Rest and Reflection
If this was to be the last thing Viktor was to create in this factory, then he would make sure that this augmentation would be a worthy finale. Viktor, impassioned, sat at his workbench. Before him was Ren's new arm.
"There will be no simple limb for you, Renatus," Viktor thought, "you will bear something worthy of your passion, and my vision, for Zaun."
Of every augmentation he created, this one would feel most natural. Using everything he had learned from the Project N limb and beyond, he labored to create an arm that could mimic the subtle movements of a living body and possess fine motor skill equal to, if not surpassing, his own mechanical hand.
"I know you will not wish to stop fighting. You are determined, always moving towards your goal. It is admirable. This augmentation shall move with you. It must be perfectly balanced, able to move as fluidly as an organic limb. It will not compromise your pugilist skills. It will improve them."
"Limb will be marginally larger than organic arm. Will be most noticeable in hand. Must be larger to accommodate hexcrystal cell. Will distribute weight evenly along length of augmentation. Consider using ancient Noxian manica as reference for upper arm. Further augmentation of upper body should be undergone to better support limb. There will be discomfort, but it will pale compared to what you have experienced."
The bulk of Viktor's focus was spent on the hand. It was not dissimilar to his own hand in design, though it was more aerodynamic and retained all five digits. The forearm was also slimmer, but unlike Viktor, whose augmentation was transradial, Ren's was a forequarter augmentation, and lacked the bulky flange Viktor's required. Instead the forearm was shaped with extra plating that was slanted to help deflect blows away from his body, similar to vambraces of the Demacian military. The elbow was likewise styled after armor and studs had been welded to it, turning the piece into something that would be deeply unpleasant to be struck by.
Once he was satisfied with the basic shape of the augmentation, Viktor dismantled one of Ren's gauntlets and began integrating it into the limb. The blades were modified so that they could become retractable and rest in back of the augmentation's hand. Once more, they were wired to the artificial crystal. The glass cell in which the crystal was contained flashed like lighting as it was placed into the limb.
"You will never be without a weapon."
A new set of knuckledusters were created from the gear teeth of the gauntlet, and were designed to firmly attach themselves to small sockets on the augmentation's knuckles. Similar sockets were built along the length of the arm and would allow Ren to attach additional armor as needed, including the shoulder pad that he had argued for at the start of his hero work.
"You had desired to look like me. Do you still desire it?"
The laser filled the room with a warm pulse as it welded metal to metal. The creation of this augmentation was more rushed than Viktor would have preferred but he refused to compromise on quality. The factory still contained enough high quality material for him to use, though the limb would not have the uniform finish he desired. The luster of the various metals grew as Viktor applied protective finishes to the augmentation. Titanium shone as brilliantly as silver, steel gave off its comforting familiar sheen, the iron was dull in comparison but still held a warm glare, and the small snippets of copper, fiery in their color, were most eye catching of all.
"Functionality over form," he reminded himself, "though these inconsistencies are more aligned to his idiosyncrasies than mine. A fortunate side effect. Little doubt he will desire to paint over it anyways."
Finally, the chem-battery was placed in the upper arm. Viktor switched it on and the limb twitched to life. The whirl of machinery was music to his ears. He tested its movements, watching intently as the fingers curled and flexed as easily as a living limb would. All the joints were tested to make sure that they could move with equal ease. Underneath the metal shell, the machinery hummed contentedly. No further adjustments were needed. But this didn't mean Viktor was finished.
With the arm completed, Viktor turned his attentions to Ren's leg, the project that was the cause of almost everything of note that had happened to him over the last year.
"Here we are. Iteration 14 of the Project N limb. Thought I had perfected it with 13. Perhaps there is some merit to superstitions about that number?"
Viktor scoffed at himself for even thinking such a thought.
"No superstitions. It was my shortsightedness that resulted in 13's destruction. The limb was never intended to function at the energy output that you subjected it to, Renatus, but I had never even conceived what you did as a possibility. Through force of will, you destroyed an artificial crystal. I underestimated you. I will not do so this time. The true hexcrystal shard will provide the limitless power you deserve."
