1k words extra! x)
~
"So, you trust this man whom you met 2 days ago?", Diluc asked the twins with crossed arms after they had explained to him about this masked man.
"Well, our goals aligned", Aether shrugged with an awkward chuckle.
Diluc sighed at their trusting manner and faced the masked man, "your name is Dainsleif?"
He nodded, "yes, I am. I've heard from the twins that you are like a big brother to them. No need to worry, I mean no harm towards them. You can test me whenever you want."
Diluc scoffed, "just so you know, if you betray them, it will be more than just myself who will come after you."
Dainsleif gave him a decisive nod, "of course, I know."
Diluc was about to add more but sensing pleading looks from the twins, he stopped, "fine, he can come with us."
The twins released a breath and high-fived each other. They followed behind Diluc, "so, where are we going tonight?"
Diluc explained as he led the way, "there has been an activity in ruins. After hearing what happened at Wolvendom, I think we should check it out."
Dainsleif asked, "what kind of activity?"
Diluc gave him a look before answering, "I've heard that several treasure hoarders went missing without a trace. There are also hints of Abyss around there. If they want Andrius, who knows if they caught some human for experiments."
Lumine asked from the side, "so, are we doing plan R-3 or A-1?"
Diluc hummed, "maybe R-3, even though they are criminals, it wouldn't do good if they are assisting as experiments for Abyss. We need to release them from Abyss."
Aether turned his attention to confused Dainsleif, "it's easy, R is short for Rescue and A is for Ambush. R-3 would be Lumine will do rescuing while Diluc-senpai and I will cover for her. Hmm, but since you are here, maybe you should assist her. We don't know how many of them there are."
Lumine asked Diluc, "I assume Kaeya-senpai got this information, did he mention numbers?"
He shook his head, "he didn't know the exact number either. Around 10 people, give or take."
Dainsleif quietly muttered, "... Kaeya?"
He blinked with recognition, "oh, him."
Diluc suddenly turned around and summoned his claymore to Dainsleif's throat. His vermillion eyes shone with anger and a bit of fear. He gripped his claymore tightly as he ground his teeth, "Stay.Away.From.Him."
The twins gulped as he infused his claymore with flames. They knew that Kaeya was a descendant of Khaenri'ah but they didn't think Dainsleif would know of him.
Dainsleif responded calmly, "I'm not here for him as he had already forfeited his duty."
Diluc raised an eyebrow, "how do you know?"
Dainsleif replied, "he confessed to you, didn't he? That means he had already cut off his ties with Abyss."
Diluc's eyes wavered slightly before putting out the flames, "if you lie, you know what happens."
Dainsleif nodded, "as long as he stays the way he is, I have no business with him."
Dliuc gave him a hard glare before resuming to lead the way. Dainsleif followed behind him quietly. The twins looked at each other in surprise before leaning in to whisper, "I knew that Kaeya getting a Cryo vision that night was a turning point to the story."
Originally, Kaeya was supposed to get a masterless Hydro vision and acted as a spy for Abyss. Though he joined the final war on the Abyss side, he let himself be defeated under the hands of his adopted brother, Diluc, and confessed his regret of choosing his duty over his family. Though angry at his betrayal, Diluc wailed as he hugged his lifeless body tightly. Their side story broke their hearts.
When they got reincarnated, they spent a lot of time with the brothers since their parents were close business partners as well. They followed their steps except knight training as they wanted to follow adventurer life. They didn't know how but Kaeya received a Cryo vision on that night and the two brothers separated. Even though they were separated, they could still see their brotherly bond as they helped each other out discreetly or indiscreetly. They had their doubts whether he worked as a spy or not, but hearing Dainsleif's direct answer made them release relieved sighs simultaneously.
Diluc called out to them from the front, "you two coming?"
"Coming!", they answered back with smiles.
~
Childe just got out of their temporary tent after discussing their plan when he received a letter from Liyue. Ekaterina mentioned that they will look into a spy who took photos of them. She let him know that the twins had left for Mondstadt. She also added a letter from Lumine before she left for her hometown.
