Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Six Months.

Six months since Jayce had received the most life shattering phone call.

Six months since he had received his partners ashes in a simple urn, informed that there had been nothing left of the body in the lab accident that would be fit for a viewing.

Six months since an explosion ripped away Viktor's life.

Six months since Jayce's dreams had been dashed upon the rocks below the precipice that had been their life.

Six months since his life went to shit.

Jayce Talis' spiral was not a slow decent into self destruction. It started in the days leading up to the funeral, a fast paced bout of rampage through the apartment as dishes were shattered and obscenities were yelled, before he had started turning to the drink. What had once been something the scientist had used as a means of celebration and camaraderie was now his means to desperately numb the aching emptiness Viktor's death had left.

He had been barely sober for the funeral, suffering from the ailments that came from over consumption and barely acknowledging the small handful of people that had arrived for the affair.

His mother. Caitlyn. Mel. People there more for the sake of Jayce than to remember Viktor. Even the smattering of coworkers that knew the two of them knew little of the brilliance of Jayce's late partner.

It tore Jayce apart to know that someone that had shown so brightly in his life was barely a blip in others. To know that his supernova was barely dwindling embers to the people in their lives.

The dwindling crowd gave their condolences, and offers of support, before they left for their still whole homes.

His mother held him close. She, too, understood the loss of a life partner, and she wanted nothing more than to tear this pain away from her son. Still, her promises that his future were still bright, that he could live on did nothing but open the wound in Jayce's heart further.

"It gets easier." Caitlyn had offered quietly. She, too, had become familiar with the loss of a loved one, her mother having passed away in the year prior. "The wound never closes, but you keep going. You learn to live with it."

Jayce found the words hollow. He didn't want to learn to live with it.

Six months after Viktor's death, he still couldn't learn to live with it.

He was a shell of a man, merely going through the motions until he could get home and drink himself to sleep.

Rinse. Repeat.

The concerns of loved ones fell on deaf ears. Jayce would placate them just enough to keep them from committing him, but that was all the energy he had for his social obligations.

His research had fallen to a standstill. No longer were the breakthroughs forthcoming. Jayce barely had the will to focus on the insignificant daily tasks.

He was barely doing the minimum, if one could call it that. Both at work, and for himself.

"It wasn't supposed to be this way!" Jayce found himself screaming one night, an empty bottle of brandy shattering against the wall of the once shared apartment.

Snarls of rage came between each breath, before hitching, softening, until finally tears began to flow from hazel eyes as his voice devolved into sobs.

Drunkenly, his back slammed against the wall, hands tangling in his now overgrown hair.

"You weren't supposed to leave me. Not like this."

Knees were pulled to his chest as Jayce buried his face against them. Tears soaked the fabric of his slacks as the weight of his emotions spilled from his eyes.

" We had finally found a way to save you." the man choked between his sobs.

It had been true. Before everything had fallen apart, they had been faced with the looming threat of Viktor's own mortality. The man had been sick his own life, his own body trying to remove him from the mortal coil into an early grave. They had gone through every possible treatment, but the prognosis had remained the same.

Terminal.

That was, until someone had come to them with a chance at giving Viktor a second chance at life.

There was no reason to suspect Doctor Corin Reveck. The man, after all, had worked in the same company of labs they had. The news of Viktor's illness had not been a secret, as hard as he had tried to keep it from getting out. It had traveled, and after Jayce and Viktor had exhausted all other options, the word of hope came from Corin's desk.

The doctor had warned that treatments would grueling, but he had promised results.

Viktor had been skeptical, worn and weary of treatments that only provided comfort or false home. It had been a topic of several arguments between them, Jayce desperate to keep his partner by his side, Viktor exhausted from a battle he was losing.

"You have your life to live," Jayce pleaded one night, his head in Viktor's lap as his emotions got the better of him. "I know you are tired of dead ends, but please. Give this one more shot."

If this doesn't work, I promise to let you go. Jayce left those words unsaid, and at the time, he had been thankful for it.

The treatments had worked. Jayce had supported Viktor through the worst of it, helped him push through when the other man felt like giving in.

Then they had reached the other side. Viktor had his life to live without the thoughts of a looming expiration date.

Jayce's cries began to quiet, his drunken form beginning to lilt to the side slowly. The grief he had was still strong, the ever-present constant of his empty life, but his energy could only allow him so much.

"You had so much to give, Viktor." Jayce muttered as he slipped to the ground, curling into a ball as he thought back on the new future Viktor had been given.

After the treatments, after the illness had gone into remission, Corin had been impressed by Viktor's work. He had offered Jayce's partner to work on experimental technology that was promised to improve the lives of those with severe disabilities.

Viktor had been impressed with the work the doctor had done with the treatments, and while he had been regretful to end his partnership, but Jayce had encouraged him. He had always known his partner had gone into this field to help people. He had wanted Viktor to have that chance.

"We still have each other at home." Jayce reminded Viktor. "Go, do good."

So Viktor did, taking his second chance at life by the reigns.

That was when Jayce knew that he had wanted to be with this man for the rest of his life. He had everything planned, the ring picked out. The perfect proposal.

He had been walking out of the jewelry store when his phone rang with the call. Jayce's plans, his moments of happiness were shattered irreparably.

Now the ring sat next to the urn that he saw as Viktor, never to be worn by the finger it was intended for.

When Viktor had been torn away, it had torn away a part of Jayce. He would have never been able to keep his promise to let Viktor go.

He would let go of himself instead.

The linoleum tile was cool against Jayce's swimming head as he lay against the floor, not bothering to move. There was no motivation in him anymore.

In the darkened apartment, as the hours drew late, that was where Jayce stayed.

Morning was agony.

Pulling himself up from the kitchen floor where he had passed out in a drunken stupor, Jayce cursed. It wasn't the first time he had done this. He was certain it wouldn't be the last time.

He hoped it would be.

He had mused with the idea of just staying there, waiting until his body had wasted away. A self-righteous suicide for surviving his partner that had lost the life he had fought for. The idea left as quickly as it came. There were still people worried for him, and Jayce knew that if he had simply stopped showing up, they would coming looking for him.

Come into his apartment to drag him away to a facility.

The last thing he wanted was professionals trying to repair what couldn't be fixed, so he forced himself to participate in the pointless turning of the world.

His mouth tasted foul, of stale liquor. His head throbbed with the now daily hangover while his back twinged from being on the hard floor all night. Jayce pushed himself over to the the kitchen sink, ignoring the churning in his stomach as he grabbed a glass. He didn't care if it were clean. He was only worried about filling it with water to clear out the rancid flavor.

Drink, gargle, spit. It did little to ease the nausea. He grunted, before drinking the rest of the glass. His stomach protested, but Jayce didn't really give a shit.

The morning was a blur. Most where. It was a matter of going through the motions. Putting on clothes that may be clean, settling his hair so that it didn't look like he spent the night wasted on a floor. Brush his teeth to clear out the night's disgusting habit he had picked up.

Ignore the shattered bottle on the floor. Put on his shoes. Leave the apartment. Get in his car and head to the labs. Get to his station before anyone noticed him so that he wouldn't have to engage anyone.

That was how he managed most of his mornings.

There was a wrench thrown in when the usual entrance Jayce took was closed off, the security doors going under maintenance. He cursed his luck, realizing he would have to go around the building, adding time that would allow someone to notice him. He pushed his way through, continuing to ignore the aches of his body from the poor rest he had gotten the night before.

Jayce moved with haste as he willed the universe to allow him to avoid people. He didn't want their company, didn't need their pity, hated their condolences. He just wanted to get through with existing. In his haste, he had forgotten what lie ahead his path.

It had didn't register at first. The halls of the building where all the same brightly light and stark white walls lined black tiles and gray doors, each room an office or a lab kept pristine to ensure proper care for the work done within.

Every single one, except for one.

The lack of door and contrast of chaos within caught Jayce's eye, and he could not help his curiosity but to look inside. Tile within lay in cracked debris just past the caution tape of the door, white walls torn apart. Even the ceiling still had tell tale marks of smoke and ash, though the room was clearly under reconstruction.

The nameplate next to the door remained unchanged.

Viktor.

The memories of the night of that ruinous phone call came flooding back to Jayce.

He stood, frozen, his mind going through what could have happened. Viktor, working on an experiment moments before it exploded, the labs safety protocols failing. Viktor, lying in a pool of his own blood, body too destroyed for there to be a viewing at his funeral, let alone save his life.

Jayce had not been there, had not seen what happened. His mind filled with the images all the same.

His bag dropped to the floor as he fell to his knees, a pained wail coming from the man alerting those around to see what was wrong. Everything happened in a blur, too quickly for Jayce to register what happened. He had not noticed Sky rush to pull the man away from the lab into an adjoining office. Time simply didn't exist as he was forced into a chair while family was called. His breathing came in hyperventilated gasps as him mind veered down the darkest thoughts of Viktor's last moments.

He had been on autopilot as he was guided out of the building, having never made it to his own lab. Jayce didn't hear Caitlyn thank Sky for getting a hold of her while Jayce was guided into her car.

They were nearly three miles down the road before Jayce finally came back to his sense.

"Breathe, Jayce." Caitlyn said calmly as her eyes remained focused on driving. Jayce blinked, having not realized each breath was short, panicked. He closed his eyes tight, held his breath, and then finally let it out before rubbing at his eyes. He remembered nothing after he had looked at the remnants of Viktor's lab, but he knew that whatever hysteria he had gone through was a cause for concern for the woman he considered his little sister.

The ride home was silent. Jayce didn't bother argue to be brought back to his lab, knowing it to be a futile effort. Caitlyn was clearly trying to remain calm, but even she couldn't school her face against the immense concern that was etched on it.

A quick turn into the parking lot of Jayce's apartment complex, the car parking. Jayce reached for the handle, but found Caitlyn had already deployed the locks.

"You can't keep going like this, Jayce," she said, her voice filled with concern as she forced the opportunity to talk to the the disheveled man. "We don't want you suffering like this. Viktor wouldn't want to see you throw your life away.

Jayce slammed his hand against the car door, refusing to look at her. "It doesn't matter, does it?" he said, his voice raw an low as he undid the car door lock. "He's fucking dead."

Before Caitlyn could re-engage the lock, Jayce had already made his way out of the car, door slamming.

Six months ago, Caitlyn wouldn't have been able to imagine Jayce doing such an action.

She watched as the man made his way to his building, fumbling with his keys for a moment before making his way inside. She was trying so hard to be understanding, but there were limits. Even she knew that someone had to put a stop to this before Jayce destroyed himself.

She had to plan an intervention.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to pull out of the parking lot instead of going after Jayce. She knew it would have been a hopeless cause to try and talk to him alone. She needed a united front, even if that meant that front was forcing Jayce into getting help.

Her worried thoughts almost caused her to hit a white van that had been turning, and she sheepishly raised her hand to the driver apologetically. He had seemed familiar, but she figured she had probably seen him around the buildings. The vehicle and it's occupant were no more than a passing thought as she made her way out.

The laptop bag skidded across the table, stopping precariously on the edge as Jayce threw it, a fist slamming on the closed door of his apartment.

He cursed. He knew that it was only a matter of time, now, before Caitlyn got him sectioned. He hadn't even made it to his lab, the sight of his partner's demolished lab still burned in his head.

The pain of the images his mind conjured still haunting him.

He pushed himself off the door, making his way to the kitchen, growling in frustration as his shoes walked against the broken glass of the brandy bottle from the night before. He would worry about that later.

Maybe.

For now, Jayce just wanted his mind to shut up, to stop with the thoughts of Viktor's death.

He reached into the cabinet, grabbing out another bottle of liquor. Vodka. It was a bottle he had not yet touched because it had belonged to his partner, still opting to go to the store for his poison of choice, but Jayce wasn't in any condition to make his way to the corner store.

"This one is for you, V." he muttered, taking a long deep swig.

He wasn't much of a vodka drinker, and he chalked up the flavor to that. He thought it could have been off, something underneath the burn of the alcohol that shouldn't have been there, but how was he to know. The one that would was gone.

Jayce also chalked up how quickly he felt inebriated to the vodka.

Something started to register as off when he fell to the floor.

He groaned, his head spinning, head pressed against the cool tile. He thought he was hallucinating the sound of footsteps in the apartment. He would have thought Caitlyn, but even as blackness lurked at the edges of his vision the steps were far too calm to be hers.

Shoes came into his blurred vision as Jayce looked up to the form standing above him. They knelt down, Jayce squinting as a familiar face came into view.

"Doctor Reveck?" Jayce's voice slurred in confusion.

"Perhaps with you, I can get him under control." the figure spoke, voice familiar.

Jayce didn't understand what the words meant, who "he" was, but he wouldn't have time to think about it.

Six months after his partner was taken from him, Jayce's world went black.

Chapter Text

"You were right to come to me with this. We do need to stand united in this."

Caitlyn gave a small nod to Mel's collected words as she felt Vi's hand against her shoulder. Her hands grasped at a cup of coffee, a nervous twitch in her fingers. It helped having the support, but she couldn't help the guilt.

Mel sat, collected across from her at the small cafe that they had gathered at, a cup of tea in front of her as they discussed their plan of action. Vi had been the one to suggest it when Caitlyn had started their group chat, a place of neutral ground to express their concerns for Jayce's degrading mental health.

"I fell like I am betraying him." Caitlyn admitted, voice quiet. "I have been trying to get through to him, let him process this on his own but, well. You probably already heard."

Mel gave a nod, and reached out to grab Caitlyn's hand in a comforting gesture. "You are doing the right thing." she assured, her green eyes showing confidence in her statement. "You're right. He hasn't been able to handle this on his own. We've all been trying to give him space, but we have only enabled him to self destruct."

"At this point," Vi added in, her voice bold. "I'm willing to drag him to the hospital kicking and screaming. What you told him was right. His partner wouldn't want him to go out like this. He isn't listening."

Caitlyn felt relief at the support she got from both of them, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "I think we should meet him at the apartment." she said carefully. "His car is still at the labs, so I doubt he's gone anywhere. Besides," her voice filled with pain at the next few words.

"Chances, by this point, he's gotten into whatever bottle he has stashed. I hate to say it, but we could try and use that to our advantage to get him help."

"We'll do whatever it takes." Mel said, demeanor collected.

Plans were settled, their meeting coming to a close, they set out to do the task ahead. Caitlyn and Vi settled in their car, waiting for Mel to do the same before leading the charge.

The drive was tense, an air of uncertainty surrounding the two. Caitlyn was certain Mel was feeling the same. The woman had poise, knew how to handle unsettling situations, but it did not mean she wanted to fight someone she cared about.

When they all stood in front of Jayce's building, they faced one another to ensure they were all on the same page.

"Let's do this." Vi took charge, key jingling in her hand as she moved to unlock the building's door.

She wouldn't need to use them. As Vi set her hand against the door, it popped open with a gentle push. She looked over at the other two, confusion etched on her face before she walked in.

Odd, but not that out of the ordinary, at least for Vi.

Mel and Caitlyn were a bit more concerned about the apparent security risk.

They made their way inside, up to the floor in which the Talis apartment was. Nothing was said between them, all of them thinking about what they would need to say to save their friend's mental state.

To prevent Jayce from destroying himself.

"Why… is his door open?" Caitlyn asked as they reached it, not really expecting an answer. Even at his worst, Jayce had never been so careless.

Their worry grew.

A careful hand pushed the door open, blue eyes scanning the darkened apartment. "Jayce?" she called out carefully. "Jayce," we're here to talk." Cait hoped the fact that she was not alone in this would come across in her words.

The apartment remained silent.

Caitlyn motioned the other two in, deep concern etched on her face. "He might be passed out." she whispered, not needing to explain the reasoning why. They all knew the vice the man had picked up since that fateful day.

"Jayce," Mel called out, her voice schooled into that of warm concern. "We care about you. You need to talk to us." she gently commanded. Her green eyes scanned the apartment, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she realized the state it was in.

There were the signs of someone who had let everything go, and if it were that alone there would only be worry for Jayce's mental state.

The shelving in the living room being knocked down, books scattering across the floor where she knew the two men had kept unclassified research told a different story. "Vi, Cait, stay here." Mel said, her tone leaving no room for the argument the other two might make in the possibility that there may be danger.

No, Mel could sense that the apartment was empty. Knowing Jayce's habits in the past months, it concerned her, but she still made her way down the hall to confirm her suspicions.

The other two watched, before turning to one another. "Help me with the bookshelf." Cait asked, Vi affirming with a quick "On it." The stronger woman was already the shelves, lifting them back up before Cait had the time to make her way over.

"He isn't here," Mel called out from the bedroom, confirming what all of them knew.

"Where the hell would he have gone?" Vi asked. None of them were sure they wanted the answer.

Cait stared at the mess before her, journals and books in a haphazard mess before a glint caught her eye. She leaned down, reaching over to pick it up and look it over.

A silver band with a line of gold inlay, adorned with a simple pear cut sapphire, an inside inscription reading "Illuminate me. Make me complete."

Vi looked over to see realization strike Caitlyn. In moments, the smaller woman was digging through books and journals.

If something had happened to Viktor's ashes…

The urn was uncovered as Mel returned to them, a folded letter in her graceful hands. Vi caught the uncharacteristic unsettlement of the usually composed woman.

"What is that?" Vi asked quickly, stepping over as Caitlyn remained hovered over the mess within the living room, pulling out black porcelain from the pile.

"A suicide letter."

The quiet in the apartment was deafening.

"What?" Caitlyn yelled, shocked. "We have to-" but she was quickly cut off as a steady hand was gently raised to her.

"It isn't his handwriting."

This did little to ease their nerves.

Cailyn took a deep breath. Something had happened to Jayce, and they needed to figure out what.

Her thoughts were cut off as she felt sifting grains run over her hand. "Oh no…" she whispered, looking over at the urn she held. The porcelain was cracked, a small piece missing from the side.

What should have been the inconsistent texture of gray corpse ash was instead the flowing uniformity of beige.

Sand.

"What," Caitlyn started carefully, turning to the other two women. "What do we know about Viktor's death?"

"He was killed in an explosion," Vi answered quickly as if it were obvious. They all knew the details. "There wasn't much left of the body."

Caitlyn pursed her lips, making sure the other two had their eyes on the crouched woman before turning the hole of the urn to the ground. Mel and Vi watched horrified as Cait asked her next question.

"Did anyone see the body?"

"What the hell are you doing, Cupcake?" Vi shouted, unnerved by the sudden impulsive action. Mel, however, was taking stock of the situation.

"Nobody saw the body. Jayce only got an urn." Mel's eyes darted from the letter, to the urn, then back as she realized just how much was amiss.

"That doesn't mean she has to dump Viktor over the ground!" Vi's concern grew.

"These aren't ashes, Vi." Caitlyn said quickly, pouring some in her hand. "It's… it's sand."

Vi's eyes grew wide in disbelief. "How do you know."

Caitlyn shot Violet a look. "Vi, I handled my mother's ashes. They're… they're grey. They have bits of bone. This is sand." The explanation seemed to at least alleviate Vi's fears that Caitlyn had lost it .

At least a dead man's corpse wasn't being spread through the apartment.

"Do we have any way of knowing," Mel paused, unsure if she was believing what she was about to say herself, but the looks of the other two showed that they were wondering the same thing. "Do we have any way of knowing if Viktor is dead."

Caitlyn took a deep breath. "I can see about looking into the evidence of the case." she offered. "There wasn't much of an investigation but there still was one."

There was silence as Caitlyn processed everything.

"Whatever happened to Jayce, whatever happened to Viktor, I think they are linked." Mel quickly concluded.

"We need to find out whoever is behind this, quickly." Caitlyn agreed.

They were now in a race against time.

Pain.

It rattled Jayce's skull, seared down his back, his stomach twisting with a sour acid.

Of all the hangovers he had ever had, this one was certainly the worse.

He wouldn't heed it's warning.

His mouth was dry, rancid tasting as he drew in a deep, harsh breath. Eyelids fluttered open, but his vision swam and his head lolled back against the chair as the smell of unfamiliar chemicals flooded his nostrils.

Everything was too bright. Too cold. Metallic and cold and wrong.

Jayce closed his eyes again, trying to blink away the fog that swam through his mind. He felt off, sluggish, his limbs feeling like they were pushing through crude oil as he tried to raise his hand to rub at his eyes.

His sense came back to him slowly. Too slowly for it to have been the drink. The thought unsettled him.

For a time, his mind went blank once more. Jayce couldn't be certain for how long. Moments, maybe. Minutes. Maybe hours. His sense of time was off every time he drifted and awoke.

Lucidity was a slow process.

It wasn't until he was finally able to hold up his own head that he could make sense of his thoughts, his surroundings. The metal of a cheap chair dug into his back, making his movements stiff despite finally coming to.

With a rough growl, he forced himself to sit up, rubbing the dreariness from his eyes. He couldn't remember much of anything before he passed out. He remembered grabbing a bottle of vodka.

Maybe a familiar face. A familiar voice. Someone that should not have been in his home.

The thought made Jayce gasp, eyes shooting open wide at the sudden thought of there being an intruder, adrenaline suddenly surging through him.

The chair clattered backwards to the ground as he stood stock straight, ready to fight. As hazel eyes darted, a realization began to dawn on him.

He was not home.

It was black tile floor and stark white walls, with furniture of stainless steel around the room. Tools and beakers and notes littered the lab office in disorganized chaos.

A scene both familiar and alien to Jayce. He knew labs. He didn't know this one, couldn't see windows to orient himself to the building he was in.

"Ah, you are finally awake."

Jayce quickly shot around to face the voice, his muscles still tense with the urge of fight or flight. A familiar face greeted him behind a surgical mask, one eye cloudy with blindness as Jayce was analyzed by the other.

"Doctor Reveck, what are you doing here?" Jayce's voice was laced with agitation and confusion.

"I was a little bit concerned I may have added too much of a dose, but you seem to be upright now." the doctor's voice was cool, unnerved as he walked by the larger man. Jayce's eyes traced the man's movements, his apprehension high.

"Doctor Reveck, what is going on?" Jayce demanded. He followed behind the doctor. "Why the hell am I here? If this is about what happened at the of-"

Jayce was cut off with a raised hand.

"This has nothing to do with your performance, Talis." Doctor Reveck said dryly. "I require your assistance with a… more personal project."

Jayce scoffed, glaring at the man before him.

"I am not interested." Jayce's voice was tinged with a bit of rage. "I don't care about any projects. If you will excuse me…"

"I think you might take interest in this one. It concerns your… late… partner." Reveck's words were chosen carefully.

Jayce's eyes narrowed. "What does this have to do wtih Viktor?" he demanded, but the only response he got was a motion to follow.

Over six months ago, Jayce would have been thrilled to see the man that had saved his partner's life. Now, the insensitivity of the man was infuriating and Jayce was chasing after him with righteous indignation.

"What the fuck kind of games are you playing at?" the younger man demanded as he was lead to a different room, one with floors and walls of stainless steel, a deep magenta hue illuminating the room. "You brought me to some secret lab to what, show me the work that killed Viktor? To wh-"

Jayce's voice died in his throat.

"What the fuck…" he said in astonished disbelief.

The room was circular, and large. In two circular rows sat tubs of magenta liquid, most holding what looked to be unconscious patients, their heads held up by a contraption that held a cable that led to what looked to be a circular room in the center. The only signs of life were the monitors keeping track of vitals, and the rapid movement behind closed eyelids.

It looked like something out of a nightmare, causing Jayce to stop in his tracks.

"What are you doing to these people?" Jayce quietly demanded.

"Giving them… another life." Once again the words Reveck chose were carefully calculated.

"What the hell kind of life is this?" Jayce couldn't even begin to fathom. Reveck didn't bother to look back, continuing to move forward as he weaved between the tubs to the centralized room. Realizing that the doctor wasn't about to stop for anything, Jayce forced himself forward, rushing to catch up.

They slipped through the door into the smaller central room. A similar setup of five tubs, smaller than the ones outside, for holding people in a similar state of unconsciousness. Unlike the people outside, however, these seemed less like patients and more like official staff. Two scientists. One that looked ready for combat.

Why one would need to be geared in a state like that, Jayce couldn't even begin to imagine.

"What are you even doing?"

Doctor Reveck looked over at Jayce. "My life work." he gestured over, encouraging Jayce to look where directed.

The thought would quickly slip away, however, once hazel eyes caught sight of the center of the room.

