[ it isn't like silco doesn't have a point, there, and viktor's mouth twists; yes, he knows. they had justified it all at first with the fact that they needed money, needed investors, needed people to believe in this crazy dream of theirs — they had to do what was necessary to proceed. the fact they'd proven the theory correct meant nothing if they couldn't do something real with it.
and then they had. only, by then, the council had sunken their claws in too deep. ]
You don't need to mock me, [ viktor says, both acidic and tired at once, ] I know all too well how few people I have been able to save. [ ironic, the way he says this, only for silco to start speaking again... and his words make viktor fall silent in turn, the kind of silence that speaks of shock. ]
What? [ he shakes his head, then. ] No — [ no. no, there must be some kind of mistake — and yet, he thinks of the hammer, thinks of jayce saying i know so easily, so swiftly, with such guilt in his voice. back then, he'd been too focused on his own to pay it much mind. now, he can see it differently.
slowly, viktor leans his forehead against his hands. his voice is whisper-quiet and yet doesn't hide the way bone-deep sorrow drips from it as he says, ]
[Of course he understood the value of funding research, especially when it would directly benefit one's rise to power. There were pros and cons to all research, and the Doctor had been one of the best investments he had ever made. They understood each other and he knew they mutually benefitted, though the unfortunate fire had dampened some of their previous enthusiasm.
Everyone with money wanted the silver bullet, as it were. It was all part of cultivating control and profits within the system they had to play by.
However, that wasn't the interesting part. The silence that fell soon after was far more telling. So, the partner had not divulged weaponizing hextech and using it upon the people of Zaun? No doubt both of them had their own pressures, but given that seemed to be a fundamental caveat to Viktor's argument with him, it seemed to sound hollow now.]
Indeed, enforcers with Councilor Talis raided a shimmer production factory. He brought an impressive hammer with him for the raid. I'll admit I didn't think he had the stomach for direct action, but he proved me wrong. [He reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out a cigar case, letting Viktor grow uncomfortable with with the truth of their brokered 'peace' being built on the bodies of Zaunites and Pilities alike. He slipped a cigar between his lips and lit the end.]
He asked for parlay shortly after that. So the peace you touted about earlier? It came because of weaponized hextech, and your partner showed us exactly what our annihilation would look like.
[ enforcers with councilor talis raided a shimmer production factory. the words ring in his ears, looping over and over as viktor closes his eyes, sees the hammer resting against the wall, feels jayce's hand on his shoulder; something that causes him to flinch almost violently, eyes snapping open.
you promised, he thinks with a sinking feeling, something hollow and furious at once. ]
I see. [ did jayce regret it? is that what he meant, when he agreed so quickly to destroy what he must have assumed was the hammer? he can't know — what matters is that jayce had created it, without his knowledge, taken violent action without his knowledge, too. some things he had said in front of the council make more sense, now; back then, viktor had been too out of it to really put two and two together properly, but it seems almost laughably easy, now.
you promised.
there is something incredibly weary to him as he finally says, ]
It doesn't matter, anymore. Any chance of peace was gone the moment that girl launched the bomb at the Council. Jayce and I were there, trying to ask them to vote for an independent Nation of Zaun. Chances are we are both dead, along with the Councilmembers. So I suppose in the end, it was you who showed what real annihilation looks like.
[He felt no need to add any further to the scenario, instead pulling out his handheld device as if to check it the network was active again. He gave it a little shake like one might see an old person doing with technology they didn't understand, but in reality, he was turning on the video to take a few seconds of Viktor processing the information that he had provided.
It seemed that everyone had their secrets he supposed. They all did that. It was human nature it seemed, and other times, there simply wasn't time to divulge those little important details. Peace was, after all, a lie. There was momentary quiet while everyone caught their breath, and perhaps in some cases, the entire community moved as one but mostly it was people just surviving.
He turned the device in his hands before shutting it off again when Viktor spoke. He lifted his cigar to his lips and took a drag before blowing smoke from his nostrils.]
No, I suppose a pile of dead trenchers never mattered, did they? [He made a soft hum noise again.] Well, I am also dead, so welcome to that club. What's two more dead trenchers to top the pile, hmm? We'll be forgotten within the year, our legacies absorbed and overshadowed by bigger men. [Vander. Jayce. Some were just meant to operate from the shadows.]