The leg was stripped down, everything that had melted together removed, to its most basic form as Viktor began its reconstruction. The wiring was the first piece to be replaced. Ren had burnt out almost all of it when he had overheated the limb. The new wire was of the same grade that Viktor used on his staff, a material he already knew could handle the power of a true crystal. With care, Viktor performed the delicate work of weaving the mechanical veins through the limb and up to the base where they would connect with Ren's nerves.
With an unflinching hand, Viktor rebuilt the complex innards of the limb. Gears, both new and repurposed form other parts of the factory, were delicately placed with mechanical precision. In several places, the plating and internal structure were warped from the heat and needed to be replaced. Viktor remade the plantar aspect of the limb, where the warping had been the most intense, out of a chrome nickel alloy. In addition to resisting more heat, the vents on the bottom were redesigned to better aid Ren in the combustion enhanced attacks he favored.
The core of the augmentation, the hexcrystal's chamber, was next to be repaired. The same heat resistant alloy was used to create the new cell. There was one additional change Viktor made to the chamber. The emergency switches to instantly lock or power down the leg remotely were removed. They were a relic, installed when Viktor did not know if Ren would ever attempt to flee with his invention or turn on him, but now they were no longer needed. He knew where Ren's loyalties were.
"Were there any doubt, I would not be doing this."
The hexcrystal shard, as beautiful and powerful as petrified lighting, was at last placed into the augmentation. Energy thrummed through the limb. The cell and the wires leading from it were momentarily wrapped in a shroud of blue light. As the flash dimmed, the machinery hissed to life, acclimating to its new endless power source. As with the arm, Viktor tested the augmentation's mobility before switching it off. Finally, he cleaned the limb, washing off the last remnants of Ren's dried blood.
"They are complete, Renatus. Your augmentations are beautiful. I know a part of you will still yearn for your birth arm, but it is gone. I cannot change your past, but I can guide your future. What Piltover has taken, Zaun will return."
There was not a sound in the training room as Ren stood alone looking down at a rust colored stain beside a scorch mark. His shadow lay across the stain. Its shape was foreign to him; lopsided, pained, exhausted.
Ren reached up to grab his other arm, checking to see if his body matched the shadowy silhouette on the floor. Nothing. There was still nothing there. It really was gone. In frustration, he gripped the bandages on his shoulder tighter than he should have. He winced in pain, the sharp sensation quickly cutting through Viktor's painkillers. Letting go, he let his arm fall limply to his side.
Behind him, the door opened.
"Renatus."
"I'm here, Doc," he answered without turning around.
He heard the metallic sound of Viktor's steps as he came to stand beside him. Still, Ren's gaze was fixated on the ground.
"That's a lot of blood," he stated, "No, that's a lot of my blood."
He knelt and placed his hand in the center of the stain.
"I'm came real close to dying, huh?"
His voice was shaky.
"You did," Viktor answered truthfully.
He reached down and pulled Ren to his feet.
"You required a transfusion," Viktor continued, "it is fortunate that my blood type is O negative, the universal donor."
Ren sighed.
"And here I was, thinking I had nobly sacrificed myself for you, but in the end you had to still give up your blood for me."
With trembling lips, he tried to smile as he said this. Another sigh and the façade fell. Ren brushed away the tears that were beginning to cloud his vision. A few trickled down his cheeks, though he did not weep as he had the other day. He took a few deep, shaky breaths and calmed himself.
"I'm alright," he answered before Viktor said anything, "I'm alright. Just, sad. Deeply, sad, ya' know?"
"I know."
Viktor allowed another minute to pass in silence so that Ren could compose himself. When he had calmed, Ren looked up at Viktor, his green eyes bright but somber, and gave a short nod.
"They are in the operating room," Viktor said, "are you prepared?"
"Yes."
Ren walked alongside Viktor towards the operating room for the last time. The familiar room was in an uncharacteristic state of disarray. Viktor hadn't bothered to clean it after saving Ren; there was no need to. After today, it would not be used anymore. Tomorrow, bright and early, before the sun would have even risen in Piltover, they would be leaving.