A complex control panel on a base of steel sat at the bottom, another structure of steel at the top where all the cables from the tubs lead to held a round enclosure of glass. The same magenta liquid that sat in the tubs of the patients filled the tube of glass, bathing everything in a soft purple-red glow. Jayce's mind saw the figure suspended in the liquid, a series of cables similar to the ones connecting tubs to control attaching themselves against a thin back. Pale skin reflected the purple-red haze of the light, making the figure look almost sickly in a way.

Familiar thin arms wrapped loosely wrapped around a frail frame. Scars against the pale skin of the right leg where pins were once set into bone, and another along the right side of a thin chest that once allowed for the implantation of a medication port. Hair far longer than what memory recalled, but still the same shade of dark copper brown that he could remember all those months ago, was suspended in the glowing liquid surrounding the body.

Jayce stared at the face of familiar androgynous beauty he had once thought lost.

"Viktor?"

Disbelief made way for realization, that made way to rage.

"How the hell do you have his corp-" Jayce stopped as he took in more details. A mask sat against a thing face, pressed close to skin to ensure air could be provided to lungs that had nearly failed over a year ago, faint bubbles escaping with each breath. Closed eyelids that could not hide the rapid movement of amber eyes underneath, the sign of an active brain. A monitor panel against the glass gave vital readings, of a steady heartbeat and consistent respiration, a schematic of cable placement along the spine.

A display panel listing data of unknown origin.

HEXCORE

SUBJECT: V.TAL12

HEXGATE PROJECT COMMUNE

Jayce could only think he was in the middle of a nightmare.

The truth remained before is eyes.

He felt like he was going to hyperventilate, mouth agape, hand reaching cautiously as if Jayce were to move to fast, everything would shatter.

Six months.

For six months, Viktor was alive. For six month, Jayce mourned what had been stolen from him.

For six months, Viktor remained trapped.

Finally, his voice was found, cracking, distressed at the sight before him.

"What have you done to Viktor?"

Chapter Text

"What have you done to Viktor?"

Jayce's voice wavered in disbelief, his eyes wide in horror at the sight before him. His partner was alive before him. Alive and breathing and whole.

Trapped behind glass, his form floating in liquid like the corpse of an axolotl in formaldehyde.

The concept made Jayce sick.

Corin Reveck walked over to the central unit containing the unconscious man, the doctor's demeanor filled with the nonchalance of a school teacher answering his student. He ran his hand against the glass in a gesture that showed he was proud of what was before them.

The anger Jayce felt was nigh instantaneous. It took everything in his power to not impulsively lash out.

He couldn't risk Viktor's life in fit of rage.

"I created a world, the Hexcore system mind matrix." Reveck said simply, his voice calm. "A connection of minds, so to speak, each one building on top of one another. You can't see it from here, but they live day to day lives, one that is real to them without the burdens of their illnesses or disabilities." the doctor looked up at the unconscious man floating in the liquid.

"But in order to run this mind matrix, I needed a suitable subject to be a mainframe. A mind that could handle the strain of maintaining the world." Corin turned to Jayce, head tilting as if he was expecting Jayce to understand. "This one was far more compatible than I had hoped for. The intelligence to understand how to work the network, with compassion to those connected. He truly was the most perfect fit at the start."

"So you stole him from me." Jayce snarled. "You stole him from his life. You faked his death, for what? Some sick experiment?" his fists were clenched at his sides, and he could feel the urge for violence rising in him.

A sudden realization hit.

"Everything that you did for him during his illness, did you use that as an excuse to target him? Did you use his darkest hour to prey on him?"

"Hmm." Reveck's voice remained even, unbothered by the mounting anger from the other. "The clinical trials of the treatment were not intended initially for me to seek him out, though I will admit I developed the drug as a compound to prepare a mind to connect as a core. I had simply discovered the effects it had on his disease as a secondary affect and offered the trial. I had not expected it to be so… compatible with him."

Jayce's skepticism was palpable.

"It made him ill! Sure, it worked on his illness, but…" his fury was cut off.

"The body's reaction to the drug was to be expected. It was his mind that took to the effects that I had intended. There were… tests I ran on him that I put under the guise of his illness treatment. After all, you were both so worried about the loss of his cognitive ability should he reach the end stages of the disease." Reveck's calmness was almost sinister. "Those congnitive tests were what I was after. No, the illness wasn't what led me to him. Simply his reaction to the treatment." the doctor stared Jayce down.

"On the other hand, however, the job offer was my lure. Though I didn't lie when I told him his work would help others, he simply didn't know he would be the main component of the first test."

The words struck Jayce like a bullet train.

The job offer Viktor came to him with doubt and guilt, not wanting to end their work partnership.

The job offer Jayce encouraged Viktor to take, telling him to go change the world, that he didn't need his permission to do so.

"You fucking bastard!"

Jayce's emotions had reached a tipping point. It fueled his desire to destroy the barrier between him an his partner.

To bring his loved one back to him.

Hazel eyes caught the sight of a metal side table holding nearby and tanned hands were quick to grasp it. The jolt sent the contents on it's top toppling to the floor as he raised it above his head, rushing towards the glass.

He was going to get Viktor out.

Jayce swung.

"He will die."

The words were spoken of a level of "matter of fact" that one would find from a calm parent telling a child how the world works. The metal of the table stopped mere inches from the glass, Jayce's breathing harsh and heavy as his heart slammed against the inside of his chest.

"How do you know?" for all he knew, the doctor was lying. "You said this was the first test. How do you know he will die?"

"You're right. I do not know for certain." Reveck rounded on him, the single seeing eye staring Jayce down. "Peripheral subjects that have been disconnected too soon have died, or were vegetative. It has not been tested on the core. His body could survive the forced removal. Either way, his mind would be destroyed."

Jayce remained poised to strike, his eyes on the sharp features of Viktor's face.

With a howl of rage, there was a crashing of metal against the ground.

"Disconnect him." Jayce commanded.

"I cannot." Reveck answered simply.

"Disconnect him, or I will kill you and do it myself." there was a stronger sense of urgency, a growing level of threat .

"Perhaps. I certainly can't stop you from killing me." the doctor responded coolly. "However, without my knowledge of the systems, you are more likely to end his life than disconnect him from the matrix."

"Then do it." Jayce demanded once more.

"Like I said, I cannot." there was a hint of annoyance. Gods, how dare this monster be merely annoyed after the atrocity he had committed. Jayce wanted to rip this man's tongue from his throat. "You can say he has gone… rogue, so to speak. The system is on lock down. Until that is removed, disconnection is currently impossible."

Jayce growled, running a hand through his hair, then against his face. "Then why am I here? Do you get some sort of sick satisfaction from watching people suffer?"

"I have a proposal I doubt you will refuse." the doctor turned his back to Jayce, facing Viktor once more. "I wish for you to connect to the Hexcore system. The lock down must be done from the inside, and those that I have sent in have been unsuccessful so far. Maybe you can reason with him before he causes too much damage."

"Then what after?" Jayce demanded, knowing now that he should have never trusted this man in the first place.

"If you are able to do the task as I ask, then I will see to it that you are… reunited with him." the offer Corin gave was simple.

Jayce wanted nothing more than to disembowel the doctor.

That was a lie.

He wanted nothing more than to get Viktor back.

Jayce couldn't give up that chance to do just that.

Disemboweling would have to wait.

"Fine." came the clipped reply."

Corin Reveck gave a simple nod. "Then let me grab my equipment. I would like for you to settle into the empty terminal as I do so." there was a moment as the doctor studied Jayce.

"Remember, trying to destroy the connection to the core while there is a lock down in effect will kill him."

It was a warning to Jayce to let him know that only his cooperation would ensure Viktor's safety.

Jayce only answered with a glare, one which Corin ignored as he moved out the room to grab what he needed.

Jayce turned to Viktor, and his expression softened as his eyes glanced over the sharp features of the trapped man. He reached out with a careful hand, cautiously touching the glass that contained his partner.

"I am going to get you out of there," he said softly. "I promise you."

He took a deep breath before pulling away, making his way to the empty terminal tub. There was a moment of hesitation, his body tense. He had no idea what to expect connecting to this mind matrix, and he didn't like the thought of his body lying prone near someone that had proven themselves to be mad.

Jayce knew he was in danger with all of this. It was a reality he had to accept.

He forced himself into the tub-like contraption, settling himself in, leaning his head against the rest just as Reveck returned. Hazel eyes kept trained on the doctor as the metal tray Jayce had tried to use to free his partner was brought upright, instruments being laid upon the surface.

Alcohol wipes. Needle. A vial of liquid.

Jayce didn't trust any of it.

He didn't have a choice.

He steadied his breathing as he watched Reveck take the alcohol wipes, first forcing Jayce to tilt his head forward to disinfect the back of his neck before moving to disinfect the crook of his elbow. Jayce had barely had time to settle before he felt the piercing of metal into his vein, giving a hiss of pain.

"To help connect to the system." Reveck answered the unasked question.

Jayce could feel his mind swim as the substance made it's way through his system, felt his stomach churn.

He wondered if this was derived from Viktor's treatment, wondered if he felt a fraction of what his partner did every appointment they made to fight for Viktor's life.

Reveck moved to the back of the terminal, fingers quickly moving over the control pad as he started the systems. Jayce nearly jumped when he felt something wet against his back and legs, looking down to see the same magenta liquid that all the other terminals shared. It was warm and viscous against his skin and the sensation made him shudder.

"Lean your head back." the doctor demanded. "The terminal needs contact with your nervous system to connect."

There was a litany of words Jayce wanted to curse at Corin Reveck.

He kept quiet and did as he was told.

Head once more against the head rest, Jayce tried to prepare himself what was to come. If the circumstances had been any different, he may have been excited to have seen the results of such technology.

The lack of morality the doctor had for any of it destroyed any faith Jayce had in it. There was a break in the ethos if it had been kept so secret.

"Commencing countdown to system connection." At least Reveck was polite enough to give Jayce warning.

"Three. Two. One."

Jayce gasped at the sudden sharp pain at the back of his neck, like a ring of spikes piercing.

Then there was falling.

One minute he had been in the main terminal room. The next all he could see was black void as he tumbled downward.

Jayce's arms flailed, desperate to find purchase in the nothingness that surrounded him, a lurching in his stomach as he mentally prepared to slam into a ground he could not see. His heart was jackrabbit fast in his chest as terror overtook him, the loss of control of his own orientation making him far too aware of his own mortality.

His eyes shut tightly, bracing for inevitable impact.

Then everything slowed.

From free fall, to a drift downward, to a calm float as his body finally became upright. Jayce's eyes shot open once more, still in the void as his feet settled against a flat surface of nothingness.

Then, in the nothingness, there was a faint smattering of lights, like stars in the distant night sky. He looked around, trying to determine the direction he wanted to go in. He had no clue where to start.

Then he heard it.

A chime in the distance caught Jayce's attention as he turned towards it. A light, closer than all the others, pulsed with a soft blue light. Slowly, the scientist made his way over, feeling as if though the light was calling to him.

With each step, things began to change, like the slow loading of an environment in a game. First gray metal floor that soon made way to brass inlay. Grey stonework walls that towered over him, lined with copper and brass piping built themselves upward. A desk that built itself against an angular wall, above it a singular large diamond shaped decorative light that was meant to mimic a window.

A chair here, a stool there, a blueprint and a screwdriver and a journal and a mug. A lab, though far more ornate than the plain offices Jayce had grown so accustom to.

Then, within the center of the desk, sat a strange brass contraption. It was hexagonal at the base, standing a few inches upward, sparking softly as a blue teardrop crystal floated softly above it.

A crystal that looked so similar to the gemstone on Viktor's engagement ring.

The ring he intended to give to Viktor after this was all over.

Despite how hellish everything was, Jayce could see the beauty in this. Entraned, he couldn't help but to reach out, to try and touch it.

There was a loud yelp as a spark of energy hit his finger.

"It looks as if though your connection point has established." Reveck's voice called out from the gemstone after the touch. "This is a part of the… back rooms of the matrix, so to speak. Only you have access. It is your entry way, but until the lock down has been shut off, it cannot act as you exit point.

Fuck you. Jayce thought.

"I would like to know why you didn't create a fail safe in case you needed to disconnect someone?" Jayce demanded to know. "What if someone needed medical attention.

"I will fully admit that I simply do not care about the medical needs of the peripherals." Corin calmly admitted. "They are simply a means to an end. Still, the core complete control was an… unforseen circumstance."

"His name is Viktor. He's a human being." Jayce demanded. "You needed to tell me where he is."

There was silence for a moment. The fact that he couldn't see the doctor in order to try and read his expression infuriated Jayce.

"The core," Reveck punctuated the word, a reminder that he the one that had the power. "Is somewhere out in the main matrix beyond your connection point's doors. I cannot establish a pinpoint as he has managed to shield himself from me. You will need to track him down. I suggest you reason with him. It would be to the benefit with all involved."

There was a click of static, and the connection was cut off.

"Hey, who do you think you are?" Jayce demanded, but there was no reply.

He cursed.

He took a deep breath, then took a moment to look himself over. This was a world created by minds. In all intents and purposes, it was a collective dream.

Still, the sensations of being in his own body were there. The pain from the zap. The feeling of air in his lungs. The feeling of his hand against his beard as he rubbed his hand against his face.

Something about all that also implied that he could be in danger. The doctor had given no indication what Jayce would find in this mind world, and nightmares were made by the mind just as much as dreams were.

Jayce took a deep breath to calm his nerves before his eyes caught on something.

In a darkened corner of the lab, he saw it. Leaning against the wall was a sledgehammer. He quickly made his way over, grabbing the tool and testing it's weight.

It would do. He prayed it would be an unnecessary precaution.

Feeling more comfortable being armed, he made his way out the doors and into the unknown.

His body shivered at the sensation of a further connection, a weird momentary laps between the lab and the greater world outside as it revealed itself. Paved roads were lined with stonework buildings that were adorned in brass ornamentation the glint in red moonlight.

It was clearly a city made for more than the handful of people that were connected to the system.

How many people did the doctor eventual intend to add to this place?

Jayce pushed down the thought. He couldn't think of that now. He had to find Viktor.

The silence of the city was unnerving as he walked through the streets, trying to figure out where to go in a place so unfamiliar. Streets of towering buildings should never be so quiet.

Jayce never truly appreciated how loud a sleeping city was until now.

It made the terrified yell that cut through the stillness all the more unnerving.

A yell from a familiar, accented voice.

"Viktor!" Jayce shouted, and immediately his legs were carrying him to the source of the sound.

It hadn't been far from where he had been standing, but the streets were twisting, and Jayce feared what would happen if he were too late. He rounded the corner, immediately seeing chaos before him. The street was litter with debris from a struggle, items thrown in an attempt to slow down the monster before Jayce.

For a moment, Jayce's heart fell.

Viktor?

No.

It was a massive hulking thing, and Jayce was certain that at one point, it had been human, but the features would have still been wrong. Hair blond, short, around a strong jawed face. Veins of purple ran against the face and neck, going down arms that had been overgrown. It bore down on another figure, one backed up against the wall.

A wiry, thin frame, leaning to one side against a crutch. Unfamiliar clothes of a light grey suit vest over brown shirt and dress pants that still seemed very much in style for the man. A mess of short dark copper brown hair and the most brilliant gold eyes filled with determination. with a hand outstretched.

Viktor.

"Damn it!" Jayce cursed. He hated that he had been right about nightmares being just as likely in the interwoven minds of dreams. He rushed the hulking beast, hammer in hand. As the monster gained on his partner, Jayce brought the tool upward, then down against it's skull with great force.

The resounding crack was sickening. The beast stumbled, but did not fall, and soon it's attention was drawn on Jayce.

Viktor looked on in shock.

The beast lashed out, a massive hand slamming into Jayce, sending him flying. He hit the ground hard, but he could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins. As the monster barreled towards him, he rolled out of the way, watching as it could not right it's trajectory before Jayce was back on his feet.

With a loud growl, Jayce rushed the monster as it turned and charged him again. He waited for it to get into range, side stepping to get out of it's attack before swinging the hammer and using the beast's own momentum to strengthen the blow against it's own skull.

Jayce watched as it caved in. Mind world or not, he soon found himself coated in magenta tinged blood and brain matter. The beast stumbled a couple of steps forward before collapsing to the ground.

Jayce stared at the monster in stunned silence for a moment, before turning around.

Hazel eyes met golden.

Viktor look so worn down. Jayce didn't know how it was possible in world controlled by the mind, but the man before him looked almost ill.

How much had all of this worn down his partner?

"Viktor? Is it really you?"

Jayce couldn't read the other man's expression.

Viktor slowly moved forward, his hand out. For a moment, he thought maybe his partner was trying to determine if he was really there.

Then the thinner man's face twisted into a scowl.

"Your work is getting shoddy, Singed!" Viktor snarled, his accent clipping each word. "You aren't even bothering to make them look like him anymore. I am not falling for your tricks."

Jayce was confused, taking a moment to realize that Viktor was talking about Corin Reveck, confused by the moniker that Viktor had called him. What had his partner meant by "them" not looking like him?

Did Viktor not recognize him?

"Viktor, it's me!" Jayce pleaded, his voice urging the other man to listen, but Viktor just shook his head.

"Stop trying to fool me! I will shut down every one of these abominations you send!" Viktor yelled as his hand reached forward, fingertips brushing against Jayce's forehead.

For a moment, Jayce watched as Viktor's eyes turned white, before his own world was enveloped in the whiteness.

For a moment, his mind had grown blank. Peaceful, even, despite another presence brushing up against it.

The return to the mind reality was sudden, painful as Jayce took a desperate gasp. His eyes darted, catching Viktor's once more. No longer was the look of rage on the other man's face.

It had been replaced with utter terror.

"Jayce?" Viktor asked, his voice filled with disbelief before he was shaking his head, a chant escaping his lips.

"No… no, no, no no no…" there was desperation in Viktor's voice.

"Viktor, it's me. I promise," Jayce tried to sooth, taking a step forward.

Viktor took a step back.

"You shouldn't be here!" the soft-spoken man said with a desperate sob.

"I'm here to get you out!" Jayce was trying to calm Viktor's panic, but once more the other man shook his head, took a step back.

"You don't understand, Jayce. That… doctor," Viktor spit the word with venom. "Is here to destroy our minds and strip our dreams. You can't be here!"

"I am not leaving without you!" Jayce stepped forward again.

"You must go!"

With Viktor's shout came an intense shock wave and Jayce soon found himself tumbling backwards. He had expected to slam against the walls behind him, but instead the cityscape shifted, changed. He watched as Viktor's form grew further and further away. The tall stone buildings made way to ones of metal and glass, surrounded by carved rock walls.

In moments, Viktor was gone. In moments, Jayce was slamming onto hard concrete.

Pain shot through Jayce's back as he writhed, only to feel something slam hard against his left leg. The breath escaped his lungs as he felt the bone snapping. His mind spun, his vision blurring against the the neon glow of the new setting around him.

In the haze of the pain, Jayce sobbed.

Viktor had been right there.

Now, through the pain of his leg and the spinning of his mind, he had to wrestle with the fact that Viktor had pushed him away.

Jayce sobbed at the agony.

Reveck watched the monitors on the container for the core, watching as vitals spiked.

"Subject D3 must have found the core." the doctor spoke calmly. "It seems to have lead the lure there."

It was a waiting game now. He had changed minds of other peripherals in the past to mimic the Core's partner, but they were never close enough to catch him off guard.

The real thing would cause the defenses to come down.

Minutes ticked by as the doctor watched the four screens. One to monitor vitals, one to monitor the neural connections, one that displayed the project data.

One that had remained inactive since the core had gained full control of the systems.

The one that suddenly blinked online, words forming on the screen.

CORE CONTROL STATUS: 92%

It wasn't a lot. The Core still had control over most of the systems, but still had let go of part of the system to make a shift in the environment. Likely to protect the lure.

It would be enough, he just had to move quickly. Previous attempts to do this had all failed, the window of control closed off to Reveck.

The doctor moved to the Core control panel, reaching over to grab a glass vial. Gold color liquid sloshed inside, the label reading "Core Control Override First Step". It wouldn't give Reveck the control over the system, not entirely, but it would give him enough control to stop the Core from trying to break free.

The rest of the control would come with time. It would be a tedious process, but the Core would be back under his control.

He clicked the vial in place of the panel, watching as the liquid drained out of it, soon running through one of the IV lines leading to the subject before him.

Once more, vitals spiked.

This time, the Core was unable to resist.

Viktor felt the shift in power as the walls of buildings fell away, the cobblestone streets twisted and turned and changed, his will urging the shift in the environment as he forced Jayce away.

It was a risk. Doing so meant he had to let go his complete control of the matrix to focus his mind on this. He knew he only had a short window, but Viktor couldn't risk Jayce's life.

He had seen the relief in his partner's eyes the moment they locked, and yet Viktor had not recognized him. Disheveled, beard and hair untrimmed. How long had Viktor been stuck in this twisted experiment, he could not tell. Viktor had spent so long chipping at the Hexgate's defenses, trying to find a way to get out.

Guilt ate away at Viktor as he realized the betrayal that Jayce must felt. Viktor wanted nothing more than to rejoice in their reunion, but months of Singed sending abominations and mind clones after him left him vulnerable. Keeping Jayce nearby would only be a liability.

He needed to keep Jayce safe.

Re-shift. Walls up. Separate.

Viktor had initially hoped he could simply push Jayce out, keep him out of this mind matrix, cursing when he realized that his complete hold on the systems didn't mean anything against the system lock down Singed at put in place.

That momentary connection had linked them, and Viktor could feel the distance between the two of them grow, until finally Jayce's mind was a quiet echo. Viktor doubted that the mad doctor would send anything after his partner, and he took comfort in that.

He tried not to think about the fact that he had nearly tried to destroy Jayce with the link. Had he not gave into his doubt and brushed up against his partner's mind…

He couldn't think on that now.

Viktor was certain Jayce had been sent in there as a distraction.

"Singed is growing desperate…"

He had to regain full control. If the doctor noticed the sudden break…

Viktor felt a sudden shock to his mind.

He felt dizzy, off, struggling to stay on his feet. His mind felt like it was starting to fragment.

Did he use too much energy to shift the environment? Viktor worried it would push back his attempts to escape.

The reality of the situation struck him as pastel mottled patterns started to run up his arms.

"Shit," he cursed, trying to take a deep breath. He had dealt with this before, dealt with the doctor trying to force control into the system. He just needed to…

Viktor stumbled forward onto his knees with another shock to his mind, stronger this time.

His amber eyes went wide with a horrific realization.

Viktor had to let go of parts of the system to push Jayce away. He thought he would have time to do so, thinking his partner would have been a distraction for him to fall to the myriad of monsters Reveck had sent his way.

The reality was worse.

The doctor had guessed, with horrific accuracy, that Viktor would do what was needed to protect Jayce.

Jayce had been bait, and Viktor fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.

"No…" he rasped as he tried to fight against the control being forced away, from the fragmentation of his mind. The mottled pattern kept running up his arms, eyes welling up with strange gold tears. His hands grasped at his temples in a futile attempt to try and block his mind from the attack against it.

Viktor thought of Jayce.

The thought of his affection for his partner being taken away from him made him sick. So he wrapped around his memories, sunk his claws into that part of his mind.

It was the one thing he needed to keep a vice grip on, above all else.

Under the glow of the red moonlight, his face turned upward to the sky.

As a part of his mind was locked away, Viktor screamed.

Chapter Text

Three hours.

When Caitlyn had entered work that morning, she had no reservations that her search into the files of Viktor's supposed death would be straight forward. It had been six months, after all.

She had expected the paperwork and the evidence to have been stored away. She had not expected the everything to simply be missing.

It wasn't past the time threshold for the documentation and evidence to be destroyed, even if there had been no fault found with the company.

Caitlyn couldn't tamp down the feeling of something being off with this, off with everything since Jayce had gone missing within the last twenty four hours.

Three hours in, and she was now in records that certainly have been there longer than need be.

She could say things were disorganized, but Caitlyn knew that didn't touch what was going on.

A year ago, when she had finally been accepted after graduating from the academy, she would have fought the accusations of corruption. It certainly had been a couple of fights with Violet in the past, especially when she had tried to convince Vi to join the force. Now, Caitlyn was starting understand that maybe she had been naive.

At best, she had been naive.

She sighed, and went through the next box. It was not a shock when there was nothing she was looking for.

"It makes no sense." she whispered to herself. "I should have found it by now."

Caitlyn looked up, staring at an adjoining door to the room of investigation files. Pursing her lips, she weighed her options.

It was the room for higher profile cases, cases she didn't have access to as a junior investigator. Cases that if she tried looking through, she risked her job.