In Lumine's letter, she apologized for leaving earlier than scheduled before adding 'we are even now' playfully. She asked how long his mission will take and how is his family. She sent an apology to Teucer for not joining this time. Then, she ended the letter with 'I don't know when will you be free but if you can make it, I want to invite you over for the Windblume festival'. A tender smile finally reached his face after grumbling for two days straight.
"Hey, ice woman, are you seeing this? That grumpy brat is smiling just from a letter", Scaramouche teased from the side.
"Indeed, like a lovesick puppy, isn't he?", she joined in.
Childe glared at the two, "fuck off."
"Anddd, he is back", she scoffed.
Childe tucked away the letter in his coat, "so, the plan is on tomorrow."
He looked towards Scaramouche, "are you ready?"
For the first time, he saw a hint of nervousness insides his indigo eyes.
Signora seemed to notice that as well and asked, "we can change if you-"
"No!", he cut her off and shook his head, "I am prepared for this."
They looked at each other, "ok then, you will face Raiden Shogun while Childe distracted her general. I will check with the Grand Narukami Shrine. You know when to retreat."
The indigo man nodded, "before she uses musou no hitotachi."
He looked at both of them, "and you know, you should leave when she used it and I still didn't come back."
Signora agreed with a slow nod while Childe complained with a frown, "I still don't like this plan."
Scaramouche scowled at him, "you just want to fight with Raiden. Well, fat chance, this is my fight."
Childe was about to argue but Signora cut in, "do you really have to bite each other now? Scaramouche, go rest up for tomorrow. And Childe, aren't you supposed to write a letter back to her?"
Childe straightened up and excitedly left for his tent to write a reply. Scaramouche scoffed behind him.
Childe grabbed a clean paper and started writing.
'Hey Comrade,
I see you are having fun back in Monstadt but not enough judging from your letter. Well, if my precious comrade insists, I will try to finish my mission here quickly. If her highness Tsaritsa spared me from any immediate mission, I should be able to reach there by the festival.
Also, don't worry about Teucer. I explained to him about the situation. You won't believe what happened at my home. They thought all of you were going to come back with me so they prepared for you guys. But, don't feel bad about it. You can always make it up when you come to visit them another time.'
He paused to think whether he should tell her about them being spied back in Liyue. Not wanting her to worry, he chose to neglect this until he knows for sure that she could be in danger. He decided to end this threat once he gets back to Snezhnaya. His chest ached just from the thought of her being harmed. His right hand pressed his left chest and muttered, "fuck, it hurts just from imagination."
'I miss you. Even if it's only been just a couple of days. Even if it's just temporary. Even if I understand it's my duty. Even if I know you are safe with your family on the other side. I miss you, Lumine... I miss you so damn much.'
Childe stopped with a blush when he realized that he was writing down his feelings on the letter. He shook his head and chuckled to himself weakly, "she's going to think I'm clingy as heck."
~
The situation isn't good. They found coal-black dead bodies of treasure hoarders in praying positions around a defiled statue of Barbatos. They have wiped out Abyss mages and Rifthounds in the area. Dainsleif is reading their chants around the statue and the three are investigating for more clues.
Dainsleif spoke when he is done, "looks like that Abyss Herald was right. They are indeed collecting bits of god powers. These people were used as test subjects."
Diluc asked as he walked to his side, "did they get enough?"
Dainsleif shook his head, "fortunately, not enough for their plan."
Lumine looked at the bodies and gulped, "so, you mean, they know how to turn people into stones?"
Dainsleif touched one body's shoulder and it crumbled into dust. The twins let out a gasp in surprise. He shook his head, "no, they know how to decay everything."
Diluc looked back at the statue and asked, "so, we need to destroy this, right?"
Dainsleif nodded back, "yes, and they might appear when we destroy it so be careful."
Aether stood back-to-back with his twin and chuckled, "good thing, Barbara isn't here or else she would have fainted from the way we are saying."
Lumine joined in, "she still hasn't gotten over the holy lyre incident."
Diluc and Dainsleif destroyed the statue into pieces so that it can't be used again.
Within a minute, a portal appeared and two Abyss Lectors came out.
Diluc muttered, "electro, huh?"
Aether asked as he readied his sword, "so, C?"
