Chapter Text
The plan was deceptively simple. Yelan and Kaeya would be on distractions, drawing out the Fatui forces (and hopefully Dottore, if he was there) while Childe and Diluc searched for and rescued Thoma and Idalia. Kaeya had managed to secure (stolen) horses from the Favonius stables, and they had spent the better part of the day riding, with Childe leading the helm.
Diluc still didn’t trust him, per se. He was Fatui, after all. But Kaeya knew him, Yelan trusted him, and he knew very well that the man might very well be their only shot at finding and navigating the lab. Even at that moment, as they crested a hill, Diluc would have had no idea what he was looking at as Childe pointed at a spot on the horizon of the Fontaine sea.
“There,” the man said.
Kaeya narrowed his eyes, putting a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun. “What? I don’t see anything.”
Childe rolled his eyes. “Look closer. See that wave that’s just hovering, never falling?”
Diluc scanned the horizon, searching. Ah, sure enough. The white foam of a few waves in the same spot seemed to be moving in slow motion, flowing, but never crashing. “How do we get below it?”
“It’s a mirage,” Childe explained. “Very hard to visualize, but really, if we just walk in, we won’t get wet at all.”
“I don’t understand,” Kaeya said bluntly.
“Shocker,” Childe replied sweetly. Kaeya made a move to push him off his horse.
Yelan snorted. “Right, okay. What should we do with the horses?”
Childe kicked his into motion before Kaeya’s hands reached him. “We can tie them up at the port. We shouldn’t be so long that anyone will find them.
He was right, of course. The sun was setting, and their plan was to be out before sunrise. The three followed Childe to a wooden post by the shabby, makeshift port, before climbing down to the sand and tying their leads. After all that was done, they followed Childe to the invisible entrance.
“Alright, here’s how this is going to work. There is only one entrance and exit that we can access — this one. So stealth is essential unless you want the entirety of the Fatui forces under Dottore’s control on our asses. More importantly, my ass. So Kaeya, Yelan, as soon as you enter, hug the left wall until you reach the control room. If it seems like the rooms are moving, they are. Ignore it, you’ll get there in around ten minutes of walking. There will be Fatui scientists in there. Come up with some bullshit about why you’re there, it doesn’t really matter. Stall, cause a big fuss, and attract attention. When the fighting starts, leave the far door, and stay on the left wall. This will prevent you guys from reaching either the central lab or the way we came in. Do not stop until you hear the alarm.
“I’m going to disable the alarm system as soon as we get in, so when you hear it, it means we’ve got them and it’s time to go. Diluc, you and I are going to the central lab. It’s guarded the heaviest, and almost certainly where your daughter and her dad are being kept. We’re going to hang back for a few minutes to make sure they get in and hopefully draw some of the guards. I cannot stress this enough— I will not be seen. By anyone. They’re probably going to pin it on me anyways, but if there’s solid evidence, the Tsaritsa will have my neck. So Diluc, you’re going to head in first, make a big fuss, draw any remaining guards. Pray Dottore is somewhere else. I’ll slip in behind and locate them. How’s your night vision?”
Diluc cracked his knuckles, swallowing thickly with nerves. “I’ll make do.”
“Light them all on fire if it helps — I’m going to hit the lights when I find them. Go the other way from where you entered the central lab, I’ll have one of them call to you, whichever I find first. This should hopefully buy us some more time.” Childe looked to Kaeya.
“Right, the lights go out, I’ll set off some bombs and start taking random turns,” Kaeya confirmed. “Archons, haven’t we talked enough?”
Yelan scowled. “Do you have no attention span? We still need to get out.”
Diluc nodded. “Right, we find them, bust them out, then hit the alarm. How will those two get out?”
Childe shrugged. “Honestly, it should be pretty easy. Depending on how far you made it into the lab, keep to the right wall and sprint. If you’re really far in, I honestly think you’d be better off trying to blast a hole through the top and taking your chances with the ocean.
Kaeya glared. “I’m not much for swimming.”
“Then make sure you’re faster than they are. They will one hundred percent follow us out, so Kaeya, Yelan, if you can figure out a way to trap them in the lab, go for it. Otherwise, speed is our only hope.”
The group looked at each other, nerves alight. This was it. Infiltrating what was probably the most dangerous Fatui establishment in Teyvat, with no promise of success.
