The Sheriff and The Soldier

by Nightly73

When Zaun threatens Piltover with war, Piltover Company must react, but will The Sheriff be able to put aside her personal feelings for her Soilder?

17. Chapter 17: Forgiveness and Innocence

a/n- hey bbs. So first off, I'm a super sorry that this took forever. I have been going in and out of the hospital with some health issues. But I am a-ok now. So I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope you guys didn't miss me too much. Also... Myself and a very good friend of mine are running an Rp blog for the fifty first. feel free to check it out. I have a few drabbles on there and even some rps with some amazing people. thefiftyfirst (dots) tumblr (dots) com See you folks around!

{Enkidu-Falling)

Everything felt off balance.

The world she had created, tumbled down with the seismic motion of truth, embedding regret and anguish into her facial features.

Her heart pounded in her chest, her breathing became rapid, eyes shifting back and forth.

Out of everything that had happened. Out of everything that she had conquered. Out of all the inner demons she had slayed to move forward.

Why, in the world, had it happened now and with him?

A man so heinous and vile. A man who hid himself among good people like a hungry wolf in sheep's clothing, waiting for it's chance to strike at someone helpless and unknowing.

Just like what he did to her.

She shivered involuntarily at the thought of him prowling the streets like a lonesome and feared tiger.

She should have stopped him. She should have caught him. She should have punished him.

But she was weakened by her father's will and her mother's good intentions. She had put him to the back burner and focused on healing her physical and mental wounds, so that she could move forward and live a fulfilling life.

She could have done a lot of things and she hated herself in that moment, because someone innocent and dear to her heart got harmed because of her stupid actions.

She should have went after him. Why in the gods had she not went after him?

"Cupcake….just breathe." Vi murmurs as she wraps her fiancee in a warm wool blanket out of their cruiser's trunk. Red and blue flashing lights glance off the walls of the alleyway as the other cruiser races off to HQ, leaving the Sheriff and the Deputy to their own guides Caitlyn to the side of the cruiser, opening the door and seating her into the warm leather. She kneels down in front of her, grabbing the sheriff's hands in her own calloused warm grip, dragging her thumbs in soothing circles over her soft knuckles. Her scarred brow is furrowed in worry as her violet eyes go over the woman in front of her, trying to pinpoint the source of her hurt and sadness so that she could demolish it in true Vi fashion. She reaches underneath the driver side seat, revealing a silver thermos. She unscrews the cap, and pours hot tea into the thermos cup and gingerly passes it over to Caitlyn.

The sheriff takes it gratefully, holding the portable mug to her face and letting the steam warm her tear streaked face. "Thank you, love." She hiccoughs quietly. She huddles closer into the wool blanket as she takes a few deep breaths to calm herself.

As if Caitlyn was a fragile bird, Vi reaches out slowly to let her thumb trail over her right cheek and brush away the tears. Icy eyes close, as the sheriff nuzzles her face into her enforcer's rough and warm palms.

"You know I'll always love ya, Cait." Vi cups Caitlyn's face, her violet eyes going soft as she worries for her lover. "You know I'll go to the ends of Runeterra for ya, babe."

Caitlyn's lower lip trembles slightly as she regards the care and worry in her partner's face. "Of course," She mumbles out. "And I, for you. This is why I hid this from you, because I didn't want you to-to-..." Caitlyn begins to sputter out into a sob. "I'm so sorry, Vi." The Sheriff throws her arms around Vi's neck, tossing the almost empty thermos cup to the ground. She embraces Vi tightly, sobbing into the crook of the pinkette's neck. Vi's strong arms wrap around her tightly, her hands grip her fiancee like a vice.

"Shhh, Cait. It's ok, hun. I'm here and I ain't going anywhere." She hushes the sobbing woman. " 'Sides, Cupcake. I got yer six, so if anyone's bothering ya, I'll give 'em a little ol' piece of me. Give 'em the good ol' jazz hands and pop."

This makes Caitlyn snort loudly amongst her tears. Leave it to Vi to get her to laugh again.

"Just breathe, and when yer ready, we can talk." The pinkette presses her thin lips to the sheriff's cheek. "One step atta time, eh?"

Caitlyn nods slowly, sniffing as she thinks through what she wants to say. "I don't even know how to start." She admits, looking up to the black night sky. Snowflakes flutter to the city like lazy falling leaves. It calms her as it brings memories of a Snowdown being spent nuzzling close to fireplace and a small Dakota playing with strands of her hair, until eventually the four year old fell asleep on her shoulder. It was one of her fondest memories of Dakota, and it was a moment of pure luck. Her parents had no idea that she had skipped out on a council dinner that usually her family had hosted, but that year someone else was handed the torch. Sarah had been kind enough to invite Caitlyn to spend time with the children. Elric and Dakota had adored her so much that the two children had flung themselves at her as soon as she entered into their home.

And now Dakota hates her.

How had everything turned upside down?

"Vi," She takes a shaky breath. "Dakota is… Dakota…she's...Dakota is my biological daughter." She swallows the tightness in her throat as she looks to her feet. "I was attacked when I was thirteen by Nicholas Connolly, because my father had shut down the immigration tunnels to Zaun. After the attack he had disappeared, I had no idea that he was even in the city, but I had figured out his Identity when I first joined the police department. He is a serial thief and rapist that had been on the run for over nineteen years from Demacian officials. He immigrated to Piltover from Demacia to start anew, but he was soon on a new spree and no one did anything about it. I was pressured by my parents to forget him and to go on with my life, but tonight Dakota got hurt by my irresponsibility. The day I stepped onto the force, should have been the day I hunted down Nicholas Connolly. Not for myself, but for Dakota." She takes a second to let the information sink. "I'm sorry I never told you this, Vi. I was scared that you would react like my father and hate her because of him. I was scared that you would want to go out and find him and find out that he was the brother of the man who helped you out of the gang. I was scared that you wouldn't...love me." She admits in shame, sniffling sadly as she stared at her feet.

Very slowly she raised her icy eyes to Vi, hoping beyond all hope that the pinkette wasn't infuriated with her. That she wouldn't begin a mad screaming match and begin her merciless march to the jailhouse and slaughter Nicholas.

The pinkette's soft violet eyes, held Caitlyn's in a sorrowful look. "Cait." She begins as she stands from her crouch. Very gingerly she picks up the huddled sheriff and seats herself in the driver side seat, placing the sheriff in her lap. "I'll always love you. I'm here for you, we'll figure out this situation and make sure that Dakota has the time to cope with this. I'm guessing she had no idea about this, by the way she ran out of here like a voidling was at her tail." She murmurs lowly, placing her lips on Caitlyn's forehead. "If it's any consolation, I'm glad Dakota exists. She's a bright kid with a good future ahead of her. I'm going to have to have a chat with Tom, though." She growls under her breath.

"No Vi. Let's not make this a messy situation." Caitlyn frowns. "I don't want to get Thomas involved and to get any unnecessary attention being brought to this. We will have Nicholas incarcerated for his crimes and make him pay through two life sentences."

Vi nodded. "Alright, Cupcake. I'll do it the way you want to, however he looks at you or Dakota the wrong way, I'm tearing him apart." She warns. "I'm not letting him hurt you guys anymore, I promise that, Cait." Vi said sternly as she tightened her hold around Caitlyn.

***********************************************************/)(\*****************************************

(Early the next morning) {KSMR-Wildcard ( Tipton)}

Strands of scarlett whips in the wind.

The city before her stands as a true monument to progressing civilization. For the time being, the early morning streets were quiet, save for the few pedestrians of the lower city, their heavy work boots bring sluggish gaits with each step they take toward the iron spike mines. A few of them squint at her as she struts languidly up the hilled sidewalks, wondering why in the void such a pretty thing like her would be in the filth pit of the slums. They turn their attention away quickly after she shoots a jade green glare in their general direction. She pushes her face into the collar of her leather jacket, fighting off the cold winter air that pushed it's way through the cross streets.

That was the thing about Noxians; they were always fighting something.

The corner of her lip twitches up as that thought crosses through her mind.

The pack she carries, slaps against her back with each step. She had travelled a long distance to get here, staying in small inns and ale houses planning her next moves carefully, as her father had taught her. She needed to keep anonymous, in order to keep this meeting secretive.

She needed answers.

It was never like her to be unsure of anything, but there was only one way to eat out this paranoia.

She needed to know if loyalties were still laid with her.

And if not, then pity for the fool who does not side with the victor.

A raven caws above her.

Her dangerous smirk grows. This was the sign she needed to see.

Ravens never stray too far from each other.

***********************************************************/)(\*******************************************

{Autograf-Slow Burn}

Emerald eyes flutter open as the sensation of being too warm, wakes her from her deep sleep. She smirks at where her head had rested for the night. Her face fell comfortably between the scarred shoulder blades of her soldier. Dakota had rested onto her stomach, her long arms folded underneath her pillow and the pure white comforter brought up to her hips. Illya scratched her nails over the soldier's bared back, letting her fingernails drag over the pale scar tissue that raised like foothills over her beautiful skin.

Scars like these proved your strength in Noxus.

Scars like these showed that you have suffered and overcame with great strength to come out of the situation alive.

And void hell, Dakota was ever so alive last night.

The soldier had admitted being slightly inexperienced, but it did not show with the events that progressed. Dakota had left no patch of skin untouched or unkissed, leaving a burning trail as she went that had drove Illya into a pool of sensational bliss.

Slowly the Noxian rose from her prone form, careful to not stir the soldier beneath her. She grazed the floor with her emerald hues to find her underwear and once located she slipped into them. A failed attempt at trying to locate the rest of her clothing resulted in her reaching for the soldier's buttoned uniform shirt. Surely Dakota wouldn't need it for today,

She pulled her lilac hair from out of the collar, letting it fan out down her back. Her hair was getting too long, maybe she would get it cut soon. She raked her fingers through the thin feather like hair, pulling out a few knots starting to tangle.

With a small huff she deemed herself semi presentable enough to continue the morning.

She leaned into the soldier's space, brushing her bangs away from her closed eyes and pressed her full lips to Dakota's temple. She then turned on her heels, tiptoeing toward the door, a troublesome smirk splayed on her face.

As she exited the room, the clearing of someone's throat caught the Noxian off guard.

"What, in the void hells, were you doing in Master Corporal Sampson's room?" The high Piltovian accent cut to her ears with an irritating lilt as anger resonated through the voice.

Illya rolled her eyes.

This was going to be quite interesting.

She turned herself to face the Sheriff and the Enforcer. A devilish smile pulled the corners of her lips up as she wiggled her eyebrows at the fuming woman and the gawking brute behind her.

"Good morning, Sheriff." She greeted boldly, sashaying her hips as she pushed passed the sheriff toward her room. "I hope you weren't in your office last night. Otherwise I would have to apologize for the noise and distraction we caused." She winked. "Anyways, have a good day. Hopefully, Dakota isn't too sore to chat with you. I know that I had a hard time walking when I first woke up."

Illya missed the reaction of the sheriff as she pushed through her door and placed the oak barricade between the angry woman and herself. Last thing she needed was the estranged mother of her newest investment tearing her apart like an angry wolverine. She could definitely see where Dakota got her temper.

Intriguing.

"Little witch." Caitlyn hissed as she marched toward her office angrily, stomping on the marble floor with strong steps. "Oh shut it, Vi." She snarled at the laughing enforcer who wrapped her arms around her gut.

