CW: Mention of death, blood, and violence.
To skip over the main scene, start from ** to ***. Everything in between contains vague descriptions of the aftermath of a massacre. Though vague, it leaves a lot to imagination.
Diluc knew that he should've thought this through first.
Maybe even crushed that growing dread and anxiety.
And trusted Ajax to come back in one piece.
After all, the younger was a Harbinger.
One of the strongest amongst the Fatui.
But it didn't feel right.
Because really, Diluc couldn't just sit there.
Knowing that his brother left on a mission alone.
As a former Captain, he damn well knew how ridiculous it was to leave without a partner.
Mondstadt had its own share of dangers one shouldn't dare to face alone.
(Even though that partner had quite literally backstabbed him.)
…Never mind the fact that he just left without telling anyone.
Then again, Diluc couldn't help but notice how easy it was to slip through the Palace.
It was like someone planned for him to leave unnoticed.
The dread that pooled in his stomach threatened to spill into his mouth.
Hell, Diluc almost burned the folded paper he found in the pocket of Ajax's spare.
But he didn't.
Not when it gave a simple rundown on Ajax's mission.
A mission that was nothing but an execution.
An execution that shouldn't be handled alone.
The timing was all too strange—
(This was planned.
And it probably- no, it had to be the First's—)
"You couldn't have at least waited until daylight, could you?"
Diluc tried to give his new companion, Vlad, an awfully flat look.
But the darkness of the night and the frozen lights didn't help.
Diluc's arm was hooked around the Fatui's shoulders.
It was the only thing properly keeping him upright.
"It couldn't wait," he told the other.
It was true.
He couldn't wait.
Waiting only increased the chance of him losing Ajax—
He didn't want to dwindle away in his own worry.
Diluc could have been worried about nothing.
But it was too easy for him to remember.
How Ajax was not just a Harbinger.
How Ajax wasn't a stranger.
How Ajax was his brother.
Self-proclaimed as it was, Diluc took it.
It was funny really, how much Diluc began to care so much for those who weren't his blood.
"Do you even know where Lord Tartaglia went?"
The sheer amount of sarcastic scolding in Fatui's voice was almost too amusing.
Diluc painfully smiled, "What's the fastest route toward the Ice Plains?"
**._._._._._.**
The fastest route to the Ice Plains was a route that took them through a town.
But not a single soul came to greet them.
And it wasn't out of fear.
It wasn't the first time Diluc saw death.
He'd seen it with accidents and mishaps.
He even had to bury unfortunate travelers.
But this?
The corpses laid in the streets.
Not even the young were spared.
Diluc almost couldn't hold it down.
The reek of iron clawed its way into his throat and stayed there.
The horrible mix of almost every element was there.
The dampness of Hydro.
The twinge of Electro.
The sting of Cryo.
The burn of Pyro—
All caught up in a whirlwind.
The evidence was too hard to ignore.
Too jarring to unsee.
Diluc tried to look elsewhere.
Tried to find some semblance of life.
But there was none.
He stood before a home.
The steps of the doorway were not spared.
His boots stepped in a puddle.
And Diluc quietly swept a hand over open eyes.
These people—
They were not his.
Not from Mondstadt.
But they were still people.
They were Ajax's people.
Part of home.
It scared Diluc.
How he suddenly thought of family.
If the child he touched was Teucer instead.
If the girl across the street was Tonia.
If the teen beneath the cart was Anthon.
Or if the couple by the window was Mother and Father.
The very thought of Kaeya and his father meeting the same fate—
Diluc burned those thoughts away.
The Delusion on his hand seemed to grieve.
The Vision at his side seemed to wail.
The blood in his veins boiled in anger.
Diluc wasn't going to let this go.
This massacre was recent.
But how recent was hard to tell in the frost.
Vlad knelt down at one of the corpses.
And Diluc followed a set of tracks.
Slowly, his heart settled to an eerie calm.
Even the pain in his healing ankle was nearly forgotten.
It made him finally pick up a familiar residue in the air.
The power of the Abyss lingered around him.
Almost fading since the time it ravaged.
It wasn't a wonder how he nearly missed it.
But there was more than the Abyss.
A faint trace of a Delusion's power.
Untamed.
And wild.
That damn traitor.
The snow hadn't piled up yet.
Red spoke loudly in white.
Diluc almost laughed.
Because really, white really was the perfect backdrop.
Vlad came to his side.
The frown on his face was deeper and deeper by the second.
"Are you sure you don't want to turn back?"
Crimson eyes nearly glowed in quiet anger.
And Diluc calmly pulled at his glove.