Diluc nodded back, "C"
After finishing the enemies, they prepared to leave the ruins. As they were checking around for the last time, Lumine found an old pocket watch, "I knew I heard something dropped when we were fighting."
She picked it up and showed the group, "did someone drop this?"
Dainsleif patted his pocket and nodded, "yeah, it's mine."
She handed it to him, "it looks pretty old. Does it still work?"
Noticing her curious eyes, he opened it and soft music came out of it. Aether also got closer to look at it, "it's a music box?"
"It's a pocket watch that comes with music", he answered for them.
The numbers and words on it are in the Khaenri'ah language. It has a cursive name engraved on the cover and another name that seemed to be carved later with a knife. There is a crack on the glass. The watch had already stopped showing the right time but emotionally calming music notes seemed to be operating correctly.
Dainsleif closed it and put it in his pocket carefully before urging them to leave the place, "let's go now. They might come again."
Even if he doesn't say it, they notice that it's a precious thing for him. It could be the last thing he got from Khaenri'ah. And the names, assuming one of them is his name, then whose name was the second one?
~
-Time skip-
Childe is waiting at the agreed place, looking at the Tenshukaku where Scaramouche and Raiden are possibly fighting. The sky is full of dark thunderclouds and the wind is getting colder. He has done his part and now he's waiting for the others. He mumbled to himself, "maybe I should go help that midget."
"Don't bother, he should be coming out by now", he heard Signora speak from behind.
He turned at her, "you done?"
She showed him the electro gnosis, "as expected, it was kept in the Grand Narukami shrine."
He inspected it closely, "it's hard to believe that you got it without a fight."
She put it away safely, "we made a deal to pull back all the Fatui intervention between the vision hunt decree and the resistance."
He asked, "are you sure if her highness Tsaritsa will allow it?"
She narrowed her eyes at him, "of course, all of it was to get the electro gnosis anyway. Once we obtain it, we have no business to get involved with their civil war."
He hummed and resumed to look up at the Tenshukaku. She also looked up at it, "he should get down once he realizes that she has no gnosis. What's taking him so long?"
When it's starting to take longer than their appointed time, she suggested, "maybe we should-"
She was interrupted when a bolt of lightning struck down at the Tenshukaku and a slice of musou no hitotachi cut down half of the building. Deep thunder rumbled in the sky and rain started to pelt down relentlessly.
She cursed lowly, "fuck."
Childe's eyes widened and took a step forward to the building.
She pulled him back and told him sternly, "Childe, don't even think about it. You know the deal. Once musou no hitotachi is used, we will leave."
He ground his teeth, "he still could be alive."
She pulled him back harder, "I'm not going to stop you again. Know your duty, Tartaglia."
He frowned at the Tenshukaku, looking for a sign of hope. But, there was nothing but dead silence.
Signora also waited for a moment before speaking quietly this time, "time is ticking, Tartaglia."
Then, she walked back down to the ship. He glared at the ground in frustration before following her back to the ship. He climbed onto it as their underlings rushed to sail.
His hair and clothes were drenched in rain and fists clenched in defeat. The ship started to sail back as the wind starting get stronger. He was looking out to the sea when he noticed a female fatui agent whispered something to Signora, making her eyes widen in alarm.
She groaned in frustration, "not now", and she glanced at him as one of his trusted agents got to his side as well.
"Erik? What's there to report?", he looked to his agent.
As the man murmured to his ears, he felt like everything went mute. He forgot how to breathe as his azure eyes widened in anger and fear.
The man said, "Master Childe, we had received a report that lord Capitano is heading to Mondstadt as we are speaking. It seemed he intends for the twins, sir."
~
"We will be off now", Lumine waved at her parents.
"Be back before dinner, kids", Avery shouted at them from the bakery.
"Will do!", Aether answered back as they walked away.
After the defiled statue incident, there were no other Abyss-related issues anymore. Dainsleif is still investigating here and there around Mondstadt. Diluc seemed to trust him a little more than the first time they met but he still refused to get him anywhere near Angel's Share when it's time for Kaeya's usual drinking hours.
Today, they are tasked to decorate the city with flowers. Since everyone is in a festive mood, they are also wearing casual attires rather than their usual outfits.
