Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Today is just like any other day. I wake up, brush my teeth, get my clothes on, and go to work at my stand in the city. Today is exactly just like the other day. Nothing changes. Every day is repeated over and over. The same thing, just different outcomes. I barely make enough money to afford rent now anyway, selling books from foreign countries doesn't pay much in Sumeru city, maybe if I  lived in Inazuma I would be a millionaire. Lately, I've been a thing of just selling drugs to crackheads to make my income instead, I would probably make more money than this anyway. Today is an ordinary day at the shop, basically like any other day. Occasionally people come and buy, usually about 3 people each day. It's already 12 and I've gotten about 1 person now. A little girl walks up to me, she stops at the stand and pulls out a wallet. "Do you have books written by the inazuman author named Kenji?" I think I do have some in drawers. "Yeah, I have some of his books in a drawer, let me pull them out real quick." I bend down and open my drawer, This drawer is full of smut authors, the wrong one. I open the other drawer and see Kenji's books. I pull them out and place them in front of the girl. "Choose the books you want, each book is 100 mora."

Personally, my favorite book of his is 'The Secret of Life.' The main character is relatable, just wants to make money to afford his rent, and feels like his life is repeating. It's relatable. The story is also good, so I can't help but like it. I don't like his other books though, I find them corny. "Can I have The secret of life?" I pull the other books back and put them back in the drawer. "Good choice, that's 100 mora, if you forgot." She hands over 100 mora and grabs her book. "Thanks, enjoy reading, it's one of my favorites from him, you'll love it." She nods and walks away. I need to go stock up on that book once my work's done. That was my last copy. I grab my bottle of beer in the back and drink. I think I drink more beer than water nowadays. It's cheaper than water now, that's messed up. I put the bottle back down and start to clean up the stall and pack it up. I'm planning on ending shift early since I'm feeling tired today, might accidentally sell a book for 50."

When I grab some books off my side shelves, I hear a thud come from behind me. I turn around to see some capsule glowing purple, must be some toy a kid dropped from above. I pick it off the ground and inspect it, it's in good shape, and the glow looks sick, must be one of those rich kid toys. I can sell this for 500 mora at least, definitely gonna keep this. I stuff it in my bag and get all of my other items in the bag, I zip it up. I get on my back and start to walk to the restaurant. All of the waiters there are nice and they have good food for cheap. It also doesn't make me obese like most other restaurants, they use more healthy ingredients, but they taste better than most of that other food. The manager understands my current situation too, so I got a 20 percent discount there. I make it to the restaurant and go to the front desk. "You already know, right?" The lady looks at me with the same look she has had since I first found this place. "I've seen your face more than my mother's, let me just get a table." She leads me to the window single table, one of my favorites. "I'll go get you a waiter." 5 minutes later he comes over. "You already know how I am, I'll be your waiter today. Do you want the usual?" I nod and he smiles. "Ok, It will come soon." He walks away and leaves a piece of paper on the table with the table number.

As a child, my family would always come to this place, it was still the same manager running it too, maybe that's why she's so fond of me. She would come over to some of our parties too, I think she might have been one of my parents' friends. Next time I go visit them, I might ask. I doubt that'll be soon though, they all live in Fontaine now. It'll take a while for me to get enough money to go there. When I get there though, I'll hug them with the biggest hug I gave them in two years. I'll play with my little sister and brother, bonding like we haven't in two years. Then, we'll eat dinner together while talking and bonding, eating dad's signature meal, it'll be amazing. Until that day comes, It's all just dreams. "Enjoy, the chef made sure to do her best while making this meal, just for you." I turn around to see my food has arrived. It smells and looks amazing, as usual. My beer is here too, I'm thirsty, so that's good. "Thanks." I thank the waiter. He smiles and walks away. I start to dig in. Today, the food is even tastier than yesterdays. He wasn't lying when he said the chef put in more effort for me today. It doesn't take long until I finish the food. I gulp the beer and lean on the chair. That was refilling.

