A/N:

Busy days, folks!

Lots of essays, tests, and overall school-work to do. I've also had an Avatar: the Last Airbender marathon D: (Zuko) So sorry for delay. I've also decided to prolong this story by another five chapters, since it'll all end too abruptly if else. So I hope you're not too disappointed with that! Hopefully, I can wire up some loose ends and conclude this story with a rather good and suitable ending ^^

CHAPTER 4:5

They reached a dead end.

Damn. "Hmm..." murmured Jayce pensively and placed his hand on the stone-bricked wall. He pushed his palm against the abrasive surface, testing the strength of their hindrance, but it was ground solid and rather recently built. "Seems like we'll have to find a way around," he said and knocked on the wall. "We won't get through here; it's probably about a feet thick."

"Back off!"

Jayce frowned and turned around towards Vi to ask what she meant – only to duck for an incoming fist. He only barely dodged it.

"Hey!" he snapped as he almost stumbled forward into a shelf. He managed to catch himself from falling and regained his balance with his hammer. "What in the..."

Jayce whipped around and glared at a nonchalantly waiting Vi. She brushed some dirt away from her gauntlets and shrugged as she noticed the angry look on his face. "What?"

"You could have crushed my head!" he exclaimed and gestured towards the collapsed wall. "That could have been me!"

Vi put a large, metallic finger over her mouth and grinned. "You should quiet down, rookie," she whispered and cocked her head towards the opening. "Though, I don't think it matters anymore; I made quite the blast already."

Jayce noticed that her gauntlets were glowing and fizzing with a strangely familiar blue light. He glanced at his own weapon and noticed that the similarity was indubitable. He also realized this was the first time he had seen Vi in action.

So strong, he thought admirably. But where did she get the gauntlets?

"So, let's head in?"

Jayce nodded and made a sweeping movement with his arm towards the destroyed brick wall. "Ladies first."

"Right," she muttered and headed into the darkness first. "I'll check if the coast is clear and get back to you in fifty seconds. I'll call if I see a large, scary insect, but stay where you are until I'm back."

As soon as she entered the gap, he lost all vision of her. Jayce couldn't extinguish a single motion in the dark but the blue light of her gauntlets, even though he focused as hard as he could. But that disappeared as well when Vi rounded a corner. He started to get nervous as the moments passed by, worrying if Vi had already gotten into all kinds of trouble and needed his help, but quickly calmed down as he remembered her bravery with a smile.

That woman will never die, he said to himself. She's simply incredible. He leaned back towards the intact part of the wall and recalled the eventful day before. His smile widened and he voiced his thoughts out loud.

"She made me forget Caitlyn," he murmured and looked at the small light bulb hanging in the ceiling a yard away from him. "It felt so... new."

"What are you talking about out here? Glad I'm doing all the dirty work for you?"

Vi peeked out of the opening and looked at him in amusement. "Or are you just comforting yourself as usual?"

"Excuse me?" he asked and raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

She smiled. "You have a habit of talking to yourself whenever you feel troubled," she teased and gestured for him to come in. He obeyed and soon they were both standing in the dark. It was cool and dry, and smelled of decades old dust and dirt.

Vi continued. "Now, I really hope Viktor is here, or this would all have been for nothing. I found that this corridor, or passage, or whatever it might be, leads on for quite a while. There are a couple of rooms as you pass by, but no signs of life or anything else. Though I didn't go especially far..."

"He's here," affirmed Jayce. "I promise he'll be here somewhere."

"I trust you, handsome. Let's go."

They walked in silence, which quickly got awkward for both of them. Jayce wanted to hear if someone would ambush them and tried to stay alert for every sound, but it was as if he'd been deaf. He couldn't hear anything and he guessed that neither could Vi, since she never mentioned anything. Their weapons were shining in the seemingly infinite darkness and he could discern Vi walking very closely to him.

"Did you construct them on your own?" he suddenly asked her. The question had been gnawing at his mind for a while now, but he hadn't wanted it to be so abrupt.

He couldn't see her facial expression but noticed her confusion. "Your gauntlets," he continued and smiled. "You made them yourself?"

