Chapter Text
In the midst of smoking and screaming voices, Jayce Talis finally found his partner, hunched over, sitting against the rails of the bridge. His face was scrunched up in thought, seemingly unaware of his surroundings, but Jayce knew that Viktor was actually watching closely- with every crash of glass and debris thrown, he noticed his partner flinch ever so slightly. It was a barely there reaction- concealed by a defense mechanism he had developed long ago. An innate knowledge that he couldn’t show fear, but also perhaps born of his disregard for the danger surrounding him in general. Sighing and rolling his eyes, Viktor seemed more like a man impatiently waiting for a late train than a man stuck in the middle of a violent protest.
Jayce bristled. Why was he out here now, of all places, of all times? He thought Viktor was out consulting others on his condition- a ticking clock that was weighing down the both of them. Not messing about, looking like he had all the time in the world. As he approached, his partner looked up at him in indignation.
“Jayce, what is this?” He sounded genuinely confused. Anger spiking, Jayce bit out his reply. “Do you have any idea how this looks? I order a blockade, and my own partner violates it!” Not only that, but he had put himself in a precarious position- no matter how Viktor tried to hide it, he had noticed him hiding his bloody handkerchief in his vest.
Viktor’s confusion didn’t abate. “ You ordered this? Why ?” He said the words like it made no sense to him at all why Jayce would do such a thing. Like he wasn’t a Councilor, like it wasn’t his duty to keep people safe.
“There are people down there that seem hellbent on destroying us! What were you doing?” He responded with indignance of his own. How could Viktor not see the obvious?
“I was consulting a friend about our quandary- I told you I knew someone.” Viktor’s tone was souring by the moment. It was like Jayce had just asked a rhetorical question.
“You didn’t say they were from the Undercity!” He shook his head in disbelief. How could his partner have just gone off on his own to who-knows-where while he was so ill? His thoughts were soon interrupted.
“What difference does that make?” Viktor’s voice softened a bit, but it did nothing to cool Jayce down- at this point, he was already so worked up from the stress and anxiety of his day-to-day to think clearly. The words slipped out without any thought.
“What differen- They’re dangerous !”
Viktor looked at him like he’d just spit in his coffee and then dumped it all over his research notes. Barely concealed anger flashed through his eyes as he bit out “ I’m from the Undercity.” Like it was obvious- and it was. Jayce winced. Why had he said that? Sure, there were plenty of criminals in the Undercity, but Viktor wasn’t one of them, Viktor was his partner- “Y-you’re right…” He tried to offer a hand to him as he got up, but it was slapped away, Viktor staring at it like he was being presented with spoiled meat. “I’m sorry. I’ve had a lot on my plate… Was your friend able to help?” Viktor looked back at him coldly. “No. No, he said nature was resistant to this sort of… tampering.” His tone was flippant and offered no room for further questions. Jayce felt his heart sink. Had he really gotten nothing at all? Trying to steel himself for Viktor’s sake, he put a hand on his shoulder. Viktor tensed at the touch, but didn’t pull away this time. As his fingers pressed into Viktor’s shirt, tracing a dangerously sharp shoulder blade, Jayce felt a little sick at how thin he really was. It was sobering.
“Alright, we’ll keep at it.” He tried to sound comforting, but something else slipped into his voice too. A thin layer of sadness. It was pathetic, really, how this whole situation seemed to bother Jayce more than it actually appeared to bother Viktor himself- it was like he was resigned to the idea of death, like it didn’t even bother him anymore. That made him nauseous, if he was being honest, but Jayce Talis didn’t have the liberty to go sit down and sort himself out right now. He didn’t have the liberty to do much of anything, not with the pressure the rest of the Council was putting on him, especially Mel. The blockade had been a long time coming, if he was being honest. He was surprised they hadn’t pushed for it sooner. But seeing the scene here today hardened his heart a bit. This senseless violence…
Viktor suddenly stopped, falling back behind him. A crash echoed in his ears- and then heat, searing, licking at his heels, made Jayce gasp. The fine hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up as an ear-piercing shriek cut above the din of the crowd, far too pained and much too close to his ears to make any sense. Signals shot up his spine, trying desperately to tell his brain to run , to distance himself from the threat that Jayce hadn’t yet consciously registered. Struggling to turn his head, he fought against every life-saving influence evolution had given him just to identify the source of the horrendous noise.
The sight that met his eyes was enough to make any grown man scream.
