Author's Note: I know a lot of people think it's weird that Rian fell for Deet after the death of Mira, but the events of the series probably happened over a longer period of time than it seemed. When watching it, it seemed like it all happened in a week, but most likely, it was over the span of a few months. The progression of Deet and Rian's relationship happened at a good pace, I think. Also, I'm pretty sure Mira would want him to find happiness as well.

With that said, here is my attempt at a fanfiction for Rian and Deet.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to the Jim Henson Co. & Netflix.

Chapter 1: The Promise

I had nightmares every night after her death. Mira didn't deserve what the Skeksis did to her that day, and I… I didn't help her. I couldn't. I was too weak. But even so, I could have at least tried. All I did was sit there and watch as she pled for help. Guilt resided within me every second of every day after that. It was hard for me to keep going. Dreamfasting to show everyone what the Skeksis had done just caused me to relive that moment over and over. It was more painful each time.

I thought about giving up. No one trusted me at first, no one could console me. And then… I met Deet.

The night I met her was like a metaphor of what she did to me mentally and emotionally. I was angry. Frustrated. It was a cold night and I couldn't get a fire to light. I was alone.

"For the love of Thra! Light!" I yelled in frustration, not knowing there was someone else in the forest.

When Deet came along, I was afraid. Without second thoughts, I drew my sword to keep her away. Surely, she would turn me in. But no, she was completely oblivious. Her gentle eyes were reassuring. When she told me she wasn't afraid of me, it was comforting. And when she helped me to light a fire, I felt warm again. She sparked a fire within me, and that was hope. Within minutes, my mood changed - from frustrated and alone to calm and safe. Somehow this perky little gelfling was able to suddenly do this to me. It all ended too soon when she quickly left to save her friend. I still wanted to talk to her...

And then again, she came back into my life at the moment when I felt like I lost everything. My father sacrificed himself to save me. If no one had been there to console me at that time, I may have jumped into the Gobbles after him. Deet came along at just the right moment - I didn't know where she came from or how she found me, but she gave me the support I needed to move on when no one else could.

Later, as the four of us - Deet, Brea, Hup, and I - went on our adventure together, I began to realize that the reason I made it that far was because of Deet. The time when she embraced me after being rescued, the time when she stared at me over the fire as she sang... I knew when I was around her, I felt safe. Just like how I thought no one trusted me, she thought everyone saw her as weird because of how she looked, but I wanted to reassure her that I didn't think she was weird at all. She was different. And I liked that. Those big dark eyes had so much hope for the future that I began to believe in them too.

The Deet who I had put all of my trust in… The Deet who was always there for me when I needed her… The Deet who had stolen my heart… was now consumed by the Darkening.

As I stared into her purple-tinted eyes, veins running across her face, it felt like my heart stopped. I could tell by the expression on her face that she was fighting as much as she could. And then she turned to walk away from me, death following her with every step.

No, I wasn't about to sit back and watch this time! Not again!

"DEET!" My voice grew louder. I didn't know what would happen if I got near her, but I didn't care. My pace became faster as I started to run after her.

"G-get away, Rian!" Her trembling voice called. "I don't know h-how much longer I can fight it!"

"Come back with me, Deet! We'll figure this out!" I begged.

She continued to walk away.

"I'm not leaving you!"

With a sudden swift twist, she turned toward me. "AAAAUUUUGGGHHH!" Hands slamming to the ground, she sent a wave of purple energy toward me. With a jump, I rolled out of the way before it could hit me. She went back to walking deeper into the forest.

'This isn't her anymore…' I thought as I looked after her. 'No. There's nothing I can do to bring her back.'

Face buried in my hand, I hesitantly turned back toward the village. With one last glance back at her, I made a decision and called out to her again.

"I promise I'm going to save you, somehow! I will find you again, Deet! ...when I have the answer. Just wait for me, okay?"

No response.

Everyone at Stone-in-the-Wood was celebrating, but I made my way back with a defeated look, dragging my feet in the dirt as I walked. There was no way I could celebrate with them. Not when the most important person to me was gone. Brea seemed to notice my devastation.