"No," she replied and her head shook. Her voice sounded so small that he almost thought she was another person. "I've modified them during the years and kept them healthy, but I didn't create them from scratch." Vi paused before continuing. "I kind of found them during a raid in a mine as a teenager and been keeping them close ever since. It wasn't anything planned, but I saved lots of people that day because of them."

"A mine?" he wondered. "What mine?"

"I think it was governmental," she replied hesitantly. "Yeah... I'm pretty sure it was. How so?"

She found them in a governmental mine for more than a decade ago, pondered Jayce and rubbed his chin. So Piltover already had this source of energy in their possession... but why did they tell me that the box I received was just recently found? Why did they lie about it? Or, is there something they want to hide? Or was the energy source lost then found? But how does it come that nobody remembered afterward or could find old reports of it?

Jayce frowned. So many questions... and little to no answers."Why did you kids go a mining facility in the first place? How did you get in? What kind of weapons did you use?"

Vi didn't reply. He stopped and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Could you please tell me? How did you even succeed on getting inside? Doesn't it sound completely illogical? A group of simple thugs get into a high-tech and high-security excavation site? Because that's what it was, Vi. You weren't wandering into a simple mine." And neither do I think it was of coincidence that you got the gauntlets, he added silently. "Vi, please tell me, because this is of utter importance. How did you get into the mining facility?"

She stopped in her tracks. He mimicked her movement.

"I... I don't know, I don't remember" she finally answered and slowly looked up at him. Her eyes dashed to his hammer and realization crossed her features. She inhaled sharply. "No... You don't mean–"

"I do mean it," he interrupted. His voice was dead serious. "The artifact I was appointed with was not the only one of its kind. Piltover has been governing them during all these years in secrecy. Nobody knew."

Vi opened her mouth to say something else when he he heard an odd beeping. He turned his gaze into the dark behind her and saw something glimmering. Jayce immediately threw himself forward and knocked Vi to the ground next to him. A brilliant, cerulean line shot through the dark and above their heads with lightning speed. As it hit the wall far behind them, the whole passage was illuminated for half a second and Jayce caught the glance of a man holding what looked like a long, cylindrical-shaped rifle in the other end of the corridor. Its center shone blue.

"We're being attacked!" the stranger screamed over his shoulder. "Get the beamweapons!"

"Get off of me," grumbled Vi and pushed him away from her. Jayce rolled to the side and gripped his hammer in the same swift movement and got to his feet. "Come on cowards! I'll punch a hole right through your face!" she shouted and laughed. "Line up now, people!"

Scary, he thought and stared at her in genuine fear. Her gauntlets were starting to glow again with a clear azure color and the light steadily increased in strength and size, until it had enveloped her whole body in the protective aura. Jayce's emotions quickly changed and he watched her change in awe. So this is when she has turned on her famous shield. Incredibly fascinating. I must ask her how she made it all work.

Vi reached out her arm towards their assailant and winked him to come closer. "I'm waiting," she taunted. "Or do you want me to come and get you? I don't mind either."

The man was obviously struck and hastily fired another shot. The slim ray of azure light pierced through the dimness and to Jayce's fright, Vi was hit straight in the chest. Something exploded and where she had stood just a couple of seconds ago, he saw only gray smoke. His hope sunk and despair tore at his heart when he suddenly saw Vi's blue-glowing silhouette through the thick fume.

"I got a perfect shot on her..." gasped the stranger in shock. "What the fuck is that thing?"

Jayce took the opportunity of the man's sudden confusion to attack him. He vaulted over a pipe and swung his hammer at the gunman's torso. The flat but heavy surface struck him hard over the lower part of his chest and Jayce continued his motion until the man hit the concrete wall with a loud grunt of pain. He slid down to the floor and didn't open his eyes.

Eight more people in all different kinds of sizes and genders stormed through a door to Jayce's right. Each and everyone were armed with the strange weapon in their hands and they were clad in dark-blue robes. He tried to strike them down but missed as the smoke had gotten him to miscalculate the distance between him and the group. His hammer dug into solid ground and the blow resonated throughout his whole body in an almost bone-shattering quake. He grimaced. Ouch.