"I still don't want you girls to go there alone", Aether told her grumpily.
She rolled her eyes before replying, "it's fine, there is nothing to worry about. You don't have to come with us."
She nudged at him playfully, "besides, he's coming today, right? Just stay here and wait for him."
A tint of blush reached his face, "well, he did say that he will come today."
Zhongli promised that he will be coming today. So, Aether agreed to help out with the city's decorations along with Bennett and Albedo while waiting for him.
She squeezed his cheeks, "look at this yearning face."
He slapped her hands before frowning a little, "as if you didn't get that face when you were reading Childe's letter."
She received a letter from him this morning. Imagine their surprise when normally grumbling Viktor handed her a letter with a stunted expression while accessing her from head to toe and whispered to himself, "why her?". She was delighted when Childe said that he will try to make it by the time of the festival. When he mentioned that he misses her, she screamed into her pillow with fluffy emotion filled in her chest. She lay a light kiss on the letter imagining if her kiss can be sent to him.
"Big brother Aether! Big sister Lumine!", Klee waved at them.
"You two are late!", Diona shouted with her hands on hips.
Aether chuckled and petted her left cat ear, "sorry, sorry. Did you girls wait too long?"
Noelle shook her head, "please don't worry, we didn't agree the exact time anyway."
"Then, we will be off now", Lumine waved at her twin.
"Cecillia flowers, here we come!", Klee announced and tugged Diona's hand with her. Noelle and Lumine followed the two girls while chatting.
Aether looked after the girls until they disappeared from sight. He stretched his hands, "back to work then."
~
The girls were collecting Cecillia flowers at the Starsnatch cliff. This year, Flora got a high demand for Cecillia from the young men looking for love so they could not get enough flowers from her. Lumine and Noelle decided to collect them in the wild. Albedo and Jean were also busy with preparation so they volunteered to look after Klee and Diona.
"I'm glad today is sunny. If it's rainy like the day before, it would be quite a trouble", Noelle spoke as she picked up a flower and dropped it into her basket. She is wearing a simple black dress paired with a white apron and a black beret hat with a red ribbon behind. (Yes, this is her KFC crossover skin)
Lumine drew her eyes from Klee and Diona who were making flower crowns, to Noelle, "yeah, imagine it's rainy and I get a bit of mud on this new dress, Mom won't stop scolding me."
Lumine is wearing a light blue short sundress and a white floppy hat. Klee is in a red puffy dress and Diona is in a pink overall dress. Both of them have matching red and pink polka sun hats.
Noelle giggled at the memory, "I remember you two running away from home and having sleepovers at Dawn winery."
Lumine walked to pick another flower, "yeah, yeah. Dad would come to get us but then all three of us ended up sleeping there."
Noelle giggled and placed the last flower in her basket. Then, she checked their baskets, "I think we got more than enough."
Lumine found a flower with a suitable stem for the flower crown. She called, "girls, I found another perfect base for your crowns!"
When she got no reply, she looked up to the place where they were sitting a moment ago.
"Where did they go?", her golden eyes looked around.
Noelle also looked up with worry, "they were sitting there a while ago."
They picked up the baskets and looked around for them, "Klee?" "Diona!"
Then, they got a reply, "over here, big sisters!"
They released a breath when they heard her voice. The two girls are talking with a man who's wearing an unusual long coat for the season. He wears a polished hat and shoes. Overall, he's in formal attire. When his sharp eyes fell over Lumine, she felt a sense of uneasiness for the man.
"Good afternoon, ladies", he greeted them with a formal bow.
Noelle lifted her dress for courtesy, "afternoon, sir. Thank you for watching over the girls."
Lumine also gave him a brief bow and turned to the girls, "I thought we told you to stay close with us."
Diona looked away from the eye contact and Klee gave her puppy eyes, "we didn't mean to. Klee saw a beautiful flower so Klee wanted to get it for big sister's flower crown."
Lumine exhaled, knowing that she couldn't scold her cute expression anymore, "it's fine, just don't do it again, ok?"
The man interrupted, "please don't scold the girls. They were about to return as soon as they got the flowers but I had to stop them to ask for directions."
Noelle inquired, "where do you want to go, sir?"
