"Viktor! Come on!" Amira giggled, running down a slim alley way with her friend.

Zaun was a cold and dark place, not very welcoming, the air wasn't clean, and surely was not the safest place for children. Many of its citizens struggled in different ways. Amira and Viktor were very young. When Amira lost her parents, they found each other. Viktor was alone when it came to friendships, no one wanting to be around him. Amira changed that narrative for him. The two were best friends. They did not have much, but they had each other.

"Now- Amira, I am going as fast as I can here!" Viktor limps, his crutch in one hand, breathily laughing at the girl's enthusiasm.

"Sorry- Sorry I forget sometimes..." Amira stops in her tracks, waiting for Viktor to catch up.

"It is alright- where are we going then, Amira?" Viktor says, stopping in front of her.

"I don't know." she shrugged, looking around. "Just exploring I guess."

"Well then, we can walk, no?" Viktor catches his breath.

"I suppose so. Sorry, Vik." Amira was significantly shorter than him, but looked up and put her hand on his shoulder.

Viktor chuckled at the nickname he was given. "It's alright, Amira. What is it we're exploring? I fear we've seen a lot of the undercity already."

Amira smiled, like she had gotten an idea. "Why don't we look around for more things you can use for your... uhm... creation... things?" she grinned, beginning to look around the alley for any scraps of something.

Viktor was quite smart, he was able to make things out of nothing, and surely, if he was raised in a better situation, he would have a very bright future ahead of him. Due to the circumstances, he doubted he would ever get there. But, the two would always discuss how they would make it out of here one day, Amira always assuring it would be him. She would say, "You're destined for greatness, Vik!" They deserved better. Both of them did, and Viktor understood this fact the most. He wanted to do what he could to get Amira out of this. Compared to Viktor, Amira was average intelligence for a girl her age, especially a girl in Zaun.

"That'd be wonderful, Amira!" Viktor smiled. The two were the best of friends, always looking out for each other. They were all they had. They were always going to be there for each other... right?

"Okay uh... what about this?" she exclaimed, picking up something off the ground.

"Amira, I believe that's a banana peel." Viktor sighed.

"Oh whoops!" she threw it away from them.

"It's okay- we'll find something!" Viktor reassured her.

After a few minutes of searching around for different things, Amira broke the silence.

"You're so interesting, Viktor!" she looked up at him, her hands on her hips with a hint of sass.

"Pardon?" Viktor furrowed his brows.

"No- I mean- you're so- talented! And smart! You can do all these things despite your condition and it's so cool! I'm telling you Vik, if anyone's getting out of here it's you!" she grinned, coming up to hug the boy.

"Amira, if I were to leave, I could not imagine leaving you behind. If you're not well off, what's the point of me even trying!" Viktor hugged her back as well as he could.

---

"How is it flying?!" Amira looked up in amazement at the small prototype airship Viktor had made.

"It's the propellers, see- Oh! Go catch it!" Viktor's eyes widened as the toy had begun flying out of his reach.

"I got it!" Amira began to chase after it, as it was going a lot farther than expected. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, only having her eyes on the airship.

Finally, she jumped up and caught it. "I got it- Oof!" she exclaimed on impact, accidentally bumping into someone.

"Sorry, mister-" she rubbed her head, looking up at that man. He was rather large, but he had a smile on his face so he seemed sweet.

"That's alright little one, just be more careful!" the man patted her head, "What have you got there?"

"Just something my friend made- I'll see you around mister!" Amira ran back towards Viktor.

"I got it! I got it! Not even damaged either, still in good condition. This has got to be your best one yet, Viktor!" Amira laughed, running towards her friend, with a large grin on her face.

"I'm glad! I'm so happy it worked."

"Of course it did... you're a genius, Vik!"

---

"You're a genius, Vik."

He was a genius. So of course it made sense when a couple years later, his work caught the attention of a professor from the Academy of Techmaturgy in Piltover. He was 19, Amira was 18. When Viktor got the offer, he immediately wanted to tell Amira, he was so excited, and surely it meant they would both get out of there. That was until he informed it was just for him, meaning, no one else would be brought from the undercity under the orders of the Academy, only Viktor.

