Chapter Text
The next eighteen months flew by, and were lost in a sea of building, requisitions, staffing, and scaling the HexGates to something that would transform the very skyline of Piltover, and a complete re-engineering of the Undercity's power and water systems to support the power cells that would be required to power the size of the HexGates they were building. They were both worn down, tired and snappish, and Viktor knew they were both to blame for it, as things continued to get more and more complicated, with the demand that they continue to move forward. Things weren't the same, but they were still good, even as Jayce was pulled into meeting after meeting with the Council. They had ramped up again lately, right as they were beginning to get to the proper fissure depths for the HexGate power cell, and Viktor needed Jayce more than he ever had. He couldn't make the trip down to the power cell daily, and they often needed help with the complex engineering that had to be build correctly or it could collapse the entire city into the Fissures.
Viktor sighed and stared at the latest message and the messenger who was clearly waiting for some sort of response from him, making him bite down a growl of annoyance. It wasn't the boy's fault. "Let them know that I shall speak with Jayce as soon as he returns from his Council meeting, and one of us will be down there to review the runic panels. Do not," he paused, letting the word sink in. "Finish installing them until we are down. If the wrong panels are installed in the wrong spots, the entire thing can explode." Technically, it would require the HexGates being pushed to their full power to explode with the wrong runic panel installed, but a little fear did wonders for making sure someone remembered a message. "Now repeat what I just said."
"You or Mr. Talis will be down shortly to review the ru..." he frowned. "The panels. Do not finish installing them until you are there. Things could explode otherwise."
Viktor bit down a smile and nodded, gesturing for him to head out. "On your way then." He tossed the boy a gold hex and turned back to his notes, scowling at the latest stability testing of the top of the tower. Not bad news, but not good new either. He sighed and looked up at the sound of someone clearing her through. The familiar shy smile from Sky was a balm, and Viktor put the reports down, accepting the coffee from her, made fresh, clearly. "Thank you, Ms. Young. I needed this."
"It sounds like you're dealing with a lot more than you should have to," she offered, frowning. "Would you like me to-"
The sound of the doors being slammed open made both of them jump, and Viktor watched Sky immediately scurry away as Jayce stalked into the room, the doors slamming shut behind him with a loud ringing noise, making him grit his teeth against it. Viktor grabbed for his cane and forced himself to his feet, turning to glare at Jayce. "Where the hell have you been, Jayce?"
Jayce skidded to a halt, clenching his hands into fists. "I am sorry for slamming the doors," he managed, still breathing hard, fury making him want to move, to do anything to get the growing violent itch out of his skin. "I am absolutely furious."
Viktor's eyes widened and he walked closer to Jayce, even as he kept breathing hard, and carefully tugged Jayce over to the couch beside their desks. A brief gesture to Sky ensured that she and their other assistants had left the lab and locked the doors behind them, leaving them both alone in the lab. "What happened? Have we run into another road block?"
Jayce let out a weak laugh and dropped his face into his hands. "I have to leave."
Viktor blinked, staring at the way Jayce's whole body seemed to slump with the admission, the words ringing in his mind. They didn't make any sense. "Leave," he repeated. "You can't leave!"
Jayce laughed weakly. "That's what I told them. The Council told me I didn't have a choice. I need to travel across Runeterra and sell the rest of our trade partners on the HexGates. I'll be taking our prototype to show off the technology and secure funding for them to build receiving gates. The sending gate doesn't matter if there's nowhere to receive it, after all."
Viktor stared at Jayce, confused. "But we can't finish the sending gate without you!"
Jayce took a deep, frustrated breath. "That's what I told them. That you needed me here to help build the sending gate, not off shaking hands across the world to get them to build the receiving gates." He pushed his fingers through his hair, rubbing angrily at it with another snarl.
"What did they say?" Viktor asked, an uncomfortable feeling creeping up in his stomach.
"They told me that if my partner, and they said it was like some sort of dirty word, couldn't do things in my absence, it would be their strong recommendation to find myself a better partner who could continue the work in my absence," Jayce said, muffled through his teeth. "I nearly decked Salo for saying it. Would have knocked every single one of his perfect fucking teeth out in a second."
Viktor sat back against the couch, an uncomfortable feeling growing in his stomach. Of course, it had been only a matter of time before the Council had pushed for this, had encouraged Jayce to replace him with someone better, someone they were more able to control. Someone who was, very much, not him.
