Chapter 1 - War

                                    

                                          
War. 
              Do you know war?
              Do you know the scorching flames that destroy everything in its wake?
              Do you know the sound of gunfire and know the smell of gunpowder?
              Do you know what it's like to see piles of dead bodies?
              Do you know the pain of seeing your friends and loved ones in those same piles?
              Do you know war?
              I know war. 
              I know what its like to feel the flames licking at my skin, to hear that gunfire ringing in my ears, to see unnecessary death all around me, and to also recognize those bodies as the people I had grown up around.
              But I was witnessing hell.
              It was truly hell.
              I shouldn't have been out here, but I was worried for Dad. He said he had everything under control, but I could hear the screams that were coming from outside. Dad was messing my hair up in that playful way he always had done in one moment and was walking out the front doors of The Last Drop with his gauntlets on.
              So, I followed him.
              I watched as my Dad continued to fight against impossible odds with my Mom right by his side. She had already left before Dad. Mom was from Noxus. She left because of their thirst for power. She said they wanted to use her magic for the wrong reason. She didn't want to feed into the beast. She rarely talked about her side of the family but would always shiver when I brought it up.
              I didn't bring it up anymore.
              In my wandering thoughts, I didn't notice the enforcer right behind me...
I didn't know how he silently snuck up on me, but it was a mistake that would cost me. 
With a painfully tight grip on my shoulder, he turned me around with force and pointed his gun at my head. I froze in fear. I didn't know what to do. I didn't move fast enough for his liking, so he forced me to my knees. What was there to do? This enforcer was going to kill me. I could see it in lifeless grey eyes. Those eyes held no compassion for the people who lived in the Undercity.
              I waited to die, but...
              I didn't.
              I didn't die.
              I wasn't on my knees anymore either.
              I was- was on all fours?
              The next hour was all a blur.
              Instinct kicked in and let my new self lead while I took a backseat. I was to worn out mentally to take control of what was happening anyway. If this new side of me wanted to go wild, then they could go wild.
              Before I knew it, I was changing back into the real me. I was breathing heavily and the battle around me looked to be over. I could barely hear my Dad calling for me, but the blood was rushing to my ears and made it hard to hear what he was saying. 
I was too tired to do anything about it anyways. 
I looked down at my slightly raised hands and saw they- they were coated in blood.
How had they become like this?
Did I... kill someone?
"Dina! Oh, thank Morgana your all right!" Dad said as he picked me up and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.
              "What- what happened?" I said, dazed.
              "It doesn't matter right now Dina. We need to go. Its not safe out here." Dad said as he put me down.
              I hadn't seen the two somethings that were behind my Dad because I was so out of it, but when I did focus on the present I saw two children who I didn't recognize. One had pink hair and looked close to my age; the other had blue hair and looked younger than me. I didn't know what they were doing with my Dad, but I wasn't going to sit around here while enforcers could still be roaming. We were still in the danger zone.
              My Dad follows my eyes and sees where I'm looking.
              "There... there coming with us Dina. You understand right?" Dad asked.
              How could I not?
              They were in the middle of a war zone.
Alone.
              "I understand," I said as I tried to get my bearings.
              My head was on a swivel looking for imminent threats. I needed to be vigilant. Dad and I may have been able to defend ourselves, but with two new children who were vulnerable we needed to be extra careful.
              "Good. We need to get back home. And quickly." Dad says while he picks the two kids up in his arms.
              I didn't question him and followed his lead.
              When we got back to The Last Drop it was only then that I didn't see Mom with us. 
              I stopped at the front door and looked directly at my Dad's back.
              "Dad?" I asked, voice wavering.
              "Yes, Dina?" Dad responded, voice rough and low.
              "Where's- where's Mom?" I asked, hands now starting to shake.
              Dad paused for a moment then turned around slowly to face me. My heart was pounding, and I hope to everything that I loved that what I was thinking wasn't true. I needed it to not be true. Everything in my body was screaming out in fear of the worst possible scenario.
              When my Dad finally turned around, tears were falling from his eyes and he looked like his whole world had crashed down around him. I had never seen him look that. Ever. It made the shaking in my hands worse. 
              I knew then that my assumption was correct.
              Tears started to fall down my face.
              My body suddenly gave out and I fell to my knees
              And I...
              I let out a defending roar of mourning that shattered every window in The Last Drop.
              The magic around me shook the foundation of the building.
              I saw my Dad take a protective stance to shield the new children that we had taken in, but I couldn't focus. My rational mind had fled me with the horrific realization.
              My Mom was dead.
              And a piece of me died with her.