A/N: I'm sorry for the long wait! At last, here is the chapter :)
The fatui walked behind Zhongli and agent Ningguang as they all followed the Tsaritsa. The agent glanced to her left to see other fatui workers dragging Kliment's body from the scene and another cleaning his blood stains. She felt the mild soreness on her jaw as the cloth was still wrapped around from her mouth. The agent breathed heavily through her nose as her heart was still racing from fear, not knowing what the queen might do next in the room they were headed to. Yet, she chose to suck it up for her pride. No one could know.
They approached an intersection of halls and turned to the right to see a short hallway with a door to the right side of the wall. The queen opened it and they walked further into the room. Inside were controls of some sort, a computer screen with cameras on all angles of a brightly lit white room of only a podiatry chair in the center, and ahead of them were windows that showed the room where the podiatry chair stood.
The hypnotization room already felt perturbing to the agent.
They were greeted by another fatuus who wore the same clothing as the other workers, dressed in a white lab coat. "Ah, Your Majesty, welcome." The fatuus in glasses bowed.
The Tsaritsa looked over to the bright room through the window. "Anything new?"
The fatuus stood straight and answered, "yes, Your Majesty. In fact, it is great timing that you are here. Today is the last day we will experiment on an enigmatic phenomenon."
The queen tilted her head to the side and raised a brow. "Oh really?"
He nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. Please follow me."
They all proceeded behind the fatuus, with agent Ningguang and Zhongli being pushed by the fatui behind them as they were slow to move. They stood beside the window and they all glanced over to the podiatry chair in the centre of the white room ahead of them. The agent still couldn't comprehend why they were doing all of this, why they were showing her some sort of tour of the place and their plans. It would've been so much easier if they already erased her memories because the agent thought all of this was a waste of time.
"Please watch from here." The fatuus said and then walked toward the door which led into the white room. Being near the window allowed them to be able to hear what he was saying, although it wasn't as clear. He yelled for someone to come in and a girl dressed up in fatui clothing walked in from a white door that wasn't that visible to the eye. She slowly walked toward the male fatuus and he told her to sit on the podiatry chair, in which she nodded her head and followed through with struggle.
The queen and the others were quiet as they were focused on what the male fatuus was trying to present. The fatuus walked toward the window and tapped on it with his knuckles. "Please cuff her." He said. One of the workers that watched from another window nodded and pressed a button. The girl on the chair was then trapped as her wrists and ankles were restrained. Fear and anxiety was expressed through her eyes, yet she was trying to slow her breathing.
The male fatuus cleared his throat and clasped his hands behind his back. "This is something that cannot be explained as we have never seen this before. This right here,"—he pointed to the girl on the chair—"is a girl that isn't from this world. This is not the Kristina we know."
The queen crossed her arms as she examined her. "What do you mean by that?" They all watched Kristina as she now gripped onto the handles of the podiatry chair. She appeared to be sweating and she couldn't control her breathing any longer.
"Look." The fatuus walked over to the white door and opened it. After he walked back to his original position, a girl who looked exactly like the one on the chair, was handcuffed by her wrists and ankles to the wheelchair, and was being pushed by another fatuus in a white lab coat. She was struggling.
The crowd became intrigued, yet couldn't believe their eyes. They saw a duplicate of the girl. Agent Ningguang furrowed her brows as she questioned it.
"What the fuck is this?" The queen said in disbelief.
"Your Majesty, allow me to explain." The male fatuus fixed his glasses. "As you can see, the real Kristina is the one on the wheelchair right now. I can assure you because this Kristina on the chair has a mark on her wrist that wasn't there before." He stepped toward the chair and he rolled up the sleeves of the girl, which revealed a dark red mark on her wrist. When the queen said nothing in response, the fatuus continued, "we don't know how this happened but we found her lurking on the lowest floor at night a couple days ago." We decided to do some experiments on her and we noticed this," he gestured for the Kristina on the wheelchair to come forward and when the fatuus pushed her closer, her body sank onto the wheelchair, appearing like she was suffering. On the other hand, the Kristina on the chair appeared pale and she was sweating as ever.
The male fatuus continued, "as the twins approach one another, they both encounter extreme pain and can feel the energy from their body drain rapidly." They watched as the other male fatuus tried to slowly inch the one in the wheelchair closer. Her legs trembled and she looked weak as ever. "We took note that the two experienced sudden weakness once a day but the pain will gradually increase overtime as days pass."
This... sounds familiar... agent Ningguang thought as she focused on the fatuus' words.
"Interesting." The queen felt her chin. "What happens if the two touch?"
"They will most likely be in more pain than ever if they get into contact."
It was as if the queen already knew what would happen, but continued to ask just for the fun of it. "You never know unless you try."
