[This wasn't real. Something was wrong, he was forgetting something critically important. It wasn't real. It wasn't...real...]

What about-...Jayce, I killed so many people, I-

You know that wasn't you, V. And if the Council wants to make it a problem, I'll handle it. Just trust me, okay?

[How could he ever do anything else? The staff in his hand clattered to the floor, Viktor stepping forward for a tight embrace with thin mechanical arms.]

Woah--okay, easy, I've got you. [Jayce stumbled back half a step at the sudden impact, hands moving around a delicate inhuman frame. The same all-encompassing affection he'd always showed, burning with the warmth of summer sunlight.]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. All that I've destroyed, abandoning you after all you did to help, I-...

[He couldn't leave. Not again.]