Chapter Text
His eyes blinked open slowly, his gaze meeting the cold roof of the cave above. A twinge of misplaced nostalgia hit Viktor in that moment. It was the same bed he’d woken up in as a child. Lost and confused with the worst headache of his life. He took his time sitting up. The makeshift lab in the cave was empty. Singed must have stepped out. His only company was poor Rio, who was still in suspended animation. Her blood being used to create the drug that was flooding Zaun.
The door to the cave was shoved open by Singed’s shoulder “Ah. You have awoken. That is good”
“How long was I unconscious?”
Singed shrugged setting down a case of vials that glowed a bright purple “About three hours” he informed the Omega “I apologise for shocking you so. It was not my intention”
Viktor shook his head “Well, fainting wasn’t something I thought would happen-” a harsh, rib-wracking cough suddenly hit. Hard enough that a small bit of blood splattered onto the cave floor.
The doctor raised an eyebrow “You are dying” he stated simply
“Nothing gets past you, does it doctor?” Viktor huffed pulling himself to his feet “I should get going. Jayce must be worried by now”
He'd barely taken a step before Singed spoke again “There may be something I can do to help” he announced getting Viktor’s attention “I have kept an eye on you over the years. You have done well for yourself. You clawed your way out from the Undercity. Created a life for yourself in Piltover. Even have a Mate and children. You would not want to lose all that to something as mundane as dying”
Viktor frowned but his curiosity won out “What are you saying?”
“This Hexcore that I’ve heard about. It fascinates me. I would like to see it if possible”
Viktor sighed “That may be difficult to accomplish” Another harsh cough escaped him “We have reached a roadblock in our research. All the subjects wither and rot after contact with the Hexcore. I don’t know what it is I’m doing wrong”
“Perhaps it is not your calculations that are incorrect, but your test subjects” Singed mused “Nature has made us intolerant to change. But luckily, we have the capacity to change our nature” he held out a glowing purple vial of liquid
Viktor glanced at the offered drug “And this is... Shimmer?”
“A variant. It should provide everything one needs to survive a violent transition” his eyes softened “I had intended Shimmer to be a cure for my daughter. Overtime, I lost my way. Used it to hurt people in the name of science” he looked at Viktor carefully “I must warn you. If you take this path, they will despise you. Those who cannot understand will condemn your actions”
Viktor hesitantly took the Shimmer “Jayce will understand”
“I hope he will” Singed sighed “...about your family” he began “I can tell you where to find your father, if you so wish”
Viktor looked at him, both hopefully and suspiciously “Why would you do that?”
“Because I know the look of a doomed man. It would not be fair if you died without making peace with your past”
“... Where is he?” Viktor whispered clutching the vial of Shimmer to his chest
Singed spoke “There was an incident in the Lanes not long after you passed out. Vander has disappeared but I can tell you where to find him. Though I would avoid the Last Drop for the time being. It’s... not a pretty sight at the moment”
Viktor looked confused “What on earth happened while I was asleep?”
---
(Three hours ago)
“No...” Howl whispered, shaking his head utterly horrified “No, no, no, please, no...” His sister was no better. Gripping Howl’s shoulders from behind to steady her shaking legs. The crowd had gone mute from shock. Eli just stood there, trembling and panting after finally confessing his worst secret.
Suddenly, Mei gasped “Oh my god... Is that why Uncle Gamina died?” She asked her father. Tears welling in her eyes “Is that why killed himself? Out of guilt?”
“I’m gonna be sick” Howl muttered feeling his stomach lurch
The stunned silence from the crowd quickly shifted to murmurs of disbelief and outrage. All the while Vander was just standing there like something had broken inside of him. Finally, after several tense moments, Vander spoke “What. Happened” it was a demand, not a request.
Eli sighed shakily “The - the day of the raid, Gamina and I, we – we never planned to hurt him -”
Vander’s voice boomed “What! The hell! Happened!?”
“We - we were planning on using him for ransom!” Eli exclaimed garnering more disgusted noises from the crowd “We figured you’d pay anything to get him back, and we were going to use the money to get the hell out of this cesspool... But then he got loose and...”
Howl finally snapped “For fucks sake dad, just tell him” he pleaded
“... And he fell... into the ravine” Eli almost whispered but enough people heard him. Including Vander.
Vander’s eyes had already gone Alpha red, but now they were glowing like the hottest pits of hell themselves.
