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Starlight 2

Summary:

After losing their Family Ahri and Sarah try to keep going, but thats harder then it seems. Even more, if they realise that things arent as they thought.
_______
Part 2 of Starlight, the Story starts some months after the events in the last chapter.

Chapter Text

 

"You have to stop that! Things can' t go on like this." Sadly, Sarah stares at her friend, hands in fists, struggling with tears. "It's been months now since they..." Sarah's gaze falls to the ground, her teeth clenched.

Ahri is still standing in front of the locked door, hand on the door knob, unable to open it. "It was all my fault", she whispers, tears running down her cheeks before she slowly turns to Sarah. "It wasn't, there was nothing you could have done. And you know that as well as I do..." Slowly Sarah takes a step towards her friend before she freezes. "You need to let them go, though. They're gone. And as much as we wish they would be here, nothing will bring them back. But... we're still here, we have to keep going, keep fighting. And maybe one day we'll run into that little bitch Zoe again and we can take revenge on our friends."

Her eyes turn to Ahri and she looks at her friend seriously. "But for that you have to come back to consciousness! You have to let them go, accept that they are dead. It's pointless to hang outside their rooms and feel guilty all the time!"

"But it was my fault..."

"It's bullshit. Now come on, we have a job to finish."


~ * ~



Relentlessly, Sarah clicks around on the remote control, switching from one channel to another without really seeing what's on TV. She tries to distract herself, keeping her fingers busy while her thoughts turn to something else.

The further that damned fateful day passes, Sarah longs to put one of her bullets in Zoe's grinning face, to make her suffer for what she did to her friends. Her family.

She takes a sip of cola, the ice cubes clacking against the glass as she sees Ahri flitting into the hallway from the corner of her eye. She sighs and puts the glass down, a little too violently, the contents spill over the edge and onto the table. She doesn't care.

She follows her friend into the hallway, sees her once again standing in front of the closed door. She grits her teeth, stares at the floor. "Why now?! I thought we had gotten over it. I thought we could put all this behind us. That we wouldn't return to the rooms and clear them out as soon as we had gotten our revenge. We had a deal!"

Frightened, Ahri shrugs. "I can't forget... how can you just go on like this? I still see their faces in front of me, every day. Dreaming about them every damn night. They chase me, haunt me. This is my punishment for abandoning our family."

Ahris' sobs make Sarah flinch. "Of course you see their faces every day, we have a grave in the middle of our house!" Sarah's voice trembles, her shoulders sink as she sees Ahris go to her knees crying. For a moment she hesitates, then she also goes down on her knees and takes Ahri in a firm embrace.

"That isn't it, dummy. You see their faces because they mean something to you. I miss them too, I would give the rest of my life for just one or two more years with them. I know how you feel, I don't feel any different." A short smile flits over her lips. "I still remember how Neeko wanted to eat pancakes on Sunday mornings and Xayah turned the whole kitchen into a battleground and baked pancakes, with colorful sprinkles and cream. I used to get furious and freak out, but she did it again every Sunday, knowing that I would scold her just to make our little tomato happy".

Ahri also laughs briefly, nods. "Yes, or when Rakan annoyed her so much that she chased him all over the house and even threw her featherdaggers at him.

"What was he actually doing there?"

"I don't know, but it was fun to look at. Even when the situation got darker and she kept returning to the hospital, we managed to visit her every day, even though our school grades got worse. I was so shocked, she looked so weak the last time we visited her, I can't believe that she still went to the fight-" Ahri breaks off, again tears run down her cheek.

"I just can't believe that the three are gone...", Ahri whispers softly. "And a big part of me died with them. Timidly Sarah nods, her arms tighter around her friend. "I feel the same way. The only important thing for me is that I can take revenge on Zoe for what she did to them... and us."

"So do I."


~ * ~



Annoyed, Sarah taps with the tip of her pen on the sheet of paper in front of her. She is sitting in class, one of the subjects she is not even a little interested in. History-Politics. A smile flits across her face as she remembers, how Xayah once mentioned that this incredibly boring subject is one of her favorites, and that she would even consider taking this direction as a career. To improve her homeland, to make it a better place.

