Chapter Text
~*~
At the end of all things, foreheads pressed tightly together, ready to accept their fate—whatever it may be, together—everything was loud, swirling colors—until it wasn’t.
Jayce felt himself slam into something solid with full force.
Then it was quiet.
An unknown amount of time later, Jayce blinked awake. He stared up at an orange-streaked sky. Was it sunset? Morning? A gentle wind sent shivers against his skin, but his hand felt warm. Jayce turned his head to see Viktor lying on his back right next to him. Their hands were still clasped tightly together. His partner’s hair was still that otherworldly shade of white just as it was in that place where they were floating amongst stars and souls and so many unknowable things. Jayce wondered briefly if he looked much the same.
Were they still there, in that place? Were they dreaming?
All that mattered was that he had his partner back.
The once Man-of-Progress squeezed his hand gently, and Viktor stirred, slowly returning to consciousness.
“Viktor.”
“Jayce?”
They both sat up slowly, taking in the state of each other and their surroundings—never letting go of their joined hands.
Firstly, Jayce observed, they seemingly had landed on soft dirt, surrounded by tall grass which flattened and flared out from them in a circle as though they were at the center of a huge blast, which—perhaps they were. Even a few nearby trees appeared to have been knocked down and splintered. But that may not have been the strangest thing, the grass—it was a deep purple. Parts of Viktor actually blended in so well that he seemed to melt away into their surroundings.
Which brought Jayce to the next realization, they were both very much naked. Whatever the anomaly did to them, it apparently decided to consume their clothing instead of their souls. Viktor was looking far more like his old self, thankfully, Jayce thought. His eyes raked up and down his partner’s form while Viktor was distracted—deep in thought staring at the unusual landscape. The smaller man’s chest and above no longer had any hint of discoloration left. The unnatural shade seemed to recede to the elbows and below— down to the skin of his fingertips. Jayce noted that his partner’s good leg looked completely normal now—human, but the other? The metal of the brace was visibly merged with the dark metallic skin in a way that looked painful—Jayce honestly couldn’t tell the difference between machine or bruise.
When he looked back up at Viktor’s face their eyes locked. Jayce had been caught staring.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about his partner’s appearance though might be the four shimmering dots on Viktor’s forehead which were decidedly not there before they were spit out into this place. Wherever they are.
“Is there something on my face?” Viktor asked, trying for levity, watching the other man’s eyes as though he was studying him.
Jayce huffed a small laugh. “Yes, actually,” he replied, gesturing vaguely to his forehead. “There are these bright spots—”
“As do you,” Viktor interrupted, frowning slightly. “But that doesn’t—those are my fingerprints, why would I—I shouldn’t have them too.”
“Maybe,” Jayce trailed off, glancing at the sky. Contemplating. They were still holding hands. Viktor’s fingers gently moved against his knuckles. “Maybe I pressed my forehead so tightly to yours that they kind of— rubbed off on you?”
Viktor blinked a few times, giving the other man an appraising look, then shrugging. “Eh, I suppose that is as logical as anything else about our current quandary.”
~*~
When the two men eventually stood up—various pains twinging in both their bodies, finally letting their hands fall away—something additional fell from their grasp, landing flat in the dirt.
The crystal.
Eyes wide, they both stepped back as though it had burned them. The rune swirled a bright blue for just a moment before fading to nothing.
“Jayce,” Viktor warned, looking concerned as his partner approached and cautiously picked the object back up.
The larger man turned it over in his hands, but the stone was quiet and dull once again.
“Jayce.”
Viktor looked nervous.
“Are you— alright?”
“No,” Viktor answered honestly after a long pause.
Jayce nodded slowly, and after a moment’s contemplation, used one of his bare feet to rake back the soft dirt, then dropped the rune into the shallow hole, covering it up with care.
“Let’s find shelter,” Jayce suggested.
His partner simply nodded, thoughts obviously elsewhere.
~*~
“I don’t think we are in Piltover anymore,” Viktor said as he watched his partner pull at one of the fallen trees, back muscles rippling in a captivating manner. A few beads of sweat trickled down Jayce’s tan skin from the exertion.
It was warm out—not too hot, and the occasional wind brought with it a pleasant chill. It seemed a small blessing then, that they were tossed into such a temperate climate considering their lack of clothing or anything to shield themselves from the elements. Though there was a chance the dark of night could change that and bring with it the cold.
Jayce grunted as he finally managed to free a good size branch, offering it over to Viktor who found himself staring at those large, strong hands for several lengthy seconds before accepting.
Then Viktor gazed upward, steadying himself with the branch as though it were a staff. The sun was high and the sky was still orange, not a single trace of blue to be found.
