The best ship is friendship.

(I just wrote an Aether/Amber fic, I'll pass lol)

"Teamwork is dreamwork!"

"Eat this!"

"Let me weave you a verse!"

"Arra- MAH- Raah-!" For around the fifteenth time that day, a giant Thunderhelm Lawachurl was reduced to a flinching, sputtering mess. Never given the chance to do much of anything beyond one easily-avoided absolute lunge five seconds into its lifespan, the giant beast was forced to endure a spinning polearm engulfed in flame curtosey of Xiangling, sharp swords of pure Hydro via Xingqiu, and the occasional Bennett fire sword.

It hadn't survived the previous fourteen iterations of this. Attempt Fifteen wouldn't be any different.

Just as it was about to keel over again, the lawachurl heard a familiar shriek of introduction. A high-pitched whistle, followed by a "EAH!" signaled that a new ally had arrived. To be precise, it was an Electro Abyss Mage, summoned after a pair of Electro Slimes had met their end to the same Pyro tornado. But of course, it didn't matter one bit. Attempt after attempt after attempt made this trio an expert at figuring out the perfect counter to the reinforcement. And they had done this so many times, the fourth teen didn't need a signal.

"Spirit Blades, Attack!"

As soon as the mage teleported in, shield and all, the blue-haired Cryo user dressed in all white summoned- and hurled down- three blades of pure ice, converging on the abyssal imp. The resulting clanks of ice on electric protection nearly demolished said barrier single-handily, while also providing the final crushing impact needed to turn the grand lawachurl to dust. As for the Abyss Mage, a quick Bennett slash provided the final strike to completely shatter the electric wall. All before it could attack.

Cleanup work occurs as Xiangling's swirl of fire (that was still going on) and Xingqiu's attacks makes quick work of the task, sending all foes back to the grave. Again.

A message appeared- in the four's mind, as if beamed to them by the Heavenly Principles themselves- in time with previously-invisible walls desintergrating.

Domain Complete!

"Good job team!" Naturally, it's Bennett who is the first to speak out in excitement, fist thrusted in the air. Xiangling, Xingqiu, and Chongyun rejoin him.

"How many more attempts?" The Cryo-wielder asks.

"Oh, that was our last one for the day." Xingqiu replies with relief drawn on his face.

"Out of resin?"

"No…we actually have about 130 more of those. But I'd prefer not to spend the next five hours doing the same thing, thank you very much…Speaking of, Bennett?" Xingqiu gestures towards him, and the adventurer gets the memo, running to collect the team's winnings. Well, "winnings."

"Got it. Then I'll see you tomorrow!" Xingqiu fist-bumps him, Xiangling hugs him (making a popsicle be licked), and seconds later Chongyun pops out of vision.

"Um, Xingqiu?" Xiangling cautiously asks after. "130 times 60 for each resin….divided by each attempt, which is 20, is….."

"I can see the smoke rising from your ears. Don't worry about it." He laughs, seeing her red face get even more flustered.

Normally at this point, Bennett would return with their treasure- a mediocre, or worse, artifact to add to their pile. Rarely he brought two such pieces back, quantity different but quality unchanged. This had been going on every day for the last few, inspired by how unoptimized some of their equipment actually was, but getting a straight forward upgrade was proving tricky…Xingqiu holds his breath, but deep down believes this was going to be all for naught. The odds are just not in the favor. And, although this is just a personal anecdote, the final trip to a domain never seems to give them anything of substance-

"THIS- THIS IS…!" Breaking through the silence comes Bennett's stunned voice. To the scare of the others, their leader goes down to one knee, like he's been shot by a hillichurl arrow…or charged his Pyro attack too long and blew up. Nevertheless, the two citizens of Liyue immediately run up the stairs.

"Bennett! Are you okay?!" Xiangling goes down to his level as she arrives. In response, he thrusts out a shaky arm and points to a lone golden light on the floor. Xingqiu follows his finger, swipes away the multitude of purple and blue beams from lesser artifacts, and picks the target up.

Purple and white, meaning that it's part of the "Emblem of Severed Fate" set, as opposed to "Shimezawa's Remembrance". Decent start, but the piece is also rectangular, with purple and brown tassels on opposite sides. This is a "Storm Cage" part of that set- exactly what they're looking for.

Xingqiu is starting to get why Bennett reacted the way he did. Closer examination beams another message to the young man's mind.

Main stat: Elemental Mastery

Woah! That's a 2% chance, if I recall correctly. But wait, Xingqiu reminds himself with a shaky breath. The devil is in the details. In their thousands of visits to all domains they can get to, they've encountered the rare EM stat before, however there's always a catch- the sub stats are almost always garbage. He looks down hesitantly-

Sub stats:

Crit DMG- 7.0%

Def- 23

Energy Recharge- 5.5%

Xingqiu drops the dang artifact and rubs the non-existent dirt out of his eyes. After checking again, there's no other option but to accept this. Considering the odds….

It's a perfect piece…!