Files she didn't think would matter when she started this endeavor three hours ago.

"Worth a shot." she murmured under her breath. She set the box she was rifling through back on the shelf before making her way over to the door. She reached out for the handle, hoping for it to be unlocked.

"Kiramman, what are you doing?"

Caitlyn jolted backwards, not expecting the voice of Sheriff Marcus to ring out beside her. She had not heard him enter the main file room. She looked into his scrutinizing gaze, her mind scrambling to come up with an excuse.

"Oh, I was just looking for the files to the…" a moments pause as she remember the files she had been assigned to, before her mind settled one one that may have been believable. "The Matilda case. I am having a hard time trying to find the file and thought…"

A file she had not seen in the Sheriff's hand smacked against her chest, the older man glaring down at her in an otherwise unreadable expression.

"It has been on your desk, Kiramman." Marcus chided, speaking to Caitlyn as if she were a child. "If you had bothered to look there, instead of wasting away three hours in here, maybe the case would have been taken care of by now.

Caitlyn just offered a nervous laugh, hoping to disarm the man. "Right. Thank you." she grasped the file in her hand, moving to leave back to her desk to hide what she really had been doing back here, but Marcus had stopped her once more.

"I know Talis being missing is weighing on you, seeing as you have said that he is a brother to you, but you can't let that affect your work." it seemed as if though the sheriff was trying to instill a sense of concern. She just looked over her shoulder and gave a small nod, saying nothing as she sat down.

Caitlyn moved to make herself look busy, opening the file up to the Matilda case. The initial report was for a theft of a vehicle, though what little she was able to focus on looked as if though it may have been a case of company repossession. Still, she couldn't concentrate.

The interaction with Sheriff Marcus had seemed off. It felt like something was being hidden from her.

The realization hit Caitlyn, the shock making her pulse pound.

As far as Caitlyn knew, only she, Mel, and Vi knew Jayce was missing. Not even his mother knew.

None of them had reported his disappearance.

"I couldn't get the files, and Marcus knows Jayce is missing."

The moment Caitlyn had sat in the car, she had thrown a text to the group chat for both Mel and Vi. It had taken all of her willpower not to send it earlier, but ever since Marcus had caught her in the file room, it felt as if though the sheriff was keeping a close watch.

She couldn't let on that she knew something was not right.

She hadn't expected either one to get back to her right away. Mel's duties as the councilwoman kept her busy, and Vi would be busy acting as a bouncer for the bar her fathers ran, but Cait had hoped the information would get to them quickly.

Corruption ran deep, ran under their noses, and now their loved ones were swept up in all of this.

People she cared about were caught up in all of this, and she had ignored what was right under her nose.

She wasn't simply naive. She had been careless, putting hope in a system that she grew up thinking would protect her. Would protect her family.

Caitlyn made her way home, her mind swimming as she tried to comprehend how much her life had changed. She wanted nothing more than to go to her mother, to sit with her and talk to her, to get guidance from someone who had lived experiences.

Yet, even now, as she had longed for her mother, the loss weighing heavy in her heart, she doubted the woman would have had more than simple soothing platitudes and reassurances. The late Mrs. Kiramman, after all, wasn't as privy to the corruption that Violet had hinted at so many times.

They were the simple platitudes that she had tried to give Jayce when he had lost his partner. Simple platitudes that were there, at the end of the day, to placate her duty rather than to be there for someone in need.

"And now he is gone, too." she whispered quietly to herself.

The car pulled into the driveway of her home, but as she placed it into park, Cait didn't bother to get out. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes, and she settled her head on the steering wheel to weep.

She needed someone to tell her that everything would be okay.

She needed someone to tell her what really happened, no matter how painful it was.

Even if Jayce were dead.

She needed everything to go back in time to two years ago, just as she had gotten her acceptance letter for the academy. Before her mother's cancer diagnosis.

She slammed her fists against the steering wheel, letting out a scream in frustration and sadness and rage. Rage at the situation. Rage at the loss. Rage at herself.

She let herself just feel, let the tears fall, staining her face, until finally Caitlyn couldn't cry anymore. Her forehead remained pressed against the steering wheel as she took heaving breaths. She felt soul-weary, face gross with tears and snot, yet ungrateful to the fact that no one could see her in her sorry state.

A ping from her phone brought her focus back. She took a moment to rub at her eyes, tear-swollen and red before she grabbed the device from her bag.

Mel.

"Tomorrow. I will pay the sheriff a visit. I think it is time I check in on our fine police force to see if they really are doing what I ask of them."

Caitlyn got the message loud and clear.

There were many things she wished for, but she needed to push forward.

They were fighting with the present, racing from the past.

Jayce was not yet lost. Not unless she found a body.

She would not settle for an urn of sand.

How Caitlyn managed to pull herself together the next morning was through sheer determination and spite.

Vi had come home at near two in the morning to their living room pulled apart, their wall taped in whatever newspaper clippings Cait could find on Viktor's supposed death. There wasn't much, simply discussing a scientist that had died in an unfortunate explosion with no next of kin. Admittedly, Caitlyn had found herself frustrated at that, knowing that Jayce had intended to marry the man.

Intention didn't count in the eyes of the law, however. As far as the published reports were concerned, it was just Viktor left.

There had been nothing in the chat after Mel's message. As far as Vi was concerned, Caitlyn would be in bed long before she got home.

She found her girlfriend crouched on the floor of obituaries of people with no next of kin, piles sorted in how likely they may have been related to what was growing into a conspiracy.

"What I don't understand, Vi," Cait quickly said before the other could mention anything. "Is why Jayce? He has his mother. He has a large group of people that know and love him. I cannot figure out why they would target him. Anyone else I could considered tied to this in the obituaries had noone else."

Vi moved over to squat next to Cait, strong arms wrapping around a more lithe form. "It isn't a secret he was destroying himself, Cupcake." Vi offered. "And you saw the letter Mel found. They probably thought they could get away with faking his suicide."

Deliberate fingers found their way onto a muscled arm. "They clearly can't think that there being another death without a body wouldn't go unnoticed. It's… sloppy. Jayce. The apartment. I just can't put my finger on why."

"Let them be sloppy." Vi couldn't help but to say quickly, a determined grin on her face. "Let them fuck up so that we can show them what happens when they mess with the people we care about."

Caitlyn had smiled at the sentiment. "You're right." she had murmured, remembering how she had felt when she had gotten home.

Jayce wasn't yet lost.

Neither was Viktor, not truly.

"Yeah, well, you know what else I am right about, Cupcake?" Violet had carefully turned Caitlyn's head before allowing their foreheads to touch, eliciting a small "Hmm?"

"You should get to bed. We can't afford you getting sloppy."

Caitlyn playfully shoved Violet away. "I am never sloppy with my work." she said as Violet laughed at her, but she allowed herself to be pulled up to her feet and led to bed.

Still, four hours of sleep did not do her any favors. The bags under her eyes belied her weariness, and it was a fight to focus, so she was ever thankful that Violet had set up the coffee pot the night prior to go off and have the caffeinated beverage ready.

A caffeinated beverage and a locking picking kit. Caitlyn raised an eyebrow at it, but she pocketed it all the same.

After all, if they had hidden away the files in the high profile case room, and they suspected her, they would have taken precautions.

Thermos in hand, outfit on, and just the smallest touch of makeup to hide any the exhaustion that held her, she made her way to the precinct.

Caitlyn kept her head low, ignoring Marcus' gaze as she flipped through the Matilda case paperwork. In reality, she was simply using it to stall, eye darting between that and out the window to the parking lot. Mel had not informed her when she would be showing up, only that she was.

Caitlyn understood why there was such discretion, but it did little to sooth her anxiety and keep her exhausted racing mind in check.

It was quarter past noon when she finally saw Mel's vehicle pull up, and Caitlyn couldn't help but to smirk. Right around when most of the precinct would be at lunch, save for Marcus. Easier for Caitlyn to slip into files room without notice.

Feigning a stretch, Caitlyn got up, biting down a wince from the stiffness of sitting in one spot for the last few hours. She grabbed her long empty thermos of coffee, making her way to the coffee pot nearest to the door. She could feel the weight of the lock pick in her pocket, her heart racing in her chest.

She would have one shot at this.

She couldn't mess this up.

She could hear the thudding of Marcus' boots behind her, the man clearly doing his best to keep an eye on her. She did her best to ignore him, going through the motions of getting more coffee, trying to ease her nerves with the man breathing down her neck.

Click. Click. Click. Click. The rhythmic clicking of graceful heels on linoleum flooring.

"Sheriff Marcus." Caitlyn heard the smooth voice of Mel Medarda behind her, followed by the sputtering of a confused sheriff.

"Councilor Medarda! What brings you here?" Marcus' words were spat out, Caitlyn turning around and feigning surprise at the sight as she, too, greeted Mel.

There was hope that it was convincing.

Mel and Cait shared a look, piercing green eyes meeting determined blue ones. "I was just nearby, and figured I would pick up a file regarding the city." a warm smile played on Mel's face. "Though, since I am here, I was hoping to discuss things with the precinct. I would like to discuss and see how things are doing here."

Marcus stared dumbfounded, looking at Caitlyn, then Mel.

"W-well, of course." he manage to stutter out. "But don't you want me to get the file first?"

Mel turned to Marcus, holding her gaze on him as she gently gestured to Cait. "Certainly we have someone that can take care of that while we talk? It's not something Kiramman can't handle, isn't it?"

They both watched as Marcus clenched his fist, before calming himself. "Of course not. What would you like to discuss?" he said as he started to turn to his office. Mel moved to keep in step with him, a calming hand landing on his shoulder as she gave one last look to Caitlyn.

A look that told her that now was the time.

Caitlyn didn't bother to listen to what they were saying, setting down her thermos next to the coffee maker as she made her way into the file room. Exhausted as she was, her focus was sharp.

Admittedly, Mel asking for a file caught Caitlyn off guard, but the act made sense. They wouldn't check Councilor Mel Medarda if she was holding paperwork pertaining to the city. There were eyes on Caitlyn and she didn't doubt they would search her belongings at the end of her shift.

A quick change in her path. Caitlyn couldn't do a direct path to the door. She had to grab a convincing file first. She grabbed the first thing she found, paperwork involving mishandled speeding tickets at the city hall. Innocuous enough to slip by prying eyes.

Decoy file in hand, Caitlyn made her way to the high security room, grabbing the handle only to find it locked.

She cursed. She suspected as much, but it didn't frustrate Caitlyn any less. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the lock picking kit and set to work.

It was an arduous task, something she was inexperienced in. Violet had tried to teach her a couple of times, only to have been teased by Mylo about how the pink haired Zaunite was better at kicking in doors than picking them. The boy had tried to show her, but Caitlyn had only picked up a couple of things.

She hoped it would be enough now.

She cursed when it felt like things where moving too slow, the tumblers falling into place too sluggishly, her eyes twitching to the file room door expecting it to burst open any second with her being caught.

If it were just her job on the line, Caitlyn would care less, but Mel was risking a lot by helping her with this.

They risked losing Jayce if this failed. Viktor, too. Other lives, if Caitlyn's impromptu search the night before accounted for anything.

She cursed when her attempt failed. Eyes closing, she forced herself to breathe.

In, one two three. Hold, one two three. Out, one two three. Repeat.

Caitlyn felt her nerves steady. Focused, determined, she tried again.

It went much more smoothly this time, and with the successful click of the lcok, she couldn't help but to murmur a quick "Yes!"

She slipped into the room, eyes quickly scanning files that were far more organized, but that didn't matter.

Sitting out on the counter in the center of the room was a box labeled with the name of the company that Jayce and Viktor worked for.

Caitlyn moved quickly to go through the box, popping open the lid, only to find it empty.

Her heart sank into her stomach.

They knew she knew. They knew she suspected something. It solidified the instinct that there was something being covered up.

Their first real lead, and it was gone.

Caitlyn wanted to scream. Instead, she shoved the box off of the table. As she took deep breaths to try and hold back the tears, she spotted the file that had lay underneath labeled "Talis". She was quick to pick it up, rifle through it.

A lead was still a lead. Proof was still proof. Documentation of a death for a person yet to be considered missing.

She could hear voices just outside the wall and Caitlyn knew she had to move fast. She shoved the Talis file into the city one, returning the box to the counter before rushing out of the high profile room. She forced her nerves to calm before she made it to the main file room door.

It swung open just as she was reaching for the door handle, Marcus clearly frustrated with Mel working to keep control over the situation.

"Do you have the file?" the sheriff snapped. Caitlyn looked to Marcus, then back to Mel, before offering a sheepish smile.

"Oh, of course," Caitlyn's voice was trained with a bit of nervousness as she moved past Marcus to ensure the file went into Mel's hands only. "I am terribly sorry. It's just so disorganized in there." her back turned to the sheriff, Caitlyn quickly shot Mel a look, hoping to convey the seriousness of the situation.

Mel looked at Caitlyn, then back to Marcus, smile still on her fails. "Well, you still did what you needed to do to find it." she offered her gratitude sweetly, before her voice became a bit stern. "But, sheriff, you kept assuring me that everything was fine here. I cannot be confident that cases are being solved in a timely matter if things are as disorganized as Kiramman says they are.

Marcus bit down a scoff. "I will see to it it things are… orderly for your next vist."

Mel gave a small nod. "It's all I ask. Anyways, I appreciate your time with me today. I do hope you have a wonderful day."

Caitlyn bid her a polite goodbye while Marcus simply remained silent as the councilwoman walked to leave.

"Get back to work, Kiramman." Sheriff Marcus muttered before walking off. Caitlyn said nothing as she grabbed her coffee and headed back to her desk.

Her instincts were right when she went to leave, watching with a glare as her belongings were searched before she headed out the door.

"Hmm, what is it you have there?"

Mel didn't look up from her desk as she heard the silky voice behind her, long, freckled arms wrapping around her as the scent of honey and lavender filled her nose. Still, a smile played on her lips as Lest settled next to her.

"So far, my only lead." Mel said as she closed her eyes, leaning back into the embrace. She let out a long, tired sigh, dark fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. "Corruption is running rampant in my city and I've managed to turn a blind eye to it."

"Is this about that dead scientist?" Lest asked as she looked at the file, before her eyes narrowed. She didn't wait for an answer before a soft hum escaped her lips. "I guess it is, but Talis didn't die… did he? I would have heard about it."

"No, not that I know of." Mel answered, looking back at the files. Half filled documentation and contradictory statements of apparent suicide littered the file. "But he is missing. We didn't put in a report, but it seems as if thought they are already trying to cover it up." she turned to the woman behind her. "You work for the same company as a secretary. Clearly people have loose lips."

Lest couldn't help the sly smirk on her face. "Secrets are loud in that place. I may have heard a thing or two. Misallocated funds. Stolen supplies." the paler woman's face grew a bit dark. "Some of the people that are part of clinical trials just… not showing up. Vanishing. The rumor is that most are from Zaun. Something has the higher ups stirred up about it."

Mel pursed her lips at that, holding back a curse.

This was a failure on her part, and she would have never had caught on if had not hit home.

Almost as if Lest could sense Mel's sudden turmoil, she pressed a kiss to a soft cheek. "For what it is worth, whatever is going on was invested in keeping you in the dark." she tried to sooth, but knew it would do little to help the councilwoman.

Mel was contemplative for a while. Who she could turn to about this was suddenly a small circle, when she should have had any and every resource at the ready. She had to find a way to outfox this.

"I need you to keep your ears open." she finally asked of the woman holding her, before pulling away from the embrace to look at Lest with deep concern. "But I need you to be careful. Do not let on you know anything."

Lest's sly grin was back. "You wound me, Medarda. Surely you have a better confidence in my abilities." the comment pulled a tired laugh from Mel.

"I just can't let anyone else get lost to this." Mel admitted quietly. "Even if we dated at one point, Jayce is still a friend. Found family, even. I'm risking anyone's life connected to this. I didn't even have a clue his was at risk until a couple of days ago."

Slender fingers found their way to the center of Mel's shoulders, grounding her. "I am not going to let some drug company up to shady deals use me and spit me out. Besides, I still have to figure out what you saw in Talis in the first place."

That pulled out another laugh from Mel. "We were different people in college. I guess we both had what the other wanted, but neither of us were good for each other. He couldn't be honest with himself about what he actually wanted despite what I could see of him. While I cared for him, I was in it because he was a brilliant mind I wanted to invest in." Mel shook her head. "So when I do figure out what I saw in him, I will let you know."

"Some of us just needed a bit more time to realize that you actually need to come out of the closet. At least his mother is a dear. She adores you as her daughter still, even if you haven't dated in years. Seems to have dragged me into the fold, too." Lest quipped back. Mel couldn't help but let warm memories flood her mind.

Then there was a shock to her system.

Another failure. Ximena likely had no clue where her son was. The councilwoman knew Jayce hadn't been keeping up with his calls with her. Mel shot up, moving quickly to get dressed.

"I have to go speak with his mother." she explained quickly, giving Lest a quick kiss before she head for the door. "Before anyone else does. I can't let them convince her that her son is dead."

Lest understood, managing out a "Stay safe." before the door slammed behind Mel.

The hour was late when Mel arrived at Ximena Talis' home, but judging from the light on in the living room, Jayce's mother was still awake. She wasn't surprised. The woman had been wrought with worry for months over her only child, often staying awake waiting for a late night call from a drunken son.

The thought of Jayce doing that to his mother made Mel's blood boil just a little, but she kept her mind focused on her task, making her way up the steps and knocking on the door. She waited patiently as she heard the other woman make her way, opening the door to find the councilwoman standing there.

"Oh, Mel, dear," Ximena said with a moment of surprise. "What are you doing here so late? Please come in." Jayce's mother quickly opened the door, and while Mel worried about overstaying, she knew the older woman could use the company.

"I appreciate it, Mrs. Talis." she said smoothly, unable to help her small smile at the gentle scoff that came from the mother.

"Oh, you have known for years that it is just Ximena. Or mom." the tone of the words were warm and welcoming. "Let me get you a warm horchata. Please, sit down."

"I truely appreciate, Ximena." Mel allowed herself to say the more familiar name before finding herself a seat on the couch. The house was the same she always remembered it. Warm, inviting.

Yet somehow, it had not been enough to pull Jayce through his grief.

Within a few minutes, Mel had a warm inviting drink in hand, sitting next to Jayce's mother. They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, enjoying the momentary peace before Ximena spoke up.

"Now," the older woman's words were spoken carefully. "I know you didn't just come here to visit me just because you were in the neighborhood. "What is this about?"

Mel braced herself for what she was about to ask, knowing it would worry the mother. "Have… have you heard from your son in the last couple of days?"

Ximena could not bite down the pained sound that escaped. "No… no I haven't. Why?"

Gods, Mel hated having to do this.

"He's… missing." she did not let in the state of the home. She could already see the deep worry and grief taking over Ximena.

"What? Have you been to the police?" the mother begged to know. "They need to know so they can look for him!"

"Please trust me when I say that I doubt that." Mel hated admiting her lack of confidence in the very people that were supposed to protect her city. Her voice became that of stern comfort. "I assure you, I am doing everything I can to bring Jayce home. And Viktor-"

Ximena was shocked.

"Viktor is dead, dear." Mel could hear the grief in the tone, even now.

"I… I have reason to believe that he might still be alive. There was never a body." Mel had to chose what she said, carefully. "We discovered his urn didn't contain ashes. This is why I am here. I cannot go into detail over everything, but I need you to trust me."

Mel gently grabbed Ximena's hands to offer a comforting point of contact.

"If anyone comes here about Jayce, no matter what they say happened, what they gave you, just play along, and contact me. Do you understand?" the urgency was clear to Jayce's mother, and she gave a small nod, worry etched deep on her face.

"I understand, dear."

Chapter Text

Agony.

Pain shot through Jayce's leg as he lay on filthy cobblestone. His mind was delirious with it, cutting through any thought he had. Shifting only served to antagonize the pain throughout his left side, leaving him gasping.

If he could think, he would try to understand how a leg could break in world that was simply a manifestation of minds. As it stood, he was simply teetering on the edge of consciousness from both his injury and the sudden forced displacement from where he had just been.

Jayce closed his eyes. When he had opened them again, things had changed. Different bright lights. Different metal railings. Different filthy cobblestone. Hands under his arms, his legs.

Eyes closed. Eyes open.

A different location, dimmer now, debris strewn around. Crumbling brick walls with faded paint.

Eyes closed.

How long Jayce was out for, he didn't know, but the room he woke up in was dim, barely illuminated by the skylight and the soft glow of electronics. Walls of metal towered over him, rusted and coated in sea salt. Something soft was beneath him, but it did little to cushion him against the metal flooring.

The smell of rot assaulted his nose, sickly sweet, making his stomach churn. Jayce didn't want to know the consequences of throwing up here, unsure if it would only occur in this mind matrix or if his physical body would end up aspirating on the remnants of what had been in his stomach before he had been dragged into this.

Dying because he choked on bile and vodka was not a way he wanted to go out.

It took great effort to simply roll over in hopes to get into a sitting position, but the pain that shot up through his leg left him gasping pain. He collapsed back down, now all too aware of how thin what he lay on was.

"Hey now," a voice called out, heavily accented and soft, feminine. "Don't want to be jarrin' your leg there." he felt hands on his shoulders, steadying him. As his swimming vision slowly cleared, Jayce could see a woman before him. Blond hair, face smatterd with freckles, with grey green eyes that were fiercely sharp.

"Who," Jayce winced at how rough his voice sounded, pain seeping through his words. "Who are you?"

The smile that was offered seemed soft, but there was something to it that made Jayce feel uneasy. "Maddie Nolan." the woman offered, letting go of Jayce once she felt he was stable enough to sit on his own. "I am going to assume that you are Jayce Talis."

Jayce quickly shot her a look, hazel eyes boring into her grey ones. "How would you know that?" he demanded. He had certainly not told her anything in the three words he had managed to force out. He moved into a defensive posture as best he could.

Maddie had a momentary look of shock, before realization flickered in her eyes.

"Oh," she mentioned with a small chuckle. "We were informed you would be entering the system by Singed and to look out for you."

Jayce didn't relax, his questions suddenly rapid fire. "Who is we? How can I trust you if you are working for Doctor Reveck. Why has he been called Singed by both Viktor and you?" Jayce was starting to realize how reckless he had been agreeing to the doctor's terms without knowing anything.

Maddie raised a hand up, trying to ease the tension, before motioning behind her. There sat a man with short salt and pepper hair and black goatee, eyes wide as he worked on something on the computer terminal in front of him, not bothering to look up.

Jayce would say the man looked almost goat like in his looks, if he could put a descriptor to him.

"Two scientists and I were sent in about a month ago to stabilize the systems when they started to fail, right before everything was taken over." she looked back to Jayce. "One of the scientists has been missing for a while, so it has just been us. We call the doctor Singed as a code name. Something about not confusing the patients in the system-"

The scientist spoke up."Help to keep them integrated. What we can't help them bring in here we keep wrapped up so they don't suffer de-stable disconnection." he said the words as if they made any sense to the other two.

"Right," Maddie started, a moment of annoyance at being cut off before she continued. She could still see that Jayce was tense. "As for trusting us, I guess I can't expect you to, but you could trust that we just want to go home, right?"

That made sense to Jayce, and in all reality, Maddie had not given him reason to suspect her to be dangerous. She had, after all, found him and brought him somewhere safe. She had been willing to provide answers.

For all he knew, she was as uninformed about everything as he was.

He allowed himself a moment to relax.

Jayce shifted to get up only to be reminded about the intense pain in his leg. He growled out, hands moving to the aching limb.

"Fuck," he cursed as he tried to breathe through the pain."If all this shit is technically all in our heads, why the fuck does it feel like I broke my leg?"

The scientist in the room spoke up again.

"Once again, it has to do with keeping patients integrated. We had to ensure a level of bad to be able to occur, such as illness or broken bones, for the brain to accept the system. Early tests without it resulted in rejection." the man once again did not bother with speaking up.

Jayce gave him an incredulous look. "Isn't this supposed to be some sort of utopia?" the answer he received was a shake of the head.

"No. This is simply to allow people that may be suffering things like locked in syndrome or full paraplegia to live normal lives." the scientist said simply. Jayce couldn't help but to scoff at that.

"Looks like you put them all in a nightmare.' he retorted, rough, angry.

"It's an unforeseen predicament in the system." the scientist argued back, finally looking up from his computer to glare at Jayce.

"I don't know about unforeseen. I think forcing someone to a part of the program against their will would lead to some very seen complications." Jayce's face darkened, the scientist sputtering.

