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Ajax wiped off the dirt that was sticking on his face. Darn, this Delusion turns out to be trickier than he thought it would. He focuses his entire being into the Delusion again, closing his eyes and clasping onto it tightly. He could feel a few sparks going off. He opened his eyes, hoping the dummy in front of him to be knocked off. But the dummy remained standing. He stared at the dummy, and it stared back. Maybe it’s just Ajax being silly because he’s been going at it since last night, but it looked like the dummy was mocking him, and it pissed him off.
He screamed loudly throughout the training ground. Thankfully, no one was there. But even if there was someone there, what are they gonna do? Tell the newly appointed Fatui Harbinger to shut up?
After letting out a very painful scream, Ajax collapsed to the ground. God, he just cannot work this thing like he wants to. He thought it’s gonna be easy but the last time he tried using it he sent a few but very intense electrifying sparks onto himself, sending him to the hospital and causing Pulcinella to forcibly take it away from him.
“Give it back, that’s mine!” Ajax yelled at him, looking as if he’s about to lunge into the older man.
“And what if this time you’d truly be injured, huh? I told you to consult Scaramouche about it, and being the stubborn idiot you are you just went ahead thinking your ego would protect you from being killed,” he replied. Pulcinella is not someone whose patience is thin. The only times people would see him being ticked off was when things didn’t go his way, and well, Ajax.
Ajax knew if Pulcinella said no, it means no until he changes his mind. He let out a huff and stomped his way out of his office. A 16 year old acting like he did would’ve received a few whispers but Ajax would not care. Stupid old man, a few electrical shocks to his heart wouldn’t stop him. He’s an Abyss survivor and has seen everything.
He could complain about this to Pierro, but he’s busy. Or maybe Columbina, but her presence alone is enough to send shivers down his spine. Dottore? Oh Archons, he’d rather go back to the Abyss than speak to him. Signora maybe? She’s in Fontaine doing diplomatic whatevers. Also she mocked him for being a country boy, so even if she’s not busy he wouldn’t have asked her anyway.
Ugh, is there anyone even reliable enough in this damn palace?! The first person who came to his mind was Pulcinella, but he’s literally holding his Delusion right now.
Oh, I know, Ajax thought. I can challenge him into a duel and if he loses he’ll have to give his Delusion back! He really thought that was a good idea until he saw Pulcinella’s disapproving eyes boring into him. He didn’t know why, but it’s quite unnerving.
Ajax looked into one of the glossy windows of the palace. It was clean and smooth enough to see his own reflection on it. He only just noticed a white streak on his normally orange hair. Huh, weird. Has it always been there before? Oh well, he thought. It’s not noticeable and besides, it looks kinda cool.
Ajax stared at the magnificent view of Zapolyarny from the palace, trying to think of a plan. He even thought about asking Scaramouche to make his life easier. Ajax was initally intrigued of his Inazuman origins, but he always looked like he has a stick up his ass and is rude to everyone.
The view of Zapolyarny was a beautiful one at night. So much so that Ajax’s mind drifted away. He thought of his family back in his village and how he wished he could’ve taken them to see this view. He missed his younger siblings, but the looks of his parents and older siblings when he saw him dressed in Fatui attire was… unwelcoming to say the least. He felt tears welling up before thinking, what the fuck, I’m suppose to come up with a plan! He blinked those tears away and swallowed any remaining sentiments.
He thought of a few. One, bring Pulcinella his favourite coffee everyday and listen to everything he says. Maybe even volunteer to tidy up his office. Two, promise that he’ll follow the rules and not beat up random escaped abyssal monsters without orders. Lastly, just ask Scaramouche. All of that are reasonable actions, but Ajax’s pride and ego are too big to actually follow them.
And so, he decided to just “forcibly take it back to its rightful owner”. It’s not stealing, it’s his! It’s given to him by Her Majesty herself, Pulcinella has no right to keep it away from him.
Night has fallen deeper, and Ajax commences his mission. He slowly pushes the door to Pulcinella’s office, being careful not to make it squeak. The office was dimly lit only by the table lamp and the building lights below from Zapolyarny. Pulcinella was slumped, sleeping soundly on his desk. The piles of paperwork was neatly arranged on his table.
Ajax tiptoed his way to the cabinet, making a mental recollection on where he stored his Delusion away. After a few rummaging through, he finally caught a glimpse of a glowing purple light. There! Ajax quickly put it in his pocket before closing the cabinet door slowly.