Letting out a long, steady breath, Ren pulled himself onto the operating table. How many times had he laid on this thing over the past year, he wondered. It was almost a second bed. He reached down and removed his old prosthetic and set it aside. His pant leg was rolled up and his shirt removed in preparation for his new augmentations.
Viktor was at his side, removing the bandages that were wrapped around his shoulder. At the sight of his injury, Ren felt his heart sink. The area was still swollen and sensitive to the touch, though the bruises had begun to fade, blotching his skin with a medley of sickly purple, blue, green, and yellow. After an examination of the augmentation's base and Ren's shoulder, Viktor pulled over his rolling cart with the augmentations resting upon it. He filled a syringe with a local anesthetic and injected it into the tissue surrounding the base.
"I had rebuilt your scapula, clavicle, and your shoulder and collar bones, out of titanium to help your body in supporting the new augmentation, but there will still be pain," Viktor warned, "It is regrettable that there is no time for you to recover further."
"I understand," Ren said, reclining back onto the table as he did, "we need to get out of here ASAP, and if that means some pain, so be it. I can live through it. Go ahead, do your thing."
Viktor nodded. In silent confidence, he attached the new arm, connecting machinery to living tissue with the same ease as seamstress sewing a lost button back onto a shirt. Even with the anesthetic, Ren winced. He remembered how uncomfortable having his leg augmented was, how raw the sensation was, but this was sharper and more intense by far. He refused to cry again though, choosing instead to grit his teeth and attempt to grin through the pain.
"Is my fake smile still unflattering?" he asked in an attempt to distract himself.
"Do you want my honest opinion?"
"Not really, not today."
Though the discomfort made time drag on agonizingly slowly, Viktor completed the delicate work in less than a quarter of an hour. Only when he stepped away, did Ren let out groan and several choice curses he had been holding in. There was pain, stabbing and throbbing and pins and needles, but there was feeling again. Ren's new fingers twitched.
"Janna's mercy," Ren gasped, "Wow. Just wow."
Viktor didn't ask for elaboration on the statement. He waited until his patient deemed himself stabilized before he continued with the procedure. Attaching the leg was a simple thing, something he and Ren had done time and time again. A smile, meager but genuine, found its way onto Ren as felt his nerves reconnect to the familiar machinery of his augmentation.
"I am going to activate it," Viktor alerted.
The hiss of energy filled the still air. Ren cried out. He gripped the sides of the table with both his hands as his back arched and his eyes squeezed shut. It was one thing to hold the crystal, but to have its energy flowing directly through your nerves was another thing entirely. Heat flushed through his body. He felt as though his whole body had been submerged in a hot bath and then suddenly dunked into freezing water. This lasted only a few seconds, but it was more than enough to exhaust Ren.
He lay, panting, on the table until the burning stopped. As the pain subsided, Ren became aware of another feeling spreading through his body. There was the warmth he expected from the crystal, but this new sensation was like the thrill of adrenaline, and it invigorated him like nothing else had. It was like every nerve in his body now danced with energy, and what's more, the feeling continued down his augmentations rather than stopping at them. Ren didn't know if this heightened state was temporary or permanent, but at the moment, this jolt of vitality was what he needed.
When he opened his eyes again, Viktor was standing over him. He was once more on Ren's left, having moved back to his cart to prepare another dose of anesthetic if needed. Ren shook his head, indicating that he was fine, and began to right himself. Viktor offered his hand. Ren reached up, clasping Viktor's mechanical arm in his own.
"How do you feel?" Viktor asked.
Ren was silent for a moment. He took a deep breath and exhaled coolly.
"Ready to face tomorrow."
Greetings Summoners,
Beaten but not broken, Ren's vivacious spirit will not be extinguished! The penultimate chapter will be posted on 10/6. Until then, I have a new one-shot out set in Zaun featuring Sett. I highly recommend that you check it out. I threw in a few treats for the people who have read this fic. As always, feedback is appreciated.
Best of luck on the Rift,
-Gwoo