He would have to leave immediately, he wouldn't have the time to explain to her, or he would lose his offer. Amira was off at the Last Drop when he got the news, chatting with Vander and its patrons. He was panicking. Anxiety filled him. He tried to tell the Professor of his concerns, not wanting to leave the girl behind, in response, the Professor reassured him.

"I'm certain she would understand, young man. Leave her a note or something. Once you grow- make a name for yourself through the academy, you can come back for her."

"I can come back for her..." Viktor thought to himself. "Of course I'll come back for her."

He nodded at the Professor's response, grabbing a paper and quickly scribbling a note for her.

"Amira,

It's Viktor. Amira, I'm getting out of here. The Academy is quite fond of my work, and wants to help me grow in the art of science! I'll be back for you, Amira. And we'll get the life we deserve, topside! We're going to be okay. I'm going away for sometime, but I'll miss you, Amira. Dearly.

Love, your dearest friend,

Viktor."

Viktor had forgotten to give her a reason as to why she was not able to come with him, and that would be his biggest mistake. He folded the paper up, and wrote her name on one side of it. He placed it on the small table in their little home, and grabbed the bag he had already packed.

"Shall we be off then, Viktor?" The professor smiled.

Viktor nodded again, leaning on his cane with one hand, and a bag in the other. Off to do something with his talents. Help others. Help himself. Help Amira.

As Amira walked back to the small home she shared with Viktor, she didn't notice him and the professor walking away in the distance. She simply walked through the door, looking around and not seeing her friend.

"Vik? Where are you?" Amira continued searching, before stumbling upon the note on the table with her name on it. "What is this- some kind of scavenger hunt?"

She unfolded it, only reading the first line before pausing.

"I'm getting out of here."

Amira's thoughts began spiraling. "But we swore- we wouldn't leave each other- ever..." Amira put the note down, neglecting the rest of it. Tears were brought to her eyes. How could he just leave? Leave her? She walked out of the home, shouting for him, before realizing he was too far gone already.

"Viktor!" she sobbed quietly. She was alone again. He was all she had. How could he do this to her?

When she read the rest of the note, she sobbed even harder. She was happy for him, but how could he just leave her? Especially the way Zaun was headed. Crime was more apparent every day, even the Enforcers from the topside were getting involved.

One thing was known to her, she would wait impatiently for the day Viktor would come back for her.

---

As the days and years went by, her waiting soon turned to hatred. She could barely stand the thought of Viktor. He had left her, and he didn't seem to be returning. Amira was now 23. 5 years had gone by since she last saw Viktor, and she was not doing well. She hated him, and was sure that if she ever did see him again, it wouldn't end well. Amira was left to fend for herself, their income came from Viktor selling his small creations and knick-knacks. After a year or so, she stopped hanging around the Last Drop, beginning to feel like a burden to Vander.

Amira turned into your common thief. Stealing money, or things she could make a profit off of, from her fellow Zaunites. It wasn't ideal, but she had to do what she had to do.

As she ran from her last heist, she stopped in an alley way, to catch her breath.

"Well, well-" a voice from the shadows was heard.

Amira immediately took out a knife from her pocket, holding it in the direction of the voice.

"Don't worry. I mean no harm." the voice chuckled.

"What do you want?" Amira's voice was shaky. "If you're going to kill me or arrest me, for- my- this- just know- this is the last thing-"

"I'm not going to do any of that. I want to help you, Amira." the voice was deep, but you could tell he was smiling as he spoke, like he had something up his sleeve.

"Help me- how are you going to- how do you know my name?!" Amira stepped closer with the knife.

The man came out of the shadows. Amira sucked a breath in at the sight. He had a deep scar covering the left side of his face, his eye was quite disfigured, and a frightful sight to take in.

"I keep tabs on the criminals of Zaun." he chuckled. "I can help you- you're struggling, I know this. I'll provide for you, as long as you work for me-"

"Who are you?" Amira's grip on the knife got harder, many thoughts racing throughout her head.

"You can call me Silco."

~

𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐘𝐀 𝐘𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐀 𝐘𝐀𝐏!
Okay so heres the prologueeee! shes short and the tiniest bit rushed but its really here to provide some background for the first chapter :)
also PSA guys dont hate viktor. it wasnt his fault its piltover and the academy and all that jazz. we love viktor in this house 🔥
I LOVE YOU ALL TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES!!!