I always order this exact meal, so I'm already aware of what the price will be, with the discount too. I leave the mora on the table and go to walk out. That's when I feel someone grab my hand. I turn around to see the manager. "Y/N! How have you been? I haven't been able to talk to you in a while! How's your family doing?" "They've been doing fine, I hope so."

"That's great! Next time you visit them please tell them I said hello! If you ever need mora don't be scared to come to me! I'll give you all the mora you need!" "Yes, thank you, Basimah, I have to go now, so goodbye..." "Goodbye Y/N!" I leave the restaurant a bit shakier. Even though she's nice, she's just a bit too nice for me, I don't like saying that though, I can't not like someone for being too nice, that's just rude... She did help me buy my house too, so I can't dislike her. I walk until I make it to my house. It's around the stairs that lead up to the academy. That Kaveh guy built it, the manager paid him to. He's nice, just a bit annoying at times. I get my keys and open the door. My house is small, with just a tiny kitchen, bathroom, and a bed. I put my backpack down and get the toy out, I'll put it next to my bedside, so when I wake up I just don't immediately forget about it. I can't miss this money opportunity, not like the last time when I found a rare diamond and put it in my backpack to sell but when I woke up I thought it was a piece of glass and threw it away. When I realized it was a rare diamond the garage men already came.

I grab the toy and put it right next to my bed and lay down, just when I'm about to close my eyes, a vision comes into my eyes.

A giant machine, with an electro symbol on it, it's giant. In the head, a man is there, he has purple hair, and purple eyes, with an electro symbol on his shirt. He looks... appealing, like a god. This is a god. The giant machine, with a god in it. It's... angelic!

My vision stops there. I can't help but smile. This god... is it calling out to me? I've always been religious, but that was to the dendro archon, I've never gotten anything like this from her though, this god, I think this is a sign. A sign of new hope, a new beginning, a miracle.

Chapter Text

  I need to find it. Whatever this god is. Maybe I can be their first worshipper. Isn't that how it always goes? Some person who needs help gets a vision from a god, they go out and find the god, they worship them and spread the word, more people come, and everything is fixed. It's like the plot of this book I read by my favorite author, 'A Shining beacon' by Samira Aziz. A lot of her books have to do with gods and worship. Some are love tales, others are the reason I'm randomly crying at 3 am. She's my favorite Sumeru author, and probably ranks 3rd in my whole favorite authors of all time list. Well, all I know is that this sign, can't be ignored. Especially since that god might be the prettiest I've ever seen. The area was dark, maybe he is underground, it would be new, but it does give off that underground lair vibe. Right now I can't make any assumptions, it would be better just to head out tomorrow with my supplies, and look around until I can see it, some religious books I've read said that if you are truly connected to a god, you can feel their aura if you're nearby.

Right now isn't a good time to go looking, the sun is about to set, and anyone who lives in Sumeru knows how dangerous it is at night with those fungi around. I'm also struggling to keep my eyes open from tiredness, so it's safer to just sleep here and set off tomorrow. Once I wake up, I'll be out the door in less than ten minutes, I can bet millions of dollars I don't have on that. I'm not even gonna change clothes, So when I wake up I'm already ready there. I'll put some deodorant on, so I don't smell like ass. I can't go visit a god smelling like ass. That'll get me cursed forever. I should just get to sleep already. I have lots of things to do tomorrow. I finally get under my covers and slowly, dose off.

...

Today is the day. I immediately get off my bed and grab my backpack. Even though I would love to take all my books with me, I need to fit other stuff in there. I think I can only fit 3, I can use those 3 books for entertainment and to offer the god. Maybe he also loves books, that might be why he called out to me. To get a hold of some books. They have to be some of the best books I have. Perfect, a god deserves perfect. I have a good idea of what to bring, I pull the 3 books out of the mass and put them in front of me.
'My first breath' by Itsuki Hasegawa. One of my favorite authors of all time. I don't know how those Inazuman Authors write some of the most amazing pieces of fiction in the world, it's like a skill they're just born with. I stuff it in the bag and pick up the next book. 'My Husband From Mondstadt.' by Lyubov Volkov. It's about a girl who leaves Snezhnaya and finds a Mondstadt man who says he's willing to help her. A really cute love story, apparently it's the real story of the author.

