Chapter Text
Kaeya awoke to the sound of splintering wood. Someone had destroyed his front door. He shot out of bed and yanked his clothes on, sprinting downstairs while pulling on his eyepatch. The front door hung drunkenly from its bottom hinge, the broken lock clearly visible. He crept towards it warily, glancing around the room. The people responsible were nowhere to be found. He cussed quietly. He was nearing the end of his patience. Ever since the dragon had come and killed the Sustainer, the Fatui had gotten braver and stupider. The Tsaritsa had taken the opportunity to pacify the massive creature before anyone else. Now no-one dared to defy her, having seen the devastation the dragon had wreaked on Celestia. Kaeya took a step back from the door and ran into something that definitely hadn't been there before. A thick hand clamped down over his eyes and someone covered his mouth with a pungent rag. The knight barely got a whiff of it before darkness swallowed him whole.
…
Diluc awoke to a regular day, already afflicted by a powerful headache. There were more of them. Fatui in his cellars, Fatui in his vineyard, Fatui in his stables. Fatui drinking his wine, eating his grapes, ogling his horse. The redhead was honestly surprised he had managed to avoid murdering any of them thus far. Of course, that was mostly due to Adelinde's constant reminders not to start a massacre.
He pulled on his coat and stomped out the door, the rage in his face giving the Fatui a small shock before they remembered he couldn't do anything to them. He yanked his reins out of a pyroslinger's hands and swung into the saddle before galloping off towards Mond. His only solace in these dark times were Kaeya's equally dark mutterings whispered to the dregs of his wine in the shadows of Angel's Share. The only good thing about the invasion of the northern cockroaches, was the revelation of just how much Kaeya loved Mondstadt. Diluc hadn't truly doubted Kaeya's loyalty, despite the night in the rain his brother had spent claiming he wanted to destroy it completely. But this new confirmation eased the pain in his heart. He had begun trying to figure out how to reach out to Kaeya and have decent conversation with him outside connecting over how much they both hated the Fatui. Thinking about it made him grin just the tiniest bit.
His feet led him straight to Angel's Share. He set up behind the bar with the practiced efficiency of a very bored and angry man. Morning turned to afternoon as he supplied wine at an irritating discount to the horde of Fatui that plagued his establishment. He had found a paper a month or so ago with an article titled 'Why the Tsaritsa Hates Mond: A Fascinating Love Story of Two Archons'. He had nearly burned it out of disgust before discovering how much the Fatui despised the article. He had ended up memorizing it and quoted it at them every chance he got. His irritation started to grow again as he discovered Kaeya's unusual absence. He had just brushed off his worry when Jean walked in.
"Have you seen Kaeya?" she asked in a hushed voice, glancing around at a geochanter that stood nearby. Diluc shook his head, the uncomfortable tug in his gut telling his mind all sorts of horrible stories.
"What happened?" he responded, tugging her into the back. She recounted the events of that morning.
"He didn't show up for work today. He always sends someone to say if he calls in sick. He informs me first thing. But today there was nothing. So I sent Amber to his house, since she needed something to do. She found his front door broken in and traces of a struggle. We discovered an elemental trail and now we're trying to find out where it leads to. I was hoping that maybe he was alright and had come here for a drink or something before reporting." her eyes were lit with anxiety and Diluc found himself mirroring her distress.
"Kaeya's smart. I'm sure he'll find his way out of whatever scrap he's caught himself in. Until then, let's keep following the trail he left behind." he placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. She took a deep breath and nodded, straightening her shoulders. Her expression turned stern and commanding. Diluc found himself admiring her spirit. She really hadn't changed all that much since they were kids.
…
Kaeya felt people touching him, heard someone laughing from a dim corner of his mind. His body felt like lead and his head was stuffed with cotton.
...
Diluc's rage had achieved an all time high, which was impressive considering his record. Several very stupid people had nearly had their heads removed and Jean was struggling to negotiate with a furious Fatui captain. She finally managed to de-escalate the situation and returned, giving Diluc a half-hearted glare. She couldn't really blame him. She had also reached her limit.
They had reached a dead end. Kaeya's trace had led them right to a Fatui strong hold that sat smugly on Dragonspine and the Fatui would not let them in. Jean pulled Diluc away and they rode back to the Favonius HQ together, fuming in a companionable silence. When they walked in through the door, Amber sprang to her feet, hope pouring off of her in waves. Diluc shook his head and she collapsed back onto Jean's couch miserably.
"It took us an entire week to trace it back that far," she groaned. "What did they tell you when you asked about it?"
