"Please, don't die," Ren whispered to Viktor.

Then he turned and left the training room. The thumping of his footsteps echoed off the hallways and filled his ears. With each clang of his augmented leg on the floor, Ren was forced to listen to the sound of himself fleeing.

"This isn't right," he scolded himself, "I should be right there next to him. Ren you coward, what are you doing? It's your fault Jayce found this place. Turn around and go back and help the Doc!"

He paused and looked back, considering sprinting right back into that room. But in his heart he knew he shouldn't, and so he shook his head and kept running.

"No. Viktor gave you an order. Secure Project: N and keep it safe. Ugh, but I'm N-12. That was an order for me to flee to safety. I can't believe he used innuendo like that. He's so straight forward all the time. He must really not want Jayce to know I'm the project. But I'm not defenseless. I can fight that Piltie."

Ren tore open the door to his room and flew through it, hastily gathering the few things he deemed worth saving. Into his bag he tossed them; his sketchbook, the textbook he was reading, his favorite illustration of Mary and Percy from the wall, the moggle, and his beloved orange scarf. Everything else he could come back for when Viktor had driven off the intruder.

Viktor's private room was Ren's next destination. Outside the room, both Mary and Percy stood. They were carrying trays of food and supplies for Viktor, continuing to follow their commands from the previous days as though nothing were wrong. Ren rushed over to them and took the trays, letting them fall to the ground.

"I'm glad to see you two," he said, "I need to your help. We need to leave. We're being attacked and I don't think he would spare you two just because you're automatons. Quickly, follow me."

Ren opened the door and directed the automatons to follow him inside. Just as he had with his own room, Ren dashed around Viktor's trying to gather up what looked like the most important things. Fortunately for him, the files for N-12 were still left on the workbench. Ren quickly put them back in their folder and shoved them into a bag. He then hastily grabbed anything else that looked important and added it to the bag; other files on the workbench, a few of Viktor's finer tools, and some vials of a substance Ren wasn't familiar with but was sure were valuable. He then gave a quick look over the bookshelf to see if anything immediately jumped out as important.

His eyes came to rest on the two photos on the shelf, the ones of himself and the young Viktor with Blitzcrank. He knew Viktor wasn't the sentimental type and yet, there he was, a photo of himself proudly displayed on the bookshelf. Ren felt his heart drop. Viktor cared about him beyond a research subject. Ren had always assumed so, but at that moment, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, the scientist truly cared about him. And he was leaving him to fight a madman alone.

"I'm sorry Doc, but I'm going to need to disobey you. You've given me so much, a new life, a roof over my head, the coolest augmentation in Zaun, and here I am, an ungrateful ass about to defy your direct orders because I can't afford to lose you. I'm not going back to nothing. I'd be dead without you and no amount of cooking or dumb drawings can every truly repay what you've done for me. You've put up with me, made me your apprentice, and helped me become more than I ever could have been, helped me be a hero. And now I'm gonna help you."

There was a sound like a crack of thunder. Ren jumped at the jarring noise. The fighting had already started and he needed to get the hastily packed research to safety. He placed the photos in his bag; he could think of no items more worthy of the last of the precious space. He motioned for the automatons to come to him as he opened up the room's window as far as it was able. Ren handed Mary and Percy each a bag and then began to lower them out of the window.

"When you get down," he ordered, "go hide. Take the lift to the bottom or hide around the back of the factory, I don't care which. Just please, don't let that Piltie find you. You need to do what I can't."

The automatons looked at him as passively as ever.

"I need to go back for him. If I don't, I'll never forgive myself. I mean, what kind of hero doesn't even try to save one of his closest friends?"

He gave the pair a weak smile as he watched them move from the factory. Then he turned back and made a direct path to the training room. There was another of those thunderous sounds and Ren began to sprint. He could see bright flashes of light sneaking through the cracks in the door and tinting the hallway with threatening colors of orange and white. Ren gave his gauntlets a squeeze to activate them again. He wasn't entirely sure what would be waiting for him on the other side of the door, but whatever it was, he wanted to be ready for it.

"This is stupid. No, this is what's right. This is your fault. You've gotta make up for it. He's just one guy from Piltover and you're just one kid from Zaun, but you will have the Doc fighting with you. That needs to count for something. It does. It will. Be brave. Don't think anymore, just act. Now get in there, Ren. Viktor needs you."