He answered, "I am going to Mondstadt. You see, there's someone I need to see."
Noelle nodded, "oh, what a coincidence. We are going back there, too. Who do you need to see? We might know this person."
He glanced at Lumine, who's also staring back unwaveringly, "someone who needs to stop intervening in my queen's plans."
Lumine ground her teeth, knowing what the man wants. She would think he could be from the abyss if he wasn't a human being. There is only one more queen they had pissed off. He's not like usual Fatui agents. Outfit, aura, presence, everything screamed danger. He definitely didn't come to deliver a letter from Childe. It could mean one thing.
Noelle faltered, "oh, not a friend? Maybe you-"
"Noelle", Lumine cut her off.
She turned back to her friend with a smile, "can you take Klee and Diona back to the town? I think I may know who's he looking for."
Her green eyes met her golden eyes, "do you?"
Lumine nodded back with a certain look, "yeah, that person is actually a funny guy. I will explain later."
Noelle's eyes blinked rapidly, receiving the real message that she intended, "a-are you sure? I can-"
Lumine shook her head lightly, "it's ok. Just get the girls home safe."
Klee was going to complain but Noelle shushed her with a flower, "Klee, when we get back, can you make me a flower crown with this?"
Sensing something amiss from the two older girls, Diona also agreed, "ok, we will make it but we want an apple pie for it?"
Lumine nodded, "of course, anything you want."
She rubbed her left cat ear like the way Aether did before they left. Diona grabbed Klee's hand, "let's hurry back, I'm hungry."
Noelle picked up the baskets and gave Lumine one last look before leading the girls back to the town.
When the girls got far enough, the man spoke, "I see, you drove away the potential hostages. But, do you think I would come alone?"
Golden eyes glared at him, "they can handle your underlings. So, who are you and what do you want from me?"
He replied, "normally, I don't waste my time answering soon-to-be-dead target's questions, but since you were able to get recognized by her highness, I'll answer it. I'm known as Capitano."
She maintained her glare, "what's your business then?"
The man answered, "I told you, I want you to stop intervening in my queen's plans."
She snorted, "it's hard to believe that she sent a harbinger after me just for a threat."
He chuckled, "I see you are perceptive but I wonder if you could see through Tartaglia's lies."
She wavered for a second, "what are you saying?"
His dark eyes faced her trembling golden eyes directly, "what? Do you genuinely think Tartaglia is hanging out with you because he likes you?"
When she didn't respond, he took a step towards her, "that boy is ambitious, you see. He wants to take revenge on you in the best way."
He muttered the next word in a low voice, "betrayal."
Her shaken hand dropped the flower basket she was carrying. Some petals fell from the stem onto the ground unceremoniously.
He continued, "he is buying you gifts, tagging along everywhere with you and going to the festival together. Do you think all of this is real? Do you really think a member of the eleven harbingers would waste time like this?"
He walked towards her step by step gradually, "I heard that you beat him at Liyue. Tell me, do you truly believe that he would let this go without a cause?"
Her head slowly looked down. Her white floppy hat covered her facial expression.
He kept speaking, "How do you think I knew where to find you twins? You told him, didn't you? So, of course, this information came from him."
Her hands still by her side.
He summoned his sword on his hand unnoticeably, "why do you think he's not here? He just spared you from dying in his hands, that's all."
He readied his sword to strike her down, "shame on you for being this naïve."
Then, he swung his sword to her neck.
Suddenly, her white hat and fallen petals shoot up from the sudden anemo movement. She moved back and blocked his sword with her own anemo infused sword.
His eyes frowned at the short girl. He didn't even realize when she took out her sword.
When he looked into her eyes again, he was surprised to find that there was no doubt in her bright golden eyes. Her expression told him that she was determined, pissed off but mostly calm.
She narrowed her eyes at him and with a very composed voice, "that's pretty childish of you to think that this plan would work."
She pushed him away with a powerful tornado. He backed off to ready his fighting posture.
She gripped her sword handle tightly as she summoned anemo power around her, "now then, I hope you are ready for a fight."
Her glowing eyes focused on him and muttered, "because I fucking hate it when someone tries to claim lies as him."
~