“Perhaps not even Runeterra,” Viktor continued his thought, causing the other man to pause what he was doing. “We’ll know for sure once we observe the stars tonight.”
The landscape was eerily silent beyond the sounds of their voices. The grass and trees rustled lightly in the wind, but they were in a large clearing next to an expansive forest. There was no birdsong, no chirping of insects, nothing. It was disquieting.
The crack of Jayce ripping off another branch was almost deafening. Viktor watched his partner test it out in his hands, walking a few steps with it and showing visible relief.
“Better?” Viktor asked.
Jayce nodded. “You?”
Viktor tightened his grip on his new staff. “It’s perfect.”
~*~
Initially Viktor suggested that the two head off in opposite directions to increase their changes of finding shelter, food, water, signs of civilization, anything. Jayce immediately shot that down—he wasn’t about to let his partner out of his sight now that he finally got him back.
The two scientists didn’t speak much as they walked side by side, too focused on just putting one foot in front of the other. Jayce longed to hold Viktor’s hand again, but unfortunately if he wanted to walk without doubling over in pain he really needed both hands on his walking stick.
It was about thirty minutes or so into their exploration that Viktor suddenly stopped.
“Jayce, do you hear that?”
“Water!”
The two followed the sound with haste until at the forest’s edge they came upon a small waterfall situated above a cave that fed into a little creek. The water was some of the clearest that Viktor had ever seen.
Without hesitation, Jayce dropped to his knees next to the flowing water and dipped his entire face in.
“You must have been thirsty,” Viktor commented as he watched the other man slurp down gulps of water.
“Aren’t you?” Jayce asked with a grin, slinging his head back, hair sending droplets of water flying.
But Viktor found himself frozen at his reflection in the clear water. He reached up and lightly touched the markings across his forehead that Jayce mentioned earlier. “I suppose.”
Jayce watched as his partner slowly crouched down and meticulously cupped his hands in the water, bringing it to his lips, taking some tentative sips.
Then Jayce turned to take in his own appearance reflected back in the water—white hair and forehead markings matching Viktor’s. Despite everything, he found himself smiling.
“You seem in good spirits,” Viktor said, in between drinks of water.
Grasping the tree branch again, Jayce moved closer, splaying a warm hand across Viktor’s back. The smaller man shivered slightly from the contact.
“I have my partner back. We’re alive. We have water, shelter,” Jayce said pointing over at the cave. “Once we find something to eat, we’ll have everything we need.”
“You make it sound so simple.”
“Maybe it is.”
Viktor’s mouth quirked upward. “And clothing?”
Jayce chuckled, cheeks darkening. “Who needs pants, really?” He joked.
“I do,” Viktor replied, leveling Jayce with a look.
Something about his partner’s expression made Jayce want to splash water at him. So he did.
Viktor blinked as cool liquid dripped down his hair and face, before raising an eyebrow in challenge and splashing Jayce right back.
The two eventually ended up fully in the creek, completely drenched—which actually felt quite nice.
For a brief moment in time, they were able to forget.
Viktor noted that there weren’t any fish.
~*~
The two spent the rest of the daylight hours alternating between searching for food together and resting their legs. But it was all for naught.
“I’m tired, Jayce.”
The sunset turned the sky green.
“Me too. We’ll—we’ll try again tomorrow, V.”
Their stomachs growled.
A creeping sense of dread settled in as the first stars started to peek through the atmosphere.
Jayce sat next to the other man on the soft grass and fiddled with a small stick, drawing in the dirt just to have something to keep his hands busy.
“What are you drawing?” Viktor asked, one knee drawn up under his chin, close to his chest, making himself small. His other leg couldn’t bend as well.
“You,” Jayce replied suddenly changing the direction of the strokes.
Viktor furrowed his brows leaning closer with curiosity. “Why?”
“You’re beautiful.”
“Jayce.” Viktor shook his head and buried his face in his knee.
“Viktor—hey,” Jayce said, taking his partner’s hand into his own, giving a reassuring squeeze.
“What?” Viktor asked softly, meeting Jayce’s eyes.
“Look, it’s done. Tell me what you think?”
Jayce watched as Viktor studied the drawing as if it were a particularly challenging equation.
“Eh,” he replied with sudden mirthful look, “I’ve seen more impressive dirt renderings by Zaunite children back in the day.”
Jayce scoffed with mock offense before they both started laughing.
“You’re lucky you’re my partner, V.”
“You say that like it means more than it does.”
“It means everything.”
“Jayce—” Viktor started but was cut off by a harsh cough, followed by another.
“V—” Warm hands were at his back, at his side, as his lungs struggled for breath. “V!”
