A/N: Hehe! Hey everybody! Sorry for the long wait, but this chapter was superrr heavy to write and I kind of struggled getting words onto a page to properly portray the emotions running rampant in this chapter. I want to thank everyone who has liked, commented and subscribed to this story. Your feedback is always so lovely to hear and I hope I have been doing this story justice :) Let me know how you all like it :D


It was good until it wasn't.

Caitlyn wasn't sure how things had turned from being so utterly perfect, to an absolute living nightmare so quickly. Her blossoming relationship with Vi was going so well, and she truly had never been happier in her life. The two of them were practically glued to each other. They switched off between meeting in the Undercity, Caitlyn bringing Vi to some of her favorite spots Topside, or occasionally sneaking the younger girl into her bedroom through the window above the garden.

The world she now knew and loved changed forever on a fairly average day.

Instead of having Jayce lie on her behalf in order for her to sneak over to Zaun, for once she decided to actually help him with his studies. It was a normal Tuesday afternoon, her classes were done for the day, and Caitlyn and Vi had decided to take the day for themselves. Vi had a job to do Topside, and as much as Cait hated the thought of the other girl stealing, she knew it was an unfortunate necessity for the group's survival. Besides, the citizens of Piltover had more than they could ever need, so it wasn't like anyone would notice a few trinkets missing. She hadn't wanted to know any details, all she did know was that it was a big job that had her four friends thrumming with excitement.

Her heart panged painfully in her chest as she thought about how that was what got her friends excited, stealing enough so that they could have food on their plates for a few days. They were forced to grow up too fast living in the Undercity, not getting the opportunity to know what it's like to just be children. Cait had always resented the sheltered life her parents bestowed upon her, but she couldn't imagine what it was like for them, not knowing how long they'd have food or a roof over their head for. Caitlyn was privileged and it made her so extraordinarily angry. Angry at Topsiders, angry at the council, angry at her parents, for allowing the citizens of Zaun to suffer while turning a blind eye. But most importantly, she was angry at herself for not doing more to help her friends, to help everyone in Zaun. So she turned a blind eye to her friends stealing, and made a mental note to pilfer some food from her home to bring the next time she was able to go to the Undercity.

"You really went to the Undercity to get these?" Caitlyn teased Jayce as she followed him down the hallway to his study, thinking of how he was so against her going to Zaun because it was dangerous according to him. "Weren't you afraid?"

"A little danger is worth the risk, don't you think?" He replied, and before she could say something snarky in response, a trinket fell from the box she was carrying. "Uh, careful. That's your parents' money you're dropping."

She watched as Jayce unlocked the door and went to open it, but it didn't budge. Her body froze as she heard voices on the other side of the door… very familiar voices. She didn't even have time to process exactly what was happening when an explosion of blue energy tore through the door and knocked Jayce back.

"Jayce?" She cried out as he slumped back against the wall. She ran to his aid, forgetting about the box she had been carrying. His upper body fell to the side as unconsciousness gripped him. "Jayce!"

"Cait?"

The older girl looked through the broken door to see her four friends with scared and guilty expressions written all over their faces, Vi standing in front of the others as if to shield them from any more potential danger. She wanted to be angry at them, but it wasn't like they could have known this place belonged to her parents or that the work Jayce was doing was able to cause so much damage. Hell, she didn't even know the work Jayce was doing could cause something like this.

"Cait," Vi croaked, tears brimming her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"My parents own this place," the older girl explained. She stood from where she was kneeled next to Jayce and approached the group, but her eyes were only focused on Violet. "You all need to get out of here."

"W-what?" Mylo spoke up from behind Vi. "You're just going to let us go?"

"Did you all intend to cause this explosion?" She questioned, already knowing the answer. All of them shook their heads. "Then take what you have and get out of here before the enforcers come. I'll figure something out. I'll tell them I didn't see anything."

"What about your parents?" Vi asked, clutching the sack full of trinkets and materials in one hand. Her eyes flitted around the room as if too embarrassed to look Caitlyn in the eye.

"Darling," Cait whispered, tears also now forming in her own eyes. She reached up with a shaky hand and cupped Vi's face. "I won't– I can't let anything happen to you. I will figure out a plan."

"But–"

Caitlyn cut her off with a searing kiss, pouring as much love into it as she could. She hadn't said the words, neither of them had, but it was said in everything they had done for each other. Every action, every fleeting look as they departed, every soft, tender touch. They hadn't said it, but they knew deep down that they loved each other, and Cait could only hope that they had enough time together for her to finally tell her. But now wasn't the right moment.