Ren burst into the training room, all final doubts pushed from his mind. He had only a moment to take in the scene. Right in front of him was Jayce. The man had his back to him, his attention turned on Viktor at the far end of the room. Moving exclusively on instinct, Ren charged his augmentation and swung wildly with a roundhouse kick.

"You stay away from him!" Ren shouted.

Jayce had only a moment to respond to this attack from behind. He blocked the kick with the shaft of the Mercury Cannon, but he had not anticipated the force behind the kick and was sent stumbling back several paces. Ren pressed his attack, jabbing forward quickly with both his right and left gauntlets. Both charged attacks struck the cannon, sending a jolt of electricity down its length, but thanks to his insulated gloves, Jayce hardly noticed. He shoved back hard against Ren, forcing the kid to pause his assault.

"Damn it, kid," Jayce cursed, "What the hell is wrong with you? I told you get out of here!"

"No!" Ren snapped, shaking as he spoke, "You leave! I am Zaun's champion and I'm going to defend my home from you!"

Not giving himself a moment to rest, Ren threw himself at Jayce again. With a charged leap, he closed the distance between them in a single bound. This time though, Jayce was better prepared. He pulled a lever on the cannon's shaft, releasing another set of charged orbs. Again, they created a gate of energy before him. Ren landed beside Jayce, still being carried forward by the force of his augmented propulsion. Jayce pivoted, side stepped the boy's haymaker, and passed through the gate. Energy flowed through his body, granting him the speed to step behind Ren in the blink of an eye. He kicked Ren in the back, sending him tumbling through the gate as well. Unprepared for the sudden acceleration, Ren lost his balance and went tumbling forward and crashed into a training dummy.

"What? You don't know what you're doing!" Jayce rebuked, "Now, stay out of the adults' way. This doesn't concern you!"

Jayce had just a moment to whip his attention back to Viktor to avoid another burning attack from the laser. With his muscles still tingling with excess energy, he had no trouble avoiding the attack. He gave a quick look out of the corner of his eyes to check and see that Ren was still struggling to his feet. With that brief opportunity, Jayce returned fire, sending another orb of voltaic energy whizzing through the acceleration gate. Viktor had to duck low, practically having to crouch back onto his knees, to avoid having the projectile crash into his head.

Even with that first, strongest blast dodged, Viktor had to keep moving. Jayce did not relent with his attacks, sending a barrage of weaker energy bolts at his enemy. The first two Viktor was able to evade, but the third struck him in his left leg. Electricity crackled up its length, shocking mechanical and organic material alike. Viktor groaned as he felt the limb briefly falter. Jayce sensed his opponent's momentary weakness and pulled the lever to transform the cannon back into a hammer. But before he could charge his foe, a shout from the side forced him to respond to the more immediate threat.

"Like hell I am!" Ren came charging back, "This concerns me more than you could ever know!"

Ren's movements were desperate and sloppy, more concerned with distracting his opponent rather than knocking him prone. He stepped through with a charged kick, aiming to crush Jayce's fingers against the shaft of his own weapon. Jayce shifted his stance and swung with the back of his hammer. Its flanged end caught Ren in the stomach, knocking the air from the younger man's lungs. Ren doubled over, but his newest chem-augmentation began to kick in, filling him with chemicals to push through the pain and keep fighting. With one hand, he grabbed Jayce's weapon as he clutched at the man's forearm with the other. Ren switched on the gauntlets, sending currents of electricity down both the shaft of the weapon and along Jayce's armored limb.

Jayce scowled. Despite how well insulated his armor was, under the electrical contact of Ren's gauntlets Jayce could feel the muscles in his right arm tense to the verge of spasm. Jayce hated to admit it, but the kid was quickly becoming less of a nuisance and more of a threat, and he was going to have to start responding accordingly. He quickly slammed the end of the hammer into Ren's chest again, this time delivering a shock of electricity from Ren's own weapon connected to the shaft. Jayce chambered his leg, prepared to make a crippling kick to his opponent's unaugmented knee. It would be a dirty blow, Jayce knew, but if it could take the kid out of the rest of the fight, perhaps it could spare him from further injury. But before he could strike, the angry hum of the death ray cut through the crackle of electricity and the flash of hot light caught his attention at the last moment.

As Ren was grappling with Jayce, Viktor saw a brief opportunity to potentially sever Jayce's left leg. He fired the laser, sending its intense ray burning along the ground towards his enemy. But Jayce saw the attack coming. He swung his left leg back, stepping suddenly out of the direct path of the laser, but not so far that Viktor wouldn't be able to adjust the trajectory of his attack to still land a decisive blow. However, as Jayce moved back, Ren, still clinging to the end of the hammer, was shoved forward. Alarm spiked through Viktor. He changed the path of the laser, sending its destructive path away from Jayce and Ren.