"I'm, ha, I'm sorry, haha, Cupcake." Vi snorted as she wiped a tear of laughter from her eyes. "Fucking eh, Kiddo. How'd ya land something as sassy as that?" She wondered aloud, causing Caitlyn to fume more.

"I said shut it!" She barked, throwing open the heavy oak door to her office. "We have work to do!"

Vi gave a final giggle, shaking her head. "She's going to give you an aneurysm, Cait."

"Wait until her brother finds out. He'll be much angrier than I am." Caitlyn muttered. "I should have known something like this would have happened. The two of them had been getting particularly close lately." She sat at her desk pulling files out of last night's incident and begin to pen out her signature in a maddened way.

"I'm just wondering what happened to that Flynn, chick. Maybe they had a falling out or something." Vi added as she closed the office door behind her.

As soon as the door shut behind the two officers, Illya peeked out from her room. She pivoted her head back and forth, gazing across the hallway to ensure the coast was clear. She quietly shut the door behind her as she escaped from her room, now fully clothed in denim jeans and a light grey long sleeved shirt given to her by the Company.

She slinked out of the hallway, going up the eight flight of stairs to reach the rooftop. She pushed open the heavy metal door with more force than necessary. Her bare feet crunched into the snow collected onto the city hall rooftop. She placed one of her newly acquired knives into the slit of the door to keep it from locking her out. A cold winter breeze blew her hair back, causing her to squint moodily at the weather.

"Ugh, this city's climate is fucking ridiculous." Illya growled lowly. She closed her emerald eyes and concentrated, focusing on heat and warm summer days. She could really go for heat right about now, maybe hit the tropics and laze in the sun, drinking expensive Bilgewater rum.

She could feel it like flames running in her veins.

Perfect, maybe Viktor's experimentation was actually useful.

She took a deep breath as the green runes protruded from her skin emanating warmth from her body. She rotated her wrists and ankles as the heat rolled through her body, causing a pleased hum to rumble from her throat.

Much better.

A few meters away, the four eyed raven cawed. Illya smirked devilishly to the bird, holding her left arm out to provide a perch for her father's pet. The raven cawed again before she sent herself forward and landed smoothly onto the girl's cotton covered arm. The raven's talons dug into her skin causing black blood to speck the snow covered rooftop.

"And how are you, Beatrice?" She cooed to the bird, pressing her fingers to the raven's soft feathers.

Contently, the raven burrowed her beak into the Noxian's hand. The raven pulled back instantly as a scent hit her nostrils. Beatriced cawed angrily and began to flap her wings, smacking the teen's face for good measure.

"Gah, Beatrice, come on." Illya complained, frowning toward the bird. "I oughta turn you into raven pot pie." She scowled. The raven blinked it's four eyes as if to say 'not funny'.

"I thought it was funny." The teenager smirked. The raven began its temper tantrum again, pecking at her face.

"Alright! Alright! Jeeze Beatrice you're cranky today. Has father not fed you yet?" The teenager gave a smug grin toward the four eyed raven. "Good thing I brought you something, I know when he gets busy he forgets to tend for you." She whispered as she reached into her back pocket and produced a piece of brown paper. "Fermented in a warm room for a day, just the way you like it. I guess I can thank you for the terrible death like smell in my room." Illya chuckled as she produced a few pieces of gray looking meat toward the raven who gobbled them up quickly. "Atta girl, now what got you so riled up before, hmm?" Illya asked raising an eyebrow to Beatrice who clacked her beak a few times in irritation. "Do I smell bad?" She raised the collar to her shirt and rolled her eyes as she caught the scent of mint, firewood and sweat. Of course Beatrice would get antsy at the smell of Dakota. "Don't worry, I'm staying focused. In fact the girl I'm getting close to is a key piece in the plan. Without her trust we will not be able to progress forward. Trust me."

Beatrice cawed again and hopped up Illya's arm to her shoulder. The raven pressed her beak to the girl's ear, tenderly biting at the lobe playfully.

"Yeah, I know you worry. Now pass that message over before you freeze to death." Illya chuckled.

The raven went to her foot, cutting the leather tie that held a yellowed parchment piece. Beatrice popped the message into the girl's palm. "Thanks Bea." She murmured casually stroking the bird's beak. "I'm sorry he turned you into a homing pigeon."

Beatrice pecked at her finger.

"What? I'm being genuine, keep it up and I will seriously go to my earlier threat. You will taste so delicious, mark my words!" She threatened the bird.

She unravelled the parchment, while rolling her emerald eyes heavily to the bird furthering her irritated squawking. "Enough already." Illya commanded, her voice booming with power. The bird curled inwardly in fear at the girl.

Illya took a deep breath, extinguishing the glowing green runes in her skin. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get all leadery on you, Bea." She apologised, running her knuckles on the top of the Raven's head.

"Alright let's take a look at what Daddy dearest sent us, hmm?" The raven hopped excitedly on her shoulder, digging her talons deeply into Illya's shoulder with every bounce.

Ancient Noxian letters were scrawled along the parchment. Only few people knew of the ancient language; her, her father, a professor at the University of Magicks in Noxus City Proper and the once great general Sion. A language most common in an era where Noxus had ruled all of Runeterra, now dead with the strong men and women that were the pillars of what made Noxus strong.

Meet with the Mechanist at Dusk at the north Zaun Border. The next phase begins soon.

"Short and sweet as always, father." She grunted sarcastically.

She reached into her pocket again, retrieving a piece of graphite and scrawled along her father's writing.

Message received. Preparations underway.

She tied the message to Beatrice's leg.

"Safe flight back." She murmured. "Kraft herrscht, Blut für Noxus." She extended her arm out, giving the raven ample space to allow her to lift off and part to her journey back home.

Illya placed her hands on her hips and sighed heavily. "You know it's rude to eavesdrop on private conversations."

The snort that resonates in reply causes a dangerous smirk to cross her lips.

"I've taught you too well, Swain." Katarina Du Couteau says nonchalantly as she leans up against a wall and inspects the stitching in her leather gloves.

"It's Ritcher now, didn't you hear?" Illya chuckled.

Katarina's mouth twisted in disgust. "Why, in the void, did you take that love drunk fool's last name as a cover name?"

"I had to think quick." Illya shrugged. "You know, always think on your toes and be adaptable."

Katarina scoffed. "You always were the one to kiss ass."

"Hey, I learned from the best." She winked.

"Ugh, I could slit your throat."

"But you won't because you care about me, why in the void hell else would you come all this way to Piltover?" She asked raising a lilac eyebrow.

Katarina pushed herself off the wall and strode over to Illya. She reached forward, clutching the front of Illya's shirt and towered over the girl. "Do not forget your place, Swain." The redhead hissed. Sleep deprivation had cut shadows underneath her jade hues.

Illya chuckled, raising her hands defensively. "I'm still on your side, Kat. Are you okay? It's not like you to be so...unsure?" Her brow furrowed as she eyed the assassin suspiciously. "You got information about your father didn't you? That's why you want to start moving, isn't it?"

"Just keep your side of the bargain." The redhead snapped suddenly, drawing a knife to the girl's jugular. " I'll be on the fields waiting for him. His tyranny will end soon, and Noxus can go back to it's true strength. My father's legacy will be recognized."

Illya shook her head incredulously, as she pushed the older woman away. "You came all this way to make sure I haven't betrayed you? What do you take me for?" She snarls, her emerald eyes and runic scars glowing pale green. "It's like you forgot that I know what he is like. It's like you forgot that I witnessed everything that he did to take that throne. Jericho Swain did not bleed or suffer! He is not a true Noxian and should be punished for such treason. So do not question my loyalty, Du Couteau. They reside with the strongest and whomever is capable of keeping that strength as they lead Noxus to victory! Do your job and I'll do mine. " She takes a moment to settle herself, keeping her emerald eyes locked with Katarina's jade hues. "And as far as that goes, that person is you, Kat. I've been by your side as a fellow pupil since the day I could hold a knife. Your father trained me and when he disappeared you took in the responsibility. And for that I am forever grateful."

"Spending time with these Piltovians have made you soft, Swain." Kat scoffs as she strides away from the teenager.

"I could say the same about your time with the Demacian and the Exile, but I've learned to hold my tongue, Du Couteau." She jeers as the redhead flips her hair over her leather clad shoulder, ignoring the girl's comment. She takes a step over the edge of the skyscraper roof and disappears leaving Illya to shake her head and roll her eyes in disbelief.

***********************************************************/)(\*******************************************

{Stephen- Line It Up}

Her body felt like she went through a robotic compactor. She groaned as she rolled over in her bed, her bare stomach facing the clean white ceiling. Her eyes traced the pattern of the white painted plaster.

"What in Valoran, have I done?" Dakota questions herself angrily as thoughts of the previous night bombards her brain. She rakes her hands through her raven black locks, her eyes wide as she goes over everything.

Illya.

Her name rings through her skull with content hummings, small giggles and regret. It twists in her gut angrily as she pales. Dread courses through her veins as another name bursts into her mind.

Tarryn.

She had utterly betrayed her. She had done the one thing that Dakota despised in it's entirety. She flung the comforter off, not surprised to see the body she spent the night with, had been long gone. Her legs feel wobbly as the guilt strikes her stomach like a two ton truck.

She clapped her hands over her mouth as the retching sensation of vomiting crawls up her throat. She stumbles toward her bathroom, scrabbling up the tiled flooring and hugging the toilet close to her as she heaved the contents of her stomach into the porcelain bowl.

What have I done? She questions again, shutting her eyes tightly as she rested her throbbing head onto her forearm. Sweat beads at her brow, her breath heavy and panting as her thoughts roll like a glitched hexfilm.

Illya's back arching into her touch, her voice sighing at her ear, Caitlyn sobbing, Caitlyn begging for her to come back, Vi's worried furrowed brow, Tarryn's beautiful smile, Tarryn's nose scrunching up as she laughs, Illya's giggle, Illya's soft lips, Illya's skin, Illya's emerald eyes boring into her soul, full lips turned up in a mischievous smile, Illya's teeth grazing over her pulse points over her neck and shoulders, the dark face of the man who claims to be her father.

Her icy eyes flash open.

She slowly rises to her feet, using the toilet bowl as a support as she staggers to the light switch at the wall, letting her fingers flip the switch, illuminating her shaking pale arms as she grabs the nearby sink, bracing her hands over the edge.

She looks to her reflection with hollow eyes, the shadows deepening as a sleepless night itches at her skin. Her thick raven black hair is in bed riddled disarray. She frowns grumpily toward her double. "What in the void hell was I thinking?" She mumbles, her slim fingers going to the faucets. She cups the water in her hands, splashing the refreshing liquid over her face.

She gasps at the cold, but embraces it letting the liquid wash away her sporadic thoughts.

She needs a clear head to figure out what she needs to do.

She pats her face dry with a soft cotton hand towel. Her eyes wander back to the reflection as her fingers slide into the raven black mop atop her head. Her neck and collarbone are covered in love bites and wicked bruises. She can see the outline of the man's hands, where his thumb pressed into her larynx. Her left palm is scathed, her knuckles are bruised and cut, her forearms clawed and scratched, her abdomen covered in a very large and dark bruise. Her split lip is bitten between her teeth as she closes her eyes to think.

