Chapter Text
Kinich leapt across the buildings of Mondstadt City under the blood red sunset. The air was cold, the wind unnervingly still. Smoke filled the air from the wreckage on the streets. A sudden shriek sounded from behind him, and he ducked, narrowly avoiding a red hot beam of light that shot through where his head had been mere milliseconds before. He jumped off the roof, shooting out his grappling hook, and swinging around a lamp-post and into a side street. He heard a loud “CRASH” as the robot chasing him slammed into the ground, followed by a bellowing roar of fury and the sound of heavy footsteps. Of course that thing was still alive and kicking even after falling a whole 20 metres onto hard concrete. Those monsters were unbelievable.
He sprinted down the road and rounded another corner. His eyes spotted a small window, and he barreled forward, slamming into it as hard as he could. The window shattered, and he covered his face as he leapt into the building, bits of broken glass flying through the air all around him. He fell onto the floor with a painful “Thump”. His shoulder ached from the impact with the window, and different parts of his body stung from where glass had impaled him. But he ignored it all. He scrambled to his feet, and stumbled further into the building.
An earsplitting “BANG!” echoed from behind him as the robot crashed into the same window, the building shaking with the impact. It growled, digging and scraping furiously at unyielding concrete, its body too large to wriggle itself through. Its growling turned into furious shrieks, its crimson red eyes watching with anger as its would be snack disappeared from sight.
Kinich breathed a sigh of relief. That had been too close. Way too close. Slowly, he walked deeper into the building, his body protesting with each step he took. It was dark. Well, that was to be expected. The electricity had been spotty ever since the robots first flooded out of Khaenri’ah. He pulled out a flashlight from his belt, and flicked it on. The first thing that caught his eye was how white everything was. White floor, white walls, white ceiling, white chairs, white tables, white drawers. Strange, scientific devices were littered everywhere, with at least half of them also being white. Was this a laboratory perhaps??
Kinich approached one of the drawers, pulling it open. Vials full of strange liquid rolled around inside, and he hastily shut it again. Yep, definitely a laboratory.
He sighed, and turned his attention to the rest of the room. He scanned his surroundings, looking for any resources to scavenge.
A couple of med kits.
He trudged towards them, and picked them up. 1, 2, 3, 4… 5. Not bad.
He was about to turn away, when a sudden “beep” caught his attention. He froze. There it was again. And again. Almost as if…
It was monitoring a heartbeat.
Slowly, he crept towards the noise, one step at a time, until he found himself in front of a door. The beeping was even louder now. Cautiously, he pushed it open.
The heart monitor stood next to a bed in the centre of the room.
And on top of the bed, lay a person.
Well, “person” probably wasn’t quite the right word. Considering the robotic limbs, it was more akin to a humanoid-looking robot.
But that didn't explain the heart monitor.
Kinich approached the prone figure, until their face came into view.
It was a man.
Or at the very least, it looked like one.
Ash blonde hair framed both sides of his pale face, and he was dressed in a hospital gown. But apart from that, everything else looked… robotic. The part of his neck that Kinich could see was covered in metal, a golden star embedded in the centre. Small, semi pointed gadgets were located where his ears should have been. Not to mention his mechanical arms and legs.
His gaze rested on the gas mask covering the robot-man’s face. Robots didn’t need to breathe. His eyes briefly flicked to the heart monitor. Robots didn't have a heartbeat either.
He raised his hand, and placed it on the man’s chest. It was warm, and it was gently rising and falling.
He was definitely human.
Out of everything Kinich expected to have run into, an unconscious man with robot parts was the last thing on his mind. And well, he couldn't just leave an innocent person to die like this…
With a sigh, he carefully detached the oxygen mask and IV tubes from the man. Tighnari could care for him once they got back.
A final, loud “beep” from the heart monitor emanated around the room, before it went silent for good.
Kinich hoisted the man over his shoulders, and walked out the room. His own body complained against the added weight, but he could hold out till they got back, at least he hoped so.
He crept back to the broken window. The robot was now nowhere in sight, having given up on its escaped prey. The sky was now a dull grey, steadily faint to black. Good. That meant less robots.
He took a deep, calming breath, before stepping out into the night.
This was going to be a long journey…
