I here carry."
You frowned and shook your head upon hearing his words, didn't Bolbok say his race was nearly destroyed a few minutes ago?
"Listen to him." You said in favor of Jayce. "Give him the chance I never got."
"The Ethos is clear." Bolbok spoke again. "He must be banished from Piltover."
"No!" You exclaimed.
"Please, let me speak!" You heard someone in the crowd say.
You saw an elderly woman walk forward before stopping a few steps behind Jayce.
"As a lower house, my voice doesn't carry much weight here."
—
Good news, Jayce wasn't banished from Piltover.
Bad news, he was expelled from the academy.
It turns out that the woman who came to Jayce's defense was his mother, somehow she managed to get the counselors to reduce his sentence and now he was in her care.
You started thinking about your own parents.
Would they have done the same thing she did if you were in Jayce's place? Absolutely, They always loved and supported you.
Would it have worked? You don't think so, to be honest.
It started to rain when you saw Jayce leave the house.
Did you follow him to the house? Well, yes, you walked by his side and later decided to stay outside to give him privacy.
Besides, what were you supposed to do? Not follow him and never see him again?
This man has the same dream as you! He wanted to create magic!
You just wanted to get to know more of him and of his dream, nothing more.
You caught up with him and started walking by his side.
"I know how you feel, I tried the same thing." You told him, he didn't reply.
It didn't seem like it was going to stop raining anytime soon.
"You should have brought an umbrella." You commented. "You are going to catch a cold."
You both finally arrived at the Kiramman Mansion after what felt like hours, you stayed back to give him some privacy again.
You followed him once he finished talking to Cassandra and left the place.
"Why did you want to come here?" You asked him an hour later when the two of you arrived at a building, the both of you went inside.
You followed him to a door and, once he opened it, saw a destroyed room with a big hole in the wall.
"Wait, is this what I think it is?" You asked.
This was the building that exploded? What was he doing here?
You saw Jayce walk toward a table, you went over and found him trying to turn on a lamp, he gave up after a few failed attempts.
You frowned before wrapping your fingers around the light bulb and turning it slightly to the right, which turned on the lamp and made Jayce look at it in surprise.
"You're welcome." You smiled before looking around the room.
The chalkboard caught your attention, you walked towards it and saw two things that surprised you.
First, the fact that the chalkboard survived the explosion.
Second, what was written there in the chalkboard.
It was beautifully striking, intriguing, brilliant, unique, magical.
You spent the next few minutes carefully reading the chalkboard, noting all the details and equations to understand it better when suddenly the light went out.
"Hey!" You exclaimed before turning around and saw that Jayce had turned off the lamp. "Come on, I wasn't done reading that!"
You saw Jayce pull something off his wrist, a wristband, and rest it on a sheet of paper on the table before he started walking towards the hole.
"Jayce?" You called for him, feeling worried.
He stopped and just stood there, watching.
"Jayce, stay away from the edge." You warned him. "Come on, that's dangerous."
You tried to ignore that gut-wrenching feeling in the pit of your stomach, it was probably nothing, he probably just needed to get some air.
He took a step forward.
"Jayce!" You shouted at him before approaching and stopping right in front of him, making him shiver. "You can't do this to yourself, don't you dare!"
He took another step forward.
You were about to push him back and away from the edge when a voice stopped not only you but Jayce as well.
"Am I interrupting?"
As Jayce backed away startled from the edge, you looked behind him and saw-
"Viktor!" You exclaimed, happy but also surprised to see him here.
"The hell is your problem?" Jayce angrily looked at him before noticing the book in his hands. "What's that? Another list with my name on it?" He questioned Viktor before turning his back and looking back at the edge.
"Don't make me say it again, Jayce!" You shouted at him. "Stay away from the edge!"
"Actually, yes, but only because you signed your notes." Viktor answered Jayce's question. "Every page, I might add."
"His notes?" You asked, trying to get a better look at the book.
"Eh, a little egotistical, don't you think?"
"Is that why you came? To insult me?"
"No, no, I was… I was intrigued by what you said at the trial."
"That makes you the only one."
"Yes, well, I wanted to talk about your work." Viktor closed the book. "This Hextech theory of yours."
