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Entry tags:
[Closed] Leave your tranquilizers at home
WHO: Viktor, Caitlyn, and Jayce
WHAT: Just a casual meet up, definitely nothing dramatic
WHERE: Godsblood
WHEN: Backdated to Viktor's arrival (Aug 9th)
WARNINGS: None so far
Viktor mindlessly touches the shard embedded into his skin, evenly placed at the center of his collarbone. Although clothed now, his naked form held hidden no secrets from Caitlyn as she discovered him, shivering and alone in the Seeker shrine. He canāt refute what sheās already seen- the sinew-like purple strips covering his leg and hand, and then the scars of magical symbols cut into his skin, only barely healed over. He knows what he looks like- an experiment gone wrong.
Along with the circumstances of their new realityā¦ it would be an act of foolishness to cling to denial. Heās going to have to explain at least most of what heās done. Whether or not he can bring himself to be honest about Sky is a matter heāll have to decide once Jayce is in the picture as well. For now, it is just the two of them during their travel from the Pleroma lodestone to Godsblood proper, where Jayce is. Viktor promised her he would explain as much as she wanted, just donāt make him do it twice.
He's not going to speak up just yet. The shame being caught in a lie is bad enough.
WHAT: Just a casual meet up, definitely nothing dramatic
WHERE: Godsblood
WHEN: Backdated to Viktor's arrival (Aug 9th)
WARNINGS: None so far
Viktor mindlessly touches the shard embedded into his skin, evenly placed at the center of his collarbone. Although clothed now, his naked form held hidden no secrets from Caitlyn as she discovered him, shivering and alone in the Seeker shrine. He canāt refute what sheās already seen- the sinew-like purple strips covering his leg and hand, and then the scars of magical symbols cut into his skin, only barely healed over. He knows what he looks like- an experiment gone wrong.
Along with the circumstances of their new realityā¦ it would be an act of foolishness to cling to denial. Heās going to have to explain at least most of what heās done. Whether or not he can bring himself to be honest about Sky is a matter heāll have to decide once Jayce is in the picture as well. For now, it is just the two of them during their travel from the Pleroma lodestone to Godsblood proper, where Jayce is. Viktor promised her he would explain as much as she wanted, just donāt make him do it twice.
He's not going to speak up just yet. The shame being caught in a lie is bad enough.
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His new limbs, new vigor, and everything else were stunning, and while she'd been curious his request had been reasonable enough.
"So. I need you to take hold of this amulet," she said after a moment, checking to make sure things were quiet and they weren't going to be ambushed. "I know this is all very confusing but think of this like a portable hexgate. We'll be with Jayce soon, and get you some proper clothes."
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"Thank you, Caitlyn," he says quietly, and takes hold of the amulet as instructed.
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Caitlyn does tense as she hears boots moving at the entrance to the Shrine, but in a flash the two of them are gone. Vanished, leaving only bare footprints and boots.
The Lodestone chamber they arrive in is large, the stone towering over everything.
"Now we're safe," she says, relief evident in her tone. Looking around, she spots some of the supply drops she'd left, and jerks her head towards them.
"I've clothes stashed there. Boots, proper attire. I don't know if I'll have anything to fit you, but something should. Go dig some out, and I'll make sure Jayce knows you've arrived. We'll get you up to speed."
And while he does that, she pulls out her shard and shoots Jayce a communion.
Viktor is here. Come to the Lodestone.
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But Jayce hadn't foreseen this specific sequence, the dishwater sudsing his hands, the rough cotton of the towel thrown down against the cool tiled floor. His fist clenched against his heart.
I'm coming. Bile rises against his esophagus, the fear that this was only a dream. Wait for me.
As if Caitlyn would do otherwise.
Sharp air punctures his lungs, electricity runs up his spine, the Lodestone cutting a spectacular silhouette against the horizon. When he arrives before them, he feels faint.
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Viktor feels another wave of exhaustion over him, and exhales deep.
Jayce is on his way. His best friend, his partner. How would... how would he react? Viktor trusts that he'll understand.
But what if he doesn't? the darkness in his mind proposes. What if Jayce and Caitlyn both look on him with disgust for what he's done? He isn't ashamed of his... initial actions. He had done it for his own survival. What happened after that isn't something he could have predicted.
It might be easier to confess without Caitlyn there, but he knows he owes her answers now too. The very little contact he's had with her previous to this world, and now he owes her more than he can voice. It would cause him to shudder if he had to imagine what it would be like if the group Caitlyn feared found him first.
There's Jayce. And here's Viktor, without his cane or his crutch, but still standing hunched and awkward, in clothes too big for him. He nods, a quiet 'hello.'
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When Jayce arrives, she holds her silence for a moment, letting the two men say what they need to before she cuts in. She gets it. This is important for the two of them.
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Like an unconscious hymn already on his lips, his lungs still burning from the rush over. He stares at the hunched man before him, without crutch, evidence of veined purple at Viktor's hand ā on his hand. Caitlyn nearby, her sharpshooter senses primed. Jayce takes a step forward, heel faltering.
He breaks into a brief jog, closing the distance. Arms thrown around Viktor's thin shoulders.
"I almost gave up hope," he says. "No one knew how to summon you back."
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More time passes, and there. Jayce in the doorway, looking somewhat out of breath. It's a good thing he sets down the cup before Jayce approaches, going in for that tender hug before Viktor can blink. He doesn't wrap his arms around Jayce in return, but it's clear enough he's accepting it as he leans into Jayce's chest, eyes closed. Normally not one for physical contact, let alone an embrace, he's warmed up to Jayce's penchant for touch.
