A/N hey beautiful people. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I've been home sick from kidney stones so here is my distraction. I have been getting wonderful reviews from some amazing people. :3 Yall are just wonderful. 3

(While the fifty first are busy infiltrating the compound of professor Stanwick)

She wasn't supposed to be here.

She had left her, no she had left them behind.

Why now of all times?

Gods, she needed to get her head out of the gutter. Her rough palms went through the unshaved side of her head. Her pink locks going in between her grimy fingers. The full moon broke through the clouds of fire and debris, basking in her neon pink hair. Beside her the metal fists, beckoned her to wear them and take them out to find that brat. She spat onto the rubble of a blown building. Her violet eyes trailed Caitlyn as her sheriff, knelt beside shrapnel from one of the bomb casings.

"It's Zaunite material," Vi scoffed as she pushed herself off the rubble piece. "It's made of different alloys then Piltovian metals." She knelt beside Caitlyn, her calloused fingers gliding over the smooth metal.

Caitlyn looked to her partner with a searching gaze. Vi took her eyes away from the sheriff, looking at the opposite direction to the remains of one of the buildings.

Vi had been more defensive and snarky then per usual. Her skull breaking attitude was lost to the winds of exhaustion. Dark circles shadowed Vi's violet hues, showing the stress and guilt clearly in her eyes.

Caitlyn gently grabbed Vi's jaw bringing her to face her partner.

"You know her?" Caitlyn asked quietly, watching the guilt wash over her. Guilt turned to bitter anger. Vi's jaw went taut as wire. Her nostrils flared.

"Figures." Vi spat. "Can't hide shit from you."

Caitlyn raised her eyebrow. "Vi." She warned.

Vi's lips pulled in disdain. She focused her eyes to the ground where a boot print held to the dirt.

That little, bitch.

She had never been like this. Never been this homicidal maniac. She was smart, caring, hell she lead countless successful jobs that gave a great payout, but this.

No.

It couldn't have been her.

This wasn't her.

Caitlyn could've heard the name wrong, or someone was copy catting, trying to get under her skin.

Fuck.

With a frustrated growl, Vi turned to a massive piece of rubble and slammed her fist into the inanimate object. She was shaking uncontrollably. Her muscles tensing, ready for a fight, ready to just bust heads and take names.

Caitlyn cautiously got up from her crouch. She came to Vi's front taking her brawlers hands gingerly, watching the blood pool from her left knuckles. She looked up to Vi who simmered in her stew of anger. With a gentle sigh she pulled out gauze from from her pocket and methodically began to wrap Vi's left hand.

"Talk to me." Caitlyn gave an assertive tone, keeping eye contact with Vi.

Vi tried to look away, but Caitlyn reached out, pulling Vi's face to hers. "I've been your partner for seven years, Vi." The sternness in her voice keeping Vi down from the roaring anger squirming under her skin. "Talk to me so I can help you get through this."

Being only inches away from Caitlyn, gave a wave of calm throughout Vi. If she could reach just a little bit closer she could-

Vi shook the thought out of her head.

No this was not the time.

"Is she one of the Gears? The gang you were in?" Caitlyn kept her tone quiet and gentle to not stir the already angry pot. Her thumb gently went over the VI tattoo on her cheek, trying to lull the brawler to a much calmer state. If only she could get to the tip of her toes and place-

Oh gods what was she thinking.

Vi nodded slowly, her breathing returning to something relaxed. Her shoulders sank low, an invisible burden weighing her down. "She was one of the younger kids. The ones that looked up to me." Vi muttered.

Caitlyn gave a thoughtful hum as her thumb went to Vi's jaw trying to relax the muscles there.

"We were pretty close." Vi's words became hushed. Violet caught Ice. "I never wanted to leave 'em, like I did. They didn't understand why I even left 'em in the first place."

Caitlyn nodded, letting her partner open up to her. Vi was the kind of person that hid things from the people she cared about, even if it meant hurting Vi more then the other person. It were moments like these that were rare. Vi was vicious, vindictive, violent.

She was never vulnerable.

Not like she is now, shredding off her armor to Caitlyn, and opening up.

Eyes studied each other, waiting for the other's next move.

Vi took a deep breath.

"Aww fuck it!" She blurted out before, she pulled Caitlyn in closer. She angled her self and placed her lips against Caitlyn's.

Caitlyn's eyes widened in shock.

Oh my, Caitlyn thought before her eyes fluttered closed and she returned the kiss. Her hands wrapped around her brawlers neck.

It's not like she had been thinking about this for the past few months.

Who was she kidding?

She had been thinking about this since the second day of working with Vi.

Vi broke the kiss, pushing Caitlyn back gently.

