Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Location: ???????????????

Furina: *asleep* Quiet down.....

But they keep on talking... There's a hint of panic, concern, suspicion, and fear in the way they speak.

Furina: *asleep* Can't you guys...cut me...some...slack?

Furina: *asleep* The script...will be done...ASAP...*snore*

Furina tosses and turns on the dirty concrete floor, she  eventually opened a millimeter of her eyes to find...a clock tower?

Furina: *still asleep* Mmmm...Fontinalia Mousse...a giant clock tower...

Furina: *bolted up* Wai-wah-wah, A GIANT CLOCK TOWER?!

Yes, Furina. A giant clock tower. How about we go back in time a little? A day before...this. At...12 pm.

Location: Café Lutece

Furina: *lying on table* I just can't take it anymore!

Lynette: *stirring her tea unemotionally* There there. 

Furina: *lying on table* *groan* The deadline's tomorrow and I can't do anything about this script!

Lynette: *still stirring her tea, unemotionally and not batting a single eye on Furina* We hear you. Yeah yeah.

In these type of situations, Lynette is the best option for a shoulder to cry on. There's also a pink haired girl running towards to the two, drenched in sweat and panting.

Charlotte: *panting* Furina! *pant* Lynette! *pant* Bad news!

Furina: *jolted up* *groan* Who dares interrupt--wait, Charlotte?

Lynette: Slow down, Charlotte. Take a deep breath.

Charlotte: *regain composure after a few breaths* Furina, Lynette, did you read the news?

They shook their heads. Charlotte gives Lynette a newspaper. The newspaper that just arrived at every single newsstand and every single house that subscribed to the Steambird.

Charlotte: Well, try not to pass out from reading this but apparently some people in Fontaine were reported disappearing without a trace!

Lynette: But the serial disappearance case has already been closed since last year, and Fontanians can no longer dissolve from Primordial Seawater.

Charlotte: This time is different. All victims of the disappearance case are Vision holders. And--

Just when Charlotte was about to finish, a blonde traveler and her emergency food floating companion ran to the three of them.

Paimon: Lynette! Charlotte! Furina!

Lynette: Lumine! Paimon!

Paimon: Furina! Did you--?!

Furina: Charlotte already told us the first part. Now what were you about to tell us?

Charlotte: Oh right! This time the disappearance case has expanded to regions other than Fontaine!

Lumine: Hu Tao was one of them.

Furina: The Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?

Charlotte: Not to mention, the worst of it all is--

Lumine: Neuvillette is also one of them.

Furina: What?!

Lynette: "Iudex Neuvillette, who was last seen in his office yesterday by Sedene, a member of the Marechaussee Phantom, was not present in his office today. He didn't submit an application for leave. There are currently no reports on his whereabouts."

Furina: How can this be?!

Lumine: Whoever is doing this probably has power that could even surpass Neuvillette.

Lumine: *talking in head* Does that mean culprit's power can even be on par with the rest of the Seven?

Lynette: "Father" might have already sent the other house members on tracking the victims by the time she read the newspaper.

Lumine: Let's meet up to gather some intel tomorrow.

Lumine: We don't know anything about our opponent. His power may have surpassed Neuvillette.

Paimon: That's right! One wrong move and we might be flamed out of existence!

Fast forward to...10 pm. Furina puts her cup of coffee on the table before reviewing the script. Then...Furina's vision starts to blur and she was losing consciousness. 2 minutes later, she completely passed out into a vast sea of nothingness before landing on the hard concrete floor. It didn't wake her up though...

To be continued...

Chapter Text

Fast forward to the present moment, when Furina jolted up after seeing that giant clock tower.

Furina: What the--?

She checks her belongings. Phew, she still has her Vision and her sword(?), Splendor of Tranquil Waters. 

The crowd surrounding Furina are still confused and more panicked after she jolted up like that. Then a grey haired lady with a top hat and a suitcase appeared from the crowd and approached Furina, lending her a hand.

???: Are you alright, miss?

Furina: Huh?! Oh. Umm... Yes, I am, Ms....?

Vertin: Vertin.

Furina: Ms. Vertin. Got it.

Vertin helps Furina up and gets her out of the panicked crowd. And to a café called "No One Here". They resume their discussion with a cup of coffee.

Furina: Can you...umm...tell me where I am right now?

Vertin: We're at Carnaby Street in London, capital of Britain in the United Kingdom.

Location Updated!

Location: Carnaby Street, UK

Furina: *talking in her head* London...? Britain? United Kingdom? I don't recognize any of these places. 

Furina: *talking in her head* Wait, I remember that Lumine once came from another world. Could that mean...?

Vertin: How about I take you somewhere to rest and recover?

Furina: *snap back to reality* Huh?!

Vertin: Well, you had a pretty nasty fall. And your body isn't displaying signs of limping.

Vertin: Could you be an arcanist?

Furina: I'm sorry? "Arcanist"? I don't understand this term.

Furina: But I may have an idea on what's going on right now, and you have to trust me, please.

Vertin: Alright. I trust you.

Furina: I'm not from this world. And I have no idea how I got here.

Vertin: I understand.

Furina: Huh?

Vertin: I also have some friends who aren't from this world. There was a lady from outer space, she mastered 55 of this world's languages but chose to speak using her violin.

Vertin: We also have an alien composed of a UFO, a tiny cow, and a small piece of sod.

Furina: A UFO?

Vertin: A flying saucer.

Furina: I...still don't what it is but you're friends with a flying saucer? And it's alive?!

Vertin: He is alive. His name is AliEn T.

Vertin: Though aside from those two, there isn't any other aliens, interlopers, or outsiders except you.

Furina: Then, can I join you?

Furina: I just arrived at this world. And you already have two outlanders here on this world. 

Furina: I just want to return to my home world as soon as possible, okay?

Vertin: Then follow me.

Vertin gets up from the chair and goes to a secure location. She opens her suitcase and signaled Furina to go to her.

Vertin: Say this with me:

Vertin: "Ne irü milde en tiü bonan nokton"

Furina: Gesundheit?

Vertin writes down the incantation on a piece of paper.

Furina: Oh...

Furina: Ahem!

Furina: "Ne irü milde en tiü bonan nokton"

Vertin: Now lend me your hand into the suitcase.

Furina: Suitcase?

Vertin: Close your eyes.

Vertin leads Furina down into the suitcase. It is pitch black...for now.

Vertin: Follow me. All the way down to the depths of the suitcase.

Furina: I can't see anything. It's pitch black!

Location: Vertin's Suitcase

At the end of the suitcase is...a well-lit room with huge electronic machines, a wall with photos, giant stone statues outside of the the giant glass window.

Furina: My eyes! 

She should've opened her eyes slowly...

Furina: What is this place?

Vertin: It is an "ark" sailing in the "Storm".

Furina: Come again?

Vertin: Would you believe me if I said that this world's time is constantly getting reversed?

Furina: What do you mean by that?

Vertin: On the millennium of 1999, the first "Storm" happened. Reversing time to 1996.

Furina: So this "Storm" is some sort of phenomenon that reverses time?

Vertin: Correct.

Vertin: No one knows when was the first arcanist was born just like how no one knows how did the "Storm" manifest at the very beginning.

Vertin: First, rain flows upward into the sky and through solid objects.