Viktor, his Viktor, was on fire. Flames crept up his sleeves, burning the fragile skin that laid underneath. Whatever had been thrown ( Molotov, his brain supplied, ) had hit the ground mere inches from where Viktor had been standing just moments before. Now, he was curled up on the stones of the bridge, wailing and trying to crawl desperately towards Jayce. His hair was singed at the edges, a few strands remaining alight and giving him a false halo. Tears and blood splattered the ground and Viktor’s gasps turned to coughs, and then returned to screams in a hellish loop. Jayce rushed to his side, pulling him as far from the flames as he could. Viktor’s shoes had melted to the pavement, and made a sickening squelch sound as he was picked up.
Panting, Jayce slapped Viktor’s clothes, ignoring the burning sensation as his palms snuffed out the remaining flames. The exposed skin between his shoes and the end of his pants blistered an awful red, and Jayce’s fingers shook as he pulled up the charred remains of his partner’s shirt, exposing blisters and heated metal. Viktor’s screams had quieted to a gurgling cough, his chest heaving with every breath. The effort of expressing his pain had drained him so quickly it was as if his strings had been cut as he laid in Jayce’s arms.
“Viktor? Viktor! Answer me !” He cried, shaking Viktor perhaps too harshly- all he got in reply was a tiny shout of pain, and quiet sobbing. His partner’s face was shock-white as Jayce gently turned his head to face him, blood staining his lips, eyes blown wide and unfocused. That face which while untouched by the burns, expressed all the pain of them nonetheless.
“ Viktor ! Oh, oh god - someone get me a medic!” Jayce screamed, voice hoarse. The Enforcers surrounding them went into full panic mode, their captain screaming to attack, to subdue the protestors. In all the chaos, a gunshot went off. Viktor’s eyes cleared for a moment as he whispered something inaudible.
“Viktor? Buddy, what are you trying to say? Please, just hold on-”
“ -on’t… shoot…” Viktor whispered weakly. He lifted a hand just slightly, as if to push someone out of the way. It laid heavily on Jayce’s chest. Full of fear, he turned back, to the sight of the Enforcers shooting into the crowd, pushing people back with no regard for their safety, smacking them over the head with their batons like it was a bloody sport. Shaking, Jayce felt himself lose control of his body. Curling instinctively over Viktor to protect him from the violence, his throat was tight with tears. Even now, all the man was worrying about was others, and not himself.
“S-stop! Please, you need to-” Jayce choked, trying to grab the leg of one of the Enforcers passing by. They kicked it on instinct, before looking downwards and balking at the sight of one of their Councilors nursing a bruised hand. They looked at him like he was crazy.
Trying to muster up his voice, Jayce opened his mouth once again. “Everyone, stop! I demand you retreat immediately!” He poured all the authority he could manage into those words. A few low ranks stopped, confused and fearful. But their Captain screamed back.
“Ignore him! You don’t follow that flounce's orders, you follow mine! ” Spit flew from his mouth, and the few Enforcers which had stopped their assault continued. Jayce felt arms grab him, trying to wrestle Viktor from his grasp.
“ No! Don’t you dare! ” He pleaded, feral instincts pulsing through his veins. They couldn’t take Viktor from him- he needed him, he was hurt -
“Sir, he needs medical attention!” A faceless lackey tried to convince him, but Jayce wouldn’t relent, positioning his whole body over Viktor’s. If they wanted him, they would have to go through him first. Baring his teeth like a rabid animal, Jayce refused to leave his side. Eventually, a real medic arrived, and paled immediately at the sight of Viktor, laying delirious upon his stomach. Jayce pulled back slightly, allowing the Enforcers pulling at him to shove him backwards to the ground. Screaming, he vowed to make their lives a living hell after this was all over. Nobody paid him any mind.
Pushing as close as he could, his eyes caught the sight of Viktor in full, and he wept. Burns slashed across the backs of his arms and legs, weeping blood and serum. His clothes were charred, and the smell of cooked flesh permeated the air. Shuddering, Jayce found himself losing his lunch all over his front. Gagging, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sight as the medics cut off his shirt, exposing the places where his brace had burned deep into his skin. Those marks were the worst; with such little flesh on his body in the first place, Viktor’s thin shoulders were now visible down to the bone. Red beads of blood emerged and poured down the slopes of his back, painting him in a sickly shade of red.
The smoke was making Jayce dizzy- he couldn’t imagine how bad it would have been for Viktor, especially laying on his chest as he was. Feeling his legs give out, the last thing Jayce heard was the shouting of the Enforcers holding him back as he hit the ground.