Sunlight streamed down, shining off the polished metals and crystalline glass that covered the grand city of Piltover. It was mid-morning, and the sounds of the bustling streets outside drifted in through the open window of one of Clan Giopara's workshops. Jayce stood up from his workbench and stretched. Fresh air, tinged with salt from the sea, filled his lungs. He rubbed his eyes, sore from the intricate work he was doing, and looked down at his current project.

It was small contraption that could easily fit into someone's palm, and was designed to aid in water purification. Expeditions into Shruima's deserts could last for weeks, and water was the most valuable provision. It was important to ensure that any source of water that was found on these treks could be purified and made safe for drinking. Clan Medarda had offered a princely sum of cogs to whoever was able to invent something that would solve this problem. It was a challenge that Clan Giopara, Jayce's patrons, had asked for him to solve.

Jayce looked at the clock mounted above the door. It read 10:20. He had arrived at the workshop a little after five; he liked the quite solitude of the early morning hours, and had worked steadily through until now. It was a time for a quick break. He made his way through the hallways of Clan Giopara's research center to a small kitchen that had been installed so that if a researcher or inventor was spending the day at the facility, they would not want for a hot meal.

Upon opening the door to the kitchen, Jayce knew that he would not be alone. Two young women employed by Clan Giopara sat a table chatting with each other. They waved a silent greeting to him, which he returned as he made his way over to the cabinets. He took a quick glance over at the room's clock, though he already knew where the hands would be positioned. Like clockwork, these women always brewed a fresh pot of coffee at 10:30. As a result, he always tried to take breaks around this time. Not only would the coffee be fresh, but he could also sit and listen to the two friends gossiping. Though Jayce acted as though such things were beneath him, he secretly enjoyed eavesdropping on whatever gossip they were discussing. It was an entertaining snapshot into the world outside his workshop.

Jayce poured himself a cup of coffee and breathed in deeply. The aroma of the hot beverage was something he loved, although he found the taste to be bitterer than he preferred. That could be remedied though. He opened a canister on the counter and spooned some sugar into his drink. He went to the hex-enhanced icebox next in search of cream. A grumbled curse escaped his lips as he found that nobody had replaced the bottle after it was finished the other day. Somebody was going to have to see to that. His mood soured slightly, Jayce returned to the counter and added another spoonful of sugar to the coffee.

At last he seated himself at another of the kitchen's table and took a sip of his drink. It was still bitter, but he would survive. He cared more about the energy it would give him rather than the flavor anyways. Coffee was luxury in most other countries, but Piltover always found ways to make sure that the minds of its inventors were never wanting for the invigorating beverage.

As the warmth of the coffee filled him, Jayce's mood relaxed and let his attention drift over to the two women so he could listen in on their gossiping.

"I'm so jealous of Adelyn, did you hear she got a pet poro?"

"Those little fuzzballs are so cute. She should bring it in one day. I want to meet the little fellow."

Jayce rolled his eyes. The lab was no place for anything small and fuzzy. Well, nothing small and fuzzy except for Professor Heimerdinger. He kept listening.

"They're doing work on one of the plaza guardians this afternoon. I know the mechanic. He'll answer any questions people have about the big bots. Want to go watch after work?"

"Eh, we'll see how I'm feeling. I've got a feeling it's going to be a long day. Khayrat is still sick so I've got to do the work of two. I'm not mad at him though. Poor guy didn't realize he had a shellfish allergy. And learning that unfortunate fact on a first date with someone, oh, what a terrible night he had."

"Rotten luck. That's why I never order anything adventurous when I'm trying to make a first impression. I'd rather look boring than make myself sick."

Jayce listened idly as he finished his drink. Their conversation stayed mostly on food from that point on. Nothing really stood out to Jayce except for the mention of a new tea room down by the dock that was specializing in Ionian imports. Maybe he would stop there later and try something new. He stood and brought his mug over to the sink to wash it when a final snippet of their conversation caught his attention.

"You remember that nice old courier from Zaun, Yannick? He's got a new augmentation."

"Oh yeah, I saw him the other day. His new hand looks nice. I'm glad for him. Always felt bad when his fingers fell off."

"It looks nice at a distance but have you had close look at that thing? It goes beyond nice. I don't know how he managed to afford something with that kind of craftsmanship. I would say that it looks like something made here instead of Zaun if it weren't for that creepy thing stamped onto it."

"Creepy thing?"

"Ugh, yeah, it's so Zaun. Whoever made that arm stamped their maker's mark on it. It was a skull with a gear around it."

