The Liyue Massacre
19'th April 2024
Liyue Harbour
They were overextended. Jack had only been here for half a day, and it was Evidant. He stands in a dilapidated and poorly put-together tent while the sounds of battle rage surround him. Continuous Radio reports painted a grim picture: The Nation of Liyue had fallen. Reports of hordes of Hilichurls in numbers similar to the attack during the Civil war were putting entire Villages to the torch, Butchering and Enslaving as they went. Isla was nowhere to be seen, and he needed more time and people to look for them. Worst of all, someone from the Knights of Favonius gave conflicting orders, and the Legion of Aotearoa followed them to the letter. Even though the Detachment of the USMC had served with pride for almost one and a half years with the LOA, the fact that the US is a Feverently anti-communist Nation still causes trouble.
"The Commissariat reports that they're having trouble attempting to keep the LOA off Fatui POWs; they want clarification over execution orders," one of his Aducjtants says.
"I don't know what the fuck to do with the Commissariat. Do I look like Lenin to you?"
Jack sighs audibly while saying that. The LOA isn't a Professional fighting force. The Vast majority of its members are Ideological Recruits from either Communist or Formerly Communist nations, Veterans of the Civil War, or people who joined after losing everything in the war. The AOA, however, was the Professional Full-time Army of the Aotearoan state, being trained by former East German officers. That training in time would be given to the LOA but was pushed back due to the relative stability of Teyvat, which was a big fucking lie. The Commissariat was Isla's child, one that he and Isla spent many nights arguing over. But in the end, he conceded that until the Legion had some discipline beaten into it, The Commissariat needed those powers over life and death.
"Im sorry about that outburst. Give orders to the Cohort Commissars to handle prosecuting forces. At least 2 Senior Commissars are to sign off any executions." He says Calmly before he begins to move towards the exit.
"I need a smoke break. Call me back if anything significant comes through."
Jack leans against the metal pole of the tent as he lights a cigarette and Observes Liyue Harbour. The City was much clearer than when they showed up, but smog still covered some of the city. Overhead, Helicopters continuously dropped water on the Raging fires below, beating it back slowly but surely. To the left of him, beyond The trench that separated the command area, was a thick line of Refugees. Most had nothing but the clothes on their backs and looked mournfully back at the city and fearfully at the many Soldiers ensuring they moved in an orderly manner. The high pops of gunfire were mixed with the low rumbles of Tank and IFV fire, as thousands still fought to clear the enemy from Liyue. Tensions had been rising. Jack thought of Isla as a Son, but he knew that Isla was far too idealistic to see it.
This supposed Oceanic-Teyvat Union that was being flung around at the Highest levels of their Government had the support of the Military and only the Military. In the eyes of US intelligence, the General Secretary, who used to be considered all but a Puppet of Isla, had slowly begun to turn the Party against Isla. The Party, once wholly focused on Isla's "Two Cities, Two Worlds" Policy which focused on the reconstruction and improvement of Tāmaki Makaurau and Mondstat, had seen a lot of success, but had drawn the ire of the other major cities of the Soviet Republic, like Ōtautahi and Kirikiriroa, who needed the funds to reconstruct their war-torn cities. Things were at a breaking point, and it could only take a small match to set it alight.
A soft ruffle could be heard as the tent flaps were forced open, and Eula rushed forward, her face conveying fear.
"Jack, They've regained contact with LOA Command. Isla's nearly dead."
Eula nearly trips over herself as she jumps off the Helicopter, its rotors increasing in intensity as it rises back into the sky. Her typically regal and elegant demeanor was dropped as she looked around the ravaged town square. Dried blood and gore still covered the Square as the sounds of battle, once muted by distance, regained their roar. Jack, beside her, looked at Jean, who was holding a very unfamiliar blade, eyeing Jack with Suspicion. Eula could feel the eyes of the LOA/Knights were focused on him, but she, for this moment, could not care less. She began to walk towards the most guarded door, a walk which quickly began to turn into a run. The guards at the door stiffened as they saw a figure running towards the door, but they relaxed slightly as the smog cleared slightly to reveal her. They saluted, with a somewhat tense "Commander" being uttered. She entered through the door, and her heart dropped. Besides, an amalgamation of Terran and Teyvatian Medical items was Isla. Their skin was stretched taught over their now thin frame, the Demon possessing them cannibalizing their body fat to fight the Fatui. She slowly walked to their side, footsteps heavy. She collapses at their side, her body giving up. She checked shakily to ensure nobody was around and let the tears fall.