I put it in the bag and pick up the final book, 'Dear Vater' by Friedrich Fischer. It's been a while since I read it, I think it's about some kid writing to their father every day just for them to end up dead. I stuff it in the bag and get my other items. I get my deodorant and apply it to my armpits, like I said I'm not gonna smell bad in front of a god. I stuff some food and water in my bag and put my deodorant too, I finally grab some shirts and pants and stuff them in. That's all I need. I pick up the bag and head off. Today, I'm gonna find something millions of people will never get to see in a million lifetimes. Where would I god be hiding? I could go to the academy but I doubt a god like that would be there, isn't that we're the dendro god already? I should downwards, maybe there's a door to the area down there or something, it seems simple, but I have no other idea. That's how it goes in most books I read anyway. I know that going off what most books do for hidden lairs is probably gonna get me nowhere, but I have no other leads right now.

When I'm passing by where I usually put my stand, I feel a tap on my back, I turn around to see it's the little girl from yesterday. "Hello! What's your name?"

"Y/N."

"Oh hello Y/N! I would like to return this book. I finished it!" No way she finished it in one day. It took me a week to finish and I had all the free time in the world. She just wants to avoid the 20 mora fee if you return and don't finish it. Honestly, I wasn't expecting her to be one of those, but you never know anymore. "Ok, let me quiz you then." She nods. "What is the plot of the book?"

“It’s about this guy who is doing really bad in life and has no money and is thinking of ending it all when this angel girl comes out of the sky and gives him the power to fight bad guys in return for money and her love! So he accepts and fights the bad guys and gets with the angel girl, and more people from heaven appear until this hot devil girl appears and gives him the deal that if he kills the angel girl he’ll get all her love and that he can also have sex with her so he accepts and kills the angels with the devil girl but then the devil girl kills him and ends up being an angel girl and before the guy dies she says have fun in hell, pervert!”

… do I even have to quiz her anymore? She just said the whole plot of the book. Now that I think about it, isn’t she a bit too young to be reading this book? Whatever she already read it anyway. “Alright, thanks for the confirmation. You can give me back the book now.” I bend down and she hands me the book. “Good day to you Y/N.” She says before running off. What a peculiar little girl, she’ll grow up to do great things, or just end up like me.

I start to walk out of the city. I’m near a river area now. There’s a huge pile of rocks over there. It looks suspicious, I walk up to the rocks. Once I get close I can see a purple glow emit, that’s the place. How do I get in though? I can’t carry one of that rocks-Just then the ground rumbles. All of the rocks break and I fall into the hole the rocks covered. I can see blackish walls with a lab inside. This must have been the place, but I get my efforts are in vain, I’ll die with this impact.

Just when I’m about to hit the ground, A pair of hands catch my fall. Their arms are still pretty hard though, not as hard as the floor, but still hard. I look up to see, It’s the same guy in the mech from my vision. He must have seen it coming, he is a god. How thoughtful of him!

Chapter Text

"Who are you." He said bitterly to me. His eyes looked as if they were filled with, disgust. "I said, who are you." I felt an electric shock coke through my body, it made my whole body twitch and start to hurt. "I'm Y/N! Don't you already know me!? You gave me that vision didn't you?!" He started gripping me tighter, his hands starting to crush my ribs, it was awfully painful. "What vision?" He said, a bit softer this time, still with the same look of disgust though. I don't think this god likes me much, but then why would he send me a vision? Maybe that vision was meant for someone else, not me. "That vision you gave me when I found that little egg toy thing! The one with you in the robot in your god form?!" He then dropped me on the ground. I screeched out in pain, he was a god with that much strength, you can't deny that. "Get up and follow me." He grumbled. I slowly got up and started to catch up to him. We were around the same height so our walking and running speeds are about the same.