"You protect everyone you care about," Caitlyn murmured against Vi's lips. "Let me protect you. Go, my love. I will find you later."

She pulled away from the embrace and gently pushed Vi in the direction of the others. She watched them go until they were out of sight. She could hear enforcers yelling on the street, and hoped that her friends, who she now saw as family, could make an escape without getting caught. Her brow furrowed in determination, not knowing how she was going to fix this but knowing she had to do something. Before jumping into action, she had one last lingering thought.

"I will always find my way to you, Violet."


It was nearly impossible for Caitlyn to sneak away to the Undercity that afternoon. Her parents had been hovering over her since they had found out about what had happened at the workshop even though she hadn't been harmed. Jayce was the only one who had any injuries and even then they were mild. He'd walked away with a concussion and a few scrapes and bruises, but no serious damage was caused other than to the building he worked in.

It was challenging for her to navigate the situation, not wanting to throw Jayce and his studies under the bus, but also needing to figure out a way where her parents wouldn't pursue looking into what happened. She had been asked by what felt like a million different enforcers if she had seen anything, which she had been able to easily deflect by saying she was too focused on making sure Jayce was okay to catch sight of the intruders. Her parents were the ones she found it more difficult to lie to, even though she had technically been doing so for months in order to see her friends in Zaun.

"The boy's got ambition. It's why we supported him in the first place," Cassandra Kiramman said to Tobias. Caitlyn had been listening to them bicker back and forth for what felt like hours now.

"Ambition?" Tobias spat, startling Caitlyn out of her thoughts. She had never heard her soft spoken father speak in such a manner. "Darling, he nearly blew up our daughter."

"Jayce had nothing to do with that. He was robbed," Caitlyn piped up from the seat across from her father, clutching a top hat in her hands in an attempt to calm her nerves. "We need to help him."

"Caitlyn's right," her mother agreed. "We've known Jayce for years. Besides, we're his patrons. If anyone is meant to speak up for him, it's us."

"Fine," Tobias huffed in frustration. "What are we to do about the intruders?"

"Sheriff Grayson has already started an investigation. We should have more information on the culprits soon," Cassandra informed them.

"Investigation?" Cait questioned, fear gripping her heart in a vice grip. "Why does there need to be an investigation? Nobody was really harmed, and everyone has been saying it was just a group of kids."

"My dear, there has to be repercussions for the damage done," her father gently explained, slipping back into his normal persona.

"But– it would ruin their lives," she argued. "Everything stolen wasn't important and easily replaceable. It's not like they could have known that what was in Jayce's study would do something like that. It was clearly an accident."

"Caitlyn, we cannot let an attack like that from the Undercity go unpunished," Cassandra scolded. "We have kept you safe from those people your entire life, they are not good people. Your father is right, a stunt like this against our family cannot go without repercussions, it will make us look weak."

"Mother, those kids need help if they are resorting to stealing," Cait challenged, feeling defensive and angry from the accusation made by her mother. "We can show them that we're better than they think of us by showing forgiveness. What if it had been me? Would you want someone to hunt me down and lock me up for who knows how long over a silly accident?"

"Perhaps our daughter is right, dear," Tobias interjected, a frown having formed on his face from Caitlyn's words. "Those children are around Caitlyn's age. Maybe sentencing them is a bit too harsh."

"That's enough from the two of you," Cassandra snapped, leaving no room to argue any further. "An investigation is underway. I will try to ensure the sentencing isn't too severe due to the fact that they are just children, but as I said, this cannot go unpunished."

"But mother–"

"I said that's enough, Caitlyn," her mother practically growled. "Go up to your room and get some rest while your father and I are at Jayce's hearing. This conversation is over."

Caitlyn stood from her seat and left the living quarters, stomping her feet every step she took up to her room. She needed to get out quickly so she could warn the others. She needed to see Vi. For months they had been in a bubble of happiness and love, and she felt like that bubble was ready to burst, leaving a wake of pain and suffering in its path. She couldn't allow that to happen, couldn't stand the thought of losing any of her friends, but most importantly she couldn't stand the thought of losing Vi.