His Delusion gleamed on his hand.
His Vision flickered at his hip.
"Are you?"
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._._._._._.
Childe was by no means a fool.
Young as he was, he knew by now to look ahead.
To find the hidden details in plain sight.
The warning was certainly there.
Traitors were never to be taken lightly.
Which was why Childe left on his own.
But he wasn't fast enough.
Childe's hands were covered in red.
Probably killed hundreds that didn't deserve it.
All in the name of his work and his Tsaritsa.
But even he wouldn't slaughter for the fun of it.
The town was washed in red.
The streets bathed in it.
Not a single soul was spared.
And Childe intended to pay that traitor back tenfolds.
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***._._._._._.***
He held absolutely nothing back.
His Vision gleamed— even sang.
The hydro blades viciously formed in his hands.
And he struck.
He missed the Abyss Mages.
Six, maybe seven of them—
But they weren't his target.
At least— not yet.
A blackened lance blocked him.
The snow around them caved.
A new crater in the Ice Plains didn't seem bad.
The traitor snarled a curse at Childe's face, a hair's length out of reach.
The stolen Delusion glimmered in the light.
Childe looked at the traitor, past his blocked hydro blades.
They were dressed as one of the guards.
The Fatui mask was askew.
Emerald eyes glared at him with ferocity.
Childe could tell already— even as they split apart.
The traitor believed they could kill him.
It made him smile.
"I wonder," he began, cerulean eyes sharp.
"What made you think you'd get away with your betrayal?"
The traitor didn't talk.
Didn't even spare a moment to retort.
The Abyss Mages cursed at him in their stead.
"A Harbinger? You came alone— Foolish child, you are!"
The traitor only brandished their lance, called to the Delusion—
And attacked with a burst of Anemo.
Childe laughed then—
Because really, he loved this part.
Where his blood sang with adrenaline.
And his lust for battle poured itself into his veins.
A thrill he put every damn ounce into.
The stolen Delusion was clearly ill-fitting of its user.
Childe could see how it fluctuated between its full power and nothing at all.
The traitor knew it, too.
The Abyss Mages were being no help either.
Childe didn't know how many times he leapt back to avoid an elemental reaction.
He tried to take them out first.
He really did.
But the damn traitor kept getting in his way.
The Anemo swirled with the several elements.
It quickly turned the battlefield into a minefield.
It was almost enough to push him into using his transformation.
Though he couldn't do that.
Not yet.
The consequences were a steep price.
He couldn't afford that now.
He still had to figure out how the hell the traitor worked with all these Mages.
Only then could he kill them off and pass out later with that power of his.
The crater he caused seemed to backlash him also.
It made it easier for the Mages to keep the two contained.
Childe cursed his luck.
Because somewhere along the line, he messed up.
Maybe it was because he let it draw out for far too long.
The stolen Delusion flickered with a sickening green.
The traitor seemed to get angrier.
And angrier.
And angrier.
Childe remembered then.
That Delusions ill-fitting of its user did one of two things.
Wreck havoc on the body of the user after its use.
Or wreck havoc on the mind of the user during its use.
It was easy to tell which one this Delusion fell into.
Especially when Childe struck the mask off the traitor's face.
Emerald eyes were crazed, reddening at the edges.
The influence of the Delusion had already poisoned them.
Which meant he failed half of his mission.
It was only a matter of time before it was over.
Although, "over" was a kind way to put it.
Childe forced some distance.
Even sent a wave of Electro to an Abyss Mage to give himself space.
And didn't delay for another second.
._._._._._.
Diluc nearly stumbled to a stop.
The ground rumbled at the tell tale signs of a battle up ahead.
But a few Abyss Mages were in the way.
They floated in the sky, waving its dainty wand in the air.
A shield of Cryo encased one.
Pyro, another.
And Electro, the next.
Though, none of them focused on him.
Or had yet to notice.
All were acting as a support— to the Anemo of a Delusion.
The traitor didn't seem to be human anymore.
The face of the traitor was uncovered.
Their expression wild and twisted.
Their own body had taken a darker turn.
Joints were odd.
Bones seemed longer.
The remains of a Fatui uniform were barely recognizable.
The thing still held a blackened lance that seemed to dance with Anemo.
Merged with the attacks of the Abyss Mages around them.
But there, in the middle of the myriad of colors and explosions—
Was a form he had never seen before.
It was a humanoid form, tall and even floated above the ground.
Even from the distance, Diluc could tell the other struggled.
But when Diluc really looked at the figure—
He recognized that ginger hair anywhere.
