(A/N) Another update! I'm still drafting what will happen in the story, so the next chapter might be a little delayed. Going to try to make the storyline more interesting! Please leave a vote/suggestion if you have the time!

League of Legends Institute

"Lux. Are you sure the Void are the enemy?" Jarvan asked, his hands rested on the marble table. He wasn't surprised, the creatures of the Void never really communicated with the factions. They were just there; like parasites. The Void creatures all came from the Unknown, no one knew what was is in those lands, except Kassadin.

Though, he wasn't willing to say anything involving the Void. All the Demacian's and Ionian's were gathered for a meeting on how to act and what to do next. Lux nodded, she was taking a gamble. Even though LeBlanc was known as the deceiver, she had a gut feeling what she told her was correct. "I'm sure." she answered in a solemn and serious tone.

Jarvan glanced around the room to make sure everyone had heard what Lux had said, the Demacian's all nodded to each other, the group were about to move onto how to deal with the Void when the door was kicked open by a bulky figure. Lux looked up to see who had entered, was it the Void making the first move? When she heard the person speak, Lux was relieved.

"Well, why don't we just go smash those Void-losers up? Eh, cupcake?" a familiar figure smirked, walking into the room. It was Vi; Piltover's Enforcer. She had huge metal gauntlets that were wider than her own body, Lux couldn't tell how she could lift those giant metal gauntlets.

One time, Vi had left her gauntlets behind in the training room, of course the lady of luminosity tried to return them. Though, she couldn't even budge the gigantic gloves. Lux was amazed Vi carried them around like they were loose pieces of paper, she must work out really often. A woman in a top hat walked up next to her, it was Caitlyn.

Jarvan stood up, "Piltover? We weren't going to involve you..." the demacian said. Jarvan believed two factions were more than enough to handle the Noxians, anymore would be too costly.

Vi glared at the man, "Well, we've already decided to involve ourselves! Take it or break it!" she spat with a rude tone, glaring daggers at Jarvan.

Caitlyn just tipped her hat over her eyes, she was ashamed and humiliated time and time again by her partner. What Vi was saying was that either they take their help, or break their alliance.

Jarvan was silent and then he asked a few of the Demacian's their opinions. Vi waited impatiently, tapping her foot as they conversed between each other. Caitlyn had moved closer to Lux, kneeling down next to the lady of luminosity, she asked, "is Astral okay?" the sheriff asked, her eyes showed deep concern.

She remembered the past of her and Astral, as Caitlyn and Astral were once friends. They knew each other in Piltover. He always called them when he witnessed crimes, which helped Caitlyn and Vi out a bunch.

He sometimes filled in for Vi, going around town with Caitlyn blasting villains with prototype guns. It wasn't exactly the most normal life for a nine year old boy. Astral's mother and father went to the League first, so he was a lonely kid. He was only seven when they left and he would cry for his mom and father every day after they left him. Caitlyn, at that time was managing peace in Piltover full time.

Two years later, when Astral was nine, he boldly introduced himself even though there were bad rumours of Caitlyn and Vi. Ezreal had told him many stories of the famous sheriff of Piltover, and he found her work amazing. He dreamed of meeting her and telling her stories about his own adventures.

"Hi! Sheriff!" the young boy shouted, waving to the lady in the top hat. The black haired boy waved goodbye to his friends with a laugh then crossed the street. Vi glanced to the side, watching the boy running towards them. "Here he comes." Vi whistled, she noticed he was pretty quick on his feet and smirked. "He could catch Jinx with those legs." the woman commented sarcastically.

Caitlyn's eye twitched at Jinx's name, and she looked at the boy. That was when she noticed he resembled her good friend, Ezreal; almost a spitting image.

The two played together and Caitlyn became a good friend of Astral's, they stopped crime together on weekends and it was all quite fun. He looked up to her like the big sister he never had. When she was admitted to the League she was heartbroken. How could she break it to him? She thought of many ways, but there wasn't a way that wouldn't end without tears being shed. She decided not to say anything the day she left, because it would be too sad to leave him all alone once again.