He whips his head back to Bennett, staring at the risen teen with wide eyes. Bennett numbly feels the look and responds with a signature, but still shaky, thumbs up. To get ahead of an incoming question, Xingqiu hands the artifact to a confused Xiangling. Seconds later, the third reaction is equal to the first two as the color visibly drains from her face. A telltale sign of lightheadedness is followed up by her stumbling backwards- but luckily Bennett is there to provide support in terms of a grip on the cook's shoulders.

After individually recovering from the shock, the trio nod to each other- warpping out of the domain to meet their fourth member- the god of Electro herself.

-0-

The Raiden Shogun is no stranger to rain, and especially thunderstorms. The signature crash of a bolt against the land is like music to her ears….but even she'll admit that this noise sounding literally every couple of seconds might be a little…much. However, as she stands outside the domain holding a comically oversized umbrella, she's in no hurry to do anything about it. Clearly neither is the master of this game, otherwise the 'Tatara Tales' quest would already be done. But that's neither here nor there.

"Raiden! We're back!" The triple threat appear before her and quickly huddle in the umbrella's protection, while the domain's doors close behind. A quick nod from her to Xingqiu communicates that yes, she saw Chongyun leave just before they arrived.

"Welcome back you three. Based on Bennett's barely-concealed smile, your explorations proved fruitful this day?"

"Take a look for yourself!" Xiangling thrusts their precious treasure out (while said boy blushes).

Unlike the young adults before her, the Shogun's reaction is much more subdued, no almost fainting spells here. However her purple eyes do shine with something approaching excitement, as if she just received a particularly enchanting offering.

"Though this artifact's properties were not what we set out for initially, it appears the gods of fortune have finally smiled upon us once again." She hesitates, then continues. "I apologize for disrupting the mood, as they say, but surely you all acknowledge how this endeavor can still wind up being less than ideal."

As she predicts, three faces fall from joy to optimism. "W-Will, yeah…" Bennett rubs his head. "It's an EM piece, so it's not worthless, but there's still a chance…"

He doesn't need to specify. The hidden last substat could be in something absolutely worthless, ike flat HP or Def%. And even if it's not, they're still not out of the woods. The prospect of all the upgrades going right to the bonus Def+23 feels like a black eye.

"We won't know until we try though!" The leader shouts, as if he's trying to convince himself. Raiden nods, shifting the umbrella to cover him more.

"Inazuma City?'

"You know it!" With that, four Visions are held out by each holder. An otherworldly light covers the group's entire body shortly after, and a second later they vanish.

-0-

Back just before Katheryne and the Adventurer's Guild, Bennett sets up another Vision-holder specific tool. Looking just like an hourglass with top and bottom seals removed, Raiden puts the artifact of the story directly underneath. Simultaneously, the leader starts coming through the team's stash of artifacts, looking for fodder.

Xiangling cooks in the background for everyone.

Using the power of…something unspecific, inserting artifacts into the top half of this 'hourglass' will turn them into pure energy, which the artifact below absorbs up to their cap. For a small fee, of course. But Bennett's Adventure Team is neither short on Mora or garbage. They've been together for more than a year after all, plenty of time to raise standards on what a "good artifact" has to have. The main stat must be what they want, and at least two sub stats must be acceptable.

The Storm Cage fits both, their job is done. All that's left is to pray to the gods.

"Raiden, if you would?"

"Understood." After taking a quick bite of Xiangling's cooked chicken, she grabs a handful- six, to be precise- of garbage pieces and presses them right in. Blue first, then purple, then gold if needed. Every time is followed by a swift crank of the device.

The three teens wait with bated breath. Until Raiden's voice rings out, with a noticeable hitch to Xingqiu.

"The fourth substat is…Crit Rate, 3.5%"

Silence. Xingqiu's jaw then drops…this is the best case scenario. And he notices a shaky arm from the god…even she can't quite believe their luck.

And she's not the only one.

"C-Crit Rate….?! O-Oh my Ar- Arch…ooo….ns…." THUD. This time, there was no one to catch a fainting Xiangling. After all, Bennett had already beaten her to it. Her head collides with his chest, both out cold.

Xingqiu sees this, but can't move his legs. When Raiden asks if there is a situation, he merely gestures to his fallen friends. After exchanging an awkward look, he gives her permission to continue.

…Well he says that, but he just can't look. This must be a cruel joke…the gods MUST be preparing to pull the rug out from under them…! The upgrades are going to go to the flat Defense…they have to!

There's no way…right?!

…

"It…it is done." Minutes later and pile of garbage depleted, Raiden's steady voice wakes the Hydro-user…it's time to check…the moment of truth.

He gulps so loudly, all of Inazuma can hear it- and peers over the Shogun's shoulder.

Elemental Mastery - 187

Crit DMG- 14.8%

Def- 44

Energy Recharge- 11.0%

Crit Rate- 7.0%

All of the stats went up once.

All of them….went up…once…!

