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Kaeya is unconscious when they finally find him.
They’d been lucky, stumbled across the cell within twenty minutes of entering the stronghold. Jean had gone the other way, searched up instead of down as you never could be too sure where the Abyss were concerned.
When he sees Bennett’s weary face peering out at him from behind the walls of a cell, Diluc cracks a vial that had been given to him by a somber Albedo. It sends a flare of light up into the air, almost blinding, before it fades into a soft thrum of geo.
There, the others can find him now.
Diluc turns to look at the captives.
Bennet looks rough, squinting his eyes at the light from Diluc’s vision. When he recognizes Diluc he quickly nudges a sleeping Razor, and the other boy jerks awake before his eyes narrow in Diluc's direction.
The kids (and they were still kids, regardless of how mature they considered themselves) are disheveled, clothes dirty from the near month of captivity and exhaustion lining their forms. Yet Diluc feels only relief as he sees no injuries on them and no other signs of starvation or neglect.
When he moves to break their chains, Bennet motions for him to stop before he produces a seal from behind a brick and unlocks it.
Diluc watches as they hit the ground with a slight clunk.
Then he gets an armful of Bennet.
They had taken too long to find them. Both Diluc and the Knights of Favonius.
It had taken a day for people to notice Kaeya was missing. Diluc had noticed the lack of Kaeya’s presence at Angel’s share, had been surprised at his unscheduled absence and yet brushed it off as the other man being caught up in work. The next day Katherine had sent out an alert for Bennet, who hadn’t appeared for his regular check-in.
They’d only connected the two disappearances as Tonia had remembered Kaeya mentioning a future meeting with Bennet.
When Albedo stormed into headquarters two days later, demanding to know his sister’s whereabouts, they’d come to know just how bad the situation was. And when Diluc had gone to Wolvendom only to find it in disarray, Razor gone, they realized it was serious.
A day to notice someone was missing, nearly a month to find them.
With each day that passed, they had lost hope.
Mondstadt's diplomacy with Snezhnaya was nearly destroyed after bits of Kaeya’s cape were found near a Fatui camp.
Not only were two citizens taken from them, but they’d also taken their Cavalry Captain and a child. People were calling for blood, Jean herself had to order Albedo to stop after he had caught a group of Fatui on Mondstadt territory. The alchemist hadn’t spoken to anyone besides out of necessity since.
Diluc understands.
They’d gotten a letter with a seal from the Tsaritsa herself, stating that several members of the Fatui went AWOL, that their actions do not reflect on Snezhnaya. It’s the only thing preventing an all out war from occurring.
And yet they still didn’t have a solid lead.
Kaeya is strong, easily one of the best in combat among the knights, making up for his lower strength with his advanced sword techniques. With his vision he’s nigh unstoppable. There are very few people who can take him down, less who can get away with it with no injuries or trails.
Three weeks passed before they’d narrowed the potential locations down to four Abyss strongholds, and only after Jean had received a cryo crystal fly with information about the base were they able to lock down the location of where Kaeya and the others were kept.
It had taken them four days to plan their attack. Thirty minutes to navigate the maze of passages until they’d located the prisoner’s cell.
Five to get Bennet and the others out. Somehow, the other boy managed to get his hands on an abyss order seal, one that stabilizes the shifting passageways and allows them access through previously locked doors. It saves precious time.
When Bennet sees the sunlight his legs give out, and Razor barely manages to catch him and keep a sleeping Klee in his arms.
The deaconesses surround the escapees and Diluc vaguely sees Albedo approach them, sees him look at Klee with something wild in his eyes as she’s taken to be treated. She’s still asleep, Diluc hopes she’ll be fine after this, that she won’t remember much, that it won’t keep her up at night.
Diluc sees the token Bennet dropped, laid forgotten on the floor.
He picks it up.
Then Diluc turns around and heads back into the base.
The mission’s objective was search and rescue. They found the kids, and when they had the mission priority shifted to rescue instead of further searching.
Diluc didn’t think about it then, about how the cell had four beds but only three people, four sets of shackles, but only one stained with red and the smell of copper. How Razor had grabbed his arm when he first approached the boy and had looked with troubled eyes into his own.
“Kaeya. Find him.” Razor’s voice had come out desperate.
And Diluc had ignored his pleas the whole while as he got the three of them out of there.
Now he’s done. He can go get Kaeya.
He can find his brother.
It takes them an extra hour to reach Kaeya. The stronghold the Abyss Order had held them in was huge.
Halfway through, Albedo joins him. Diluc only gives him a questioning glance which the alchemist ignores before taking down an Abyss mage that had appeared in front of him.
Together, they cut down at least thirty enemies before they reach the dungeons.
They’re located deep in the stronghold. Rooms filled with the scent of mildew and rot that hangs in the air and chokes you as you breathe it in.
They search through six rooms before they find Kaeya.
When they find him, he’s unconscious.
Albedo makes a sound next to him.
Kaeya hangs from his wrists to shackles attached to the ceiling, blood slowly dripping onto the floor from where the manacles had cut into his wrists and rubbed them raw.
His shirt is in shreds, the once blue cloth stained a dark navy. What could be seen of his skin is covered in dirt or wounds. His hair is unwashed, greasy, hangs in front of his face and clings to his skin with sweat.
His eyepatch is gone. And at the corner of the room, Kaeya’s vision is placed in a fire.