The woman who had been screaming earlier now cried out in horror “The ravine!? That’s nearly a hundred-foot drop”
“Wait, that -” Mai stammered, her mind racing “If Viktor fell into the ravine, then...” she turned to her brother “Who have we been seeing in Piltover?”
Another wave of shock and confusion rippled through the crowds “Piltover?” someone asked “The hell are you talking about?”
“Because it is him” Eli sighed in defeat “I genuinely thought the fall had killed him. But then I saw him at your Mating Ceremony... and I knew. Janna, I knew it was Viktor”
Mei shook her head in disbelief “So the Zaunite on the Council really is Viktor”
“Wait, Councillor Talis is Viktor!?” a third voice from the crowd exclaimed “How did we not know this?!”
In a flash, Vander lunged. Pinning Eli to the ground “You motherfucker!” he roared punching Eli over and over again in the face “That was my son! My son!”
“Vander! Vander, stop! You’ll kill him!”
Multiple hands grabbed at the raging Alpha and managed to pry him off the weaker Alpha “Get the fuck off me! The bastard deserves to die!”
“No one is denying that Vander, but killing him won’t do any good” Howl stated, shooting his injured father a glare that could melt ice
Vander yanked himself free of the people holding him back “Where is he?” he demanded Howl “Where is my son? Tell me, or so help me I’ll-”
“Or what?” Howl snapped “Please, tell me what you’ll do. Especially in front of your daughter. You know, the one cowering behind those two boys right now”
That snapped Vander out of his rage. He whipped around and saw Isha hiding behind Claggor’s leg. Barely able to look at him without flinching. His own daughter was scared of him. Vander shuddered a breath “I... I need to go”
“But what about the attack -”
But Vander was already walking away with the air of a man whose whole world had been tilted on its axis. With their leader now out of the picture, the plans for the attack were shelved for the time being. Not that anyone had the fight left in them. Eli’s confession had left them all in disbelief. The crowd quietly dispersed until only Eli and his children remained.
Eli slowly clambered to his feet “Thank you...”
Howl shook his head, his fists clenched “That wasn’t for you. I just didn’t want Vander to be a killer on top of everything else” he jabbed a finger into Eli’s chest “How could you?” he whispered brokenly “All these years you watched him suffer, and for what? Why the hell did you even target Viktor in the first place?”
Eli, through a busted eye socket and bloody nose, said in a quiet tone “... He looked so much like you”
And in truth, it all boiled down to that. Viktor had reminded Eli of his son while he was missing. And back then, full of anger and hatred, Eli saw Viktor not as an innocent child but as a reminder of what he had lost.
Howl shuddered in disgust “You are never seeing Adrian again” he declared “As of today, he no longer has a grandfather”
Eli stared in despair “No. Howl, please. You can’t -”
“Let's go” Mei said coldly “There’s nothing left for us here”
Meanwhile, Izara stumbled out of her home with an expression of the kind of panic only a worried mother could bare. The shop was empty. Carina was nowhere in sight. And what was worse, some of her daughter’s clothes were missing. More specifically, the dress she had made for her daughter. One Carina only wore on special occasions.
---
Night had fallen by the time Jinx and Caitlyn reached the bridge connecting the two cities. By then the barriers had come down and it was supposed to be a simple walk across the bridge so they could get back into Piltover.
“Are you alright?” Caitlyn asked quietly, noticing Jinx was walking with her arms wrapped around herself
Jinx shook her head “No. I can’t stop thinking about Vander. About Viktor” she sighed as they walked “He’s mourned Viktor for longer than I’ve been alive. I think the shock genuinely kill him”
Caitlyn reached across and patted her arm “It’ll be ok” she promised “We’re going to go back to Piltover, find Viktor, and -”
A flash of light blinded them “Jinora Chambers” an Enforcer spoke through a megaphone. The light had come from several spotlights directed on them. Dozens of Enforcers stood behind him “We have orders to bring you back to your parents. Come willingly or we have permission to use force”
Caitlyn was stunned “What are you doing? The Enforcers have no right to -”
Jinx grabbed her arm shaking her head “Cait, stop” she whispered “There’s no point. They’re not here by Marcus’s orders, they’re here by my parents orders”
“Last chance, Miss Chambers. Come willingly or we will use force”
Jinx stepped forward “Alright, alright” she raised her hands in surrender “Just leave her out of this. She hasn’t done anything wrong”
The Enforcer raised an eyebrow “That remains to be seen. This will be reported to Captain Markus. Now get in the carriage”
The carriage which was pulled by horseback was not the one Jinx was familiar with. It was black with wooden seating inside and the small windows had bars on them. Jinx was shoved inside with force. The doors promptly locked from the outside. That’s when Caityn saw it. The words were painted on the back in distinct white paint.