He is a god, though, so he can probably walk faster than that if he wanted to. The place looked like some lab, they're were people in masks and cloak's everywhere, looking at me as if I was an alien to them. The whole place felt like a labyrinth, I was a lost, hurt, wanderer with no idea what to do or where to go, and this god, is my Seelie, leading me to my destination, lighting up a path for me to follow. We make it to these conveyor belt things, He tells me to get on the one behind him, it's scary, but I jump on the one behind him and hold on to the poles tightly. When he looks back to see that I'm on, he gives me a thumbs-up and turns around again. I think he's starting to soften up a bit, at least that's what I hope.

We make it to a room that seems to be at the very end of the labyrinth. The god opens the door and walks in, he leaves the door open for me too. I step inside and see him standing next to a man in a white lab coat. He turns around to face me, looking even more terrifying than the god himself. His mask makes me unable to see what expression he has on his face, but I can tell it isn't happy. "Sit down. You have nothing to worry about. I'm... Dottore, a name you'll never forget." He says, sitting down himself too. I walk up to the chair and sit down, the god goes and leans toward a wall, looking at me, as if he were confused. "Now, I want you to tell me why you are here and what exactly happened. If you don't tell me the easy way, then we'll have to do this a way I know you won't like. " His voice turns cold as he says the final word. I should have never followed that vision, what was I thinking? Did I think my life would change in any way? How was I so sure it was a god in the first place? Well, he did have a giant mech and purple glowing eyes, he also is pretty strong. So I guess that's not wrong.

I put my hands in my lap and start to explain. Hopefully, he decides to not kill me for coming here. I don't think that it matters though, my luck has already run out. They are going to kill me and there's no way around it. "W-well yesterday when I was about to go to bed when I got this vision of y-you're god in his mech form and thought it was a sign for something... better." It was embarrassing to say that last part out loud, especially in front of the god himself. Dottore cleared his throat, while the god snickered to himself. "Did you happen to be in the presence of an object that looks like a capsule? Did it have a purple glow?" That toy? Was that the reason I got that vision? No wonder it looked so delicate, I should have known better, I blame it on the tiredness I had that day. "Yes, I found it rolling behind where I set up my shop in the city. I took it home with me thinking it was a kid's toy." Dottore seemed to understand my situation now. "I understand now, thank you for your cooperation. That capsule device you found, is something that's called a knowledge capsule. In there we keep knowledge stored, people who are in the presence of one for too long or touch it are likely to get the knowledge inside of it transmitted into their brains. In your case, that's exactly what happened." He paused before continuing, "This is very important information, that can't just be let off."

His tone sounded serious, too serious. By that, they meant they were going to kill me. This is the end, all I needed to do was just ignore it like any other normal person, but no, I just had to go and find the source thinking it was some sort of miracle. "If you're thinking I'm going to kill you, then you're wrong. Instead, I have a more peaceful solution." The god seemed to be shocked by that as much as I was, for he started to choke on the air. Dottore only continued to speak when he stopped. "This place is run by an organization named 'The Fatui.' We are a Snezhnayan organization run by the Tsarista herself. As you already know, I'm Dottore, one of the harbingers. Harbingers are one of the highest, and most powerful ranks in the Fatui, not including the Tsarista herself of course. My... friend over here is Scaramouche, the eighth of the Fatui harbingers, the one that, is a god. We are currently running our project here that will turn Scaramouche here into a god, with that he'll replace your current god and become the new one. That knowledge capsule you found was supposed to be given to officials at the academy, but somebody must have lost it." I don't think I can even breathe anymore, I just got myself into some serious shit. I've heard of the fatui before, about all the stuff they do and their reputation. I didn't know any harbingers though since I never really looked into it. Since they're not gonna kill me, does that mean... "Since you're now aware of this, you'll be joining the fatui, as one of my assistants." I guess it does. It doesn't seem like I have a choice. Now, I've gone from a bookseller to the assistant of the third fatui harbinger, all because of some capsule I found lying around.

"I'll try to get you to Snezhnaya soon for the initiation process, don't worry, it usually only takes like 2 days." I'm gonna get myself killed here, either I get killed here with all of this machinery around or the people just not liking me and killing me, or in snezhnaya with that initiation process. "I'll explain more later, I need to do some things here, Scaramouche, take her to the infirmary, I can tell that she's injured. "Fine." He said, he grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the room. "Just know, he didn't let you go with your life because he's a good man, he just did that because there's a current strike going around saying you can't kill anybody for the time being. It's because some people in Fontaine were found dead and now the Fontaine army is pissed at us."