Vertin: After the "uppour" is the "Storm Syndrome", a large-scale mutation which will happen during the next 24 hours.

Vertin: Victims of "Storm Syndrome" include humans, arcanists, building, and so on. It will mutate all these things into bizarre things due to their chaotic nature.

Vertin: The first "Storm" turned the blood vessels of humans into cables and wires.

Furina: *gasp*

Vertin: After 24 hours is the "Storm", it will destroy everything, living or non-living, and drags them up into the sky.

Vertin: After the "Storm"'s arrival, time reverses to an earlier time period.

Furina: So this suitcase can help us avoid the "Storm"?

Vertin: That's right.

Furina: ...

Vertin: I know you may need time to process this.

Furina: I heard you said the word "arcanist" several times. You even assumed that I was an "arcanist". What is an "arcanist"?

Vertin: "Arcanists" are people with the ability to possess or manipulate "arcanum". Think of "arcanum" as a special power from your world.

Furina: I see...

Furina: From my world, we had "Visions".

Furina: When someone receives the acknowledgment of the divine, they receive a "Vision".

Furina: "Visions" grants its users the ability to manipulate elemental energy depending on the element of the "Vision".

Vertin: So your worlds has gods and deities?

Furina: Yes. For example, my Vision is Hydro which gives me the power to control water freely.

Vertin: I see...

Knock knock!

???: Ms. Vertin?

Vertin: Come in!

Furina: Who's that?

Vertin: Zima. He's an exiled poet from Russia.

Zima: I have completed...the mission. Here. *tosses Vertin a golden rabbit with a thread inside* 

Zima: I thought you...might...know something about this rabbit.

Vertin's eyes light up at the sight of Unilog. Furina knows that look way too well. It's the same face Lumine makes when she gets an Intertwined Fate.

Vertin: Furina! Follow me!

And...she already ran to the other room.

Furina/Zima: Vertin! Wait!/Vertin! Calm down!

Soon everyone arrives at the lake with the Spinning Wheel.

Zima: Is the rabbit required for the summoning ritual?

Furina: Summoning ritual?

Vertin pulls on the thread, and an orange glow appeared from the thread. A strong tug and the summoning ritual is complete.

6-star, Plant, Hu Tao

Hu Tao: You, now just why might you be looking for me, hm? Oh, you didn't know? I'm the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao. Though by the looks of you... Radiant glow, healthy posture... Yes, you're definitely here for something other than that which falls within my regular line of work, aren't you?

Furina: Hu Tao?!

Hu Tao: Huh?! Ah! Well if it isn't one of my esteemed clients, Furina!

Furina: Uh! Uh... Hu Tao! Didn't you know how many people were looking for you?!

Hu Tao: Looking for me? Wait, where are we?

Vertin collapses on the floor with disappointment when the afflatus revealed itself.

Vertin: *ghastly* It wasn’t a Spathodea…

Hu Tao: And who are these two?

Furina: This young lady here is Vertin while this guy is Zima.

Zima: You were...with Vertin at the café.

Vertin regains her composure.

Vertin: Welcome, Ms...

Hu Tao: Hu, Hu Tao

Vertin: Hu Tao?

Vertin: *talking in her head* I don't remember her being one of the summonable arcanists from the Spinning Wheel. Is that a Vision?

Vertin: Ms. Hu, are you familiar with Ms. Furina?

Hu Tao: Why, yes! She's one of my esteemed clients!

Location: Carnaby Street, UK

Two gentlemen are unconscious, sitting on a chair in the café, "No One Here". Both of them eventually start waking up.

Tartaglia/Neuvillette: Ow ow ow!/*groans*

Tartaglia: I swear I was knocked out since the last part of my training

Neuvillette: I swear I was at my office before I woke up here...

Tartaglia: You!

Neuvillette: Mr. Tartaglia?!

Tartaglia: So is this how you interrogate people in Fontaine?

Neuvillette: Mr. Tartaglia, your trial had ended a long time ago.

Tartaglia: Great! So what crime did I commit this time?

Neuvillette: Take a look around.

Tartaglia: Wait a sec, this isn't Fontaine...

Their silence was interrupted when a person wearing a black mask tried to attack them. The dragon and the wolf dodged the attack and soon saw 30 more of those black mask people.

Tartaglia: Are these Abyss creatures?

Neuvillette: But they lack Abyssal energy...

A black mask person attempted to attack the two when BANG!

???: Ciao, amore!

???: You two should get out of here, amico mio! This is not a place for humans to hang.

Tartaglia: How generous. But please, I know my way around a fight.

Tartaglia: In fact, I haven't been offered to a feast in a long time!

Tartaglia, with his Hydro Vision equipped, pulls out his bow, Polar Star, and shoots multiple enemies with his Hydro arrows before finishing off with his Elemental Burst, "Havoc: Obliteration Ranged Stance: Flash of Havoc".

???: Suit yourself!

Pavia: The name's Pavia, amico mio.

Neuvillette: Neuvillette.

Pavia: Neuvillette, get the hell outta here.

Neuvillette: I may not be as battle-hungry as Mr. Tartaglia but I know well on how to defend myself.

Pavia: Wouldn't it risk your nice robes?

An enemies attempted a sneak attack but they were met with Pavia's gun.

Neuvillette: It is of little concern.

Neuvillette: Now...

Neuvillette: Let the mighty be humbled!

Tapping his cane, and with his catalyst, Tome of the Eternal Flow, he unleashes his Elemental Burst, "O Tides, I Have Returned", unleashing waves and waterfalls on the enemies. Using the Sourcewater Droplets from his Elemental Burst, he unleashes "Charge Attack: Equitable Judgement", unleashing surging torrents at multiple enemies.

Pavia: Interessante! Interessante!

He whistles, summoning three shadow wolfs to charge at enemies before finishing off with a bang!

An enemy is attempting to perform a sneak attack on Tartaglia!

Whoosh! The enemy's head was sliced off by a missile-like object.

Tartaglia: What the--?

???: Your flying ace, reporting for duty!

Another young lady popped into the scene. She reeks of alcohol. Is it even safe to drink while flying this thing?

???: Пусть le naufragé течёт вместь с водой.

Water came rushing out of the red-hair's small glass bottle and struck the enemy. She then drops the bottle on the ground which breaks into pieces, leaking out the water from within, then she calls forth a tide which enhanced the durability of her allies.

Then suddenly a crab with a bow hurled towards the enemies, joined by a girl with a spear on fire charging into enemies.

Tartaglia: Hu Tao?!

Neuvillette: Ms. Furina?!

Zima: не было бы счастье, да несчастье помогло.

The papers on Zima's hand flew towards the enemy and encased them in ice.

Verse completed!

Vertin: The Manus attack on Carnaby Street along with two more interlopers is definitely not a mere coincidence.

Vertin: Ms. Furina, do you know these two?

Furina: Yes! The one with white hair is Iudex Neuvillette, while the one with orange hair is No.11 of the Fatui Harbingers, Childe.

Tartaglia: But I also go by Tartaglia!

Vertin: I'm pretty sure all of you have questions about these four, so why don't we head back into the suitcase?

Neuvillette/Tartaglia/Hu Tao: Suitcase?