The attack was still too close for comfort, and hot slag sputtered upwards, catching the tails of Jayce's coat and setting it alight. Jayce swore. He yanked the end of his weapon, and Ren with it, towards himself. At the same time, he shoved forward with his armored shoulder, slamming into Ren without holding back. The smaller boy toppled onto his back as he was thrown off his opponent. Ren gasped in pain as he skidded along the floor towards his mentor. Viktor was at his side in a moment.

"What are you doing?" Viktor demanded, reaching down and roughly pulling his apprentice to his feet as he spoke, "I ordered you to secure Project N."

"I'm not letting you fight alone, Viktor" Ren coughed out, "don't worry about the project. It's safe."

Ren clutched at his stomach where the flanges of the hammer had struck him and torn his clothes. His fingers came back speckled with red.

"Evidence suggests otherwise," Viktor commented.

As they spoke and righted themselves, Jayce was occupied with extinguishing the fire that had caught on his coat. In desperation, he had to tear the tail off to prevent the flames from spreading up the garment. He cursed as he stomped out the fire, grinding his boot over the rich, navy fabric. That was going to be a costly repair. Jayce glared over at Viktor and his apprentice.

"You having kids fighting for you now, Viktor," Jayce mocked, his tone full of bile, "that's low, even for you."

"I explicitly ordered him to leave!" Viktor shot back.

"I'm not leaving," Ren protested.

Ren could feel Viktor's gaze, and disapproval, upon him. Despite his anger, Viktor didn't snap at him and order him away again. There was no time to argue. Instead, he shoved the folded up trap into Ren's hands. He would scold his apprentice when they weren't in mortal peril.

"If you insist on getting involved," Viktor said, "then I will give you one task and once you complete it, you are to flee. Do not disobey me again."

"I understand," Ren hastily agreed.

"Deploy this at his feet then move clear of the area. It's a powerful magnet. Do not get caught in its pull."

Ren was off like a shot. Cradling the trap close to himself, he leapt at Jayce, trying to get as close as possible to the other man before deploying the trap. Before he could close the final distance between them, Jayce was on the defensive. The man had pulled a lever on the hammer's shaft, but rather than fully transform the weapon, he briefly exposed the Hextech Capacitor. A field of electricity emanated outwards from the weapon, passing harmlessly over the wielder, but forcing Ren to come to a skidding halt.

"Back off, kid!" he snarled, "I can't keep pulling my punches with you!"

Jayce knew the field would only last a few seconds, but that was all he hoped he would need to better position to defend himself. He could tell the boy was trying to push him back and create more range, and a greater advantage, for Viktor to attack from. He couldn't allow this to happen, and so as the electric field kept Ren dancing around its outskirts, Jayce circled around, moving both to position himself to make a dash directly towards Viktor and place the swinging barrel between himself and Ren. Jayce was willing to take a gamble that when his electric field went down the kid would make another direct charge for him, but Viktor would not use his death ray and risk striking his thrall. If he could time his counterattack and push Ren off of him at the last moment, he hoped it would grant him the briefest opportunity to advance on Viktor without having to fear the laser's burn.

As the precious seconds ticked away, the strength of the electrical field rapidly diminished. As Jayce had predicted, the second the air ceased to crackle with energy, Ren resumed his offensive. The bang of his augmentation propelling him forward echoed through the room. Singular in his focus, Ren sped forward. The trap was primed, ready to be tossed at Jayce's feet. He was only three paces away from his target when Jayce struck back.

Jayce swung the Mercury Hammer, crashing it into the hanging barrel with a resounding boom. The force of the blow ripped the chains from the ceiling and sent the barrel flying towards his assailant. Ren dropped. He had no other choice. As he fell to his stomach and the barrel passed overhead, he threw the trap at Jayce. In his desperation though, Ren's aim was off. The device snapped open as it went skidding along the concrete, stopping inches away from Jayce's feet.