"Tacky."

Jayce nearly dropped his mug. He knew only one person who used that grim maker's mark, but he had driven that person back into the shadows. He wanted to see that courier's augmentation for himself. He needed to know. Placing his mug on the drying rack, he turned his attention to the two women. Jayce knew he wasn't the most personable guy in Piltover, but he knew how to be charming when the need arose.

"Good morning," he said, donning a pleasant smile and approaching their table.

"Oh Jayce," the younger of the two women replied, "good morning."

A noticeable blush jumped onto the young woman's face. Her friend, senior by three years, rolled her eyes at her friend's star struck behavior. She knew Jayce usually didn't talk to you unless he wanted something. But still, that was no reason to be rude, so she returned with a "good morning" of her own.

"I couldn't help but overhear," he continued, "that that courier, Yannis –"

"Yannick," the older corrected.

"Yannick," Jayce continued, "got a new augmentation. I wouldn't mind seeing it for myself. Do you know where he might be?"

"I thought you didn't care for augmentations," the woman asked.

"They're not my favorite, but if it's a nice as you two say it is, I would still like to see it. I appreciate expert craftsmanship in all forms of technology."

She knew this was a lie. Jayce considered chem-tech to be inferior to hex-tech in every way and he wasn't shy in sharing that opinion. But before she could ask him where his newfound appreciation for "all forms of technology" came from, her younger companion cut in.

"Yannick has already left for the day, but you should be able to catch him at the Rising Howl later. He always takes the six-o'clock ride back home. He told me it lets him buy the last of the day's newspapers for cheap."

"Thank you," Jayce said with a pause as he tried desperately to remember the young woman's name.

"Suraya!" she chirped.

"Yes. Thank you, Suraya. Your answer has brightened my day."

Suraya blushed anew. Her friend was going to say something, but Jayce had already turned to leave.

"Have a nice day, ladies," Jayce called back as he shut the door to the kitchen.

No sooner than he left the kitchen, then the smile slipped from Jayce's face. This was going to weigh on his mind all day. And if there was one thing Jayce hated, it was a distraction. If Viktor was going to make another attempt at his Glorious Evolution, Jayce knew he had to be ready to stop it. However, he wouldn't let it be like last time.

What he saw in Viktor's lab that day still made his stomach roil. All those people, heads cut open, corpses unceremoniously scattered about the lab, and their brains transplanted into servile robotic bodies. Jayce hadn't been able to save them from Viktor. He had been too slow to act and too trusting of his former friend. This time, Jayce vowed, he would be more proactive.

It was five-o'clock on the dot when Jayce punched out from the research center. It was extremely unusual for him to leave on time, but this was an unusual circumstance. He made a beeline for the Boundary Markets, determined to catch Yannick before he descended back into Zaun.

Despite the place's popularity in both Piltover and Zaun, Jayce hated visiting the Boundary Markets. It was always crowded and noisy, the perfect place for pickpockets, and on top of it all, the stench of Zaun was always drifting up from below. Jayce put his personal distaste for the place aside and headed towards the great elevator, the Rising Howl, in the center of the market. Above the crowd, he could see the wrought iron wolf that decorated the top of the machine. People grumbled and swore as he pushed them out of the way as he walked. Manners were for those who had time to spare. Besides, they would all be thanking him again when his unpleasant task with Viktor had been dealt with.

At the elevator station, Jayce spotted Yannick standing, as Suraya had said he would be, by the newsstand. She also hadn't been lying when she said that he had an impressive brand new augmentation. Even at this distance, Jayce could see that the machinery was shinny and unmarred. He cleared the distance between them in a few large strides.

"Excuse me, Yannis" Jayce called out in a forced jovial tone.

Yannick had only a moment to react before the younger was man before him.

"Mister Jayce? Did I forget to deliver -" Yannick began to ask but he was cut off.

"Nope, you haven't forgotten anything. Hey, interesting augmentation. Can I take a closer look at that?"

Before Yannick could respond, Jayce reached out and grabbed the man's arm. He pulled it up closer to his line of sight and began searching for the maker's mark. Knowing Viktor, the mark wouldn't be in an obviously visible place but instead out of the way, likely at the base.

"Oh, okay," Yannick mumbled as he stumbled forward in the stronger man's grasp.

Beyond that he didn't say anything, despite the discomfort he felt. He wasn't going to risk upsetting the prized inventor of one of his more wealthy employers.

