So I'm back with a bit of a shorter chapter than usual. That's not an issue for me or anything, just a bit of a surprise. When I plan the chapters for this fic, I write out the general plot line and important events or character interactions, but I never try and predict how long a chapter will be. I don't want to condense or stretch out a chapter just to meet some arbitrary word count, so I just write what I want and need to and then post it. It's worked for me so far.

Anyways, this chapter was an interesting one to write. Viktor's an interesting character and, while he isn't my favourite, I like him a lot, so I'm really excited to get started with his character arc for this fic. I will admit now that it isn't one with more immediate payoff like with the other characters, but it will be glorious. It'll just take some time - just like science itself.

I'll finish off by saying that I'm proud of this chapter regardless of its length, and I hope you all enjoy it. See you at the end!

Cripple. Orphan. Nerd. Traitor. Outsider. Trencher.

Viktor had been called many things in his life, half a dozen titles gathered over half a life in the Undercity, and then as a student in Piltover's Academy. They'd burned at him, like scourges against his skin, until that rage grew into something bitter and cold. He'd learned to stop caring, to let his actions and intellect speak for itself, but there were some days where he wondered if he shouldn't be who the world around him wanted to be; who they already thought he was. It almost certainly would've been easier, without the judging eyes of the people who believed themselves better than him, but Viktor hadn't given in while climbing to the top - why would he give up now he was there?

In time, he rose to the position of Assistant to the Dean of the Academy, a title that earned him more respect than his own work ever did. A while after that he met Jayce Talis, a kind man with an almost impossible dream, a man who had lost nearly everything he'd worked so hard to attain, and together they made something that could change the world.

Viktor gained new names after that, and despite how proud he was of the things he'd done before creating Hextech, he finally felt like it had all been worthwhile.

Doctor. Friend. Brother.

He wouldn't call himself a prideful man, (who would?), but it felt good to be acknowledged after all those years. Not as someone who'd climbed up from the Undercity and into the prestigious Academy, acing every class he took, but as himself. Jayce had told him once, all those years ago, that one of the greatest feelings in the world was being congratulated by the people closest to you. For him, it was his mother, Caitlyn Kiramman and even Viktor himself, whom he hadn't known for nearly half as long as the rest. He'd learned of one more name on Jayce's list in the past month, but that was neither here nor there. If Jayce wanted to be with Mel Medarda, who was he to stop him? Despite his reservations about the Noxian, she wasn't a bad person, just not a particularly kind one in his experience. Oh, sure, she wore the mask well, but it faltered when she had to deal with someone who wasn't important. Someone like Viktor.

There were two ways of getting her hands on Hextech, and why wouldn't she take the option that she could get a good fuck out of as well?

Viktor knew he was being bitter, but that woman had only ever used Jayce, and now the two of them were in a relationship? Not as business partners or even fellow Councilors, but a genuine romantic relationship? It didn't sit right with him. Even if Jayce said things were going great between them, even if Mel was being markedly nicer and more respectful to him this past week, he knew he'd be skeptical for some time to come. It wasn't any of Viktor's business, but he couldn't help but wonder sometimes…

What type of man would he be if he'd had such connections growing up? Parents and siblings, friends who treated him with dignity and respect, and maybe even a lover who truly cared for him. He'd never been a sexual or romantic person, so the latter never really appealed to him, but it was about the principle of the matter. If he'd had people around him as a child and a young man, would things have turned out differently? Would he know how to build relationships of his own as an adult; would he know how to get people to respect him; would he have something to drag him away from work every day, so he didn't fall into obsession?

If he had, if he'd learned how to take a step back and keep his work from consuming him, would Skye still be alive?

Viktor had gained one final name after his prognosis, when he crossed a line he swore he never would, visiting the Doctor all the way down in the Sump.

Murderer.

The word rang in his head like the chiming bell within a clocktower, taunting him as it echoed in his ears. Skye trusted him, trusted him enough to throw herself into danger, all so she could save him from himself. She might still be alive if he had just stopped, even for a moment, and considered the lengths he was going in order to survive.

The mutation must survive.