"Isla, I love you. Don't leave me. I just found you; I don't know what to do if I lose you now," She stammers out, nearly tripping over her words as she does so. She rested her head on their chest as she sobbed.
Outside, the tense situation had only increased. Jean circled Jack as the soldiers from all two parties eyed their opposites up, hands resting tentatively on their holsters.
"Listen, I don't know what you found in Liyue last night, but the US had no clue this was happening-" Jack started but was cut off by Jean throwing one of the Fatui blades at him.
Confusedly, he read the Manufacturer's stamp carved into the blade's side.
"Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, Teyvat branch," He reads out loud, then looks at Jean with a shocked and slightly betrayed expression
."Jean," He says, then takes a moment to compose himself "Whatever this is, We weren't aware of it. I swear on the bible that we had no idea of this. I can't speak for our Intelligence agencies, but we would never betray what we have-" Jack's explanation was interrupted by the feeling of cool steel on the back of his head. He could hear shouts of confusion as people began to level rifles at each other, as the sense of unity between the LOA/Knights and the USAF shattered.
Knight Huffman stands on an M113 APC, directing the flow of refugees. Every knight barring Kaeya's Company, had been called in to assist. He glances at his squad of Army of Aotearoa soldiers, chatting quietly, with one of them continuously whispering into a radio. The few times they had talked about things that weren't related to their tasks, the things they would say set off alarms in his brain. He did not care much about it as long as they did their jobs. He looks at them, only to find the rifle barrel pointed at him. He barely had time to react before several shots slammed through his body, causing him to fall off the APC. as his life force ebbed from his body, the last thing he could hear was his now rogue soldiers firing on their former comrades, screaming, "Death to the Traitors! Long live New Zealand!"
A White-clothed woman watched from the trees as the Long Knives came out. Lumine, Princess of the Abyss order, smiled as she saw brothers aim their rifles at brothers. It was easy to obtain the Prototype blades, as having an Intelligence agency with no morals other than "Maintain Pax Americana" was very easy to convince that giving Swords to them was in both parties best interests. The AOF Sleeper groups she was unaware of but added to the chaos even more. Liyue would fall, and with it, the nations that sought to control Teyvat in the name of Profit, be it American or New Zealanders.
"United forever in friendship and labour, my ass," She sneers to herself before walking through her portal back into the Abyss.
Aether felt a cold chill on the back of his neck. Lumine was somewhere near here, but for the first time since he could remember, she was not currently his priority. He raises his hand in a gentle and placating gesture, trying to unfuck the clusterfuck that is just about to explode in all of their faces.
"Keqing. Put down the Pistol, Please. You're about to play exactly into their hands by executing him. I know you're mad. I am as well. But having an LOA officer murder, the commander of all NATO forces in Teyvat would give the US justification to invade Teyvat and, finally, bring Aotearoa under their control."
Keqing stood there, shaking with pure fury as she coldly aims her sidearm at the back of Jack's head. Several Knights stood around her, cautiously aiming their rifles at the US marines, who aimed at both the Knights and the Legionnaires.
"They trusted you," She spat, fury evident. "Isla. Mondstat. Liyue. They all trusted you, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY THAT TRUST?" She shakes, taking shallow breaths as her eyes fill with tears.
"I have had to watch hundreds of thousands of my people be murdered and mutilated by our enemies. Now, I find out that our very ally, the one that Isla warned about sponsoring terrorist groups to undermine countries, just sponsored the mass murder of my people. Tell me, Colonel, what am I supposed to feel?"
"Empty," He says, taking care not to move swiftly. "That's what I felt when I was a fresh-faced Second-Lieutenant, hearing about people I knew committing horrible crimes in a place called Abu Ghraib. It pales to this, it really does, but I know how it feels to be betrayed in such a horrifying way."
"Why is it that your Nation calls itself the best but can't even get itself together on the most basic things?" Aether questioned, still looking at Keqing, whose face began to show signs of understanding.
"There are two possibilities. The first, and the one I firmly believe, is that some external power is manipulating us. That there is someone, be they of Teyvat or earth, that is pulling the strings of power to tear apart the Alliance and cripple them with infighting. The second possibility, and the one that the Provisional Government will believe the most, as well as the most historically accurate and sound one, is that the United States of America is deliberately funding covert operations to destabilize and undermine the Regimes in Oceania and Teyvat, as well as manufacturing a Casus Belli to invade. I hate to say it, but there are tens of cases where the US has been proven to be behind some Fascist or far-right coup in third-world countries, even when the people they coup are sometimes democratically elected and don't have any reason to be ousted."