She takes a large shaky breath, letting her mind mull through her options.

She had to at least confront Tarryn. She needed to be honest and let Tarryn know what happened. She needed to solidify where they stood with each other. She needed to know if Tarryn wanted to be with her.

She also needed to steer clear of Illya for the remainder of the day.

"Ugh, how did I mess up so royally?" She growled padding her way shakily out of her bathroom.

First things first, she needed to get clothed.

She pulled her drawers over aggressively, rummaging through her company issued clothing with a dark grimace. Today was a day to show the world that she didn't give a single fuck toward outside opinions.

She stepped into a clean pair of underwear and wrapped a dark blue bra over her chest. She pulled a white v-neck t-shirt over her aching torso, wincing as her ribs pulled in protest to the movement. She reached for the close fitting dark denim pants that she wore under her armour. She tousled her rowdy hair as she stepped into her leather boots. She reached for her's mother's wedding ring, enclosing the gold chain around her neck. She strode out of her room, wrapping her cotton over coat over her body and stalked out of her room with a mission on her step.

"Holy shit."

Her ears pricked toward the sound causing ice to crawl up her spine.

"You look...hot" Illya's voice is uncertain, but Dakota can detect the trouble filled smirk most likely gracing her lips. "How are you feeling this morning, soldier?" She purrs as she steps away from her bedroom door and closer to the girl, placing her hands on her coated shoulders. She let's her finger glide over the lapels as she faces the front of the girl, dragging her nails up to a well placed bite mark on the soldier's neck.

Illya watches as Dakota's icy eyes look to everywhere but her. A faint rosy blush, grows on the soldier's cheeks. She brings a hand up to Dakota's face, cupping her cheek bones and dragging a thumb over her jaw line. With blinking speed, Dakota's hand encloses Illya's wrist tightly, a menacing look making her icy eyes darker.

"Do not touch me." Dakota snarls warningly.

Confusion crosses Illya's face quickly before her expression changes into something nonchalant and uncaring. She crosses her arms over her chest and raises a lilac eyebrow to the soldier, her lips turned up in a devilish smirk. "What's got your panties in a twist? I'm pretty sure they got lost last night, like your cares." She eyes the girl in front of her. "Seriously though, you don't look like...you usually do. This is a great look for you. You should keep your hair down more often." Illya's other hand comes up as she brushes a strand of Dakota's bangs behind the shape of her right ear.

Dakota took a step back, her eyes glued to her feet. "Illya, stop." She whispers. "Just..stop."

"What's up darling?" Illya asks.

"I.." Dakota closes her eyes. "Look, last night, it was a mistake. I should never have...we shouldn't have done what we did. I was emotional and I needed to let my frustrations out and I'm sorry that you got the wrong idea out of that. I don't know why I didn't stop myself. I'm sorry I dragged you into my stupid problems and I would understand if you hate me completely because of that." Dakota sputtered as she laced her fingers together anxiously.

Illya wanted to scream. She had gotten so close to the soldier and she was certain she could begin her stages of planning after last night. She wanted to slap the girl to get her to come to her senses. Hells, she had initiated everything last night, she had wanted it. Something in Illya's chest went tight making it hard to breathe, gods she needed to get a hold of herself.

Illya replied with a small chuckle. "I don't hate you. I get it." She replied automatically, giving a charming smile toward the soldier. "Sex is just sex, darling." She jeers playfully. "It meant nothing anyways."

The soldier's jaw clenches, irritation and hurt clearly rising in her irises. Illya raised an eyebrow. Clearly it meant something to Dakota that the soldier wasn't willing to admit.

Intriguing.

"You're going to talk to that other soldier girl, aren't you?" Illya questions with a cock sure smirk.

Dakota looks at Illya dangerously. "And what if I am?"

Illya's smirk grows. "Stop feeling guilty, Dakota. It'll only make things worse." She chuckles, patting the soldier's shoulder as she starts to walk back to her room. "I'm telling you, I give it a week before she's gallivanting around with a new toy." She tisks as she faces the door. "I'll be here if you need another outlet." With that she enters her room, closing the door behind her a little too angrily.

Curse Dakota.

Curse that stupid brunette.

Curse her lungs for feeling heavy. Why in the void is she feeling like she just got her heart ripped from her chest? Why is she feeling like Richter died again?

What in the void hell was wrong with her?

She needed a drink. A strong, disgusting drink.

But first she had something to do.

***********************************************************/)(\*******************************************

{Eric Stephen Martin- Where is my wild rose (Chris Thompson Cover)}

Bleary steel grey eyes looked at the girl infront of her incredulously.

"You do realize that it's eight in the morning on a saturday, right? Who even let you up here?" She asked through the haze of sleepiness.

The soldier before her gave a sad smile. "I'm sorry." She whispered lowly, trying not to wake the sleeping soldiers that were snug tightly in their bunks. "I needed to talk to you." There was a slight urgency in the whisper, that got her to look at the girl infront of her more carefully.

Bruises lined up and down her neck, her lips split at the very corner side of her mouth. Her usually shocking beautiful eyes were shadowed with dark circles. She looked exhausted, hurt and in an odd sense, scared.

"Are you ok?" She asked quietly, frowning at the girl. "You look like you got caught up in a fight or something?"

"Something like that." The girl replied solemnly.

Tarryn sighed. She stepped back allowing the girl to enter into the cubicle like bunk. She sat on to the corner of her single bed and patted the stool to her desk across from her. "Take a seat."

Dakota nodded. She stepped out of her boots politely, careful to not trail mud and snow into Tarryn's bunk. She undid the buttons at her thick cotton over coat, pushing the material off of her shoulders as she strode over to the stool. Tarryn's eyes bugged out of their sockets as she regarded the very attractive girl standing in her bunk. Dakota's strong shoulders faced Tarryn as she propped her jacket on the back of the stool. Her eyes went to her shoulder length hair that was usually braided or even tied up, but today it was let loose.

Dakota finally sat in place holding her hands in her lap. Her intense eyes went to the blushing girl sitting cross legged in her bed.

"What are we?" Dakota blurted out quietly, still conscious of the snoring soldiers in nearby cubicles.

The question took Tarryn off guard. She had been staring at the bruises along her neck. Were those thumb prints? Were those teeth marks?

"Um…" Tarryn blinked. "That's a good question. What do you want us to be?"

Dakota surprisingly snorted. "I was asking you, stop dancing around the question."

"I don't know." Tarryn replied honestly. "I mean you're a great person. You're extremely beautiful and trustworthy."

She watched as Dakota cringed at 'trustworthy'.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I slept with someone last night." The soldier admitted quickly staring at her socked feet propped on the railing of the stool.

"You what?" Tarryn asked confused, a tinge of sleep still resonating in her vocal chords.

"Look it's a complicated situation. I was angry, I found out something that completely changes everything. I fucked up." The soldier began. "I wouldn't blame you if you hated me and you wanted me out of your sight. I wanted to come here and...and tell you because regardless of what are relationship status is, you deserve to know. I'm sorry. If you want me to leave I can lea~"

She was cut off by the pad of Tarryn's index finger being pressed into her thin lips.

Dakota's brow furrowed in confusion at the action.

"Look, I don't know what I want right now, Dakota." Tarryn drawled. "I'm still half asleep, but what I do know though, is that anyone would be lucky to have you. When we hang out it feels great to be around you. I feel amazing and light, but I don't know if it's because I want to be your friend or your girlfriend." She murmured. "I mean-" Tarryn stopped herself and sighed heavily. "Look, Dakota, I don't think I'm ready to be in a steady relationship right now. I'm sixteen, I don't know what I want with my life. I want to fully know myself before I even try getting to know someone else. I really like you, do not get me wrong." Her hand cups Dakota's face, keeping a steady gaze with the girl in front of her. "I don't doubt that someday when we're older and I feel like I know myself well enough, we could be something very serious. Right now is just not the time."

She watched Dakota's face fall, her shoulders sinking in disappointment. "I understand." She murmurs softly, her voice cracking slightly. "That's very logical and I'll respect what you want. I just-" She stops to let herself breathe, closing her eyes. "I just needed to know. I didn't want to hurt you, with my stupid decisions."

Tarryn chuckles lightly. "I wish everyone was as respectful and loyal as you, Dakota. I appreciate that." Tarryn reached from the bed wrapping her arms over the girl's elegant neck and pecking her cheek with a soft kiss. She squeezed the soldier with a reassuring embrace pressing her face into her cotton shoulder. "You don't need to feel guilty, Dakota. Honestly, it's ok." She reassures stroking the back of the girl's neck.

Dakota reciprocates the hug, holding the girl tightly.

As Tarryn pulled back to sit on her bed, Dakota raked her hands through her bangs. She stood from the stool, placing the coat onto her shoulders and using her dexterous fingers to administer the brass buttons to close the jacket. "I'll see you around." She mumbles. "Let me know when you want to hang out sometime." She nods toward Tarryn's direction before she steps into her boots and leaves Tarryn's bunk.

She wipes her tear stained cheek with the back of her hand and sniffles as she leaves the barracks.

It hurt, but she understood.

Maybe she should heed Tarryn's reasonings and turn it into advice.

She too, should consider figuring things out before she committed herself to someone.

But the universe had other plans.

(A/n: And by universe I mean me! Aha ha ha *Sighs*. I'm So Sorry Dakota)

***********************************************************/)(\*******************************************

{Tove Lo- Moments}

(That afternoon)

Curvatures grace the parchments as ink cascades in letters. Her thoughts drone in a monotone of budgets, schedules, cold cases to be solved and assignments to be given to the other detectives of the precinct.

Days like these she lowers herself to forget everything except for those four things.

Days like these she clenches her pen with a tight grip and grits her teeth as she aggressively signs off on the paperwork of another perp who broke parole.

It's like they never learn.

Vi knows through years of experience that on these days you let Caitlyn be. Vi will warn their officers and employees that it's best that they don't disturb the sheriff unless absolutely necessary. She usually keeps to her own devices, trying her best to be a minimal distraction until she deemed that the sheriff had enough time to stew in her mood. As soon as she detected the slightest bit of exhaustion from the woman, she would instantly rise from her desk, roam over to the sheriff and bother her with useless pick up lines and hapless distractions, until she pestered the sheriff enough to cause a reaction. Vi would then nuzzle her way through her curtain of raven black and kiss her way to the sheriff's lips, whispering small comforts and embracing the sheriff tightly. This would usually break the woman of her mood and commit to finally going home to enjoy a glass of wine and a hot bath.

However, in this situation, Vi was very unsure what to do.

Dark circles were honed underneath the sheriff's eyes. Her strong jaw is set in agitation, causing her face to form into a focused scowl at the parchments clenched in her hands. Her usually well kept hair was placed in a messy ponytail, strands of the wild hair falling in front of her eyes earning grunts of anger and a hand quickly placing it behind her ears. Her slight shoulders were hunched over her work, as her wrist rotated to scrawl menacingly over a report. Vi could practically feel the anger rolling off the sheriff from across the room like a one hundred and thirty foot tidal wave.

See, Vi was the kind of person that would laugh in the face of a screaming undead hoard who was bloodlusted and ready to rip her from limb to limb. She'd crack a grin at a giant god like spider and claim she was the newspaper that would squash it to death. She would spit on the ground toward void creatures and challenge them to a one on one and easily win in a clean sweep.