She waited in her room until she knew her parents had left the house before sneaking out of her window, not wanting any of the housekeepers to spot her leaving and reporting it to her parents. Caitlyn had never run so fast in her life, ignoring the burning of her lungs as her feet carried her to what felt like more of a home than that big, empty house she'd just left behind. She was careful, knowing enforcers were lurking at every corner, and would no doubt question why she was in the Undercity if they spotted her. She used the skills she'd learned from her friends to jump from rooftop to rooftop in order to avoid any conflict until she safely arrived at The Last Drop.

Cait slipped through the front door and became witness to many citizens of the Lanes trying to convince Vander to fight back against Topside. Nobody noticed her entering, too busy trying to rile up Vander and who she assumed to be Benzo. She had never met the man but had heard many stories about him, and knew he was Vander's dear friend and second in command of the Lanes. As the crowd started to depart, she saw her friends hiding in the dark doorway that led to the basement of The Last Drop, eavesdropping on the conversation happening in the bar. She made her way towards them, spotting Ekko with them who she had only gotten the chance to meet a few times.

"Vi!" She exclaimed as she was within earshot of the group. She didn't think twice about throwing her arms around Vi's shoulders and bringing her into a bone-crushing hug as soon as she was close enough. She felt the other girl wince from the embrace and immediately pulled back to get a closer look at her girlfriend, noticing bruises marring her cheeks and the blood on her wraps. Protectiveness overwhelmed her as she growled, "who did this to you?"

"Hey, Cupcake," Vi greeted, giving Caitlyn a quick peck on the cheek. She guided Cait and the others downstairs so they could speak privately without the noise of the bar. "Someone had been following us and tried to fight us for the stuff we took from your parents' place."

"Who was it? A Topsider?" Cait questioned as she settled on the loveseat, already trying to think of a way to give them hell for messing with Vi. She wrapped her left arm around Vi when the other girl sat next to her, gently guiding the younger teen into her side and feeling arms slip around her waist. A small smile tugged at the corners of Caitlyn's lips despite the circumstances they were facing, loving how touchy and cuddly Vi was.

When she first met Vi she hadn't imagined the pink-haired, badass girl to be very affectionate, but as she had spent more time down in the Lanes with the group, she noticed that physical touch was a love language of Vi's. Whether it was the pats on the back she would give to Mylo and Claggor, the warm hugs she would give to Powder, or the soft caress of her knuckles brushing Cait's as they walked to the bridge together. And Caitlyn had been pleasantly surprised by how much that increased as their relationship turned more romantic.

"No, it was someone from the Lanes," Vi explained. Caitlyn felt her sigh against her neck as she continued with her story. "We threw the stuff to Powder but one of the guys noticed her and chased after her. She had to toss everything into the water because he cornered her."

Caitlyn could feel the defeat radiating off of Vi, and gave her a reassuring squeeze in hopes it would make her feel slightly better. She knew that this situation was complicated enough and without anything to show for it, she assumed Vi was very disappointed. It dawned on her that it was probably a good thing that they didn't have anything left from Jayce's study, so the enforcers wouldn't find anything that linked them to what happened Topside. But she also knew that losing the things they had would mean that they would have to continue to struggle for who knows how long, and that stuff could have kept them well off for at least a few weeks.

"Oh, darling, I'm sorry," Cait murmured, placing a kiss on Vi's forehead. She then remembered why she had come in the first place, to warn them about the investigation, and her stomach twisted with nerves. She wasn't sure if Vi and the rest of them were going to be angry at her for not being able to stop her parents from pursuing an investigation. "I actually came here because I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

Caitlyn unraveled herself from Vi's arms and got to her feet, feeling as though she needed to address the group as a whole. She paced back and forth in the small room for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts as well as keep her nerves in check. She was prepared for backlash from the group. She had told them that she would figure something out, and she felt as though she'd failed them.

"My parents are pursuing an investigation into what happened today," Caitlyn said as she stopped pacing, but wasn't able to look any of them in the eye. "I tried to stop them, told them it wasn't necessary… but my mother is nearly impossible to persuade."

She chewed on the bottom of her lip as her eyes flickered across each of her friends' faces as she tried to gauge their reaction to her news. She expected to see anger reflected back at her, but all she saw was a sad understanding.

"It's not your fault, Caitlyn," Mylo sighed, which surprised her. Out of any of her friends she would have expected Mylo to be the one to argue.

"Mylo's right, Cupcake. You didn't know all the details of what we were planning. You couldn't have known what was going to happen," Vi agreed with her foster sibling. "Vander is having us lay low until the air clears, but everyone else in the Lanes is ready to fight back. I don't understand why he won't."