That was what the Doctor down in the Undercity had told him, all those years ago, when he'd been something almost like a friend. And barely a month ago, after decades without hearing from one another, Viktor went to him in the hopes of finding what he needed to survive. And the Doctor did just as asked, giving him a variant of Shimmer that could counter the rapid decay of biological material affected by the arcane.

The Doctor gave him what he needed to survive, and at the time Viktor thought that might've been enough. But if he had learned one thing from this entire ordeal, from his attempts to find a cure and Skye's murder, it was that there was a world of difference between living and surviving.

What was his life worth if it cost someone else's?

It was that thought that Viktor clung to, a simple fact that seemed to go against everything he'd thought true, especially in the wake of his impending death. He felt like he'd spent his life pursuing ways to help people survive, through different prostheses and medicines that would counteract the effects of the toxic air in the Sump. But never once had he considered how he could help people actually live. He'd walk that path with whatever time he had left, so that he might leave something good behind when the Reaper called his name. Something more than dust…

In truth, Viktor had almost given up on the search for a cure, even as the looming sword above his neck lowered, day by day. But, oddly enough, he didn't feel so afraid anymore. Giving up on an antidote meant giving up on fear, or at least that's what he thought. Maybe he just was getting used to the fear, so it didn't weigh on him so much.

And then, just as soon as hope faded in his heart, Viktor found what may well be his saving grace. Two different pieces of technology, created by two very similar men, despite all their differences - Jayce's healing technology, and Ekko's transmutation device. Alone, neither could give Viktor what he wanted, but once he'd learned about both of them, he knew that if he could find some way to combine the two facets of Hextech together…

He might just save himself.

That was why Viktor was in his own, personal laboratory, instead of the one he and Jayce had shared for years. That was a space for sharing their ideas and achievements, and for getting a fresh perspective on something troubling. When one of them had an idea that they needed to pursue alone, they retreated to their own workshops and tinkered until the sun came up, only emerging when they had something to show for it. That, or when outside circumstances forced them out.

It was almost funny then, that after all these years of getting angry when he had to leave his lab, he'd actually dreaded returning to it. Why wouldn't he, when the last time he'd been there, he'd watched Skye get turned to dust.

He'd done all his work since in their shared laboratory, but where else could he build the device that would, ultimately, decide his fate. This lab was where it all began, and if Viktor had his way it would end here, too. One way or another.

Viktor leaned forward in his chair, absently biting the bottom of his lip as he fought to keep his hands from shaking. The screwdriver trembled in his grasp as he guided it towards the final screw, the phillips head slotting into the drive with the quietest sound of scrapping metal. The noise was like gunfire to Viktor's tired ears,however, almost echoing through the near silent workshop. He then twisted the screwdriver three times, the effort growing with each rotation, until Viktor was straining to turn the tool. Something like this had been nothing to him before, building machines ten times more structurally complex in half the time, but now even this was almost beyond him.

There was a pain there, in being forced to acknowledge the frailty of his own flesh, but Viktor could almost find comfort in it. Where before he'd let the hours fly by as he built whatever took his fancy, now he relished every second of life he had left. Every screw turned, every rune engraved, every steel plate he welded together: Viktor committed them all to memory because he knew now that every second was a gift, and he would cherish them until his time came. Even if he managed to save himself, he knew he would never forget this lesson - he would take it wherever he went, with whatever time he had.

He finished tightening the screw and leaned back with a shaky breath, reaching up and wiping the sweat from his brow as he looked over his creation.

Viktor didn't have a name for it yet, because what was the point of naming something that might not even work? Still, he couldn't help but feel a hint of pride; even in his current state, he was still able to build things, able to forge magic and steel into something beyond what Piltover thought possible.

Sat atop his desk, in the space the Hexcore once resided, was a backpack-looking device made of thin, lightweight pieces of steel, with adjustable leather straps designed to go around the shoulders. The arcane runes Viktor had hand-carved into the steel glowed with sapphire light, the power lines that ran across the surface of the device pulsing with that same power. And, at its center and exposed for all the world to see, was the single Hextech Gemstone that powered the device. It was only a little smaller than the packs explorers from the Academy would take into the wild, and it was almost certainly lighter as well. The sheer amount of Hextech technology he'd carefully installed in the backpack gave it some weight, but it wasn't enough to worry Viktor. He may have been weaker than a child at this stage of his illness, but he wasn't going to be climbing mountains or fording rivers in this thing. Even then, if this worked like he hoped it would, he wouldn't have to worry about it much longer.