But the one thing she feared the most?

Caitlyn's wrath.

So, being vigorous,vitalizing, and at times, very stupid, she rose from her desk, holding a large stack of official parchments, a consequence of busting through a store front wall to take out a very cocky arms dealer with a history of human trafficking.

She looked to the in-coming and out-going office file sorter placed on Caitlyn's desk. She placed the stack into the out-going and waited for Caitlyn's bullshit meter to hit the maximum output.

As if on cue, the woman's head snapped to the pinkette who timed the head turn as she turned on her heels to return to her desk.

"Vi." She snarled through her teeth.

The pinkette froze in place, shoulders raised to protect her head from getting sniped off. By the voids if this plan didn't work she was sure Caitlyn would kill her.

Quickly mustering a charming smile and lazily turning to face the sheriff, mischief lining her irises and scarred eyebrow raised. "S'up, Cupcake?" She drawled pressing her palm into the corner of Caitlyn's mahogany desk, leaning her toned body against the wood. She tilted her chin up in challenge, letting that cocky smirk drip with arrogance.

She watched as Caitlyn's nostrils flared and her icy eyes darkening like winter storm clouds. One of Caitlyn's immaculate eyebrows rose in agitation. Her thin lips hardened into a straight line.

Involuntarily Vi, gulped in fear.

"You know very well, what's up!" Caitlyn growled, her palms slamming onto the top of her desk as she rose from her seat. "I have told you countless times that your paper work goes into in-coming, not out-going!"

Vi shrugged. "You didn't have any room in in-coming so I thought it would be fine in out-going." Vi watched as Caitlyn's eye twitched.

She really hoped this worked.

"That doesn't even make any sens-" Caitlyn stopped mid tirade. She placed her hands on her lips and looked at Vi incredulously. " I know what you're doing, Vi. I am not going to start a screaming match with you!"

Vi decided to play dumb. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Caitlyn rolled her eyes and sighed irritably. "You're ridiculous." She mutters as she seats herself back into the leather chair.

A knock echoed through the office, causing Caitlyn to pinch the bridge of her nose. "This better be important." She snarls lowly. "Come in!" She barks at the oak door.

The door bursts open and Caitlyn holds herself back from ripping the intruder in half.

"Vi, please leave me and my daughter to talk." Peter Deramore growls lowly. Behind him, standing with their backs to the entrance, are two of his body guards.

"She can stay." Caitlyn dismisses, keeping her icy eyes on her father's lake like pools, a challenge hanging in the air between them.

Vi raises her hands in defense as the two Deramores continue their standoff. "I'm going to leave to get lunch. I'm not staying for the shit storm that the two of you are going to start. I'll be back in thirty minutes." She grabs at her new leather jacket, shouldering it and placed a cigarette in between her lips. Within minutes she leaves closing the door behind herself.

Peter does not leave his eyes from his daughter, the tension in the room, keeping him from taking a step closer.

"Why are you here, father?" She asks through a sigh, returning to the paperwork in her hands. "You know I'm very busy." It almost comes out as a snarl.

Peter scoffs.

He strides forward and throws a manila folder onto her desk, carefully placed sheets spilling on to her work station.

She freezes as Nicholas's mug shot spills in front of her.

"Where is he!" He demands angrily.

"Under my custody." She replies calmly, keeping her eyes down as she re organizes the folder she had worked all morning on. A file that somehow, had gotten into her father's hands.

"I'm taking him." He snarls.

Caitlyn's brow furrows. "Under what jurisdiction." Her voice becomes hard and authoritative. It causes her father to take a step back.

"Are you honestly defending him?" He asks incredulously. "I knew you lost your mind. It was that little bitch's fault! She brought you to him, didn't she? Where is that runt?" Paranoia and anger is laced through his words, he slams his hands down, causing books and ink pots to rattle on the desk.

Caitlyn rises from her seat, mustering her power and strength into her shoulders as she squared them to her father. She extends her arm and points to the doorway. "Get out." She says calmly.

"Caitlyn, this man ruined your life!" He bellows.

"I don't care. He is under my custody and will be punished under the court of law as the judge sees fit. He is a Piltovian citizen and no matter his crime, he will be treated as a human being with rights." Caitlyn argued. "I don't care what you want to do with him, I don't care what others want done with him. I keep this city state in balance ensuring justice is served responsibly and honestly. So yes, I am defending him. But do not mistake my job as compassion, father." She warns. "As for my Daughter," She watches as his eyes practically bulge out of his skull. "She has done nothing wrong, and it is time for you to decide to either let go of your hate and learn to understand her, or you can continue being a pompous prick, and be out of my life completely. I have had enough of your blind hate toward her. She got attacked by him last night, because she looked like me. He was ready to put his hands all over her. Trust me I understand where you're coming from father, because it took every ounce of willpower in me to not take his head off." She growled pointing a finger to him. "So pick what your next steps are carefully. I really hope you choose the right one."

He stands stock still. Shock and hurt carving into his face. "Caitlyn." He begins.

"I don't want to hear it." She snaps. "I have a lot of work to do, and you being here is distracting me. So if you wouldn't mind, please leave my office."

Peter nods his head. "I'm sorry. I can't forgive him."

Caitlyn looks to her father icy eyes sincere and strong. "You don't need to forgive him. He hasn't done anything to you to get your forgiveness."

Peter scoffs. "The day they found you, I had never felt more powerless, Caitlyn."

"That's your own battle. This is mine." She states flatly. "I've stopped needing you to fight my battles the day I started on Piltover's streets."

"The day you fought my battle?" He questions sternly. "The day you went after the muggers who harmed me?"

Caitlyn shakes her head. "No, that day was the day I decided that I was to be the protector of every citizen. Even the ones who broke the law."

He shakes his head as he regards his daughter. When did she become this unstoppable force? When did she become this embodiment of strength and will?

"I said that he would pay, Caitlyn." He states gruffly.

"And he will, but through the process that keeps this city in balance. Justice will be served, but you need to let this go. You are the only one who won't and it's opening wounds that have long since healed." She warns. "Get over it."

"I want to see his face." He demands.

"Absolutely not." She stares at her father. "Please, just let it go. Soon no one will have to see his face. With the charges being laid on him, he is most likely to be put in jail to serve almost three lifetimes."

"That's not good enough." Peter growls.

"It's going to have to be." She crosses her arms over her chest. "Get over it. Do not make me repeat it again!"

"Of course, Sheriff." He bows his head in respect.

Caitlyn scoffs crossly at her father. "You don't need to do that."

Peter does not give her a reply. He turns his back on his daughter and leaves her office, with blood on his mind.

That man will suffer. Even if it's the last thing he does.

***********************************************************/)(\*******************************************

{Deadmau5 ft. Colleen D'Agostino- Seeya}

(Dusk, North Zaun Border)

Winter winds whipped through the forest, causing her to curse at the sharp gust.

She glowered toward the dark clad figure, striding through the thick layer of snow of the clearing before her.

She sighed as her bare hands gripped the bows of the tree she had been perched in and swung herself to land silently at it's base. She rolled to avoid injury from the fall, easily getting up from her crouched form to walk toward the figure.

As the two came face to face, Illya couldn't hide the cocky smirk forming on her full lips. "Viktor." She greets.

"Swain." The mechanist spits.

"My, my everyone is cranky lately." She jests.

The mechanist eyes the girl before him. "You look Piltovian." He states flatly.

Illya's smirk grows wider. "So it's working. Excellent. You know the whole wolf in sheep's clothing thing. Thought it would be viable to immerse myself in their culture." She gestures to the military issued wool insulated black canvas jacket and knee high leather boots. On her shoulder hangs a messenger bag that is attached to the belt loop of her denim trousers. Her sword hangs from a scabbard on her left hip. Her lilac hair is hidden under a black winter hat, keeping her ears warm from the biting cold. "Anyways, why has my father scheduled a meeting for me?" She asks raising an eyebrow.

Viktor's glowing amber eyes are steady as he extends his hand to her. "It's time for your next injection. You had two remaining treatments before you left." He explains. "He also wanted to ensure you were still on track with our mission."

Illya chuckles. "Daddy dearest is having trust issues? Gods, do people have any faith anymore?"

She lets her fingers dismantle the buttons as she pulls the canvas jacket off of her body, revealing herself in a white cotton long sleeved t-shirt. She pulls the material over her head and faces the mechanist with runes glowing brightly from her skin. He inspects the curves and sways of the rune magic under her epidermis. "It's gotten stronger." He deduces, letting a metal trail over the raised scar tissue as it burns her veins. "Have you heard them whisper to you."

Illya scoffs. "Not yet, but I hear it in my dreams." She admits.

Viktor nods. It hadn't been his first time working with this sort of magic. He had done many test subjects, mainly on the foot soldiers that wanted to prove their strength to their grand general. Most had died from the insanity the runes had attacked them with. Others died from the excruciating pain that coursed through them as their bodies changed to better control the magic that lurked within course the runes had made the subjects physically stronger, but their minds were weak and that's what killed them.

Illya continues to prove her strength time and time again.

He grabs at her exposed arm as his third arm reaches behind him to retrieve the syringe. "I was to tell you that we begin the assault in three weeks time. We will meet again to go over strategies and orders." He murmurs as he injects her with the dark sludge.

He can hear the small sharp breath as it courses through her bloodstream. Even though the girl is standing shirtless in the snow, sweat beads at her forehead. Her muscles around her body tighten as her emerald eyes close to concentrate. Her lips pull up into a dangerous grin toward the mechanist.

"It always feels like winning a fight." She murmurs. "I feel powerful enough to take on armies of men, without even breaking a sweat."

"That would be stupid." The mechanist states flatly. "And a waste of a good specimen."

Illya snorts in response. Her eyes roll to the back of her head as the rune magic travels to her brain. Her head feels like it's about to explode but she makes no noise of distress. She just waits for the pain to pass before she opens her glowing eyes to the mechanist.

He quickly takes her vitals, padding his fingers a long her skin and grabbing her face to ensure her reflexes are still functioning. He nods in approval. "How goes the planning in Piltover?"

"Almost complete, I have one more thing to tackle before I am prepared." She replies, pulling the cotton material over her torso.

"So the marks on your chest and abdomen aren't anything important?"" The mechanist asks nonchalantly.

Illya throws her head back laughing toward the heavens above her. "That's just a perk to the job." She winks toward the mechanist. "You jealous?" She jokes.

"Preposterous." He frowns.

"Aww, Vicky," She feigns in mock sadness."I'm sure there is some robot lady out there who has your name all over her heart."

"Do not call me that."He crosses his arms over his chest. "Love is nothing but a human construct emotion. I do not dabble in such pointless things."

"Who said anything about love?" She says in pure disgust. "Ugh, that word puts a foul taste in my mouth."

Viktor eyes the girl carefully. "What of that sergeant? The one whose head you removed?"

Illya freezes and her smirk turns into something sinister and dangerous. "He was nothing to me." She lies easily. "As I said before, he was just a perk to the job." She tried not to think of him. She tried really hard, but the memories flooded her brain as she turned her back on Viktor. "I'll see you again in two weeks time." She mentions over her shoulder, pressing her boots into the snow covered ground.