They didn't get screwed!

"All-RIGHT!" Xingqiu let's out a VERY uncharacteristic shout of pure excitement, and he notices Xiangling and Bennett popping back up when he does so. After collecting their bearings, they get close to the artifact as well…and then engage in a furious double high-five, strong clap bouncing off the ground. Nearby citizens turn and wonder 'what the heck is going on here', not helped by Bennett crying tears of joy afterward. More people look their way in disgust of the scene- but then are instantly sent running for the hills after a scowl from their Archon.

The celebrations continue, with lots of hugs for all. Even the Shogun feels some joy over the scene, with Xiangling's best dinner being the icing on the cake to this.

"So…who's going to equip this?" Bennett asks.

"Well, you and I have separate sets, so it wouldn't be for the best if we took it." Xingqiu argues. "So…Xiangling or Ms. Raiden?"

…

The mood drops like a rock down a well. Completely aware of Xingqiu's words, the two women slowly turn and face each other. Each of them holds a plate of food that's wordlessly given to one of the boys.

"Uh…what's going on…?" Bennett whispers.

"Miles behind Inazuma City, a dark patch of sky appears out of nowhere. Instantly, a bolt comes down, shredding any poor hillichurls beneath in a moment. Back to the four, Raiden's eyes glow purple and her expression returns to perfect neutrality.

The chef doesn't back down, which wouldn't make a lick of sense in any other context. Her golden eyes don't glow back, but her hand goes out- and obtains a shimmering blue twin-forked polearm. The Catch, a formidable weapon and Xiangling's preferred tool of attack. Even Gouba has come out by himself, both glaring at Raiden with fire in their eyes.

"That artifact is a straight upgrade over the EM one I have." The cook says calmly. "I should be the one to use it."

As if there's a special magnet, the thunderstorm slowly heads to the city, expanding all the while, making the wind start to swirl around Xiangling. From the sidelines, Bennett and Xingqiu gulp- only to gulp even harder as Raiden makes a similar move. A sword, appearing on command, sticks out of the Archon's partially exposed chest. All five fingers slowly wrap around the hilt of the legendary weapon, before clenching up tightly. Raiden's expression remains unchanged, absolutely unflinching.

"One flick of the wrist, and this city is leveled." The Electro Archon speaks. "You have witnessed it firsthand. …Knowing this, will you resist?"

"The city may be gone, but as long as I'm still standing, then nothing will stop me!" With a flourish of the weapon, Xiangling goes from holding it to pointing directly at Raiden. "This artifact is mine, and your threats won't change that."

One blink and the two of them stand a normal distance away from each other, the next and Raiden has almost warped directly next to Xiangling, hand still entwined around the sword sticking out of her. Her opponent flinches, but only slightly, polearm unwavering.

"…..Hm….Rex Lapis would be proud of you."

Just like that, everything returns to normal. The dark clouds dissipate, harsh winds die down, and the Shogun's eyes stop glowing violet as she takes a step back.

"The artifact is hers, Bennett and - Oh?"

On the sideline, in the shadow of a house, lies the bodies of the two boys. They've fainted, but Xiangling of course doesn't know that.

"Xingqiu! Bennett! Speak to me! Stay away from the light!"

-0-

"Bennett? A word, if you please."

"Huh? What's up Raiden?"

She snickers. Having this ordinary, if unlucky, boy speak to her so casually, like he;s known her all his life, is always fascinating. She barely gestures to Xiangling, who's attending the fire with Xingqiu. "Examine her."

"Huh? Ok…"

"Notice her critical statistics?"

"Yeah! Nearly 70% rate, for 118% of the damage!" He excitedly reports. Technically, it's 69.9% Crit rate, but Bennett has neither the mind nor tongue for "that" joke.

"And that weapon increases the rate even further, correct?"

"Yup….ohhh, I get it! Right, that is a little too much…"

"Precisely." Raiden nods. "I believe that in order to improve our efficiency in combat even further, Xiangling would be better served with a critical damage circlet of the matching set. And naturally I have not forgotten your promise to me. To find an Energy Recharge with a critical damage sub stat."

But here's where Bennett showed his worth as leader. While others may despair having to go back to the same place yet again, he was bursting with excitement, knowing the goals hadn't yet been reached.

"Thanks for telling me this! In fact-" He stood up. "Xiangling! Xingqiu!"

Now with three pairs of eyes on him, he cleared his throat.

"I feel like I say this all the time- cause I do- but! ….Thank you, thank you so much for being on the team!"

"Awww….Bennett…." Xiangling blushes.

"It is my pleasure~ May this journey continue onwards!" Xingqiu looks away slyly before, and after, saying that.

"Hm…never did I ever expect this…" Raiden muses…happily?

"No, really!" Bennett behaves unexpectedly- and he doesn't know why really. It just feels…right. So he wraps his arms around the necks of the other three, bringing them all in for one giant (if objectively awkward) hug.

"You guys are the best!"

This is not going up on AO3 lol.