Right where Jayce thought it would be, he found Viktor's maker mark. From within the halo of gears, the skull stamped into the metal was glowering at him. Still holding onto Yannick's arm, he then leaned closer to the man's face, searching to see if there were any signs of the drugs that he knew Viktor would inject into those he wanted force into complicity. Nothing.

"Could you please let go," Yannick demanded.

At once, Jayce released the man and took a step back.

"Sorry," he said, still keeping that saccharine tone, "I'm just excited. That's a wonderful augmentation. Who did the work?"

Yannick's expression darkened. Frustrated from the unwanted intrusion, he decided not to answer the man.

"I can't really remember," he lied, "my daughter was the one who set up the appointment and my head was all groggy after waking up. When I get home I'll look for his business card and if I find it, I'll bring on my next trip up."

Jayce kept his cheerful visage although internally he was scowling. He gave Yannick a clap on the shoulder that was perhaps rougher than he originally intended.

"I appreciate the effort," Jayce said, "thank you, Yannis."

Yannick's brow furrowed.

"Well then, have a good evening Mister Jayce," he said and then quickly turned to board the elevator.

Jayce sighed, finally letting the smile fall from his face. That augmentation was Viktor's handiwork, no doubt about that. Mercifully though, it appeared as though the scientist has spared the man from being drugged. But surely this was an exception made due to the man's age. For all Jayce knew, there were dozens of others in Zaun who weren't as fortunate. Jayce knew had work to do to if he wanted to prevent another tragedy.

He turned to leave and stepped on something. Jayce looked down. It was a Zaunite newspaper that Yannick had dropped after he had been jostled about. He picked it up and gave it a casual flip through. He was about to throw it out when a title in the opinions section caught his attention.

Mad Scientist or Neighborhood Doctor?

Jayce read the piece and he could feel his heartrate begin to rise. As he had feared, the article was about Viktor. From what he gathered, it appeared as though Viktor had unleashed a new, powerful augmentation on the city, simply titled as Project: N. It seemed like a deadly weapon, as the article described how a child was able to use it to beat several gang members bloody and even destroy one of their weaponized augmentations. The article also told how Viktor had begun augmenting a number of Zaunites for virtually no cost to them and how, if people had nowhere else to turn to, they may want to consider seeking out a member of the Church of the Glorious Evolved to contact Viktor on their behalf.

A scowl crossed Jayce's face like a growing storm.

This was not good. Not good at all. No augmentation could ever be free. There had to be a catch. Nothing in life was free. Everyone in Piltover and Zaun knew that. It was likely that all these free augmentations likely contained hidden chem-shunts that would steadily rob his "patients" of their humanity, a way for Viktor to more subtly "evolve" people without their knowing it. Jayce knew that if this was what Viktor had considered to be the best course of action for the people of Zaun, he would have no problem doing it. He had shown before that his moral compass was broken. It was one of the few things Jayce had accepted that he couldn't fix.

And then there was this new weaponized augmentation to worry about. Not only was it troubling that a kid could wield that kind of power, but that Viktor was willing to strap something that dangerous to a child in the first place. And if these limbs were also filled with chem-shunts, then Viktor could very easily have a dangerous fighting force at his command.

Jayce recalled the report Caitlyn had given him about the chem-thugs Viktor had sent to assault his workshop. After their arrests, a doctor had seen to their wounds and examined the various chemicals that had been found pumped into them. Viktor had their veins coursing with so many hallucinogens and hypnotics that it was likely that the thugs had no real control over their actions and were completely at the mercy of his commands.

It had actually started a debate on whether it was right to hold the thugs accountable for their actions. Ultimately though, it was deemed that they should still be tried for the assault. Allowing such an exception would likely have encouraged more Chem-Barons to use this tactic if they knew their minions could get away with it.

Jayce crumpled the newspaper in his grip and shoved it into his pockets. He would read that piece again and again, as many times as was needed to steel his resolve to venture down into Zaun and hunt down Viktor. He would recall the faces of the dead, skulls emptied, and the stench of blood and chemicals that had hung heavily in the air like a dreadful aura.

He wouldn't be too slow this time. This time he would act first. This time he would pulverize that broken compass.


Greetings Summoners,

Jayce is finally here! This has been one of my favorite chapters to write. It has been so much fun to play around with another champion and get out of Zaun, even if for a little bit. To all the Jayce fans out there, I hope I did justice to your champ. Please let me know how you think I did. Feed back is always appreciated.

Best of luck on the Rift,

-Gwoo