Chapter Nine

Jean, Noelle, and the Dendro Abyss Mage watched each other in awkward silence. Finally the Acting Grand Master rubbed her forehead. "So… usually Kaeya takes point on interrogations. I'm not very well versed in… these kinds of techniques."

Noelle bit her lip anxiously. "Sir Kaeya mentioned to me once that Master Diluc is rather experienced at this sort of thing. Perhaps we could ask him to help?

Wincing, Jean admitted, "Master Diluc is… unavailable." She hadn't shared the full story with her knights. All she'd said was that there was a dangerous new enemy at large, and she was ordering them to assist in the hunt.

She didn't really think her credibility would survive the whole Master-Diluc-is-a-cat bomb.

Her newest knight regarded the Dendro Abyss Mage doubtfully, mailed hands flexing on the grip of her greatsword. "I could… try attacking it some more?" The Mage squeaked in alarm.

Jean shook her head. "No, you might accidentally kill it. You don't really know your own strength, Noelle." She considered for a moment. "I could use my Wind Blade to shove it off a cliff."

"But then we'd have to jump down after it," Noelle pointed out practically.

The two women fell silent for a moment. Then Jean brightened. "Actually, I have an idea. Barbara gave me one of her energy drinks this morning."

Noelle drew in a sharp breath. "The spicy ones?" When Jean nodded silently, the other knight's eyes grew huge. "That is truly the most intimidating interrogation technique I have ever heard of."

The Mage had been watching this exchange with some concern. As Jean reached into her pocket dimension and drew out a bottle that bubbled and glowed with a sinister scarlet hue, the prisoner decided it had had enough.

"Okay, okay, I'll talk! Just don't make me drink that! It looks… terrifying!" It shivered dramatically.

"Oh, er, very well, then. You better start talking, recreant!" Noelle declared, snatching the energy drink from Jean and waving it around haphazardly.

"What do you want to know?"

Jean crossed her arms, her periwinkle eyes narrowing. "Why did you attack Master Diluc?"

The Mage hemmed and hawed for a moment, but when Noelle leaned in menacingly with the frothing drink, it answered quickly, "We were trying to turn him into an Abyss Lector. Then, we'd have him attack Mondstadt to keep everyone distracted for whatever other plans we had going. And you gotta believe me, I'm not high enough up the chain to know what other plans are in the works! I'm… actually not a very experienced mage." Its mask somehow looked both embarrassed and annoyed as it admitted that last part. "I only got assigned to him by default, since there's so few of us who can wield Dendro power. And then the spell backfired somehow! I still don't know what happened!"

Jean absorbed the information while the Mage sank into incoherent grumbles. "So… how do we turn him back?"

"I… er… I have no idea." The Mage looked flummoxed. "For one thing, no one has ever asked me to reverse a transformation. And for another, it went so wrong that I really don't know how to fix it. He was supposed to turn into an Abyss monster, for goodness' sake, not a cat!"

Noelle started. "You turned Master Diluc into a cat?!"

Cat's out of the bag, I suppose, Jean thought wryly. "Yes, he did. You know that pet that Captain Kaeya has been taking care of? That's actually Master Diluc."

Noelle's mouth opened and closed as she tried to wrap her head around this. "I… see."

Jean considered the Abyss Mage for another minute or so, then made a decision. "Noelle, take this criminal back to the Headquarters. I need to catch up with Sir Kaeya and Master Diluc."

"At once, Acting Grand Master Jean!" Noelle saluted sharply, her mouth firming in determination.

It was Jean's turn to jog off into the underbrush, a frown on her fair face. I hope I'm not too late.

oOo

The trail was easy to follow, even in the fading light. Diluc's flaming fur had singed a clear path, and the Abyss Herald hadn't bothered with stealth in his pursuit. By the time Jean followed in Kaeya's footsteps through the woods, it was practically a highway.

When the tracks ended abruptly at the lonely cliff, Jean drew in a sharp breath. Hastily she squashed her rising fears and knelt to examine the battlefield more closely. Her periwinkle eyes narrowed as she read the fight in the clear pattern of advance and retreat, parry and lunge. It looks like Kaeya managed to catch up with Diluc, and they fought the Herald together. But… where did they go from here? She stood up and paced the edges of the clearing, scanning for a fresh trail.

There was nothing. Jean's high blonde ponytail bounced as she shook her head, dismissing everything but the obvious answer. She strode to the edge of the cliff.

Like Kaeya, she couldn't see any hint of her missing companions. The beach below was too dark to see anything clearly at this point, but the firelight of the Fatui camp caught her eye. I'll start there, then.

Without hesitating, she jumped from the cliff, her glider snapping open to break her fall. She flew smoothly over the woods until they faded into sand, trying to cover as much ground as she could.

Once she landed, the Acting Grand Master kept her head low as she approached the camp. But a quick scan showed her there was no need for stealth. The Fatui ship was pulling away from the coast, sails raised. Abandoning her cautious advance, Jean ran to the edge of the water, straining to see into the boat. A few stray words drifted back across the water. Barely any of it was discernable between the softly lapping waves and the gentle sea breeze.

She had almost given up and turned away to continue her search back in the woods when two clearer words caught her ear. "Knight…Favonius?" Jean froze, her attention riveted to the boat. Standing on tiptoes, she bobbed back and forth in an effort to see past the railing to the lantern-lit deck. And then, for just an instant, she managed to catch sight of familiar cobalt locks as her missing knight pushed himself to a sitting position. Just a hint of crimson fur was visible against his shirt before the scene dipped out of view as the ship crested another wave.

They've got Kaeya and Diluc!

She almost jumped into the water and swam after them right then and there, but the boat was moving too fast. Her mailed fingers clenched around the hilt of her slim sword. "What do I do now? Mondstadt doesn't have a navy. We can't pursue them if they cross the ocean! Wait…"Her eyes narrowed as the boat's trajectory shifted. I think… I think they're following the coastline! I have a chance at this after all. Releasing her death grip on the sword, Jean took a deep breath. Her eyes went flinty, and she pushed off the sand in a steady jog. "I won't let you down!" Her iron promise drifted through the air over the abandoned beach as the knight vanished into the night.