When Astral figured out she left, he didn't cry or show any feeling to it. One night, Astral came to a conclusion. "Vin, when I grow up I'm going to the League too. I want to know why the league is so much better than me... The reason why they'd give me up."

His aunt chuckled, "Good plan, and that's Auntie Vin to you." she smiled, poking the young boy on the forehead. He giggled and hugged his Aunt, she smelt like his mom and he missed that scent.

Caitlyn blinked a few times as the past flashed through her mind. When Lux heard her son's name, she looked momentarily distressed, then resumed her calm posture, "He's dead, Caitlyn." Lux said lightly, looking away as she blinked back a few tears.

The sheriff's eye's widened as she backed away, covering her mouth with her hand. She didn't have any words, the sheriff was finally ready to apologize for abandoning him. She wanted to have a long talk with him and beg for his forgiveness. She tried to speak, but all that came out were some miserable hiccups and sobs. She couldn't believe he had died when she finally had the bravery to approach him.

Vi noticed Caitlyn breaking down and she knew exactly why. Her favourite rookie, Astral was no more. The girl slammed her foot on the table, resting her gauntlet on her knee, "We take revenge. The kid's death and the prince's death are not going to be in vain. Got it?!" Vi shouted, her cheeks puffed out. She enjoyed feeling like the one in charge, and this was a perfect chance for her to take the lead.

The Demacian's broke up from their huddle and agreed, revenge was probably the only way they can fight back. The assassination of their Prince could not be ignored. The time has come to bring Noxus crumbling to the ground. Jarvan cleared his throat, "Prepare the men, Lux could you go check on Garen?" he asked politely. Lux nodded as she stood up, and left the room.

The door closed with a click, everyone was silent throughout the meeting. Akali was arguing with the group that revenge was not the way to settle things, "No, we shouldn't do this! A decision like this should be thought about carefully!" the ninja shouted, all the Ionians behind her nodding quietly.

Caitlyn slammed her fist against the table, the strength shook the room. Vi whistled, she was impressed Caitlyn possessed such strength. "Listen up. I don't care if I have Ionia's support. They murdered my friend, and they will pay." Caitlyn threatened, her tone was angered and uneasy.

The sheriff was letting her emotions get the better of her and making foolish decisions. Akali just stared, she knew there was no way to stop this war. Everyone was determined to get their revenge. The question was whether Ionia was in or not. Kennen tugged on Akali's ponytail, he was trying to catch her attention.

Akali kneeled down, "What is it, Kennen?" she asked, her brown eye's looking into the yordles. "The person that was killed... the friend Caitlyn is talking about... was Astral." Kennen said lightly, watching Akali's eyes widen. She was quiet for a second, then stood up. Even though their meeting was brief, that boy had bonded with her and was an innocent that shouldn't have been killed. She thought Noxus had a chance, a new start. She couldn't try to maintain this false balance anymore, too many good people had been murdered for no particular reason.

Shen looked over at Akali's blank stare, "Akali... What's wrong?" he asked, but she ignored him. She stepped up to the front, and spoke up. The crowd noticed Akali, her sandals tapped lightly against the tiled floor, she had walked up to the front and gradually everyone quieted down to hear what she wanted to say.

"I... don't care if Ionia isn't joining this war. You will have my aid! Noxus has killed so many innocents and we all turned a blind eye. Well, I say no more second chances! We all made this... fake peace! Noxus hasn't been well behaved at all... We just wanted it to be true. We can't let Noxus have their way! I will fight on behalf of all those people we turned our backs on... and bring Noxus down. ...This is the only way to restore balance." Akali shouted, everyone standing up from their chairs to cheer.

Caitlyn and Vi looked impressed at Akali's decision, as they got out their gear to checkup on its condition. Caitlyn stared at the gun, her eyes were locked on the trigger. "Astral..." she mumbled, taking a deep breath, she would avenge him no matter what.