Cait heard Ekko inhale sharply after Vi's words, and he seemed to be looking at anything other than the group. Vi also picked up on the younger boy's sudden uneasiness and eyed him warily, hoping to get him to talk without having to say anything.

"Spill it, Ekko," Vi said after a moment of awkward silence.

"Um, o-okay. Well, um," Ekko stumbled over his words, still not able to look Vi in the eye. "Vander's got a deal with the enforcers."

"What deal?" Vi questioned, and Cait couldn't tell if her girlfriend was more shocked or angry at what Ekko had said.

"I don't know all of the details, but I heard him and Grayson talking in Benzo's shop," Ekko began to explain. He still seemed a bit tense but was now able to hold eye contact with Vi. "I heard her say that if he kept people from the Lanes out of Topside she'd stay out of his business, and that the council wants someone to make an example out of so the people Topside feel safe."

"What did Vander say?" Powder timidly piped up. Her big blue eyes were wide with fear and she looked a second away from crying.

"He refused to give her names and she said that if nobody is behind bars tonight the next time she'll be down here is with an army of enforcers. She gave him something to contact her if he changes his mind."

Caitlyn felt sick to her stomach from Ekko's words, knowing that it was her mother that was pushing to find someone to make an example out of. A fresh wave of guilt washed over her, and the feeling of having failed her friends intensified. She'd told them that she would protect them, and she couldn't even do that successfully. She'd also failed the people of the Lanes because she knew Vander wouldn't turn in his own kids, and soon the enforcers would be upon all of them, causing them to suffer for what happened. If she could have just talked some sense into her mother, if she had fought harder, this wouldn't be happening.

Vi seemed to sense Caitlyn's somber mood, wrapping her arm around Cait's waist and pulling her into a comforting taller girl wrapped her arms around Vi's shoulders and nuzzled into her neck, trying to hold back tears. She wanted to believe that everything would work out and be okay, but she couldn't shake the fear that gnawed at her heart. Something was telling her that this was the beginning of the end, and that thought alone knocked the air out of her lungs. The idea that she could lose Vi and her friends, who she saw as her family, caused the tears to finally fall even though she had been trying so hard to stay strong.

"I'm going to walk Cait home," Vi announced to the group once she felt Caitlyn's tears fall onto her neck. "We can discuss this more when I get back."

Nobody argued, and they all said their goodbyes. Cait took the time to hug each of them, fearful of when she would get the chance to see them again. She knew they all had to lay low for a while which meant that she probably wouldn't get the chance to come down to the Lanes for visits until everything died down.

The pair walked up the stairs and out of The Last Drop, but before they made it any further Caitlyn grabbed Vi's hand to stop her. As much as she wanted this time with Vi, she knew there were a lot of enforcers out and about, and she didn't want to risk them spotting her girlfriend.

"You can't walk me home, Vi. It's too dangerous," Cait sighed, using the hand that wasn't holding Vi's to wipe the last remnants of tears from her face. She hated this situation so very much and wished she could go back in time to when she woke up this morning and stop her friends. She wished this tight, anxious feeling in her chest would go away and she could go back to living in the perfect little world she and Vi had created together. "Enforcers were all over the place when I came here to talk to you."

"How'd you get here without getting caught then?" Vi asked, and for the first time all day Cait saw her lover's signature smirk. Seeing Vi like that eased her nerves slightly, and her own soft smile curled at her lips.

"I stuck to the rooftops, just like you showed me," Caitlyn explained, staring into the glacial blue eyes that she had grown so fond of.

"That's my girl," she grinned, wrapping her arms around Cait's shoulders and pulling her into a hug, pressing a soft kiss against Cait's cheek.

Caitlyn brought her arms around Vi's waist and melted into the hug. She reveled in the feeling of Vi's embrace, not knowing how long she'd have to go without being enveloped in the other girl's arms. She wished they could stay in this moment forever, before the rest of the world caught up to them. She placed several kisses against Vi's neck, leaving behind a trail of goosebumps, until her breath brushed against her girlfriend's ear.

"I love you, Violet," Cait whispered into her ear. She couldn't stand the thought of not expressing how deep her feelings were without knowing when she'd get to see Vi again. It had taken everything in her not to say it sooner, but she had wanted to wait for the perfect moment, and she internally cursed herself for not saying it until now. She felt Vi's breath hitch in her throat, but before fear could settle into the pit of her stomach, she felt Vi pull her even closer into their embrace.

"I love you, too, Cait."