Furina: Ms. Hu, you were in the suitcase a while ago.

Hu Tao: *amused* Wait, that lake was in a suitcase?!

Vertin: Now say this with me.

Furina: Oh boy...

Vertin had to bring out the piece of paper with the incantation written on it.  Unfortunately, Hu Tao and Childe struggled with the pronunciation a bit before they were able to say it right. Either way, in the suitcase they go!

Neuvillette: A spacious room with large machines and several rooms. It seems there is more than meets the eye of this suitcase!

Vertin: Has everyone settled? Good.

Vertin: How about we introduce ourselves?

To be continued...

Chapter Text

Location: Vertin's Suitcase

Vertin: How about we introduce ourselves?

Furina: I'll start first since out of all of us, I'm the first one to meet Vertin.

Furina: My name is Furina, Furina de Fontaine. I used to be an actor, now I'm a director.

Zima: A director...

Furina: I write the script for plays of different genres...

Zima: !

Furina: Sir?

Zima: No...It's nothing...

Vertin: Zima is an exiled poet from Russia.

Furina: Ah, looks like we both write for a living!

Furina: Wait. "Exiled"?

Vertin: His works made controversial remarks of the Tsar. He was exiled to an unknown land within the Russian Empire before joining the Foundation.

Hu Tao: Me next!

Hu Tao: I'm Director Hu Tao of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor

Pavia: Funeral Parlor, eh? Might come in handy...

Hu Tao: Interested in my line of work? Here!

Hu Tao gives Pavia a coupon, 50% off until...there's no expiration date.

Hu Tao: We're running a sale since it's my first time doing business here in this world, 50% off for the first customer.

Hu Tao: And since you're interested, you get a 50% coupon that's valid indefinitely.

Pavia: Forget it.

Vertin: Ms. Hu, I don't think you know what kind of work Pavia normally does.

Hu Tao: Oh...Oh! In that case, we can send your targets to the other side as quickly as possible! And that coupon can be redeemed for this kind of service.

Pavia: Oh?! Now I'm interested!

Hu Tao: I heard from Vertin that your name is Pavia. 

Pavia: Yeah?

Hu Tao: I was wondering if you're gonna introduce your background as well.

Pavia: I work as an independent merc in Sicily.

Vertin: And you are...?

Neuvillette: I am the current Iudex of Fontaine, Neuvillette.

??? (Girl with red hair): Iudex?

Furina: He's basically the Chief Justice.

???(Girl with red hair): I see...

Yenisei: I'm Yenisei from the Russian branch of the St. Pavlov Foundation. I'm highly skilled in geographical exploration and survival in the wilderness.

Neuvillette: Yenisei, what's inside that glass bottle?

Yenisei: It's water. Just water.

Neuvillette: And you store it in a small glass bottle?

Yenisei: Yes, it is for my "arcane skill".

Vertin: Yenisei can perform divination by "finding the direction" using water.

Neuvillette: Interesting... Ms. Yenisei, do you also happen to have the ability to manipulate water?

Yenisei: It's not that strong. It's best for healing and supporting teammates.

??? (Ace pilot girl): *drinks vodka*

Neuvillette: That strong smell... It smells like Snezhnayan liquor. I think it's called "Fire Water"?

Yenisei: That's just vodka from Ms. Lilya.

Tartaglia: Lilya? Wasn't she that girl on the missile?

Yenisei: Missile? Oh, you mean her "Su-01ве" or her "Red-38".

Neuvillette: "Su-01ве"?

Tartaglia: "Red-38"?

Yenisei: It's her "broom". Like the ones witches fly with?

Yenisei: I forgot to ask, who are you?

Tartaglia: No. 11 of the Fatui Harbingers, Childe, but I also go by Tartaglia.

Yenisei: Fatui Harbingers?

Neuvillette: The Fatui are a delegation of diplomats from Snezhnaya.

Hu Tao: And most notorious for their deceitful and conniving reputation.

Neuvillette: And the Eleven Fatui Harbingers are the executive heads of the Fatui and the Tsaritsa's lieutenants.

Furina: And most notorious for lack of cooperation.

Tartaglia: Guys...

Yenisei: Ah...I see...

Lilya: So you're the new recruits, I am Lilya, your goddess of victory.

Yenisei: Lilya is one of the Air Force from Zeno Arms Academy.

Pavia: Wasn't she kicked out of Zeno a while back?

Vertin: She was dismissed from Zeno and had to join our team compulsory.

Vertin: After she tried to break into my ward with her broom...

Everyone looks at Vertin awkwardly for a few seconds.

Lilya: *drinks vodka* Yeah, yeah.

Hu Tao: Y'know, you (Tartaglia) and Ms. Lilya are really two of a kind!

Tartaglia: Huh?

Hu Tao: Well, you two do enjoy a good fight. Not to mention, your camaraderie.

Lilya: Is that so? Well, I hope you won't disappoint me later!

Tartaglia: An offer to a spar? Well--

Vertin: Nope!

Tartaglia/Lilya: Aww.../Boo...

Lilya tak es another gulp of vodka from her flask.

Lilya: Then how about some vodka? How about the judge take a sip?

Neuvillette: There's really no need--!

Tartaglia: C'mon! Just take a sip.

A devious smile appears on Tartaglia's face. Perhaps he still hasn't let go of what happened back at Fontaine.

Hu Tao: Isn't it dangerous to be intoxicated while piloting a "broom"?

Vertin: In her case, she rarely sober.

Tartaglia/Furina: She's always drunk?!

Neuvillette takes a sip of Lilya's vodka.

Neuvillette: *gasping* It burns! My...throat...and my nose!

His cheeks then turned red and his face became more relaxed compared to his usual stoic expression.

Furina: Neuvillette?

And...he's out. As expected, Tartaglia bursted out laughing...

Yenisei: Neuvillette?!

Neuvillette: *drunken giggle*

Lilya: Heh. Never knew he couldn't tolerate a single drop.

Vertin: Put Neuvillette on the sofa to rest.

Vertin: Alright, now I'm the last person to introduce myself.

Vertin: I'm Vertin. The Timekeeper from St. Pavlov Foundation.

30 minutes has passed. During that time, they discussed about the "Storm", the St. Pavlov Foundation, Celestia, the Seven Nations, etc. Now, Neuvillette has woken up and Furina already told him about Vertin and the other stuff everyone else discussed while Tartaglia gave him water for his hangover. Now everyone gathered to discuss about the issue.

Vertin: The four of you, where were you and what were you doing before you came here?

Hu Tao: I remember I was with Zhongli at the funeral parlor.

Neuvillette: I was still at my office.

Tartaglia: I was exhausted after my last session of training.

Furina: And I was about to finish the script at my house.

Hu Tao: By the way, Furina, didn't you say that many people were looking for me?

Furina: Yeah! And I think it might be connected with the disappearance case!

Neuvillette: Disappearance case?

Furina: It was fairly recent, you guys were gone the day before the newspapers got printed.

Furina: Lumine and Charlotte told me that Hu Tao and Neuvillette vanished without a trace along with some other people!

Tartaglia: Other people?

Furina: I didn't take the chance to read the newspaper Lynette was reading but they (Lumine, Paimon and Charlotte) did say that the rest are Vision users!

Yenisei: "Vision"?