The sight of it makes Diluc burn. Just taking one away from their owner is enough to leave it practically useless, requiring far more energy and skill than most people have to use when separated from it. Placing Kaeya’s in a fire was a cruel act that’s only purpose was to hurt.
Diluc almost freezes in his spot, but Albedo is already moving, runs to Kaeya and with a quirk flash of geo bursts the shackles that held him up.
Kaeya collapses, and Albedo catches his weight easily.
That alone scares Diluc, because his brother is lean but packed with muscle. Albedo should have found it difficult to carry him.
Diluc snaps out of his stupor and kneels beside the pair. His hand goes to Kaeya’s wrist, trying to find a pulse however weak it may be. When he can’t he becomes even more frantic. But Kaeya’s wounds might be interfering with his measurements so he reaches for the other man’s neck.
At the first brush of his fingers Kaeya’s eyes snap open, and Diluc’s only warning is the faintest chill from behind him.
Diluc redirects his movements, grabs Albedo and drags him away despite his protests.
Within the next second, ice explodes around them.
The first thing to register is the chill.
The second is a dull throbbing in his shoulder.
When Diluc gets his bearings, he looks up.
It looks as if a blizzard had torn through the room. Ice encases every available surface, sharp edges that glint with the promise of injury. When Diluc takes a breath, it comes out as a fog. It would look almost beautiful if it weren’t for the circumstances.
It’s a miracle that Diluc and Albedo weren’t hit. Then on second look, it is less like a miracle.
There’s a perfect circle of untouched ground around them both.
Kaeya has curled into a ball onto his side, shivering with cold and most likely vision exhaustion.
Albedo pushes himself out from under Diluc, goes to Kaeya and takes off his coat to cover him.
Kaeya only looks sluggishly between the two of them, eyes nearly shut.
As Diluc carefully approaches him, something registers and Kaeya opens his mouth. He tries to speak but can’t get the words out.
He looks at Diluc. Smiles weakly. And faints.
Kaeya wakes up screaming.
Diluc has heard that sound before. When Kaeya was young he’d have night terrors that woke up the entire manor. It never failed to chill Diluc to his bones.
When Diluc bursts into the room Kaeya is held down by four guards, thrashing on the infirmary bed. Another two knights are at the door, nursing injuries and trying to prevent frostbite. The air is frigid, whips at Diluc’s face and he sees the glow of Kaeya’s vision as it’s used repeatedly.
Diluc is worried. Kaeya’s barely recovered, Jean and Barbara’s healing hardly touching his injuries. He’s underweight and still fatigued and at the rate he’s going there’s a very real chance he’ll get vision burnout.
Kaeya’s eyes are open but they don’t register the room. He’s still screaming, and then as his thrashing continues to no effect his voice breaks and instead out come sobs as he pleads and pleads with someone not there.
Diluc’s heart hurts as he listens to Kaeya even as he fails to understand him.
At first he thinks it’s because Kaeya is speaking in broken sentences before he realizes it’s a different language.
Khaenri'ahn.
The doors slam open again and Albedo appears, eyes frantic. The other man hasn’t slept since the rescue mission, alternating between going through the information recovered from the stronghold and hovering between the kid’s room and Kaeya’s.
The alchemist takes in the situation quickly. Strides forward, sends out a shockwave of geo that knocks all the knights to the side.
Diluc is ready to step in and pull the other man back but then Kaeya throws himself out of the bed.
There’s another flash as his vision activates and a ring of cryo surrounds him. He backs into the corner, and still has a wild, untethered look on his face as he stares at them.
Albedo slowly approaches, speaks steadily with his palms raised in front of him.
At first Diluc thinks he can’t hear properly over the rush in his ears before he realizes Albedo is speaking in Khaenri'ahn as well.
It’s less of a shock than it’s probably meant to be.
Diluc still doesn’t understand it, but as Kaeya’s breathing calms and his pleas stop Diluc is able to catch a word.
“Kaeya.” The intonation is different, but Diluc recognises his brother’s name.
Albedo repeats it, says more, speaks soft but keeps his distance. Eventually Kaeya registers him, allowing him to approach close enough to be wrapped into Albedo’s arms.
His brother relaxes, just the slightest. But Kaeya still has that frenzied look in eyes.
“Klee.” His voice comes out hoarse. “Bennet, Razor.”
Kaeya’s eyes look across the room searching, then back to Albedo.
It’s the most disheveled Diluc has seen his brother since they were children. It’s the most disheveled Kaeya’s been in front of another human being. He wonders if Albedo is aware of the trust Kaeya is showing him.
Albedo keeps his gaze steady and his voice even.
“Safe,” he assures. “They’re safe.”
Kaeya looks at him for a while longer, checking his face for any deceit.
Eventually Kaeya seems to believe him. Then his face crumples and he throws himself back into Albedo’s arms. His shoulders shake.
“Albedo, ‘bedo, ‘bedo.” Kaeya gasps.
Albedo only holds him tighter.
“I’ve got you. You’re out. The kids are safe. They’re in the next room, I’ll bring them to you.”
Kaeya continues crying.
Albedo repeats his assurances, and slowly, Kaeya tires himself out.
He falls asleep in Albedo’s arms, and the alchemist only brushes his hair from his eyes gently.
The sight is too private for the audience, and so Diluc grabs the remaining guards and leaves them alone.