"Everyone that has entered the system did so willingly." The scientist said those words, but the conviction wasn't there. Jayce wasn't sure if the man at the computer believed them.

"Say whatever you want. We're all fucked until we get shit back up, right?" Jayce as done playing games. He needed to figure out how to get the system back in order. He needed to find Viktor.

He needed to find a way for both of them to get out.

"As you so eloquently put it, yes." the scientist opted to go back to his work. "Right now I am trying to get one of the mainframe stabilization connections back online, but something has causing them to be resistant from here." A hand waved in frustration. "And with the Corrupted around, I can't get near them to look at them in person."

Jayce looked at the scientist, then Maddie. "The Corrupted?" he couldn't help the worry edging into his voice.

"They're," Maddie seemed hesitant to speak. "They're people connected to the system whose minds have been corrupted since the start of all of this. Once the mainframe started going haywire, people stared changing. You can tell who they are by the purple veins and pink eyes." She started to pace around the room, and Jayce caught the sight of a rifle on her back. "Some people are just more aggressive, weak alone but dangerous in packs. Others… mutate into monsters. Stronger." She turned to Jayce. "Most of the ones by the connection points are weaker, but they are overrun."

Corrupted, like the monster that had attacked Viktor.

What if he was cornered by more, and Jayce didn't know?

What if Viktor himself…

"Can… Can Viktor corrupt?" Jayce asked, though he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

Both Maddie and the scientist stared at Jayce, a confused expression on their faces.

"Who?" asked the scientist.

"The… The person you put in as a core. His name is Viktor." Jayce's words were clipped, but it only got a shake of the scientist's head.

"I have no knowledge of anything about a core." the words made Jayce realize that these two were likely in the dark about a lot of the systems save for what they needed to know.

It made sense. The more people that knew about Reveck's plans, the more likely his unethical project would be found out.

It left a sour taste, but Jayce understood that he should at least try and trust two others stuck in this hell world. He ran his hands against his face, almost as if he were trying to rub away his frustrations.

"Right, so these connection points," Jayce moved to steer the conversation towards something productive. "You need someone to actual see what is going on." his eyes narrowed.

"It seems like you are trying to rope me into going." Hazel eyes narrowed. "Like you see me as expendable, considering you won't go yourself.

The scientist's eyes darted from the computer to Jayce, then back to the computer, lips pressed into a thin line.

"I-it isn't like that. I-"

Jayce cut him off with a gesture to his leg. "Well, it looks like you are shit out of luck, because where the hell am I going with this?"

The scientist blinked owlishly before taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. "I was hoping that we could send you, yes. Not because you can be thrown away or anything, but because the system shifted when you were sent here. You were able to take one of the Corrupted down." Finally,the scientist was getting up, turning around to a pile of crates and boxes that had been behind him.

"We thing that whatever that shift was, it will allow you to get through. I can direct you on what to do to fix what is happening on that end." the man pulled out a communications device, then moved to a crate marked with medical symbology.

"Besides, I have to stay back here and push the connections through." the man pulled out a vial of something shimmering pink. "You're only getting rid of a block." There was a clattering as something was pulled out of a box, made of metal supports.

A leg brace.

The scientist made his way over, handing the contraption over. "This world doesn't work like the real one. We can't force the brain to accept that your leg isn't actually broken, but we can get it to think that the injury is old. Put this on, then drink this."

Jayce eyed the man suspiciously as the scientist walked back to the computer before moving to put the leg brace on. It as an oddly made contraption, but it would do the job of offering support for the shin where the hammer had hit. He aligned everything up, making sure the supports where where they needed to be before securing the straps.

He eyed the vial of pink liquid. It was small, something that could be easily mistaken for a vial of insulin if it weren't for the color of the liquid. It wasn't something he could trust, not really.

But if Jayce were to find Viktor, he had to take the risk.

The scientist was watching him expectantly, hand hovering over the keyboard. Jayce sighed deeply before popping open the vial and downing it. He heard the click of a button, and a sudden jolt ran through his body.

It hurt.

He landed sideways, curling in on himself as he felt what would be weeks of healing happen in a matter of moments. Healing of a bone not set correctly, of bone fusing where it shouldn't. Of muscle and tendon shifting to adjust and accommodate, scar tissue forming.

It was worse than when the injury happened itself, leaving Jayce gasping for air.

He didn't lose consciousness this time, but he didn't move, his mind trying to acclimate to a sudden change. The sensation of forcing his body to go through an unnatural process left his vision blurred and his mind reeling.

When the fog finally began to fade, when his neurons could finally form a single thought outside of the wrongness, he pushed himself up with shaky hands, only to find the barrel of Maddie's gun in his face.

"What… what the fuck was that?" he rasped.

"A network bypass." the scientist stated simply, offering no other explanation.

"So you figured you would shoot me while I was down?"

"A precaution," Maddie offered carefully. "I was a bit concerned it would have turned you for a minute there."

"It's a potential result of forcing the brain to experience something it wouldn't otherwise." the scientists added.

Jayce swallowed and nodded. A part of him recoiled, anger searing through him over not having been informed of such a consequence before going through it.

The other part of him, however, was thankful he hadn't been informed. Jayce would have resisted, he was certain. With tentative caution, he moved to get on his feet. The pain was still there, but it was dulled, no longer the agony of a fresh injury. His legs were shaky as he stood, but he would adjust.

Jayce was no longer confined at least.

Still, it would be a hindrance. The ache of incorrectly set bone still gnawed at him, even with the stability of the brace. His muscles ached as they counterbalanced for the injury.

Finding Viktor was already difficult before all this. Before the injury. Before the worry of monsters.

Before Viktor had forced him away.

Still, Jayce would find him. He would bring Viktor home.

"So, what's the plan?"

The building before them on the dark streets glowed with a brilliant neon that wasn't hard to miss, and while Jayce was thankful for Maddie's guidance around this place, he was certain he could have found it given enough time.

Where they had found themselves was a stark contrast to the cityscape he had first found himself in. Despite the night and the glow of the red moon, those streets somehow seemed bright compared to these ones. Despite the neon and glow, the streets here remained in shadow.

Maddie had slowed Jayce's urge to rush forward, forcing the man to take care, and while he had been frustrated at first by the notion, he couldn't help but to understand that in the end it was the safest option. People, corrupted, hid in the shadows, only seen by the glowing pink eyes and violet veins.

The first encounter they had run into had been a surprise, Jayce attacked as his impatience got the better of him. The Corrupted had been lurking in the shadows of the alleyway, quiet until it had sensed someone year. The snarl it made had made Jayce's blood run cold.

He was thankful for Maddie's sharp shot, watching as deep purple blood pooled around the hole in the monsters cranium.

Jayce made sure to remain careful since, as much as moving slowly and sneaking around made his left leg ache. His jaw was tense as he grit through the pain, careful not to make a sound any time he had to make his way around any aggressor, watching as she carefully slipped behind Corrupted and bringing them down with a knife to the skull.

Jayce made a mental note to find himself a blade. His sledgehammer weighed heavy on his back, waiting to be used, only useful head on.

At least, those were the thoughts he held on to as he tried to focus on the fact that killing had been a necessity. It was a block Jayce had put up to not think about the fact that the corrupted were once human.

If they died in this mind matrix, did that mean they truly lost their lives?

Jayce refused to dwell on the thought, knowing how it would make him sick.

He as thankful when the found the first building,made of metal and stone,broken window of stained glass and lights of chemical glow.

A small handful of Corrupted shifted about, eyes glowing and unfocused until the first shot from Maddie's gun rang out. Thankful for a moment to do something, Jayce finally allowed himself out of the shadows to swing at them, the hammer connecting with skull.

He was certain that the sound of bone crushing would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Violet blood pooled at his feet as he forced himself to take deep breaths. He didn't have time to worry about what he had done now.

-ve to keep him safe.

Jayce winced as a momentary sear hit his forehead, the thought jarring him. It felt disjointed from his mind, like it had come from somewhere else.

He shook his head, clearing it as he heard Maddie tell him to follow her. It had to simply have been exhaustion as to why that thought seemed off, why he felt it wasn't hi

They slipped into the building through the broken window, taking care to not slice themselves on the shards. The glass crunched underfoot, but the sound only reached their ears.

As Jayce turned around and faced the room, he couldn't help but a small scoff, a humorless smirk. An arcade, though run down, the games covered in neon paint.

If there was ever a place to hide a mind matrix stabilization connection point, this was certainly it. He waited as Maddie scanned through the building, weaving through the games, then hopping over the counter to search through the wood cutouts for some sort of shooting game before she made her way back.

"All clear." she said carefully. "I think I found it."

Jayce gave a nod, following her. While she hopped the counter with ease, he had to take care to shuffle over, gritting his teeth as he felt the pain shoot up his leg once he slid off the counter.

The point was in the far back of the shooting galley, hidden by the cutouts. To an untrained eye, it would simply look like the electric supply for the game, a large cable running towards a pillar with buttons and levers.

What caught Jayce attention, however, was the glowing blue crystal covering the connection point of the cable.

Along with the faint glow of a figure. One he could not make out. It made Jayce freeze.

"Maybe the - destabilization will - forced exit point." the voice was faint, static, but Jayce could recognize it anywhere, taking a step forward.

"Viktor?"

There was no response.

"It's just an echo." Maddie's voice cut through the words as they started to repeat. "It can happen sometimes. Strong emotions imprint on the system like a ghost."

Jayce watched as the ghost of a figure moved, spoke, only for it to reset and start again, then turned to Maddie with a quizzical look.

How quickly she had answered left him feeling uneasy. He had seen her refer to the scientist for most other explanations.

"I ran into it once." Maddie seemed to speak quickly. It almost felt too quick. "It's unnerving the first time."

The explanation seemed sound, but there was something in the way her voice hitched.

Something in the way the air shifted.

Something deep in his mind.

Can't trust her.

Once more, the pain against his forehead flared with the intrusive thought. He caught his breath, eyes wide for a moment.

The voice of his thought should be his own, right?

Maddie looked at him with concern. "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing." Jayce said, shaking his head. "Let's just get this done." He quickly moved over to the crystal, pulling out the communication device, speaking into it. "Found it. Looks like how you described, though I don't remember you mentioning anything about some sort of rock being on the cable."

Jayce listened to the crackling of static as the scientist's voice spoke through.

"That must be the block." the words were audible, but barely. "You will need to remove that. Once that is cleared, I should be able to reconnect from my end."

Jayce didn't reply, taking a moment to look as the crystalline structure. There wasn't much he could get a leverage on to pull it off. He shifted to test the weight of the sledgehammer in his hands, calculating the best trajectory for the most effective hit.

"Stand back." Jayce didn't bother to wait for Maddie's compliance before he brought the hammer down. In slammed into the crystal, watching it spark and crack. He felt the ache in his leg from the effort but he did his best to shut his mind to it, bringing the hammer down on it once more.

The light was blinding, the force of the crystal shattering forcing Jayce back. He felt his back slam against the wall before he stumbled, nearly falling forward. As his vision cleared, he saw that Maddie had the foresight to move away, less affected by the shock wave than he had been.

Jayce steadied himself before slowly making his way back. The blue crystal had fallen away, the shattered remnants laying on the ground. He knelt down, picking a piece up to examine it. It reminded him of the crystal back in the lab where he had first entered, the teardrop crystal of that initial entry point. It shimmered in the neon light before it disintegrated into the dust.

"Looks like all we have to do is reconnect it." Maddie said as she walked over. Pulling his attention away from the crystal, he looked down, and he could see that the two connection points of the large cable simply needed to be reattached. He watched as she connected, then twisted the cables to lock them into place.

"One down, two more to go. Come on." She encouraged before getting up and moving out. Jayce just gave a hum, before getting up to follow.

She was already out the broken window when Jayce had made his way to the counter, shifting onto when that strange searing pain in his forehead returned. His head spun, throbbing in pain. The thoughts in his head were loud.

So loud.

Blaring and loud and filled with static.

K̛e͠ep ̅h͠i̛m̢ ̷sa̕f̛e̸ G̕e̕t̢ h́i̴m̛ o͞ut D͞ò n͝o̸t̸ t̕r͝us͝t h͠e̢r H̕e͘ i̢s̕ ìn̸ d̶a̴n̛g͡er ̶I m͠uśt ̵pr̀o̴tect ̛h͞i͠m̢ R̡éve̛r̀se͠ t͘h̕e͝ pr̡o̴t͝ơcol̛ D̸o ̴no̷t ̛le̸t ̸Si̢ng̢e͢d͠ g͘et͟ t̸o͞ him͞ K͟e̴ep h͠i͝m͞ s͜afę K͠eép ̷hi̶m ͜s̨af̷e K̕e̶e̵p ͘him̀ s҉a̴fe͡ K̷e͝ep ̨h̵im̢ S̷af̷e͝ ̢K̕eep-̵̺̺̊̋

Silence.

The pain was still there, but it had settled to four pinpricks along his forehead. Jayce gulped air to orient himself, his vision swimming. He looked around, looking back through the cardboard cutouts when something caught his eye.

Barely visible in the low light stood a figure. Not the looping echo of his partner, but someone standing there, back turned to Jayce. A pale tattered cloak hung off of a wraith-thin frame of pale skin mottled with pastel webbing pattern, gold filigree running along the back where it was exposed, along the spine.

"Hello?" Jayce called out cautiously, heart leaping into his throat.

If this was a corrupted, he was wholly unprepared for it. Jayce started to shift backwards, hand holding tightly as he slid backwards off of the counter.

The figure raised their hand parallel to the ground, and the air started to shift. Started to glitch.

The four points on his forehead flared, causing Jayce to close his eyes in a wince.

When his eyes opened, the figure was gone with the pain.

"What the hell was that?" Jayce murmured, jolting when Maddie appeared. "What was what?" she asked, her face schooled into one of concern. Jayce shook his head.

"I don't know. I thought I saw someone." his voice was filled with doubt.

She patted him on the back, offering a reassuring smile. "This world can get to you, but how about you step outside and I go check it out." Jayce watched her face, unable to get rid of the uneasy feeling in his gut.

Can't trust her.

D͞ò n͝o̸t̸ t̕r͝us͝t h͠e̢r

Memories of disjointed thoughts came to him. But that was just it, wasn't it? The thoughts were disjointed. There were echos in the system. Maddie had not given him reason to doubt. Jayce simply nodded before making his way through the broken glass, careful to keep an eye out for any corrupted.

Maddie watched him, making sure he was out before she made her way back to the cable. It was abandoned, but the signs she was looking for where there.

The connected cables were once again disconnected, this time corroded over, eaten away by pastel webbing and dripped gold. Her face skewed, but not one of frustration. She glanced over her shoulder quickly, making sure she was still alone before reaching for her own communication device, one hidden in her supply bags.

"The first connection is destroyed." she said quickly, quietly. The voice of the scientist spoke up.

"The core is still resisting. We can eventually repair the destruction, but we need to figure out what the core is holding on to so Singed can complete the core control protocol." he said.

Maddie looked back towards the broken window, a smirk on her lips. "I think I have an idea. It's likely the bait."

There was a moment of quiet, then "Keep him alive for now, but once he becomes a lia-" there was a sudden clattering, something hitting the ground on the other end. Maddie quickly made sure to turn the volume low, but kept an ear to figure out what was going on. She heard the scientist demand identification of someone, a sudden murmur of "You…"

She turned the device off the moment she heard the sudden death gargling cutting off a terrified scream. "A shame, really." she murmured to herself. She got to her feet, weaved through the shooting galley, over the counter and out the window.

"There was nothing to worry about." she offered Jayce a smile. "Come on, let's get to the next one."

The words made Jayce's stomach sour.

The Last Drop.

The words glowed brilliantly against the sign they were written on, vibrant neon tube arranging themselves around it. The visualization reminded Jayce of an eye, and something about it unnerved him.

He felt watched. Felt too seen despite pressing himself against a wall in the shadows, the only other person being Maddie, as far as he as aware.

At least, she was the only other lucid person.

"I get the concern about safety now." Jayce whispered quietly, eyes focused at the path ahead.

The path that seemed flooded with Corrupted, those that simply had been human, minds lost, those that corrupted further, into behemoths.

Maddie's focus was on a third type, however, her brow skewed in concern. Those further corrupted, their purple veins covered with pastel webbed pattern, eyes covered with gold filigree.

"Those are… new." there was apprehension in the words as she moved to take aim, using the sight on the rifle to assess the situation. "How well can you fight with that thing?"

Jayce looked at the hammer in his hand, then gave a half shrug. "Wasn't ever the fighting type." he admitted. "More of a nerd. Science shit." he looked over to her. "You sure there isn't another way in?"

"No, not here." Maddie said, frowning. "Too out in the open, no back entrance. I have a plan, but you're not going to like it." she hid a half smirk behind the butt of the rifle.

"Spit it out."

"I need you to act as bait. I am going to start with the bigger ones. You focus on the smaller ones." She pointed her rifle to the largest one, her eyes meeting Jayce's.

She was right. He didn't like this.

Especially when the feeling in his gut once again made him feel suspicious of her.

"Fine." the word was a bit clipped, waiting for the signal.

"Go."

The first couple of steps were painful, the man having been crouched for just a bit too long on a leg not truly healed. He bit back the yell of pain, not wanting to draw attention until he was far enough away from Maddie's hiding place to allow her to snipe her targets.

At least, he remained quiet until he reached the first of the smaller Corrupted, yelling as his hammer came down, drowned out only by a shot ringing out.

The game of chess began, pieces moved in place.

Jayce was the pawn.

The corrupted were closing in on him. He had to keep moving, had to keep fighting.

Another swing of the hammer, crushing against a chest, groans of pain, another shot of the rifle, another cracking of skull.

Had to move. Had to fight.

Jayce was thankful that the smaller corrupted where weak, the larger ones slow, but the ones that were changed further twitched, seemed to move impossibly towards him, like they were blinking in and out. As Jayce managed to fell one of the larger corrupted, the more twisted one was suddenly tackling him to the ground.

Jayce had no way of even guessing where it had come from. He had not seen it, and then it was pinning him to the ground. He could see it's hands, the nails covered in sharp gold, beginning to dig into his skin, getting ready to tear him apart. The angle he was at, he wasn't sure if he could get a hit in.

He had to try, or he was going to die.

As the gold dug deeper, he shifted so he could bring the hammer down on the twisted corrupted. As physically strong as it seemed pinning him down, unlike those that he had fought before, when the metal of the hammer this being it seemed to shatter like ceramic on concrete.

There was no blood to speak of, no viscera. It was like shattering a doll.

Jayce was quick to back away, adrenaline coursing through his veins. Somehow this unnerved him more than watching the bodies of the Corrupted break against his hammer. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as the mottled pattern on the twisted corrupted had made his way onto the hammer.

He dropped it as he struggled to get back to his feet, but the pattern never reached him. Instead he watched it twist and warp his hammer. The head of it was starting to flare out, almost like it were a butterfly, the edges sharpening in a way.

There was a fear in Jayce over picking up the hammer once more, fear that what had started to change it would affect him, but he could not hold onto the fear for long. Corrupted were bearing down on him. In a split second decision, he dove for it, pushing past fear as he lifted it from the ground and brought it down against the back of a smaller corrupted that had pounced.

The edges of the hammer head sliced skin as the weight crushed the monster.

Jayce's eyes darted around. Between Maddie's gunfire and his hammer, they had made progress on the number of enemies. Still, his injured leg screamed for relief, his lungs burned from the exertion.

"Go!" he heard Maddie yell as she finally pulled from her hiding spot. They had a clear path now, and a mission to complete. They kept weapons in hand, making a dash for the door of the bar in front of them as the last handful of enemies converged on them. Hammer and rifle, they managed to pick them off.

Hammer slamming on the twisted corrupted, changing ever so slightly further with each swing.

They pushed past the doors, quickly slamming it shut. Any corrupted that were still out there had not spotted them, but they weren't about to take any chances. Jayce noted the jukebox next to the door and moved to push it against the door.

However, as he turned to face the door, he felt that now familiar pin-prick pain against his forehead.

The static in his mind returned, disjointed thoughts loud in his head. Thoughts, he realized, that weren't in a voice of his own, but too distorted for him to make out.

K̷e̸e̴p̵ ̶h̴i̵m̷ ̷s̷a̴f̶e̵.̴ ̸P̵r̸e̴v̵e̴n̴t̶ ̸t̵h̴e̶ ̶r̶e̶p̴a̴i̵r̷.̴ ̴K̵e̸e̸p̴ ̷h̸e̴r̵ ̵a̴w̷a̸y̵.̷ ̸ ̸L̵e̴a̴d̴ ̸h̵i̴m̴ ̸t̸o̶ ̴s̵a̷f̶e̷t̵y̶.̸

Jayce groaned and fell to his knees, hands clutching his head. Between sharp breaths, he managed to look up.

No longer was Maddie nor the front door there. A wall seemed to have split the bar in two.

"Maddie?" Jayce called out, but there was no answer. "Maddie?!"

Silence.

He was alone again. He wasn't sure how to feel about this.

His eyes scanned around the room. It really was as if a wall had appeared and split the bar in two, but that didn't hold his attention for long.

Instead, what caught his eye was that figure. The one from the arcade, back turned to him. A figure familiar, yet he could not place who.

Maybe it was a ghost in the system, pulled from fragments of memories.

"Hey, it's you," Jayce's voice softened a little, hoping that the figure was not a threat. The only reaction was the shift of a head under a cowl, like they were turning their head in acknowledgment.

The static thoughts came through again, but not as loud, not as disorienting.

F̶o̶l̴l̵o̵w̴.̴

As Jayce tried to process why he would think that, he watched as the figure started making his way through a door. He was torn. He had a mission here, to find the connection point.

But he didn't want to be alone.

"Wait… Wait!" any reservations of safety were discarded as he made his way towards the figure, watching as their movement seemed… unnatural?

No. They were simply walking. Still, Jayce couldn't shake the feeling that something about it was wrong.

The figure made their way out the back door, into an alleyway. Jayce gave one last thought about the mission, before deciding to keep chase.

Even if Maddie didn't hear me, she knows what to do. We can meet up at the third location.

So, as commanded, Jayce followed down the dark alley way. The path was twisting, winding, almost labyrinthine. He was certain the pathway was shifting behind him, changing fundamentally. Whoever this was, Jayce began to wonder if they would lead him to Viktor.

"Where are you taking me?" Jayce called out, trying a slight jog to catch up only to discover how agonizing that was. He bit back the pain, and noticed that despite it, he had not gotten any closer to the figure. They were somehow maintaining the distance. "Where is Viktor? To you know where he is?"

No response.

The prickling pain in his forehead was still there, but it was beginning to shift, to change. It molded from pain, to a soft static. Still present, still noticeable, but not as painful.

"Hey, I am talking to you!"

The figure paused.

Jayce hadn't noticed where they had ended up until then. They were in front of a pawn shop, one that seemed small and unassuming from the outside. Without lifting a hand, the door opened, and the figure slipped inside.

Jayce was quick to follow, pushing past the door, calling out to the figure to wait, but when he finally made his way inside, the store was empty.

"Hey!" his voice was shaky, eyes darting around. "Where the hell did you go?"

He paused for an answer, but then he heard the faint voice, one that had been so familiar to him.

Viktor.

He couldn't make out the words, but he knew the tone, the inflections, the accent. He turned towards the source, a door at the back of the shop, and he carefully opened it.

It lead to a flight of stairs, down into the basement.

"Viktor?" he called out, but there was no response. He tried to listen but the voice was faint. He moved carefully down the stairs, taking care to not jar his bad leg.

As he finally reached the basement, turning around the corner of the stairwell, he spotted Viktor.

Or, well, an echo of Viktor, moving around the connection point. A connection point covered in blue crystal, gold latticework, and webbed corruption.

It was like the soft glow of a ghost, faint lines of white showing the details of his slight frame. He moved around the room in his slowed gait, crutch under his arm as he worked, focused on what was clearly the connection point.

"If I can break the control points, I might be able to gain full control of the system… Like… so" He saw Viktor do something, and saw a small smile of triumph play on his face, before the echo looped back around

"If I can break the control points-"

He said control. Not connection.

"If I can break the control points-"

Jayce's heart sank into his stomach as he realized what the goal of this all was.

It wasn't to re-establish connection points with the system.

It was to regain control of Viktor.

"If I can break the control points-"

Jayce heard the click of a safety disengage, the sound making him shot stock straight to look for the danger, only for his head to brush ever so slightly against the barrel of Maddie's rifle.