Vertin: A special medium for elemental manipulation granted by the gods.

Furina: That's all I remember about the current disappearance case.

Vertin: If there are other people from the disappearance case aside the four of you, then that must mean--

Neuvillette: They're in this world right now.

Zima: Ms. Vertin, 6 is not in his room.

Yenisei: Same with Mr. APPLe and Mr. Knight.

Vertin: I'm aware of that. I already sent Sonetto to find them.

Hu Tao: 6? Knight? APPLe? Who are they?

Vertin: *talking in head* Better not tell them, it would be amusing to watch their reactions.

Vertin: They're my friends.

Hu Tao: I see...

Tartaglia: Wait...Do you even know where they are?

Vertin takes out a parcel and unboxes it, revealing a single audio recording device within.

Vertin: They're in deep trouble.

Location: Fortress of Meropide 

Meropide Staff: Duke! You have visitors!

Wriothesley: Greetings, Lumine, Paimon and...who's this?

Lumine: This is Zhongli of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

Zhongli: Pleasure to see you, Duke.

The expression on Lumine and Paimon's faces are basically that shocked Pikachu meme. This didn't happen for the first time, y'know?

Wriothesley: Come now.

Don't remember? It was during Lantern Rite? Gaming's father? Anything?

Wriothesley: So, you guys also read the Steambird.

Lumine: Yeah, Furina also...

Lumine: What about the others here?

Wriothesley: Don't worry, no one here has gone missing. Even our Vision bearer, well only Vision bearer is here today.

Paimon: Sigewinne is here? Phew, I would've gone crazy if she was gone as well...

Lumine: Now that we have--

Charlotte: *outside the office* Lemme go! Just one scoop!

Lynette: *outside the office* No can do, Charlotte.

Charlotte: *outside the office* C'mon! I've been waiting ages for this!

Lynette: *outside the office* Lumine said no.

Wriothesley: Outside of the office are--?

Lumine: *sigh* Lynette and Charlotte.

Meropide Staff: Duke, you also have a parcel addressed to you.

Wriothesley: Who's the sender?

Meropide Staff: Not listed, duke.

Wriothesley: Is that so... Leave it on my desk, I'll check it out later.

The Meropide Staff places the parcel on his desk. At the same time, Charlotte broke free of Lynette's constraints and tripped over in the office...

Charlotte: Mr. Wriothesley! A word--!

Lumine: Hold up! Now's not the time!

Zhongli: We should take a look at the parcel. I can already feel a foreign aura radiating from it...

Lumine: "Foreign aura"?

Wriothesley opens the parcel to find a voice recorder and a device of some sort? And there's an audio file!

Wriothesley: What is this...?

Wriothesley hits the play button.

???: Comme le temps s'inverse sans raison. (As time reverses without reason.)

Everyone flinched.

???: Les créations humaines sont emportées par la pluie battante. (Human creations are swept along with the pouring rain.)

???: La pluie lave les chants, la tristesse et la douleur. (The rain washes away, songs, sorrow and pain.)

???: Jusqu'à ce que tout soit blanc. (Until everything is a blank slate.)

???: This recording shall find itself at the hands of a Teyvatian of great importance.

???: Any innocent bystanders or interlopers shall find themselves elsewhere.

???: An instability in a foreign land caused a rift to open up between worlds.

???: The rift, closing itself like a healing wound.

???: Wounds are torn open and healed again, such is life.

???: Life, a grand performance.

???: In which you feel all the joys, sorrows, pain and more...

???: Your objective is the one who can resist the "uppour" of time.

???: Her name is Vertin.

???: She'll be of great help in this dilemma.

And the audio file ends here.

Paimon: Is no one gonna say anything?

Yup.

Paimon: Alright... What the heck was that?! 

Paimon: And what's with that creepy poem?!

Lynette: As time reverses without reasons...

Zhongli: Washing away human creations...

Paimon: Stop reciting it! It's giving Paimon the newbie-jeebies!

Lumine: Brimming with life....

Charlotte: Grand performance...Could that be the Opera Epiclese?

Lumine: Furina did say something like "All the world's a stage!" or something like that...

Amidst the confused crowd, a blue Melusine with a human appearance entered the office along with a green  haired girl wearing a mask, a cyan haired girl with red horns, a blue haired girl with a large hat, and a little girl in white and green.

Kuki Shinobu: Lumine! Paimon!

Paimon: Sigewinne! Shinobu?! Mona?! And Nahida?!

Mona: This is really bad! Three more people went missing!

Lumine: 3 more?!

Zhongli: Who were the first two again?

Lynette: Xinyan of "The Red Strings" and Arataki Itto.

If Itto really was here, he'd want his position as "Boss of the Arataki Gang" attached to his name.

Lumine: Who are they this time?

Mona: Fischl (and Oz) of the Adventurer's Guild.

Or Fischl, Prinzessin der Verurteilung of the Immernachtreich, if she was actually here.

Nahida: Scribe Alhaitham of the Akademiya.

Lumine: Oh no...

Sigewinne: And Fontaine's Great Magician Lyney.

Lynette: Lyney too?!

And the crowd goes back to chaos.

Paimon: *sigh* 

Paimon: Wait...Where did this parcel come from in the first place?!

Paimon's question goes unheard.

After a while  the crowd goes back to normal, several things were discussed (some people were introduced to each other) and they reached a conclusion. Wriothesley, Zhongli, Lynette, and Kuki Shinobu will enter the rift tomorrow. The rest went on to assure that the other Vision bearers didn't get sent to another world. Lumine contacted some of her allies for assistance and was able to get Diluc, Kaeya, Yun Jin, and Kaveh.

A day later, Wriothesley finds the rift in the backstage of the Opera Epiclese. Everyone walks into the portal one by one. They all arrive at the Ginnungagap and all reached the end of the Ginnungagap, sending everyone to a random location within this world.

Location: Eiffel Tower, France

At 12:00 a.m., 4 people: a slender bare-foot man wearing Greek-style robes, a Hong Kong girl with "ghost catching" equipment, a floating apple with a bow tie, and a suit of armor (technically a cloak and a pair of gauntlets) with a sword, are at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

??? (Floating apple): There doesn't seem to be anything special around here. Have you guys found anything yet?

??? (Greek guy): Nothing out of the ordinary here. Not even any rituals scribbled around here.

??? (Hong Kong ghostbuster): I'd better be paid extra if this mystery guest doesn't show up! Teleporting us all the way up the Eiffel Tower!

??? (French armor): You've never been to France, have you, Ms. An-an?

??? (French armor): *humming the Rolandskvadet* Hmm? What is--?

??? (Greek guy): It's falling towards us!

Two unidentified objects are falling at their location. Luckily, It didn't land on the spike of the tower or off the platform but right on top of An-an Lee. The two people get off her back the moment they noticed they landed on her.

An-an Lee: Owowow...好痛啊...

Wriothesley: Sorry...

Zhongli: Apologies...

??? (Floating apple): An-an!

??? (Greek guy): Are you alright?

An-an Lee: Alive and kicking! But who are these two?

Wriothesley: Whoa...

Zhongli: A structure this tall in the city filled with glittering lights...Impressive!

An-an Lee: Excuse me but who are you two?

