(Based on Hemlocketrove's PJO AU. My idea: Viktor is a kid of Athena who uses his wit to survive, where his physical ability fails. He still uses the cane, but the handle can turn into a dagger as needed. I think, as a child of Athena, he has the ability to read minds like a telepath. In this au they're childhood friends and see 16 and 17. MY TAKE ON THE TARTARUS SCENE JAYVIK STYLE!!)

As they dangled over hell, Viktor couldn't think. It was the first time he was left blank. Fear was something he should've felt. Possibly for himself, after all, he was probably going to die. Yet, he didn't care. Not as his hand slid down from his partner's, the man he loved so dearly. He heard him trying to reassure that he was going to be okay, but that's not what scared him.

What scared Viktor was the way Jayce was dangling as well, the way one shaking hand held them both. The way he was beaded with sweat, determined to hold them both. Viktor looked down to the fire and brimstone, to the screams of monsters below them. Knowing that this was it, he was at peace with himself. "You have to drop me," he called out, Czech accent thick with emotions he couldn't place. "No." Jayce's voice was just as emotional. He could place it, though. Desperation, grief, determined. "No. Out of the question," he strained. "Jayce," Viktor tried to reason, begging with his amber eyes. He could sense it, the moment Jayce made up his mind, before his hand let go of the ledge. Before he entangled him into a hug. "We're staying together, Viktor."

Viktor thought he'd be dead, and yet.. he woke up. In Tartarus, but alive. His ears rang, his cane gone. Oh Gods, this might be worse than death.