Chapter Text
It was rather busy in the Undercity, for this time of day. They had to travel down to get more materials that Viktor swore he could get cheaper. Jayce didn’t understand why certain coils were more expensive in Piltover, but Viktor explained it was the type of material they were made out of. But they were fragile, and they went through them faster than Viktor with a glass of sweetmilk. The material was mined in the Undercity, so why not get it directly from the source?
“That didn’t cost nearly as much as I thought they would.” said Jayce, holding the box of coils, “And we got so much!”
“Because I did the talking.” explained Viktor, simply, “If you had asked for them, they would’ve given you just a bag of the coils, and charged you three times the amount.”
“Just because I’m from Piltover?”
“The shop owner isn’t a big fan of you Pilties.” joked Viktor, giving him a crooked smile, “Next time, dress more plainly and you might be able to get away with passing as one from the Undercity.”
“Then you’re going to have to go clothes shopping with me, because apparently I know nothing of Undercity fashion.”
“I’m not one for fashion either, but I can guarantee that I can dress you better than you dress yourself.”
“Hey!”
The two laughed, as they continued down the street, towards the lift. The crowd was starting to thin out a little, giving them plenty of room to move. Viktor was glad that the trip had gone without a hitch. The Undercity had changed since he last lived there. The streets were rougher , and it was increasingly obvious that Shimmer was starting to take over. It was a little sad to see his hometown overrun with the drug, making it more dangerous. And while others were giving Jayce and him odd looks, no one harassed them. Well, minus the shop keep, but Viktor managed to take care of him.
“So, what’re we going to work on first with these coils?” asked Jayce, looking over at Viktor.
“Ehh, any number of things, really.” replied Viktor with a shrug, “We need the coils for several of our experiments, so it’s just a matter of picking one that won’t immediately explode on us.”
“So what, that narrows it down to…two?”
“Something like th–”
A loud noise sounded, causing everyone to flinch and look around. Jayce stumbled back, nearly crashing into Viktor. A sound like that wasn’t common, and it sounded close. It didn’t take long for people to scatter, and Viktor noticed they looked scared. Was it a gunshot?
“What was that?” asked Viktor, looking over at Jayce, who hadn’t moved, “Jayce?”
He took his arm and turned him around. He looked shocked, or close to a state of shock. Eyes wide, face slowly draining of color. Before Viktor could ask him what was wrong, his eyes found a blossoming red patch on Jayce’s uniform that wasn’t supposed to be there. And it kept spreading, along his right shoulder.
Jayce had been shot.
“Jayce?!”
Then all hell broke loose.
A group of men suddenly surrounded them, two of them grabbing Jayce, while one held back Viktor, making him drop his cane in surprise. Jayce seemed to come out of his shock, but his movements were sluggish as he tried to fight off his attackers. Rendered down to one arm, he couldn’t do much, as the two holding him restrained him, with one putting a cloth over his mouth.
“Jayce!!” Viktor struggled in earnest, as he watched Jayce slowly crumple, the drug working its course, “Let me go! Jayce! Jay—mmph!”
A hand covered his mouth, silencing him. The man holding him leaned in to growl into his ear, “Stay still an’ we won’t hafta hurt ya.”
Viktor snarled, and bit down hard on the hand covering his mouth.
The man howled in pain, letting Viktor go. Free, Viktor stumbled away from his captor, moving to turn and grab for his cane, before something solid slammed into the back of his head. Something very…cane-like.
The last thing Viktor saw was the two men dragging Jayce into the darkness.