"Who are you?" growled a young woman and took a step towards him. She raised her aim at his chest. He couldn't distinguish what kind of weapon it was. "Speak."

"Let's just calm down here," he said and let go of his hammer. Jayce held up his hands in a relinquishing gesture. "Don't kill me."

The woman suspiciously scrutinized him from head to toe. "What are you doing, wandering alone here? Are you a member?" she asked.

"Who said he was alone?"

Jayce rolled with his eyes as Vi emerged from a gray cloud with her arms crossed. Her shield was off. She raised her right eyebrow and exchanged a glance with Jayce saying: Who are these crazy people?

"Who are you?" spat the young woman again. Jayce realized she was the leader of the party. The others wouldn't attack them until she did and she seemed unsure of what to do. He knew he had the upper hand and acted.

Jayce winked at Vi and she caught his intentions immediately. He quickly grabbed his hammer and backed a couple of steps and watched her cover his escape. Her shield got up in less than a second and she slid down in a defensive crouch with her hands in front of her chest and face as the group aimed at her. Jayce closed his eyes as they fired, to protect his sight, and hoped for his dear life that her shield was strong enough to resist the impact.

The blast was almost deafening and more smoke filled his vision as he slowly dared to look. He heard the strangers panicked yelling and found his way to them through the blinding fume. Jayce found them all slightly separated from each other and swiftly disposed of them with a hit of his hammer. He didn't see Vi.

Eight, he counted as the last man slumped down to the floor. The now unconscious man had been the only one to make an effort to defense himself and had almost gotten a shot at Jayce, who had been able to evade it just in time.

Suddenly terrified of his own actions, Jayce instantly crouched down at the assailant's side and placed his fingers at the side of the man's neck. A familiar voice startled him.

"He's alive, I can see it," said Vi reassuringly and emerged from the smoke. "Trust me, it takes more than that puny hit to kill a man. Fortunately... or not. He'll probably wake up in a couple of hours with a horrible headache." She brushed away some dirt from her torso and legs, but other than that she seemed alright.

"Not funny," snapped Jayce and then calmed down as he felt the man's heart rate. "I'm sorry, I just... I'm not used to things like this. It was hard enough to kill the flour-filled dummies at the military."

Vi laughed and knelt next to him with a big smile on her face. "Naw, poor little you. You must have gone through rough shit over there in 'De-mash-ia'!" She laughed again and he couldn't hinder himself from smiling. "But why did you even think about kicking Mr. 'I'm-not-a-robot-but-an-extraordinaire-man-with-ro bot-bodyparts' arse?"

"I'm more than able to just 'kick his arse'," replied Jayce moodily. "I just don't want to kill anyone. I don't want to take another being's life!" He sighed. "I don't want to be a murderer."

She nodded. "I understand you and I feel somewhat alike. Though a punch in the stomach has never seemed to kill anyone."

"Well, a punch by you wearing those gauntlets will surely kill even a full-grown bear," he noted dryly but lighted up. "It should be useful though. Viktor needs a really big slap to return to reality."

"My pleasure,"she answered with a grin, but Vi quickly recollected herself and her countenance turned stern. She pointed at the unconscious man's weapon and frowned. "Do you think these guys are working for Viktor? Their arms are a bit too high-techmaturgical to be in the possession of a simple gang."

"'Their arms'?" repeated Jayce. "What?"

Vi raised her right eyebrow. "What, you didn't see it? They weren't shooting from any guns or normal stuff. It was coming out of their creepy palms." She held up the man's right arm and Jayce stared at it in horror.

Where his forearm should have once been, a thick piece of metal was etched into the man's flesh by the elbow. It had the shape of a human forearm, fingers and all, but with a blue orb in the palm. It swirled with power.

"His arm... it has been replaced with... something else," he gasped. "What in the world..."

"Yeah, this is so fucked up," replied Vi in disgust. She inspected the arm even closer and then dropped it to the floor. "We have no time, so let's move on. I can't wait to see what Viktor has been brewing up for us during all of these weeks."