The male fatuus looked at her as he pursed his lips. "A-Ah, yes, Your Majesty, but that can potentially kill–"
"Do it." She interrupted with a stern voice. She glared at the fatuus until he finally nodded and followed through with her commands. The fatuus took a deep breath and he gestured for the other worker to bring Kristina even closer to the one on the chair.
As he did, she began to scream. Every inch closer, she shook her head violently with her eyes shut, as she acted like a wild animal. Meanwhile, the Kristina on the chair shook behind the cuffs and tears were coming out of her eyes. It seemed like the pain was no joke. The agent wondered what it felt like.
Finally, he brought the girl beside the chair and the twins looked exhausted and pale. There was no more screaming as it looked like all their energy was drained and the Kristina on the wheelchair dropped her head forward.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" The queen looked at them when the fatuus stopped a few centimeters from the chair. "She looks like she fainted already, but they haven't touched yet. Go on."
The fatuus was hesitant for the first few seconds but then proceeded with her words. The Kristina on the chair was no longer moving and her eyes were shut.
When he uncuffed the left wrist of the one on the wheelchair, he lifted it and brought it to the other Kristina. He placed her hand on the other's stomach and the next thing they knew, a white explosion occurred and the two workers in the room were blasted to the sides of the room. Everyone at the window covered their eyes with their arms while turning away, while Zhongli and agent Ningguang could only press their eyelids shut and shifted their heads away.
What the fuck was that? The agent wondered.
As the white light from their eyes faded, everyone slowly glanced over to the window. The window slightly cracked and the walls had lines. The agent glanced at areas where the two got into contact were burnt to crisp like toast, which extended all the way to one's left arm and the other to above her chest... except that the one on the wheelchair lost her left hand and the other had a hole on her stomach. The agent wished to throw up.
It was the first time they experienced this new occurrence as all the workers came bursted into the white room and all appeared distraught. One of them said in a low voice, "I knew it, it was risky," and another, "yeah, that's why we haven't tried putting them close before." A couple went over to help the two workers who were previously there and were injured as they had black ashes covering their faces and clothing, but it appeared to be minor injuries as they could stand.
As the twins were unresponsive, a white blanket was placed over them by the workers. The queen didn't appear satisfied or anything. She only glared ahead with dead eyes.
"Y-Your Majesty?" A worker in white looked at her in fear.
The queen blinked slowly. "Who was the one who found her on the lowest floor?" She asked in monotone.
They all looked around and a hand was raised by a fatuus with a beard. "I did, Your Majesty."
"Send me there and exactly to the spot you found her."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The fatuus with a beard walked out of the white room through the door and the queen snapped her fingers, gesturing for the rest of the fatui guards along with Zhongli and the agent to follow behind her.
The agent had many questions, but now she knew why she was captured that day.
Because of that, I was easily captured. I was feeling all weak and that made me vulnerable. The agent furrowed her brows. Ever since that day, I kept experiencing those 'episodes' but they only grew worse.
The realization hit her as her eyes widened with her heart beating rapidly. She wanted to deny it, but it wouldn't make any sense.
There are two of me...
How the hell...
Why...?
She glared ahead of her as she bit onto the cloth in her mouth.
Whatever the case is,
I need her dead.
—------------------------
Ningguang's eyes shot open as she awoke from her nightmare. Ah... it was only a dream... the lady's expression relaxed. She realized she fell asleep in Keqing's room as she saw the girl sleeping peacefully beside her. She took the time to remember her nightmare, but she couldn't exactly recall everything. The only part she remembered was that someone was hunting her down, then woke up when they caught her. Nothing of the figure was clear.
The lady sat straight on the bed and looked out the window. The moon was out. She wondered how long she was asleep for. Ningguang decided to get up as she couldn't fall back asleep. Therefore, the lady rose slowly due to her injuries and tucked keqing under the blanket before leaving her room quietly.
Instead of walking directly to her room, the lady took a turn and walked straight to the library. She took her dearest steps to get there so she wouldn't wake anyone up with her footsteps.
She reached the library's doors and opened them slowly. She entered and the first instinct she had was to continue the book she never finished. To her surprise, the book was still on the coffee table, but it was facing upside down with it being opened to a page, along with a bookmark aside on the table. The lady paid no mind to it and sat on the couch, reaching for the book. As she picked it up, she was startled with a sudden voice.
"I heard the library door open and I can already tell who it is in here." The general appeared from behind a bookshelf with her eyes closed like she just blinked, arms crossed, then she glared at the lady. There was a short pause and she cocked her head with a smile when she saw the lady holding the book. "It's funny how we're like magnets attracted to a single book."
The lady unconsciously smiled back then glanced over to the page the book was opened. She realized that the general was reading it. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were reading it..."
