A/N:

School has started (D:/^^) and therefore, my updates might come less frequent and quite inconsistent. I hope you'll continue to support me in any way you want and read what I post. I'm not only writing this story but an AC-III, so thus the usual delay.

I should probably also put a note: all of my stories may or may not contain information gained from earlier stories, thus some confusing parts at times. This fanfic does on the other hand not possess anything from my last fanfic but future may.

Reason why some may see Viktor as very "squishy" (jokes aside), is because I dislike the way Riot has described him. Imao, he's been portrayed as a very shallow person and not at all as the genius he really is.

Damn, long A/N again, sorry!

Guest (so many of you): You were right, the woman from earlier was Ahri. It was just a small glimpse of another story I have planned after Techmaturgical Precision. ^^

CHAPTER 2:1

"Welcome back, Jayce. Do I sense you bringing some company?"

The cyborg raised a dark eyebrow and Jayce sighed, rolling with his eyes.

"You're very well aware of my friend here," replied the handsome Piltoveran and took off his outer garments, gesturing for Viktor to do the same. "Viktor, meet Claire, an extremely intelligent computer with her own 'life', also known as an AI. She has a very… colorful humor to say the least, due to my stupid misplacement of a cable, but don't mind her."

"He actually wanted me to possess a certain sarcastic behavior, in a masochistic way to torture him. Welcome, Viktor, to the City of Progress. I feel almost privileged to meet with such a brilliant mind as yours. "

Colorful humor, mouthed Jayce and his friend's black eyes widened in surprise. Viktor stepped into the airy living room and tried to trace down the origin of the AI's voice.

"She's been built into a speaker in every room," said Jayce and ventured into his kitchen. He opened the refrigerator, searching after some refreshments for his friend, and found some beer. "Would you like something to drink? Eat?"

"I'm fine."

Jayce had already taken out the alcohol halfway and quickly put it back, surprised by Viktor's answer. The Zaunite was as skinny as a man could be but ate as a pack of famished wolves, probably eating as much as Vi consumed those weird potato chips from Bandle City. They tasted like barbequed chocolate and meat, and were definitely something that neither Jayce nor Caitlyn liked. Not that it mattered to Vi.

"Claire?"

He returned to his friend with a worried frown and found Viktor on the floor, knocking randomly at the wood and pushing aside different furniture and objects.

"I'm not located in the ground, though I admit that it's quite amusing to watch you in your confusion."

Jayce glared irritably at a seemingly innocent painting of Piltover and urged Viktor to stand up. The latter coolly followed his friend's gaze and looked at the beautiful picture.

"So her core and processor are hidden behind that?" asked the black-haired man and approached the canvas. "Clever."

"She's quite a big lady actually," answered the Piltoveran and grabbed Viktor's shoulder, shaking his head. "Don't. I've set up a strong electromagnetic field in the frame; it would fry a normal human being. Your own system will probably malfunction."

Viktor shrugged him off and took another step towards the painting.

"I doubt it. Most of my… inhuman parts are made of dark iron from the deepest part of the Shadow Isles and coated with the purest titanium." He reached out for it with his metallic fingers and slowly touched the canvas. To Jayce's surprise, the cyborg didn't even flinch. "This won't make me budge."

The air was suddenly sparkling with energy and Jayce instinctively recoiled. Every hair on Viktor's head slowly erected and his blue coat as well, making the cyborg a very comical sight to behold.

"Claire," growled Jayce admonitory and took another step back. "I do not want an explosion here."

"I do often see myself as an opportunist and took this moment to try out his limit, but it seems like your friend is more than capable of handling my defenses. I apologize, for my doing is very rude indeed."

"Nothing wrong with being curious and I am myself surprised that I can neutralize you, Claire," replied Viktor and turned to Jayce, denying the opportunity for the Piltoveran to say anything. "You might need to improve her hardware, friend." The Zaunite looked back at the large painting of the City of Progress. "Let's hope I can get off of this thing."

With a grimace and a husky cry, Viktor pulled away from the painting and tripped backwards in the progress. He was able to regain his balance and didn't lose his foothold, though his hand fell onto the desk, exactly where the mystical box Jayce had received a day ago was resting. The two friends watched in dismay and confusion as the cyborg's energy charged fingers first met with the strange object then fully gripped it.

Azure-colored rays erupted from the small, metal box and it illuminated the whole apartment in a powerful light. Jayce was forced to cover his eyes with his arms as the glim grew stronger and stronger, rendering him blind and mentally numb. He heard no sounds – not even a snide comment from Claire – and called for his friend, not knowing if the light had dissipated and too frightened to see for himself.

"Viktor? Claire?"

Nobody answered and he gritted his teeth. What happened? How did he open the box? "Everyone alright?"

There was still no reply and Jayce decided to take the risk and check for himself. He lowered his arms and saw, behind closed eyelids, that the blue light had disappeared. The brown-haired man took a deep breath before gently opening his eyes and was met with complete darkness. Immediately panicking, he soon realized that he was in fact not blind but that the electricity had died and probably not only in his apartment but in the whole building, maybe the closest ones as well.

"Viktor?" he whispered and tried to distinguish any forms in the dark. Claire should not have been afflicted by an ordinary blackout; she has a reserve generator built into her motherboard. What exactly did happen? "Hey, don't you two robots play a joke on me," he added grumpily. It would be exactly like you two to set me up like this.