Wriothesley: Huh? Oh! Sorry for landing on you, my name is Wriothesley.

Zhongli: And I'm Zhongli. We came here looking for our friends, I believe they're with Ms. Vertin?

An-an Lee: 咦？你識得啊維sir?

Wriothesley/Zhongli: Huh?/Gesundheit?

??? (Floating apple): She’s asking about whether or not you know about Vertin.

Wriothesley: I didn't hit my head when we were falling, right?

Wriothesley: But is that a talking floating apple?!

Zhongli: I assume this is one of the many specialties of this world.

Zhongli: We don’t know a lot about Ms. Vertin. We were told that our friends were under the care of Vertin.

??? (Greek guy): I see…

??? (Greek guy): An audio recorder was sent to us by an unknown sender.

??? (Greek guy): When we tried to play it, a hidden ritual was triggered and the 4 of us are teleport here.

An-an Lee: They didn't even give us any money!

Zhongli: *talking in head* Teleportation by an audio recorder? This sounds familiar...

??? (French armor): Um? Shouldn’t we introduce ourselves?

Zhongli: A spiritual entity possessing a suit of armor. It seems many of Vertin’s familiar will never cease to surprise anyone, even myself!

A Knight: I’m a nameless knight. Most would call me “A Knight”.

An-an Lee: I’m 泥鯭的士! But you better call me 李安安! I’m the owner of “Neo-Science Exorcism Office”!

Zhongli: “Neo-Science Exorcism Office”. Sounds like your company excels at exorcising spiritual beings.

APPLe: Greetings, I am APPLe.

Wriothesley: Curious question: do you expire?

APPLe: Don’t worry about this APPLe’s expiration date.

Wriothesley: So that’s a no…

6: I am 6. I am the leader of Apeiron.

Wriothesley: Just 6?

6: Yes.

Wriothesley: Huh…

Wriothesley: Now it’s our turn to introduce ourselves.

Wriothesley: I’m Wriothesley. I’m the administrator of the Fortress of Meropide.

6: The Fortress of Meropide?

Wriothesley: It’s a prison where I’m from.

Zhongli: And I’m Zhongli, a consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

An-an Lee: Funeral Parlor, eh? Ever thought of doing a collab together?

Zhongli: *talking in head* An-an Lee reminds me a lot of Director Hu…

Wriothesley: So where’s Vertin?

A Knight: She is at London.

They know NOTHING about this world!

An-an Lee: 維sir is at a neighboring country.

Wriothesley: That’s good to hear!

As the six of them leave the top of the tower, something roars in the distance…

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Location: Eiffel Tower, France

6: We have completed the task and have no reason to linger.

Zhongli: Agreed--

The moment Zhongli finished his word, a large winged Manus beast appeared right in front of them! Everyone draws out their weapons and prepares for combat.

Wriothesley: What the hell is THAT?!

A Knight: Foul creature from Manus Vindictae!

Zhongli: Manus Vindictae?

An-an Lee: Here?! Of all places?!

6: Everyone, get ready to fight!

6 unfolds his scripture and enhance the power of A Knight's sword. A Knight raises his sword and charges up energy before unleashing it in a giant shockwave.

An-an Lee: Hey! I'm not gonna let you have all the fun here!

An-an Lee throws out one of her talismans. This is a special type of talisman as it dazed the winged beast. The winged beast recovers and unleashes a ton of feather missiles.

Zhongli: Solidify!

APPLe: The star falls toward the sun, as the apple drops to the ground.

Zhongli creates a tall stone stele that isn't really effective against the feather missiles. So he created a Jade Shield that blocked all of the incoming projectiles. APPLe conjured a pyramid made of light which expands before descending upon the enemy with a large thud but the impact of the pyramid wasn't enough to knocked the bird out. 6 unfolds his scripture again, this time enhancing the power of Wriothesley's high tech boxing gloves.

Wriothesley: Have a safe trip!

He strikes out with an icy straight and created multiple ice shockwaves before ending with a Surging Blade. Even with the power of excellent teamwork, the bird wasn't weakened enough to fall to its demise but weakened to a point it was enraged. The bird charged at the everyone which most people dodged, the others were safe under the protection of the Jade Shield. Then a night raven entered the scene, once the raven was at the right distance, a girl emerged from thin air and shot a few Electro arrows with her bow, Mitternachts Waltz.

??? (Italian girl with orange hair): Regna sereno intenso ed infinito!

??? (shy actress): Enough!

The girl with orange hair recites a line from a poem and writes it on thin air, with her wand/pen "Glasfeder". The written words solidified and launched itself towards the enemy, causing it to be temporarily disarmed. The shy actress hurls a small notebook which created a small  tornado which cut the bird a few times. Reciting another line from a poem, she increases the power of Zhongli and A Knight.

A Knight: His trumpets sound...

A Knight/Zhongli: The Judgment Day hath come!

A Knight charges up his sword and delivers several lightning-fast slashes, Zhongli crossed his arms and summons a Burr-puzzle shaped meteor which petrified the bird after it landed. Looks like we're safe...for now.

An-an Lee: 咦？！It's Ms. Sonetto and Sir Charlie!

Wriothesley: These two are?

Sonetto: Greetings. *pants*  I am Sonetto from the St. Pavlov Foundation. 

Charlie: M-my name is Charlie! I'm an actor from "The People's Men" th-theater troupe!

Wriothesley: Easy there. You guys ran all the way up here?!

Zhongli: Young lady(the blonde girl in black), I assume that--?

Fischl: I am Fischl von Luftschloss Narfidort, Prinzessin der Verurteilung, Sovereign of the Immernachtreich who descends upon this unique, unfamiliar and fascinating world!

Awkward silence...

Wriothesley: Fischl... Fischl as in "Flowers for Princess Fischl"?

Zhongli: I have heard about this book... It was written by Mr. Nine in response to Volume 5 of "Legend of the Shattered Halberd".

Fischl: Wait, you knew...I mean, you two are from Teyvat as well?!

Oz: This is good, mein Fräulein. There are some people from our world that is in this world right now.

Sonetto: So you are from another world...

Charlie: I thought this lady was performing a rehearsal.

An-an Lee: Y'know, she could be a useful asset in your theater troupe!

And....the conversation was cut short. The once petrified broke free and is preparing for another charge at the Eiffel Tower.

6: This isn't good. With this many people and at such a high place, retaliation may be difficult.

APPLe: Correct. The worst case scenario is that the beast destroys the Eiffel Tower, taking us down with it.

An-an Lee: Great! So what do we do now?!

Wriothesley: ...

Wriothesley: Get ready to jump!

As the bird charges at the Eiffel Tower, Wriothesley grabs 6 and leaps onto the bird's back followed by Fischl taking the form of Oz, APPLe floating onto the bird's back, and Sonetto grabbing Charlie and leaping onto the bird's back. Leaving A Knight, An-an Lee and Zhongli behind.

Charlie: Ahhhhhhh!

Everyone grabs tight as the bird takes flight and leaves the tower while trying to shake of the people on its back.

An-an Lee: *sigh* Really?

A Knight: Come on! We have to follow it!

Zhongli: It's a long way down...

And the three begin their long journey down the Eiffel Tower. A shame that Getian, Arlecchino, and Wanderer are not here with us.