Jack turns towards Keqing, who slowly lowers her pistol.
"Yuheng, you may never trust me or any US official again. The entirety of Teyvat will never trust us again, no matter what the reason behind those swords being in enemy hands is.
But, I will spend every breath I take until my dying breath is drawn, repenting for the crimes of my country. I may not agree with Isla's Ideologies, nor Communism as a whole, but if my Repentance requires me to tear off the chains that bind me to my Country, and swear eternal allegiance to Communism, then that is something I will do. I will do it not with pride or acceptance but with guilt and a desire to make things right. It is not what loyalty to others makes a person, but devotion to their morals, and a knowledge of when what you hold to is wrong."
Keqing sighs before slowly holstering her sidearm. "You may be right, Colonel. I hope you are wrong for your sake, as well as your Country's," before walking into Isla's makeshift medical Quarters. Aether exhales and nearly collapses from the relief of the evident stress in the area. Soldiers slowly lowered their firearms as a fragile but clear truce was established.
Jack turns on his radio, which he muted before talking to Jean, and is greeted with a barrage of declarations of Broken Arrow, as well as reports of friendly fire and screams of confused commanders who no longer knew who was their friend or foe. His building confusion was amplified when two dozen soldiers moved into the square, their weapons drawn and trained. The only thing Jack could notice before he plunged into cover was the mutilation of all their Identification markings and the burning LOA flag they carried behind them. Bullets whizzed past where he once stood as the soldiers opened fire on everyone in the square.
Keqing walks into the building before slumping behind a wall. Eula looks up at the newcomer with red, puffy, and tired eyes.
"Keqing? Are you okay?" she says, sitting up from her former position on Isla's chest.
"I let my anger get the best of me. And now I've fucked up the relationship between the Provisional government and the US," she says, hand over her face.
"Now come on, Im sure that it isn't as bad as what I do with mo-" her comforting tone was interrupted by the almost deafening reports of rifle fire. A pistol shot, extremely close, caused them to dive for cover, with Eula carefully dragging Isla to the corner. One of the Soldiers guarding the door walked in; rifle aimed where Isla was. His face tinged with confusion before Keqing neatly sliced his rifle in twain, followed by his head.
"What the fuck is happening?" Eula yells at Keqing as she draws her Claymore and positions herself in front of Isla, glancing around the room to see if anybody else managed to get in.
A figure runs into the room, pistol firing rapidly at targets outside.
"Fuck! They're fucking all over Liyue! How did they manage to infiltrate us that well!" Jack yelled as he ran in, taking cover behind a wall. Jean and a few knights followed him inside, firing sporadically at targets.
"I don't know if we're going to make it out of here, Folks," Jack yells as he leans over and spits. The sounds of rifle fire ricocheting against the building's thickly-made foundation made anything other than pure screaming impossible. Slowly, the gunfire tapered off.
"Is it over? Did they die?" Keqing questions, attempting to look out before Jack stops her and looks out himself. He quickly ducks back, horror on his face.
"They've got a thermobaric launcher, some Russian-made one, probably left over from the civil war. Unless anybody's got any ideas, I think this is over."
They braced until a roaring explosion and heat rushed through the door, nearly burning Jean.
"What?" Jean says, completely astounded. Jack peered over before turning back and laughing, his hands on his thighs.
"I think they forgot to take the cover off, the dumbasses!" he says in between bouts of cackling. Slowly but surely, the contagious laughter of people who just dodged death due to their enemy's incompetence spread until everyone laughed. Eula wiped her eyes, only to look down in a mix of shock and confusion as fire was slowly spreading up Isla's mutilated and stony arm. Before she could really react, the Arm slammed down on the stone ground, quickly extinguishing the flame. Isla's body began to move, sitting upwards as it began to breathe consciously. Isla's two visions began to glow with a blinding light as they began to heal their body. Isla, too, began to glow, causing people to avert their eyes. A few seconds later, the glowing started to fade and revealed a damaged, bruised, and slightly burnt Isla, but with their life and flesh returned to them. Their eyes slowly opened, revealing Isla's characteristic purple eyes, with a faint diamond surrounding their iris.
"Fuck me," Isla groans before they shakily stand up, before almost being bowled back down to the floor by Eula wrapping her arms around them, bursting into tears. Jean stood there, face slack, before doing the same.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. Do you think some fucking demon would be able to take me down? That fucking little spirit pales to the ones I've faced," He says comfortingly before looking up and seeing Jack's solemn and slightly mournful face; Isla's face also does the same.