Piltover’s asylum for the Mentally Insane
“Jinx!” she cried rushing towards the carriage but several other Enforcers stopped her “What are you doing!? She's not insane, her parents are -” she was smacked across the head by a but of a rifle. She collapsed to the floor clutching her head. When her senses returned, she could hear Jinx screaming for them to let her go as the carriage set off. The Enforcers surrounding it like an armoured guard.
Caitlyn couldn’t take them alone. It would be suicidal. But she knew someone who could.
With that in mind, Caitlyn turned on her heel and ran back the way she came. She had to find Ven.
---
There was one place in Zaun where Vander could find peace.
He and Silco had found it way back in their mining days. It was one of the few places where the smog didn’t cloud up the sky and you could actually see the stars on clear nights. Vander came here to think. To understand. To quell his urges. Seeing Isha’s terrified face had been the only thing that had snapped Vander out of his rage. Knowing he caused fear in his daughter was a shame he’d never wanted to feel. He was supposed to be her protector, instead he nearly spiraled into becoming a killer right in front of her.
Vander looked out at the view, seeing Piltover in the distance. The golden city that had taken so much from him. He still could not wrap his head around it. Viktor. Alive. All this time. And in Piltover no less.
And apparently a Councillor too. Vander could only imagine Silco’s reaction when the Omega inevitably gets wind of it. He’d likely be even angrier than Vander if that was possible.
He closed his eyes and breathed in deep, then hung his head as he leaned against the railing “Where are you, Viktor?”
From behind, he heard quiet footsteps along with the sound of a cane clacking against stone. Vander just sighed. Even now, his mind was playing tricks on him “Sorry, Mate. I’m in no mood to talk right now” he announced to whoever was behind him.
The footsteps came to a halt “Excuse me? Are you... Vander?” the person asked, male with a thick Zaunite accent
“I am. Who's asking?” he asked not looking back
“... My name is Viktor” they said and Vander’s whole body grew cold “I think... I think you might be my father”
For a moment, Vander’s heart stopped beating. His shoulders tensed and a full-body shudder shook him to his core. He closed his eyes, steadying himself. Preparing for it all to be a cruel prank or his mind finally giving up on him.
He turned around at last.
A man stood before him, leaning his weight heavily on his crutch. He was thin with pale mole dotted skin. His hair a soft brown and in wild waves. And his eyes... Vander knew those eyes. Knew that face as well as his own. Older and sharper, but undeniable. “Pup...?” Vander whispered
The word sparked a memory in Viktor. One that had been long forgotten. He blinked back tears as a word formed in his mouth. A word he’d not spoken since he was ten years old. This Alpha wasn’t his father. He was his -
“Papa...” Viktor almost whimpered
Vander crossed the gap between them and engulfed Viktor in a tight desperate embrace. The tears finally fell as Viktor hugged him back. His crutch falling to the ground forgotten. Vander buried his nose in Viktor’s hair. The scent filling his senses once more. This was his son. His missing pup. Finally, back in his arms. His body shook with silent sobs. “You came back...”
The warm embrace, the familiar scent, brought everything back in rushing waves. Long buried memories finally broke free in Viktor’s mind. He could remember everything clearly for the first time. What were once fragments now crystal clear. Faces that had been blurs were now defined and recognizable.
Memories like watercolor paintings come to life. Of laughter and love. Of his Papa helping him with his projects. Of Silco, who Viktor now remembered he used to call Mama, lovingly nursing him when he was sick. Of his aunt and uncle and little Vi. His cousin who became his shadow.
“I’m sorry” Viktor wept “I’m so, so sorry...”
“Why are you sorry? You came back. That’s all that matters” Vander said soothingly
Viktor shook his head “I forgot everything. I couldn’t remember you. Why aren’t you angry?”
Vander looked at him with his own red-rimmed eyes “Because I’ve never stopped loving you, Viktor. You’ll always be our son. The best thing that ever happened to us. Me and Silco, we’ve dreamed about this moment” he embraced Viktor once more “I can’t believe you’re really here”
The Omega just let himself be held. For just this once, he allowed himself to be selfish.