Caitlyn pulled back slightly in order to look into those ice blue eyes, seeing the love that she felt for the younger girl staring right back at her. Everything always flowed so naturally between them, as if they were made for each other, as cliche as it sounded. From an outsider's perspective it would appear as though the pair would never work, coming from two different worlds and having polar opposite upbringings. But their differences made them stronger, made them fit together so perfectly. There was no other explanation in Cait's mind for it other than that it had to have been destined by fate. The stories she heard of love growing up paled in comparison to the love she had for Vi.

Words would never come close to describing their feelings for one another, so they did what they always had when words escaped them. Vi unwrapped her arms from Cait's shoulders so she could cup the taller girl's face in her hands, tilting her head up to capture the lips that were eagerly waiting. The kiss spoke for them, conveying the passion and need and love they had for each other. It was a promise that told them that no matter who or what tried to pull them apart, they would always, always find their way back to each other.

"I love you, but you need to stay here," Caitlyn murmured against Vi's lips after they parted from their kiss. "I need you to stay here and stay safe. I couldn't stand the thought of you getting caught by enforcers on your way back from walking me home."

"I know my way around, Cupcake. I'll be careful."

"Vi, please, I can't–" Cait pleaded, her fear of the predicament they were in coming back with a vengeance after their declarations of love. "I can't lose you. I'll try to talk to my parents again to try to put an end to this, but for now can you please stay here where it's safe?"

"Okay," Vi conceded with a heavy sigh, clearly upset at not being able to stay with Caitlyn. She placed one more soft kiss against Caitlyn's lips. "Get home safely."

"I will. I love you, darling."

"I love you, too."

Caitlyn forced herself to finally pull herself away from Vi and start her walk back home before her parents got back from the hearing. She walked home with a newfound determination to set things right. With each step further away from Vi, her heart panged heavily in her chest, already missing the comfort the other girl's presence brought her. She would try to talk to her mother once they got home from the hearing, so they could put all this behind them, and she could find her way back to her love.


Caitlyn lay restless in bed after the events of the day, wondering if her girlfriend and her friends were still safe. Her mother had locked herself away in her office once her parents got back from the hearing, only to come out to get her away from Jayce when she was outside trying to converse with him. Her father had filled her in on how the hearing had gone, which explained her mother's behavior. She had begged him to help talk some sense into her mother about the investigation, and he'd suggested waiting until the morning once the events of the day had some more time to settle. She didn't like the idea of waiting to speak with her mother, but after she'd heard about Jayce telling the entirety of the council that he was trying to control magic, Caitlyn knew it was probably best to hold off.

She still supported Jayce regardless of whether or not his name was any good to the Kiramman's. He was her friend and supported her when she knew her parents wouldn't, so the least she could do was support him now when nobody else believed in him. She decided that once she had been able to talk to her mother to stop the investigation into the culprits of the explosion, she would make a trip to see Jayce.

An explosion in the distance dragged her out of her thoughts and she scrambled out of bed to her window to get a better look. Her stomach churned as she saw the familiar blue energy that she had seen earlier that day, and she knew without a doubt that Vi and her friends weren't safe.

She grabbed her rifle and strapped it to her back before making her exit out of her bedroom window, not caring if she was caught by her parents or anybody else. She needed to get to Vi and she'd deal with the repercussions tomorrow. She ran as fast as she could, ignoring the pain in her legs and the burning in her lungs from the exertion, the adrenaline keeping her going until she got to her destination.

The streets of the Undercity were eerily quiet as she ran through them, not bothering to stick to the rooftops this time. The silence made a chill run down her spine, having grown used to the bustling noise that never seemed to stop in the Lanes. When she rounded the corner that led her to Benzo's shop, understanding dawned on her for the reason why the streets were so quiet.

Blood. So much blood was splattered all over the streets. There were two bodies on the ground, and as she stepped closer her heart plummeted in her chest. It was Sheriff Grayson's and Benzo's lifeless bodies on the ground, blood pooling all around them. It looked as if an animal had torn them to pieces, which begged the question of what could have done this to them?

Caitlyn couldn't hear anything other than her heart pounding as she dropped to her knees, sobs immediately wracking her body from the sight before her. She mourned the woman who she had looked up to her whole life and saw as a mentor, as well as Benzo whom she didn't know very well but knew he was an important figure in her friends' lives. She allowed herself this moment to feel the pain of their deaths before refocusing on why she had come here in the first place, and her fear escalated tenfold due to the evidence of violence she just bore witness to. She had to find her friends, and had a gut wrenching feeling she'd find them where the smoke was still billowing in the sky.