Location: Opéra National de Bordeuax, France

??? (extremely lucky gambler): Ladies and gentleman, this is special performance!

??? (eloquent magician): Step right up and keep your eyes peeled, dear audience! Or you'll miss it!

Noise, loud chatter, passionate cheering, synchronized reactions, it sounds like a crowd.

Noise is the one thing that Lynette she find extremely hard to tolerate with her enhanced hearing but such familiar noises...

Lynette wakes up immediately, as if she had slept an extra hour, and left her brother hanging in his performance. What would a magician do without their assistant?

Lynette: Right...This isn't Teyvat. And Lyney doesn't have any performances coming up.

Then she remembered the loud voices, loudened by their earpiece microphones. She already recognized the first one, Lyney.(eloquent magician) It sounds like he's starting a performance. No. The crowd was louder than the crowd that attends his street magic. Then comes the next voice, she sounded completely unfamiliar to her but she knows she's involved in the magic show as well. She might as well be an assistant. Has she been replaced? Actually, come to think of it, he just arrived at this unfamiliar world, he must find a way to survive...

Yun Jin: Ms. Lynette?

And her overthinking ends here. She already assessed the current situation and came up with the conclusion that: Lyney is alive and trouble-free.

Lynette: Sorry. I needed time to assess our current surroundings and situation.

Yun Jin: But...you just woke up! Are you alright?

Lynette: No visible injuries or bruises...

Dliuc: As well as no pain since we all woke up. It looks like we weren't teleported high up into the air.

Yun Jin: Lynette...isn't that your brother?

Yun Jin is refer to the figure at a certain distance away. A black top hat with some magenta details, half-capelet, lace-up black high-cut boots, and a Pneuma-aligned Pyro Vision.

Lynette: I heard he's starting a magic show.

Yun Jin: You heard him that far away? While you were waking up? That's impressive!

Diluc: ...

Lynette: Judging from his tone, he's doing well and made some connections with the locals.

Diluc: "Locals"?

Lynette: He hired another magic assistant of this world.

Yun Jin: Looks like we already found our first missing person, and it's your brother! How fortunate of you!

Diluc: Things seem to be going smoothly for us. A bit too smoothly...

Lynette: Agreed.

Yun Jin: You're saying...this could be a trap?

Lynette: Now that you said it...

Lynette's eyes widened. She had a sudden realization that she...no, everyone has overlooked the "catch" of this rescue mission.

Lynette: *thinking in head* We were all so focused on finding our missing companions that we even forgot...

Lynette: *thinking in head* No...We've already gone this far. Finding the castaway Teyvatians is our primary concern.

Lynette: *thinking in head* I'll have to hold off the news until we regroup with Lyney and the others. 

Lynette: *thinking in head* The burden it will place will hinder our progress.

Lynette: *thinking in head* Is this how Lumine felt when she was first trapped in Teyvat, looking for her brother?

Diluc: We still haven't confirmed the identity of the voice behind the audio recording. It's hard to say whether they're friend or foe.

Lynette: We should wait until the performance ends to retrieve him. It might take a while as the performance is about to begin...

Diluc: It seems the performance begins in 10 minutes, and they're still selling the tickets.

Yun Jin: But we don't have the currency of this world or region.

Lynette: Let's go.

Yun Jin: Lynette!

Lynette walks with complete certainty walks towards the performance venue. It is not big and contains a sizable and noticeable audience.

Cashier: Tickets, please.

Yun Jin: Sorry, ma'am. We don't have tickets. What is the cost of the entrance fee?

Cashier: 550 Sharpodonties.

Currency is the one thing that you can  expect to be different in every world you travel. Anyways, the three are speechless, neither of them have the aforementioned currency and are just three nobodies that just stepped into another world. Trying to maintain their dignity and remain incognito, the three are fighting inside their brains on what to say next. As the three remained silent with a cloud of awkwardness forming around them, the cashier opens her eyes as if she'd pieced together something.

Cashier: You must be...Lynette Snezhevna?

Lynette: Yes, that's me.

Diluc looks at her with shock.

Cashier: And are these two with you?

Lynette: Yes. Yes, they are.

Cashier: Very well. You may enter.

Lynette: Did Lyn--?

Cashier: Your brother's been looking for you. He told me to keep an eye out for a gray-haired girl with cat ears and a blond boy in a diving suit.

Yun Jin: That's sweet of him.

Diluc couldn't help but smile a little. Considering the less-than-fortunate outcome with his foster brother.

Lynette: *uninterested* That's just like him.

Cashier: You three will be sitting next to...those three over there.

The cashier gestured to the three another trio sitting in the audience. One is a blonde girl, she definitely puts time and effort in her looks. Next is a brunette, she  looks like a harmless sweetie. The blondie and brunette seem to be quite close to each other. And the last is a reporter? She's wearing an "onion" headgear made up of a bunch of newspaper stuck together. She's also wearing trimmed men's suit (trimmed on the sleeves and waist), so when she appears on camera, she'll appears as a male on the screen. Could this be the theme of her design? The truth?

The Teyvat trio make their way to their assigned seats.

Diluc: Snezhevna?

She read their file on the Fatui confrontation with the Ragnvindr clan. She already knew things would turn out like this.

Lynette: ...Yes.

Diluc: And Lyney Snezhevich?

Lyney: ...Yes.

Yun Jin: Mr. Diluc?

Diluc: These are surnames of those from the House of the Hearth.

Yun Jin: "House of the Hearth"? Wait, so you're...?

Lynette: Members of the Fatui.

Last time this happened, Lyney was there to explain and handle the situation. Now, she's all on her own.

The atmosphere around them got heavy that until they realized there was an unknown variable along with them.

??? (journalist with an "onion" headgear): Please welcome our mysterious guest!

The sudden appearance of the journalist in an "onion" headgear breaks the heavy silence and spooked out the trio.

??? (journalist with an "onion" headgear): Sorry! Sorry! It is an occupational habit.

??? (blondie): ONiON! Not cool!

ONiON: Three new outworlders have appeared just now! How can I resist the chance to get a scoop...!

??? (blondie): You can interview them later! The shows's starting in 5!

Yun Jin: You already knew?

??? (blondie): Yeah. Lyney told us about you. Grey hair, cat ears, and that...*leans back to inspect*...Vision on your hair tie.

Blonney: You must be Lynette. I'm Blonney. This right here is ONiON. And the one right here is Jessica.

Jessica seems a little exhausted to converse with three potential new friends.

Lynette: How did you know about Lyney?

Blonney: He fell on top of me!

Blonney: He said he's from another world. Not like we don't have those already. But he might be able to make a living by helping with Centurion's magic show.

Lynette: Is she a magician?

Blonney: Not quite. She's a gambler. There's no "trick" in her magic tricks.

So that makes Lyney the "assistant".

Yun Jin: What do you mean by that?

Blonney: See that coin? It's her "super-lucky" charm. She won the jackpot several times in the casinos with that coin until she was kicked out before she could bleed 'em dry.

Lynette: So her magic tricks are luck-based?

Blonney: At this point, her magic tricks are 100% magic.

Jessica: Stay focused! The show's about to begin.