Akali knew Ionia wouldn't agree with her, but she wasn't looking for their approval. She was going to do what she wanted, just this once. Shen's arms were crossed and he looked slightly disappointed. Akali looked at him apologetically, but it was a fake expression. She was going to enjoy this moment. She felt her decision was the right choice.

A figure was in the other room, listening closely. He picked up a device, pressed a button and spoke quietly into it, "Everything's going according to plan." the person said, his voice sounded like he was talking into a bucket.

A response was heard between the static, "Good work, Kassadin. Get them to go into the war at all costs." the voice ordered as the transmission stopped, the soft vibration coming to stop. Kassadin looked around, then dissolved into a bubble of purple smoke. He had just about escaped the boundary of the institute when he bumped into a tall figure with thick metal armor. He wore a mask, that covered his whole face and he was dressed like an Ionian ninja. Kassadin backed up, he had been found out. Kassadin begged to leave him alone, but the man walked closer to him.

The mysterious figure laughed, his tone low and evil. "What's going according to plan, exactly?" the man asked threateningly, stabbing his blade into Kassadin mercilessly. The figure's red eyes looked into Kassadin's, "I'm not like them." he said coldly, plunging another shuriken into his body. Kassadin was about to scream out in pain when he felt a cold sensation, his voice wasn't coming out. Kassadin's eyes looked around wearily, realizing what the Ionian had done.

The masked man had snapped his neck easily with one hand. He couldn't feel anything now that his head had been disconnected from his body. His neck felt cold and he couldn't think straight at all. Everything around him began to get darker and darker. Kassadin tried to speak, to press the distress button on his device, anything that he could do.

He was dying, and the man just towered over him watching him die slowly. "...Zed...... I won't die.... Not like this..." Kassadin thought, closing his eyes for the final time. The void-like male had been killed on the spot by Zed, the ninja didn't even bother questioning the man from the Void. He couldn't care less of what Kassadin knew, it didn't concern him in the slightest.

Zed walked up to the corpse, picking it up like it was a piece of trash. "Void scum." he muttered, throwing it to the side. The ninja picked up the communication device and walked over to the room where the meeting was being held. He could hear the rioting champions as they all prepared for the attack on Noxus.

He left the device by the door, catching a glimpse of Akali. She still looked the way they had met in Ionia, not a single difference except her attitude. He was surprised that the one who was riling the people up was Akali." Zed chuckled, "The Fist of the Shadow is disrupting the balance, huh." he smirked, then continued to walk down the hall.

He was unsure which side he would join for this battle, it would be natural for him to side against the Ionian's... but he thought Akali was a very interesting person to play around with. Maybe she'd even join him with the shadows.

---------------------------------------Noxus

"What do you mean by 'The One'?" the teenager asked impatiently, his blue eyes locked on the Noxian in front of him. The man walked over to the teen, he wore armour that looked even heavier than himself. He towered over him in height, and probably weight too. Darius looked down at him like he was a piece of trash. The noxian grabbed his collar, lifting him up then smashing him into the wall behind him. Astral could feel the drywall break through, wood chips poking into his skin. He could feel his body being crushed from the pressure, the teen tried not to scream from the pain. "Don't speak to me, commoner. Haven't you heard the rule? Speak only when spoken to!" Darius barked, his tone was brutal and impolite.

Astral winced as the Noxian released his grip on him, letting him fall to the ground. He took deep breaths, trying to calm down and check if Darius broke or fractured anything in him. "Bastard." Astral thought, glaring at Darius angrily. The Noxian stared back, "That's a nice look in your eyes." he commented, looking at the boy. Darius was huge and intimidating; nothing like Talon or Katarina.

"To answer your other question, we didn't kill you because we have other uses for you." Darius explained, speaking up. The teen glared at him, that didn't give him any answers whatsoever. The boy was confused, and was questioning why he had been spared and treated by the enemy. Maybe they coated the bandages in a deadly poison, or put a mini bomb in the medicine? No, that would be dumb.