"I told them the day I replaced you was the day HexTech shut their doors forever, and they could take that promise and that guarantee and write in blood as far as I was concerned," Jayce growled. "Which was enough to get them to back off, of course, but doesn't fix our ultimate problem. We do need to sell the receiving gates to all of these countries, because Piltover cannot fund them alone."
Viktor stared at Jayce and the dejection clearly in his shoulders and watched him for a very long few moments. He reached out and put his hand on Jayce's shoulder, giving it a squeeze, drawing Jayce's eyes to his. "We are partners, right?"
"Right," Jayce repeated weakly. "Right."
Viktor took a deep breath and nodded. "Then I have a plan. I need to talk to your mother."
Jayce blinked in confusion. "My mother?"
"And then I need to go to Zaun for a week. I'll return, and I'll be able to take over fully for you while you're gone," Viktor said. "Provided that my visit goes according to plan. If it does not, you'll find another way forward."
Jayce stared at Viktor, confused. "I don't understand."
Viktor reached for his cane and pressed himself up and to his feet, turning to look at his partner. "Do you trust me?"
Jayce nodded helplessly. "With my life, Viktor, you know that."
"Then trust me," Viktor repeated, his voice soft. "Trust me to find a way for us to move forward, and for you to be able to do what you can. I can't tell you what I am going to do, or how. You need to have plausible deniability in all ways. But I know the way forward."
"Right," Jayce swallowed. "Can I help?"
Viktor nodded. "I need you to buy me this week. However it happens. I need you to be me and yourself for the next week, and then I'll come back with our way forward."
Jayce exhaled. "You couldn't ask for something easy?"
Viktor smiled and raised a single eyebrow. "When has this adventure of ours ever been easy?"
Jayce snorted and nodded in acknowledgment. "Okay. I won't ask. You will stay safe?"
"I am from the Undercity, Jayce. I will be fine," Viktor reassured. "Now I need to tell Sky where I am going. Let the others know that I have taken some time off. Sky will know how to reach me if it is absolutely urgent."
Jayce bit down on his lip. "All right."
Viktor nodded to him and took a deep breath, turning to make his way out of the lab. He had a lot of work to do it, and not nearly enough time to accomplish all of it. First though, a stop home and a change of clothing would be required.
Jayce watched Viktor go and hung his head, biting down on his lip, before forcing himself to his feet with a grunt, heading over to Viktor's desk. If he was going to be both of them for the entire week he had better hurry up and get started.
~!~
Viktor's first stop, once he had acquired the clothing he needed and sent off several letters to let them know exactly what he was planning to do, was to go to Ximena Talis. She wouldn't tell anyone, not even Jayce, what he was doing, and she liked him, and would, perhaps, help him. He tightened his grip around his cane and knocked on the front door, smiling at their housekeeper as he stepped inside and made his way over to the parlour. He'd only been sitting for a few minutes when she bustled in, holding a tea set, and he managed a smile for her as he stood up and accepted her hug.
"Well, I have to admit that I was surprised to hear that you were here, Viktor, normally I have to drag the both of you out of the lab. What can I help with?"
Viktor took a deep breath and met her eyes. "Your son is going to travel for almost a year, I think, based on my initial estimations, and I am going to have to run HexTech, here, without him, in such a way that the Council will not be able to remove me as his partner. I need your help to do it."
Ximena sat down, her eyes widening and looked at him for a long moment. "Well now. That is quite the request."
"You would know who I can trust to ask. You employ Zaunites. You are one of the few families that does not treat them differently," Viktor said. "You are where we have to start if we are going to change the world, properly."
Ximena took her time making them both cups of tea, handing Viktor his, before taking her own and taking a long sip of it. "Change the world, hm? I assume you aren't only talking about the HexGates, are you?"
Viktor took another deep breath and met her eyes, before he started to smile. "I need your help to blackmail a Chem Baron."
Ximena choked on her tea and put her cup down in a hurry, turning to look at him. "We have a lot to talk about."
Viktor nodded. "We do."
Ximena reached for the bell pull beside the couch and tugged it, smiling at her housekeeper. "I have suddenly come down with a cold and will be unavailable for the rest of the week. Please double the pay for the staff this week, and ensure that any comings and goings are kept as subtle as possible. In the event that we need to make other adjustments, I will let you know."