"I knew that he wasn't a saint, I was expecting to get killed anyway," I muttered. We went onto the conveyor again. "Being his assistant isn't going to be easy you know. I'd say you'll be torn apart in less than 2 days." To be honest, he's right.

Chapter Text

Behind some pipes and machines, they had some dorms for employees. That's where I slept that night, it was probably one of the most awful sleeping experiences I have ever experienced. They had no blankets and no pillows. So we were all just sleeping on some scrawny mattress that felt like it was gonna fall off any second. The person next to my bed also smelled awful, and the room was really cold. You could hear all the machines and pipes from the next room over too, so overall, awful experience. When I woke up from my sleep I had a bunch of cramps, so that was even more awful. I wasn't the only one with cramps though, everyone else got them too. We got up and went to go fulfill whatever duties we had, which varied from cleaning up some pipes to working on that mech. Dottore wanted me to meet him in his office again to see what I would work on before I go to Snezhnaya to become an official employee.

The only problem was that... I forgot where his office was located. All I remember is that it was a pretty difficult process to get there in this place, so of course I would forgot it. It didn't seem like Scaramouche was around here... so I guess I'll have to ask some of my coworkers for help. That's good! It's always a good thing to make friends with coworkers. Hopefully, I find someone I can be the best of friends with. Well, that sounds like a bit too much. A girl with blonde bright hair passes by me, I walk up to her and put a hand on her shoulders. "Excuse me... do you know where the office of Dottore is?" She turns and looks at me. She had dark blue eyes, that at the moment were staring right into my soul. It's kind of terrifying, to be honest, but I probably just scared them now so I don't blame them. "Oh, you want to go there? Very well then.. follow me." Her voice is deep and serious. It's kind of intimidating, but I'm just being judgmental. I haven't even really talked to her, who am I to judge?

She starts to lead me to the office, and the path starts to become a bit clearer to me now, as I remember some parts of it, and only start to learn about others. I try to start up some conversation on our way there, but it doesn't seem like she was interested, so I eventually stopped trying. She then left me at the front of his office. "I hope I could be of assistance." She bowed and then walked off. Hopefully, I can meet with her later, for now, I have to go talk to him and get whatever work has to get done. I open the door and see him sitting in his chair, looking at me. "Ah, you made it. Sit down, we have lots to discuss." I walked to the chair and sat down in front of him. "Hello Dottore sir, I assume you have already chosen what job I will serve, yes?" He laughs. "Of course, I think I found a job that will perfectly fit you..." I anxiously waited as he watches me for my reaction. He knew I was anxious and excited about what I was going to get, and he enjoyed watching it. Eventually, he finally decided to tell me. "You'll be... a cleaner!"

Huh. To be honest, I wasn't expecting that, but it fits. I mean, I just kind of came out of nowhere, of course, I wasn't going to get the important stuff. "Of course, you'll be my assistant too, but when you're not here assisting, you'll be cleaning. Sound good? Or do you have something to say?" I looked at him. "Sounds good." He grinned at me. "Good, today, I don't need any of your assistance. So, why don't you go clean down in the piping room, we had an accident happen there last week and nobody has cleaned it yet... so, that'll be your first task." I nodded and stood up. "I'm on it," I say as I walk out the door. Immediately when I walk out though, I realize that I have no idea what I'm doing. I know that I have to go clean a piping room, I just have no idea where it is or how to get out of this area. The woman who helped me out before is gone too, so I'm in quite a trouble. I walk back into his office to ask where it is, but when I walk in he's gone.

"Well, I guess I'll have to navigate myself through..." I mutter as I walk onto the conveyor belt. I’ve started to get a bit used to them. I am still scared of them, but, I think I am starting to get the hang of them now. I’ve learned that they are the main thing to take you to different areas and levels. I got on and held on to the poles that hang it over. I start to move to the next floor, I just hope to stumble across the cleaner closet and then just stumble across the piping room. I have a feeling that would take at least an hour. It makes it to the next floor and I hop off. I look around for anyone I could ask for help, and I see the woman that helped me before, walking through the hallway. I run towards her. “Hey! I need some help again…” She stops in her tracks and turns around to face me. “Oh, it’s you again… what do you need help with now?”