The man then kneeled down to be level with the boy, he spoke clearly in a low tone, "Do you ever wonder how you got black hair?" the Noxian smirked, watching Astral's eyes widen. He had always wondered how he was born with black hair when both his parents were blond. "Wait, you know?" Astral asked, with curiosity. How would someone he never met know about him, it was hard believe. Astral was almost sure the Noxian was bluffing, or joking around with him.

Darius smirked, "So you don't know," he stated, standing up heading towards the door, "follow me." he ordered, opening the hospital door and headed right. The teen had no choice but to follow, nothing was waiting for him in the small hospital room. He followed the Noxian through a set of doors into a recreation room. It was filled with people about his age, except they were fully equipped with full battle gear and dangerous looking weapons. A pair were peacefully playing pool, one was lounging on the couch, and three were playing console videogames on a huge flat screen.

The moment the doors were opened, they dispersed into their hiding places, ready to kill. When they saw Darius, they lowered their guard, "Aww it's just you?" the trainee said, all the assassin's putting their weapons down.

Darius chuckled, "I have something fun for all seven of you." the Noxian said sinisterly. Astral looked around, he only counted six. Either Darius was really bad at counting, or there was another person here, hiding from the group. The assassin tilted his head, he had short, spiky red hair and freckles. The group wore leather armor, with belts and straps that looked light and easy to move in. They had various weapons, dual blades, crossbows and short swords. One of the assassin trainees had a long , metal chain wrapped around her wrist, she had a deathly stare and looked ready to murder anyone in the room. "Well, what is it?" one of them asked, taking notice of Astral. He glared at the raven-haired boy, newcomers were always bad news in Noxus. The more people, the more competition. Astral gulped, he didn't know these people and they didn't look friendly.

The noxian smiled as he grabbed Astral's shoulder and shoved him towards them, "If you can't kill him within five minutes I will execute all of your parents in from of your eyes," the man smirked, backing away to leave the room, "time's ticking." Darius finished, before the door closed. He could hear the lock click shut.

The boy turned nervously to the group. They had unsheathed their weapons already. "Sorry, man. No hard feelings." one of the assassins said, lunging at the boy. Astral had no choice, but to defend himself. If he lasted five minutes, everyones parents would die. He hesitated, should he be defeated on purpose or give it his all?

No. He couldn't give up his life for someone he doesn't know. Surely, the teen could survive five minutes against kids his age. The teen then felt an extremely sharp pain, a metal chain was wrapped around him, digging into his skin.

The boy had let down his guard, and the female had bound him to her chain. The assassins took this opportunity to jump on the boy, Astral grit his teeth as he closed his eyes. He focused all the arcane magic in him, making it explode all around him. When Astral used his powers, he was usually exhausted from using it in short bursts. Surprisingly, the teen didn't feel fatigued at all. Maybe his powers were finally maturing?

The burst of energy created by the boy sent them flying back, crashing into the walls. All five melee assassins had been knocked out cold. "Maybe too much power..?" the teenager thought, feeling slightly guilty, but he noticed the chain around his arms and waist hadn't lost its grip. He looked at the girl, she hadn't moved an inch from where she was.

"I'm immune to arcane magic as long as I have these." the girl said, gesturing to the chains wrapped around her wrist. Astral rolled his eyes, why would she say something like that? That just made this battle easier, the teen grabbed the chain and began to focus all his energy into the cold steel. "What are you-" the female began, then her eye's widened.

Gradually, the chains began to dissolve, Astral smirked, "Nothing is 'immune' to arcane magic." the boy muttered, that was common knowledge. One of the first lessons of Combat Basics in Piltover. Noxus must've had a poor education program, because they only focused on being the most powerful. Power is also found in knowledge, though.

When the teen was free of the chains, he jumped to the girl taking her down. He didn't use an arcane spell to finish her, as he didn't want to hurt anyone else even more than he already has. In a way he was murdering fourteen people, assuming they all had a mother and father. As she lost consciousness, she mumbled a few words, "I'm... so sorry... Mom..." she said, before closing her eyes. The boy pitied the girl, why would Darius place him in this position. In what way would this benefit either of them?