"I appreciated the company," Maddie said, her voice flat, any sense of kindness and camaraderie gone. "But gaining control of the core is priority, and I can't have you getting in the way."

Jayce's heart raced in his chest, jackrabbit fast as his adrenaline spiked. "Maddie, what, we can talk about this-" he tried to school the fear out of his voice, tried to state reason.

It wasn't supposed to end this way.

"We appreciate your help, Mr. Talis. We'll send your mother our condolences." there was a heavy finality to her words and Jayce knew. He knew he couldn't reason. Couldn't move fast enough to escape the trajectory of the bullet.

He skewed his eyes shut, waiting for the shot. Would it hurt?

Would Viktor forgive him for failing?

One breath. Two.

Loud. Blaring. Static. Painful pinpricks against his forehead.

A single disjointed thought, one he finally realized was not his own.

K̷e̶e̶p̷ ̷J̵a̴y̸c̵e̴ ̷s̸a̷f̴e̵

The shot never came, the only sound that of death rattles behind him, the clattering of metal as the rifle hit the ground.

Maddie remained behind him, arms lifeless at her sides, on her feet only due to the porcelain and gold blade splitting through her skull, rivulets of blood dripping down her face. Her eyes were already rolled back, death already setting in. The blade pulled back, allowing her body to finally fall to the ground.

Jayce's sight didn't follow her fall, however. It fixated on the form before him, the ghost he had been chasing during this entire mission, one that now stood facing Jayce. He watched as the blade shifted, forming back into a thin arm, a pianist's hand, delicate fingers.

"Viktor?"

The form before him now was striking. No longer was it the man who stood in a uniform, grasping at a crutch as he tried to move, a form familiar to Jayce before he had mourned a false death. It was still Viktor.

Unnaturally changed.

Robes of unnatural white were wrapped around a thin form, tattered and mottled with corruption and leaving legs, abdomen, and arms exposed while obscuring the amber eyes Jayce knew should be there, the faintest hints of metallic gold peaking from under the cowl. Pale, beauty marked skin was patterned with the iridescent markings of webbed, pastel oil slick. Hair that had been short since their first meeting in this hellscape now matched the length Jayce saw of his partner's physical form back in Singed's lab, the color of dark copper brown, with the underlay of soft beige.

Legs that should have struggled now moved with a grace that should not be.

In this mind-matrix world, something had changed his partner. It was still him, still Viktor.

Otherworldly beautiful.

But something indescribably wrong.

Chapter Text

"Jayce."

The accent curled around the name as it was spoken, but it felt empty as the tone remained emotionless. It was less human, feeling like it had been simply generated from the figure sanding before Jayce.

Everything about this screamed wrong.

Utterly, completely wrong.

Still, unnerved but undeterred, Jayce made his way over slowly, his eyes scanning over the other before him as he looked for any indication that the Viktor he knew was still there.

Viktor remained motionless, quiet, unnaturally still as tanned hands curled around the hood of his robes to push it away from a pale face.

No reaction as Jayce's breath hitched in his throat in terror. Where amber eyes should have been was a mask of dripped gold across them, embedded into the skin around the eyes.

Viktor tilted his head as if he could see the other man, a small gesture that would otherwise indicate curiosity, but fell so inhuman.

"Vik, what… what happened to you?"

The blaring static screech returned to Jayce's mind, loud, incomprehensibly so. The thoughts that spilled forth from the din was a stark contrast to the emotionless figure before him. The pain seared through his mind, causing Jayce to clutch at his head and stumble backwards from the shock of it.

K̘̻̫e̞̞e̝̦̙p͇̟͍ h͍͙̞i͕̝̺m͇͓͔ s̙͚a̫͔f͖̞͙e͍͔͜ k̙͓e͚͉͎e̪͇͖p̟̝͎ h̪̘̦i̡̡̢m͚̪͜ s̫͕͜a̢̻̟f̡͖e͓͎̺ k̙͚͚e͇̘e̻͖͇p͍̺̞ h͇͜i͖̝m̡̡̙ s̡͎̫a̘̟̼f͔̦͔e̠̦̻ k͚̪̻e̠͕e̝̠̺p̢͎͔ h̝̺͖i͍͍͚m̝͇̻ s̪̘a̻͚͜f̟̼̟e̘̻̟ k̫̠̞e͎̫e͇͓̙p̻̘̺ h͎̻͎i̪͉̫m̞̠̝-̡̡͙

Silence.

Jayce felt like retching. The rush of emotions and thoughts had flooded his mind, had filled him with a terror that was not his own, only for it to be torn back and leave him empty. His vision swam as he struggled to look up at the warped visage of his partner.

"You must stay safe."

There as a graceful shift in movement, the raising of a thin pale hand as the air around began to shift and distort. The bloodied corpse of Maddie began to twitch, the wound through her forehead slick with blood that slowly turned to liquid gold. The gold shifted, distorted, running against her broken form and leaving a trail of porcelain white in it's wake.

She lifted from the ground, limp, as the blood-gold consumed her, changed her, shifted her form. Limbs thinned, joints became pronounced, facial features vanished.

What had once been human was now a macabre display of doll like features, a body made of gold and white ceramic. Maddie, if Jayce could call her that anymore, stood with dancer's grace, in that same stillness that Viktor held.

"Viktor," Jayce rasped through the pain of his recovering mind. "What… what the hell are you doing?"

"You must stay safe." was the only reply, spoken with the same emotionless tenor as before.

There was a sudden shift in the environment, the walls glitching harshly, shifting and twisting. The light of the scattered colors blinded Jayce, and when he opened his eyes, the basement had changed to a darkened ravine, it's walls seemingly miles above them.

Only the door remained, opened as Viktor stood just beyond it.

"Stay."

S̪̪͇t̻͖͎a̡̠̺y͇̞̻ a͕͙̞w̙̟͔a͓͎͜y͚͎.

The static thought blared the same time as Viktor spoke, causing Jayce's head to twinge with pain once more before the door slammed itself shut. Chains appeared from thin air, tightly latching themselves against the wood of the door, settling as a strange lock shifted into existence.

"Viktor!" Jayce howled as he rushed for the door, only to find himself to be thrown back by a delicate hand. Despite the fragile appearance, the being of ceramic and gold was surprisingly strong, thin articulated fingers grasping at Jayce's shirt as he was thrown to the ground before taking it's place between him and the door.

It moved with a gentle elegance, far unlike the corrupted, so similar to the way Viktor's metamorphosed form. At the center of the faceless head was the glowing remains of the fatal injury that had been driven through Maddie's skill, pulsing with a glow that matched the ache on the pin points of Jayce's forehead.

A pulsing that was quickly fading.

"Oh, fuck off," Jayce snapped once he got to his feet. He had no time to play games with this abomination. His hands wrapped around the hammer as he lunged, swinging at the odd marionette only to watch it dodge with ease, pirouetting to the side as though this were a dance. It kept it's guard at the door, an act Jayce noticed.

Stay away. The words echoed in Jayce's mind. He couldn't comprehend why Viktor was keeping him away.

The pin prick pulse died down, the glow on the marionette died with it.

Suddenly the gentle movements it had became violent.

It dashed forward with terrifying speed, leaving Jayce with no time to react to the assault. It slammed into him with force, leaving him winded.

Leaving it open for attack.

Something about it's movements had changed. It still had grace, but it was jerky, as if a signal it was receiving had been severed. It was still trying to prepare for another attack by the time Jayce had gotten his wits about him, it's fingers pointing to try and make a sharp jab.

Jayce's hammer slammed into it's chest before it could make contact, the white alabaster shattering underneath. It still twitched and moved, but the attack had left it bereft of any coordination.

Still, Jayce saw that it had suddenly become deadly.

Had it simply been careful because Viktor had been control? Did Viktor know it had become violent, when that connection severed?

Jayce doubted it. His second meeting with Viktor, and something about him told Jayce he wasn't all there, that something was taking him over.

Singed.

The thought of this being Singed's work gave Jayce the fury to slam the hammer once more into the puppet's head, cracking it, dropping it to the ground as it shattered like fine china on tile. The shards remained there only for a moment before they glowed a soft blue, dissolving into floating lights that coalesced around Jayce's hammer.

Jayce could only watch it happen as the light pulsed around his weapon, changing it, shifting it to something different than the tool he had picked up. He wanted to drop it, fearing that the changes would shift to him, but another part of him was in awe.

Even if this was in a matrix world, he could still find beauty in this.

His hammer was larger now, a secondary handle now lay below the head of the hammer, which was flared with organic sharp edges that reminded Jayce of butterflies. It was larger now, heavier, and the center of the head glowed a soft blue light similar to that which transformed it.

It was as if it were changing with the environment, changing to meet the challenges Jayce faced, would face.

The puppet now gone, the threat eliminated, Jayce made his way to the door, hands grabbing at the chains, trying to tug them away.

"Viktor! Viktor, answer me!" he howled, but he knew it was no use.

He could no longer feel Viktor nearby, the odd connection that had linked them when his partner touched his forehead was inert.

Slamming his fists against the locked door, Jayce yelled, shutting his eyes tight to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. He took several deep breaths, trying to get his emotions under control.

When he felt like he was no longer going to snap, his nerves no longer coiled so tightly that he would lash out, Jayce turned to face the ravine.

It was a dark corridor of stone and haze, Jayce barely able to see a few feet ahead of him.

Who knew what dangers lie ahead?

He couldn't dwell on those thoughts. Where ever he was, Jayce knew the only way was forward. He would find the way out.

He had to.

Holding the hammer out, using the light of the glow to guide him, Jayce took his first few steps through the ravine.

The path had been treacherous.

It wasn't just the darkness, or how unstable the ground was in areas, though it had not helped matters. Groups of corrupted littered the ravine, wandering aimlessly until they caught sight of him.

None of them had that strange gold and alabaster that Jayce had seen on some of the others back at the Last Drop. The only variations were ones he had gotten used to. Smaller ones tended to stick to packs, while the larger ones were thankfully usually alone.

They all had been adequate test subjects for the transformed hammer.

Jayce had discovered it's new capabilities to shoot on accident. He had swung and missed an enemy, trying to use the new handle to bring it back around. He had not expected it to twist around the handle, nor for the soft glow the weapon had held to intensify in it's brightness and then shoot.

It had made quick work of his enemy, and Jayce was finding himself thankful to finally have a way to attack that didn't involve getting in close. The exertion of fighting was starting to take it's toll, leaving the man battered and bruised, the nerves in his leg screaming in agony.

He dragged himself along the ravine, trying to find any variation in the rock walls that would indicate a new path, or a way to climb up, but it was like he had been imprisoned in a never ending loop.

His drive and desire to find and protect the one he loved drove him, but even Jayce couldn't deny that he was needing rest. He finally forced himself to pause, his back sliding against the rough rock as he settled on the ground, knees pulled up to his chest and his face. Exhaustion and emotions swam through his mind and Jayce did not have the will to parse through them.

He had barely been able to process someone heading towards him in the darkness though the haze of his mind. Still, though, the movement caused adrenaline to surge, forcing Jayce to his feet, hammer in hand as he began to charge the power it now held.

"Wait, wait wait!" a voice called out and Jayce could see two hands raised. He paused, but let the power fizzle out back to the soft glow, keeping armed just in case.

The light illuminated a slight man, mousy in appearance. Receding auburn hair was pulled back, with lucid brown eyes set behind round glasses.

Human, uncorrupted.

Jayce took a deep breath, lowering the hammer as he ran his hand down his face. "Shit," the weariness was heavy in his voice. "Don't sneak up like that."

The man before him took a deep breath once the immediate threat had faded, waving his hands in a fashion to answer "That's fair".

"Sorry. I had to make sure you weren't, you know, one of those." the man admitted. "The name's Huck."

Jayce peered from his hand a the shorter man before him, waiting a moment to see if Huck would know who he was before pulling his hand away to get a better look. "Jayce." he answered, voice clipped with weariness.

"Ah," came the sudden reply, a note of recognition, though the shorter man did not elaborate. Instead, Jayce watched as nervous eyes darted about the ravine.

There was no use allowing his anger get the best of him towards another that was stuck here with him. Jayce forced himself to take a breath to calm his worn nerves. "Do you have any idea where we are, Huck, and how to get out?" he asked, hoping for an answer. If the man hadn't yet turned, there was hope he had knowledge of the matrix at least.

Unfortunately, the man shook his head. "I might be one of the scientists sent here to figure things out, but this seems to be…" Huck hummed as he thought for a moment. "It seems like it is kind of a back way to the systems, only it's blocked off. I've yet to find a way out in the week I have been here."

Jayce huffed a hum in response to that, managing to bite down the curse that wanted to come out. "There's an awful lot of corrupted here." he mentioned, only for Huck to nod.

"I think they are getting lost through the cracks at times, um, when the system shifts." Huck answered. "When changes are made. It's what happened to me."

"You mentioned being part of a team." Jayce allowed a bit of suspicion to edge into his voice. "Let me guess, to get Viktor under control." he spat the last words, letting Huck know what their mission had been.

Huck winced and closed his eyes and Jayce could see the guilt etched in his face. "Yes, unfortunately." the smaller man admitted. "I was told we were trying to get the system back in order. I… I didn't know that the person Singed used for the core hadn't gone in willingly."

Jayce was shocked by the admission.

"I ran into him, Viktor, early in our mission." Huck continued, offering a humorless laugh. "The way he lashed out, I knew something was off." Huck shook his head. "I couldn't help with a clear conscious, not with how scared Viktor was. I left the other two, told them I was going on a mission to check something." Huck stared at Jayce. "I know you have no reason to trust or believe me. The reason I ended up here was I helped with breaking a control point that caused a system shift."

Jayce studied the man before him, trying to see if he could find an inkling of falsehood in the words, but there was something about Huck's demeanor that told Jayce that the truth was being told.

Jayce allowed his shoulders to relax, not realizing he had started tensing up again with Huck's admission. "There's a door. Well, it's probably new," Jayce started. "I ran into Viktor. Something…. Changed him. He seems desperate to keep me safe. I was attacked by Maddie before I ended up here, but he killed her, I think." Jayce wasn't sure about the implications of that, if people were truely dead if the died in the system, though Singed's words burned in his mind when he had tried to break Viktor free from his prison.

"We were in a basement of a pawn shop, but he changed things. I ended up here. The door is still there, but it's locked."

Huck paused a moment in contemplation. "You mentioned he changed?" his voice wavered, as if he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Jayce gave a tired not.

"It's him… but it's like he was corrupted. Like a part of him was locked away, lost." Jayce's voice cracked at the realization.

Huck cursed, and Jayce was honestly taken aback.

"Singed is trying to use other measures." Huck quickly explained. "He's probably trying to block certain neural pathways from connecting to the system, but you mentioned Viktor… killed Maddie?" he sounded shocked by the news.

Jayce nodded, feeling the lump in his throat at the explanation of what Singed was doing to Viktor. "She was planning to kill me."

Huck nodded solemnly. "I expected her to stay loyal to the mission. That said, the fact that Viktor killed her to protect her means he's resisting the attempts to get him under control." Russet eyes shown with a surprising determination. "He's not yet lost. If we can get to him, we might be able to get out of here."

Any doubt Jayce may have had about the man before him fell away, finding himself renewed with the slightest bit of hope. "I… I think I can determine when he is nearby." Jayce finally admitted. "When I first entered this place, I ran into him. He thought I was something else, something trying to trick him, so he connected to my mind. That was when he realized who I was. I think that action connected our minds in a way that allows me to sense him."

"That will help a great deal." Huck said quickly. "Though I don't think we will be finding him here. We need to find a way out."

Jayce feared that would be easier said than done.

Or so he thought.

His eyes barely caught the soft, pulsing glow glinting in the rock before him. He made his way over cautiously, ignoring Huck's worried "Be careful."

As he neared, he could see it was a gemstone similar to the one in the lab he had arrived in. It drew in Jayce's curiosity, the first inconsistency in the rock walls of the ravine since he arrived. The closer he drew, the more it changed.

By the time he reached it, there stood a door, the word "Illuminate" etched into it in elegant script.

He turned back to Huck, a quizzical look set in his hazel eyes. "Did you know this door was here?" Jayce asked, but he only saw confusion on the other man's face.

"There… there is no door there." Huck answered.

Jayce frowned, quickly turning back, worrying that what he had saw was something he hallucinated, but the door still stood.

"There is." Jayce argued. "I just… I don't think you can go through it."

Huck's nerves flared up at the words. This had been his first human contact in a while and he had not been sure if he wanted to lose it so soon.

"Are you sure it's not a trap?" he was quick to argue, which was met with a shake of Jayce's head.

"No, I'm not." Jayce admitted. "Even if it is not, I don't think it is a way out. I think… I think it's something I need to face." he turned back to Huck. "Sit tight. Let me figure this out. I think… this is something I need to face on my own."

Huck pursed his lips before nodding. It was clear the scientist was not thrilled, but neither man had found any other option in getting out of the ravine.

Without another word, Jayce reached forward for the door handle, before feeling everything fade away.

Jayce wasn't sure if he had lost consciousness, or if he simply had been awake but simply unaware.

Everything was pitch black, not even the soft glow of his hammer illuminating his surroundings. There was nothing he could hear. Feel. Smell. It was sensory deprivation and it clawed at the sanity of his mind.

Had his mind been closed off? The thought made him shudder.

He was thankful for the unpleasant sensation.

There was nothing to indicate where he needed to go, nor what he needed to do. The only thing he could do was push his way forward. He took a careful step, making sure the ground remained solid before putting his weight down.

The step was suddenly illuminated with a dim glow. It was a clue, but Jayce didn't have enough context.

Another step forward. Another illuminated step.

Step, glow. Step, glow. Step, glow.

The same soft glow, each step until one

Shown

Brighter.

Jayce had nearly missed the difference it had been so faint, but it was enough for him to give pause. He stood there, trying to parse out the meaning. Carefully, he took one step to the side.

The glow dimmed.

He returned to the step before, the slight increase in brightness there once more. He tested again, stepping to the other side now with the same results.

Jayce had a hypothesis, but he needed more data.

He step forward, watching as each subsequent step grew brighter, at least for a while, until-

Step, dim.

Jayce sighed. He should have known it would not have been as easy as a straight path. He was in a maze, then.

A maze without walls. He could just run in one direction, but what good would it do him if Jayce didn't know where the steps brightened, and where they dimmed? No, he had to follow the path, had to figure it out.

He went back to the previous step, turned and tested until the steps got brighter.

Trial and error.

Trial and error that felt like moving in circles, walking on lines.

Trial and error that soon found a way to become dangerous.

Jayce had let his guard down, expecting the same blank expanse in all directions. He had taken a step forward, expecting ground when he saw a far more brilliant glow.

He didn't expect to fall through, nearly losing balance at the unseen edge. He slammed the hammer onto the ground, using it to brace himself and re-balance as he brought himself back to the path.

He could hear an echoing from the unseen pitfall, but it wasn't the words he had just cursed out. No, they were words from a past him. A hopeful him, before it all went to shit.

"V, give this one more chance. Please."

The words of him begging Viktor to stay alive. Jayce closed his eyes, swallowing the lump in his throat.

This was a test, then. A trial against his own mind. For what, he wasn't entirely sure.

He didn't want to face it.

The other paths, however, only showed the dimming glow, one he had learned to associate with the wrong path.

He couldn't face it, his guilt over making Viktor go through the treatments that would lead to his imprisonment.

He didn't have a choice.

Jayce took a deep breath, eyes closing, a sigh of resignation escaping, Jayce took a step forward.

The fall was terrifying. It was so similar to how he had entered the matrix, but Jayce would never be able to get used to it.

"Do you regret it?"

Jayce hadn't spoken the words, but his voice echoed all the same, and if that wasn't the fucking question of the century.

"Do you regret putting him in hell?"

Jayce grit his teeth, growling at his own disembodied voice. He hated that this all led to this, that Viktor was trapped.

"Do you regret not letting go?"

"Shut the fuck up." Jayce growled, though there was no response.

Did he, though?

Did the hell Viktor been put through been worth the treatments to save his life?

That was the question. The answer. Even if Jayce knew where this would all lead, he would do it all again. He would save Viktor's life over and over and over, no matter what it took.

"Do you regret it?"

"No."

There was a sudden, blinding flash of light that cut through the darkness. He tried to use his arms to block it, but he could not move, his vision filled with brilliant white.

When everything finally cleared, Jayce was standing once more. The darkness had made way to a sea of stars, ahead of him a podium with something glinting in the light.

He cautiously made his way over, but there was no danger to be had. What lay upon it was a gold band, simple and thin. Jayce stared at it in confusion before something caught his eye.

An etching in the ring.

Illuminate me.

The curling script was one he knew, the memory of it etched into his mind.

It was a part of the engagement ring he had bought the day he got the call. Hazel eyes stared as his mind tried to process the small piece of metal, trying to understand how it was here.

In a way, Jayce knew. It was a manifestation of his mind, but the weight of the metal was still there, at least until it emitted a soft glow and darted for his chest.

He had expected it to hit against him, but he watched as it burst into a sparkle of light. The physical manifestation of it was gone, but Jayce could still feel it's presence.

It wasn't the ring, no. It was a manifestation of himself, of what he needed to do to move forward, to no longer become the shell of the man he had been.

He couldn't let his regret get to him. As he looked up, he could see the outline of another door, a scrawling script etching onto the paneling.

Make.

Jayce pushed forward, to the door, through it into the blinding light

The next room had been a stark contrast to the last.

It wasn't a large room, simple in it's design. A podium, similar to the one in the room before that held the gold band, sat empty, rivets running from a ring shaped indent in the center, down the sides and up and into the walls.

The walls held little indication of anything save for small holes the the rivets lead to. Jayce circled the room, staring at the sterile walls, trying to catch any difference occurring as he moved about, but the room remained as quiet and uneventful as he had entered.

Still, he circled, again and again and again, until the pain in his leg became sharp and unbearable, forcing Jayce to slide down the wall in frustration and hopes to ease the ache. He took deep breaths, trying to calm the agitation that was welling up.

In his efforts to calm himself, Jayce realized he could hear something. It was faint, but he looked up at where the rivet led into the wall. There was a hole indented into the wall behind him, and Jayce wondered if the sound was coming from there.

It took a good deal of effort to get back to his feet, his leg protesting as he did so. He braced himself against the wall before leaning to see what he could peer into the hole. As he neared it, the sound grew louder, until he could finally make sense of the words.

"Go, do good, Vik." word he had once said played back to Jayce like a record, an echo of a time long passed. "We always have each other."

Jayce peered into the hole, wondering if there was anything other than sound.

His own hazel eye peered back, one full of malice.

"You didn't have him, though, did you?"

Jayce jolted back, slamming the handle end of the hammer through the hole. There wasn't a sound of pain, but blood trickled through the hole all the same as it ran down the rivet towards the podium.

His own voice laughed back at him, maliciously.

"Just… just fuck off." Jayce cursed, his voice disembodied mocking him as he did so.

"You let him go without a care in the world."

"No," Jayce cursed as he began to realize it was his mind fighting him. "I'm his partner, not his keeper."

He turned to one of the other walls, nearing it so he could peer into the hole. It had nearly been a mistake. As Jayce leaned down to look, a sharp spike shot out, nearly impailing him in the eye. He was surprised by his own reflexes, barely dodging the spike before grabbing it and turning it back to where it came.

Another rivulet of blood began to make it's way to the podium.

"You didn't deny you not caring."

"You're wrong." Jayce spat back, looking between the two remaining holes in the wall. He barely managed to dodge the spike shooting out from one of them, aiming for his heart. It lodged into the wall behind him. With some effort, he grabbed it and made his way over to where it came from.

"I cared. I cared about our future. His future." he shoved the spike into the hole, a third trail of crimson appearing.

"If you cared, Viktor wouldn't be trapped here."

Jayce only had enough time to turn around as one last spike shot through the remaining wall. He felt it pierce him, the shock of it causing him to gasp, the horror of what happened making his blood run cold.

He could feel his heart beat around it.

I can't die here… Jayce could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, but his defiance towards whoever had his stolen voice was what bubbled to the surface as he fell to his knees.

This is not my guilt to bare.

"I didn't push him into Singed's trapped." Jayce growled through the pain in his chest. "I encouraged him to create his own path. What Singed did to him was his actions, not my own."

He thought these would be his last moments, a spike pierced through his heart. In all reality, he was shocked that Viktor wasn't here. His partner had been so insistent on keeping him safe, and now Jayce was dying.

Or so he thought.