“I have to find the cleaner closet and the piping room… can you tell me where they are please?” She looks at me and sighs. “You must be a new cleaner… correct?” I nod at her. “We’ll kind of yeah..”

“Hmm, follow me. I’ll lead you there.” She starts to walk and I follow her. We walk together toward the other pair of conveyor belts. “So, what’s your name?” I ask. To my surprise, she smiles. “Im Anastasia.” She says. “Well, I’m Y/N. Thank you for the help… this place is confusing, so it’s nice to have a guide to.. help you out.” She chuckles. “I can see that…” We get on the 2 platforms and ride down the conveyor. Once we make it to the next floor. She leads me further down a hallway. “Anastasia… can I ask you a question?” She raises an eyebrow. “What is your question?”

“Can you tell me about, Scaramouche?” I ask. “Hmm, him? Well, you’re new so, of course, you’d want to know of him. He’s not very friendly… I would recommend just not trying to interact much. All of this as you know is to make him a god, so we all work to help him. Currently, we’re only in the beginning stages though, so I can’t say he has been connected to the main mech himself…”

She pauses. “That’s all I can say.” I smile. “Thank you.” What she said was interesting, so he is only beginning to become a god, well, at least I didn’t join in right at the end. Then this would be even more difficult for me. I must say though, I’m intrigued.

We walked further down the hallway until we made it to the cleaner's closet. “You can go in and get the supplies you need, I will wait out here for you so I can take you to the piping room.” I nod and walk into the cleaning room. It’s very dark, but still enough light for me to access and be able see what I’m looking at. I don’t know what specifically I’m cleaning, but I assume I just need a mop and bucket. I’ll take the spray and rag too. I take them all and put some of the supplies in my hands. I can barely fit them all in my hands, I’ll ask Anastasia for some help carrying them. I’ll get my cleaner uniform later… right now I don’t think I can. I step out of the room and go over to Anastasia. “Can you help carry some of the supplies, please? I can’t carry all of this…” She nods politely and carry’s some of the items in her hands. She has the spray and rag, and now I have the mop and bucket.

She then puts the spray and rag down on the floor and grabs the bucket. “I’ll go fill this up for you.” She says. She then disappears for 2 minutes before coming back with the bucket full of water. She goes into the cleaner closet and comes out with a lid, then she puts it on the bucket. “That’s how it’s done, now, let’s go to the piping room.” I follow her to the other pairs of conveyors, and we get on and go to the next floor. She then takes me to the piping room. “I heard there was a bunch of purple goo in there, just know, no matter what you do. Do not touch it.”

“Ok,” I say. This is some serious stuff, so I should take her warnings seriously. I go into the piping room to find a bunch of this purple goo all over the ground. “Jeez, what happened in here?” I mutter. I open the lid of the bucket and start to mop. The purple goo makes an icky sound while I clean it, gross. When I finally finish, I feel like I’m about to pass out, There was a bunch of that stuff on the floor, and it did not come off easily. I open the door and Anastasia is still there waiting. “I’ll take the supplies back to the closet, you were in there for a while so you deserve a break!” I hand over the supplies to her. “The dorms should only be two floors away, so just take two conveyor belts to get there, I’ll see you soon.”

“Goodbye!” I said as she walked away. Well, mission success in making a friend. Now I have a nice guide and help, and a good buddy to hang with. I hope to see Scaramouche soon, he interests me, he is the whole reason I am here anyway, so I would like to get to know him better, I would like to get to know this whole place better, but I’ll do that another day. Today, it’s time for me to take a break… I take the two conveyor belts and make it to the room that leads to the dorms, I get through the pipe-filled room and open the door to the dorms. I seem to be the only person here presently, so I have privacy. I turn off the lights in the room and lay down on the mattress, I slowly, fall asleep.