"If only I could be as positive," muttered Jayce and rose to his feet. "It's unfortunately not as amusing for me as it is for you."

Vi shrugged. "Cheer up, rookie." She smiled and stood up as well. "You did well. Didn't think you were serious about this, but seems you are."

Jayce sighed. "I guess," he answered. "Let's hurry up then. Do you know how we'll find down here?"

"Sure."

She pounded her fist against the floor twice, each time with such force that he almost lost his footing, and then pressed her ear to the ground. Jayce opened his mouth to ask her what she was doing but she instantly gestured for him to stay silent. He obeyed and waited for her to finish.

Vi kept her eyes closed and held her breath. He observed her and tried to figure out what she was doing, but suddenly realized that it was impossible of him to turn his gaze away. Her calm face was so vulnerable and it looked like she was peacefully at sleep, with the same blissful expression as he'd seen the day before – just before he had kissed her.

"Got it."

Vi got to her feet and brusquely brushed her cheek against the smooth fabric of her cardigan. She urged him to follow her into the smoke and the dark with a gesture of her hand, and they set off in a quick pace southwards. It was dark again.

"What were you doing on the ground?" asked Jayce and unzipped his jacket. It was getting hotter the further they ventured into the seemingly endless corridor. "Having some kind of habit?"

She huffed. "Definitely not. I was listening where the vibrations were leading and all other ways except this one went silent after a couple of seconds. Also, I heard something rattle far over here and just went for it. Instincts, you know."

Instincts... "I see," replied Jayce and sarcastically added: "So we could all of a sudden end up in the middle of Viktor's laboratory?"

"Yeah, exciting huh?"

He shook his head. "Not really. I hope your instincts are right."

Vi wasn't able to reply before something suddenly pulled her to the ground. She yelled in surprise but her scream abruptly stopped when her head forcefully hit the floor. Jayce wasn't able to react before he also was dragged to the ground, although with much less speed. He tried to stand up by leaning on his hammer but it was all in vain; he couldn't fight gravity.

"Well, how surprising."

The man's voice came from somewhere behind the two Piltoverans and sounded strangely confined. Jayce tried to glance over his shoulder but it was impossible to move anymore. He could barely breathe and slowly felt panic creeping up his back.

Jayce tried to speak but only a groaning escaped his lips. He tried again but his mouth and jaws refused to cooperate.

"No point in resisting; the gravity field is impossible for the human body to conquer. You cannot win against science, dear friend."

Jayce stopped fighting against the invisible shackles. Viktor. So he actually was here. But why is he talking so weirdly?

"It was quite some time since we last met," continued the cyborg. Jayce heard that the Zaunite's heavy footsteps were being accompanied by several more. "I do thank you for inviting me over there. Nothing of this would've been able to work without your... participation. Let me show you what I've– we've created, friend." He paused and Jayce heard a button being pushed. "Take him; I've deactivated the field. The temporarily petrifying side effect is due to his muscles and brain not being able to immediately process the information that they are no longer locked."

There were sounds of approval before rough hands hauled Jayce to his feet by his shoulders. He could barely keep his eyelids open but he hadn't lost the grip of his hammer even once. His heartbeats settled into a steady rhythm and his fear disappeared as his mind calmed down.

I finally have him in my reach, thought Jayce and suddenly felt content. This is my chance to prove Caitlyn wrong by denying me her assistance.

"The woman?" asked someone. "She got it quite bad."

"Hmm?" Viktor sounded confused. "What's with her?"

"What should we do with her?" asked another one anxiously. "She's bleeding from her forehead."

"Patch her up and bring her along then!" exclaimed the cyborg in irritation. "Don't just let her bleed to death there, damn it! I hope you all see whom exactly that is."

Jayce blinked a couple of times. The whole world was spinning.

"It's the Sheriff's dog, sir."

"Yeah, it's that hot-headed bastard who loves breaking stuff. What's her name now again? Vice? Vay?"