The spike pulled it's way from Jayce's chest, and for a moment, he feared the action would cause him to bleed out, but there was no wound. Instead, the spike turned, aiming for where it came, before it flew back into the hole.

One last trail of blood leading to the podium.

Jayce could only watch as the viscous liquid made it's way to the center, every last drop pooling in the ring indent. It glowed softly, a silvery light emitting from the podium. Jayce took a moment to gather his bearings, to realize he wasn't bleeding out before returning to his feet. He made his way to the podium, watching as a pair of silver bands materialized before him.

They spun slowly in the air as he reached for them, and as his fingers made contact, the gold band materialized between them. The band of gold and silver landed softly in his hand and Jayce inspected it before noticing the script on the inside had grown longer.

Illuminate me. Make me.

Once more, the band shot into the air, rushing for his chest before disappearing in a shower of light.

Almost there. One last trial.

He turned to find one last door had materialized from where he had seen his own eye staring back at him, that same font as the last.

Complete.

Like before. He continued forward, through the door, one last time.

Huck paced at where he had seen Jayce disappear.

He wasn't sure how long it had been since the other man had vanished, but it had made the scientist nervous. At the same time, Huck had hoped that maybe if he had stuck around, a door would appear for him.

He was tired of being trapped in this ravine.

His deep focus caused him to miss the footsteps behind him, the shifting of soft fabric as someone moved with grace. He didn't realize he was not alone until he turned around and suddenly felt four fingers press into his forehead, fingers that felt more like metal than flesh.

He didn't recognize the person before him, though it was clear something had changed them from human. Pale robes. Where there was skin was mottled pastel pattern that melted and merged into metallic purple grey.

A voice spoke out, one that had once been familiar, the now held an unnatural reverb.

"Y̷o̷u̷ m̷u̷s̷t̷ h̷e̷l̷p̷ m̷e̷ k̷e̷e̷p̷ h̷i̷m̷ s̷a̷f̷e̷.̷"

Huck didn't have time to react. He felt a sudden shock of power through him, could feel his mind change and warp, could feel his limbs shift and change.

Something was taking him over, and he had no way to fight it.

He didn't blame Viktor for this. Deep down Huck knew that had it not been for the work of Singed, Viktor wouldn't lash out, not like this. Huck knew that Viktor's mind wasn't entirely his own.

Not that it mattered. His own mind was being wiped all the same, all for a single minded purpose.

As the last of his humanity slipped away, the last thoughts on Huck's mind were his regrets at being a coward through all of this.

If only he had acted against Singed sooner…

This wasn't a room.

This was the same galaxyscape he had found himself in when he had entered this mind world. There wasn't much here, other than stars and nebulae.

Stars, nebulae, and himself.

Not just himself, though Jayce was certainly here. Before him, yards away, stood a carbon copy, the one that had been antagonizing him.

As Jayce made his way forward, so did his doppelganger. They made their way towards one another until they were finally face to face. He watched his own mirror, who seemed to look at him with an add bit of disdain.

"You're too weak to do what needs to be done." his ghost spoke plainly to him. Jayce shook his head.

"No." Jayce wasn't about to let this thing take root inside his head, this manifestation of the self hatred destroy him. "I will do whatever it takes."

The mirror him, the one that had tormented him through all of this, tilted his head and smirked.

"Will you? Will you do anything to save him?"

It was mocking Jayce.

Jayce stared himself down with determination.

"Anything."

"Even if he is lost to you? Even if you must destroy who he is now?"

That got to Jayce as he realized that the Viktor in this network had changed, parts of him locked away. Deep down, it had occurred to him that Viktor was corrupting, just like many others in the system.

If it came down to it, could he attack his partner to get him back? Would he be able to do whatever it took to save him?

He had to, because who Viktor had become now was not the Viktor Jayce knew.

"I will do anything to bring back who he is, to bring him home." Conviction, determination.

There was only a soft hum from his mirror before it began to fade away. The light that enveloped the figure glowed a soft blue, folding in on itself. As it shaped itself into something else, something teardrop and small, the disembodied voice returned.

"Do not waiver, or he will be lost to you forever."

Jayce did not react, but he understood, watching as the light formed the final part of the ring, the other pieces appearing to merge with it. It landed softly in his palm, whole, the full script written within the band.

Illuminate me. Make me complete.

"I promise you." Jayce murmured quietly. "I will get you out of here.

With those words, the galaxyscape fell away, leading back to stone wall and steep rock. He had returned to where he started, the ring pulsing with a soft glow in his hand.

Back to where he had run into Huck.

"Hey, I think I found…" Jayce turned around, only to find that he was alone. "Huck? Hey…" confusion etched on his voice.

Did the scientist manage to find a way out? Hazel eyes darted about the ravine, but there was nothing. It was empty, not even corrupted lurking in the shadows.

Jayce pursed his lips. He couldn't wait around. He had to hope that what he was doing might help the other man get out of the system as well, once all was said and done.

He made his way back through the ravine, back where his path started, to the door with the chains. It remained, the lock still in place, a divot the perfect size for the small piece of jewelry. He slotted it into the lock, watching as the chains around the door fall away.

Jayce gripped the handle, taking a deep breath as he prepared himself for what might be behind the door before making his way through, soon finding himself back where his journey in this world began.

Back in the lab, back in the representation of his own mind.

Chapter Text

"What the actual fuck were you thinking, Kiramman?"

Caitlyn couldn't school the wince the harsh words pulled despite standing tall in the face of the enraged Marcus. A fury was coiling deep within her gut, but she forced it down, swallowing it like a bitter pill without water.

"I was simply doing what the councilor asked me to." it was the simple truth, really. The minimum answer to steer her superior from the fact that he was suspected of mishandling a case a best.

Was a willing accessory to a dangerous plot, most likely.

"No." the snarl from the man before her was sharp, knowing. "You went behind my back, failed to follow protocol, stole confidential information. It's clear as fucking day on the cameras."

"Lives are at risk, sir!" Caitlyn snapped, heart thudding behind her ribs at her defiance, regret already forming as the words escaped her lips. Marcus paused, a glare focused on her, though the rest of his expression was unreadable.

It was almost as if he was trying to determine what she knows.

"The only lives at risk are those of citizen that put their faith in us to not steal classified document." his voice was a low growl, rage barely contained.

Caitlyn did not back down under his gaze.

"Those citizens suffer under corruption of a force that will try and cover up their disappearance." she shot back. She was trying to school her breathing, trying to keep her feelings in check.

Trying to stall the tears welling up in her eyes.

Marcus' mouth opened, then shut, the man trying to argue back, until finally all he could do was slam his fists onto the desk and sharply point at the door.

"Pack your shit, Kiramman." he growled through gritted teeth. "You're on leave pending an investigation, but don't expect to have a job after this."

Cait sneered, turned on her heels, and walked out.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of heels on tile flooring resonated the halls of the council building, each step echoing through the halls as Mel made her way to her office.against the walls of the council building, Mel's steps echoing as she made her way to her office. Her face kept a calm demeanor, hiding the worries that ate at her.

What little she had managed to gleam from Jayce's missing person's file had been less than fruitful. It had clearly doctored evidence, someone trying to cover up his disappearance as a death, but there were no leads as to who would want to do such a thing.

All they had was a broken urn of sand, a mother worried for her missing son, a city with an epidemic of missing persons, and questions.

What did they want with people with no family?

What had they wanted with Viktor?

What did they want with Jayce now?

Most importantly, however, were they safe?

Once she knew prying eyes could not see her, could not pick apart her emotions, Mel let out a shuddering sigh. It was all too much, really, trying to hold everything in. She was the face of the city, and she knew she had to hold it together, but the past several days had been nothing but a roller coaster.

She let her feeling wash over her, and while she didn't let the tears fall, Mel allowed herself a moment to feel. She thought she had been doing so much to make the city a better place, but her ignorance left a danger to fester in a place she had paid little mind.

For a moment, she allowed herself weakness.

Then her phone pinged.

"I'm effectively fired from the department."

The words from Cait took a moment for Mel to register before she realized the implication. She took a sharp breath, before closing her eyes to calm her nerves. Deep down, Mel knew that Caitlyn's task was risky.

She just wished there had been a better payoff of information for the risk Cait took.

"I'm sorry. We lost a resource to finding out what is going on."

Oh.

Cait was blaming herself for this.

Mel could not have that. She was quick to respond, quick to try and sooth and let the younger woman know that her work still brought them closer to answers, even if they were still lost.

Quick to let Cait know that her safety was far more important. They had all already lost too much.

"Don't apologize. You have been invaluable in this. I am just glad you are safe. I worry more about what they may suspect."

She hit send, and a new found terror found it's way into her. Mel realized the firing could very well lead to them being found out, to this unsanctioned investigation being halted. She had power, but Mel knew that there were others on the council that would happily oust her if given he chance.

They were running out of time.

She had to act, now. She needed a plan.

A plan that had already begun to form, if the text from Vi was any indication.

"You need to get to The Last Drop. Now."

Click.

The lock settled into place at the bar's door, The Last Drop falling into a silence once the final customer left for the night. Vi took a deep breath, a moment of relief at the end of a long shift.

Vi reached down, quickly reading the chat, feeling

The work was helping her keep her mind from fraying at the edges. She had long thought the worst of it would be when Cait's mother died, when her girlfriend was suffering through the waves of grief.

Vi admittedly had not been a fan of the woman, but she had been there for Cait, tried to be a steady rock.

Then it had been Viktor. At the funeral of Cassandra, she had mostly been cordial with Jayce and Viktor, barely knowing them in the beginning, with them all banding together to be Cait's rock, Vi had grown fond of Viktor's sharp wit and mischievous nature.

It had been a blow to everyone when that call had come. It had gone from planning an engagement party to planning a funeral, to watching her sister's brother, her own friend, fall apart at the seams.

Now Jayce was missing, and everything had been thrown upside down.

It had been a simpler matter when they were all trying to help a man through grief while he had been determined to destroy himself, back before a web of deceit made itself known, cracking open mysteries like an urn against ground.

"Hey, sis to Runeterra."

Vi jolted from her thoughts at the sudden sound of a voice behind her, momentarily thinking she may have missed one last patron before coming face to face with soft blue eyes filled with concern and a glint of mischievousness, lips curled upward in a small smile.

"The hell, Powder," Vi's voice came out exasperated, hand to her chest as she tried to ease her racing heart. "What the hell did you sneak up on me like that for?"

Powder couldn't help but to roll her eyes, her smile never leaving her face. "Well, I tried not to," she waved her hand upward into the air. "But it seems like you were busy flying out into the stars with her thoughts." Powder's voice held a teasing lilt, but then her eyes softened a little, her voice a little kinder.

"I have something I think you want to see."

Vi looked away, offering a tired huff, a bit of guilt welling up in her. "I'm sorry, Powder. I bet your new project is cool and all, but I don't think-"

"It has something to do with pretty boy's disappearance and fortune cookie's "death"". Powder punctuated the last words with air quotations. Violet's gaze whipped around, staring daggers at her sister.

"This is not the situation for joking a-" she paused, eyes going wide in sudden realization. "How did you know about that?

Powder's mischievous grin returned. "You were always shit at cyber security, sis." in one swift motion, before Vi had time to react, Powder had swiped the phone. Swift fingers punched at the series of numbers, the screen quickly unlocking as Powder tilted her head with a small look of disappointment.

"My birthday? Really? I know you are smarter than this." Powder wagged a finger in her sister's face.

Vi was perturbed, one side of her lip curled up in annoyance, brows furrowed. "What the hell were you doing in my phone in the first place?" she demanded, but Powder only offered a non-nonchalant shrug.

"You've been down in the dumps lately. I just wanted to make sure you weren't having a fight with your girlfriend." Powdered offered a warm smile against her sister's unamused glare. "I just so happened to find your chat." the smile faded, Powder's expression becoming more serious.

"Listen, you know I have been working with our dads about all of the missing cases that have been happening here in the lanes. We already had groundwork on what we were trying to dig up. I figured this was linked." the smaller girl crossed her arms. "So, are you going to follow me upstairs or not? I think you want to see this."

Vi gave a tired sigh. She would need to have a serious discussion with her sister about invasion of privacy, but a lead was a lead, and she couldn't deny Powder's ingenuity. "Alright, fine. Lead the way."

With a bounce and a turn, "Finally!" was shouted from Powder as she headed off, not bothering to make sure that her sister was following. They made their way through the back hall, up the stairs, to her room.

A mess of colors, wires, and fairy lights welcomed the two of them. The walls were covered in brilliantly colored posters, with various computer wires running up them, one wall sporting "Genius and Madness spray painted in pinks, blues, and greens.

It was no secret that Powder and Ekko were brilliant when it came to technology, but Vi realized just how uninvolved she had been with their work as of late.

So much had been going on.

Too much.

"Hey, what's been going on, little man?" Vi said as she registered the white hair peeking just over the neon green computer chair in the far corner of the room, a massive setup of monitors taking over the desk it was sat in front of. The chair quickly spun, revealing the young man sitting in it, the dark skin of his face painted with a signature white hourglass.

"Show her, Ekko!" Powder couldn't contain her excitement, and Ekko pushed himself and the chair back with a kick, using his hand against the desk to guide himself. The screen revealed showed a text prompt, lines of coding slowing creating itself as the time passed, green characters forming on the screen.

"What is it?" Vi asked. It didn't make much sense to her, but there was clearly something significant to it.

"We aren't quite sure yet." Ekko said, grin wide. "But it's linked to Talis at least." he quickly moved the cursor over to another monitor, pulling up several screenshots he had taken of the script.

A lot of it looked like nonsense to Vi. Code and execution, something that was not her forte in the slightest.

What did catch her eye, however, was the the occasional Subject: J.Talis that would precede an execute command.

"Holy shit," Vi's eyes went wide, then she paused. It could be a lead… or it could be old data.

"How recent is this?"

The grin never left Ekko's face. "That's something we thought about, but every bit of digging we did shows that this is occurring in real time." he went back to the screen that contained the building code. "Nothing that shows up is repeated."

"The closest thing we could think of was like code with a game that is made to create randomized maps." Powder explained. "And execution commands are what you do with an action." she paused and was thoughtful for a moment. "There are other subjects, but everyone else is a series of numbers. We don't know if maybe Jayce is-"

A flickering on the screen caught their attention, a moment of glitching, and their hearts sank for a moment when they feared they were losing what they had found.

Then a pause in the coding.

"Did we lose connection?" Ekko wondered.

"We might have." Powder frowned. "Rese-"

She stopped mid-sentence as code crossed the screen once more.

CORE SUBJECT:VTAL12 EXECUTE COMMAND OVERRIDE

CORE COMMAND PROMPT\\

K͙͕͕e̼̺͓e̙̻p̢͚ J̠͎͇a͉̦͎y̢̠c͙͇̘e͚͜ s̘͎̺a̠͔f͖̫͎e̢̪̙ K̦̼͖e̢̘̞e̻͔p̠̦ J͕̞͜a̦͕͉y͎̠͖c̡͙͚e͓̝̼ s̼̞̺a̺͎̘f̺̫͔e̙͖̟ K͓̫͇e̞͎͙e͕̦͓p̝͇̪ J̺̦̫a͕͕̟y̡̺̞c̙̼͕e̺̪͓ s̡͇͇a̢͓͇f͕̘͉e͙̼̪ K̞͙͜e̦͜e̼͇̫p̦̺̫ J͍͉͎a͖͇̺y̺̠͜c̺͚̝e̢̺̟ s͖͇̺a̡̦͎f̘͍͜e͖̪͖ K͓͕̠e̼͇e̺̠͜p̡̘̦ J͕̘̻a̼̼y͖̙͉c̠͉̪e̠̫ ș̡̡a̡̠̘f̪͖͚e̙͙̙ K̝̪͜e̢̻͜e̢͇̦p̡͖̠ J̟̘̪a̢͕͜y̺͖̫c͇͖͕e̡͎͍ s̫̫a̡̫͚f̘̝͇e͕̦͇ K̫̘͇e͇̟e̦̺̟p̺͓͖ J͎͕͎a̫̪̺y̞͙̝c̡͖͙e͇͕͕ s̪̘̻a̢̝̺f̝̫͙e̢̫̠

The words kept looping, quickly overtaking any other code that appeared.

SUBJECT:7777633.3322244 EXECUTE COMMAND W862

CORE COMMAND PROMPT\\

K͙͕͕e̼̺͓e̙̻p̢͚ J̠͎͇a͉̦͎y̢̠c͙͇̘e͚͜ s̘͎̺a̠͔f͖̫͎e̢̪̙ K̦̼͖e̢̘̞e̻͔p̠̦ J͕̞͜a̦͕͉y͎̠͖c̡͙͚e͓̝̼ s̼̞̺a̺͎̘f̺̫͔e̙͖̟ K͓̫͇e̞͎͙e͕̦͓p̝͇̪ J̺̦̫a͕͕̟y̡̺̞c̙̼͕e̺̪͓ s̡͇͇a̢͓͇f͕̘͉e͙̼̪ K̞͙͜e̦͜e̼͇̫p̦̺̫ J͍͉͎a͖͇̺y̺̠͜c̺͚̝e̢̺̟ s͖͇̺a̡̦͎f̘͍͜e͖̪͖ K͓͕̠e̼͇e̺̠͜p̡̘̦ J͕̘̻a̼̼y͖̙͉c̠͉̪e̠̫ ș̡̡a̡̠̘f̪͖͚e̙͙̙ K̝̪͜e̢̻͜e̢͇̦p̡͖̠ J̟̘̪a̢͕͜y̺͖̫c͇͖͕e̡͎͍ s̫̫a̡̫͚f̘̝͇e͕̦͇ K̫̘͇e͇̟e̦̺̟p̺͓͖ J͎͕͎a̫̪̺y̞͙̝c̡͖͙e͇͕͕ s̪̘̻a̢̝̺f̝̫͙e̢̫̠

SUBJECT:22447776667777.7777 EXECUTE COMMAND A613

CORE COMMAND PROMPT\\

K͙͕͕e̼̺͓e̙̻p̢͚ J̠͎͇a͉̦͎y̢̠c͙͇̘e͚͜ s̘͎̺a̠͔f͖̫͎e̢̪̙ K̦̼͖e̢̘̞e̻͔p̠̦ J͕̞͜a̦͕͉y͎̠͖c̡͙͚e͓̝̼ s̼̞̺a̺͎̘f̺̫͔e̙͖̟ K͓̫͇e̞͎͙e͕̦͓p̝͇̪ J̺̦̫a͕͕̟y̡̺̞c̙̼͕e̺̪͓ s̡͇͇a̢͓͇f͕̘͉e͙̼̪ K̞͙͜e̦͜e̼͇̫p̦̺̫ J͍͉͎a͖͇̺y̺̠͜c̺͚̝e̢̺̟ s͖͇̺a̡̦͎f̘͍͜e͖̪͖ K͓͕̠e̼͇e̺̠͜p̡̘̦ J͕̘̻a̼̼y͖̙͉c̠͉̪e̠̫ ș̡̡a̡̠̘f̪͖͚e̙͙̙ K̝̪͜e̢̻͜e̢͇̦p̡͖̠ J̟̘̪a̢͕͜y̺͖̫c͇͖͕e̡͎͍ s̫̫a̡̫͚f̘̝͇e͕̦͇ K̫̘͇e͇̟e̦̺̟p̺͓͖ J͎͕͎a̫̪̺y̞͙̝c̡͖͙e͇͕͕ s̪̘̻a̢̝̺f̝̫͙e̢̫̠

It took a moment for the words to register what they were saying.

"What…" Vi could feel something unsettling nest itself inside her chest. "What does that mean, keep Jayce safe?" the implication rattled her.

Then another realization struck.

"It's Viktor." She remembered the subject name that had popped up during the override.

VTAL12.

V Talis.

Viktor Talis.

The last name Viktor would have finally be able to have, been able to take if he hadn't been taken from them.

Ekko was already jumping into action when Powder shouted at him to grab whatever screenshots he could, watching as the screen flooded with the the same sentence over and over.

Keep Jayce safe.

A cry for help. A warning that wherever they were, they were in danger.

A buzzing in her pocket brought Vi out of her thoughts. As the two before here were frantic to grab what proof they had of a lead, she had realized she hadn't noticed the group chat she had with Mel and Cait.

A lead was what Vi could hope for, but it wouldn't be what she would get as she read the words that displayed on the screen.

"I'm effectively fired from the department."

Vi's heart sank.

She read through the texts, mind buzzing.

"I'm sorry. We lost a resource to finding out what is going on."

Vi hated that the first thing Cait thought was a feeling of letting them down. It seemed as if though Mel agreed.

"Don't apologize. You have been invaluable in this. I am just glad you are safe. I worry more about what they may suspect."

Safe.

That was the question of the year. Were any of them safe in all of this?

Viktor and Jayce hadn't been safe.

Now Ekko and Powder were caught up in all of this.

The thought ate at Vi, but she couldn't let the risk be the thing that stopped them. Not when the pleading words "Keep Jayce safe" kept repeating over and over again.

Her fingers flew over the letters in her phone before she even thought about what she was doing.

"You need to get to The Last Drop. Now."

"Are we able to track this down?"

Mel carefully looked through the screenshots, analyzing everything, noting the desperation of the the repeating words that had flooded the screen earlier.

Those messages had died down by the time she and Cait had pulled up, taking charge as Vi wrapped an arm around Cait to comfort her.

"It's possible." Ekko explained. "But it's going to take some time. Establishing the connection was a struggle. I would need to make sure we didn't trip any security while doing so, because that could shut us out."

"We have to account for anything they might be using to hide their location, too." Powder chimed in. "Whatever is going on is sketchy as shit. Whoever is running this is going to have this guarded." A smirk played on her face. "They just didn't account for a couple of mad geniuses to give a shit about another couple of mad geniuses."

"Is there anything that you will need that might make this easier?" Mel offers, schooling her face to hide the hint of a smile that played at her lips over Powder's words.

Powder and Ekko pause for a moment, but Vi was the one to speak up.

"Safety." it is said quickly, without conviction. "You mentioned that you were concerned about what they may suspect. I don't doubt Little Man's and Pow-Pow's ability to stay safe." Vi's voice grew serious.

"But whoever this is knows what they are doing. They have connections in the police. I don't doubt they have connection in the government. We have barely been able to get scraps of hints about what happened until now. We're outmaneuvered right now and I don't doubt they will resort to violence."

Mel carefully considered the words, but she didn't have a chance to answer. None of them had heard a set of footsteps walking through the door.

They did, however, hear the demanding voice.

"Councilor." the voice was schooled, cold, causing everyone to turn around to face who was at the door. A slender man, face half scarred, dressed sharply, stood in the doorway.

His focus remained on Mel, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Silco." Mel's voice was even, calm.

"What finally concerns you with the lanes from your ivory tower, Miss Medarda?"

The tension around the table was palpable.

The group of them had moved back down into the bar, a need for discussion evident. One end sat Mel, poised and calm, expression unreadable. The other end, Silco, stoic, though his face betrayed his simmering anger.

Behind Silco stood another man, large in stature, graying hair and beard, a calming hand on Silco's shoulder, while the rest stood around haphazardly.

"Silco," the larger man said, voice even and calm, trying to be a voice of reason. "The best time to act may have been a year ago, but the next best time is now. Don't let your anger get in the way."

"Vander," despite his rage, Silco's voice remained even. "We should tell that to any of the lives that may have been lost due to the council's inaction." He stared pointedly at Mel. "This has been a dire situation for over a year. People have been vanishing in the lanes without a trace. Now you decide that once it hit Piltover, there was cause for concern."

Silco leaned in, his focus narrowed and cruel.

"I'm not sorry to confront your ignorant denial. While we lost people down here, you looked the other way to keep a clear conscience."

The words stung Mel, but she didn't let it show, not when Vi yelled "Father!" at the man's words. She simply raised her hand towards the other woman, a gesture showing that the defense was not needed.

"You aren't wrong." she said calmly. "How long the council has taken to act has been a failure. It is one of my greatest. I should have never have waited until it hit home, so to speak." for the briefest moment, she saw the look of shock on Silco's face.

"I cannot get the council on board with the investigation," she admitted, and the shock turned into a scoff.

"So you are just going to let bureaucracy get in the way of the safety of the people of the lanes?" Silco snarled, ignoring the grip on his shoulder as he spat the heated words.

"No."

Mel leaned in forward, staring down the man before her.

"I'm going to use it to keep it off our trail."