Viktor had done a lot of research into healing magic over the past seven days, since Jayce had presented him with his Hextech Healer and given him one last shred of hope. But, for all that it could heal grievous injuries in minutes, it only accelerated the body's natural healing process. The device couldn't do anything for injuries that couldn't fix themselves, given enough time. And since Viktor's disease wasn't something he could naturally recover from, he was out of luck on that front. It was because there was too much dead tissue in his lungs, decayed by the airborne toxins that had stunted his growth and left him a cripple, and you couldn't heal something that was already dead. He'd been missing the final piece of the puzzle, that last bit of technology he'd need to save his life, and Viktor had been close to throwing in the towel.

That was until Ekko's presentation yesterday, when he'd given him the key to making this technology work without even realizing it. What did it say about him that time travel was the second best thing he'd seen yesterday. Jayce had raved about it the entire journey back to the Academy, even as Heimerdinger urged them to be cautious in the face of this discovery, but Viktor had been solely focused on this new transmutation technology. The filter Ekko built worked by taking unwanted chemicals out of the air, transforming it into energy and then turning it back into clean air, using small samples of both as templates for what was to be removed and what was to be created.

Viktor took that technology and adapted it to suit his own needs, developing a system that would turn the dead tissue inside his lungs into pure energy, before transmuting it into something easily disposed of outside his body. After all, turning the dead cells into living tissue only solved half the problem, because there wasn't a way for him to directly insert the material back into his lungs. Not without causing himself more problems. The best he could do was program the Hextech to fill the gaps in his lungs with the newly-created tissue, but that would be like slotting a piece into a child's jigsaw puzzle. Yes, the piece would fit perfectly, but it would never truly be part of the whole. The cells would die or shift before they could connect properly, and Viktor would end up with no lungs at all. Maybe he could have found a way around that, but why make things more complicated than they needed to be?

All he had to do was make the transmutation process slow enough that, by adding Jayce's healing technology into the mixture, his lungs would fill in the gaps fast enough that they wouldn't become a problem. It would also stop him from accidently starving himself to death if he wore the machine too long, because gods knew Viktor forgot to eat most days. As long as he kept to three relatively large meals a day, the machine would never draw enough to cause him harm.

It was a balancing act of technology that Viktor had never really attempted before, with Hextech or not. The devices he built usually had a single, predefined purpose, but this machine was quite literally him shoving two, very new and untested forms of Hextech together and seeing what stuck. He'd even tested the device on a variety of fungi, programming the transmuter to target the very structure of the fungus itself, all to see if the enhanced regeneration could keep up. It had taken a bit of fine tuning to balance the power distribution to the two parts of the device, making sure neither was more powerful than the other, but he'd gotten it to work after a little bit. Once he'd done that, the pseudo-degeneration was quickly counteracted by the device's healing magic, marking the closest thing Viktor would get to a clinical trial. He wasn't willing to test this on anyone else - human, animal, whatever.

If there was something wrong with this machine, like everything else he'd built in the pursuit of survival, then he would be the only one to suffer. Like it should've from the start, if not for his arrogance and obsession.

All that was left was for him to put it on.

Viktor reached up and pressed his palms to his face, muffling the groan that escaped his lips and rubbing his tired eyes. An almost forgotten fear grew in his gut, warring with the excitement that threatened to overtake him. The steel pack before him was a line he was just about to cross - the finish line if it didn't work, but if it did, it would be the starting line for the rest of his life. A life he'd dedicate to helping the people of Piltover and the Undercity. He didn't need his face on billboards or blimps, or to be given a seat on a council of sycophants and fools; that alone would be happiness enough.

He wanted to throw patience to the wind and strap on the machine, finally learning if he got to live or not, but there was just one last thing…

Viktor shifted his body to the right and looked over his shoulder, finding the large, round clock on the wall opposite him, and seeing that it was five minutes to one. With that, he relaxed back in his chair and closed his eyes, enjoying the peace of silence with what little time he had. Then, almost seven minutes later, the workshop door opened and Jayce hurried inside, looking around the room for a second before his gaze landed on Viktor.