"Rian, where's Deet?" A look of concern was plastered on her face.

"She…" I couldn't think straight, still processing what had just happened. "She was consumed by the Darkening."

Brea gasped, "Wh-what? But…"

"I-I'm going to save her! I promised her!" I declared shakily, my eyes not focusing in any particular direction. Brea put her hand on my shoulder for comfort. She ushered me to go inside and rest.

"While we try to figure this out, why don't we go inside? I don't think you can do much in this state," she insisted. As much as I wanted to save Deet, I thought that she was probably right. I just got finished with a battle with the Hunter, what I needed was to rest. But even though I was mentally and physically exhausted, how could I sleep? I was in a state of uneasiness. However, I decided to do as Brea suggested and with that, left the crowd of celebrating gelflings to rest and prepare to go after the gelfling whom I loved.

I woke up early the next morning. I must have immediately passed out from complete exhaustion. The first thing I thought of when I woke up was how I was going to save Deet. The town was quiet, early that morning - a contrast from the day before with the battle and the celebration. The morning rays of the sun shone through the trees as some of the early-bird villagers began their day working and cleaning the town. Immediately I caught Brea sitting outside on a log with a book, so I made my way toward her. She didn't notice me until I sat down next to her.

"Ah, Rian. You're awake." She spoke, lowering her book to look at me.

"Yeah. I want to figure out how to help Deet… As soon as possible."

"Yes, I've been doing some reading to figure out how she was able to absorb the power of the Darkening like that." She replied.

"I know where she got her power from. The sanctuary tree… it said something about energy."

Brea's look was that of contemplation. I continued, "The tree said energy cannot be destroyed. It can only be transferred. Maybe that could help somehow?"

The two of us sat in silence for a minute and did some thinking. Suddenly, Brea lit up. "What if we transfer the energy of the Darkening from Deet into something else?" A spark of hope lifted my spirits when she said this. My head rose in complete attention as I listened to Brea's idea.

She held up a crystal shard. "What is that?" I inquired.

"It was inside the Dual Glaive! The prophecy wasn't about the Dual Glave, but this shard! I think it's part of the Dark Crystal!"

My eyes widened, as she elaborated.

"The emperor was using a small piece of a crystal in his staff to carry the power of the Darkening. Maybe we can transfer it from Deet to this crystal shard? That's what I was reading about! The crystal is a conductor of energy!"

"That makes sense! Well… let's go find her then!"

"It's not that easy, young gelfling." Aughra interrupted. Not to far off, she had been listening in to our conversation. The two of us jumped, a bit startled.

"Oh, Aughra. I didn't know you were out here too." I said.

"Transferring dark energy has its dangers. Look at the Emperor for instance. That ugly piece of scrap on his face isn't just for decoration. It's to hide the effects of the Dark Crystal. He plays around with that dark energy and that's why he was able to transfer it to his staff."

Brea murmured, "Well… that makes sense."

"And that's not all," Aughra added, "If you transfer all of that energy out of her, she may die. I was surprised that her absorbing all of that energy didn't kill her!"

I flinched at the mention of Deet being killed. "There's got to be something we can do!"

"You need to return to the Heretic and the Wanderer."

I sighed in frustration, "What? Again...? We don't have a lot of time! Deet is still out there!"

"Do you want to save her or not?" Aughra grunted. "There, you have a friend who can control that energy-transfer slowly and at a good pace without killing gentle Deet. Someone who is not alive, so cannot be hurt!"

"Lore!" Brea exclaimed. "If we tried to do it ourselves, we might get infected too and we wouldn't be able to control it! But Lore isn't alive, so there would be no danger!"

"Yeeesss!" Exclaimed Aughra with approval.

Hopping up with anticipation, I yelled. "Then, let's go!" I felt a great weight lifted from my shoulders as I began to run toward the landstrider pen, Brea by my side.

'I'm coming Deet. I promised you I will come for you...'

I'm not really sure how they will save Deet in the second season, so I'm making it up for the time being, even if it doesn't make sense or isn't accurate, haha. I have no idea, I just want him to save her! I want them to have their tender reunion