She coughed nervously and scratched the back of her neck, letting the blush form on her cheeks. "We should, uh, we should get uh...back to work." Vi turned on her heels placing her hand into the metal fists with ease. She sprinted forward following the boot tracks.

Caitlyn watched incredulously as Vi walked off. She shook her head from her daze her, hand on the hip holster of her pistol.

This was going to be quite the corundum to deal with.

(The next morning)

Deft hands.

Fingers moving in proficient speed. One circuit, two circuits, three circuits.

Lead fumes rose to her nose and goggle covered eyes.

A growl escapes her lips.

Wrong.

The sauldering iron's tip is placed by the metal gobbule melting it instantly. The air pipe sucks the gobbule up easily. She grabs a new wire and another line of lead. The music in her ears pounds angrily as she sways her head to the beat. The wire gets to the right position and with a satisfied smile she turns the motherboard around and places it inside the bug. She screws back on the metallic casing with a few turns of her slim wrists.

A hand claps her shoulder and she jumps about twenty feet off of her stool. She lashes out instinctively, trying to take out her attacker. She rips the earphones from her ears, her chest rises and falls as she looks at her brother who has her fist in a firm hold.

Elric looks exhausted.

His short blonde hair is in spikes around his skull. His usually bright lake blue pools, were half lidded with dark shadows under his eyes. His massive hands gripped the back of his shorts as he pulled them up. His exposed chest was hit by the early morning light flitting from Dakota's open window. His mouth was set in a grumpy line.

He releases her fist without so much of a Hmph.

"Why are you still up?" He asks through a thickness of sleep in his voice.

Dakota grins sheepishly. "Couldn't sleep."

He raises an eyebrow.

"No, you got obsessed again." He crosses his arms over his chest, his stance challenging her to argue. "What are you working on?"

Dakota scratches the back of her head looking over to the bug on her workbench. " A tracker." She says quietly. "It senses for heart beats. It looks for human heart rates and it specifies in looking for people buried under rubble."

Elric nods thoughtfully. "And you want to deploy it in Piltover."

Dakota nods slowly.

"We have a meeting with the mayor at o'seven hundred about the information we found. It's o'four thirty Dakota." He strides over to her work bench snapping the lamps light chain. It buzzes off. "If you don't get any sleep you won't be able to pitch this to him. Now get a little bit of shut eye, before I make you."

Dakota mumbles something grumpily about Elric being such a mom, making Elric chuckle darkly.

"I gotta be so that I can keep your weird ass from turning into a lifeless hermit, you door knob." Elric giggles pushing his sister into one of the empty beds. Beside them Abbie rolls over tossing a pillow at Elric's head.

"Would you two shut the hell up for like fifteen minutes," She hisses angrily.

Elric grins through his sleepiness. "Make me."

(As Abbie is shoving her foot up Elric's ass)

The puddle of drool pools on top of the paperwork. Each breath is repeated with a snore. Her face is pressed into her arms that lay crisscrossed on top of her desk. Beside her is a cooling cup of coffee, and a stale strawberry doughnut long forgotten to the doughnut gods. Her boots are resting up beside her desk, with mud and dust all over the area of leather.

On the opposite side of the room is her partner who is bent over reports from her busy overclocked officers. Her hand writing in elegant cursive as she signs each one off.

Caitlyn sighs as she grabs a schedule, filing through the names trying to find the right combination to keep her men fresh. As she scribbles names down next to time shifts, her eyes catch a roster. She cautiously looks to Vi, who is dead to the world. Her lips still buzz from there kiss. She let her thoughts drift to how close she had been getting to the brawler trying in some way to get Vi to realize the feelings she had been having for her.

Caitlyn shook her head.

Piltover needs her to have her mind out of the gutter.

She flashes back to the roster. The insignia of gears and a large golden 'P' rest at the top of the page. She hadn't gotten the chance to look at the names, or the units who will be involved in the aid. She remembers some of these names. Children she had found half dead on the street. Orphans who didn't have anyone to turn to. Orphans who were left out to die.

How long had it been?

How long had it been since Dakota had been home?

Her heart drops as her daughter's name is missing from the roster.

She places the roster down next to the time schedules. She gets up from her desk quietly, trying hard not to disturb the sleeping bear across the room from her.

She is in the squad room. A square like room with off white walls and sea grey carpet. At the far end of the room is a door that opens to a balcony. A large table sits at the middle of the room. She stands in front of the tea kettle, praising the god as it whistles. She lets the boiling water pour into the mug. The tea bag rises with the water. She looks to the watch on her wrist, counting down the minutes. She rips open a drawer, grabbing a spoon, then flings open the refrigerator door. She reaches for the milk. The metal tinks against the side as she removes the tea bag from the mug. She opens the milk bottle letting the white liquid pour into the mug, giving the tea a light brown colour. The spoon drifts a long with each stir of her wrist.