"Miss Fortune, would you also honor us with your attention or do you need an extra invitation to follow the lesson?"

Startled, she looks up, the teacher's eyes fixed on her. " I'm paying attention", she says quickly, a slight grin flits across her lips."Then I'm sure you can explain to us what the Battle of Culloden was all about and why the battle ended badly."

For the fraction of a second her grin disappears and she frowned, Xayah had annoyed her for months, what did she mention again?

"Um, if I understood it correctly, the Jacobites fought at Charles Stuart's side, hoping that his father would be on the throne. However, the Jacobites were drastically outnumbered and the supply of food was also rather moderate, so that the troops of the Jacobites moved into a bad situation, which was hopeless from the beginning. As expected, they were downright annihilated, with more than 2250 fallen and wounded as well as almost 560 captured, while on the enemy side there were not even 600 fallen and wounded".

"We have not yet discussed the number of the fallen and everything around them." He frowned, looking at her in surprise. Sarah smiles again, her eyes shine, but the sadness is clearly visible in them. "My sister loved history-politics and she has been working on this topic for a long time. It was a very annoying time for me." She looks back at her sheet, gritting her teeth.

'What I wouldn't give for another one of her historical or politically charged speeches. I miss you guys so much. But I' m strong, for you. I will make Zoe pay for this. I promise you that.'


Chapter Text

 

Ahri looks at her friend with a shocked expression on her face, lips pressed together, hands clenched to fists in her lap. "I don't know if this is a good idea. After everything that happened..." She gets up, walks over to the window, where thick raindrops are falling down. "They will never be able to replace the others. It will never be the same again. Why should we even take in new members?!"

Sarah shrugs her shoulders, her eyes directed out of the window past Ahri. "It was supposed to happen, that we will get new members...", she murmurs, her gaze turns back to the notebook in front of her, even if her thoughts are miles away from homework. Hesitantly she straightens up, walks over to her friend and puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Something like this will never happen again. We won't repeat the mistakes of the past."


~ * ~




The sky still shows the traces of the last attack, it wasn't anything special, just some voidlings that appeared at Valorant Metro Park. Nothing they couldn't have done by themselves. And yet they are standing in front of them now, their new team members.

With a broad grin, the blond boy approaches them, one hand stroking through his hair while holding out his other hand to Ahri. For a moment Ahri and Sarah look at each other, swallowing. " I' m Ezreal, my friends call me Ez," he grins, winking at Sarah.

Somewhat behind him stands a shy looking girl, her mint green curls surrounding her face and she waves to them with a timid smile. "I' m Soraka," she whispers, her eyes turned to the ground. Without meaning to, Ahri has to swallow again.
The third girl is different, she seems distant and as if her thoughts weren't present. Or rather, as if she simply doesn't care. "Syndra", she answers briefly. "I' m not a new team member, I' m just a mentor. Think of me as a kind of advisor."



~ * ~




"Welcome to our small home," murmurs Ahri as she opens the door of the small house and lets the others in. "Up the stairs are the bedrooms, choose one."

Laughing, Ezreal runs up the stairs, when shortly afterwards his voice sounds a surprised tone in it. "The first door here is locked?"

Ahri and Sarah take a quick look at each other before Ahri looks down. "The last one in the corridor is locked, too. And both remain so", Sarah calls to him, receiving a questioning look from Soraka. "We'll tell you about it sometime later," whispers Sarah, eyes closed. Understandingly Soraka nods before she follows Ezreal up the stairs.

" They remind me of them...", whispers Ahri, eyes still fixed on the ground. Slowly Sarah nods, her eyes on the stairs' top landing. "Ezreal reminds me a lot of Rakan," she whispers, then her eyes wander to Ahri. "And Soraka seems a bit like Neeko and Xayah togheter..."

"Do you really think it was a good idea to get them on the team? They're so similar... what if the same fate awaits them?"

"I won't let that happen." Sarah looks her friend in the eyes, a determined expression in them.


~ * ~




"We all share one point in common. We are Star Guardians, team members." Ahri paces up and down in the living room, the TV set to silent, while colorful images flicker across the screen in the background. "We are neither friends nor family, we are allies, we protect each other and help each other as best we can."