The show begins. The magicians introduce themselves and work their magic. The first part is focused on Lyney which starts with cards flying out of his  sleeves and ends with giant-scale card picking trick, where he would perform a regular card picking trick with the audience, randomly hurl a ball high into the air which exploded in the form of the card that audience member picked. The second and last part is done by Centurion where she would do her infamous water tank escape but before she can do that...

A loud bang was sounded. Soon the audience members were thrown into panic.

Diluc: What's going on?!

Blonney: Ugh! It's those damn Manus beasts.

Lynette: Manus?

Blonney: No time to explain! Try to stay alive!

Blonney took out her notebook and armed herself with a...chainsaw...drawn on paper? She sprinted towards the enemies and starts slicing them into pieces with this  unconventionally sharp weapon(?). She then hurled her notebook at an enemy which a giant rabbit (again, drawn on paper) sat on the enemy with incredible force.

Jessica: Jennifer! (Blonney) Let me help!

An eerie lighthouse appears which shone at Jessica multiple times, making her more horrifying with each shine; hammer on hand, she strikes the ground, delievering a shockwave that caused multiple stalagmites to rupture from the earth, piercing multiple enemies.

ONiON: Hey, you crazy world! Let's get straight to the point!

ONiON grabs her handmic and  delivers an attack which shone a light beam on the enemy. Thought it doesn't sound like much damage, they took damage from it. She then summons a building around 5m tall and probably made out of paper, it stomps on some enemies before falling face flat onto a bunch of enemies, crumbling into multiple newspapers. Diluc grabs one of them. (It also grants Sturdiness to everyone.)

Diluc: Raindrops rising from the earth to the skies, sounds familiar?

Diluc pulls out his Bloodtainted Greatsword and swung three fire strikes at enemies in a quick motion before unleashing Dawn, which swept all enemies across the battlefield. Lynette, in her Pilfering Shadow state, grabs the newspaper Diluc was holding and with her sword, Finale of the Deep, stabs 3 enemies in a single thrust.

Lynette: "Storm"? "Storm Syndrome"? 

While Lynette was reading the newspaper, Yun Jin arrived just in time to  deliver several wide slashes with her Dragon's Bane on incoming enemies. Jessica was also nearby and she looked...

Yun Jin: Jessica! You...

Jessica: Stay focused!

Jessica's clothes now look a bit more... constricting. She now has deer ears with a tag in one and her lower half is now replaced with a deer's lower half. The three nodded and stood back to back. Yun Jin grants her allies the Flying Cloud Formation, and the team initiated their retaliation. Jessica summons her critters to attack for her, Lynette raises her mantle to reveal a Bogglecat Box.

Lyney: That's... 

Centurion: Your sister, right?

Centurion: Don't worry. I'll take it from here. The show must go on.

Centurion enters the water tank.

Diluc performs multiple merciless fire-infused slashes which ends with Dawn on multiple enemies. ONiON delivers a punch and summons another light beam. Blonney threw her notebook hard, a giant rabbit pops out, squishes the enemy and explodes in pink oil-based ink. A Grim-Malkin Cat enters the battlefield which explodes to reveal Lyney, with a flourish, he unleash a powerful firework onto enemies. 

The battle seems to be reaching its conclusion...

Yun Jin: Ms. Centurion!

Centurion: *in the water tank* Ladies and gentlemen, this is no magic nor any special kind of mechanism. Wish us...

As the remaining enemies make their attempt to attack the water tank, it explodes on its own, with Centurion leaping out from it. With her coin, signboards fell from the sky and she delivers multiple kicks to the remaining enemies, defeating them all at last.

Yun Jin: Ms. Blonney, what are they?

Blonney: Manus Vindictae.

ONiON: An attack from Manus Vindictae took place in this magic show, throwing the audience into panic. But our leading lady carried the show and brought about its grand finale!

Everyone stares at ONiON for a while. Not the right time to be making up dramatic headlines unfortunately...

Centurion: A pure-blooded arcanist terrorist organization.

Lynette: You're--?

Centurion: And you must be Lynette!

Diluc: "Arcanist"?

Lyney: They're people who can control "arcanum".

Lynette: Lyney!

Yun Jin: "Arcanum"?

Lyney: I'm not sure what it is either. Apparently, it's some sort of energy that they can easily manipulate.

Lyney: Arcanists were regarded as its own race, separate from humans who have no control over "arcanum".

Diluc: As a result, there were racial conflicts between the two races.

Diluc: You did say the pure-bloods formed a terrorist organization at some point, right?

Blonney: Yeah...

Blonney: Their leader is dead but it seems like nothing's changed about them.

ONiON: Manus Vindictae's leader and "Guiding One", Arcana, was pronounced dead after being completely disintegrated by a gravity bomb launched by Zeno.

Lynette: Is she that powerful?

Centurion: Neither of us have fought her but Jefe (Vertin) wasn't in good shape from her previous encounters with her.

Lynette: Could it be...

Yun Jin: Hold that thought. I just realized that we all overlooked something.

Yun Jin: Why did the Manus attack us in the first place?

Blonney: Probably because you're still humans? You guys may have special powers but you guys are nowhere near an arcanist.

Lynette: Do any of you know about the cashier from the magic show?

Centurion: No, why? Are you onto something?

Lynette: What about you, brother?

Lyney: Huh? Centurion was the one that hired her.

The Teyvat trio came to a sudden realization. 

Diluc: Things are not as simple as I thought.

Jessica: Jennifer? What's that over there?

Yun Jin: "Jennifer"?

Lynette: Ms. Yun. Look.

It was a bizarre scene. A winged Manus beasts is descending from the skies at an alarming speed along with a bunch of "extra baggage" on its wings.

Lyney: What in the--Is that--?!

An-an Lee: *panting* Guys!

Their attention was then averted to the reappearance of their teammates.

Yun Jin: Mr. Zhongli!

Blonney: An-an! And A Knight?!

An-an Lee: *panting* 好攰呀！跑咗成個法國嚟呢度，差唔多整斷我兩隻腳！(So exhuasted! Running around all of France to here, nearly got my legs snapped like twigs!)

Yun Jin: *gasp* A ghost!

An-an Lee: 冷靜啲！...Can't exorcise...ghost...right now...

Blonney: He's one of us. I don't think he a ghost but he's been that way since we first met.

Zhongli: Ms. Yun, Ms. Lynette, and Mr. Diluc. Any leads on your side?

Yun Jin: We found Lyney.

Lynette: And it appears you found Fischl.

Zhongli: Mr. A Knight. If you would be so kind as to take it from here...

A Knight: Our chase of that foul beast has lead us here. Prepare for combat! And...

Lynette: And?

A Knight: Some your companions are on that beast. And some of ours.

The beast descends quickly as a result of Wriothesley's ice punches. APPLe unleashes several beams of light and Fischl shoots several lightning shots with her bow.

Yun Jin: Blonde hair, archer, and Electro Vision. That must be--!

Diluc: Fischl. It seems we found another one.

Sonetto and 6 perform a ritual which increased the power of Wriothesley's and Charlie's abilities. Charlie summoned multiple lightning bolts while Wriothesley delivered more ice punches and an ice wave.

Diluc: Duke of the Fortress of Meropide...

Lyney: Wriothesley...

The winged beast is now defeated by this risky act of improvisation...for the time being.

Jessica: Sonetto!

