Light Lost
is a one-shot Runaways Death Fic by an account that has since been abandoned, credited as "orphan_account".
After Karolina Dean dies, Nico and the rest of the Runaways need to process their grief and navigate a world without Karolina's light shining upon it.
Light Lost provides examples of:
- Accidental Murder: Nico accidentally killed her girlfriend Karolina when trying to take out the Staff of One; it pierced Karolina through the torso as it emerged from Nico.
- Afraid of Their Own Strength: Bluntly put, Nico is scared of the Staff of One because she accidentally killed Karolina with it.
- Bleed 'Em and Weep: Nico breaks down sobbing after accidentally killing Karolina because she was her girlfriend.
- Cradle of Loneliness: Sometimes at night, Nico holds Karolina's bracelet to remember her.
- It's Always Sunny at Funerals: Lampshaded by Nico, who thinks that it's too sunny for such a sad event like burying your girlfriend.
- No Body Left Behind: Karolina didn't have a body to bury, so the Runaways bury her trinkets and belongings instead.
- Rousing Speech: Deconstructed. Chase tries to make Nico feel better by giving her "inspirational speeches", but they don't actually help with her grief, they only distract her for a bit.
- These Hands Have Killed: Nico looks at the bloody Staff of One, and by extension her hands, after she killed Karolina. It is also noted that she washed the Staff in hot water, burning her hands until Gert stopped her.
- Tragic Keepsake: Nico is fiercly protective Karolina's bracelet because that's the only thing left she has of her girlfriend.
- Turning Into Your Parent: Nico demands that nobody enter Karolina's old room after she dies and screams at Molly when she enters to the room to look for a hair clip, eerily reminiscent of her mother's reaction after her sister Amy died. Tina screamed at Nico after she went into Amy's room to borrow some leggings and trapped her husband inside after an argument. Difference is, Nico apologizes to Molly after she cools off.
- Willfully Weak: Nico swears never to use the Staff of One again after she kills Karolina with it, so she cannot use magic anymore.