Diluc was the first to break the silence, thumbing over the item in his pocket. He hadn’t used it in years… He wondered if he would have to. “Well, let’s get to it then.”
The four walked down the shore, into the holographic, still water, and entered Dottore’s lab.
As far as Diluc could tell, everything had gone well so far. He and Childe jogged through the halls, occasionally taking sharp, random turns at Childe’s whispers. They would occasionally hear a deep booming noise overhead, followed by a muffled cackle that Diluc knew well enough to recognize as his brother’s.
The walls and floor of the hall were dark, and metallic in nature, with random pieces of technology here and there. Low lanterns hung overhead, their magical light not nearly enough to totally illuminate the space. It smelled cold and damp, with the iron tang of what was almost certainly blood.
They soon came upon a trap door in the floor, where Childe hissed for them to stop.
“This is it,” the Harbinger whispered. “Go in first. I’ll follow at your call, or when I hear the fighting start.”
Diluc wanted to protest but knew he had no excuse. This was the deal they had made. He silently opened the door and climbed down, making no sound as he dropped to the floor. Fatui soldiers milled about their duties, apparently not having heard or registered the scuffle above them. Very well, that suited Diluc fine. It had been a while since he had spilled Snezhnayan blood.
He drew his claymore, and before any of them could react, had already cleft two of them in half. His Vision lit the sword up in flame, cutting through Sumeran technology as he took on the enemies that approached.
It felt good.
He didn’t know if it was the anger or adrenaline that propelled him, but he couldn’t feel any wounds that were inflicted on him. It was a good, honest fight, about 10 to 1, with him the swirling eye of the storm, The room was beginning to fill with smoke and the rotten smell of charred flesh, but he needed to ensure that Childe found the two before he quit.
He watched a sword come down at his shoulder, easily deflecting it with the Wolf’s Gravestone. When was the last time he had been the source of such carnage? It was a silly question — he reserved his wrath for Fatui henchmen and Abyssal nightmares.
The lights flickered off. At once, he extinguished his blade, humbling in the dark for a moment before backpedaling toward the hall behind him. He turned, abandoning quiet in favor of a full sprint. Where were they? There were so many rooms that branched off, shadowy figures kept in thick-barred cells.
He heard a soft cough from down the hall. Idalia. If he had been sprinting before, he was a man on fire now. Gods, she was alive. He tore into the room to see Childe illuminated by a single overhead lantern, kneeling on the floor, holding the girl. She looked so small and pale, even though it had only been about two days since she had been taken.
Diluc collapsed to the floor, hands shaking as he looked for wounds. She had some wound on her side that had been lazily bound, as well as bruises all over her little legs. Shit, he was trembling.
“Idalia?” He asked softly. He could hear footsteps and shouting from behind him, they needed to go, but he needed to know first if she could even stand. “Sweetheart, are you awake?”
Idalia’s green eyes fluttered awake, and she promptly burst into tears. “Papa!” She cried, flinging herself into his arms.
Diluc allowed himself a moment, letting the tears in his own eyes fall freely as he hugged his daughter as tight as he dared. She was safe now, she was alive. They had done it. His daughter. “Idalia,” he whispered, holding her frail form close to his chest. “Listen, Ida, we’re not safe yet. The bad men are still here. I need you to go with my friend h-”
“NO!” She screamed, clutching his jacket with all the force her little fists could muster. “Papa, don’t make me!”
“Ida, please,” he begged. “We need to get Thoma still. Childe is going to keep you safe. Childe,” he whispered urgently. “Please.”
Childe nodded, carefully maneuvering Idalia out of Diluc’s arms and into his own. “Come on, firefly, don’t you want to save Thoma, too? We gotta be heroes today.”
She sniffled and nodded, tucking her face into his shirt. Diluc stood, helping Childe up.
“Do you know where he is? I thought they would be held together.”
Childe shook his head, looking around anxiously as the footsteps drew nearer. “She’s the first one I found. My guess is he’s being kept in the evaluation chamber. Follow me. I’m going to drop you off, then lead them away so you have time to get him out.”
Fear shot through Diluc’s chest — what about Ida? But Childe knew best, and this was the only way to get them out. He nodded, and the two of them began running. Childe was impressive, seemingly unburdened by the little girl now clinging to his back. They left through the entrance of the room Idalia had been kept in, turning down a hall Diluc hadn’t noticed.