He glanced back towards Pulcinella, eyes closed shut with a soft snore. Ajax could barely make out the bags beneath his eyes. He had truthfully never saw him like this before. The Pulcinella he knew was always domineering, strict, no nonsense kind of man, and never lets Ajax have his way. It was stark opposite of what he knew of the man who recruited him into the Fatui.
He tiptoed his way back towards his table. Those months of sneaking past abyssal monsters in the Abyss paid off. He silently opened another cabinet door. He remembered the old man having a blanket stored somewhere in there. Ajax had once returned from a mission in the coldest part of the land, even by Snezhnayan standards. The poor lad was shivering when he reported back to Pulcinella’s office. He kept insisting he was fine and he’ll just warm up near a fireplace or something, but the man forced him forward by the wrist and wrapped him that particular blanket. He gave a nice hot chocolate too, which was coincidentally Ajax’s favourite.
The blanket was right near his sight. He took it out and draped it over Pulcinella’s shoulders before tiptoeing back to the exit.
It took all of his strength to not jump out in glee. Hah! Foolish old man, you should not have underestimated me! Ajax proudly thought as he walked with his chest puffed out straight to the training ground. This time, he’ll be really extra careful not to mess up. If he had just restrained himself the Delusion shouldn’t backfire on him, and then he’ll go about his Harbinger adventures using both the power of his Vision and Delusion to dominate the battlefield! Easy peasy… or so he thought, and that’s how Ajax found himself in this situation.
That was the first time in a few years where he felt like giving up. It’s starting to get brighter outside and he had not made single progress. He could feel fatigue washing over his body.
“You know, if you just asked me, you would be up and running with your Delusion by now.”
Normally he would sit up straight and looked at the person with a murderous face, but now he could only barely managed a glance.
“How long have you been there…”
A man clad in Inazuman attire with a unique hat walked towards him. He stopped before the tired ginger boy and squatted near him.
“Since you walked in and interrupted my reading time,” he said with a deadpan face.
“Huh… who the heck reads in a training ground? Interrupting? Like what do you expect?” Ajax sat up, annoyance overcoming his fatigue.
Scaramouche simply flicked Ajax’s forehead before reaching out to his Delusion and holding it against the escaped sunlight at the upper windows.
“Hey!”
“Listen up brat, you can’t use Delusions as you would with Visions. Delusions are made with the remnants of dead gods. Any slight mistake is fatal, fullstop. Though I’m surprised how you manage to survive your last time,” Scaramouche said while fiddling with the Delusion, not even bother to look at Ajax.
“You’re a tough cookie, little tart”, he said with a shit eating grin that made Ajax want to leap over and rip his head off.
“Get up. I don’t usually bother with this, but I’ll make an exception with you.” Scaramouche stood up and threw his Delusion to the ground. Ajax caught it effortlessly.
“First off, as I mention earlier, you can’t use that as you would with Visions. The power flowing in it is not yours. You have to channel it to outside, but you cannot let it consume you.”
What. Ajax was bewildered. He admits he has a little trouble with thorough explanations rather than first hand demonstrations, but nonetheless he shuts up and continues to listen.
“Since you have a Hydro Vision, it is very important that you do not use your Delusion at the same time. I think you know what’ll happen when you combine Electro and Hydro already.”
Aw shucks, so he can’t go around electrocuting people? He expected it anyways but the disappointment is all the same. Ajax chimed before Scaramouche could continue.
“By ‘not letting it consume you’, what do you mean by that?” he asked, his curiosity piqued.
“I told you that Delusions are made of dead gods, no? Even when they’re dead, they’re not truly gone. If you’re careless, you’ll end up being overtaken by them.”
Dead gods. He had heard about it during his early days in the Fatui. He stared at the purple orb on his palm, wondering what kind of effort it must’ve taken to craft this incredible yet terrifying piece of technology. To be able to weaponise a higher being, who is to say that humans won’t someday overturn the rule of the gods?
“Gimme that, I can tell you still don’t get it.”
Before Ajax could even open his mouth to protest, Scaramouche snatched the orb off his hands and clasped it in his left palm.
“Look closely.”
Scaramouche closed his eyes, and within seconds purple sparks manifested around his whole body. The air around them intensified due to the strong Electro energy. He opened his eyes and stared right back at Ajax, looking back at him with awe which he doesn’t even try to hide.