"Jack, what's wrong? Don't tell me you didn't pound those fascists into the earth like a pinata."
"We did, General. Only to have the fascists in your ranks stab us in the back."
Isla tilts their head at Jack's unusually formal tone before the realization hits them like a tonne of bricks. Their body immediately tenses as they carefully and gently pull Eula and Jean off them.
"Eula, Mom, we'll talk later. The Colonel and I have some demons to kill. Stay here; This is not your battle to fight. You too, Keqing." They say before shakily walking off with Jack.
"What's gotten into them? Isla's never usually this stoic" Keqing questions as they leave.
"Isla despises traitors. But the one thing they despise more than traitors is fascists. Knowing my child, they won't leave them alive to explain their crimes," Jean says grimly.
"Jack, your radio, please," Isla says as Jack detaches it from his body rig and hands it to Isla.
"This is Marshall Isla Gunnhildr. Guess what? Contrary to whatever your masters have been saying, im not dead. I don't know which of you decided to pick your fight here, alone, far away from any potential base of supporters and logistical support, but you're going to pay. For every second we have to fight you, people die. And we'll ensure you suffer before you go, don't worry. Did you think that joining the military would save you from me? You're wrong, and it'll be the last fuckup you can do."
4 Hours Later
Isla stares at a field of faces, most fearful and angry. After executing their surprise attack, the Traitors were too busy burning their identification, looting shops, and going after commissars to push their advantage. The Recovering allied forces rapidly routed them. Satisfied that they were all rounded up, they walked out of the building instead of making some gloating and mocking speech like the traitors expected. Isla nods at a radioman, who transmits a single word to the Hinds hovering above the building. The building rocks with explosions as it's hit with Missile and rocket fire and soon collapses.
Isla looks at the assembled troops, mainly from the Interior police and the Commissariat.
"Not a word of this to anyone. Take this secret to your graves. As far as we care, they were killed by the Fatui," He orders before walking away.
As they walk away from the rubble, Isla knows they could no longer be on the front line. Things must be fixed on the homefront. They have a lot of work to do and only a little time.
Childe looks up with his characteristic smile as Isla walks in, which wavers slightly as they look at Isla's new arm and the grim expression on their face. He had been held here ever since he was cleared to be released. Not arrested or transported to some camp, but not free to leave.
"Ah, Comrade General, Seeing you up and walking is good. I did not know your people used stone for casts; it's different than what we use" Isla ignores the blatant dig and sits down before taking an exaggerated breath.
"Childe, we're going to let you go. You fought alongside us with valor, and I can't on good conscience jail someone just because they're Fatui. I only ask for a favor: Find out who the fuck ordered this attack on Liyue. I know you've formed bonds with the people here, so you're angry like I am."
"Let me be honest with you, Comrade Isla. My Loyalty is to the Tzaritsa only. I know she sees you as nothing more than a thorn in her backside, but what I've seen here will change that thorn into a knife at her throat. I'm no longer sure we will be allies when I see you next. But, if the orders to raze Liyue did not come from her lips, I will raze cities looking for them," He says before standing up, bowing slightly, and exiting the Building.
They sit together on a bench overlooking the Liyue Harbour, stained red and black. Smoke emerges from Isla's mouth as they hold a Vape close to their mouth. After taking a few puffs, they hand it to Eula, who also begins to use it.
"You scared me there. I thought you were going to die. I didn't want to think about it because if I did, I would have to" She stops, choking up, tears forming in her eyes.
"Hey. Those thoughts get you nowhere. If I died and were sent to the deepest pits of hell, I would spend the rest of my time climbing out of that pit, trying to get back to you and Miko. You two pulled me out of the pit of despair I had dug for myself. I owe you a debt that cannot be repaid. As long as you two still draw breath, I will fight every second to be by your sides, My Liege," Isla says, looking at Eula, who quickly steadies herself.
"Babe, you're a useless romantic, You know that? But you're my useless romantic, and anyone who dares lay a hand on you will taste my vengeance!"
Isla giggles slightly before poking her in the stomach.
"You sure don't say that in bed, do you?"
They both laugh into the cloudy Liyue sky and briefly take comfort in each other before stepping back into one of the worst crises to develop in the 21st century.
AN:
No, I did not die. Im perfectly alive, and here with another Chapter! You may notice some slight changes to the writing, but that's primarily due to how long it's taken to get this out. Hopefully, I don't get slapped in the face with writer's block again so that I can get these out faster.