A quick sigh of relief left Jayce's lips. He could still feel the pull of the magnets, but it was not nearly strong enough to slow him as it had before. In an instant though, his sigh became a gasp as the hammer was suddenly wrest forward, dragged it into the trap. Jayce stared the length of his weapon. There, at its end, Viktor's syphon was clamped around it. While Jayce's attention was distracted following the path of the trap, Viktor had thrown out his claw, snaring his enemy's weapon. Viktor yanked on the weapon with all his remaining strength, attempting to pull Jayce deeper into the trap. His laser was glowing bright with stolen energy, ready to fire an empowered shot. As Jayce struggled, Viktor raised the Hex-Core atop his broken staff and took aim at his foe's heart.

In the face of death, a fresh wave of adrenaline surged through Jayce. His muscles burned under the strain, but he heaved back on his hammer, freeing himself from the trap. He moved with such force that now it was Viktor who was dragged forward. The sudden strain on his legs, already damaged from cannon's attack and slick from oozed fluids, buckled it. Viktor fell to his knees. The beam fired. Though it missed its vital target, the short burnt through Jayce's left shoulder.

Blood flew into the air, hissing as it boiled. Jayce howled in pain. Reflexively, he gripped the wound. Warmth seeped through his leather shoulder pad, staining his gloves. The skin under his hand burned with a white hot heat. Skin and muscle and blood vessels alike had been seared away, leaving a gruesomely cauterized hole in the man's shoulder.

The air was then knocked from his lungs. Back on his feet, Ren had seized the opportunity to attack his vulnerable foe. Nimbly, he maneuvered to Jayce's exposed left, skirting the edge of the trap and ducking around the hammer. He had charged his augmentation and delivered a crushing roundhouse kick into Jayce's ribs. Under the blow, something cracked.

"Get the hell out of Zaun!" Ren screamed.

He pulled back his arm and prepared to deliver a punch into Jayce's injured shoulder. But the blow never landed. Ren gasped in pain as the Mercury Hammer connected with his chest. As Ren had stepped through for his follow up punch, Jayce had moved his weapon so that the boy slammed himself into the hammer's head. The acidic burn of bile filled Ren's throat and burned his nostrils. In one fluid motion, Jayce lifted hammer, with Ren doubled over its end, and threw the boy into the center of the magnetic trap.

"That's it, kid," Jayce grunted, "you're going in time out."

Ren coughed, choking to return the air to his lungs as he crashed down onto the metal device. He strained against the magnets, but the trap held him by both his gauntlets and his augmentation. The fear of failure flooded Ren's stomach, making his insides roil. Not only had he disobeyed Viktor, but he had failed to do the one thing that was asked of him. His muscles ached as he pushed against the ground with all his might, but he scarcely moved an inch. Ren cursed, shouting equally at himself as much as Jayce.

The sound of electricity cracking cut through his cries of rage. Ren looked up and watched as Jayce deployed another acceleration gate. His gaze snapped over to Viktor. Across from him, Viktor was struggling to pull himself back to his feet without his staff for balance. After being struck by the cannon's blast, the supportive brace on his left leg had snapped. Sparking wires poked through the damaged armor and spilled grease stained the once polished metal dark. Despair wrapped around Ren's heart. He knew Viktor would not be able to out maneuver an empowered Jayce. He did not want to see his mentor die.

Ren watched as Jayce's boots turned towards Viktor. He tried to reach out and grab the man's ankles, they were tantalizingly within reach, but his gauntlets were pinned to the trap. Frantically, he began to try and wiggle his hands from gauntlets. Ren became acutely aware of each strap that held his weapons securely against him and his panic deepened. Above him, Jayce began to move.

The man strode through the hex-powered gate. Jayce rushed towards Viktor, singular in his desire to end this fight in a final blow. He kicked off the ground, leaping the final distance between himself and his foe. Jayce raised the Mercury Hammer above his head and swung downward with all his strength. He aimed for Viktor's head.

For a moment, Ren's mind went blank. He only saw Viktor. He only heard the dull hum of the trap. He only felt the tension growing within his limbs. The sole of his augmentation was glowing red hot. In his mind burned a single, bright thought.

"GO!"

Ren exploded forward. Unbearable heat radiated from where his augmentation met his flesh, but Ren didn't notice. Smoke wreathed his leg, but Ren didn't notice. His heart skipped a beat as the power from the acceleration gate infused his muscles, but Ren didn't notice. Sparks began to fly from the augmentation as the artificial hexcrystal was pushed beyond its capacity, but Ren didn't notice. Never again would Ren move that fast.

Ren threw himself against Viktor. A wave of relief washed over the young man's face as he pushed his mentor away. Then it was gone. The Mercury Hammer crashed down on him.