Ezreal looks at her with a wrinkled forehead. "Isn't that exactly what family and friends do for each other?"

Sarah looks at him from top to bottom, then she slowly takes a step towards him, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "We are surrounded by voidlings, one goes down, disappears in the crowd. What do you do?"

"I' m trying to help the person," he replies promtly.

"And what if you find the person and realize that he won't make it out alive? What do you do then?"

He is silent, his eyes on the ground. "I don't know...", he finally mumbles, swallows. "In the time it took you to think, you died too." Sarah's voice carries a hint of sadness, from the side Soraka looks at her thoughtfully. "Have you ever experienced anything like this before?"

Without answering the question she looks back at Ahri, who bites her lower lip. "That makes no difference to you. Always remember, whether one of us dies in battle or not, it doesn't make any difference to you. We have to keep going, keep our heads up and fight for what is important."

Sarah gives her a wistful look, receiving a slight nod from Ahri.

"We are no friends, just people with memories."


~ * ~




Laughing, Ezreal steps through the door, holding a large milkshake in his hand and throwing his backpack to the side before throwing himself on the sofa next to Sarah. Questioningly, she looks at him, one brow raised.

"Remember the other team we met during Camp Targon? I was out drinking a milkshake with the pink haired girl, Lux, today," he grins, taking another sip from his cup.

"Is there something up between you two?"

Ahri looks at him with wide open eyes, which make him tilt his head in surprise. "No, we were just having a milkshake. At least not yet", he grins, winking at Ahri.

She walks towards him, staring at him sharply. "I don't want you to get involved with each other. As your team leader I prohibit it!"

Surprised, he looks at her, then his eyes turn to Sarah, who stares out of the window, avoiding his gaze.

"Why?"

Ahris' voice trembles slightly and she also avoids his gaze.

" Falling in love... that' s how a Star Guardian falls..."


Chapter 3

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The nearby river splashes softly, Xayah kneels on its edge, her hands dipped in the cold water. Sorrowfully, Rakan looks over to her as her fingers reach for one of her blades.

For a tiny moment his glance passes over the battlefield, over the deep traces in the earth, across the traces left by the attacks of the others in the surrounding area.

Slowly Xayah straightens up, wiping the last splashes of blood from her arms, then she looks at Rakan, one brow raised.

"What?"

Her voice is cold, as is the expression in her eyes. His heart tightens, his eyes move to the ground, then back up to hers, a smile plays around his lips.

"In the battle, you were injured, but you just kept going. I admire you for it." He smiles slightly, his thoughts drift back to the river in Valoran where they sat together so often and he said almost the same words to her.

Hesitantly, he walks towards her, the back of his hand gently stroking her cheek.

'I wonder if she remembers it?'

For a brief moment her gaze becomes softer, as if she might remember, as if she were able to remember the time before all this.

Slowly she opens her mouth, but before she can say anything, a portal opens under their feet and tore the ground from under their feet.

As they hit the other side of the portal - very rough - and gasp for breath, they look into Zoe's grinning face.

"I brought you something to play with." Her cold, shrill laugh echoes through the darkness of the night and in the distance he can see three rays of light in the sky.

Other Star Guardians.

He looks back at Zoe, who stares at the rays of light with gleaming eyes, then looks over to Xayah. Again his heart tightens.

Pure joy in her expression.

Her eyes emit an unknown coldness and her smile could almost freeze the blood in his veins. "This will be fun," she whispers, her eyes following the lines in the sky.

"Play with them as long as you like, but remember, bring me their gems when you're done with them," giggles Zoe, doing a little backflip in the air. Then she gets stuck upside down in the air, eyes on her two servants, Ran pressed tightly against her.

Xayah nods slightly, not turning her gaze away from the rays of light, before she disappears with a leap in the direction of the lines, Saki close on her heels.

Rakan hesitates for a moment, then he follows them. From the corner of his eye he can see Zoe disappearing through one of her portals.

~ * ~



Exhausted, Rakan throws himself onto the dusty armchair, which stands in the middle of the living room. Even though he doesn't know exactly where they are, he is glad that they get some rest.

Zoe has ported them to this old, abandoned house, somewhere in the middle of a forest and practically cut off from the world around them. Just what they need now.