I wonder how long before Piltover comes to punish what's left, or... [He trailed off, thinking of the pieces on the board.] The revolution has truly begun and we've set the course for our own mutual destruction.
No, [ he says, still staring at the floor and thus missing silco fiddling with the tablet — not that he'd have guessed him to be taking footage of this, regardless. ] Not to them.
[ and then he finally lifts his gaze, surprise evident. ] Wait, you are dead? How? I thought...
[ well. seems like it doesn't matter what he thought — whatever is going to happen to the undercity, neither of them will be there to see it... or help those left behind. he sighs; there is nothing to say to the part about piltover, about destruction, because they both know that is what's going to happen. topside won't forget nor forgive the attack, and zaun will suffer for it, one way or the other.
instead, he tilts his head and studies silco like he's a puzzle. ] I know who I am overshadowed by... but who is it that you are the footnote to, in the history they will write?
[And that was part of the problem. There was Piltover in their irony towers preaching and accumulating wealth, but the moment one of them suffered a single scratch, suddenly the corpses their towers were built upon had to add significant additions. They were lesser, their lives carrying less weight, less potential, less worth.
Silco would show them. He'd make them afraid. He'd make them see that their dead was as worthless as theirs. Them with their stupid gun salutes, candle ceremonies (like they were any different from Zaun) and their mass graveyards with pretty headstones. They had paintings that faded, statues that rusted, and bodies that rotted in the streets or worse....]
I died prior to arriving here. [The rest of the questions were unimportant. Zaun was in his daughter's hands and those of the Chem-Barons now. Maybe one of them could even hold something together.] And so did you, allegedly. So on that, it seems we're even.
[For the first time, his expression closed at the question, and he offered a nonchalant shrug. He had allowed the statue to be built out of respect for what he and Vander had once had, for the man the city had seen and still revered. Everyone needed their heroes to look to. Everyone else simply played their hand and hoped for even a single whisper of their name upon their passing.] History is only written by the victors. Perhaps you've walked by his statue. [He brought his cigar to his lips, ignoring the dull ache of twisted, soured memories.] The Hound of the Underground.
[ prior to arriving here. when that was, viktor isn't sure — there is nothing to indicate their timelines are anything close to similar. for all he knows, silco might be years in the future for him... but then, he'd know of viktor's death, wouldn't he? wouldn't have spoken of what jayce had done like it was something recent.
so his hypothesis? close to viktor's own demise, then. without any details, too, which means there is something there he doesn't want to disclose. interesting. ]
I did, yes. And if I did not, it will not be long. [ wryly, ] I'm sure you have noticed. [ that he is terminally ill, that is.
but, oh, what's even more interesting is the way silco's expression shutters at the question — but he does offer an answer to this one, at least, and viktor thinks back, back, back. ] Oh, [ he says then. ] The uprising. I was already attending the Academy then... but I have heard of him, yes.
[Oh, he knew the information about his untimely demise would surface sooner than later; after all, two people who had taken part in the event were here and likely better allies to Viktor than the younger man would ever consider him. He didn't care about his death much, but he also wasn't interested in having a discussion about it with someone who may relish his final moments as the other two probably had.
He knew that Jinx had fired that rocket shortly after his death, so if Viktor had succumbed to that event, his daughter was removing many obstacles in one night. He didn't fault her for it; it was the act he had been hoping for during his long jaded history with uprisings.]
Sump sickness, yes. You'll die suffocating on your own blood as your lungs fail. [It was extremely common in his generation; those that survived the hazards of working the mines died rather quickly of the sickness from the gases of the fissures. Almost all of the work crew he had worked with were dead.] Tale of your waning health has reached my ears long before we met here.
[He shrugged his shoulders at the explanation, tapping ash out in the nearby ashtray. The Day of Ash had been quite the event; so many died and those left had moments of wishing they were dead.] No doubt. Most at least know of him. It doesn't matter though; he died around the time you and your partner invented your... hextech.
[ he says nothing as silco lays out what would have been his eventual cause of death, had the rocket not gotten there first — but he does say, with a raise of his brows, ] I didn't know you so much as knew of me. Through the doctor, I presume?