It didn't take her long to get to the building that was on fire. The scene of Sheriff Grayson and Benzo's bodies had tilted her world off its axis, but the image before her completely flipped her world upside down. Ekko sat in the middle of the burning rubble next to another burly body, almost unnaturally so. As she stepped closer, the recognition of who the body belonged to clicked, and she fell to her knees for the second time in the span of a few minutes next to Ekko.

She examined the lifeless body of Vander, seeing his already large stature seeming to be even bigger than normal. His veins were bulging with a purple glow, his face bloodied and beaten, and more blood pooled beneath his head.

She looked over at Ekko and saw him clutching Claggor's goggles in his hand while staring blankly at Vander with tears silently streaming down his face. She noticed the blood on the goggles as well, and for what seemed like the millionth time that day her heart felt like it was shattering in her chest.

"They're gone," Ekko whispered in a gravelly voice that was so unlike his usual enthusiastic self. "All of them are gone and it's my fault."

"What do you mean all of them are gone?" Caitlyn asked as she tried to fight back her own tears. She wrapped one of her arms around Ekko's shoulders and pulled him into her side, not sure if she was trying to comfort him or herself. It felt like a thousand pound weight was crushing her chest from the boy's words, knowing that whatever he was going to tell her was going to destroy her.

"They're all dead. All of them," he croaked, bottom lip wobbling as more tears threatened to break free. "My whole family."

Caitlyn's breath trapped itself in her lungs at the implication behind those words that she desperately didn't want to believe. They couldn't all be dead. Vi had to be alive. She would have felt it in her bones if Vi was dead. But with the bloody goggles, and the three bodies she had already seen, and the complete destruction around them… it was hard for her to hold onto the tiny scrap of hope she had left.

"What happened?" She asked, her voice devoid of any emotion. She somehow felt everything and nothing at the same time.

Ekko explained everything between his bouts of heavy sobbing. Caitlyn held him in her arms the whole time as he talked her through what happened, starting from the very beginning with how he had followed Jayce to his study in Piltover. That's how her friends formulated their plan for their big job. He told her how after she left the Undercity earlier that afternoon things got worse, and the enforcers had gotten even more aggressive. Vi had planned to turn herself in to the enforcers in order to protect the others, and hearing that made her heart soar but also break. She loved how brave Violet was, but at the same time selfishly felt anger that she would willingly put herself at risk.

Vander and Benzo went to stop her, and Vander was going to take the blame for what happened earlier that day, locking Vi in a room in Benzo's shop so the enforcers wouldn't take her. That's when everything went even more south than it already had been. Ekko had seen everything. How another enforcer who worked with Sheriff Grayson made a deal with whoever had killed Benzo and taken Vander. Ekko had followed them to where they now sat, and then went back to get Vi.

And Violet, her beautiful, strong, courageous Violet, came here with the rest of her friends to save their father. They were all in the building when the explosion happened, and now they were all gone. Just like Ekko had said.

"Ekko, listen to me," Caitlyn said as his cries quieted after relaying the events that took place. She pulled away from him and cupped both of his cheeks in her hands so he was looking directly into her eyes. As much as she felt like breaking down, she needed to be strong for him. He'd just lost everything he had ever known. "None of this is your fault. Whoever did this, whoever killed them, is at fault. Not you. We'll find them. They won't get away with what they have done."

After getting a teary-eyed nod from Ekko, she finally allowed herself to break down. Clutching Ekko against her chest as they both wept for who they had lost. She would never get to hear Mylo and Claggor's bickering, or see what new inventions Powder worked on, or have a home cooked meal made by Vander while they all excitedly chatted with each other ever again.

She would never get to look into those stormy blue eyes that never failed to tug at her heartstrings. She would never get to feel Vi's rough, calloused hands delicately hold her own. She would never get to hold her, or kiss her, or tell her she loved her ever again.

One thing that she knew, as she sat in the fiery destruction that had torn her whole world apart, was that she wouldn't stop. She would search for the people who were responsible for taking away the people she loved. She would leave no stone left unturned, even if it took the rest of her life to do so. She would spend everyday fighting to bring forth the change that her and Violet had dreamed about, tearing down the system that had ripped the love of her life away from her, and building a new one in its place. She would work tirelessly until she was able to find her way back to Vi.