The fight against the other Star Guardians had been tough. They had faced more enemies than first assumed, and the rays of light they followed had been nothing more than latecomers.

He himself had gotten some cuts, one on his arm and one on his belly much heavier than the others, but he had been lucky in misfortune.

The cuts are already nearly healed, partly thanks to his huge healing abilities as Vastaya, partly due to the dark matter with which Zoe treated their gems.

Xayah however...
... had less luck.

A deep cut extends across her cheek, which heals only poorly, probably there was something on the blade that slows down the healing. There is also a large burn over her body, mainly her back and right side.

Shortly after the fight she had passed out, the injuries too much. So Zoe brought them both here and told him that they have a few days to recover from their injuries.

She would check on them eventually.

He snorts loudly, lifting himself up out of his armchair before slowly walking over to the bed. With his fingers he gently strokes her cheek, down her neck. As she sleeps, she distorts her face, mumbles restlessly to herself.

Without thinking about it any further, he puts his hand entirely on her cheek, with the other hand he touches her gem tenderly, eyes closed, focused on soothing her pain.

When he opens his eyes again, his breath falters. Not only the cut on her cheek is closed - and he suspects that the burn has also disappeared - her appearance has also changed.

Her hair is lighter, the purple strands are wiped back to the delicate mint green. Carefully he lifts the blanket with which he covered her before.

Her uniform is pink and mint green again, just like it was on that fateful day that made her into what she is now.

Rakan realised some time ago that she has changed, that she is no longer the loving, good-natured, slightly naive girl he fell in love with back then.

She is cold, cruel, it almost seems as if she feels pleasure in killing other Star Guardians.

That isn't his Xayah.
But the girl who is lying in front of him now, that is her.

Her eyelids flutter and her hand rests on his chest, his heart beats faster and he looks at her expectantly, eyes wide open.

"Mieli", she whispers softly, mint green eyes looking at him tiredly through half closed eyelids.

For a moment he seems to remain on cloud 7, but then the moment is gone, her eyes darken and the smile on her lips changes, becomes colder again.

His heart becomes heavy again and he swallows. But this realization, this knowledge, it has kindled a fire in him.

It will turn Xayah back into the person she once was.
The person he fell in love with back then.
And if it's the last thing he does.

Notes:

This is my first self-written chapter :D

So far, I only contributed to the story and individual sections of the chapters, but this one is mine (okay, my Lass helped me a bit)

I hope you had as much fun reading as I had writing, even though I'm not very good at it :D

But my lady said that you don't have to be good everywhere (I mean, I'm actually perfect... and I always thought I would understand the ladies)

Chapter Text

She sits crouched against a cold wall, the only sound echoing through the cave is the continuous dripping of water falling from the ceiling down into a puddle. And her sporadic sobbing. Her tail tightens around her body as Towa places one of his legs on it, looking at her sympathetically. Another sob escapes Neeko's throat.

She doesn't know how much time has passed since that day, how much time has passed since her family was mercilessly torn apart. When she watched helplessly as her sister was consumed from the inside out, by a darkness she had never known.

It feels like years since she last saw her family. What wouldn't she give to have another chance to change everything, to do better. To get her family back. To not repeat her mistake.


~ * ~




His chest tightens painfully as he stares at her from the side, studying her features closely. "What is it? Why are you staring at me like that?" She glances at him in confusion, looking around inconspicuously. No sign of Zoe, a small sigh of relief escapes her lips.

"You remember, the old days? When we-"
"No Rakan, I don't remember anything. I can't remember. And you know that, you've asked me often enough."

An apologetic smile flits across his lips and he nods. "You know, I used to tell you a story that you liked a lot. I thought since we're alone right now, maybe you'd like to hear it again?"

Surprised, she looks him in the eye, hesitantly nodding. "Why not, we have nothing to do anyway until Zoe gives us a new order." He nods, the smile on his lips widening.

"There was a girl with an entire sky full of stars shining in her eyes. She tried to be strong and face the world, do her best and accomplish everything she wanted to, but she was sick and her life just passed by and left her behind.