The teenager was about to make sure the others were knocked out cold, but then he remembered. Where's the seventh? Only six faces had been shown, he tried to sense the presence of the last person but he couldn't feel anything.

Astral began to relax, his arcane powers could usually sense everything around him. There was nothing else in that room except a huge mass of arcanic energy waiting outside the door, which was most likely Darius.

Then he heard a light clicking noise. Click click click. The boy looked around for the source of the sound. Click click click click. It was getting louder. Click click click click click. Now, the teen was nervous. Had a bomb been planted, was there something he could not see? Click click click click click click click. Astral backed up into a large figure. How had this creature snuck up on him? The teen turned around abruptly, but it was too late.

He could feel the sharp metal push through his flesh, the boy broke out in pain as he fell to the ground. Astral saw the enemies face, he had a bunch of gears instead of a face. The teen was horrified at the creature, it was once a human. He had parts of a machine merged together with his body. Did this person even have free will anymore? His skin was ripped apart and there were metal springs sticking out of his body. "Noxians... are monsters..." Astral murmured, lying on the ground.

The monster-like creature watched the boy bleed to death, he could see a pool of his own blood begin to surround him. The pain was becoming less and less, and slowly he felt like taking a long, permanent slumber. At this rate, Astral was going to die of blood loss.

Astral didn't want to die, he had so much to do. He had to see his father, show him how much he's grown. He had to see Lux, tell him he forgave her when she left him. He had to see Caitlyn, and make up with her. He had to see Garen and challenge him to a battle. He had to do so much.

"...I have... to..." the teen said weakly, reaching for the creatures boot. The robot looked at him mercilessly, kicking him away, crushing Astral's attempt at getting up.

Astral couldn't keep his eyes open, he felt the urge to sleep grow stronger. He closed his eyes slowly, trying as hard as he could to wake up. Then all he saw was black.

He thought everything was over when he heard a voice, it was a low tone. The voice was strangely familiar though. He asked a simple question.

Do you want to live?

The teen didn't hesitate, he wanted to live. He wanted to keep going, "I want to live!" repeated in his mind over and over and over. He could only see the darkness when the boy saw many red wisps, they looked a lot like living flames.

The voice boomed inside his head again, "I can't protect you if you want to live. You'll be on your own." the person said, the voice becoming inaudible.

Astral had already made up his mind, he wasn't going to die here. The red wisps formed a pair of ruby eyes as they grew wider, circulating around the teen. He could feel the energy from it circulate through every cell in his vein. His own arcane energy rejected the awakened power as the power coursed underneath his skin.

The boy could feel his body being repaired, his hearing was slowly coming back and he could hear his heartbeat begin to pick up the pace again. "Feels...good..." the boy mumbled, pulling himself up. The blood began to flow through his arms and legs again, and soon enough he felt rejuvenated and very much alive.

The creature was surprised when Astral stood back up, the clicking became more steady as it prepared to attack him again. The teen smirked, he held up a hand and channeled his energy. Instead of a light blue glow, the orb in his hand was crimson red. Astral didn't hesitate as he lunged at the monster.

It was an easy fight after that, the energy locked up inside the boy had finally been awakened. It was at it's maximum output, he had so much power to spare. The boy stared down at the corpse. He began to slowly lose himself to the new magic. Remember when Astral mentioned his power almost had an attitude?

He now had two different types of magic fighting for domain.

The teen was losing control of it, the energy within him was slowly pulling him deeper into the darkness. The line a human should never cross.

Astral approached the imaginary line. Once you cross it, you can never ever return. The teen then snapped out of the trance, "Not today..." the boy said drowsily, "this power will need some getting used to..." he mumbled weakly.

The door then clicked open, Darius walked inside. He looked impressed as he looked around the room, observing all the bodies surrounding the boy. "Swain's never wrong, is he?" the Noxian commenting, glancing at all his students motionless corpses.