He raised a hand in greeting as he eyed the clock, and Jayce huffed sheepishly, raising a hand to the back of his head. "Sorry, Vik. Councillor Bolbok was getting on my case about the resources going into the Undercity." He explained as he walked towards Viktor, turning and leaning back against the edge of the workbench with his arms folded across his face.

"I thought you'd gotten the Councillors in line?" Viktor rasped, raising his fist to his mouth as he coughed. Jayce shrugged his shoulders before reaching down and placing his hand on Viktor's shoulder, and he smiled, accepting the show of support for what it was. A month ago Jayce would've been at his side the second he started looking ill, pestering him about going to the hospital to get checked out, or at the very least getting some sleep. Now though, he understood that while Viktor appreciated his concern, it wasn't something he necessarily wanted. Even then, it had taken his best friend some time to get over Viktor's new leg. It took a lot of work getting his Hextech prosthesis to function properly, and that work had been painful to say the least, but he'd calmed down now that it wasn't hurting Viktor anymore.

Not that much, anyway.

"The Council, maybe", Jayce answered after a moment, his concerned eyes never leaving Viktor, "but Piltover's elite are heavily entrenched in the city's politics. Council business is their business, basically. I learned that after shutting down the Hexgate and tightening up trade restrictions."

"It's a necessary evil." Viktor said, but he wasn't sure if he believed that. Necessary evils were what got them here in the first place.

"One I want to fix as soon as things stabilize down in the Undercity." Jayce replied, his voice hard, and Viktor got the feeling they were on the same page about this. It had been Jayce's choice to get in bed with the various Houses and other business owners in Piltover, but it was either that or risk losing funding for Hextech - especially since he'd been forced onto the Council by Professor Heimerdinger and Councillor Medarda. "Anyways, some of the wealthier houses are getting wind of the situation down in the Undercity, and they're concerned about their investments. We've done our best to keep things quiet so we can prevent a panic and let Caitlyn and her Enforcers work without pressure from the public, but if word's reached the noble Houses, it won't be long before it spreads around Piltover entirely."

Viktor nodded with a hum, leaning back in his chair and looking to the roof for a brief moment. "I'm surprised the news hasn't spread already." He commented, and Jayce's gaze turned questioning. "Think about it. Vi and her position as Deputy is publicly known, and even I've heard how the public generally likes her right now, but so is her role as the chief of operations down in the Undercity. She takes her squad down there three times a day like clockwork, and considering how the Council usually only sent Enforcers into the Undercity when something's gone wrong, I'm wondering why people haven't been asking more questions. Even without all of that, you'd think the Houses would be a bit more on top of this. But the first we're hearing from them is a month later? I'm not sure about it…" Viktor trailed off with a heavy breath, forcing down a cough as he held his palm to his chest.

"I mean, think about how things have been all these years." Jayce retorted, sliding his hands in his trouser pockets. "The people of Piltover and the Undercity have always kept apart, save from the people like you or Vi who've crossed the river on a more permanent basis. Or idiots like me who go down into the Lanes to buy illegal materials, and get ripped off by the kid working the counter." He said with a laugh, and Viktor couldn't hold back his smile. From swindling merchants and wayward scientists to established leaders - Ekko and Jayce had certainly come a long way. "While I imagine everybody down in the Undercity knows about the war between the Chembarons and the escape at this so-called Dredge, why would any of them spread word up in Piltover? Even if they liked us, which they don't, who's to say we'd believe them?" Jayce let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his dark hair. "Look, people like stability - that's just how things are. And for most of the people in Piltover, the trouble is practically a world away. They'll only care when it starts to affect them. Until then, they'll just... bury their heads in the sand and go about their lives as normal."

Viktor eyed his best friend curiously, letting a couple seconds pass in silence. "That's… quite the cynical view on things. I wouldn't have expected that from you." He said cautiously, though he tried not to sound unkind.

