"Fang, this way!" the rose haired knight's panting echoed off the desolate stone walls as they fled further and further into the keep.
Behind the pair, Fang could hear the distant rumble as the ruins of this world fell around them.
As they reached a corridor, Fang could see a majestic crystalline throne, she felt a chill run through her as a voice; soft, yet powerful, echoed in her mind.
You must go no further. It commanded, Be the vanguard to her slumber, Daughter of the Yun.
As the knight by her side ran into the throne room, Fang slowed to a stop, tanned hands slipping out of gauntleted ones.
Blue eyes snapped to her immediately, filled with concern.
"Fang?"
She sighed, running a hand through her dark hair.
"This is as far as I can go." she said, meeting the knight's eyes, drinking in every detail in those perfect spheres.
Etro, if I forget everything, let me remember her.
The knight in front of her took a step towards her.
"What are you talking about? We're so close!"
Fang bit her lip, "You go, I'll keep you safe, for as long as it takes."
"But-" Lurching forward, Fang gripped the knight's shoulders.
"Look at me." she smiled softly. "You need to do this. We both know it. You risked so much to keep me safe, let me return the favour, yeah?"
The knight grit her teeth, blue eyes meeting Fangs own, now filled with determination.
"Fine." she hissed, "Fine, but you will be here when I wake up."
Fang grinned, a cocky, lopsided grin that she knew drove the knight mad in more ways than one.
"Just don't keep me waiting too long."
The knight rolled her eyes, though she seemed conflicted. Moments later, she sighed and pulled the other woman into a kiss.
Fang stiffened momentarily as she felt the warm embrace of the pink haired woman's lips on her own, then she relaxed.
The kiss was fiery and raw, it seemed to linger for eternity and yet when the woman pulled back, Fang couldn't help but feel it had been broken far too soon.
"I promise you." the knight caressed the side of her face, Fang felt herself leaning into the touch. "I promise you won't be alone for too long."
Fang smiled, an honest, warm smile, one she saw reflected in the other woman.
"Go."
As she watched the knight leave her, the smile slowly dropped from her face.
Turning to the corridor they had come from, Fang wasn't surprised to see what looked to be an endless sea of monsters. Beasts and creatures that she had bested hundreds of times were now twisted, changed by Chaos.
Fang swung her spear in a wide arc, dropping into a ready stance.
She would protect her, even if it took a year, a century, a millennium before she woke again.
"Come back to me soon." she whispered under her breath. "I need you".
Then, with a wordless roar, she charged.

A/N
I probably shouldn't have been reading FLight fics while playing Assassin's Creed Valhalla…
But I did, and so here we are with something I'm hoping to actually finish, or at least something I can make a decent headway into.
I have to say, some of the Fanrai Forever prompts had given me something akin to the premise for this fic at some point, and it's been rattling around in my head until Valhalla knocked it loose and gave it a nice Viking coat of paint.
I won't claim to be the biggest fan of XIII, I haven't yet finished any game in the trilogy (though I guess playing all 3 simultaneously doesn't help) but the world and the works around it have always interested me, and the characters hold a soft spot in my heart.
This fic will be set in an AU, as you could gather, though I hope to incorporate elements of the trilogy into the fic at portions. Or at least, an AU in the XIII setting.
I'm really not making this easy for myself, am I…
But regardless, I hope you find this fic interesting, in whatever form it finds you.