[ well, no matter. they will never meet outside of this simulated place, anyway, dead men sitting here and talking. ]
Some time ago, then. Perhaps that explains... [ a lot of things — the state of the undercity, the rampant production of shimmer, the way he'd almost not recognised the lanes the few times he'd headed down there for one reason or another, during the past years.
slowly, he shakes his head. ] I see. And still, it will be his contributions that will be remembered, not yours.
[Oh, Viktor, that was an interesting and yet altogether false assumption. He had a far better placed spy in the midst of Piltover, though it was a mild inconvenience that Marcus had died. The man was reaching the end of his usefulness anyway, so it was a boon he died as he did on the bridge that night.] Perhaps, perhaps not. With my resources, I have many people in many places.
[That was, perhaps, a warning about this place as well. Silco had already developed a network of spies, though he was technically keeping his dealings to be nothing more than a pillar of the community serving and helping keeping the economy robust. However, like most things he touched, there was a rot eating through that because of ambition.
He shrugged his shoulders. None of this conversation was about him in his own mind.]
I have no issue being reviled. There are actions that need to be taken for a greater good. I don't care to be remembered. How important is it to you?
[ look, he has missed a lot — perhaps he'd heard of it, marcus' corruption, in the middle of all of it... but it doesn't register, not now, not when he assumes singed to be the more likely culprit regardless.
viktor quirks his eyebrow up, mouth twisting a little in wry realisation; yes, that is a warning, isn't it? silco would have people keeping an eye on others here, too. ]
No, I believe you do not. For everything else that might be said of the state of the Undercity now... I do believe you care for it. [ enough to be willing to be ruthless so that it would thrive. enough to be forgotten, if the undercity survives. ]
What does it matter? The world will not remember, however much or little I might want it to.
[Aldrip was little different; he had spies around the city. There were less petty squabbles, but they also still existed here. The Chosen couldn't help themselves but cause drama, and that was good for him in his pretend act of concerned citizen who was buoying the economy with a sense of stability. Yes, it could all crumble in a moment's notice, but the Council had no obvious reason to move against him.
He reached out and tapped his cigar on the ashtray as he blew smoke from his nostrils. It was and wasn't surprising that he survived and could still kill his body with toxins and yet this man looked about two steps away from death at any given moment. Some won, some lost.]
Zaun is my home; I've been fighting for it for as long as I can remember. Sacrifices are unfortunate, but how is it different what I have done compared to the companies that put us in mines, poison our water, our air, force us to live day-to-day, week-to-week. [He brought his cigar to his lips again.] I have no doubt you recall what that was like. That kind of childhood sticks with you like a brand.
[He gestured rather nonchalantly at Viktor.] Exactly, so there is no need to ego, only change. We could help each other in that regard, both of us being sons of Zaun.
[ some won, some lost, indeed. heimerdinger's words about those who burn the brightest do not make him feel better about his fate.
and as much as he wants to argue — say that violence isn't the way to fix things, it's never the way to fix things, that all violence begets is more of the same, and the same, and the same... and yet. he can't deny there is a part of him that understands where silco is coming from; understands that this is what piltover has done, in the end. after all — oppression only persists as long as there is no one to rise up to fight against it. monstrous actions only birth bigger monsters. ]
I remember, [ he says, before shaking his head. ] I do not argue against your wish for independence, for a Zaun that is truly free. But what you have done... shimmer may have brought you power, but has it brought happiness to the people? Is what the Lanes have become an acceptable sacrifice, too?
[ a pause. ] Answer that, before I decide whether helping Zaun is worth helping you.
[Negotiations had never been an option because they had tried. He and Vander had started with the mining companies that basically owned them, seeking to improve conditions, improve hours and even shift schedules and how minerals were collected. It had all fallen on deaf ears. No doubt he and Vander would have simply died in the mines if they hadn't been wily enough to reach for something else, smuggling in cigarettes first then moving to medical supplies, alcohol and whatever other vices they could.
They had bought their way out of freedom on the miserable backs of their brothers and sisters, but Silco never forgot. The 'accidental' cave-ins that nearly killed Vander, the sudden influx of Gray that nearly suffocated him to death, and the thugs that thought to kill them on their way back from their meager housing. Violence wasn't the answer, but it was a useful tool that one could employ with precision.