***********************************************************/)(\*******************************************

{Krewella-Ammunition}

(2 Years earlier at the Shuriman-Noxian Border)

"Captain Swain!" The young sandy haired soldier blurts out in his half drunken state, saluting the girl as she walks with her higher ranked comrades. They are dressed in expensive battle leathers, their weapons carved from Noxian steel to easily end their foes. They were highly trained assassins that based themselves in the Shuriman Desert. Earlier they had intercepted Brute company and the Sinister Blade as an escort to finally return home after their year long tour.

They were the einhundert company.

Or as the foot soldiers called them, kindred's reinforcements.

His amber eyes soften as he regards her turning her head to him and his boisterous unit.

With clasped hands held behind her back, she whispers something to her comrades and the sinister blade, getting them to continue on their way as she walks to the gangly limbed boy "Sergeant Ritcher." She greets with a wry grin, her emerald eyes holding promises he wish he could unlock.

A goofy smile plasters along his thin lips, the alcohol taking strong effect to his regularly crisp movements. His men behind him hoot and holler in the night sky as they scream out their company battle hymn.

MAY OUR DEATHS GIVE US GLORY

MAY THRESH'S LANTERN CAPTURE OUR SOULS FOR ETERNITY

MAY WE SAIL ON BARD'S STARRY SEAS

MAY KINDRED ENDLESSLY HUNT WE

WHO ASK TO GIVE US THE STRENGTH

TO DESTROY OUR ENEMIES

Illya raises her eyebrow to the soldier before her. "Do you really want kindred upon you?" She smirks.

"If it means I get to spend the night with you." He takes a step closer, dropping his drink from his hands. "I would gladly sacrifice myself for that chance." He whispers as his hands cup her face.

She chuckles lowly. "You only need to ask, Tobias."

He laughs lowly. "Well, now we don't have to worry about your father walking in on us this time."

Illya scoffs as she wraps her arms around his neck, bringing his head down to her level, pressing her lips to his. She reaches on to her tiptoes, dragging her lips to his ear.

"Kat is getting the plan in motion." She whispers. "She's going to talk to us shortly, she just has to report to your officers. There's a Demacian stronghold not too far from here."

He quickly sobers, his goofy mood turning serious. "Blut für Noxus."

"High Command is pleased with Brute company. You did very well on the fields today." She commends, pulling away from his face, and tightening the leather strap holding one of his pauldrons loosely. She inspects the chainmail shirt, looking for specific breaks or weaknesses, over the blood spilled on to him.

"Is that your way of saying you were worried about me?" He asks playfully, placing his gauntleted hands on her leather clad hips. He inspects the worn leather handle on her black rune short sword.

She blushes as she fixes the leather undershirt protruding from his chainmail shirt. "No." She whispers.

He chuckles and the flames from the campfire illuminate his amber eyes. Leather finger tips touch at her pale chin, and he leans in to place a soft kiss on her full lips.

It's then that her ears pick up the sound of someone approaching quickly in the sand. She pushes Tobias away, drawing her sword and lunges to the attacker. Steel connects into the desert night sky as war cries break out around them. Tobias is quick to get to his feet, tackling the Demacian attacker to the ground. Illya leaps over his shoulder as she intercepts another, breaking their defense stance and stabbing the enemy into his gut and twisting the blade out. Tobias stands from the sands, blood splattered on his face as he beat the attacker with his bare hands. His unit tried desperately to hold the offensive attack. Illya rushes forward, calling upon the shadows and bursts into a flock of Noxian ravens.

The ravenous flock takes to the enemy, pecking at their faces with gnarled beaks. She attacks from the flock, breaking away from their feathers with a worthy war cry as she slays the attackers, slitting their necks and then disappearing back into the flock, then reappearing onto another attacker. She is quick and efficient and soon the attack ends.

Bodies of Noxians and Demacians litter the sands around her. Blood and feathers stick to her body.

She turns to give Tobias a cocky smirk. "See easy, all you hav-." She is cut short by the sound of pain that racks her throat as she sees him.

He is crumpled to the sands, blood coming from a slit in his exposed neck. A Demacian body lays next to him, a hand clenching a golden dagger tightly. His cowardly neck is broken in an awkward angle in Tobias's grip. The two had killed each other in desperation.

She ran to his body at full tilt, her boots digging into the sands, as her heart pounded in her ears. It can not be. He must be playing a prank on her. He'll get back up from the ground and give that off kilter goofy smile.

"Don't," She feels strong muscular arms wrapping around her waist. "It'll only make the pain worse." Kat whispers in her ear, dragging the girl away.

"No!" She screams in the night. "Gods no! Tobias get back up!" She holds her emerald eyes shut as she tries to fight her mentor's grip.

"It's over, Swain. Get a fucking hold of yourself, there's more of those Demacian pricks around. It was a scouting party, there will be more where they came from." Katarina explains turning the girl around in her grip. She grabs the girl by the face and slaps her wickedly.

Illya looks to her mentor in shock, holding the stinging cheek. "This is war, Swain. This is why I told you to never fall for soldiers. I told you that it was stupid to get close to him, because shit like this happens all the goddamn time. It happened to me , it happens to everyone. So get your fucking shit together, so that we can survive the next onslaught and you can keep his memory alive." Kat orders."Can you fucking do that, or do I have to put you out of your misery?"

Illya looks to Katarina with wide emerald eyes. "I'm killing every single one of them." She growls, tears fall to her red cheek.

"That's the spirit." Kat mutters under her breath as she drags the fifteen year old by her forearm. "We'll meet them in the dunes. Find any survivors and get your company ready to fight. We'll use the high ground to our advantage. I'll go scout ahead and see what I can find."

"Blut für Noxus." Illya whispers as she longingly looks to the crumpled boy she had loved since she was twelve years old. The boy she sparred with for hours on end. The boy she planned to take an entire empire down with. A boy she planned to spend the rest of her life with. She turns her back to him and holds her face in her hands breathing slowly.

The enemy will suffer and when she sits on the throne. She will end this pointless war and take out the lightshield dynasty once and for all. She will put Runeterra into a fray of Anarchy and force no man to fight for kings or empires, only for themselves and what they stand for. She will lead her people to glory and break them of their shackles to their monarchies.

***********************************************************/)(\*******************************************

(While Illya is returning from her meeting)

{Jeff Jodrey- In Touch}

She keeps telling herself that this is a stupid idea, but she needed answers. She keeps her mind racing with possible theories and the directions toward her destination.

The cold air sends ice through her veins, as the winds whip in the night sky. Her icy eyes go to the stars and she wonders if this was someone's sick joke, but she shakes her head. In all honesty this situation made sense.

She just hated it.

She huddles herself into the thick material of her cotton overcoat, flipping the lapels up to cover her red freezing ears. Puffs of cloud like air come from her mouth as her breath warms the atmosphere around her. She looks up to the mansion standing in front of her.

Smoke plumes out of the chimney and warm yellow light cascades on the snowy ground. She could only imagine how warm it might be in there compared to out here.

She takes the final steps up the walkway, tentatively reaching out from the large iron knocker. Her slim fingers grasp it, pulling the knocker back and letting it fall to echo into the massive building.

She flattens her jacket , fixing her lapels, and pulls her raven black locks over her right shoulder. The breeze picks up the loose strands, pushing them to to her face. She frowns at the rebellious hair and tucks them behind her ear.

The door opens and she stands at attention, an instinctual reaction when trying to impress people in power.

The butler raises an eyebrow at the girl. "Yes?" He asks flatly.

"Um," She begins. "I was wondering if I could speak with the Doctor."

"And why, in the void, would the great doctor want to speak with someone like you?" The butler tisks. He rolls his eyes. "Be gone before I call the police. You are trespassing you little urchin." He growls between pursed lips.

"Thomas? Who's at the door, darling?" The voice melodically carries to the entrance, causing the butler to regain a taut posture. He steps to the side as the woman approaches the entrance.

"Ah, Dakota. How are you sweetheart? What brings you to Deramore manor?" She asks placing her wine glass onto a nearby stand. She huddles into her wool sweater, and ushers the girl in. "Come in , come in. You'll turn into an ice sculpture if you stand out there for too long."

Dakota eyes the butler then smiles politely to the doctor. She takes the necessary steps to enter into the warm manor. Thomas grabs at the jacket on her shoulders, removing it and placing it on a hook near the door. "Thank you," She mumbles to the man as she steps out of her boots.

Catherine wraps her arms around the girl's neck, pulling her into an embrace. Dakota chuckles as she wraps her long arms around the woman to reciprocate the embrace.

"It's good to see you, love." Catherine pulls back and cups the teenager's face. Her thumb goes over the stunning girl's cheeks. Something pulled at her heart strings as she looked into the girl's icy eyes. "What's wrong?" The Doctor's raven black eyebrows pull down in worry.

Dakota very carefully, cradles the woman's hand at her cheek, into her slim and calloused hands. She enjoyed Catherine. Every time the two would meet the woman had been very affectionate to the young girl, almost reminding Dakota of her mother.

"I'm sorry, Doctor." Dakota apologised. "I've had a pretty rough day, and I don't know who to talk to." She admits.

"Oh do not feel sorry, love. Come, let's go into my study and we'll talk." She took the girl's hand to guide her up the massive dark wooden steps. "Thomas, go fetch us some of the delicious Ionian lemon tea."

Thomas bowed politely to the doctor. "Of course, ma'am. I will be up shortly."

Dakota's eyes traversed the decor of the massive open stairway, just like the parlour, hunting trophies and antique weapons were stored on to the walls, over a beautiful shade of forest green paint. Cathrine led her to a set of massive cherry wood doors. The doctor pushed through, and Dakota stared in awe at the room.

"By the gods," She whispered.

The room was surrounded by book shelves, work tables and schematics. The very high ceilinged room opened up to a very large air zone for miniature zeppelins and flying contraptions to soar around the study area. On one of the work tables was a half constructed patrol bot. It's head swiveled to to the doctor and it produced a very friendly wave.

"Good Evening StAN." Cathrine greeted to the bot. Small beeps came from the bot in response. The doctor turned to Dakota. "I haven't the chance to place a vox into his systems yet. But he has learned to communicate through small beeps."

Dakota nods as her eyes stay locked to the mechanisms.

"You can take a look if you'd like." Cathrine invites.

"I'd love to, thank you." Dakota says in awe.

Cathrine watches as the girl's curiosity takes her to face the bot. Her fingers glide over the polished metal of the chest piece. She cranes her neck to look at the mechanisms turning at the glowing crystal underneath the polished metal. Dakota could feel the day's stress roll away from her body as she focused on the bot. It was as if a refreshing wave cascaded over her body, pushing everything that wasn't hextech to the back of her mind.

Her eyes widen at the neon green crystal, a newly discovered power combiner. It was a new technology that the doctor had discovered a long side the defender of tomorrow and the grand master explorer.

"You found a way to stabilize it?" Dakota asked excitedly. "I read through your latest paper. I'm glad you could figure it out."

"Twenty three explosions later." Cathrine chuckles. "All it needed was a steady current. It's crazy how you could overlook the simplest things."

"Well, with the introduction to rune magic, hextech will change as the way we know it." Dakota chirps as she looks to the wiring. "Is that Targonian silver?"

"It's the only metal strong enough to hold the current." Catherine sighs. "It's very expensive and has been turning the nose of potential investors. We haven't found a cheaper substitute."

"Yeah not a lot of metals have a one hundred and five percent conduction rate." Dakota ponders.