Chapter Text

I woke up by the loud noise of tapping on the door. As everyone did. "GET UP!!" Someone yelled loudly. I looked over, it was a Fatui agent with a baton. "Get up and get to your duties, NOW!!" Everyone got up, and so did I, though, rather slowly compared to the others. We all then got dressed, took our supplies, and got to work. I went over to a hallway and started to clean. I was hoping I could run into Scaramouche today because if I'm being honest, I could care less about cleaning some dirty hallway. I walked around, mopping up places and rubbing dirty areas with sponges until I saw him walking down the hall, he didn't seem to notice me though, and if he did, he simply didn't care I was there, which is fair. He walked the hallway rapidly and then took a left, so I followed behind him. He walked that other hallway, and then left to make a turn, before he stopped and looked back at me, pretending to be mopping the floor.

"...are you trying to make me angry?" He seethed. Turned his whole body toward me. "...I'm just mopping the floor," I reply casually. "Oh really now? So you were mopping the floor in that hallway, and then when I walked over here you suddenly started mopping over here?" "..." "Wow, what a coincidence." He said flatly, rolling his eyes. He then walked up to me and stood right in front of me. "Honestly, I don't know why you're still here. You don't belong here. All you are is just some stupid human who thinks they're going to "uncover the secrets of some secret organization", I don't mean to burst your bubble, but you're not. All you're doing is just looking stupid and putting your life in danger, and honestly, if it was up to me, I would have had you killed. So maybe you should just find a way to get out of here before I kill you myself." ... well that was rough. In a way, he's right, this is stupid, but, my life is so boring, that even if it does get me killed, I would prefer at least to have some fun in my life and have an interesting one.

He continues to walk where he is going and is gone. Leaving me standing there, a bit embarrassed after being called out. I think about whether I should continue to follow him or not, I mean, he'll probably notice me again and I'll get called out again, but at the same time, I'm curious, I mean, I wanna find stuff out, so, how can I not try and see where he's going? This time, I have to be stealthy, so I'll just ditch the cleaning supplies here and head over there. So I left the cleaning supplies there and headed over to the hallway, but he already left, and there were two different paths I could take. Left or right... I'll take the right path. So I start walking right.

There's a bunch of doors, each of them with a tiny window in them, which I would peek through if it wasn't for the fact that they're Fatui members walking around everywhere and that if there are people in those rooms I think they would notice the head peaking into the window. It's not exactly well hidden like I'm well hidden now, is it? I need to find out if he's in one of the rooms though, so I'll just go off sound, I'll get a bit close to the doors and see if I can hear voices through the door, that way I can listen in without looking too suspicious. I go over to the first door, nothing, then the second door, nothing, but at the third one I faintly hear some voices.

"So, how's it going?" A deep voice says. "...good I guess, I mean, whatever good is on this horrible factory anyway." Another voice says. "I know, it's like stationed sent the soldiers they hate the most over here, we have to deal with the madman that is Dottore and Scaramouche's temper in some dirty factory with horrible working conditions and just generally horrible experiences, but I guess that's what you get working with the fatui..." the deep voice utters. Their conversation just seems to be complaining and the deep voice teasing the other by saying "Who's your crush, hmmm~? Who's your love~~~" and the other guy says, "Stop asking thattttt~..." in an embarrassed tone.

I go over to the fourth door, but nothing, at the fifth door, nothing, but at the sixth and final door, I hear some voices again. "What's the plan after the testing and connecting is done?" A voice, not high pitched but not too low asks. "They'll start something they call a samsara cycle, it's going to be them harvesting the dreams of the residents of Sumeru through the Akasha terminals, with the dreams, it'll help him gain power. It's interesting how it works, honestly." The Akasha terminals, wait... I've been wearing one of those too! They've also been gathering my dreams, well, this whole thing... how'd they do it? I mean, don't you think the sages would notice the fatui is making their citizens wear these devices that are collecting their data? Wouldn't they notice the giant underground plan going on directly under the city? It's all so confusing... and shocking, I mean, I always thought that maybe I would be able to be smart enough to not let my data fall into the wrong hands, but I was quite wrong, I thought they were collecting my data through other things, other things that would make no sense, why wouldn't they collect your data through the item you use every day and the thing would never think too much about considering you use it every day for various things...