There was a look of confusion on Silco's face, the man trying to read Mel's expression, trying to parse out what she was trying to say. This face of progress and justice that Piltover loved to flaunt, that Zaun was wary of, it made everyone in the room confused.

"What are you trying to get at, councilor?"

Mel smiled. "We aren't playing by Piltover's rules anymore." she said simply. "It's become clear to me over the past couple of days that trying to use the system to root out something corrupt isn't going to work." she glanced over to Cait. "I can't rely on our enforcers." her green eyes met Silco's good one once more. "Anything I try to do by the book will be traced."

It took a moment for what Mel was saying to register.

"Everything you are doing is unofficial then."

Intelligent man. Mel thought. She didn't voice the words, however.

"Precisely."

Silco tapped his finger along the table as he thought. The rage was still there, the failures to protect his people still bitter in his mouth, but seeing someone willing to get into action was a start. He let out a long sigh. "I expect you want something from us."

Mel disliked how it was worded, but Silco wasn't wrong. There were things he could provide she simply could not. She looked between him and Vander. Something about both of them told her that despite their front of being bar own husbands with children, they had connections she couldn't fathom.

She needed access to them.

"I need people." Mel admitted. "I have a strong suspicion that when we find whoever is doing this, it is going to be guarded." She looked to the others, Cait and Vi first, then Ekko and Powder. "I can provide funding for supplies needed, but I cannot obtain them myself. It would look suspicious."

"You're asking for a private militia." Silco accused.

"Not for myself." Mel quickly countered. "But it would be a militia all the same."

"Why should I risk more of my people?" the question demanded an answer.

Mel wasn't sure she had one.

"I don't expect it to be entirely of your people." Mel chose her words carefully. "There are… a handful of people I think I can rely on, but I am hoping for your cooperation." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm the feeling that things were slipping through her fingers.

"I think we are all aware that everyone in this room is connected, is at risk." she could see Vander tense up at the words, knew the flash of realization on his face that his children were in danger. "The more time passes, the more we are in danger, the more the people that have been stolen are in danger. We are running out of time."

Mel sat tall, even though she didn't feel she was in the moment.

"I am asking you, not as a councilor. Just as Mel Medarda, as someone that has been trying to find people she lost. Please." it took all of her power to stop her voice from wavering.

Silco could see it in her eyes. This wasn't some political play. This wasn't a game of the councilors. He saw the woman for the human she was.

For a moment, there was silence, then he nodded.

"How much time do we have?"

It seemed as if there was a collective breath that had been held, one that was released.

"Forty eight hours." she answered. "I can get the funding to you now." she turned to Powder and Ekko. "I can get you two whatever you need to track down that signal."

Green eyes then met Vi's and Caitlyn's before returning to Silco.

"Whoever you can find that can fight, and a medical team."

"Forty-eight hours, then." Silco agreed.

Mel kicked her heals off as she entered her apartment, uncharacteristically disorderly, but she couldn't be bothered to care. The day had been overwhelming, the ups and downs and uncertainty too much even for her.

The sound of the shoes colliding with the tile was soon followed by soft, elegant footsteps making their way from the bedroom, Lest gracefully making her way to Mel as she wrapped her arms around the other woman.

"You're tense, darling." Lest said, her voice soothing. Mel hummed as she returned the embrace, allowing her walls to fall away.

"I've let too much slip past me." Mel admitted. "Now I'm scrambling to clean up the mess." she felt delicate fingers rub circles against her back.

"Ah, but I know that look you had." Lest responded. "You have a plan."

"Hmm, I do."Mel let the smile play on her lips. "A reactionary one, but the foundations are there." she pulled away from Lest, hazel eyes staring into gold ones. "And you have the look of someone that had found the gossip of the century."

Lest couldn't help her own smile. "You can see me like a mirror." she responded before making her way to retrieve something from the table. The smile faded a little, though, as she handed the paperwork to Mel.

"I found something today, over by Dr. Reveck's office." Lest explained. "The man was in a rush to leave. It looked like he was clearing his office out, but he managed to drop this."

"What is this?" Mel asked as she looked over the papers, the technical diagrams and blueprints of some sort of machine, noting that it had something to do with people if the sketches of humans were any indicator.

Lest took the file from Mel, flipping through it until she found a report, handing it back. "I don't understand a lot of it, but it looks like some sort of device that connects minds together." Lest scoffs. "Almost like a hivemind, from what I could gather. Most of that report is just dry jargon, but,"

While the file was still in Mel's hands, Lest turned to pages until she reached what she was looking for, tapping her finger. "This is where it gets interesting.

Mel noted the date, something familiar about the time frame as she read the entry.

Drug trial: Synchronicity Serum

Subject has been highly receptive to the drug. It's initial testing as been for used in the subject's lung condition, an effect discovered in earlier trials, but I have noted that the subject is showing a higher resonance with it than previous subjects.

Subject was not initially planned for HEXCORE testing. They were simply a subject to test it's secondary effects to see if I could get it pass trials and onto the market.

I have connected the subject to the nodes that track his neural signals and they show a high compatibility with the HEXCORE system. The results are completely incomparable to previous subjects. None of the others have come close. Subject thinks this is just some routine testing to ensure there are no damaging side effects.

Subject is well within core parameters. I will be continuing treatments to ensure his body can survive the neural load of the HEXCORE system. For now, monitor subject's condition. Drug makes subject ill with side effects but has made considerable progress on subject's illness. I am confident he will recover, despite his earlier terminal diagnosis.

For now, I will need to refine the drug to ease out side effects. This has promising results for turning the HEXCORE project into a widespread technology.

Subject reclassification: V.TAL12

Mel's eyes went wide with the last line.

V.TAL12.

Just like the messages on the screen.

Viktor.

The date on the log was when Viktor had been going through the experimental treatment.

Lest noted the recognition in Mel's face and was quick to flip through the pages. "This one, too." Mel gave her a wide eyed stare, unsure if she wanted to read through it, her gut twisting at the horror that Viktor had been forced through unethical experiments. Still, she had to know. She finally had answers in her hand.

She noted the date.

Three weeks after Viktor's funeral.

Subject: V.TAL12

HEXCORE CORE INTEGRATION TRIALS

Integration with the Hexcore system has been a success. Subject's neural link has been a smooth transition. Data of the commune has come back with no errors.

Preliminary trials of linking peripheral subjects has been a success. Each subject added to the system has built upon the HEXCORE systems. This should allow a community to be built within the interconnected mind matrix.

Subjects do not show signs of awareness yet. Anesthetics on Core V.TAL12 are still in place to ensure there is no shock to the system. Core should be fully aware in the next 24 hours.

There are concerns of subject's willingness to comply. Despite taking care to keep subject under, he did wake for a period of 4 minutes and 24 seconds. Subject was belligerent and disagreeable. This is possibly due to confusion of surrounding and drugs in his system.

Will keep subject heavily monitored.

Mel kept reading to the next entry, piecing together exactly what this experiment was, though she wasn't ready to accept it.

The next entry was for a week after the last.

Subject: V.TAL12

HEXCORE CORE OBSERVATION

Subject V.TAL12 has not been cooperative.

The system remains online. Peripheral subjects are not aware of their physical bodies being linked to a mind matrix. They do not remember much of their previous lives. For all intents and purposes, this is their real life.

V.TAL12, however, is aware of the system. It was an unforeseen oversight on my part that the Core would have access to system data. He knows that while it seems like his body might be moving, it is simply the neural result of the system connection.

Several messages have come through from the core, demanding he be let go. Unfortunately, current testing of the systems are incomplete. I am currently working on adding to the Core's neural environment in order to placate the subject. So far all attempts have been unsuccessful.

I will continue to find ways to placate subject, but I am currently creating a fail safe that will allow me to subjugate the core into compliance if need be.

I hope it does not come down to that. I fear what will happen to the system if the humanity component of the Core is lost.

"What the hell is this man doing?" Mel muttered, horrified. She looked up to see the grave expression on Lest's face.

"It gets worse." She said, flipping through to one final page. Their eyes met before Mel started to read.

The date noted was the day Jayce disappeared.

Subject: V.TAL12, J.TALIS

HEXCORE CORE SUBJUGATION PROCEDURE

The Core has proven to be very difficult. Despite my best attempts to both placate and to reign in the Core, the Core has refused to comply, resulting in actions that have caused a loss of a few peripheral subjects and a degradation of the systems.

The Core currently has full control over the systems, and the HEXCORE system is currently on lock down. Subjects can be connected to the commune, but nothing can leave.

The Core has been disconnecting several key systems in his attempt to escape. The serums to lock away the human connection to the HEXCORE system is complete, but I need something for the Core to give up enough of his control for it to work. Previous trials of the serum simply lead to it's failure.

Core will not listen to reason. I have tried informing him that improper disconnection may result in neural overload, which may lead to death or a vegetative state. Core has disregarded the risk.

I have convinced the Core's former partner to connect to the HEXCORE commune, sending him in to convince the Core to comply. In reality, subject J.TALIS is bait. I have no doubt the Core will relinquish some of his grip on the system with the use of J.TALIS.

Once the Core is under control, my initial goal is to fully integrate J.TALIS to the commune. As much as he is a liability, I would rather not throw away such a brilliant mind that could be used in some way in the neural community. However, if he proves to be too much of a risk, then he will be slated for termination.

"Termination…" Mel nearly choked on the word, knowing what it implied, not stopping as Lest pulled the documentation away. The reality of what Dr. Reveck was doing hit her.

For six months, Viktor had been lost to them, locked in his own mind.

The disappearances. The falsified documentation within the precinct. The reallocation of resources from the company Jayce and Viktor had worked all. It was all linked.

There was an urgency in her as she spoke.

"Do… Do you have any way of trailing Dr. Reveck when he comes in again?" Mel knew the answer immediately as she looked at her girlfriend's face.

"I don't think he is coming back to the main labs." Lest informed. "Something had him spooked. I think you being on his trail made him act."

Mel nodded, but she didn't like the answer. Trailing Reveck would have been easier, but hope wasn't lost. She had faith that Ekko and Powder could track down where he was hiding. If those messages were from Viktor, if they were linked to his mind, then they would find him.

"I don't want you going back there." Mel said. "If he is trying to hide evidence, then you might be at risk." she took in a deep breath. "I am hoping to get the others back, but even so, I can't lose you, too."

Lest held Mel close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Don't worry. It's going to take a lot more than some made scientist to take me down."

"Still. I would rather you be safe. You aren't disposable. Nobody in this is."

The moment was broken by the ring of Mel's phone, and the two of them pulled away. She pulled it up, seeing Ximena's name displayed across the screen. She quickly answered it. "Mrs. Talis?"

The distress of a mother was palpable from Ximena's voice.

"Dear, I just got a call telling me that… That Jayce…"

That Jayce was dead.

Quick to act, Mel spoke up.

"Did they offer to have you identify a body?" She hated how calloused it sounded, but she needed to keep Ximena calm.

"N-no. They said that I would be getting his ashes soon, that his body was beyond recognition."

No body. Just an urn. Just like Viktor.

"I know it is going to be hard to believe me right now, but don't believe them." Mel kept her voice calm, even, soothing. "Pretend to be a grieving mother. Don't let them know that you think something is off. Remember what I said about Viktor?" The memory of the conversation that they had earlier seemed to have come back to Ximena as Mel could hear her calm, just slightly.

"Right. Right. I need to play along." Mel could hear a deep breath from the other woman. "Do you know for sure that Jayce is safe?"

"I don't." Mel replied reluctantly. "But I have a strong suspicion he is still alive. I'm doing everything in my power to bring him home."

"Thank you, Mel." Ximena offered, tired, nerves clearly still rattled. "Please, keep me updated."

"Please stay safe." Mel replied.

The two of them shared a moment of silence before saying their goodbyes, the phone call cutting off.

"They're moving to try and cover things up." Mel said quietly, Lest listening. "The files Caitlyn got me, they must have locked on that we suspect something. They're trying to get things on lock-down."

"Will your plan go into effect in time?" Lest asked cautiously.

Forty-eight hours.

Two days.

The time needed to get a team together. The time needed in order to track down where this Dr. Reveck had stolen people for his experiment.

"I have to hope it will."

Forty-eight hours later, Mel was standing in Silco's office, surrounded by a team.

She held coordinates in her hand. True to their word, Ekko and Powder had tracked the signals, down to an abandoned warehouse by the docs. It was a place that would be unassuming to anyone, easy to use as a front. They had ensured it was where Reveck hid, having gained access to the systems once they had located it.

They would be invaluable to entering the facility.

Silco and Vander had been men of their word. Mel was impressed by the team, a group of people that were experienced. Former enforcers, a couple of rebel fighters, all people that could hold their own in a raid, that could break through defenses just as well as Piltover's own enforcers.

One of the recruited, Loris, had seen to what training he could over the past day since Silco gathered them.

Mel had ensured they would be equipped, trained as best they could on such short notices.

There was a medical team, as well, a couple of the people that Caitlyn herself had asked. Steb, someone who had been a former combat medic before returning to civilian life, had immediately stepped up to the task.

Admittedly, Mel wondered if one of the people Silco and Vander gathered, Scar, may have had something to do with it.

The one that surprised her, admittedly, had been Sky Young.

Mel had no clue the woman had long since quit the lab. They only knew each other in passing when Mel would visit Jayce and Viktor for lunch.

Sky was just as much a part of this as they all were now. It worried Mel.

Mel had pulled Sky aside before the meeting to talk. "This is dangerous," Mel said quietly. "I understand if you want to back out."

Sky stood firm, however.

"They are my friends." Sky was quick to answer. "Knowing the truth, what I do now, I can't just leave them behind." she took a deep breath. "We don't know what this.. experiment… is doing to them. We need every medical hand we can get."

Mel took in Sky's words, and she knew the woman had a point.

Now Sky stood with the others, poised, ready for the go ahead as Mel spoke.

"I am glad you are all here under these dire circumstances." Mel spoke, making sure to look each person in the eye. "I come to you, not as a councilor, but as someone hoping to put a stop to this"

"For over a year, people have been going missing, and I have failed to do anything about those lost in the lanes. They had simply been overlooked. There was nothing to indicate that they were part of a sinister plan. Not even when one of my own friend's had their death faked did I bother to look further. That said, this is not an excuse. Even if there wasn't something cruel going on, their lives mattered, and we should have cared that they vanished."

Mel listened to the murmurs, waiting for them to die down, only speaking up when there was silence again.

"This is an unofficial team, something not sanctioned by the council, that will not be approved by the council, but something has to be done, now. A man has been allowed to run wild, using humans in unethical experiments. This stops, now. In twenty-four hours, we will be invading Dr. Reveck's unsanctioned lab. We will be seeing justice for this."

Mel stood tall.

"I will be with you every step of the way."

"Councilor, with all due respect," Silco spoke up. "You don't intend to join everyone down there, do you?"

Mel offered the man a smile. "I do. I am aware of the risk. I assure you, my mother made sure I was more than just a pretty face and honeyed words." her expression went serious. "I am not about to just send people into danger to fix my mistakes. I will be there, too. I need to see the end to this."

Silco only offered a nod, a hum of acknowledgment.

She turned back to everyone.

"Twenty-Four hours, we will be on the docks.

Just hold out for one more day. We'll get you out of there.

Chapter Text

A discerning eye watched the thin being trapped behind the glass, observing the minute twitches in the form. He watched the rapid movement of eyes behind closed eyelids, noticed the quickened pace of breath with each escape of bubbles into the violet liquid of the tank, was aware of the tense twitching of muscles in the legs and arms.

Singed's eyes moved from the form to the monitors on the tank. A screen, one usually blank, glowed bright yellow, the words "Vitals destabilizing" written in bold black. A warning, the system letting the mad scientist know that his subject's health was at risk.

"You're resisting. You should have already been under compliance." he said to the unhearing form, eyes moving back up as he watched the floating body before him. There wasn't any disappointment in his words, nothing denoting any form of displeasure. It was merely a simple statement of fact.

Singed then turned to the tubs surrounding the tank. He walked by the first two, ignoring the black screens next to them, denoting the cessation of vitals. He thought little of the loss of the scientist and Maddie. They were simply a means to an end, and they had ultimately failed in their use.

He stood before the tub of his bait. Jayce Talis lay prone in the tub, in a pool of similar liquid as the core, filled up to his chest. His vitals remained stable, though heightened, likely due to the danger the man was in while in HexCore system.

"Hmm. It's because of him, isn't it?" Singed hypothesized, his eyes turning back to the tank with the core. "I see. A connection to your humanity." the mad scientist remained in thought, his gaze moving back and fourth between the two.

"An unforeseen circumstance, but one that can be used all the same." he turned to the the fourth tub. The other scientist, Huck. The screens flashed red, a warning of unstable vitals. He watched the scientist twitch, his breaths rapid. His eyes narrowed.

Huck had not been one of the ones Singed had administered any serum to in order to corner the core.

He paused for a moment, before making his way out of the core room. Singed moved carefully around the sea of wires, through the series of tubs of various peripheral subjects.

Several now lay dead in their tubs, those that Singed had injected to twist their minds into entities he could control. They had fallen in one way or another, their lives cut once they were ended in the HexCore system. Losses he didn't see the need to regret.

No, what he saw were others, those that showed similar warnings as Huck. Those he had left alone, wanting to preserve as many peripheral subjects as he could. Warnings of their mind being irreversibly altered.

"I see." Singed said as he mulled over the data he had observed. "You must have always had the ability to twist those minds. I must have locked away the refusal to do so. But it's incomplete with a part of your mind being locked away." he pulled at one of the vial in his tool belt, the sickly green liquid sloshing around.

"I wonder what happens if I take control."

He moved over to one of the subjects, aligning the vial with a port at the back of the head rest. He carefully inserted it, pressing the button before watching as the liquid drained into the system. He watched as the body spasmed, fingers grasping, lungs gasping. An alarm on the monitor blared, but the vitals did not cease.

Finally, the form of the subject settled. The vitals were still all wrong, but it didn't matter to Singed. He turned to the monitor, pulling out the keyboard, fingers rapidly typing commands.

System Admin Override

Peripheral Subject Command Prompt:

Primary Action: Apprehension of Core, if failed follow Tertiary Action

Secondary Action: Apprehension of Bait

Tertiary Action: Termination of Bait.

Singed hit enter, and waited, wondering if his override would go through.

System Admin Override of Peripheral Subject Success.

Singed didn't smile, did not speak of his elation. He simply was pleased with the success of his experiment, using the knowledge to go to other subjects to place in his override.

A simple task. The more the core sought control over the situation, the less control the core had over the systems.

Unforeseen circumstance was tipping the scales into Singed's favor.

His task done, he made his way back to the control room, found his way back to the tank.

"I doubt you will want harm to come to him." Singed said, not caring that he wasn't heard. "But insurances are needed. Compliance will be needed if you want him to live." he returned to the panel where he had injected the first vial of liquid to gain control over the core's mind.

"Here. I will give you a little more encouragement."

He pulled out another vial, the next in the series. It sloshed with the same green color as what he had just used, sickly and sinister in color. He removed the old vial before settling this one into place, locking it in with a click.

"Let's start by destroying the world you know, take away all the things you can control."

The swirling liquid drained into the node slowly, pushing through as it made it's way through the IV line connected to the Core. There was a surge of activity, Singed watching as breathing started becoming faster, shallower, a spike in the monitored heart rate pinging as the yellow warning flashed to orange.

He didn't feel anxiety, nor worry. Simply an anticipation, his mind analyzing as he processed any possibilities that could occur. Singed was assured of his result, of his study, but he remained aware of the possibility of failure.

The core twitched, eyelids shifted as closed eyes darted.

Then everything began to still.

Not a deathly stillness, just a settling. Breathing didn't calm to baseline, simply returned to before the administration. Heart calmed back down, a little. Still elevated, but not dire.

Singed, however, noticed how the movement behind eyelids stilled. Not entirely, nothing outside of stimulus reaction, but the movement no longer held a clear human awareness.

Another lock on a brilliant mind. Singed almost mourned the thought. All that would be left of the core, the remnants, would be a ghost in the machine.

He turned back to the form of the bait, watching carefully, before making his way to the terminal. A blue light pulsed in the corner as the words "Safe Zone" flashed softly.

"You are still useful yet."

The mad doctor pressed the intercom.

Jayce took in the sight of the lab, having returned to where this had all started.

It sat differently now, having changed with the rest of the mind scape he had found himself in. Metal had tarnished, tiles had chipped. Instruments laid strewn about as if tossed aside and abandoned.

It was as as if the lab was beginning to crack, much like Jayce's own mind had. A twisted metaphor on top of the fucked up sundae this had all been.

Still, despite the decay and disarray, the glowing crystal remained where it had been left, the blue light pulsing softly. It was now the only light source in the room, leaving behind dark shadow in the deep corners.

It left everything about all of this unsettling.

"Jayce Talis." the voice was familiar, filled with indifference from the man behind all of this.

Jayce snarled, shoving his way forward towards the voice, biting back the pain that radiated from his leg. He wasn't sure if he needed to be close for Singed to hear him, nor did he know if the mad scientist could see him, but he needed any level of proximity he could get to exert authority.

Despite that, though, deep down, he knew he was at Singed's mercy.

"You fucking bastard!" Jayce growled, each word hissed through gritted teeth. "You sent me in here not to fix the system, but to subjugate Viktor! You lied! You had never intention of letting us go."

The words that emanated where cold, calculated. "You're right. I had no intention of letting either of you go." The words were said without malice, just a simple matter of fact to the mad scientist.

"However, I never lied. I told you that if you were to succeed, I would ensure that you were reunited. It was up to you to interpret the words correctly. It is not my fault that you did not."

Jayce bristled, feeling the rage rising in him.

"You knew exactly what you were doing when you said that." Jayce accused.

"Maybe I did." Singed admitted calmly. "But had you understood, I am certain you still would have followed through. Your bond with him is admirable, and there are a great many things one would do for love. Some things, wretched, others reckless."

Jayce sneered, but he couldn't ignore the truth behind the words. As much as he wanted to say that he would have tried to find another way, tried anything that wasn't playing into this twisted game, he knew deep down that this all would have played out the same.

He would have still played into the doctors hands. Still would have allowed himself to be connected to the HexCore project. Would have still followed through with the protocol knowing that doing so was the only chance he could get Viktor out alive with his mind in tact.

"Once I get out of here, I am going to fucking kill you."

It wasn't a threat. It was a promise. It was righteous indignation fueled by a fury that was left unmatched.

"If you managed such a feat, then you will have earned it." Singed was unphased by Jayce's words. "There is still the matter, however, that you are under my control, and I have ways to make sure this arrangement remains."

Before Jayce had the chance to react, the glowing crystal before him began pulsating, spinning, glowing with a shocking brilliance before shooting towards him. It exploded in a brilliance of blue and starlight, lines of light wrapping against his left wrist.

His skin felt like it was searing, like something was shoving though the muscle and tendon, and Jayce howled in the pain it wrought. It marred his skin with colorful raised webbing, leaving the skin raised and scarred in its wake. As the light faded, Jayce found himself staring at his wrist.

The crystal, smooth in surface, a rune inlaid on its face, now lay embedded in his wrist. He could feel the chiseled edges shifting underneath the skin, underneath muscle and tendon, against bone.

The sensation made him want to vomit.

"You were sent in to be a lure." Singed explained plainly. "You have proven effective, but I need stronger measures."

Jayce felt something fall against his shoulder, saw a puff of dust float in front of his face. It caught his attention, turning to it to see crumbled wall against his shirt. Eyes wide, he stared at his surroundings, watching as decay took hold.

Walls cracked, the floor began to crumble. A chair fell apart, the wood collapsing to the ground. The metal adornment began to tarnish, aging swiftly, far more than the decline he had seen when he had returned to the lab.

The anchor of the crystal had been removed, and with it, the security of sanctuary. The protection of the safe room had been ripped away.

"Your illusion of choice in this matter is admirable." there was a hint of amusement, lacing Singed's voice maliciously. "But it is an illusion all the same. He will want to keep you safe, and I am certain the raised stakes will garner his attention."

Before Jayce could say a word, the static of communication cut out, leaving him in the silence of the now desiccated room.

A silence that did not last long.

It started as a single knock, like someone asking permission, asking to be let in. Once. Twice. One hand rapping against the door.

Then another.

Another.

Louder.

Insistent.

Slamming.

Jayce could feel dread well up within him as he watched the large panel doors rattle in their frame. What once stood tall, a metallic shield against the horrors behind them, now threatened to bend and break at the rust before the oncoming onslaught.