He flipped his book open again; the topic was always Shimmer, wasn't it? A gift from a man who had walked away from Piltover's elite schools where Viktor had been educated and shackled.] Oh, you believe the people of Zaun are happy before Shimmer? We exist in a cycle of chasing the small meager bright points that make life bearable. I gave people an opportunity to rise above the feeling of inadequacy and powerlessness. I let people feel a strength they had been denied all their lives.
[Within his lifetime, he and Vander had carved the Lanes out of the undercity. It existed because of their efforts, and while Vander was provided most of the credit, Silco had been right there making it happen. So had Felicia. It started with the Lanes and moved to the greater unification of the undercity to be Zaun.]
You will decide, will you? If you'd felt an actual inclination, you could have helped us long ago with your brilliance. Instead, you let another man dictate your path and left your people to rot. Did we have another choice but Shimmer, Viktor? Body modifications? Illicit trade deals? [He scoffed, snapping the book closed and tossing it on the table. He rose to his feet.] Don't you think you owe Zaun something other paltry words and good intentions? We can start with Aldrip, and maybe we can see if what you have to offer is worthy of Zaun.
[ does he believe the undercity is happy with it? no. no, and yet — perhaps this is yet another lie he tried to tell himself, another way to absolve himself of the guilt that lives inside his very bones; that at least he had not done harm like silco had. and yet... even with that, silco has done more for the undercity than he ever has.
his head dips in defeat. ]
You are right. [ of course he's right. of course he's right. ] I should have — I should have left a long time ago. I should never have... [ he trails off; he should never have let his affection for jayce keep him there, in piltover, shackled to the will of the council. if he'd left, what could he have achieved in the undercity?
no, perhaps better say, what couldn't he have achieved there? perhaps then shimmer would never have been a necessity. perhaps he could have taught others — jinx alone was ample proof that there were geniuses there, ones piltover would never accept but ones that could bring a change to zaun.
and he'd ignored all the good he could have done, for —
[It was easy for Piltover to put on its rose coloured glasses as long as the profits and produce kept churning out of Zaun as it always had. It was easy for the Chem-Barons as well, but they cared little for suffering of their own people as it made it so much easier to take advantage of a bad situation. Suffering was part of life; it built character. Silco had stepped out of that pressure pot a jagged bitter man, but he had dreams and vision and aspirations.
He wanted Zaun free, and he had been so close. The boy couldn't have known that the one object of Silco's affections that existed was the one thing that Piltover demanded. He would never give it up, and perhaps with time and effort, he could have put in a copycat. He could never stifle Jinx though, so the ruse likely would never have lasted.
Hope was dangerous in a place of misery. A sense of power doubly so.]
Don't focus on the past, boy. We have work to day now, and for the future of Zaun. Use the past to stiffen your spine. [Silco was well aware that he had Viktor, which was unsurprising for one who lived in the shadow of another. Viktor's weakness had not yet died as his had, but he had plenty to work with here.] You forged yourself and your skills on Piltover's gold. Now it's time to bring that education and those intentions back home, back to Zaun.
[He folded his hands behind his back where he stood, clasping one wrist in the other hand and his mismatched eyes met with Viktor's. The corner of his lip twitched in a faint smile, twisting the deep scars on the left side of his face.]
Build and imagine, Viktor. We need a stable energy source, and hextech had proven to not be effective here. Chem-tech doesn't exist. [And while they were on the topic of what he needed.] I think it would benefit us both to understand how this place works, the mechanics behind the illusion we all exist in. I will fund whatever research you do, build you whatever you need to accomplish these two tasks. We will see if you and I can work well together, and that will translate to saving Zaun.
[ use the past to stiffen your spine. yes, perhaps. he thinks of refuting the idea of bringing anything back to zaun — silco was dead, and he himself, too, so technically nothing he could do here would ever make it there... would it?
still. he could try. maybe, maybe, there would be a way. after all, whoever was strong enough to keep a simulation like this running was surely strong enough to do anything, right? anything at all... even send some dead men, or their souls, or whatever copy of them that had been created here, back to their original universe.
perhaps, perhaps. ]
A stable energy source, yes. I shall look into it. As for the mechanics behind this simulation... I will try, but I have been told it is not easy. [ then, wryly, ] That hasn't stopped me before.
[ and it won't stop him now. he nods. ] I will do this, Silco... but the only thing I will not do for you is build weapons. [ gripping his crutch, he pushes himself up to stand, too. ] And don't tell the others. I fear they might not... understand.