One of the voices then speaks. "I have to admit, as much as I, well, don't like Dottore that much, that has to be one of the greater ideas he's come up with." The other voice then replies "He didn't come up with it on his own, he proposed an idea, and they helped him come up with it. They said it would be convenient, smart, the best way, and that it was all ready, they just need to redirect the flow to him and it would all be set." They then go on to talk about Dottore, not very interesting stuff about Dottore to be exact. So I walk away, with new, and very VERY interesting information. "I need to write this down..." I tell myself, because it's true, I need a notebook or journal to write down my information, so I can get it all together. I don't know where I'm going to find that though, but then I remember the friend I made yesterday, Anastasia, maybe if I ask her she'll have something for me? Where does Anastasia hang out though...

I go around walking the hallways, hopping on and off conveyor belts, wandering around, looking for her. And when I somehow make it back to that janitor's closet from yesterday, I find her there, standing, as if she knew I was looking for her. She turns towards me and smiles. "Ah, Y/N, so nice to see you today!" She says. I go up to her and smile. "Hello Anastasia, I need some help again..." She chuckles. "Of course you do, what is it you need help with?" "I need a notebook, journal, or something like that, something I can write with, and a pen or pencil to do the writing with."

She looks at me, slightly confused about why I would need that but decides not to mention it. "Well, I'll try and see what I can do for you, stay here." She then goes off somewhere and comes back a little while later with a journal and pencil. "Here you go, if you ever need another pencil or something tell me." I take the journal and pencil and smile at her. "Thank you!" Then I realize I also need a little bag to put it in. I feel bad for asking her for another item considering he's already been nice enough to give me all this, but I need it and it's not like I can go get it myself considering I know nothing of this place and nobody knows me. "Hey... can you also get me a messenger bag?" She smiles. "Of course." She then heads off back the way she came from. I have no idea how she tolerates me asking for so much stuff and making her go back and forth, if I was her, I would be pissed, yet she's still so nice and calm, that deserves respect.

She comes back a bit later with a brown messenger bag. "Here you go!" She then puts it around my shoulder. And I open it and put the journal and pencil in there. "Thank you, Anastasia, you help a lot..."
She smiles. "It's not an issue, I'm used to this, if anything, it's quite surprising you didn't make me fetch more for you, most ask for a cup of ice cream to go along with it." We laugh together and I ask her. "Anastasia, if I ever want to find you, where do I need to go? Because I'll be honest, it took me a LONG time of walking to find you." She pats my shoulder. "Sorry I made you walk so much, just know if you ever want to find me, I'm usually around this area, which is like the back of the facility, so just take all the paths that would lead you to the back and I'm here. 3rd level specifically."

Wait, there are levels? "They're are levels?" I ask. "Yes, obviously, they're are levels, or floors I guess. We need lots of space." I should have known that.  Anyway, she gave me useful info on how to find her. So I say bye to her and head off. I find a nice secluded spot and start writing in my journal all the information about the Akasha terminals and the dream harvesting. Once I'm done, I get up. I can tell it's already been a couple of hours, but I don't know what time it is exactly yet, but the day still should be going, so I get up and start wandering around, this time, I'm just wandering around looking for info, hoping I stumble across something big, with my journal and pencil in my messenger bag.

I walk around looking for anything, but I don't stumble across anything. That's when after walking around endlessly, now on the 4th level (it took a long time to even figure out where the elevators were to change elevators, which weren't even elevators, they were those conveyors but instead they went up and down.) I heard some voices from across a wall as I was leaning on it. "...serious experiments..." and "only a few more..." is all I heard. But once I heard it I knew it was something big. I started to investigate the wall, and that's when I saw this hallway that said "RESTRICTED AREA" next to it. I walked there. And was immediately sent back by two soldiers, who said that if I even dared go there again I would "be eliminated." So obviously, I needed to find a way to get through into that hallway, and find a way into that room, so, I needed to come up with a plan.