The mad doctor had thrown Jayce into danger, not caring if the man he had brought to near ruin six months ago survived. The only thing Singed cared about was the continuation of this fucked up project.

Jayce tensed, feeling the adrenaline coursing through his veins. Hands held tight to the hammer, the weapon his only defense against what lay beyond as the integrity of the door failed.

The only way out was through.

With one last show of force, the door fell away from the hinges, the heavy metal collapsing as Corrupted surged forward. Several were crushed under the steel, caring not for their own survival, their own minds programmed with single minded focus.

Find the bait. Capture or neutralize. Draw the core out of hiding.

The few that fell from being crushed barely made any difference in the numbers. More charged their way forward, crawling over the fallen, snarling and snapping as they rushed their way towards Jayce.

He held the hammer up, watching as the light from it began to pulsate. He twisted the handle, hoping his aim would be true.

Then he fired.

The blast was blinding in the room, the light bouncing off the walls and metal. The smell of searing flesh and ozone filled it. The smell made Jayce's stomach churn with nausea, the blast tearing apart that which was in its wake.

Bodies of the corrupted fell before him, a heap of dead left in the wake of the attack, but Jayce could hear more.

Could hear the growling, the snarling, sounds of people twisted into something completely inhuman.

He had to flee, had to get out of the lab before more came rushing through, lest he be overrun.

Jayce barreled forward as best as his leg could carry him. The pain had grown worse, the strain starting to bite at the muscles and tendons.

For a moment, Jayce wondered how, in a world that held him in mind only, it could still leave him so physically worn and weary.

He wondered, once he got out, if his body would show the same wear and tear as the manifestation of his mind-self here.

He clambered over corpses, made his way over the fallen doors out into the streets of the city he had started in.

The shock of what it was now unsettled Jayce.

Cobbled streets where now torn, broken apart, the stones shattered. Walls of buildings lay cracked, falling apart, holes in the plaster revealing the interior of homes and stores. Rebar that had held structures together were now bent and twisted, jutting out, a hazard of their own. There was a layer of grime, of oil-slicked water coating the surfaces, of anomalous patterning running along the walls.

Colorful rocks encased ruined buildings, forced out with harsh violent edges, holes dotting them in similar pattern to oil on water. The sky, that which had held a blood red moon, was now blanketed in dark clouds that threatened to burst with a torrent, swirling above ominously.

It was as if an apocalypse had struck, had frozen the city in time, and Jayce would have believed that had it not been for the Corrupted littering the streets, making their way towards him.

What had once been an avoidable threat was now bearing down on him, and it was with a sickening realization that came to Jayce that he now knew what the mad doctor meant by keeping the arrangement he had in place.

Every single twisted monster now knew where he stood, the light from the stone in his wrist now a blaring beacon.

All because Singed knew he could not lock away Viktor's desire to keep harm from coming to Jayce.

"Stay away." the words that Viktor had stated to him back before his trials bounced around in Jayce's head and he now understood. Even with so much of his mind being locked away, Viktor knew.

If Jayce remained near him, they would both be lost.

And yet…

Despite Viktor's desperate bid to keep Jayce safe, his efforts were in vain.

In reality, they always were, though. In reality, Jayce would have never headed Viktor's warning. Much like how Viktor had single minded focus to keep him safe, Jayce held on to his single minded focus of his promise to get Viktor out of this hell.

Singed, Jayce realized, was desperate to prevent that, though the mad doctor hid that well.

"Damn you." he hissed through gritted teeth, bringing the hammer up. There was nowhere he could run, every ally and road blocked by twisted abominations that barreled down on his location. In all honesty, he was unsure if he could manage the odds.

But he had to try.

"Don't let me down." he pleaded with the twisted weapon in his hands as he aimed.

Blue illuminated his surroundings once more.

Jayce had no intention of fighting the entirety of the horde here. He knew if he tried, he would be overwhelmed, the numbers would take him down far too quickly. He had no idea of Singed intended for him to die, or simply be trapped, but he was not about to find out.

Corrupted fell in the wake of the attack, their bodies singed and burned in the light of strange magic, laying as broken as the cobblestone beneath them. Yet, for every one that fell, two more took their place.

Every gap Jayce managed to break open was quickly closed off, the distance between the monsters and himself shrinking. He could feel the adrenaline pumping, the terror coursing through him as his hope for escape dwindled.

He shifted backwards, trying to create more distance between himself and the horde, slowly finding himself trapped back into the lab that should have been a safe haven.

Backing up until his heel caught on something, jarring his leg, sending seering pain shooting up through it. Jayce gasped at the shock, feeling bile rise up as it sent him crashing to the ground. He landed on the corpses he had left behind in his bid for escape from the lab, but that didn't ease the pain from his fall as he landed on his damaged leg.

His mind swam, stars dotting the edges of his vision as he took a gulp of air to try and ease the ache. By the time he could focus, rolling as quickly as he could to get back to his feet, a Corrupted was on him. It moved with unnatural grace, skin sickly and sallow, veins bulging with unnatural violet as a hand quickly slammed downward. He tried to swing his hammer upward against the monster, but it was already too late.

He felt himself being slammed into the ground, the force of the attack knocking the wind from his lungs. It kept crushing down on his chest, causing immense pain, making it feel as if though it was caving in. It was a struggle to draw in breath, causing Jayce's head to spin. The Corrupted, with its target pinned to the ground, lifted it's other fist to slam into Jayce.

An attack that should not be real, should not have consequences on the body that lay in a tub of liquid.

It was real, however.

Real enough, Jayce realized, that he would die here, and nobody would be the wiser.

He could only watch with horror as the abomination moved to bring an attack down on his head.

Jayce closed his eyes, bracing for the impact.

I'm sorry, Viktor.

The blow never came.

Still pinned to the ground, Jayce opened his eyes, terrified at what he would see, wondering if the monster was sentient enough to want him to see his impending demise.

It took him a moment to register what he was seeing.

A figure of gold and white stood behind the Corrupted that had captured him, a porcelain arm having forced through the neck of the creature. Violet blood spilled from the wound, gurgling from the Corrupted's mouth from the attack. In a swift motion, the arm was removed, causing the abomination to fall to the ground in death.

The Corrupted's grip had loosened just enough for Jayce to pull away, just barely managing to get out from under the falling corpse before it crushed him.

The marionette was similar to the one he had seen, the one that Viktor had twisted, changed when Maddie had made her attempt to kill Jayce.

Only this one hadn't been fully changed, not yet, anyways.

The ceramic was still creeping up on the face of Huck, the scientist's eyes having long since gone blank. Gold creeped over the skin, corrupting where it touched as the change removed the humanity from the man that had helped him back in the ravine.

It was then Jayce felt it.

Pinprick pain in his forehead. Faint, but there.

Viktor was nearby, somewhere.

More of the marionettes had made their way to the scene, climbing along walls, through the streets, like marching ants to the command of a queen. Their movements, unlike that of the Corrupted, were in unison, an elegant march against the monsters that dared threatened Jayce.

Jayce was unsure if he were thankful for their appearance, or dreaded them knowing the danger they could bring should their connection to Viktor be cut off.

For the moment, however, they seemed to be under Viktor's control. That much Jayce could be certain. Their movements, their attacks were aimed towards the abominations, ignoring Jayce in favor of protecting him.

It was an advantage that he was going to take, using the distraction of the puppets to push back. He didn't need to take down everything.

He simply needed enough to slip by, find a place to rest for a moment, to ease the ache in his leg that screamed from the exertion of the fight.

He pushed past the puppet of Huck, the rest of the mask slowly taking over his face. Guilt welled in Jayce's gut, realizing he was not there to defend the man that had helped him, but he couldn't dwell on that for long.

One of the larger Corrupted started to come down on him, and Jayce moved to react to the charge. He didn't have time to fire the hammer, instead using it for its original purpose. He swung, hard, swinging it sideways into the side of the beast and using as much strength he could to get the momentum into the arc. He tried not to feel nauseated as he heard bone crack underneath, hearing the abomination howl from the pain as it stumbled back.

The stun was what Jayce needed to bring the hammer back up, this time down on the abomination's skull. He watched as it caved in, brain matter and twisted blood spattering forth as death came for the twisted individual.

Jayce couldn't fathom how the mad doctor found losing any of these lives an acceptable cost to his experiments.

Worse, Jayce was a part of the death toll. It didn't matter that it was in self defense, was in a desperate bid to save the one he loved. He was a part of this now.

He pushed forward, keeping his mind on the task at hand.

Jayce made his way to one of the side streets, one less populated with Corrupted or puppets, taking down what he needed to to clear a path. He was thankful for this path of least resistance, though he could hear the growling of monsters still on his trail, starting down the path he was trying to take, the rune in his wrist a siren call for the dangerous monsters that lurked.

That beacon would deny Jayce rest, deny him reprieve from the pain and exhaustion his body was suffering.

Moving through the streets, breathing heavy as he exerted himself through the fight, Jayce followed the signal of his connection with Viktor. He took the turns where it seemed like the pain and static grew stronger, barely taking the time to assess the danger. He knew he was being reckless, but he was running out of time.

He could hear the marionettes fall, one by one, could hear the shattering of porcelain on stone. Singed had the advantage, Jayce knew. Whatever that man was doing, all he had to do was simply slip through his lab, change the minds of the people connected to the system, twist them into playing the sick game he had set up long ago.

Viktor had to seek out those he needed to change within the system itself, despite being the one who was the control of the mind world. If there was still enough of him left in that corrupted form Jayce had last seen, he knew Viktor would not be willing to ruin the lives of the people here, not unless it was absolutely necessary.

Jayce finally found himself in a town square, the state of it similar to the rest of the city. It was ruined, shattered, falling apart like the system itself was coming apart at the seams. The fountain that would have been a stunning landmark lay in pieces, what water it had remaining tainted with the strange oil patterning.

As damaged as it was, however, it gave Jayce a much needed vantage to assess his surroundings.

It seemed that most of the Corrupted had made their way to the lab when the rune stone was fused with him, most of them taking the paths between Jayce and where he had just fled from. There were a few stragglers, growling and hissing, but were unable to move in for an attack before Jayce dispatched them.

That what wasn't caught his attention, however.

He wasn't sure how he had missed it before, the large tower in the distance. It loomed over the rest of the city, a tarnished golden globe topping it in what would have been brilliant decadence. The tower was in shambles, pieces chipped away, yet still floating around it as the eye of the looming storm hovered above with the only source of moonlight illuminating it.

It was as if the building itself was locked in its time of destruction.

At the top, though Jayce couldn't tell entirely, it seemed as if though there was a figure standing, perched at the highest peak. It was as if though the figure was watching the battle below with mild curiosity.

He couldn't tell who it was, but something was telling Jayce that was where he needed to go.

That would be where he would find Viktor.

The growling of Corrupted grew louder behind him and he knew he needed to move. He looked forward, the labyrinthine streets threatening to make Jayce lose his way.

Make him lose his way, or help him evade danger.

It was a risk, but he knew he needed to take it, and without a second thought, he was pushing forward. He wasn't sure how well the streets could keep him safe from the monsters behind him, but he could help keep what numbers they had to something he could manage.

Something he hoped he could manage.

Jayce could feel himself wearing down, could feel the adrenaline that was coursing through his veins begin to wane, could feel how his body was fighting him with every movement, every attack. The only thing that was keeping him on his feet was following the connection he had with Viktor, following the hope to get through to the man he loved.

He had to be getting closer to the tower now, and yet the pinpricks in his forehead seemed to be duller than before, the static of Viktor's connected thought muted, almost as if something was blocking them.

Dread welled up in Jayce, fearing what may have happened to the other man. They were both at the mercy of Singed.

The worry that welled up within him had blinded Jayce to the creeping danger that came from the side and above. It seemed to have blended in with it's surroundings, tarnished and corrupted like the landscape. It wasn't until he caught the jerky movement that Jayce had time to react to it's attack.

It moved with some level of grace, but there was something wrong. What should have been white porcelain was now stained, dirty, chipped. The gold adornments were tarnished, the shine lost. Creeping swirling patterns of stark red ran along it, like the patterns he had seen on Viktor's skin in his strange, corrupted form.

It was one of the puppets, but it had been twisted, changed, and what had been used by a man misguided to protect Jayce in this fucked up system had been taken over by whatever means the mad doctor had.

"Shit." Jayce cursed, realizing how much worse the situation had gotten.

The Corrupted he could fight. They were overwhelming in numbers, but they were slower, and despite his injury, he could at least out maneuver them with some difficulty.

The puppets were fast, but their moves were predictable, and their frames were delicate, easy to shatter. He just needed to keep his distance.

This, however, was something different.

Something far more dangerous.

It moved quickly, with grace despite the jerkiness of its limbs, like there was a battle for control over it's form. Jayce barely had time to react as one of it's legs swung towards his body. It barely missed, but it had time to recover. In the time Jayce had to raise his hammer to swing on it, it was already moving behind him.

He could feel the limbs wrap around him, surprisingly strong despite their delicate appearance. They held his arms in place, legs tangling with his to cause him to fall.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see more coming out from the alleyways, from the buildings, climbing along broken walls in sickening, synchronized jerky movements.

"Singed, you fucking bastard." Jayce hissed through gritted teeth, unsure if the mad doctor could hear him.

Adrenaline flooded his system. The terror of being caught, of what would happen if the rest of the corrupted puppets reached him scratched at the animal part of Jayce's brain. Despite being trapped on the ground, he managed to force himself to his feet once more. He could feel the puppet try to trip him again, trying to get him to stay in place.

He was going to use gravity to his advantage, he simply only needed to be on his feet for just a moment.

Finally able to get his balance just enough, Jayce fell backwards, using the momentum to slam the puppet between himself and the ground. Pain flared through his body, but he grit his teeth and ignored how the hard limbs jammed into his ribs, as the porcelain cracked and sliced at his skin. Despite the corruption, these twisted marionettes were somehow sturdier than Viktor's own.

Still, Jayce only needed the attack to loosen the grip of his capture, and it had worked. The shock of it caused the tarnished limbs to fall away from his body, twisting in a way like someone had cut off the electricity to a robot. It wouldn't stop the puppet, but it was enough.

Jayce moved as quickly as he could, needing to get back to his feet to flee before it could regain control of itself, before the others could close in. He moved to put as much distance between the corrupted puppets and himself, before turning around.

There were too many of them, and if he didn't do something about their numbers, they would be able to flank him.

It was a dangerous gamble, but he took it all the same. He raised the hammer once more, allowing it to charge with the brilliant blue energy that it's misshapen form seemed to be able to do. With a twist of the handle and careful aim, the blast shot forward.

Several of the marionettes dodged the attack, seeming to show more intelligence than that of the Corrupted abominations. Others, despite their attempts, were caught in the blast, leaving their forms nothing more than shattered ceramic and melted metal.

It would have to be enough. Those that survived were closing in again, and Jayce did not have time to wait for another attack to charge.

He also wasn't sure he could escape if he were captured once more.

Despite the protests from his leg, he fled. Jayce's lungs burned, screamed at him for rest. His mind swam. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out with this.

Then he saw it.

The base of the tower.

It was showing much of the same corruption and deterioration as the rest of the city, one of the doors falling away from the hinges, allowing enough a small gap to allow Jayce to push through. He didn't take the time to think about how he would go about this, knowing danger was close behind. He grappled for leverage, ignoring the fatigue in his arms as he pushed through the widest gap at the top. It was barely enough of an opening, but he made it through.

Jayce just hoped it would be enough of a barrier against the twisted puppets behind him to allow his body to get up the twisting staircase. He stared at it, cursing, before his attention was caught back towards the doors.

One of the marionettes was making it's way inside, thin enough to make it through the gap. It was only a matter of time before the others slipped through, too.

"Oh, fuck you." Jayce cursed, allowing the anger to push him up towards the goal. The pain, the static of his shared connection with Viktor was stronger here, stronger than anywhere in the city.

It had to have been Viktor that stood at the top.

So why did the signal still feel so weak?

Each step caused his body to ache, caused Jayce to worry that he couldn't push through. Even without the danger behind him, his body could only handle so much. With or without the injury, six months of neglect and alcoholism were taking its toll.

The fatigue was slowing him, causing him to stumble. He tilted sideways dangerously, nearly toppling over the side of the stairway. He was barely able to right himself, moments before one of the twisted marionettes reached for him.

Jayce wondered how he managed to sidestep, wondered how he was able to swing the hammer against the porcelain creature, sending it flying to the ground below.

He was going to take his small mercies anywhere he could get them.

For a moment, he was afforded a chance to breath, just a couple of breaths to ease his aching muscles, but the threat was still on him. It wasn't enough, wasn't enough to clear out the pain in his leg, his lungs.

But it was going to have to be.

"Shit." Jayce managed to huff out before turning and running once more.

He had to fight against his weary body.

The cold touch of inorganic material brushed against his back as another of the puppets reached for him, and Jayce realized with resigned weariness that the monsters were gaining on him as the top of the stairs came into view.

Just a little further. He just had to push just a little bit further.

He could feel cold hands of pottery close in, brush against his back, the gap between the twisted puppets and Jayce closing, the chance of escape slipping.

He plowed through the door at the top, adrenaline pushing him to turn and slam the door shut. It crushed down on stained ball jointed hands, crushing them underneath the weight. They fell to the ground as the path was closed off, twitching before shattering against the metal of the roof.

The door shuttered, rattled, but despite its deteriorated state, it held firm. Jayce leaned against it, lungs heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. He could hear the puppets behind the door, could hear the Corrupted growling loudly at the base of the tower. He didn't know how much time he had to convince Viktor to stop this madness, but he was going to take this moment of reprieve.

As his mind cleared from the fatigue he put his body through, Jayce realized just how dulled the connection still was. The pain was there, and so was the static, but it was muted. He couldn't hear Viktor's thoughts, couldn't gauge how close he was. The feelings were strongest here, but they were dulled.

Something was wrong.

Jayce stood upright on aching and worn feet, using the hammer as stability as he looked forward. His eyes caught sight of the figure he saw in the down square. It stood tall, taller than he ever remembered Viktor being, and its figure still.

Inhumanly so.

It stood facing him, it's frame just as porcelain as the puppets Viktor controlled, a mask of gold filigree adorning its featureless face, chestnut and blond hair falling behind it. A cape of blue and red adorned its shoulders, draped down to just behind it's knees. One hand was just that, simply a hand, but the right was was a blade that extended from the wrist. Unlike the rest, there was a core of violet light pulsing where it's abdomen should be.

A puppet.

Jayce had been sensing Viktor from what seemed to be a proxy.

"Gods damn it…" Jayce cursed, the anger welling up, the worry of not knowing where Viktor was eating away at him.

He was on edge, unsure of what this figure would do. The moments ticked by as it simply stood there, no reaction coming from it.

Despite his better judgment, Jayce stepped forward.

That was all that was needed for the marionette to act.

It was fast, faster than those that Viktor had turned, faster than those that Singed had taken over. It was on Jayce before he could even register that it had moved, a leg slamming into his side and knocking him to the ground. He cried out in pain, struggling to catch himself as his mind screamed of the danger above him.

He moved to get up, dragging the hammer to get it underneath him to help him get stable, but a gilded hand was shoving him back down. Jayce didn't have time to register the attacks, let alone to react to them.

It was as if the marionette was shifting time around it, using that to it's advantage, moving through the system with a control no other had.

Jayce watched as he forced himself back to his feet, trying to get a read on where the marionette was headed before swinging his hammer. It should have been a connected blow, one that should have shattered the creature before him, but he could only watch as it was blocked. The hand that stopped it shifted in the ball joint, allowing it to twist around until it was in a position to push the hammer, and in turn, Jayce, away.

Jayce stumbled back, his injured leg struggling to keep him steady, feeling the broken bone shifting.

The puppet slashed forward, and Jayce could feel something slice through the leg, porcelain and gold causing further injury, leaving behind blood and mottled skin in its wake.

Jayce screamed in agony, dropping to his knees from the pain that lanced through him, leaving him prone.

Trying to get his bearings, Jayce turned, only to suddenly feel cold porcelain around his throat. He kept grasp of the hammer, unwilling to let go of the only weapon he had against this machine, the other hand grappling at the grip around his throat. He could feel his windpipe crushing, air slowly being denied to his quickly aching lungs. Darkened spots edged around his vision, unconsciousness threatening to take hold.

If he fell here, it would all be over.

Both he and Viktor would be lost to the system, their minds forever gone.

There was only one shot at this.

With his fading strength, Jayce moved to raise the hammer, hitting the head of it against the chest of the puppet. The brilliant blue glow as the hammer split open contrasted that of the soft violet glow of the core of his enemy. If the situation wasn't so dire, Jayce would find it beautiful.

Once more, the beam of his weapon began to charge.

He could feel darkness closing in, the view of the puppet standing unnaturally still risking being the last thing that he would ever see, his eyes focused on the featureless face with a mask of gold filigree, the shape of it a twisted replica of a butterfly.

Had his eyes not been focused on that, he would have missed it.

The head tilted, a mockery of curiosity.

The hand loosened. Just a little. Just enough for a strangled breath.

The hammer completed it's charge.

"J͓̦͜a̙͇̺y͖̝̼c̝͙̘e͉͜͜?̡̼"

The simple name came out as if through the deep static of an old radio, tinny, loud, mechanical in all the wrong ways.

But Jayce would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Viktor?"

The realization of who stood before him, hand around his throat, hit Jayce all at once.

"No!"

It was too late to react, too late to try and pull the hammer away, too late to stop the blast that slammed and shattered the chest of Viktor's horrifying form. The force of the attack pushed them apart, Jayce flying back as he heard the cracking of pottery and the twisting of metal, heard the unnatural body hit the metal of the tower's roof with sickening velocity.

Jayce landed on his back, the shock and the pain stunning him, causing his breath to leave his lungs as the hammer slammed next to his head, barely missing him. He took a deep gulp of air, willing himself to move, to get back up, to limp to that body which he had just broken.

Praying to whichever god that would listen that he had not just killed Viktor.

He didn't register the blood that was running down his leg. He didn't register the pain that seared through his worn and aching body. He didn't register the shock as he fell to his knees next to the twisted form of what he had thought was a marionette, the mask broken open, the body mangled and cracked and broken.

He didn't register how that body didn't feel human as he cradled the head in his arms, looking at the face behind the broken, gilded mask, the exposed eye entirely of unnatural gold staring lifelessly up into the twisted sky of stars and storm clouds.

"Viktor. Viktor, gods no…" Jayce could feel the tears falling down his face, his heart pounding. That pain of grief washing over him, threatening to tear him apart.

That same pain he felt six months ago, when he had been told the love of his life had been lost to an explosion.

No.

This was worse.

So much worse.

Jayce had been given hope. Had been thrown into a nightmare that he traversed with the belief that he could have Viktor back, only to watch him die in his arms.

Dying from Jayce's own carelessness.

"Viktor, no, please." Jayce begged, gently shaking the twisted form of his partner. "Wake up. Please. I can't lose you again."

Tears fell onto smooth skin that had been hidden, falling just under that unseeing eye.

The focus of that eye snapped to Jayce, head turning with an unnatural twitch, a focus that was inhuman, unnerving as a corrupted voice came forth from pale lips.

"Y̞͔͜o̢͍u̢͓͓ m͔̟̠u̝̟̞s̡͉̺t̫͔̞ g͖̻̟o̫̫͉,̡̪̠ J̪͍a͚̫̺y̝͙͚c̦͕͔e̡̺͔.͎̘"

Jayce had no time to react, no time to argue the words as he felt countless hands of porcelain and gold rise up and grab him. He could feel the ground fall away from him, could feel the environment shift and change and unravel.

He cried out as he felt Viktor get torn away from him, desperately reaching out as the hands of the marionettes pulled them both down. Those hands kept them apart, more and more joining in as they held on to Jayce. He could feel them pull on his legs, his arms, wrap around his head, an inescapable prison of souls twisted by the machine grappling to claim what the mad doctor ruled over.

"Viktor!"

He watched as Viktor was ripped away from him once more before he was pulled into the abyss.

Chapter Text

Hi everyone! I know there have been a few of you that have been following this story. I am posting this "chapter" to give you an update to everyone that has subscribed

I have not abandoned the AU. I have, however, opted to rewrite the entirety of the story. I am not happy with this version, and I didn't feel comfortable ending it when I could do so much better with it. There are a lot of plot points I should have figured out sooner, pacing I should have fixed, and ideas I have come up with that can't work unless I rework the entirety of it.

The newer version can be found here: https://ao3-rd-3.onrender.com/works/75516856/chapters/197452491

Thank you all for the support through this journey!