Sonetto: It's good to see you, Ms. Jessica.

An-an Lee: *panting* Okay.

An-an Lee: What are you guys doing here? Did she sent you here?

Sonetto: The LSCC has reported several inter-dimensional rifts appearing in France.

Sonetto: Timekeeper also reported an audio recording from an anonymous sender rigged with a "Teleport" ritual.

An-an Lee: So did it contain any messages?

Sonetto: She confirmed that there was a message present within the device but...

Sonetto: She hasn't told us of its contents.

Lynette: Audio recording?

Sonetto: That is correct, Ms.

Lynette: We also received an audio recording from an unknown person too...

Everyone from the Timekeeper's team was  shocked by this coincidence.

6: What of its contents?

Lynette: It started with a short poem of "time reversal", then they hinted us the location of the rift that lead us here.

Wriothesley: And they told us that "Vertin" is vital to finding our castaway friends.

An-an Lee: And NONE of you were teleported?!

Lynette: Zhongli sensed the device was radiating a "foreign aura".

Zhongli: There's also one part of recording we overlooked: Any innocent bystanders or interlopers shall find themselves elsewhere.

Zhongli: The "foreign aura" I was referring to wasn't my intuition in that the device came from unknown origins but that the device was riddled with an unknown power.

Sonetto: Neither Vertin nor the outworlders were teleported from the device...

Diluc: It is clear.

The winged Manus beast begins to wake up. 

Diluc: Vertin is the targeted receiver and audience of that audio recording. 

Diluc: The four of you unfortunately got in the way and triggered its "security protocol".

The winged Manus beast regains its energy and unleashes a mighty roar!

Zhongli: This is where "innocent bystanders and interlopers" end up.

Everyone starts drawing out their weapons and preparing for battle.

A Knight: This is where we'll find our answers.

A Knight: Ready yourselves. And Onwards!

Main Lobby, St. Pavlov Foundation Main Headquarters

???(coffee-loving astronomer): There he is.

???(loud red oni): Shinobu! There you are! A bunch of men in black and white took us here for questioning and now I'm here all alone while--!

Kuki Shinobu: *sigh* Good to see you, boss.

Kaalaa Baunna(coffee-loving astronomer) brings Kuki Shinobu, Kaeya, and Kaveh to the main lobby of the Foundation, where they found Arataki Itto seated.

Kaeya: We were told you found three.

Kaalaa Baunna: They're still at questioning. Rest assured, it won't be long.

Kaveh: How did you find them?

Kaalaa Baunna: I sensed an abnormal energy fluctuation here in the main lobby.

Kaalaa Baunna: Shortly after, these three fell through from a rift and...landed on Mr. J and Ms. Windsong

Kaalaa Baunna: They were taken in for questioning in which we confirmed that they came from an unknown world.

Kaalaa Baunna: However, we were met with multiple dead ends when we were figuring out a way to return them to their home world.

Kaveh: They landed on two people?! Are they okay?

???(border collie): *bark bark* (To be unfortunate enough to have those two people to cushion the fall of a single horned man.)

???(border collie): *whine* (At least the red lady and the grey haired man landed on the seats in the main lobby.)

???(translator): Rest assured. No one was met with any injuries. 

Kaveh: Who said that?

???(border collie): *bark bark* (Over here!)

Kaveh: *gasp* A puppy! I have never seen such patterns on its fur before.

Kaveh reaches both his hands out, attempting to pet and fondle the border collie's face.

???(border collie): *whimper* (It seems regardless of whichever world am dealing with, I get the same treatment as with everybody else...)

???(translator): The puppy is dissatisfied with a pat on the head, and prefers a handshake like a friend.

Kaveh: That voice! It's from--!

Kaalaa Baunna: This is Pickles. He's a highly intelligent border collie from the Timekeeper's team.

Kaalaa Baunna: And that little device on him is "Doggie". It's a translator created by Mr. APPLe.

Kaeya: "Timekeeper's team", you say? And who is the "Timekeeper"?

Kaalaa Baunna: That would be Ms. Vertin.

Kuki Shinobu: Vertin! Where is she?

Pickles: *bark bark* (She's currently occupied with the new castaways from another world. Not to mention, some member of the team were teleported to France after triggering a trap in an audio recorder.)

"Doggie": The puppy believes that the Timekeeper is busy.

So many at heart, so little out loud.

Kaalaa Baunna: Some of our colleagues were teleported to another country after triggering a ritual in an audio recorder.

Kaalaa Baunna: Chief Investigator Sonetto was dispatched along with some of the others to find our missing colleagues while Vertin attends to the other outworlders.

Kaveh: She found them?!

Kaalaa Baunna: Yes, they're currently residing with Vertin.

Kaalaa Baunna: They are...*reads report*

Kaalaa Baunna: Furina, Hu Tao, Neuvillette, and Tartaglia.

Kaeya: 4 birds with one stone. Neat.

Kaveh: Along with 3 more with Mr. Arataki, and wait...you never told us the other two.

???(feeble scholar): And you should've inquired about that first. Or are you distracted by the cuteness of this puppy here?

Kaveh: *groans* Alhaitham, you--!

Kuki Shinobu: And you must be...?

Xinyan: The name's Xinyan, and I take it you guys are from Teyvat too?

Kuki Shinobu: Xinyan...you must be that rock'n'roller Yanfei senpai told me about.

Xinyan: Yanfei? Isn't she that legal consultant where I'm from? 

Kuki Shinobu: Yes! I attended here lectures when I was studying law in Liyue, there were quite interesting!

Xinyan: I see...and what did she say about my music?

Kuki Shinobu: She said that she was quite taken by your rock'n'roll music.

Kuki Shinobu: She even told me that if she were to be out of a job, she'd be a rapper!

Xinyan: No way did she say that! Come to think of it, she's literally a walking law encyclopedia, she'd totally nail this job!

Kaveh: Alhaitham. How was the fall? You don't look like you're in pain or injured.

Alhaitham: Quite comfortable. Me and Ms. Xinyan landed on a cushioned chair while Mr. Arataki fell on two unfortunate passerby.

Kaveh: Even when you're thrown into another world, you're still calm and barely disoriented.

Alhaitham: While you would wail, overreact and faint?

Kaveh: You--!

The conversation between Xinyan and Shinobu was going increasing well while the roomies escalated from small talk to quarrel.  

Arataki Itto: Is this my life now?

Windsong: Looking pretty lively here.

Kaalaa Baunna: Ms. Windsong! Any updates?

Windsong: Sonetto's team was able to locate our teleported colleagues and even more outworlders, and are currently facing off against Manus Vindictae.

Windsong: Aside from that, we haven't been able to find ways to reopen the rift or find its source.

Kuki Shinobu: Reopen...the rift...THE RIFT!

Kaveh: Ms. Shinobu? What's going on?! Why did you yell?

Kuki Shinobu: I can't believe it...we all overlooked the "catch" of this whole thing.

Kuki Shinobu: We were all occupied in finding our missing companion's whereabouts and the motives of the anonymous sender (of the audio recorder) that we all forgot that there was a big glaring "catch" to begin with!

Kaeya: "Catch"...you mean?!

Kuki Shinobu: How are we going to leave...

Kuki Shinobu: and return to Teyvat?

To be continued...