"Ugh… joking in a situation like this…"

Jayce's sight finally adjusted to his obscure surroundings and found his cyborg-friend on the floor. His cape had seemingly caught on fire, guessing by the black scrapes on Viktor's chest and back, as well as some furniture around him. The Zaunite groaned and propped himself up on his elbows.

"What in the Void was that?" He coughed and Jayce crouched next to him. Viktor's scarf had incinerated as well, rendering his face completely visible for once. "It felt… it felt like my body, my synthetic parts, was filled with life. It was absolutely marvelous. Jayce, what is this?"

Viktor held up the black, unassuming box in his right hand and sat up. Jayce had never before seen anything similar to the intricate, cerulean pattern tracing across the metal, but as he reached for the item, Viktor pulled away.

"Hey," said Jayce jokingly and tried to grasp for it again. "Give it back."

"No."

The cyborg's answer felt like a cold dagger to his heart and as Jayce started feeling oddly ill-tempered, his friend rose up to a standing. The handsome inventor saw the remarkable, azure light reflecting in Viktor's ever so black eyes, slowly transforming the darkness therein with its own, brilliant glim. Soon, his eyes were shining blue, the light eradicating even the white of his eyes.

"Viktor… what do you mean?" For the first time in his life, Jayce wondered if he had been wrong to befriend the intricate, solitary Zaunite after all. Maybe people had been right all these years, maybe he actually was crazy. "Return the box," he demanded.

"No, impossible," replied the cyborg and his grip around the ancient object tightened. "I don't know where you found this or who gave you it… but I can't just drop it. Jayce… it makes me feel so alive. It might be because I'm partly made of metal and electricity, but this… it's unbelievably powerful."

Jayce frowned and rose up as well. "That belongs to the Government of Piltover and is not something I can simply yield to you. I thank you for opening it, or activating it at least, but you can't have it."

"Come on," tried Viktor and his corrupted eyes finally averted from the black box, focusing on Jayce. "With this, you and I could be gods. The power is beyond measure; I can feel how it's coursing through my every nerve cell, filling me with its techmaturgical strength. It would be easy to make you that suit you've always been dreaming of. This is the next step in the evolution, Jayce. Join me."

I can't believe what he's saying but this is undeniably wrong, thought Jayce and shook his head in utter disappointment. "Friend, I can't and I won't. Return it to me now." Viktor, please, don't do this to me. Not after all these years and everything you and I've been through. Our friendship is more important than your hunger for power, right?

The cyborg grimaced and gritted his teeth. Jayce knew that there was something more behind the Zaunite's talk of power and suspected the worse: the need for vengeance. During all these years – five long years of trusting, sharing and enjoying life – a little voice had told him that all Viktor wanted was revenge, retaliation for Professor Stanwick's betrayal and theft of Viktor's whole research during his years in school. But Jayce had always reassured himself that his friend was too intelligent to trouble his mind with the past and was instead trying to succeed with another scientific breakthrough. They had at times shared a couple of words about the happening but the black-haired cyborg never really listened to what Jayce said about moving on.

I must have been wrong, thought the Piltoveran bitterly and sighed. "Please, Viktor. I don't want this to end up bad for you."

"This won't stop me," answered Viktor abruptly and snorted. "This… will help me defeat that fucktard Stanwick. I'll even shove my hand through his throat to reach his black, rotten heart and rip it out myself."

He swallowed and raised the item in level with his nose, staring into the core of the object. It was humming quietly, like a tiny processor, and the blue light pulsated in the same tempo.

"Jayce, please, you're my friend," he continued, sounding almost like he was begging. "You if anybody knows my deep hatred for that wretched, invalid, cock-rubbing son of a bitch." His curses surprised Jayce; it was definitely rare to hear the cyborg speak even the slightest expletive. "He deserves nothing less than death itself and if he rises, I'll be more than happy to kill him again and again."

"As I feared," said Jayce resignedly and pulled back his chestnut-brown hair. "You really are a lost case, aren't you? Like a mad dog, blindly chasing whatever it can see and foolishly throwing all of its emotions into the fray, mixing it up until it cannot differentiate friend from foe."

"Fuck you and your fancy words, Jayce."

The cyborg's voice revealed his wounded feelings and the seed of hatred that had grown there ever since the two of them had first met. Jayce realized now that Viktor had never even thought about forgetting the past but had since then searched for a way to obliterate Professor Stanwick. And that the knowledge of this didn't surprise him, made the Piltoveran ever more disappointed with what was happening at the moment.

This is really just my fault. Jayce chuckled at his own idiocy and clenched his fists. How come I never stopped him before? He always had had a screw loose, ironically enough.

"Fine," responded Jayce after a pause. "Take it and leave to chase your stupid dreams of retribution, but remember this…"

Even though the Zaunite – and his former best friend – glared at him in abhorrence, Jayce stood adamant and was proud that he could retain his calm. He pointed at the door and his eyes locked with Viktor's.

"I will end your madness. Not now and not today, and the only reason why I'm letting you go now is to honor what friendship we once had."

Hoping that the cyborg wouldn't kill him where he stood, Jayce courageously continued.

"I'll put a stop to you but not in a fight right here," he said, his light, blue eyes never even once wavering from his newfound opponent and nemesis. It ached in his heart to lose such a close friend but he knew that this was what must be done. "Go try out and see what vengeance may lead you – only never forget me. Now get the hell out of my home and city: Piltover is not a place for such as you."