Beidou walked up to her and sat on the couch. Ningguang thought of it as unprofessional of her once again, because she sat close to the lady. "No worries. There's always another time to continue it." The general reached for the bookmark and placed it on the page she stopped at, while the lady still held the book open in her hands. "How is your back?"
Ningguang closed the book and placed it on the coffee table as she said, "it still hurts, but I can manage it." She sat straight on the couch with her hands resting on her lap.
The general slowly nodded. "I will have the nurses check on your back tomorrow morning. Please sleep on your stomach while it's in the process of healing."
Tomorrow is the day before they carry out their mission that will potentially start the war. The lady felt her stomach twist as she recalled and was nervous because it would be her first mission. She just hoped that she would finally retrieve her vision after it and go home.
One person in particular worried the lady. Oh no... if Keqing is feeling better tomorrow, she'll receive her punishment, but that means I will be alone to carry on the six bombs to the camps... Ningguang's eyes scrolled the ground as she was in her thoughts.
The general must've noticed how the lady looked bothered that she asked, "is there something wrong?"
Ningguang snapped out of it and immediately responded. "A-Ah..." She needed to say something quick. "Do you know if Keqing will be fine by tomorrow?"
"She was given a remedy earlier throughout the day so she can recover quickly." Beidou explained. "Without a doubt, I think she will be fine tomorrow..." Her voice trailed off as the lady knew she also meant that her punishment will be ready for tomorrow. "I suppose the two of you have made up?"
"Yes..." The thought of Keqing being punished the next day bothered the lady as she rubbed the side of her arm.
"Ningguang," The lady jumped when Beidou suddenly placed her hand on her thigh. "If it bothers you so much, you don't have to watch her." Ningguang knew what she was talking about. The lady slowly nodded and flushed as the general still kept her hand on her thigh. It was on one of her sensitive spots. Ningguang pursed her lips and slightly trembled as she felt the general inching closer, with her hand remaining on her thigh.
W-What is she doing?! Ningguang watched the general's eyes and they soon made eye contact. Beidou paused and did nothing but stare into the ladies eyes for a brief moment. "Perhaps you should sleep soon..." The general's voice was low. "You do know that it's past midnight, yes?"
Ningguang wanted to know why Beidou was still up reading this book. Maybe it was to tire her out so she can fall asleep quicker, who knows. "A-Ah..." The lady broke eye contact and looked down. "I should get to bed, then."
She was about to get up, but she felt a hand on her wrist. She immediately turned around to see the general's eyes looking like they're begging for her to stay. Ningguang's heart rushed as she didn't know why Beidou was acting like this. Maybe because it was late and this was the time where everyone was tired and didn't know what they were exactly doing.
"I'm sorry..." Beidou looked at her with wet eyes. "Please just stay a bit longer... I know I told you to sleep soon but..." She looked down. It looked like she was about to cry. "P-Please stay with me..." That was the quietest voice Ningguang ever heard come out of her mouth. Beidou was still looking down with her eyes shut and was biting down on her lower lip. The lady could feel her trembling through her hand on her wrist.
"G-General Beidou...?" The lady inched closer to the couch and was surprised by a sudden hug to her head.
She could better feel Beidou shaking as her head rested on the general's chest. A soft whimper was heard. It was the first time Beidou cried. It was like a one time chance to see the general be so vulnerable and unprofessional. Whatever it was, this whole thing felt so intimate. "I'm sorry," Beidou sniffed. "The moment you turned around, I saw the bandages and the redness because of the blood, and I was once again reminded of how terrible your punishment was." She hugged the lady's head tighter. "I'm so cruel..."
Ningguang felt bad for Beidou. She knew all along and didn't like what she was doing but she had to anyway because it was her duty. She wondered if the previous general was just like her or either worse. At this point, the lady already knew the general had a special place in her heart for Ningguang—well, Agent Ningguang.
"I will be okay." The lady tried to reassure in hopes that it would calm Beidou down. "Please don't worry much about it."
"That is something I cannot do."
The lady raised her head to look at the general. Is she being stubborn?
When Ningguang didn't say anything, Beidou continued in a low voice, "I will always worry about you, Ningguang."
The lady didn't know what to say. Does she reply to her back saying she worries about her too? She thought that it would be too much. Ningguang was about to reply with 'im sure you do' but kept her mouth shut when she realized that their faces were no more than a few inches apart.
Their gazes felt intense and her heart beat only grew. The lady gulped just as she saw Beidou inch her face closer. She was not ready.
Beidou's going to kiss me—the general...?! Oh no! Shouldn't the real agent Ningguang experience this and not me?! She's not even the real Captain Beidou of the Crux Fleet!
The lady didn't know if she should decline the kiss or continue on, but she had to make a decision quickly before her lips pressed against the general's.