Jayce snorted and shook his head. "Spend enough time on that Council and you'll start to hate people just a little, too. I'm not sure how Heimerdinger managed it for two hundred years."

"By remaining blissfully unaware of the underhand dealings going on, I imagine." Viktor answered for him, because as much as he respected the Professor, it was clear now he wasn't cut out for politics. It wasn't a slight against the Yordle, just a fact. "What about the Houses, then?" He questioned Jayce in an effort to get the conversation back on track.

"They've always preferred to keep their businesses in Piltover - it's good for our economy even if it costs a little bit more, and that's what they care about at the end of the day." Jayce continued. "At most, they buy raw materials from the mines down at the edges of the Undercity, but even then that's nearly secondary to their own mines in and outside Piltover. As long as they get their imports and exports, what do they care?"

Viktor thought on his words for a moment, before something clicked in his head. "This is about the Hexgate, isn't it? The break in there has made them take notice." He explained, feeling the raw twinge of frustration in his gut at the thought of the robbery. They'd worked hard to keep Hextech safe all these years, away from the people who might use it for ill, and it was now twice in nearly a month that it had been stolen from them. Especially since, the second time around, the Enforcers had barely any leads to go on.

Except for the lead that Viktor had kept quiet about, because he only knew one person who could make chemicals like the gas he'd examined, and he wasn't sure what the Doctor wanted with Hextech. He didn't know why he hadn't told Jayce or Caitlyn about it, either, only that he didn't want to betray the man who had tried to help him. That it didn't succeed wasn't his fault, and Viktor wasn't about to condemn him on nothing more than a hunch.

"Got it in one." Jayce answered, drawing Viktor's attention once more. "They're asking questions about our operations in the Undercity, and if Hextech is safe after that and Jinx's theft on Progress Day. It's nothing Mel and I can't handle, and it's not like they're trying to sabotage us or anything, but we're getting the feeling that some are trying to worm their way into getting access to Hextech. Not just the Hexgate but the technology itself, so they can have their own scientists and engineers build what they want, and, considering what I've seen from most of the Houses, it wouldn't be for the betterment of the city."

Viktor let out a tense breath as he nodded, running his hand down his chin as he thought the situation over. "Any Houses in particular, or are we talking about them in general?"

"Just one. The rest were only putting out feelers, trying to see how receptive we'd be to the idea of sharing our work like that. Mel says that's normal in a situation like this, and we won't have any real problems with them."

Well, as long as Mel says that. Viktor thought, though he would admit the thought was a little childish. That grudge ran deeper than it maybe should have.

"The House we need to keep an eye on is Clan Ferros." Jayce continued and, seeing the confused look in Viktor's eyes, quickly elaborated. "They're one of the oldest families in Piltover, and if the records are correct, they built their fortune by using Piltover as a trading hub. Noxus, Ionia, Demacia - you name it, they've got business there. From what Mel told me, they've got hands in most of Piltover's business, and apparently not all of it is above board. They were sending me requests to allow them unlimited access to the Hexgate, so their own 'security personnel' could ensure its safety."

"That is worrisome." Viktor intoned. "I know I'm not the most politically aware individual, but I feel like I should've heard of them."

His best friend just shrugged. "They prefer to stay out of the spotlight. They don't advertise their business or any of their dealings, and truth be told they really don't need to. Their wealth and connections means they don't have to rely on anything like that. I learned that from Councillor Kiramman in the early days of her patronage, but she never told me much more than that. No one really knows more than that." He said, turning and leaning on the workbench with a frustrated sigh, keeping his palms on the edge of the table. "All I've been able to find out is the names of the family members, but the only one who spent much time in public vanished about thirteen years ago."

"Oh?" Viktor asked, his curiosity piqued. "Anything important?"

"She was the Sheriff before Grayson took the position, which, if I'm being honest, I had no idea about before today. I guess I was a bit too focused on graduating from the Academy to really pay attention to that." He said with a rueful laugh, and Viktor chuckled as well. They'd both been a bit too obsessed with their work in the early days of their partnership, and Viktor wasn't afraid to admit he'd been much worse before becoming Heimerdinger's assistant. Maybe Jayce had been the same. "Apparently she was acting Sheriff during the Undercity's uprising thirteen years ago, not Grayson like I originally thought, but the Council fired her because of her use of excessive force."