She ran, for days, trying to continue her duties, but days turned into years without any success, so slowly but steadily she lost hope. In the world and in herself.

And her precious smile turned into tears, which ran down her face as her condition worsened and she simply gave up on herself. She could no longer walk and eventually all those who cared about her saw nothing but her tears.

But even if her smile was lost, it wasn't forgotten and although she thought her dreams and her future were lost, all she had to do was to stand up and follow the voice of her heart, which had been out of her reach for so long.

But someday, when the time came, she could hear it.
And so the girl gathered all her courage and went back into the light, knowing that everything would be all right again."

Gently, he strokes her cheek with his thumb, resting his other hand on the jewel at her chest. For a brief moment she stares at him, lower lip quivering, before shaking her head and backing away from him. "I can't believe I actually ever liked that. The story doesn't make sense," she hisses quietly, turning and hurrying away.

'It does make sense... And if you can't see it, then I'm going to make you see it. Whether you like it or not. I can't bear to see you like this any longer. This isn't you.'

Chapter 5

Summary:

This chapter starts right after the cinematic and the official short Story "Twilight Star"

Chapter Text

They look into each other's eyes, exhausted, while Sarah and Ahri close their arms around their long-lost sister, holding her close to them. They gave up trying to suppress the tears some time ago, which now flow in streams down their faces. "You're alive... I can't believe you're alive.... How could we have missed it...," Ahri whispers softly, wiping her tears from her face with the back of her hand. 

"Neeko is healthy, Neeko back again." 

Ahri smiles through her tears, as she holds Neeko close. "You are fine, we got you back...We are okay." she mumbles, mostly in an effort to convince herself. Sarah burries her face into Neekos hair, laughing softly while tears still run down her face. "You dont know how much we missed you, you dumb, little lizard", she chuckles under tears, a smile on her lips. Neeko giggles softly, her heart suddenly filling up with the love her two friends shower her with since the moment they found her. "Neeko miss Sarah and Ahri too" she whispers, with a sigh. 

A clearing of the throat is audible and Jinx steps closer to them, her arms crossed above her chest. "Would someone of you explain to us whats going on? Theres this freaky chameleon and this knocked out bird bitch, who attacked the shit out of us. So... whats going on here?", she asks, her brow raised, a slight grin on her lips. 

Ahri turns her gaze to look at Xayah, a single tear running down her cheek, before her eyes return to meet Sarah's. Giving Neeko another tight squeeze, she takes in a shaky breath, gathering her strength. "They were... Are...Both of them..." she looks to the ground and blinks a few times, to keep back her tears. "They are part of the team, both of them, unlikely as it seems."
Sarah squezzes Ahris shoulder encouraging, a smile on her lips, before she huge Neeko close again, ignoring the eyes of the other Star Guardian team on them. "Wait..." Lux' eyes move over to the unconcious guardian on the ground, her gaze fixed on the pink hair, remembering Sarahs words from before. "They are the ones you told me about, aren't they?", she whispers, looking from Sarah to Ahri, receiving a nod from Sarah.

"Not.." Ahri starts, but pauses as a sob escapes her. "Not all of them are here..." she continues, as she is able to understand what Sarah told Lux. She has noticed so herself. Her character is indeed a mix of Neeko, Xayah and... And.. Ahri can't even pronounce his name in her head, it's too much. She looks up to meet Sarah's gaze as she shakes her head and hides her tear-stained face from the others into Neeko's shoulder. 

Lux throws a surprised look over to Ahri, never seen her in a state like this before, while the others approach them slowly. "You are talking about the guy, right? The one who... what has he done? Knocked her out?" Jinx looks at them, pretending to be bored, but her voice betrays her.

"What happened? Where's Rakan?" 

Neeko looks up and her grip around Sarah tightens as her eyes become wide in fear. Ahri looks up from Neeko's shoulder as well. She looks at Xayah apologetically, shaking her head as new tears begin to spill from her eyes. "I can't..." She mumbles as she looks at Sarah, hoping that she understood what has happened, "I can't be the one to tell her..." she whispers, her eyes pleading. 