Viktor gripped his partner’s arm with a purple-streaked hand. “Water—”
Despite his leg screaming at him, Jayce practically dragged Viktor over to the creek and set him down by the edge, helping to splash water on his face as his partner caught his breath.
He convulsed a few more times before settling. A trickle of bright, red blood traveled down the stream and out of sight.
“Water,” Viktor said again hoarsely, shaking.
Jayce scooped up the cool liquid and offered it to Viktor who drank directly from Jayce’s hands. The relief was immediate.
“Viktor.”
“I’m fine, thank you, Jayce.”
He was most certainly not fine, but Jayce found himself distracted by the lingering feeling of Viktor’s soft lips against his fingers, and he very much longed to believe him.
~*~
Night had fully settled in now, and the temperature had noticeably dropped. The two scientists huddled close to each other in the clearing outside their cave, gazing up at the star filled sky.
The more they looked the more bewildered they became.
“Anything?” Jayce asked.
“No, you?”
“No. Not a single point of reference that I can recognize.”
“It is as I feared. The constellations are completely different.”
“But V— what about the different views from different hemispheres—”
“I took that into account Jayce,” Viktor sighed heavily. “We must face the fact that we are far, far from home.”
Jayce pushed his hand back through his hair. “I’m thinking there’s two possibilities.”
“Three actually.”
“I haven’t even told you my theories yet.”
“I know the way you think, Jayce.”
Jayce smiled widely at that. “Let’s hear it.”
Viktor picked up a small stick and made notes in the dirt as he spoke.
“First possibility, we are in an alternate reality where the stars are different—grass is purple—sky is orange. There is precedent for that regarding the way the anomaly has behaved before.”
Jayce nodded along, listening carefully, hanging on his partner’s every word.
“Second option, we are in the same reality, just at a different point in time—far past—far future. Depending on the timescale, the appearance of the environment could be this different, perhaps. Also not out of the range of possibility with the anomaly.”
Jayce closed his eyes, his leg aching at the memory of that dark, far future.
“Lastly, and unfortunately based on current evidence the most likely, we are in the same reality, same time, but a completely different planet.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that, V.”
“Eh, you had also reached the same conclusion.”
“What are we going to do?”
“For now—sleep, and hope that tomorrow we don’t starve.”
~*~
In preparation for bed, Viktor managed to get a meager fire going inside the cave while the other man made several trips back and forth piling tall grasses onto a comfortable, dry spot for them to sleep.
Initially Jayce had started laying two separate piles but Viktor stopped him.
“It will be more efficient if we lie together,” he had explained. “It is getting colder, the fire won’t be enough.”
“Okay,” his partner said in response, voice sounding strange, pink coloring his cheeks.
Once Jayce declared their bed sufficiently made, Viktor found that it honestly looked nicer than a few places he had ended up sleeping as a child in the undercity—he kept that thought to himself.
The small fire flickered brightly as Viktor set his makeshift staff against the cave wall and lay down, Jayce slowly slotting in behind him, close but not touching.
“Viktor.”
“Hm?”
“Are you cold?”
Viktor shivered slightly.
“Can I—?”
“Yes.”
Warm arms enveloped Viktor as their bodies touched back to chest, legs intertwining.
“Better?” Jayce asked letting out a shaky breath, face nuzzling into his partner’s hair and neck.
“Hm.”
The white noise of the waterfall soothed them to a peaceful sleep.
~*~
Harsh coughing woke Jayce up in the middle of the night.
“Hey—Viktor—hey!”
“I’m—ugh,” Viktor managed as his partner rubbed soothing circles into his back.
“I’ll get some more water,” Jayce said, grabbing his tree branch and scrambling outside.
At the creek’s edge his eyes scanned the skyline one more time, hoping against hope to suddenly see some familiar stars.
Instead, he spotted something odd—one of the stars appeared to be moving.
Now, Jayce had seen meteor showers before, this wasn’t that. This falling star wasn’t moving in a straight line, and it wasn’t fading away.
It was getting closer.
“What the hell?” Jayce gaped in disbelief as the flying object approached. It wasn't like any air ship that he had ever seen. He couldn’t tell what it was exactly, if it was of magic or if it was man-made but regardless it was a chance of a hint of civilization, and it was heading directly towards the spot in the distance that they woke up that morning.
“Viktor!” he yelled as he scrambled back to the cave to excitedly share what he had seen.
“Jayce, slow down,” his partner said hoarsely in between attempts to clear his lungs.
“I know what I saw!”
“Then we must hurry! Go Jayce, I can’t move as fast as you!”
“But, Viktor—”
“Go! I will be right behind you!”
~*~