Rakans eyes shot open as he began to hyperventilate, taking in the darkness around him and the brutal nightmare that flashed through his head just seconds prior. He rests a hand on his forehead, closing his eyes as his head throbs violently.
What the hell did she do to Xayah?
Rakan had watched it all, from Xayah getting coated in the corruption to the pure hatred that glistened in her eyes as she opened them after refusing to accept the offer from Zoe.
Where the hell am I?
Rakan shook his head, this wasn't about him. He needed to find Xayah. The throbbing slowly settled as he finally realizes that he's in the same place that his mate was. And it was only the clearing of someone's throat that caught his attention as he quickly moved his head in the direction it came from.
There, to his right, sat Xayah.. but this wasn't the Xayah he knew. No, this was someone entirely different. She was in her Star Guardian form, but it wasn't the pale pink he was used to seeing, her bright colors seemed dull and void of any light. He didn't like this look on her.
The one thing that stood out the most to him however, was the change in her song. It sounded.. disoriented, tattered.
Almost like an old radio station that only emitted static.
There was something there though, a small sound that stuck out from the mess of sound that rang through his heart. It was like a pull, a call for help. She was still there, just trapped.
"Well, are you going to continue to stare at me or are you going to get moving? We have to go to Zoe and I'm not going to wait for you any longer." Xayah voice rang through the air, the tone of it sending a pang of dread through Rakan.
She sounded so.. off.
This definitely wasn't his Xayah.
"What.. what did she do to you?" Rakan couldn't resist the urge to ask.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Xayah says as she stares at Rakan blankly, then turns her head and begins to walk through the darkness, "Get moving and stop with that pity act, it's not going to get you anywhere." she finishes as she stands towards the edge of the black and in what seemed to be a doorway.
Rakan lowers his head, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. No, he wasn't going to cry. Not in front of her, especially not now.
So, reluctantly, Rakan got up and followed her, thinking of what to do in his head. This wasn't Xayah, at least, not on the outside. He knew she had to still be in there deep down, the small call in her song assured him of that.
But he wasn't sure how to rescue her, at least not yet.
He would need to think, but it needed to be fast. There was no way he could let her suffer this way for too long.
★
"Ah! It's about time you two show up." Zoe says as she floats over to Xayah and Rakan as they enter the void room she is in, "Finally he woke up. Would've had to get rid of him if he stayed asleep any longer." Zoe said in a taunting tone.
Rakan couldn't help but notice Xayah stiffen next to him as Zoe said that. What had Zoe done to his Xayah?
"My apologies," Xayah says quickly, "He is awake now and we can continue with our plan." Xayah finishes, looking at Zoe with hollow eyes.
Rakan looks at Zoe, confused as to what Xayah meant. What plan? How long had he been asleep?
Zoe just grins and nods, gesturing towards Xayah and then speaks.
"It seems your friend here wasn't informed," Zoe says as she gestures towards Rakan, "Well, Rakan, you and Xayah will be working for me. We have a lot to do, so be prepared." Zoe says as a devilish smirk appears on her face.
Rakan quickly looks over to Xayah, but is only met with hollowed eyes as Xayah nods.
Rakan thinks for a moment, what the hell was he supposed to do? Obviously Xayah had been awake far longer than him, she couldn't change this quickly, right?
As if reading his thoughts, Zoe piped up, "You've been asleep for nearly decade. I suppose the dark matter had more of an impact on you." Zoe says, "You should be thankful though, your little girlfriend over here did your work for you while you were out." She finishes, gesturing towards Xayah.
He looks over to Xayah. What has she put you through? He asks in his mind, knowing that she couldn't hear him.
Zoe claps her hands, "Hopefully now things will go faster, and now we can finally move on with our big plan." Zoe smirks, winking towards the both of them.
Zoe then motions behind her, a large bubble floating in the air as something begins to form inside of it.
"Remember this?" Zoe chimes as she smirks.
There, inside of the bubble, showed Neeko running into one of Zoe's portals and then disappearing, but Xayah and Rakan just stare. How could they forget.
"Well, little lizard right there will act as our bait. We're going to lure your old friends out." Zoe giggled maniacally, "I transported her to a place deep in the galaxy, where she's been for the past decade, and which she has been trapped in. She is currently asleep, and I made it so her communications are cut off from the others so they won't come for her yet, but once you two get there I will drop the barrier which will allow them to reach her, and will break the spell that is currently keeping her asleep. However, I will warn you that I have messed around a bit and made it so that the place she is in is kind of like a never ending stairway. If she tries to make a run for it when she wakes up, I've made a portal large enough to blend in with the only exit of the area, and if she runs through it she will be transported back to the center of the room." Zoe explains as she moves her arms down, causing the memory to fade from the void wall.
Xayah and Rakan nod, processing the information and watching Zoe closely.
Zoe opens a portal and a dark room appears with a strange structure in the center. (From the animated trailer "Light and Shadow" that is linked above)
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Xayah and Rakan stare at it for a moment, before Zoe speaks up again.
"That is the altar of the First Star. It's hidden away deep in space, a place that only my old team and I knew of." Zoe says, no emotion showing in her voice, "That lizard is sleeping in one of the corners, which you two will immediately see once you go through the portal." Zoe finishes as she gestures towards the portal.
Xayah and Rakan walk up to the portal, staring at it as Zoe begins to float into the air.
"I will be watching you two from up here, and I will come in when I think the time is right. Good luck!" Zoe claps and before they can protest, they are sucked into the portal, it closing as they are pushed out of it. With that, there is only one thought on Rakans mind.