"Excessive is an understatement." He mumbled, thinking of the stories he'd heard as a child in the Sump. "I know it was a protest that turned violent, and I know we have no idea which side fired the first shot or threw the first punch, but that didn't give the Enforcers the right to slaughter everyone there."

"Preaching to the choir there, Vik." Jayce nodded solemnly. "She told the Council at her hearing that, in the panic of the situation, her Enforcers mistook her orders of 'holding the line' to mean 'kill everyone from the opposite side of the bridge'. Even people trying to run away. I'll be honest, I think it's a load of bullshit, but I can't say for sure. Anyways, the Council fired her after Heimerdinger called for it, but she was never prosecuted for some reason, though I'm guessing it was because the Council didn't want to piss her family off."

"Funny that."

"Yep." Jayce grunted. "Then Grayson was promoted and the previous Sheriff basically disappeared from the public eye. No one knows if she's even still alive, because the Clan hasn't said anything about her since. Even her brother, the head of Clan, doesn't want to talk about her."

"What was her name?" Viktor asked out of curiosity, even if it probably wouldn't matter in the long run - if he even got that far.

"Camille Ferros." He answered in a heavy tone, before he visibly forced a smile onto his face. "But nothing will come of that as long as we don't have any more problems with Hextech like that. Caitlyn's upped the security on the Hexgate and the Academy so hopefully nothing happens, but I'm going to start looking into contingencies just in case." Jayce explained as he stood up straight, holding his hand to his jaw as his gaze fell on Viktor's newest and potentially final Hextech device. "Enough about all that. Is this what you called me here about?"

Viktor nodded and took a moment to stand, climbing to his feet with a huff of effort as he picked up his cane, having left it leaning against the workbench while he worked. "It… well, what it does isn't really important right now. All I care to say is that it may just save my life, and I would like you here when I find out." He said in as level a voice as he could manage, looking at the device and seeing Jayce's jaw drop out of the corner of his eye.

"This could cure you?" Jayce asked in a faint voice, reaching out and placing his palm on the Hextech backpack. "Seriously?"

Viktor smirked as he grabbed his newest device by the straps, lifting it up and pressing the small bronze button built onto its side. The top of the pack then split down the middle, turning a full two hundred and seventy degrees on its hinges before locking into place, and he angled the Hextech towards Jayce. His partner peered down, planting his palms either side of the backpack as he examined the device's interior. Vikto watched as Jayce's eyes narrowed before widening a few seconds later, and a disbelieving smile crept onto his face. "You've mixed Ekko's tech with mine, right? Transmutation and regeneration?" He deduced, and Viktor nodded. "That's incredible! I mean, obviously I don't know how this should work specifically, but I think I get the idea."

Jayce continued to inspect the Hextech backpack for another twenty seconds, and Viktor was more than content to watch him. He didn't know why but, for some reason, it reminded him of the early days of their partnership - where the joy on his face whenever he looked over Viktor's work was still new, filling him with pride instead of shame. Shame, because no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to make anything truly deserving of his praise. "I was hoping you'd help me put it on." Viktor spoke up after another moment of companionable silence. "I don't know if I'm strong enough to do it myself."

His oldest friend turned to him with a bright, proud smile, clapping a gentle hand to his shoulder before drawing him into a fierce hug. "'Course, Vik. You don't even have to ask." Viktor allowed himself to melt into the embrace, wrapping weak arms around his wide frame, before pulling away a moment later. Jayce just nodded, the brightest grin Viktor had ever seen settling on his expression, and he didn't have the heart to tell him not to get his hopes up. Then he turned and plucked the backpack off the workbench, shifting the not-insubstantial weight of the device with ease that amazed Viktor, even if it shouldn't have. Most people could've lifted this piece of Hextech without trouble.

I'd like to be strong like that, one day. Viktor couldn't help but think, before dismissing the thought entirely. None of that would matter if this didn't work - it was better to focus on what was happening right then, instead of in a future that he might not live to see.