[ the others — vi, caitlyn. he has no intention of letting either of them know he's agreed to this... because they don't get it, he thinks, not truly. that despite everything, silco is the one who got closest to making a real difference in zaun. that out of them all, maybe silco is the one who truly understands: that for progress, you can't play it safe. ]
[Silco believed his legacy would return to Zaun, and with that, anything that they accomplished here could have an effect. He had no idea that the timeline had moved on well beyond his reach soon enough, that anything he planned now was wasted on a future that he would never seen or experience. Even his legacy would fade away to nothingness, but as long as Zaun was free, he cared little about a namesake.
They could start here, and perhaps they could build something out of this mess that resembled a little of their home. That would be worthwhile, if only to bring a comfort of what they had lost here.]
If it were easy, what would be the point of anything? The unrelenting pursuit invites imagination and even through failure, we will find successes.
[Silco considered for a moment that stipulation. He hadn't even cared for weaponry, not from Viktor anyway. There were other means and people to produce weaponry.] Oh, I have no use of you building weapons, Viktor. My daughter and no doubt your partner if he ever arrives will be able to produce such items instead.
[He made a point of jabbing the wound of Jayce on purpose. Who knew if the bigger personality would arrive here; Silco would enjoy having a more long-termed opportunity to take the man's measure.]
Secrets, hmm? As you wish. What we have will be between the two of us. Give me a list of what you require, and I will see to it that it is done in a timely manner.
[ he grits his teeth at the mention of jayce, again — but it's not like that particular wound can hurt any more than it already does, so he lets it go, doesn't rise to the bait. instead, he nods. ]
I will.
[ secrets, yes, because sometimes... sometimes those are the only way through. and if this really nets him the use of silco's funds in this place, well. sacrifices, sacrifices.
when silco goes, he stays in the little house, stares at the floor and wonders if he's made the right choice at all; but then, it's a choice he has to live with. that's all it is. and he supposes he will see, if it's right or not: whether it's a choice he should have made back home, too, or yet another mistake in a long line of them. ]
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expiationlogs2024-11-11 09:09 am
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and then they had. only, by then, the council had sunken their claws in too deep. ]
You don't need to mock me, [ viktor says, both acidic and tired at once, ] I know all too well how few people I have been able to save. [ ironic, the way he says this, only for silco to start speaking again... and his words make viktor fall silent in turn, the kind of silence that speaks of shock. ]
What? [ he shakes his head, then. ] No — [ no. no, there must be some kind of mistake — and yet, he thinks of the hammer, thinks of jayce saying i know so easily, so swiftly, with such guilt in his voice. back then, he'd been too focused on his own to pay it much mind. now, he can see it differently.
slowly, viktor leans his forehead against his hands. his voice is whisper-quiet and yet doesn't hide the way bone-deep sorrow drips from it as he says, ]
Oh, Jayce. What have you done?
no subject
Everyone with money wanted the silver bullet, as it were. It was all part of cultivating control and profits within the system they had to play by.
However, that wasn't the interesting part. The silence that fell soon after was far more telling. So, the partner had not divulged weaponizing hextech and using it upon the people of Zaun? No doubt both of them had their own pressures, but given that seemed to be a fundamental caveat to Viktor's argument with him, it seemed to sound hollow now.]
Indeed, enforcers with Councilor Talis raided a shimmer production factory. He brought an impressive hammer with him for the raid. I'll admit I didn't think he had the stomach for direct action, but he proved me wrong. [He reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out a cigar case, letting Viktor grow uncomfortable with with the truth of their brokered 'peace' being built on the bodies of Zaunites and Pilities alike. He slipped a cigar between his lips and lit the end.]
He asked for parlay shortly after that. So the peace you touted about earlier? It came because of weaponized hextech, and your partner showed us exactly what our annihilation would look like.