This one was almost entirely dark until Childe kicked a random spot on the wall, and all of the lights came on. They came up to a large, glass window, observing a perfectly white below. Perfectly white, except for a figure chained to the far wall, and the considerable amount of dark, dry blood beneath him.
Diluc immediately covered Idalia’s eyes before she could get a good look. He turned to Childe, nodding. “Draw them off, set off the alarm, and group up with the others. I think I can find my way out from here.”
Childe gave one short nod of affirmation, before running back the way they had come, knocking over a shelf behind him.
Diluc punched a glowing button on the wall and watched as two glass panes parted to a stairway descending into the room below. Diluc took it immediately.
“Thoma!” He called out, running to the man in chains. He was suspended a few inches off the ground, shoulders almost certainly dislocated, and covered in wounds. He was shirtless, chest bearing the full force of Dottore’s wrath. Diluc felt bile raise in his throat.
Thoma’s head snapped up, dried blood covering half his face. “D-Diluc? Is that you?”
“Yes, yes, it’s me. Don’t move, I have to cut through the chains.” Diluc drew his claymore once more, striking through one of the chains suspending his arms. He caught Thoma’s weight to attempt to prevent any more damage to his shoulders.
“Diluc,” Thoma blinked, voice shaking. “Diluc, you can’t be here. He’ll kill you, he’ll do worse, I wouldn’t tell him where you had gone, but you have to get out before he-”
“Before he… what?” A voice rang out from behind them.
Thoma froze, completely petrified with fear. “It’s too late.”
Diluc cut through the other chain suspending him before whipping around. Sure enough, Il Dottore emerged from underneath the observation desk, looking like he had expected this all along. Diluc knew better, though. He had expected Diluc to come alone. He had no idea what was happening upstairs.
The alarm was set off at that moment, and Dottore smiled. “Suppose the bodies you cut through to reach me have been found, then?”
“Was bound to happen at some point,” Diluc answered, positioning himself between Thoma and Dottore. “Can you stand?” Diluc whispered over his shoulder to Thoma.
“I think so,” the man whispered back.
Dottore laughed, shaking his head. “Sorry, just for my own curiosity: what did you think was going to happen here? That you would best me, one of the best of the Harbingers, and miraculously make it out, past all my men? You really amuse me, Diluc. If you hadn’t caused so much destruction, I would keep you here just to amuse myself. As it stands, however, I am going to kill you.”
Diluc looked back at Thoma, voice barely audible with his instructions. “I’m going to charge him. Get up the stairs, and follow the right wall. The others will help you.”
Before Thoma could protest, Diluc strode forward, laughing. “Call me whatever you’d like— arrogant, foolish, savage. It doesn’t matter. I’m going to burn you and this whole fucking place to the ground. Fatui scum, all of you.” With that, he started into a run, claymore bursting with fire at the ready.
The fight was hard. Harder than Diluc had expected. Dottore, according to what he and Kaeya had inferred, had a Hydro delusion, which Pyro tended to be fairly useless again. He just needed to make sure Thoma was sufficiently out of ear and eyeshot before he leveled the odds.
Dottore lashed out at him, sending him sailing into the back wall. At that moment, he saw Thoma finish climbing the stairs, and limp into the hall.
Perfect.
He pulled himself off the ground as Dottore floated toward him, a wall of water behind him. It was a terrifying sight, to be sure.
“I’m going to drown you,” Dottore said bluntly. “I’m going to enjoy it, watching you struggle for air. Then I’m going to grab your little boyfriend and let him watch, too. I’m sure I can get your daughter before your lungs are full. It’ll be a nice show for all of us.”
Diluc shook his head, reaching into his pocket, thumbing over the smooth glass. “Do you know why they call me the Dark Knight Hero, Dottore?” He asked, quiet enough to just be heard. He took a deep breath, then pressed into the glass, the force of the power knocking the breath out of him.
He met Dottore’s eyes, watching the shock and horror dawn in his expression as Diluc, too, rose into the air. “It’s not because I always attack at night.” He held out the Delusion from his pocket, black lightning crackling around him. The transformation was well underway, skin crackling with the energy he hadn’t touched since the last time he was in Snezhnaya. It was toxic, poisoned, but it was his by right. He grinned at the Doctor, landing on his feet, a good four feet taller than before. “It’s because this lightning is the last thing you lot ever see.”