"She looks... oddly familiar. Much alike that crazy–"

The last one who spoke was instantly cut off by Viktor. "Shut your big mouth and pray that I won't kill you if I ever hear your voice again," he snapped angrily. "I don't want any information of my buyers to leak out. Now, tend to Officer Vi's wounds. I definitely do not want any dead police here and I have no personal grudge against her. I rather hope she's fine."

"Yes, sir."

Strange... Vi looks similar to a person Viktor knows... Jayce tried to stand up by his own strength but failed. His vision cleared and he was finally able to look at his old friend. He raised his gaze from the floor and searched for Viktor amongst the many blue coats.

The cyborg had gone through a complete transformation. He was now more robot than human; Jayce could only barely find parts where the Zaunite's skin wasn't covered and he guessed that his former friend would try to cover or replace those parts with metal as soon as he could. Every piece of his protective armor was pulsating with a strong, blue glow and Jayce saw a third, fully metallic arm on Viktor's left shoulder. He wore only a pair of loose trousers and the Piltoveran guessed that he was in the middle of an experiment on himself, because the third arm was holding in a small piece of metal between its index finger and thumb. It seemed to be an eye.

Jayce lowered his gaze in disgust and seeing the cyborg's face, he realized to his dismay that Viktor's otherwise so very kind face was covered with an iron mask. Sure, the Zaunite had always held an awkward and uncomfortable expression wherever he went, but Jayce had once regarded true goodness in the man's face. Now he was hidden behind cold metal and sealed with the power of the ancient artifact.

Seems like someone else also has been busy during summer, thought Jayce bitterly and cleared his throat. "Nice to see you too, Viktor," he murmured. "It's been some time, huh?" Jayce made a weak effort to smile even though it stung in his whole face. "I haven't been in Zaun for too long, but seems like knocking your old friends to the ground is custom here. I'll keep that in mind," he added sarcastically.

The cyborg stiffened, but Jayce couldn't tell if it was due to his mutilated body or a real human and reflexive motion. He turned towards Jayce, who didn't know what to think about the man in front of him. A small part of him wanted to believe that Viktor was going to take off the mask and reveal his kind face and tell him that this was all a joke, but he accepted the reality of his former friend's betrayal. The iron mask seemed etched into his flesh, as well as the rest of his synthetic body parts, and was probably unmovable. It wasn't shaped after its bearer's features but seemed much like a shell covering the Zaunite's face. Something blue was shining beneath the colorless lenses that indicated were his eyes were, but there were no openings for his mouth and nostrils.

The cerulean-colored globes focused on Jayce and something like a stifled laughter came out in harsh breathings from the lower part of Viktor's face. It sounded for a while like he was choking but he soon calmed down, and his voice was filled with contempt when he spoke.

"Witty as always." He calmly placed his hands behind his back and slowly approached Jayce. The men holding the Piltoveran gripped him even harder, although the paralyzing state of the gravity field was still in effect. Jayce couldn't move his body at all.

Damn... how long is this going to keep me locked? He followed the cyborg's movement with his eyes and desperately tried to regain control of his right arm. His hammer arm. If only I could do something or have a back-up plan... Ugh, now I get why people always hire other people to do their work for them. Maybe I should have checked at the League...

"... in the company of the pretty officer? Hmm?"

Jayce blinked a couple of times. He had almost dozed off into oblivion.

"Wh-what did you say?" he asked hoarsely. His words could only barely be heard. "What's with the officer?"

Viktor stopped and leaned forward until their faces were in level with each other. He seemed to be scrutinizing Jayce and watched him in silence. Jayce defiantly stared back into the cyborg's empty eyes. There was only light; nothing else.

"What are you doing here with her?" wondered Viktor, finally breaking the tense atmosphere. He gestured towards Jayce's left side and straightened. "I wasn't expecting female company."

Jayce found the strength to huff in annoyance. "Of course not. Since when were you?" He had meant to sound rough but his almost inaudible muttering made the answer lose its edge. "And could you please clear your throat before speaking? I can't seem to hear what your saying," he spat.

Something punched him in the stomach with incredible force and Jayce blacked out.