"And that's our predicament." The doctor seats herself into one of her massive wing chairs. "We are thinking of finding a way to use saline water though, but if a water leakage happens it will destroy the hextech inside. But water would be our cheaper solution, highly conductive and could create back power if any issues arrive with the power crystal."

Dakota nods. "That makes sense. You'll have to come up with a tubing system that is solid and ensure that you find a metal that won't corrode. Chromium might be your best bet. I would melt it around steel tubing and place highly tensed plastic tubing inside it. That way you won't electrocute the poor bots. Keeps the bot and the metal safe."

"But how do we keep the water in constant motion to bring the charge to the crystal without, drenching the crystal in highly concentrated saline water?" Cathrine asks with a wide grin.

Dakota bites her lower lip as she thinks. "Do you have paper?"

The night goes on as Dakota and Cathrine discuss possible theories and schematics. They are elbows deep in StAN's chest cavity when Catherine looks to the girl in awe. It's then that she notices the dark bruises at her neck.

"This might pinch a bit, StAN." Dakota says as she clips in metal prongs along the bot's wiring system.

Catherine pulls her thin hands from the bot and brushes her fingers over the dark thumbprint on the girl's larynx.

Dakota's icy eyes shoot to the woman in front of her. It only makes sense that on this winter's night, ice meets.

"I'm sorry we got so enveloped on engineering, that I forgot you wanted to talk."Catherine chuckles lightly, rubbing her hands on a yellow and grease stained rag.

Dakota gives a forced smile. "It's nothing. Honestly, you don't have to worry about it." The teenager mumbles as she continues fumbling with wires.

Catherine's brows furrow. "Love," She whispers, putting a lithe hand on the girl's scarred forearm. "You came all this way, why let something stop you."

"Because I don't want it to exist. I don't want things to change." Dakota admits as she puts her hands to her face. "Look, this was a mistake. I'm sorry, I'll just waste your time." She mutters.

"You aren't wasting my time, sweetheart." Catherine chuckles. "Let's keep working on this and we'll talk. I used to do that with Caitlyn, whenever she had a hard time trying to discuss something important. I'd get her to make challenging puzzles. It helped her focus on the things she wanted to say."

Dakota nodded, her jaw slightly tensing in agitation being compared to Caitlyn. "But I'm not Caitlyn." She whispers, focusing on the metal gears at her fingertips. "I can actually tell people the truth instead of hiding it from them for their entire life."

Catherine looked to the girl in shock. "She told you?"

Dakota looks up to the woman and shakes her head as she gives out a small dark chortle. "Not necessarily." Dakota blows a strand of her bangs out of her face as she hangs her head low to find the stubborn gear, she'd been looking for. "Kinda found out during a standoff between him and her, with a gun pointed to my head."

"Oh, Caitlyn." Catherine sighs, shaking her head incredulously. "So that's how he got arrested."

"Yeah, not the best way to find out that the woman I spent my childhood wishing she was related to me, was actually my biological mother. Real bloody pity." She spits. "I mean she would spend so much time with my family, and I thought it was because she liked us, but I guess it was because she wanted to spend time with me. Did she even like my family? Did she even care when they died? Does she even care about Elric?" She curses as she gets shocked by a bare wire.

A sad smile teases at the corner of the doctor's thin lips. "No, love, she cared and still cares for your family." She adds as she takes the girl's shocked finger and places a globule of aloe vera. "That'll help with the blister that'll appear." She chuckles, rubbing the cream into the burn.

"Thanks," Dakota mumbles.

"She visits their grave sight, when she has tough cases to crack. She told me once, that it helps her think, if she thinks about them, and what she could have done to keep them alive. I use to think that she wished they were her parents instead of us being hers." Catherine says as she takes a wrench to the loose gear that Dakota discovered. " Bloody thing keeps getting loose." She grits through her teeth. "We were always tough on her. We tried to keep her away from you so that she wouldn't interfere too much with your family, but every time she came back with the loving grin on her face, I couldn't bring myself to tell her she was forbidden from you. When she moved out, Peter and I tried to keep ourselves busy, because we were afraid that we would interfere with her learning experience of the real world. So whenever she needed help, stupidly, we would try to let her learn and figure out the problem. Your parents stepped in and helped her through everything. We were very disappointed in our parenting abilities."

"So, why in the void did she keep this from me though?" Dakota scoffs. Her fingers grasp the ends of the conductive wire. She pulls them out of the chest cavity and attaches two other metal clamps.

"She probably didn't want to ruin the image of your parents. She wanted them to be your parents. She didn't want you to see her as a mother, when Sarah raised and loved you. She never wanted you to lose that image, because they were amazing people. Sarah however wanted you to know where you came from. Sarah never wanted you to feel confused or lost." A small giggle rumbles through her throat. "I remember the day when she had called us up when she found you reading the blueprints to her latest architectural project. Even at a young age you were showing early skills to becoming a hextechnologist."

Dakota nods. "That makes sense now that you put it that way. I'm still angry that she kept that from me. I'll eventually get over it, but it still hurts."

Catherine shoots her a smirk. "Even though she didn't raise you, the two of you share an uncanny stubbornness that the two of you both got from Peter."

Dakota raised her head to the doctor a mischievous smile gracing her thin lips. "This isn't stubborn, it's persistent. You haven't seen stubborn, yet." A thought crosses her mind, her lips pulling down into a frown. "So why does Peter hate me so much? I never got the whole story of what even happened. I just know that the man claiming to be my father was very angry that Caitlyn kept me from him. He looked a little too old to be in some teen romance with her."

Sarah sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Dakota," She begins. "People do terrible things, to hurt others. What that man did to Caitlyn, was meant to get back at Peter. The day she went missing…" She takes a moment to breathe. "I thought the next time we saw her, she would be in a body bag. Eli, your father, found her the next day in some alleyway, while he was on his way to work. He said that he could hear her crying and knew it was her. When the police called us and told us what happened, Peter swore he would hunt that man down."

Dakota looked at Catherine with tear filled eyes."So she was...I'm...oh Gods. I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for Dakota. You are just as innocent as Caitlyn. You have done nothing wrong." Catherine plead. "Please do not be sorry."

"No." Peter's gruff voice comes from the entrance of her study. "You are the reason that I couldn't find him and kill him." He snarled stalking toward the girl. "You ruined her life."

"Peter!" Catherine growled putting herself between the girl and the enraged man.

"How could you, Catherine?" He bellowed, keeping his eyes on the girl, who stood stock still. "You should be rotting in that jail cell with him! You are nothing but a bloody disgrace, you inexcusable runt! You are tearing my family apart!" He seethed.

"Peter that is enough!" Catherine screamed at the shorter man.

"You don't understand what she represents!" He roared.

"She is just an innocent girl. She did nothing wrong!"

As the Deramores argued, Dakota slipped out of the study and out into the cold night.

She kept her breathing even as she tried to control the tears threatening to fall down her cheeks.

***********************************************************/)(\*******************************************

{Lights- Slow Down (WRLD Remix)}

(The next night)

Piltover was always more beautiful at night. The city was usually a bustle of lights, people relaxing after work and party goers. The weekend called to many like a baying beast. Not many heeded the call, but when they did they turned as wild as the animals surrounding the city's out skirted forests.

And tonight he was going to heed that call. He had one night of freedom left to do as he pleased before he would be brought back to strict curfews and his much stricter sister. He would stand tall, wear his cocky smirk and show Piltover how to really party.

"You know she'll kill you when she finds out you went without her permission." Matais adds, his eyes never leaving the book in his hands.

"Matais, you of all people know that a young man needs to make a mark on the world. He's got run his territory with an iron fist and a good sense of humour. So fuck your stick in the mud attitude, I'm gonna rule my domain tonight." He grins toward the older man who rolls his grass green eyes.

"I hope making your mark on the world doesn't get anyone pregnant." Matais mumbles.

Alex snickers and waves the mage off. "You should come out, maybe you'll find someone cute, blonde and Demacian." He wiggles his eyebrows in the mirror as he muses the short blood red curls on the top of his head. He presses his fingers into the shaved sides of his skull, pushing gel into the follicles to form the perfect tousled hair do.

He shoots himself a cocky smirk, tilting his chin at his mirror reflection. Damn he was feeling good today.

Matais rose a dark eyebrow to the younger man and mumbled something about unrealistic expectations.

"Fine, fuck ya. Dakota will go out with me, she'll be a better wingman than you, ass hat." He growls, grabbing his canvas coat and shouldering the material. He flips his middle finger to Matais as he exits out of the mage's quarters and strides across the hall to Dakota's room.

He takes both of his fists and pounds on the oak door with loud force.

When the door opens, Alex jumps back in fear as the girl's icy eyes are clouded with dark shadows and angry lines.

"Jeeze, ice queen you're looking fairly murderous tonight." Alex jeers as he flattens his front.

"Shove your face into the void, Alex." She snarls.

"You look like shit, what happened to ya?"

Dakota looks at the boy incredulously and shakes her head as she begins to close the door.

"Eh, what the hells, Sampson?" He barks as he places his foot in between the door and the door frame, keeping it open.

"Move your foot before I break it." She warns menacingly.

"Nope, we're going out tonight. I don't fucking know what got you in this gods damn funk, but you're gonna lose yourself tonight. You look like you need it." He pushes against the door and slides into her room. Her desk is illuminated with a small desk lamp shining onto metal pieces and tools. "You were really going to spend this night on hextech? Fucking lame, Dakota."

He turns his body to the girl who is still facing the doorway. Her head hangs low, her dark hair falling like a curtain around her face.

"You ok, Sampson?" He asks with a frown. "You look like you found out your new puppy got run over."

"Just get out, Alex. I'm really not in the mood." She sighs.

"Nononononononah, nada, not gonna happen. Come on let's go get some drinks, brawl and be young. Don't you wanna go listen to the music. You know you wanna go listen to the music. You always want to go listen to the music. It'll make you feel better. Annnnnnnnnd." He drawls out. "There will be so many people out there tonight, maybe we can find you someone to lose yourself into. Fuck, that's what I'm gonna do. I'll pay for everything, this is a win win situation, Sampson. Don't fucking waste it."

"I don't want to do anything like that, right now, Alex. Please just leave me alone." She begs.

"Fuck off, Sampson. Get some gods damned bar clothes on and get cleaned up. Trust me this will make you feel better."

Dakota groaned. "Fine, whatever, Alex have it your way. You're such a persistent fuck."

"Aww, Sampson. That just warms my ginger heart." He smiles. He watches as she angrily forces her drawers open. She goes to the bathroom, leaving Alex alone in her room. He looks curiously at the hextech pieces. He swivels himself around the room looking at the small amount of furniture in her quarters.

A standard single bed, pressed up against a wall, with neatly folded sheets. A small three feet tall book shelf filled with books and texts.

His eyes then lock on to something hanging of the back corner of the pine book shelf. He grabs a pencil from the desk and leans over, pulling the lacy material off of the corner with a wicked grin.

Dakota comes out of the bathroom, sliding her fingers through her hair to comb out any forming knots. She freezes when she sees Alex's shit eating grin, holding up the pair of lacy underwear with the edge of her pencil eraser.

"Whose are these?" He asks with mischief lining his mud brown irises.

Dakota blushes deeply." They're m-m-mine." She blurts out, crossing the room to snatch the lacy material away from Alex.