The sparks started to fade. Ajax’s usual dull eyes even lit up at the sight of the demonstration.
“What! How did you…?”
Scaramouche threw the Delusion back towards Ajax and he snatched it back with perfect accuracy.
“I’m pretty sure I did the same as you though? But I don’t even feel the Electro…” Ajax said with his lips pouting.
“Heh, I’m five centuries older than you, brat. Me channeling some dead god’s energy is no big deal.” Scaramouche huffed while smirking.
Ajax resisted the urge to roll his eyes. His coworkers were really underestimating him just because they are a few centuries older than him. So what if he’s a mere 16 year old? He became a harbinger at that age while other kids were still stressing over their homework. Ajax swore he’ll prove them wrong.
“Feel for the energy first, and then let it run throughout you. Once you think it’s right, force the energy outside of you.”
Ajax nodded. He took the same stance as Scaramouche earlier, this time more relaxed and ‘feel for the energy’, as he said.
Not long after he could feel jolts coursing through his body. He could hear a faint but rapid whispers around him, intensifying as he tries to feel for the right time to release it. The emotions stirring up inside him is not his and he is aware of that. It still doesn’t make it any less unsettling. His surrounding started to blur with hues of purple. He could see Scaramouche’s eyes boring into him. The energy flowing inside him started to become a little too overwhelming.
Force the energy outside. But for some reason it does not let him. The whispers around him became louder and purple hues intensified around his vision. Seeing the situation, Scaramouche’s brow furrowed as he stepped closer towards him before sparks of electricity exploded around him.
The grains of sand flying from the impact obscured his vision. Scaramouche tried to find the boy’s silhouette, hoping the energy doesn’t kill him this time. If it did, he’s going to receive a few beatings and an earful from Pulcinella. He’ll be lucky if the Tsaritsa wasn’t involved this time.
Shortly after, he could hear a bang and a thud to the ground.
“I did it!” Before Scaramouche could even think of an escape plan, an enthusiastic voice rang from behind the haze. On the ground, he could see a few fallen dummies.
“Look, I can use Electro now!” Ajax screamed in excitement, flailing his hands around showing off his new abilities.
Scaramouche sighed in relief. Looks like he won’t have to run away this time.
“Well, how was it?” he said, stepping closer towards Ajax with his hands on his hip.
“So like, at first I hear this really weird sounds like a whisper or something, and then I feel sooo weird like I could feel so many things inside of me!” Ajax was buzzing with excitement now. Scaramouche looked back at him and just nodded.
“Well, there’s that. Glad you can finally use it, kiddo. My job here is done, goodluck!” Scaramouche turned his heels away and headed for the exit.
“Wait, you have to teach me how to turn this into a weapon! I mean, I already know it’s a weapon but like how to turn it into a blade so I can go stab people with it! Isn’t that cool? If you don’t, I’m telling Pulcinella about it.”
Scaramouche groaned and cupped his palms to his face. Is this brat seriously threatening him with Pulcinella?
“Ugh, fuck off. I have better things to do.” Scaramouche stopped in his tracks when he saw Pulcinella at the entrance.
“Well done, Childe! I see our fellow Harbinger here has treated you well.” He clapped his hands slowly while making his way towards Ajax.
Ajax was about to brag about his achievements to Pulcinella before he realised the real reason why he was here. He took a step back with a grin on his face.
“Oh my dear Tartaglia… I know you’re not that bright when it comes to things outside of battle, but you didn’t even thought of closing the cabinet door?” he smiled, reaching out to pull Ajax’s ear.
“I was about to punish you accordingly but since you’ve made progress with your Delusion, I’ll let it slide this time.”
Scaramouche watched the whole thing with amusement. Seeing Ajax dragged off by his ear while he’s wincing in pain is entertaining, to say the least.
“Oh, and Scaramouche?”
His slight smirk was immediately wiped off.
“Childe has proposed that you teach him how to further use the Delusion. I stand by that idea and I’ll expect to see Childe being taken under your wing. I want reports of his progress at the end of every week.”
Scaramouche watched with his eyes widened, as if he couldn’t believe the shit he just heard. Before he could disagree, he stared back with cold, unforgiving eyes. Scaramouche immediately closed his mouth and all he could utter was a yes.
Goddammit.
As soon as both of them disappeared out of his sight, Scaramouche screamed at the whole arena.