Chapter Text
“Elisar?” Diluc whispers to the blonde fatui guard as if he’s known him. How did he know about Ember as his name? Did he come from the other world?
The guard just nods before whispering back, “What are you doing here and was that a rift?! Are you crazy, you know he has sensors for those things?!” Archons, they do know each other, and in a familiar mannor. The question is: how? Doesn’t he hate the fatui?
“Of course I know that, I didn’t mean for us to get rifted here! Archons, we are so screwed.” Diluc brought his hand to his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. How are we screwed? He’s taken out multiple fatui camps before, why would this be any different? Just who is this guard? The questions swirled through my mind without my permission. I needed to know what was going on.
“Hold on, Hold on. While this…” I pause, “reunion is cute and all I’d like to know what in the abyss is going on?” I whisper-screamed at the two people who’ve been ignoring my existence up until this point. Diluc looked up, realization written all over his face.
“Right, Kaeya meet Elisar. He’s our cousin, my moms side. You know how we didn’t know that this fatui camp exhisted?” I nodded at Diluc question, “Its Dottore’s and my grandfather’s camp. He definitely knows we’re here and—” Diluc freezes and less then a second later, he slumps to the ground.
I look down in panic, realizing that there was some sort of dart in his neck. I immediately look up to see another dart in the air, eventually making contact with Elisar who slumped over a second later. I summoned my sword, looking toward the outside of the cell. Which was pointless because a dart hit me from the inside of the cell.
Three figures enter my sight, Dottore, a man with blonde hair, and a man that was painfully familiar. He donned blue hair that matched my own. The sight of the three men was gone quickly, replaced by darkness.
***
Talking, I heard talking as I returned to the land of consciousness. I realized that something was holding my wrists to the wall I’m slouched up against. Am I chained to a wall? There’s something keeping my mouth from opening. A muzzle? After my eye took a moment to adjust to the light, I was met with the four of the five people I had seen before I passed out. My father isn’t here this time. Holy shit, my father’s here, not necessarily in this room but here, nonetheless. Why is he here? No, no, he can’t be here. Or was it a hallucination from whatever the dart had in it? My thoughts were cut off as Dottore began to speak.
“So, deal or no deal?” What deal? We just got out another deal Diluc had made. I noticed an object in Dottore’s hand. It looked like Dilucs other delusion, only this time it had something in the middle, I assumed that it was the artifact Diluc had mentioned before. However, its eerily familiar to something from my homeland. I watched as Diluc looked down at the object, fear flashing in his eyes for a split-second. Why is he scared of it? What does it allow the fatui to do?
“I want the same troop I was assigned to train before.” Diluc said, bringing his eyes back to Dottore’s.
“Done and done.” Dottore said smirking. He extended his arm, still holding the delusion, toward Diluc. Diluc grabbed the delusion hesitantly before placing it on his right hand. Once he had the delusion on securely, Dottore snapped his fingers twice. Diluc’s right eye turned entirely white, and he stood, looking towards Dottore, as if he was waiting on something.
“Take Elisar and our new guest here,” He motioned towards me, “to bunk twenty-three, that will be your bunk for your time here.” He ordered Diluc, who said nothing as he walked towards me, unchaining my wrists and pulled me to my feet by my shirt. He said nothing again as he grabbed my and Elisar’s wrists and walked out of the room into the familiarly staired camp.
I shook my wrist in an attempt to free myself, to no avail. Diluc held my wrist tightly, not even sparing a glance when I resisted. I wanted to ask questions but, I still had the muzzle on my mouth. Looking around the hallway, I noticed it really is the same as the other world’s base minus the comforting feeling. The halls were filled with fatui, some guarding, some walking by. The guards all seemed to do the same thing as we walked by, tense up and whisper about someone returning. They knew Diluc too? What is he hiding?
We continue to walk, only stopping once we arrive at a door, the top adorned with the number twenty-three. The warmth on my hand retreats, for Diluc’s hand no longer held onto it. Looking towards him, I realized where the hand went. One of his hands is placed over his mouth, the other arm supporting his elbow. His eyes were wide and pointed to a singular point on the door, although I get a feeling, he wasn’t paying any attention too it. He looked afraid, so very terrified, but at what?
As I brought my hand up to comfort him, his arms drop. They were no longer holding onto his face, but rather the doorknob. I blink as he turns to me, “Come inside.” His voice was steady, entirely contrasting his shaken visage. I don’t move gesturing to the muzzle with my now open hand. “Yes, I’ll take it off inside,” He responds.
The room is hardly lit, a small torch above the door being the only light source. The bunks were similar to those of the other world, just the essentials. Diluc walks in behind me, removing the muzzle once I stand still enough. I instinctively opened my mouth at its newfound freedom, the muscles feeling slightly sore as I open and stretch them. Diluc turns away walking towards his bed.
“Wait, Di—” I’m cut off.
“Kaeya not right now.” Diluc is now laying in a bed facing away from me.
“Not right—Not right now?!” What is wrong with him?! There’s no response. A hand on my shoulder, is the only reason I didn’t push for information. Turning around I’m met with the shaking head of my newly found cousin.
“He’s always like that after, it’s no use.” Elisar said, tugging me towards the other bunk beds.
“After? After what, what even was that?” This is new for me, not knowing enough about the situation. I’m a planer, that’s who I am. I haven’t been this lost since… Archons, I haven’t been this lost since I got left that night.
“Look, I’ll explain after he falls asleep. You guys came through a rift, right? I’m assuming, what you and him did today was probably tiring.” Right, its still the same day. The same day Diluc—He’s definitely tired, “Give it an hour and I’ll explain, alright.”
“Alright.” My eyes flash to the brother that I could have lost just that same morning.
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“Look last time he was here,” Last time? When? “He was here for three years. He spent the year before that traveling, or so I’ve heard. Anyways, he took out a couple hundred fatui camps, he caught the attention of the higher ups. He was caught on his way back to mondstadt.” Wait, wait that means he meant to come back years ago.
“He, well, he was referred to from Dottore as ‘his favorite creation’. They did things to him; I was stationed as a guard for the room he was in half the time. I don’t know what experiments they did to him, only that I have never heard a man yell as loud as he did.” That can’t be right, Diluc would normally never let them have that. He’d hold out if only to keep some of his dignity.
“Then after a couple weeks, he was introduced to us as a mercenary. He was assigned to teach my troop.” Wait, but this kid isn’t more that seventeen years old.
“Wait, how old are you?” I pitch in.
“I’m seventeen. When he was assigned to us we were a group of ten-year-olds. It’s normal here, for kids in fatui families. That’s why so many families get trapped in the organization. The fatui don’t do well with quitters, the families know what’ll happen if they try to leave. Anyway, back to Diluc, he taught us everything we know. He helped us when we were forced to kill for the first time, and every-time after that. You’ve got one abyss of a brother; I’ll tell you that. But you could tell he didn’t like seeing us come back hurt.” He explained.
“Wait, come back? he didn’t go with you guys?”
“No, they only sent him out alone and when they did, he wasn’t himself. They were controlling him, through the delusion. I’m assuming that’s what they did to him those first few weeks. Whenever he gained back to consciousness, he was like that.” He gestured to my sleeping brother across from us.
“There’s a reason they sent him out alone, they didn’t need to send anyone else. Sometimes it was an entire town, Kaeya. Nothing was ever left, not one child spared, and I have a feeling he could do nothing but watch. There’s a reason that while his formal title was The Gilded Phoenix, he was known as Ember. That was all that was left, everytime he was sent out.” Archons, that was him? He was the one that burned that house in Springville that time? That’s why I couldn’t find anything.