"Don't fucking lie to me, don't wear shit like this. Illya does though." Alex says watching as the girl pales."I am your best friend, and you didn't tell me that you got laid by Illya Ritcher. Is that why you're so moody?" He says in mock hurt. He slaps his knee as he begins to laugh. "Oh my fucking gods. This is rich. I knew it. Wait until your brother finds out. He's going to fucking kill her." He wheezes.

"Fuck off, Alex. It's only a one time thing. I fucking broke it off yesterday." She growled.

"What? Why?" He asked stunned. "Illya is a perfect girl. The two of you have such fucking chemistry. Stop being a pussy, Sampson."

"I broke it off, because of Tarryn." Dakota admitted.

"You did what?!" He screamed. "Sampson, you have done some stupid shit in your life, like that time you tried to tame that eagle. But this? Fuck, Sampson! Tarryn, is not worth a relationship. She's so flighty and can't keep her heads out of the clouds. I get it the two of you grew up together. But she doesn't even know what she wants!" Alex explained. "But Illya. Jeeze, that girl knocks people down with her good looks, and if you're not going to do anything about I'm fucking jumping on that."

"You wouldn't." Dakota glared to the red head.

"Then woman up. She fucking likes your ugly mug, count yourself lucky, Sampson." He teases. "C'mon let's go out so that I can teach you the ways."

"Oh, please great, sensei, show me the way." Dakota sarcastically said in monotone.

"Onward to adventure, Sampson. I plan to get fucking hammered tonight, so let's do it in style!" He croons as he leaps from her desk stool and out the door.

Dakota sighs as she slowly turns and follows behind the boy. She felt like tonight was going to be a mistake.

***********************************************************/)(\*******************************************

{Linkin Park- Bleed It Out}

Blood sprays along the gate. The crowd roars as they surround the ring, drinks and gold in hand. The fight bar or better known to the locals as The Pits was a grimy pub with cheap drinks, legal brawls and good and loud music. The bar splits itself in half from the booths and tables, the dance floor and stage, and the thrall and screams of fighters and fans.

Alex's lips fall into his automatic cheeky grin as the two soldiers push through the crowds and straight to the counter. Alex hangs his arms over the girl's neck and orders the beverages. Giving the bartender a charming wink and slapping coins and their IDs on to the counter. The beautiful bartender inspects the Identification cards and double checks Dakota's. With a nod, she slides their drinks over. Alex passes a bottle to Dakota and taps the lip of his drink with hers in a small cheers.

He chuckles as he watches her looking through the room.

"So," He calls over the crowds. "What was it like?"

"What, was what like?" Dakota asked taking a large gulp of the ale. Her eyes fixate on the fighters in the ring and something pulls at her chest. Something primal and aggressive.

"Illya. What was she like?" He chuckles wiggling his eyebrows to the girl.

Dakota shoots him an icy glare. "I don't kiss and tell, Preston. I know you do, but I don't."

"Honourable." He quips.

"Being honourable, is making me lonely." She yells over the crowd's roar of blood lust.

"Then stop." He simply states with shrugged shoulders and a lazy smirk.

Dakota scoffs. Her eyes weave through the bodies dancing to the beat. She swears she sees a familiar mop of lilac hair. She's sure she hears her giggling.

"You can't stop something you naturally are." She murmurs.

"Like how I am a massive shit disturber?" Alex chuckles.

"Exactly." She replies. Her eyes snap as emerald flashes to her eyes. She stands stunned as Illya meanders through the crowd, unbeknownst to being stared at. Dakota watches as the Noxian girl goes up to a lanky young man, a soldier most likely relaxing after a hard day of drills. Her shoulder length hair is let loose, swaying as she moves her hypnotic hips. Her pale arms wraps around the young man's neck.

"Fuck being Honourable." Dakota growls, as she places the finished drink on to the counter. She pats Alex's chest and pushes through the crowd. She taps the lilac haired girl's shoulder, interrupting her dance, and as the Noxian turns, Dakota cups her face and kisses her roughly.

A fist slams into her right cheek and she sails into the hard wood of the pub floor.

"Don't fucking touch her." The soldier boy snarls protectively, hovering over the lilac haired girl.

Dakota blearily looks to the girl she kissed, her eyes widening as she realises, that she was not Illya. She stands to her feet, putting her hands up. "Look, man. I mistook her for someone. I'm so sorry."

"Fuck off, you fifty first shit stain. You fuckers take all the god damn glory, you know what I'm sick of you ass hats taking things from me!" The soldier bellows.

"It was a mistake!" Dakota snarls. She looks to the girl giving an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that."

The girl blushes and Dakota practically feels a cocky smirk slide through her thin lips. Alex was starting to wear off on her. A fist sails in her direction, and Dakota has the right mind to duck.

"You want to fight?" She screams at the lanky boy. "Fine, let's fucking fight!" She growls. "I've been needing to get some frustration out you twat." She grabs the lapels of his loose uniform shirt, reeling her fist back, before a very large hand claps on to her shoulder.

"Easy little lady." A security guard grumbles in a heavy accent. "The only fighting here is in the ring. If the two of you wanna go toe to toe, you can do it now. The ring just got cleared up, so either make your way there or fuck off."

Dakota glares to the lanky boy who spits at her feet. "I don't think you're strong enough."

"You want to make a bet?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and dark grin.

The security guard sighs heavily as he grabs the boy by the collar and drags the two teenagers to the ring. The crowd roars around them.

Gold exchanges hands, laughter breaks out in spats, but the blood lust going through the crowd is what she mostly notices.

Blood will spill.

In the back of her mind, she wonders if it's fair. She wonders if this soldier knows what he's gotten himself into and she has half the mind to warn him, but she chuckles. Let the idiot learn, that if he wants to pick fights then he should learn to pick them better.

Alex runs through the crowd holding bottles in his wide hands. He stops to smile at a few girls in the crowd before he continues forward to Dakota.

"I saw all of that." He chuckles, passing the ale to Dakota who takes it gratefully. "If it amounts to anything, I thought she was Illya too."

Dakota snorts. "What do you think his odds are?"

"Well considering how pissed, hormonal and angsty you look, I'm gonna give him a twenty five percent chance to win. He may have the reach on ya, but you're like a fucking wolverine when you're angry. Just don't kill him, lover girl." He looks to the boy who locks his predatory eyes onto Dakota's back. "Hey ain't that Griael! That fucker tried to get me last time I was out. Has a fucking obsession with the fifty first. He's been trying to get in since the day he got enrolled. Dumb prick. Show him what fifty first material is, Sampson." He slaps her cheek playfully. "Get some!" He bellows.

Dakota chuckles and turns to the boy, raising her fists to her face. Griael, spits on to the ring floor, sporting a malicious snarl.

"You made a mistake, fifty first!"

"I keep telling you that, but you seem to not be able to let anything go!" She calls.

The bell rings and the lanky soldier charges Dakota, who laughs maniacally.

She feels her anger fuel her as she side steps the boy and swings her elbow straight into his nose. He falls on to his back and she is on top of him. Her fists pound into his face with the beat of the music going on in the background. Blood sprays her face and soon she is pulled off.

It ends that quickly.

She rises to her feet and meets the three angry faces of Griael's friends. One of them takes the time to pull their unconscious friend out of the ring.

She laughs as they face her like a pack of wild dogs.

"You want some of this?" She screams in challenge. "I'm fucking riled boys." She spits.

The crowd around her roars, as the fight begins. Dakota fluidly moves as she defends herself from their blocky movements.

Alex screams in the crowd as he watches his comrade kick ass. Beside him a short mop of blond hair bounces to get a better view. Alex looks to the grand master explorer with a wicked grin.

"Hey shortie, try to get to the front, you'll get a better view." He drinks the rest of the contents to his ale and laughs as Dakota clotheslines an attacker.

"I'd rather not watch my friend's daughter get pummeled to bits." The blond young man replies shaking his head.

"You knew Dakota's parents?" Alex asks. "You look a little too young to be able to know them."

The blonde pinched the bridge of his nose, as the girl took a wicked hit to her face. He could hear her cursing out their mothers as she attacked viciously. The crowd gave another thunderous roar, as blood and spittle flew to the air, like a painter working on their masterpiece.

"I know her mother, yes. She's going to kill her." Ezreal sighed. "You better get her out of there before she really gets herself hurt."

"Kill her?" Alex questioned. "Her mother's been dead since she was seven." His eyes then flicked to a brunette waitress passing drinks around the crowd. His jaw dropped as he followed the way her hips sashayed as she held the drink tray above her head. "By the gods." He whispered.

"Caitlyn Deramore is very much alive. I'm pretty sure Piltover would burn down if she died." Ezreal scoffs. He only came here to meet with a potential client. He would gets his hands on that tomb map, even if it was the last thing he did.

Alex keeps a steady gaze on the waitress, completely ignoring the blond young man wincing as the girl in the ring was passed a shot of some type of alcohol. She cleared the shot before she turned on the remaining soldier easily moving around his attacks and kicking at the back of his knees. A fist sailed her way and she pin wheeled as she tried to keep upright.

Alex waved his hand capturing the attention of the waitress who sashayed toward the redhead.

"Hey, love." He drawls, giving her a very charming and cheeky smile. "I'll take a tall craggy ice and a hot brunette." He purred in her ear.

The waitress giggled. "There's a few of those around."

"I'm staring at the one I want the most though." He winks. "When does your shift end? I want to take you for a drink."

"Ten minutes." She replies.

"Well I must be the luckiest man on Valoran. Would you do me the honour of spending the night with me?" He drawls, taking her hand and placing a very soft kiss on to her thin hand.

"A gentleman." She chuckles. "Alright, I'll bite. Meet me around back, and we'll go to something a bit more classier hmm?"

"Sweetheart I'll go anywhere as long as it makes you happy."

Alex clapped Ezreal's shoulder. "Hey pip squeak. If Dakota comes out of that in one piece, tell her I'm getting lucky. Tell her to fuck honour and get into Illya's pants before she has an aneurysm."

Ezreal looked to the red head incredulously. "You can't just leave her here."

Alex looked to the girl in the ring, she had someone wrapped in a headlock. "Nah she's fine. Just make sure she knows where home is. The crowd keeps feeding her drinks, what a fucking mooch." He chuckles. "Anyways, good luck. I'm off to make my dreams come true with this catch."

Before, Ezreal could reply the red headed boy took off.

"Damn Deramore's and their pride." He grumbles as he watches the girl through pained expressions as she fights off the soldiers with a wicked grin.

"Come at me you ugly cunts!" She screeches toward her opponents.

Around her the crowd roars as they all attack at once.

***********************************************************/)(\*******************************************

{Eden-Drowning}

(Midnight)

She had been sitting peacefully in the living room curled up under a large quilt. Her sore feet rested on the old leather foot rest. Vis is peacefully asleep on her lap, her eyes closed and nose nuzzled into Caitlyn's stomach. It was fast approaching midnight, soon she would wake up Vi and the two of them would stumble into their bed and sleep the night away.

Caitlyn had a very long day. Caitlyn needed to release some steam, so she took to the streets relieving an officer from his patrol route to take it upon herself. She had caught four perps within the first two hours, all of them small misdemeanours, but it still made her feel better. Eventually Vi had joined her and the two took to the lower city arresting a few others for gang related crimes from a case that Caitlyn had cracked the day before.