Diluc looked at Vlad.
Who had his lips pressed together and was rather tense.
Vlad looked at him, grey eyes nervous behind the mask.
He knew that the other wasn't a fighter.
Probably decent with that firearm of his.
Vlad told him that it shot bits of Electro.
Designed for stunning intruders, really.
So Diluc fell into a stance.
His Delusion flickered.
His Vision gleamed.
Ready—
No.
Battle hungry for revenge.
"Run," Diluc told him.
There was no room for argument.
Diluc's voice didn't give him any.
He kept an open ear to listen for Vlad.
The steps were fast to run off.
Diluc didn't even bother to glance behind him.
He trusted the other to fight in other ways.
That firearm looked useful from a distance anyway.
His own claymore fell into his hands.
Pyro seeped into the steel and danced about.
Even melted the surrounding snow.
The Abyss Mage didn't know what hit it.
Diluc didn't forget about the other Mages.
He threw a free hand and his Delusion answered him.
Black chains erupted around him, chasing after the Mages.
He didn't hear the words they screamed.
Only forced himself to dodge the barrage of attacks.
Electro collided with Pyro.
Nearly threw him down into the large crater.
But Diluc stabbed his claymore into the ground.
Heard the ice crack from the impact.
And thew himself upward.
It was funny really.
How his Vision began to work in tandem with his Delusion.
How the pure Pyro willingly entangled itself with black.
How Diluc managed to override Electro by sheer will.
It was strange as well.
As if he was back in the Abyss.
Fighting for his life in that endless, endless night.
It was difficult for him then.
Even his Vision almost wasn't enough to see him through.
But now?
Diluc downed three within minutes.
"You!" an Abyss Mage screeched, "Favored one— How could you—"
Chains snatched them out of the air.
Crimson eyes were cold, "I'm not yours."
._._._._._.
The flow of the battle suddenly changed.
The attacks of the Abyss Mages dwindled into nothing.
As if someone finished them off for him.
Childe tried to look.
But the traitor took on a nasty form now.
The power of the Delusion had completely taken over.
It was on a rampage that took all of his attention.
He could feel his own strength fading.
The price for this power ate relentlessly.
But he had to keep going.
He couldn't let this thing escape.
Even when he was knocked down.
A moment too slow to block a fast break.
He fell to the hard ground.
Felt the shock of the sheer cold seep into his armor.
There was no time to falter.
Childe moved to get up, but the traitor was faster.
He could see them bolting toward him.
Their own lance swirling with a rage of Anemo.
He quickly lifted his own lance to block—
"Ajax!"
Childe's eyes widened behind his mask.
Hell, even his opponent turned to look, distracted by the voice.
But Childe didn't.
He really didn't want to look.
Because no— that person shouldn't be here.
Couldn't be here.
But a person appeared in front of him.
Literally smacking the traitor in the face.
With the hilt of a damn claymore of all things.
The traitor flew from the impact, thrown completely off course.
But they didn't seem fazed.
Especially when the flipped and landed on their feet.
Crimson eyes narrowed dangerously.
And he knew that brilliant crimson anywhere.
Dressed in a spare coat Childe gave a certain firefly.
With a familiar claymore doused in black flames.
Diluc freaking Ragnvindr held out a hand to him.
"Just a mission," the Firefly spoke, tone low and definitely upset, "my ass."
And Childe laughed as he picked himself up, "I can't believe you recognized me."
He towered over the small Firefly.
Who spared him a tiny smile.
"Three minutes?"
"Two."
Diluc shot forward.
Childe took a moment to regather himself.
Could still feel the limit his body was starting to reach.
He had some time left.
And he was going to make the most of it.
._._._._._.
Diluc cursed under his breath.
This traitor wasn't human anymore.
Much less a sentient creature.
He could understand now, why Ajax had a hard time subduing them.
The power the Delusion unleashed was terrifying.
That damn lance took in surrounding elements in a violent swirl.
Diluc learned that the hard way when he barely dodged his own flames.
He could feel his claymore cracking under the pressure of simply blocking.
Even the chains of his own Delusion couldn't keep them locked in place.
Outwardly, Diluc kept his calm.
His battles in the Abyss taught him as such.
Inwardly, Diluc panicked.
Because he could see the cracks in his claymore.
Infusing it with Pyro earlier wore it down.
That lance forced him to fight without his Vision.
Hell, even his Delusion was nearly useless in the face of it.
With Pyro and his chains out of the picture, Diluc relied on nothing but his own skill.
But even so, Diluc kept his composure as well as he could.