Viktor blinked and watched as the housekeeper nodded and stepped away, shutting the door firmly behind her before he turned to look at Ximena. "That seemed... far more studied than I would have thought."
Ximena raised a pointed eyebrow at him and snorted. "A family who is not prepared in that way does not survive in Piltover, Viktor. The highest families all have illegal doings in one way or another. We all have our vices, and our things that we do outside the purview of the law." She took a slow sip of her tea. "I simply break engineering that needs repairs and force families to fix them. All accidents from worn down products, of course. But if we're called in too late, all we can do is explain the extent of the repair needed." She shrugged.
Viktor stared at her, his eyes widening. "You're the reason the entire duct system had to be..."
"Well, not the entire reason," Ximena said primly. "Now. A Chem Baron. Tell me exactly what you need to do, and how I can help, Viktor."
Viktor took a deep breath and began to lay out his plan.
~!~
Making his way down to Sump level in Zaun took far longer than Viktor remembered, but the doubled dose of pain medication he had taken earlier that day made it bearable, and Viktor was known enough, at least, that only two truly desperate people tried to rob him. They were quickly dissuaded by his cane, and he stood outside of the building that he knew was owned by Silco and used for all of his business.
"You're a long way from the gilded towers of Piltover."
Viktor smiled and settled his cane at his side, looking beside him to where Silco was standing. Several men had flanked him, and what had been a busy street moments earlier were abruptly empty. "No," he corrected. "I'm home." Once a sump rat, always a sump rat, and that had never changed, no matter how many years he had spent in the sun. "Will you invite me inside?"
Silco scoffed. "So you can bring the Enforcers down on us?"
Viktor slanted a glance over at Silco. "I have no intention on calling the Enforcers down on another Zaunite. However, if you insist, I can give them explicit directions to Doctor Reveck's lab and detailed descriptions of what they will find there." Everyone around him tensed, and Viktor knew more than one hand was reaching for a weapon.
"You've become insolent," Silco said, striding forward to the door. "It doesn't suit you."
"I've always been insolent," Viktor corrected, following him inside. "Now I simply have the power, prestige, and connections to be overtly insolent."
Silco barked out a laugh and led the way deeper into the construction, leading the way down to his office, deep underground, gesturing to the seats in front of his desk, before moving to the back side of it. "I assume that one of the Founders of HexTech has come down to Sump for a reason."
Viktor took a deep breath and sank into one of the chairs, stretching his leg out in front of him. "Fun little charade that you have to run around here."
Silco sighed and sank into the chair, glaring at him. "You are as much of a brat as you were as a child. You have a reason for coming all of the way down here, might as well get around to telling me what it is."
Viktor settled himself into the chair properly. "Jayce is going to be traveling for more than a year." He could see that had immediately drawn Silco's attention and the gears in his mind were spinning. "During that time, I will be running HexTech. Alone."
"Hm." Silco grunted, watching him. "And?"
Viktor snorted. Silco was exactly as dramatic as Ximena had promised him he would be. "And I want to make a deal, Baron Silco. For the future of Zaun. With someone who has the money and power to back up that deal."
Silco looked down at the desk and hummed in consideration, picking up a pen. "A bold claim from one of the few men with the power to back it up. Though whether you can wield that power without your partner remains to be seen."
"Which is where my deal comes into play," Viktor said, pulling Silco's attention to him again. He pushed himself to his feet and met his eyes. "I know you are working on a version of artificial Shimmer, because the creature the Doctor is pulling the enzyme from will die soon, no matter his attempts to artificially preserve her."
Silco inhaled sharply.
"I," Viktor continued. "Will help him create that artificial version of Shimmer. In return, I will receive a dose to stop the degradation of my leg, lungs, and spine, in perpetuity for the rest of my life." His lips twitched, because he now had the full attention of the man in front of him. "Then, I will give you the full force and focus of HexTech to improve Zaun while the HexGates are under construction. Whatever initiatives you want to help the city, I will sponsor, and I will turn a large portion of our staff toward. Cleaning the air, cleaning the water, rebuilding projects, upgrading the docks, all of it."
"The Council would never allow you to stray so far from their vision of perfection," Silco said, his eyes narrowed. "How would you propose to accomplish all of this?"