So when they returned home, Vi ordered Ionian take out food, while Caitlyn took a well deserved shower and got into a comfortable pair of pyjamas with a very large book in hand.

A solid knock interrupted her thought process of the day's events. She opened up her pocketwatch, looking at the time.

"Who in the void?" She frowned at the clock face that read the exact minute to midnight.

She slipped from Vi's sleeping form and padded along in her poro slippers. She peeked at the eye hole, and instantly opened her front door.

Ezreal gave a sheepish smile as he held Dakota up. Her arm hung over his neck for support. She looked up from the floor and squinted at Caitlyn, then turned at Ezreal with a frown.

"I fucking hate you." She growled. "You-you fucking told me t-that-that you wouldn't take me here!" She drunkenly yelled. She swayed slightly as she tried to pull away from Ezreal. "You're a fucking traitorous twat.I don't get why Tarryn idolized you, you piece of void shit." She barks angrily to the blonde.

Caitlyn scrunched her nose at the scent of strong alcohol and sweat that wafted off of Dakota. Her face had been badly bloodied, her knuckles were skinned and raw, bruises littered her body.

"She was at the pitts." Ezreal explained sourly. "I didn't know what to do with her." He admits. "Her redheaded friend bailed when a very promiscuous waitress got a hold of him."

"Yes, Alex is- is a fucking traitor like you. I don't want to be here in front of her." She hisses at Ezreal aggressively.

"Shut up, you're lucky I even brought you here. You'd be in big trouble if I just left you at the hospital. Might as well get the scolding done while you're getting patched up." He argued.

Caitlyn pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh Dakota. Take her to the kitchen, Ezreal." She sighed, stepping to the side to allow Ezreal to move into the apartment.

Dakota fought against Ezreal's attempt to bring her into the apartment. "No! Fucking leave me at the hospital, I'd rather get court marshalled then face her!" She yelled in her slurred drunken state.

Caitlyn grabbed Dakota's arm, trying not to gag at the scent of alcohol, vomit and blood.

"I fucked up, man." Dakota drawled over to Ezreal as she slumped in defeat. "She was perfect, you know. Amazing and I fucked it up so hard."

"She's been saying that over and over again." Ezreal grunted over to Caitlyn who rose an eyebrow at the young man.

"And then this bitch, f-fucking lied to me, my entire life, is-is a god d-da-a goddamn lie." Dakota moped as she swiveled her head toward Caitlyn and squinted at her with a snarl on her split lip.

Caitlyn sighed, rolling her icy eyes as she dragged Dakota to the kitchen. "I know, love. We'll get you looked after and you can yell at me all night if you'd like."

"You really mean that?" Dakota's voice almost sounded hopeful.

"Yes, darling. All night." Caitlyn mumbled, as her and Ezreal sat her onto one the island bar stools.

"Don't call me, darling." Dakota sobbed in a sudden fit of tears. "She fucking called me, darling and I fucking hated it, but I want to hear her say it. No one loves ALex bailed on me."

Caitlyn rubbed soothing circles into the middle of her back.

She then turned her attention to Ezreal. "Thank you. I'm sorry she caused you trouble. She's had a rough couple of days." She admitted sadly, watching as Dakota sulked into her forearm.

"Don't worry about it. I just hope she's ok." Ezreal frowned as the girl broke into another fit of sobs. "I can stick around if you want."

"Don't worry about it. Her and I need to have a few words anyways." Caitlyn sighed. "We kind of left off on a sour note the other night. I'll have to wake Vi up, though. She's good with her." She walked Ezreal to her door opening the pine revealing the hallway to the rest of the building.

"Alright, well hopefully she doesn't feel it too hard in the morning. She drank a lot. She did a hell of a job in the ring though, made the crowd wild, until she got thrown out." Ezreal shook his head. "Well, good luck, Cait. Have a good night."

"You too, Ezreal. I can't thank you enough for bringing her here. I'm sorry she ruined your night." Caitlyn apologised.

"Don't worry about it, just get her feeling better." Ezreal then waved before he turned on his heels and departed.

Caitlyn closed the door behind her, listening to the small sniffling sounds of Dakota and sighed as she strode to Vi.

The pinkette groaned in her sleep, swatting at Caitlyn's attempts to wake her up. "I need you, love." The sheriff begged. "Please, I need you to wake up."

Vi opened up one of her eyes to look at Caitlyn.

Her fiancee's face was pulled in worry.

"It's Dakota."

Vi rose from her position quickly. "What happened?" She asked reaching for her jacket that she threw over the back of the couch. Caitlyn placed her hand over Vi's knuckles as she grabbed the leather material.

"Ezreal, just brought her home. She's drunk and has been fighting all night." She pointed toward the kitchen. "She's crying on the counter and I need you to distract her while I get her cleaned up."

"I can do that, cupcake." Vi leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She broke away and strode over to the kitchen.

She stopped as she looked at the mess of the girl, with her head on the marble counter. "By the void, kiddo."

The girl's head slowly rose to Vi's voice. Her eye had garnered a very dark and swollen eyelid, her lip and chin were lined with blood. "Vi." The girl keened out in the middle of a sob. "I fucked up." She hiccoughed.

Vi went around the counter and knelt in front of the girl. "Jeeze kid, you smell terrible, where'd you go to drink?"

"I-I didn't want t-want to drink." The girl admitted. "I just wanted to fight. Alex was being an asshole. I just-I can't stop thinking and I fucked up, and Illya's mad at me, I think, I don't know. I think we broke up, but we weren't even a thing, but we had-" Dakota stopped herself. "Vi, I fucked up bad. I gotta-I gotta find her, and tell her I messed up."

Vi rose her scarred eyebrow. "You aren't going anywhere."

Dakota frowned deeply, her icy eyes welling with tears as she stared at the pinkette. "But," She began to blubber. "No wonder Tarryn doesn't want to go out with me and why Illya didn't think it meant anything. Because I'm fucking weak, Vi."

"No you aren't kiddo, that's the alcohol talking." The pinkette began, she watched as Caitlyn came into the kitchen. She stood next to the girl with a hot face cloth and began to wipe at the girl's face. Dakota grabbed at Caitlyn's wrist roughly. "E asy, kid." Vi warned.

Dakota looked up to her biological mother. "I'm still fucking mad at you." She snarled. Her icy eyes then closed after her staring match, she clasped her mouth shut. Vi opened up a nearby cabinet revealing a massive pot and threw it to the teen's feet. The girl heaved the contents of her stomach with a massive retch. Her bloodied hands gripped the edge of the counter and the back of the chair with extreme force. Caitlyn gathered the girl's hair from her face and gave small encouraging pats to her back.

Vi grabbed the face cloth that Caitlyn had and folded it, placing it along the back of her neck. "Breathe through your nose, Dakota." Vi soothed as she massaged the sides of her neck. "It'll help with the pukey feeling." Dakota nodded before she dry heaved a few more times. "Let, Cait clean you up."

Dakota frowned at Vi, her icy eyes looking more like a kicked puppy than a trained elite soldier. "But, she- she hurt me." She drawled.

"I know, but she's going to help you feel better." Vi said, tilting the girl's face up to get a better look at her face. "You're lucky you didn't break your nose. You didn't keep your hands up did you?"

"I'm sorry, Vi." The girl began to blubber.

"You can't be sorry to me, kid. You have to be sorry to your face. Jeeze, you need to keep your damn hands up next time." Vi advised as she playfully brushed her knuckles over the girl's left cheek. "So what happened that got you to head over to a fight bar?"

Dakota's frown deepened. "Well yesterday I woke up. And felt like a shit stain 'cause I thought I cheated on Tarryn. So I went to talk to Tarryn and she-and she told-she told me that she wasn't 'ready for a relationship yet'." She swayed in her seat, her eyes tried to focus on Vi as tears went to the edge of her eyes. "And before that I saw Illya before I saw Tarryn and Illya told me it didn't mean anything, but it did to me Vi. It fucking did. I let her get to me. She was- she helped me stop feeling angry. And I've been crushing on her so fucking hard. But I like Tarryn. And fuck. Vi I'm so confused. I mean Tarryn, she doesn't make sense. Two fucking years, she held this god damn grudge, because her sister kissed me and when we start getting to know each other, she's just, like, 'nope, sorry Dakota, not ready for this confusing shit'. And you know I don't fucking blame her. But every damn time I close my eyes, I fucking see her. I hear her. Illya won't get the fuck out of my brain." Dakota screams. "And even though I told her t-that it was a mistake, I don't even believe myself. I fucking loved it! Never felt anything like it! But because I'm me, I fucked it up, like so fucking hard. I just fuck everything up." Dakota looked to Caitlyn as the sheriff cleaned out the blood on her eyebrow. "I fucked up your life, for even existing. Your father thinks I'm the bane of his existence and you know I don't fucking blame him. And I had no idea why, and last night it just made sense when I was at your mansion talking with them. I'm the fucking product of a rape. Why don't you hate me? I'd hate me. Fuck, I'd want me dead. You probably see his face everytime you look at me, you probably hear his voice every time I talk. How do you not want me to leave your eyesight?"

Caitlyn grabbed at Dakota's jaw forcing the girl to look at her. "Listen to me right, now Dakota Sarah Sampson. I will never, ever in my entire life, hate you. The day I was allowed to meet you was the best day of my life. You never ruined my life, I don't care who says what. I will never regret bringing you on to this earth, do you hear me?"

Dakota looked to Caitlyn with sad icy eyes. "But why?" Dakota asked, tears tracing down her cheeks."I don't deserve to be loved."

"Because whether you or my father likes it or not, you are my daughter and I love you like any mother should. And I will fight to the ends of this universe to make you happy. Sure I didn't raise you Dakota, but you are my blood, and I will do anything for you." Caitlyn admitted as she wiped a tear from the girl's cheek.

Vi put a hand on the girl's shoulder, giving her a wry grin. Dakota looked to the two women with blurred eyes. "I'm sorry." She sobbed. "I'm sorry I got mad at you." She reached for Caitlyn and pulled the sheriff into an embrace. "I was just so angry, that everyone held this from me. I didn't know how to-how to react."

Caitlyn held her tightly she tried not to gag at the girl's scent."It's ok, love." She whispered. She pulled back from the girl, putting a strand of her bangs behind her ear. "Come on let's get you in the shower and into bed. We'll talk in the morning, okay?"

Dakota nodded. She took a step off the stool and began to trudge beside Vi and Caitlyn as they helped her into the shower. Soon, they had her washed and in a pair of Vi's sweat pants and a t-shirt. Slowly they led the very runk girl to the spare bedroom, tucking her into the white comforter. Vi retrieved a glass of water, placing it on the bedside table and two pain pills. She emptied out Dakota's puke pot and placed it at her bedside. It didn't take long for the girl to lose herself to sleep.

Caitlyn sighed as she closed the door. Vi rubbed at her tense shoulders and kissed the back of her neck. "It's ok, cupcake. She's just trying to process things. It seems like she's trying to figure some things out. Let her sleep it off, and then have a good ol' conversation with her."

"I just want her to trust me again." Caitlyn admitted as she walked to the master bedroom.

"And she will." Vi said in complete confidence as she pulled the comforter off of the bed and pulled the sheriff onto the mattress. "Just give her some time. It will all be ok, Cait." She whispered.

"I hope so Vi. I really hope so."