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you promised, he thinks with a sinking feeling, something hollow and furious at once. ]
I see. [ did jayce regret it? is that what he meant, when he agreed so quickly to destroy what he must have assumed was the hammer? he can't know — what matters is that jayce had created it, without his knowledge, taken violent action without his knowledge, too. some things he had said in front of the council make more sense, now; back then, viktor had been too out of it to really put two and two together properly, but it seems almost laughably easy, now.
you promised.
there is something incredibly weary to him as he finally says, ]
It doesn't matter, anymore. Any chance of peace was gone the moment that girl launched the bomb at the Council. Jayce and I were there, trying to ask them to vote for an independent Nation of Zaun. Chances are we are both dead, along with the Councilmembers. So I suppose in the end, it was you who showed what real annihilation looks like.
no subject
It seemed that everyone had their secrets he supposed. They all did that. It was human nature it seemed, and other times, there simply wasn't time to divulge those little important details. Peace was, after all, a lie. There was momentary quiet while everyone caught their breath, and perhaps in some cases, the entire community moved as one but mostly it was people just surviving.
He turned the device in his hands before shutting it off again when Viktor spoke. He lifted his cigar to his lips and took a drag before blowing smoke from his nostrils.]
No, I suppose a pile of dead trenchers never mattered, did they? [He made a soft hum noise again.] Well, I am also dead, so welcome to that club. What's two more dead trenchers to top the pile, hmm? We'll be forgotten within the year, our legacies absorbed and overshadowed by bigger men. [Vander. Jayce. Some were just meant to operate from the shadows.]
I wonder how long before Piltover comes to punish what's left, or... [He trailed off, thinking of the pieces on the board.] The revolution has truly begun and we've set the course for our own mutual destruction.
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[ and then he finally lifts his gaze, surprise evident. ] Wait, you are dead? How? I thought...
[ well. seems like it doesn't matter what he thought — whatever is going to happen to the undercity, neither of them will be there to see it... or help those left behind. he sighs; there is nothing to say to the part about piltover, about destruction, because they both know that is what's going to happen. topside won't forget nor forgive the attack, and zaun will suffer for it, one way or the other.
instead, he tilts his head and studies silco like he's a puzzle. ] I know who I am overshadowed by... but who is it that you are the footnote to, in the history they will write?
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Silco would show them. He'd make them afraid. He'd make them see that their dead was as worthless as theirs. Them with their stupid gun salutes, candle ceremonies (like they were any different from Zaun) and their mass graveyards with pretty headstones. They had paintings that faded, statues that rusted, and bodies that rotted in the streets or worse....]
I died prior to arriving here. [The rest of the questions were unimportant. Zaun was in his daughter's hands and those of the Chem-Barons now. Maybe one of them could even hold something together.] And so did you, allegedly. So on that, it seems we're even.
[For the first time, his expression closed at the question, and he offered a nonchalant shrug. He had allowed the statue to be built out of respect for what he and Vander had once had, for the man the city had seen and still revered. Everyone needed their heroes to look to. Everyone else simply played their hand and hoped for even a single whisper of their name upon their passing.] History is only written by the victors. Perhaps you've walked by his statue. [He brought his cigar to his lips, ignoring the dull ache of twisted, soured memories.] The Hound of the Underground.
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so his hypothesis? close to viktor's own demise, then. without any details, too, which means there is something there he doesn't want to disclose. interesting. ]
I did, yes. And if I did not, it will not be long. [ wryly, ] I'm sure you have noticed. [ that he is terminally ill, that is.
but, oh, what's even more interesting is the way silco's expression shutters at the question — but he does offer an answer to this one, at least, and viktor thinks back, back, back. ] Oh, [ he says then. ] The uprising. I was already attending the Academy then... but I have heard of him, yes.
[ does he remember his name? no, not really. ]
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He knew that Jinx had fired that rocket shortly after his death, so if Viktor had succumbed to that event, his daughter was removing many obstacles in one night. He didn't fault her for it; it was the act he had been hoping for during his long jaded history with uprisings.]
Sump sickness, yes. You'll die suffocating on your own blood as your lungs fail. [It was extremely common in his generation; those that survived the hazards of working the mines died rather quickly of the sickness from the gases of the fissures. Almost all of the work crew he had worked with were dead.] Tale of your waning health has reached my ears long before we met here.
[He shrugged his shoulders at the explanation, tapping ash out in the nearby ashtray. The Day of Ash had been quite the event; so many died and those left had moments of wishing they were dead.] No doubt. Most at least know of him. It doesn't matter though; he died around the time you and your partner invented your... hextech.
[The corner of his lip pulled in a snide smirk.]
One power fails and another rises, as it were.