"Summon me back?" Somehow that's not what he expected. He'd gathered quickly that Jayce and Caitlyn had been here for some time, despite he recalls having seen them only a day ago in his perspective. It didn't make sense, but it made more sense than that one word.
"What do you mean... back?"
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"You've been here before," she says simply, before going on to explain. "Time flows strangely here, and sometimes people vanish into thin air. A few return at a later point in their personal timeline. There was a man named Cid Garlond who experienced something similar, not that long after we arrived...only he returned a few days later instead of a few months."
She knows this is a lot to drop on Viktor, but she expects he'll grasp it well enough.
"From our perspective, you arrived when we did and then vanished for months. I'm...going to guess that time continued to flow for you, but I don't know how long."
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"What..." His hands feel the recalibration of Viktor's stance. No crutch, no tilt from a weakened limp. Jayce takes a step back his eyes roaming over Viktor's body.
"We weren't the only ones to change." Another statement.
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"I have no memory of..." Being here. And then leaving? Leaving to go where? The crystal he tore himself out of like a chrysalis didn't seem to be the type he could crawl back into. Not only that, but a few months? It had been maybe a day since he last saw Jayce. In Piltover.
If by grasping it, one means slowly coming to terms with it, that's the reaction he's having. Even if it gnaws at him- why, how, when- all he can do is accept it, for now. More pressing things are occurring. Even with the new clothes on, his hand is exposed.
"Yes." Of course Jayce would notice immediately. The state of Viktor's body has never been much of a secret to him. Time to own up to it, as he promised Caitlyn as well.
Viktor pulls in a deep breath, exhales, and then meets Jayce's eyes with eyebrows furrowed.
"I experimented on myself." He raises his purple hand, the strips of purple almost-flesh-like material wrapping itself into the form of fingers. If one looks closely enough, there's gaps in the material. Completely see-through to the other side. This isn't merely an existing hand turned a different color, but rather that the original hand must have been stripped away entirely, and replaced with the new connective tissue.
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The shift in his physical state was certainly something. He'd clearly been doing something, but when he offers his explanation to the pair of them, she can't keep silent.
"I'm sorry, you did what?"
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Nothing he knew of.
"What," the words break weakly from a tight throat, "was the last thing you remember? From back home."
A sour acid slipped up from his stomach, into his throat.
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"I..." Viktor swallows. Works on obtaining that neutrality once again. "The Council meeting to discuss Zaun's self-governance." Is it possible they remember different things?
Caitlyn's question is unsurprisingly more difficult to answer. Cutting right to the chase, as he would expect. "The adaptive rune-matrix. The combination I discovered had side effects." That's putting it lightly. Safely. Jayce would understand. Kiramman may not.
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Hell's bells, she had no idea how close she was from Viktor initially, but that was an eventful night. One she doesn't want to bring up with Jayce just yet.
She casts a quizzical look at Jayce.
"Other than transmuting your body, what other effects did it have?"
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"I wasn't there." Spoken thickly on his tongue, a damnation of self. "I wasn't there, was I? Busy with Council crap."
Acidic against his teeth.
"Which formula?" As if he could solve it now; Viktor's calculations had always been so precise.
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Viktor's eyes go hard. Unreadable, even to Jayce. He's not ready to talk about that part yet.
"For the best that you weren't." Jayce's hand is heavy on his shoulder, but he's grateful for that solid weight. The horrific image appears too quickly in his mind, of what it would look like for Jayce to be torn apart like that, to fall to dustā
"It was not the formula alone that did this. The Hexcore needed substances to complete the transmutation. A mixture of my blood and..." He doesn't feel guilty about this. He doesn't. He needed to do it, to survive.
The word comes out quieter than he intended anyway.
"Shimmer."
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"...It...helped, then?"
Hopefully? There's no judgement in her voice at least, just curiosity and concern.
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He always reverted to stating the obvious when anxious, desperate. Facts were obvious, and facts were foundational. He needed parameters before he could analyze the data.
"You're lucky you've come out of that alive," how could Jayce know the other side of his words, "you'reāyouāthe probability alone!"
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"Yes," he says quickly, jerking Jayce's hand off his shoulder. What he had been so grateful for a few seconds ago now feels like a restraint. The sharpness not intended for Caitlyn even though he looks at her when those words leave his lips.
"Yes." Those still piercing eyes slide over to meet Jayce's now. "It helped."
He lived. Sky died, but he lived. Is he grateful for that? Or does he just not want her unintentional sacrifice to be in vain?
This is about the time he'd try and escape the conversation- it's that, or let it escalate into an argument. Only problem is he doesn't know the way out of here, so he looks to Caitlyn again, lips thinly pressed together. Maybe she'll read his mind, his pride too stubborn to let him ask out loud how to leave.
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"Well, we know now. And you're okay. So we need to get you topside, and explain what's going on."
She gives Jayce a look, eyes glittering with a light that clearly is meant to convey the phrase Don't push this, Talis.
"Where would be best to start?"
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But she delivers that look to him, and he closes his mouth, he sighs.
"The whole situation with the Regent, I guess?" He's unenthused.
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"Any information would be helpful." A concession, softly-spoken. A glance to Jayce, an unspoken apology. Sorry. I just can't tell you yet.