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Aether stood silently still, his closet ally Amber was just at the top of the building next door. A bow aimed, she would take action if he ended up in danger.
This was where the letters had brought them. Where whoever it was that had taken control of Springvale Beach's food supply.
“Come on in~” a cheerfully familiar voice. The sociopath that Aether, Amber and Kaeya had managed to stop from taking control of the power plant.
Childe. Aether glanced back at the roof top, seeing Amber nod. As such he opened the door and walked in, greeted by a kneeling Childe and a table with different items spread out along it.
“My good sire! You've come to us at last, I hope the puzzles weren't too hard!” Chirped Childe as he stood and gestured to the table.
Aether didn't bother to question him, those from that Fatuian Akademiya never made much sense to him.
Though something on the table caught his eyes, a necklace that he had once given his twin sister. Back before she had been taken in their parents divorce.
“Something familiar, Sire?” Childe's question was one of mocking. Without thinking Aether shot a beam of light toward Childe who ducked under it.
“Bitch.” Was the only thing Aether said before he ran at Childe. Childe held his hand out and held Aether at bay by his forehead.
This was it, Aether was useless. He had failed to protect Springvale Beach, being too invested in solving the clues.
He had abandoned his people in their time of need and for what? A selfish desire that could never come true?
Aether let himself be slammed against the wall without protest. He deserved this, he had failed and now he would die.
“The girlie doesn't want you hurt, but she didn't say I couldn't defend myself.” Taunted Childe as he threw Aether onto the table scattering all the items.
The sharp edges of some of them ripped his shirt, leaving his clothing torn as he caught himself on the wall. Aether looked around the room, desperate for some way to defend himself or signal for help.
Childe smirked at him, “Now go limp little dog. The girlie would like to see you.” A fist was coming toward Aether, as all his failures flashed before his eyes.
Aether stood in front of the ruins of the daycare, Jean and Barbara standing over the corpse of a child.
One of the dark metal coyotes stood staring at them, Aether shot beams of light at it. The coyote simply let out a dark chuckle.
“Aether! Where have you been!? There was a battle and a fire!” Kids called to him. He had just returned from the woods where he had gone without telling anyone.
Aether stared at the town he had failed to protect and simply walked off. Amber had stopped him and dragged him to the battle at the power plant.
The very beginning. The first coming of the Fayz, Aether had done everything he could to stay out of leadership.
He hadn't done enough, and now he would perish like the failure he is.
Aether’s hands shot up in front of him protectively, as a beam of light grazed Childe’s side. An arrow hurled at the window breaking glass, the shards narrowly missing the two boys.
“If you’ve hurt her,” Snapped Aether as he pushed Childe onto the table and held a hand to his neck, “I will burn you very slowly.”
Childe let out a loose chuckle. “You two really are siblings, and hurt her? I couldn't hurt girlie no matter how much I could want to.”
Aether’s grip tightened. Maybe if he killed Childe, that'd make up for his failures.
“Brother. Let him go,” said a voice Aether hadn't heard in years. Lifting up his head, he saw Lumine standing in the doorway to further into the house. “He's an annoyance, but personally I find him useful.”
Aether let go of Childe’s neck. “Tell your girl out there to stand down, I won't have anyone interrupt our reunion,” Ordered Lumine before she glared at Childe “even my guard dog. Get out.”
Aether watched frozen as Childe walked out of the house. He walked to the window carefully and called out to Amber, ordering her to stand down.
Aether looked at his sister, who simply disappeared further into the house. Without much other choice, Aether followed behind her.
Lumine sat down on a couch with a coffee table accompanying it. On the table were two cups with a strange looking liquid, Aether squelched his eyes at it.
“Well it's not like we have coffee, sit.” Said Lumine upon noticing what her brother was looking at.
Rather unsure of himself, Aether sat down and looked towards her. This was who had been his enemy? His missing twin sister?
What was there to say to that?
Lumine reached down, grabbing one of the cups and sipping it. “I know you have a lot of questions, and are probably rather upset but.”
Aether shook his head. Sure he had questions, he was upset but also. His sister was here. “Not now, just not now.”
The two siblings just looked at each other. Aether let out a yawn and smiled at her, “come home.”
Lumine shook her head. “Even if I wanted to, I can't. The rest of Springvale Beach hates me.”
Aether sighed, his sister was right but how could he lose her again? “Then I’ll go with you.”