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[ well, no matter. they will never meet outside of this simulated place, anyway, dead men sitting here and talking. ]
Some time ago, then. Perhaps that explains... [ a lot of things — the state of the undercity, the rampant production of shimmer, the way he'd almost not recognised the lanes the few times he'd headed down there for one reason or another, during the past years.
slowly, he shakes his head. ] I see. And still, it will be his contributions that will be remembered, not yours.
no subject
[That was, perhaps, a warning about this place as well. Silco had already developed a network of spies, though he was technically keeping his dealings to be nothing more than a pillar of the community serving and helping keeping the economy robust. However, like most things he touched, there was a rot eating through that because of ambition.
He shrugged his shoulders. None of this conversation was about him in his own mind.]
I have no issue being reviled. There are actions that need to be taken for a greater good. I don't care to be remembered. How important is it to you?
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viktor quirks his eyebrow up, mouth twisting a little in wry realisation; yes, that is a warning, isn't it? silco would have people keeping an eye on others here, too. ]
No, I believe you do not. For everything else that might be said of the state of the Undercity now... I do believe you care for it. [ enough to be willing to be ruthless so that it would thrive. enough to be forgotten, if the undercity survives. ]
What does it matter? The world will not remember, however much or little I might want it to.
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He reached out and tapped his cigar on the ashtray as he blew smoke from his nostrils. It was and wasn't surprising that he survived and could still kill his body with toxins and yet this man looked about two steps away from death at any given moment. Some won, some lost.]
Zaun is my home; I've been fighting for it for as long as I can remember. Sacrifices are unfortunate, but how is it different what I have done compared to the companies that put us in mines, poison our water, our air, force us to live day-to-day, week-to-week. [He brought his cigar to his lips again.] I have no doubt you recall what that was like. That kind of childhood sticks with you like a brand.
[He gestured rather nonchalantly at Viktor.] Exactly, so there is no need to ego, only change. We could help each other in that regard, both of us being sons of Zaun.
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and as much as he wants to argue — say that violence isn't the way to fix things, it's never the way to fix things, that all violence begets is more of the same, and the same, and the same... and yet. he can't deny there is a part of him that understands where silco is coming from; understands that this is what piltover has done, in the end. after all — oppression only persists as long as there is no one to rise up to fight against it. monstrous actions only birth bigger monsters. ]
I remember, [ he says, before shaking his head. ] I do not argue against your wish for independence, for a Zaun that is truly free. But what you have done... shimmer may have brought you power, but has it brought happiness to the people? Is what the Lanes have become an acceptable sacrifice, too?
[ a pause. ] Answer that, before I decide whether helping Zaun is worth helping you.
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They had bought their way out of freedom on the miserable backs of their brothers and sisters, but Silco never forgot. The 'accidental' cave-ins that nearly killed Vander, the sudden influx of Gray that nearly suffocated him to death, and the thugs that thought to kill them on their way back from their meager housing. Violence wasn't the answer, but it was a useful tool that one could employ with precision.
He flipped his book open again; the topic was always Shimmer, wasn't it? A gift from a man who had walked away from Piltover's elite schools where Viktor had been educated and shackled.] Oh, you believe the people of Zaun are happy before Shimmer? We exist in a cycle of chasing the small meager bright points that make life bearable. I gave people an opportunity to rise above the feeling of inadequacy and powerlessness. I let people feel a strength they had been denied all their lives.
[Within his lifetime, he and Vander had carved the Lanes out of the undercity. It existed because of their efforts, and while Vander was provided most of the credit, Silco had been right there making it happen. So had Felicia. It started with the Lanes and moved to the greater unification of the undercity to be Zaun.]
You will decide, will you? If you'd felt an actual inclination, you could have helped us long ago with your brilliance. Instead, you let another man dictate your path and left your people to rot. Did we have another choice but Shimmer, Viktor? Body modifications? Illicit trade deals? [He scoffed, snapping the book closed and tossing it on the table. He rose to his feet.] Don't you think you owe Zaun something other paltry words and good intentions? We can start with Aldrip, and maybe we can see if what you have to offer is worthy of Zaun.