Viktor turned his back to Jayce as he held the pack up to him, raising his right arm with a grunt and sliding his hand through the leather strap. He hefted his other arm after a moment, letting Jayce help guide it through the gap before reaching up and tightening the strap. Jayce stepped back and Viktor leaned heavily on his cane, the weight of the backpack affecting him more than he expected. He'd gotten so much weaker in the past few weeks; even weaker than he'd expected. Still, he was strong enough to stand under his own weight, even if it was with a literal crutch, and he forced himself to stand upright. "Push the gemstone in, please." Viktor asked, placing his left hand on his cane and shifting it directly in front of him, before looking over his shoulder.

Jayce nodded, his lips thinning as a faint concern entered his eyes, and he reached up with two fingers, pressing the arcane gemstone with a huff of air.

The hiss of whirring machinery filled Viktor's ears before fading into a gentle hum, before a warmth began to spread across his back. Viktor drew in a sharp breath and stumbled back, unprepared for the sensation, but he caught himself on the edge of the workbench. Jayce rushed forward and called his name, steadying him with one hand and reaching under the desk with the other, pulling out a metal stool and setting it just behind Viktor. He gently pushed Viktor down onto the seat, but he was too out of it to really pay attention, focusing intently as that heat washed through his chest and towards his sternum, before beginning to spread through his limbs and head.

For the first time in his life, Viktor felt strong. Not physically, he probably couldn't lift any more than he usually could. It was more like… like knowing your body could survive more than it previously could. He'd only built this device with his lungs in mind, but it looked like the arcane healing went a lot further than he first thought, and he didn't mind one bit.

Then the warmth touched his lungs, and Viktor struggled to make sense of the resulting feeling. It felt like the rest of his body, but there was something missing. A large gap in the space where his lungs were. At first, he thought that the device wasn't strong enough to reach the necrosed parts of his lungs, but he soon realized his mistake. The magic of the device had seeped into every living cell into his body, that was exactly what it was designed to do, but it couldn't affect cells that were already dead. That missing space wasn't missing anything - it was the parts of his lungs he was trying to fix.

Viktor waited ten seconds for something to happen, to feel any sign that something might change, but nothing happened. He waited twenty seconds, then thirty, forty, fifty, until a full minute had passed, and the magic coursing through him changed.

It was a small thing, so small he would have missed it if he wasn't focusing on it with everything he had, but the gap in his lungs, it shrunk. Less than a millimeter, so tiny that he'd be hard pressed to notice it if the device wasn't making him preternaturally aware of his body, but he knew it and tears formed in the corners of his eyes. Another minute passed and the gap shrunk the tiniest bit more, and he let out a sob. He was certain that, if he'd still been standing, he'd have fallen to his knees.

"Viktor?" Jayce asked, and he turned to him for the first time in what felt like an eternity. He was holding his fist in front of his mouth, his arms folded across his chest, and the look of hope in his eyes was too much to bear.

"Jayce…" Viktor choked, right as the tears started to fall, but the smile on his face was radiant. "I think I'm going to live."

A moment passed in silence and the weight on Viktor's shoulders, the tension in his heart, vanished without a trace.

Then they erupted into laughter and cheers, echoing off the stone walls of their workshop and filling Viktor's ears, and they didn't stop for a long, long time.

Viktor had never been one for celebration, seeing it as a waste of valuable time, but he had more than enough time right then.

In fact, he had the rest of his life.

So Viktor's cured!

Kinda.

He's got a ways to go, but, honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. But now that he's on the path to recovery, what on Earth am I gonna do with his character? Oh no, if only I'd planned for this…

Don't worry, he's got a hell of a story in the future, even if it's a lot subtler than you might've expected. Hell, I even spelled it out for you guys in this chapter. Bonus points if you guess what it might involve.

Truth be told, I'm just glad I got this chapter done tonight. Had an exam at nine this morning and got another same time tomorrow. Super fun. At least it's online. Then I've got three more this month and I'm done for the year. Cannot wait. Gonna bang out as much of this fic as possible in between my exams though, mostly because I am sooooo excited for the next three chapters. Like, the stuff that goes on is what I pictured when I first started planning this fic, back when I was gonna focus solely on Jinx.

Anyways, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you next time! Peace!