"It's not a theory." Jayce turned around to face him. "I saw with my own eyes what magic can do, the lives it could save."
Your eyes widened with astonishment and curiosity at Jayce's words, he saw that too?
"You've no idea how beautiful it is."
But you did know, you knew how beautiful it could be.
"And now it's gone. No one believed me." Jayce looked back at the edge.
"Nobody's ever believed in me." Viktor approached Jayce and stood beside him. "A poor cripple from the undercity."
Seeing that everything was under control, you placed your hand on your chest and tried to calm your heart.
Breathe, exhale.
In and out.
You hadn't felt this anxious in a long time, you almost forgot what it felt like.
"I was an outsider the moment I stepped foot in Piltover." You heard Victor say. "I didn't have the benefits of a patron or a name."
A name... you knew exactly what he meant by that.
He meant a last name, almost no one in Zaun has one.
Those that did have one were considered lucky.
You weren't one of those people, at least not until you got married… to him.
The worst decision of your life.
You had a wonderful marriage, but if you had the option to go back in time and reject not only his marriage proposal but also his courtship, you wouldn't hesitate for a second to take it, even if it meant not having a last name.
Your chest, left leg, and the wrist of your non-dominant arm still hurt from time to time.
"I simply believed in myself." Viktor told Jayce. "Which is why I'm here because I think you're on to something."
"See, Jayce?" You asked him with a tiny smile. "You're not alone."
"I want to help you complete your research."
"No one thinks it can be done."
"When you're going to change the world, don't ask for permission."
You saw Viktor raise his hand and show something for Jayce to take, his wristband.
Jayce looked at it before gently taking it from his hand.
"I don't even know your name." Jayce looked at his eyes.
"It's Viktor." He looked back.
You smiled at them.
They will succeed, they will change the world for the better.
[ Look at my DNI before interacting with my blog, please ]
[ Arcane ]
[ Sky x Reader ]
[ Reader is member of the Hexteam ]
Reader: Bad news, Viktor locked himself outside of his own house.
Reader: Good news, we didn’t have to wait around for a locksmith.
Reader: Bad news, Jayce finds it very concerning that I know how to pick locks, and tried to unlock my Tragic Backstory(TM). I was too embarrassed to admit that the reason I learned it was because, at thirteen, I figured that was the kind of skill that would impress cute girls.
Reader: Good news, a cute girl saw me do it.
Reader: Bad news, it was Sky, and since she had already seen me fall out of several trees, cry because I saw a poro that was just too damn small, and knows I can ride a unicycle, she’ll never think I’m cool no matter what I do. It’s too late. She knows.
I can't help but imagine the Arcane characters (like Viktor, Jayce, Ekko, Jinx, etc) with a s/o who is a grimwalker like Hunter from The Owl House, especially if the hexstone was used instead of the galdorstone.
Just imagine their reactions upon finding out that not only are you the clone of someone who had been dead longer than you both (reader and the character) have been alive, but also that you have something that, if not handled carefully, could fucking explode inside your chest!
They also don't know what will happen if they remove the hexstone, what if they remove it safely and you still die?
It gets worse when they find out that you aren't even the first clone, you are the first one to live beyond (seventeen for characters like Jinx and Ekko)/(twenty-something for characters like Viktor and Jayce)! All the other clones were killed by your father/uncle!
All of them are planning to kill your father/uncle and make it seem like an accident if he is still alive, except Jinx, she will throw the corpse in the trash.
Bonus: Somehow, Singed discovers that you are a clone and goes crazy trying to find you, especially if you stole the book that your father/uncle used to clone you! That book is the key to bringing his daughter back!
Extra bonus: Somehow, Caitlyn also discovers that you are a clone and abuses her power to find you, she urges/demands you to give her the book to bring her mother back.
Extra extra bonus: when Silco dies, Jinx takes the book from you in order to bring him back and she either:
A) succeeds in cloning him with all his memories (making her think that she actually managed to "bring him back" and not just clone him).
B) succeeds in cloning him but without his memories (she feels so devastated, but tries to convince herself that this is better than nothing).
C) succeeds in cloning him but only as a baby (help her, she has no idea what to do).