Lumine shook her head. “I can't let you enter that world.”
Aether rolled his eyes at her. “I've had an encounter with The Abyss you're so afraid of.”
“I know.”
Silence befell the two twins as they stared at each other. Aether simply scooted closer, pulling his twin into a hug.
“I'm tired.”
Lumine reached a hand up to his head, pulling it down onto his shoulder.
“I know. Sleep”
Aether tried everything to fight succumbing to sleep. He was so afraid that she wouldn't be here when she woke up. So afraid that they'd go back to being in a cold war with each other.
At least if they did he would know who he was fighting. But to know that it was her he was fighting? That just wouldn't cut it at all.
Jean was right. He wasn't fit to be a leader. His twin sister was here and that was all Aether needed to be happy.
“Goodnight”
Lumine smiled down at her older brother. It still surprised her mostly that she was the younger twin.
Though in her brother's defence, when she had been separated she had encountered the abyss. That was something Aether lacked.
Still looking at him peacefully sleeping couldn't help but bring back memories. Some were of them together, of the time she spent watching him solve her clues and occasionally of their separation.
When their mother and father divorced, it was their mother who had taken Lumine. She drove the two far away from Springvale Beach, until they ended up at the border of Moon City Summer camp.
Their mother had dumped Lumine there and drove off, as such Lumine walked through the summer camp.
Eventually she found a counsellor by the name of Nevuellete who was kind enough to take her in. Lumine spent four years of her life with Nevuellete, who cared for her as if she was his own and would spend summers at the summer camp.
Then there was the accident. One year one of the yearly campers, someone Lumine couldn't even remember the name of, had somehow found out Lumine lost her twin.
As such the camper provoked her and Lumine had broken her arm. Nevuellete, who had taken her in, decided to send her to Fatuian Akademiya. As much as Lumine wanted to fault him for that, she really couldn't.
On the bus to the Akademiya, Lumine had been joined by a mysterious person. He called himself a herald of the abyss.
She looked down at her brother, his gentle breaths reminded her that it would be so easy to kill him.
That was what the abyss wanted her to do, what Childe, Arlchinno, and the others wanted her to do.
But Lumine wouldn't. She couldn't. She gently removed Aether’s head from her shoulder and laid him down on the couch.
“Goodbye Aether, I’ll see you again.” Those words were a mirror image of what Aether had promised her during the divorce.
Lumine had tried to hide underneath Aether’s bed, but her twin had coaxed her out.
When Lumine was walking out the door, he had promised that he'd see her again.
Now he had made due on that promise. Lumine would be sure she did the same.
When Aether woke it wasn't to Lumine but rather to him inside of Springvale Beach's Starssnatch Cliff Hotel.
Standing by his bed was Amber, in a conversation with what appeared to be the healer, Baizhu.
Standing by the door was Zhongli accompanied by Kaeya. Aether was unsure what had brought about this rag tag group of people responsible for protecting Springvale Beach.
“They’re the ones who can fight who support you.” Explained Baizhu upon noticing Aether waking up. Amber nodded at him, he was unsure why everyone else still bothered to support his leadership but Amber, he understood.
Since this had begun, the two had been working together through the thick of battles. Perhaps it was merely that the other two options for leadership were to surrender to the Fatuian Akademiya or allow Ei Shogun’s visionless movement to take effect.
“Where’s Lumine?” The question surprised Aether as it left his voice, he had never let himself be truly vulnerable around these people.
“Don’t know” Stated Kaeya as he sipped from a cup. “When me and Baizhu arrived to help Amber from a cut she had, we found her knocked out. Which we assume was done by Childe before he and Lumine ran off.”
The explanation made sense, but it upset Aether nonetheless. He had just gotten her sister back, for her to lull him into peace and then leave him again.
“May I suggest, Aether, that we focus on the town first. Then I’m sure we will all support you in getting your sister back.” The words came from Zhongli and as much as Aether wanted to deny it and go chase after his sister, Zhongli was right.
“Yeah. Alright, let’s make a plan.”
The next time Lumine slept, it was alone. Cowered in a secret room that she had discovered in the Fatuin Akademiya’s library. She had a book with her about two siblings and gods, sometimes she pretended she and Aether were the two in the story.
She was alone, but it was by her choice. As much as Lumine wished to reunite with her brother, she had to stop the abyss. That was her first priority.
One day, the two would reunite. That was the thought that filled Lumine’s head as she fell to sleep.