Sarahs grip around Neeko tightens as she her eyes widening in fear, holding her protective in her arms. "He's gone", she says shortly, not looking at her former sister, avoiding to see her in the eyes. Trembling, Xayah raises from the ground, looking at them blankly, feeling the urge to vomit. "What do you mean with 'he's gone?"
"I mean, he's dead or something. To protect you", Sarah answers, her sentence short again, still not looking at her.

Ahri tries to keep it together as she stands up, her legs almost giving in to her weight. "Xayah... I'm sorry..." she says as she walks towards her, away from Sarah and Neeko, while she extends one of her arms, offering an embrace, asking silently if it would be okay to do so. 

For a moment Xayahs mind goes blank, looking from Ahris arm to her face, over to Neeko, who still looks fearful, to Sarah, who doesnt look at her at all and over to the other guardians which she doesnt know and which look at her like shes some kind of curiosity. She shakes her head slowly, tears rising in her eyes as she stumbles backwards, away from the people she once called her family. 

"Neeko thinks Xayah needs hug" Neeko whispers from her place in Sarah's arms. "Xayah, I can't imagine how you feel... But I want to help you..." Ahri whispers as she takes one more step forward, her hand still inviting her long-lost sister, "Let me help you with your pain..." she adds after a moment. 

She shakes her head, her expression becoming unreadable, as she turns around, trembling all over her body before she moves towards the exit of the playground. "Don't dare to try and run away, Xayah. You're playing with fire", Sarah shouts after her, causing her former sister to stop in her movement, freezing up in place before she slowly turns towards the others. "I don't care if I'm playing with fire", she looks at Sarah, her eyes cold, before she slowly starts to go to the exit again. A strong breeze throws her from her feet, making her losing her balance and falling into the huge sandbox where the others still are. "Maybe you don't care to play with fire but it looks like you care alot about playing with wind." Jinx chuckles, smirking down at her. 

Ahri walks toward her sister, ignoring Jinx and kneels next to her. "Please don't go away again..." she begs "We just got you back... " she continues as she raises one hand to touch her sister's arm, but hesitates, as she doesn't know if she would let her and drops it on her thighs. "Don't listen to Sarah, she is just bitter for... Everything..." she whispers, loud enough for only Xayah to hear. 

She bites her lower lip, looking into Ahris eyes, before she turns her eyes away, her hands cramping in the sand. "Please... leave me alone...", She whispers softly, her ears twitching as the others move slowly in her direction. "I want to be alone...", she whispers, pressing her hands against her ears as much as possible, squeezing her eyes shut. 

Ahri turns her head around to look at Sarah and Neeko as she shakes her head, yet not making a move to get up. Her eyes fall on Neeko's, as the young guardian's eyes change emotion when they meat the ones of their leader. From fear, they turn to sadness and the determination. Neeko climbs out of Sarah's arms and makes her way towards Xayah, sitting on the ground next to her, on the side opposite to Ahri. "Neeko will not let Xayah alone. Not again." she says, her own voice faltering as she realises that Rakan will not be here to hold them, he will not be here to make her cacao whenever she is feeling down. It's just her and Xayah now and she will take care of her friend, as she promised. 

When Neeko sits down next to her, Xayah shakes her head, panic rising up in her and she crawls away as fast as she can, looking at Neeko with wide open eyes. "Dont... please stay away! Dont come close to me", she whispers, tears rising in her eyes again. "I might hurt you... and I dont wan't to hurt you... not again", she whispers as a single tear runs down her face. 

Neeko looks surprised into Xayah's eyes as she chases away her fears at the sight of her sister, crawling away from her, broken. She wouldn't let this happen. Neeko scoots closer to Xayah and without giving her time to react she throws herself on her, nuzzling with her face in the crook of her neck. "Neeko knows Xayah will not hurt Neeko. Xayah loves Neeko. And Neeko loves Xayah." She mumbles softly, hoping that she can provide the comfort her friend needs.

For a moment Xayah freezes in her motion before she hugs Neeko close, hiding her face in the crook of her neck, finally giving in to her feelings and let her tears run free. "I'm so sorry Neeko... I'm so sorry... But you are right... I love you", she whispers, hugging her even tighter. 

Yes, she's sure about it. She loves Neeko. Nearly as much as Rakan. And that's when realization hits her.

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