Took rational dodges instead of taking the brunt of the attacks.
Anything to conserve as much energy as he possibly could—
After all, if he could buy time for Ajax, then it would be enough.
There was a glint of silver at the corner of his eye.
Diluc feinted a move to cover up a quick glance.
Vlad stood at the edge of the crater.
Unsure of how to help despite his firearm aimed and ready.
An idea popped into his head.
It was probably a terrible one.
One that was solely too reliant on pure luck.
When the traitor tried to stab him, Diluc raised his claymore.
The lance broke through the steel, splitting it in half.
But Diluc expected that.
The small moment of hesitation from the traitor was all he needed.
Diluc didn't waste a second to shift his shattered claymore.
He dropped to his back before the tip of the lance could pierce his chest.
And grinned.
._._._._._.
Vlad was horrified.
What he had seen in these hours had been nothing but a shitshow he'd rather never experience ever again—
The massacre left a bad taste in his mouth.
Someone from their ranks had done that.
Someone he probably knew.
Maybe even laughed with at one point.
And hell, did he want to grieve.
He wanted to stop and bury them—
Yet, time didn't allow for that.
Diluc had a cold fire in his eyes.
Vlad didn't even know him well enough.
But it was right then and there that he knew.
Diluc wasn't about to let this go unpunished.
Vlad was offended when he was told to run instead of fight.
And yet, he didn't have a choice.
He had the basic Fatui training.
Knew how to fight with a his fists and knives.
Trained in firing weapons infused with elements.
Vlad resigned himself to wait instead.
Waited for that right moment to help when he could.
Watched Tartaglia fight with a ferocity that sent shivers down his back.
Even watched in awe as Diluc swung a sword of fire.
The very name of the "Pyre" proven before him.
Which is why he stood at the edge of the crater.
The firearm set in its highest setting.
Aimed for their enemy.
If Vlad had any sympathy for the traitor, it was gone.
When Diluc dropped to the ground with his shattered claymore.
Vlad fired.
._._._._._.
Childe took exactly two minutes.
He gathered all he needed to twist Hydro and Electro into his lance.
The waiting explosion was sure to cause one hell of a reaction.
When he looked up, a familiar sound of a firearm went off.
Diluc was on the ground—
His claymore was split in half.
Half caught in a cracked Delusion.
The sickening green light glowed through the cracks.
Anemo burst apart from the lance, dispelling it.
And the traitor—
The traitor screamed.
The bloody screech reverberated.
As if the pain was too much to take—
Diluc kicked them off him.
It was then that Childe moved.
He flew across the distance, hand outstretched.
Flew over Diluc to grab the throat of the traitor.
Childe couldn't drive his lance into his target.
Not until he was far away from Diluc.
Far away from whoever helped them.
Childe flew upward.
Practically threw the screeching mess into the air.
He didn't know how high they were.
Didn't know if he'd survive the fall.
But Childe knew that at this distance, no one would get hurt.
His lance pierced their chest.
A violent wave of Electro coursed through.
But it wasn't enough.
He did, after all, swore to make the most of it.
With one last push, Childe drove his lance and twisted.
._._._._._.
Diluc's ankle finally screamed at him.
It took him down within an instant.
His own bones felt weary.
Exhaustion weighed upon him.
And he let himself rest.
Diluc watched from the ground.
Watched as a cloud reaction of Hydro and Electro clashed.
Watched as Ajax started to plummet to the ground.
Ajax started to plummet to the ground.
Whatever form Ajax took had dissipated.
"Shit—"
Diluc threw himself to his knees.
Panic pushed him to try and stand.
But the flare of pain kept him rooted.
Diluc refused to let him die like that.
A familiar warmth rushed through him.
As if it caressed his wish and unfurled its wings.
Diluc caught Ajax before he hit the ground.
A flurry of feathers softened their fall.
Wide cerulean eyes stared at a handful of feathers.
Vermillion with marigold edges.
"Your feathers are soft."
Wide crimson eyes stared up at the sky.
Grey with flakes of snow.
"…Thanks."
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._._._._._._.
The Tsaritsa closed her eyes.
Ice frosted at the tips of her skirts.
A testimony of how long she stood in place.
Waiting for her Eleventh.
Waiting for her Little Phoenix.
It was pointless really.
She knew by now that they wouldn't be back for while longer.
Instead, she turned to her First, "Go."
Her cold eyes were pure when she looked at him.
"Bury my children."
Pierro bowed his head low.
And left without another word.
The Tsaritsa did not cry.
She merely stood.
And allowed the frost to creep into her skin.
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"Bury them well."
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