(Au; When the explosion in the Council Room happened, Jayce died instead of Viktor.)

Viktor has been staring at the coffee cup on the workbench for the last two hours. The lab was exactly as they left it before the proposal, and he hadn't brought himself to change anything. It was his, technically, according to Jayce's will. A lot of things had been left in the event he died, things Viktor didn't expect. Viktor was always supposed to die first. His illness was terminal, it was supposed to be terminal. He was supposed to die in that explosion, not Jayce.

So, he stared at the ghosts of his partner, at the empty chair, and he got to work. Hextech was another thing Jayce left behind, a dream he left to Viktor. He was sure now, as he stared at the Hexcore, cane in hand, that it was some sick joke.

At least, until he messed with the magic when.. someone else was. They intertwined each other, the blast knocking both him and the other person backwards. He knew that face immediately. "Jayce?!" Oh, Gods - what did he do? What did he pull off?