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[ does he believe the undercity is happy with it? no. no, and yet — perhaps this is yet another lie he tried to tell himself, another way to absolve himself of the guilt that lives inside his very bones; that at least he had not done harm like silco had. and yet... even with that, silco has done more for the undercity than he ever has.
his head dips in defeat. ]
You are right. [ of course he's right. of course he's right. ] I should have — I should have left a long time ago. I should never have... [ he trails off; he should never have let his affection for jayce keep him there, in piltover, shackled to the will of the council. if he'd left, what could he have achieved in the undercity?
no, perhaps better say, what couldn't he have achieved there? perhaps then shimmer would never have been a necessity. perhaps he could have taught others — jinx alone was ample proof that there were geniuses there, ones piltover would never accept but ones that could bring a change to zaun.
and he'd ignored all the good he could have done, for —
he looks up, then, eyes meeting silco's. ]
What do you want me to do?
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He wanted Zaun free, and he had been so close. The boy couldn't have known that the one object of Silco's affections that existed was the one thing that Piltover demanded. He would never give it up, and perhaps with time and effort, he could have put in a copycat. He could never stifle Jinx though, so the ruse likely would never have lasted.
Hope was dangerous in a place of misery. A sense of power doubly so.]
Don't focus on the past, boy. We have work to day now, and for the future of Zaun. Use the past to stiffen your spine. [Silco was well aware that he had Viktor, which was unsurprising for one who lived in the shadow of another. Viktor's weakness had not yet died as his had, but he had plenty to work with here.] You forged yourself and your skills on Piltover's gold. Now it's time to bring that education and those intentions back home, back to Zaun.
[He folded his hands behind his back where he stood, clasping one wrist in the other hand and his mismatched eyes met with Viktor's. The corner of his lip twitched in a faint smile, twisting the deep scars on the left side of his face.]
Build and imagine, Viktor. We need a stable energy source, and hextech had proven to not be effective here. Chem-tech doesn't exist. [And while they were on the topic of what he needed.] I think it would benefit us both to understand how this place works, the mechanics behind the illusion we all exist in. I will fund whatever research you do, build you whatever you need to accomplish these two tasks. We will see if you and I can work well together, and that will translate to saving Zaun.
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still. he could try. maybe, maybe, there would be a way. after all, whoever was strong enough to keep a simulation like this running was surely strong enough to do anything, right? anything at all... even send some dead men, or their souls, or whatever copy of them that had been created here, back to their original universe.
perhaps, perhaps. ]
A stable energy source, yes. I shall look into it. As for the mechanics behind this simulation... I will try, but I have been told it is not easy. [ then, wryly, ] That hasn't stopped me before.
[ and it won't stop him now. he nods. ] I will do this, Silco... but the only thing I will not do for you is build weapons. [ gripping his crutch, he pushes himself up to stand, too. ] And don't tell the others. I fear they might not... understand.
[ the others — vi, caitlyn. he has no intention of letting either of them know he's agreed to this... because they don't get it, he thinks, not truly. that despite everything, silco is the one who got closest to making a real difference in zaun. that out of them all, maybe silco is the one who truly understands: that for progress, you can't play it safe. ]
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They could start here, and perhaps they could build something out of this mess that resembled a little of their home. That would be worthwhile, if only to bring a comfort of what they had lost here.]
If it were easy, what would be the point of anything? The unrelenting pursuit invites imagination and even through failure, we will find successes.
[Silco considered for a moment that stipulation. He hadn't even cared for weaponry, not from Viktor anyway. There were other means and people to produce weaponry.] Oh, I have no use of you building weapons, Viktor. My daughter and no doubt your partner if he ever arrives will be able to produce such items instead.
[He made a point of jabbing the wound of Jayce on purpose. Who knew if the bigger personality would arrive here; Silco would enjoy having a more long-termed opportunity to take the man's measure.]
Secrets, hmm? As you wish. What we have will be between the two of us. Give me a list of what you require, and I will see to it that it is done in a timely manner.
🎀 puts a bow on this
I will.
[ secrets, yes, because sometimes... sometimes those are the only way through. and if this really nets him the use of silco's funds in this place, well. sacrifices, sacrifices.
when silco goes, he stays in the little house, stares at the floor and wonders if he's made the right choice at all; but then, it's a choice he has to live with. that's all it is. and he supposes he will see, if it's right or not: whether it's a choice he should have made back home, too, or yet another mistake in a long line of them. ]