Diluc growled and Jean just laid her head on her desk.
"They said they wouldn't let us in. And that they needed him for something. They wouldn't say what it was,"
Amber sprang to her feet again, this time in indignation.
"What do we do? What if they hurt him?"
Diluc closed his eyes, unable to hide the pain in his face.
"They've already hurt him, Amber. It's really just a question of when they stop needing him. As soon as he stops being useful, they'll dispose of him."
...
Kaeya opened his eyes, blinking at the bright light shining brilliantly into them. His mouth was dry as a desert and his head ached.
Drugs.
He winced as he tried to move and found, to his distress, that he was fixed firmly in place. His muscles simply ignored him. He struggled for a few minutes before giving up, his eyes finally adjusting to the light.
He was in a courtyard, lying on a cushion in the center of what looked like a massive basket. He stared at it for all of three seconds before realizing what it was. He was settled securely and immovably in the soft belly of the dragon's offering basket. The Fatui had created a custom of giving the dragon gifts on a weekly basis. Up till now they had only given it gold.
A Fatui he recognized stepped up to the side of the basket and smirked when she saw was awake.
"Why hello there, my dear Captain. How did you sleep?"
Kaeya wouldn't have spoken to her even if he could. He closed his eyes and decided to ignore her monologue. She was undoubtedly seeking revenge on him. He had too many enemies within the Fatui. Not as many as Diluc, perhaps, but still more than average.
He jolted out of his doze when the mirror maiden poked him with a jeweled scepter that had been laid in the basket with him, along with a great many pounds of gold and gemstones.
All taken from the people of Mond. He growled deep in his chest, inciting the mirror maiden to poke him again. His eyes flicked open again, the abrupt sight of his right eye making her take a quick step backwards. She regained herself and poked him again.
"This is for my sister," she hissed. "That redhead bastard took her away from me. So I'll take away from him. See how he likes it."
Kaeya blinked in surprise. She wasn't mad at him, but Diluc? That didn't make any sense. She was going to have him killed to make Diluc upset. He smirked involuntarily. The mirror maiden noticed and an odd look crossed her face, visible even under her mask.
"Why are you smiling?! I just threatened to kill you."
Kaeya rolled his eyes. Getting eaten by a dragon was, by his standards, a pretty cool way to die. And it wasn't like Diluc would actually be sad if he died. The redheaded bastard would probably throw a party. Hell, he'd thank the Fatui. Kaeya went over his plans in his head. He still had a few things to wrap up before the campaign started, but his second hand man could manage that. The result would be subpar, but still acceptable. His plan would not fail even if he died.
He smiled again, settling deeper into the basket. The knight wondered how long it would take the poison to wear off. He'd like to at least hit the dragon before it killed him. He knew without a shade of doubt that he wouldn't be able to do anything to it, but he still wanted to go down fighting. He did want to do his family proud before he returned to them, after all.
The sun beat down at him as he waited, people rushing around him to ready the offering for it's recipient. They loaded the basket onto a cart using a special crane designed to carry the massive weight of gold and began pulling it away.
Kaeya stared upwards as the stone vaulting of the stronghold gate passed over him. He stared at the sky and realized his eyes were beginning to sting. He pushed away the feeling and stiffened his spirit. He wanted to die. He genuinely did. Death held rest for him, not fear. He was simply realizing that he wasn't quite ready yet. He still wanted to say goodbye.
He lay there and waited, the jingling of treasure filling his ears with a discordant song. He found his death chimes noisome. The sounds of a great crowd grew around him, people crying out in joy and fear. The Fatui celebrating the death of their enemy and the people protesting the loss of their Captain. He found it odd. Odd that so many voices would call out for him. That so many people would mourn his loss. He closed his eyes again, unwilling to see them. They were not mourning Kaeya as he was. They mourned the mask that he had shown them. They mourned for the illustrious Cavalry Captain. No one wept for Kaeya.
A voice shocked him out of his misery. Diluc's cry of rage raked across his ears like a warcry, the savage keen shaking his heart. The last time that agonizing scream of pain had pierced him was their father's dying day. He looked towards it in confusion, his eyes fixing on the unmistakable flash of brilliant crimson that marked his brother in the roiling crowd.
Diluc's sword swung an arc of fire across his vision, scoring deep slashed in the ranks of Fatui that piled upon him. Kaeya watched, unaware of the tears that dripped softly down his face. He saw Diluc's gaze turn to him, seeking him out in fear and desperation. A quiet sob spilled from his mouth, his vision blurring too much to see.
Everything around him faded away and all he could see was that smudge of red that splashed across the crowd.