Chapter Text
She is falling, Neeko realises. Falling down, down,
d
o
w
n
into darkness, hate, fear.
Nightmarenightmarenightmare.
Shrill, cruel laughter rings in her ears, surrounding her. She saw her friends, fallen and defeated, their lights extinguished, nothing but puppets with their strings cut. She is hyperventilating. Everything feels cold, even the tears on her face. Darkness spreads. The cold cuts deeper into her soul. No , she thinks, Neeko will not fail friends.
She clutches at herself and tries to remember: all the times she and Rakan would marvel at the human world while Xayah pretended not to be interested, all the times Ahri tried to correct her fashion choices, all the times Sarah would drive them out for ice cream.
The pain subsides, and a warm light engulfs her, eating away the darkness. There is a crack in the temple wall. Neeko and Zoe both turn, as the crack spreads and the wall breaks open. Light fills the room, overwhelming amounts of light, and a figure lands gracefully on her feet.
Neeko thinks Ahri is an angel, with the starlight streaming in from behind her. Strawberry blonde hair shining like a halo, violet eyes softening as they make eye contact. Ahri’s mouth twists into a sad smile and Neeko knows she is trying not to cry. They both would, after this, arms around each other, but not now. Neeko rises to stand. The fight is not over.