"Before he leaves, Jayce is going to give me full control of our finances and the business, and will have documentation signed as much. We have both invested wisely, Baron Silco, and while I have made a point to funnel what money I can into Zaun-"
Silco nodded, acknowledging that.
"-Jayce has done nothing but let the money accumulate in accounts and expand our reach." Viktor paused and took a deep inhale. "Additionally, we already have eight of the production families ready to assist in the pivot."
"Half of them?" Silco asked, raising his eyebrows.
Viktor nodded once. "Ximena Talis is very convincing when she wishes to be."
Silco frowned. "And what do you want, in return? My death, I suppose?"
Viktor heard the sound of gun being cocked above him and didn't look away from Silco, even as the silence stretched before he laughed, settling back in his chair. "Why would I want you dead, when I am planning to help make you a Councilor, Baron Silco?"
Silco blinked and made a gesture for Jinx to put the gun away, glad when she immediately did so. "You are serious."
"I am," Viktor said. "I was old enough to see the aftermath of the Bridge, Baron Silco. I saw what we lost. I see what we continue to lose. I am now in a position to stop it. But I need your help to do it."
"Then what price are you demanding?"
Viktor took a deep breath and tightened his hand on the head of his cane. "Keep Shimmer off the streets. It has other potential medicinal uses. You know that. I know that. Keep the drug off the streets and put it to other use."
Silco laughed. "It is a drug, Viktor. You are not naive."
Viktor stared at him. "It is a drug," he agreed. "And you would destroy any hope of Zaun standing on its own if you decide to flood the streets with it. How long before Piltover sees the drug-infested city you create and uses their control over the systems - the water, the air, to turn it all against you? To drown the city in their offal?"
Silco pressed his lips together. "They only respond to violence."
"No," Viktor corrected. "They respond to money. To blackmail. To a name they respect. To a good argument on a rare occasion. Violence will make them respond in kind, and I will not see my home burn because you lack the foresight you once had!"
"You are a child-"
Viktor pulled the notebook out of his bag and threw it onto Silco's desk, sending the papers scattering. The worn notebook sat between them and they both stared at it.
"Where did you get this?" Silco breathed.
"I stole it from Doctor Reveck's office. It was on a bookshelf, and after I read it once, I wanted to keep it, because it was the first time I'd seen someone write about ways to help Zaun become what we were almost meant to be if it was no longer under Piltover's boot," Viktor said. "I have kept it. It is one of the only possessions I took with me when I left the Undercity and I have never forgotten the lessons you wrote in that book."
Silco flipped the notebook open and stared at the multiple sets of handwriting that decorated the opening page. His, Vander's, Felicia's, and Connor's. They'd jokingly written the manifesto on the first page together, with annotations and scribbles and crossed out colors. A riot that made no sense at all. He closed the book and stared at the cover.
"Help me," Viktor asked, forcing himself to his feet with a grunt. "Help me make sure there are no longer children who die drowning because their lungs cannot hold air. Help me make sure no one here must starve when there is no need for it. Help me make what you once considered your ultimate goal. Help me make the Nation of Zaun."
Silco snorted. "And help you to still be standing here when we're done?"
Viktor nodded.
"And if I don't?" Silco asked, lifting lazy eyes up to him as Viktor took the book off his desk and tucked it back into his bag. "If I refuse this oh-so-generous offer of yours?"
Viktor raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to?"
Silco stared at the spot on his desk where the notebook had been, the notebook that had once held all of his hopes and dreams, and the hopes and dreams of those he had once considered family. "No," he admitted, begrudgingly. "I am not."
Viktor nodded. "Then it is time to go talk to Doctor Reveck. The sooner I can start my treatment, the better."
"You know you might not survive?" Silco asked. "What becomes of your deal then?"
"You will meet with Ximena Talis and she will execute all of my promises with the full weight of the Talis production behind her, and any of the families she can bring on board," Viktor said.
Silco stood up and glanced up at the fan where a blue braid had disappeared some minutes ago. "Very well, then."
Viktor took a deep breath and waited for Silco to walk around the desk and held out his hand. "A pleasure doing business, Baron Silco."
Silco's lips twitched. "I will enjoy hearing you call me Councilor Silco."
Viktor snorted. "One step at a time."