She steps out to the balcony. Her icy eyes taking in the sight of the broken city. The sky is still dark from the debris clouds and smoke. What once stood tall buildings shows buried civilization. She sips from the warm mug, letting the warm liquid lull her into a drift of happiness. Her eyes never leave the horizon as she continues, plans lining inside her head, as she formulates her next actions.

Today was a day to rise. Like the ashes of a phoenix. Piltover will be back to it's former glory.

But first sleep.

(O'seven hundred hours)

The mayor stands in front of the crisp soldiers. Their uniforms and stances in perfection to military conduct. Five pairs of eyes stare at the far wall as the Mayor walks past them. Behind him are two of his closest statesmen.

Peter Deramore's lake coloured eyes inspect each of the soldiers from head to polished boot. Their uniforms each tailored to their body types, giving them a wonderful fit. His eyes went over Elric a smile of pride glowing on his weathered face. He puts his hand out to Elric.

"Sergeant Sampson, the last time I saw you, you were but knee high to a grass hopper."

Elric gives his sunshine smile, and claps the man's hand giving a solid grip and shakes. Statesman Deramore then claps Elric's shoulder. "Your father would be so proud to see the man you have become."

His attention then shifts to Dakota, who stands stock still. "Corporal Sampson." Dakota's icy eyes go to lake blue. There is a sense of disgust that comes off the man, that practically hits Dakota like a ton of bricks. The man then gives an easy smile, masking something in his eyes, making Dakota's stomach do a flip. "You look just like your mother." It almost sounded forced.

Dakota gives a gentle smile. "Thank you, sir." She responds looking to the ground. There was something off about him, and she couldn't put a finger on it.

The man raises his eyebrows and turns on his heels to sit on the right hand side of his mayor. The commander then stands. "At ease fifty first." The call brings the five soldiers to their seats. The mayor begins his speech about his thanks for their service, and about the amazing ability that they had performed.

"You have gathered very valuable information that may help the course of Piltover's future defense." The mayors pipes up, pride laced in his voice. "With this evidence, we can bring Professor Stanwick to justice for what he has unleashed in Piltover. The leagues will surely be swift and furious."

The speech droned on. The mayor going red to the face as he damned the Zaunites to the lower ground. His palms slamming into the table. Elric looked to his sister with an expression that read. "What in the hell is this guy on". Dakota shook her head, unable to answer his silent question. As the Mayor's speech came to an end, he came around and shook the individual hands of the soldiers. Their commander dismissed them with a loud shout and the meeting closed.

Dakota waited for her comrades to leave the room as she came up to the mayor.

"Sir," She began politely holding out the Hextech bug. "I have something that might help with the location of survivors."

The mayor looked curiously at the girl. He gingerly picked up the tiny bug, analyzing every gear, cog and bolt.

"I converted it from an EMP system, sir." She began. "It flies around the area of rubble and tracks low heart rates. Usually survivors who are stuck or unconscious have slower heart rates, because they are conserving their energy. If you bring this out to the field it can help recover faster then most teams."

"How old are you?" The mayor asked. His sea green eyes set in a serious tone.

"I just turned fourteen, sir." She replies, keeping her chin up.

"A fourteen year old hextechnologist. Now I have seen everything." The mayor beams. He turns to his statesmen. "Deramore, your wife, do you think she could look over this before we put it out to the field?"

Statesmen Deramore looked to the bug. He pursed his weathered lips and nodded thoughtfully. "I will bring it to her when we return, Mayor."

"Good. Thank you Corporal Sampson."

Dakota was flabbergasted.

"Sir, I'm the only one who can pilot it. It uses complex command whistles. If you bring me back to Pil-"

The mayor gave out a throaty laugh.

"Listen my dear." He began, clasping the young girl's shoulder. "You are needed here. If we require your assistance, we will call upon your superiors, but for now you are on standby."

Dakota's hope fell.

"Of course, sir." She mumbled quietly.

(That night)

"Her wiring systems are impeccable." Professor Catherine Deramore said behind a large magnifying glass."Her crystal choice is also top tier excellence. She has done better then most of my graduate students, Peter."

Peter nodded thoughtfully from his leather arm chair. In his left hand, he swirled a dram of Bilgewater Dirt Whiskey. "Her instructors informed me that she is self taught."

Catherine squinted at her husband suspiciously. "Impossible."

Peter rose from his seat. He placed his right hand into the pocket of his pants. He stepped toward his massive bay window, watching the far off recovery teams pulling out survivors. The city had already began reconstructing in certain parts of the city.

"All the more reason to destroy it."