Chapter 7: Dottore's Visit Brings Consequences

**(Two Days Later, Wednesday-August 25th; 11AM)**

Zhongli hummed as he flipped through the reports he had, today was a day where he had requested he stay at the manor and Hu Tao, being the understanding Director she was, allowed it. Though the young woman DID make some rather suggestive comments about his wanting to stay just to bed Lumine. While Zhongli outright denied it, he was blushing rather furiously the moment Hu Tao said it. There really were times he could not stand Hu Tao and she always pushed his buttons whenever it came to Lumine.

'Though I guess she would think we were bedding by our position a few days ago.' It had been a complete accident too. Lumine was trying to reach for something and Zhongli had gotten up to assist her when Lumine suddenly jumped to get the books she was grabbing for him. In his haste to prevent her fall, Zhongli tripped over his own two feet and was able to, at least, cushion her fall. Hu Tao had rushed into his office to see what the ruckus was about, only to stare deadpan at Zhongli hovering over Lumine on the ground.

'Aiya! If you two are going to be getting frisky and having sexcapades, do it at your estate Mr. Zhongli! I expected better from you!'

Hu Tao, obviously, wasn't letting Zhongli live it down anytime soon though it did, indeed, seem like they were about to do something. While Zhongli had blushed a bit and tried to explain what happened, Lumine had merely asked what a 'sexcapade' was. Hu Tao had about died laughing and Zhongli had merely blushed more, pinching the area between his eyes. It wasn't a common term, not one that was ever taught to Lumine when Zhongli gave her a bit of an education when she had first come into his care. He guessed he shouldn't have been surprised she had no idea what that was.

In order to save himself from embarrassment, Zhongli had given Lumine a dictionary.

The blush she had yesterday was adorable after she explained she knew what they were.

Was she also staring at him all day yesterday after she realized what that meant?

'I'm probably just imagining things.' Zhongli thought, though he couldn't deny that Lumine had been extremely affectionate with him lately. She used to refrain from touching him, only usually touching his shoulder to tugging his jacket lightly to get his attention, usually to ask something. Lumine had definitely changed ever since her flashbacks had started. She used to be somewhat cold and emotionless, disliked speaking and often kept everyone at arm's length, keeping a professional air around everyone, even with his kids.

Now though, Lumine was hugging Ganyu and Xiao whenever they had to go somewhere, something that Ganyu loved and Xiao 'reluctantly' returned. (By the blush on Xiao's face he actually didn't mind.) She was making food and refreshments for the guards, CR commented she absolutely loved it best when Lumine made sweets for them. On days she wasn't to be at the parlor, she made a lunch for him to take and even made extra's for Zhongli to hand to Hu Tao and the Ferrylady.

Lumine was also hugging him some days he returned, was smiling a bit more when she was around him and even touched him without hesitation. On days she had her flashbacks, she would cling to him the moment he was close. They were happening more frequently which, from what Doctors said when Zhongli spoke to a few yesterday, meant that her mind was slowly finding a safe haven to where she could remember without any ill side effects. Zhongli spun a pen between his fingers, hoping that was true.

Doctors did say to still be careful though, no surprise visits from anyone related to her past until she had remembered enough of her past to understand everything she went through. He'd have to get Lumine checked at some point as well, probably after she regained her memories enough so he knew what all she's gone through. When he first brought her into his employ, he only had the bare minimum checked. Knowing about the possibilities of all the sexual abuse she's undergone and the possibilities of drugs having been forced into her system, he wanted a full thorough checking.

If that was all true, with an unknown amount of how much she's undergone, it was very possible there were internal problems none of them were aware of.

Suddenly the doors opened and Zhongli jumped, as did a few guards…when a light, blue haired male walked in, blood red eyes shining with glee at seeing Zhongli with his guards. "Ah, hello Mr. Zhongli." The male said and Zhongli tensed, working to keep his expression neutral at seeing Number Two of the Harbingers, The Doctor… "Dottore." Zhongli greeted with a hiss, glancing at a few guards, his eyes ordering them to stay still and do nothing.

They could not attack the man, as much as many of them seemed to want to do. He understood that feeling very well.

"Why are you here?" Zhongli asked casually, working to keep himself from lashing out. Aether had recognized the man, he was the one who 'fixed' Lumine when she was 'out of line'. "I thought I'd drop by for a visit. You are a trusted contact to the Fatui, so I figured we should get to know one another." Dottore's words were smooth, using his skills as a negotiator in an attempt to get Zhongli to lower his guard. If Zhongli wasn't who he was, if he had been a weaker man, he might have fallen for the act.

However, knowing this was one of the men in charge of the underground human trafficking ring, well…he knew better than to trust such words. "I do not do 'visits', I do meetings." Zhongli stated, allowing some annoyance to seep through. "If you require a meeting with me, you make an appointment." Zhongli hissed, allowing a glare to come through finally, letting Dottore know he stepped over a line. "Oh, I am terribly sorry." Dottore bowed but his tone was full of mockery, he knew very well what he was doing. "I meant no harm." He ended, giving Zhongli a smirk and Zhongli narrowed his eyes more, Dottore was sizing him up. He was here for a reason.

"As you are such good friends with Tartaglia, why I thought, why couldn't we be good friends as well?" Dottore walked closer as he stood to his full height. "By the way, have you seen Number Eleven?" Dottore asked, tone quite curious and Zhongli tensed just the slightest yet Dottore didn't seem to notice as he looked around. "We all have not seen him for some time. We are quite worried about him." That was a bunch of bull but Zhongli had a lie ready. "He is doing some assignments for Ningguang in order to reestablish a small amount of trust with her." The dark haired male supplied, knowing relationships between the Fauti and the Qixing were shaky.

Almost two years ago there was a huge power battle between the Qixing and the Fatui, with both sides attempting assassinations on one another. A single wrong move on Ningguang while she was meeting with Beidou had been the nail in the coffin for the Fatui losing any power in Liyue. Beidou had killed the assassin then called out the Fatui on using dirty tricks. The same was called on the Qixing but it was claimed they were protecting their people as the Fatui started the assassinations first. The Fatui lost standing and had to settle for just a small area where they could do their operations as they pleased, kept under careful watch so as to keep a semblance of peace among those in Liyue. Tartaglia did what he could to at least be trusted by Ningguang and, being close friends to Zhongli since they were young, quickly became a trusted member to Ningguang. She only trusted Tartaglia out of the Fatui.

"Ah…yes, we did apologize about that, you know?" Dottore muttered, anger in his eyes. He had not been pleased by what happened. "I am aware but you must understand, things had quickly gotten out of hand." Zhongli responded, thinking back to those days. In fact, it was almost two months after all that ended that Lumine came into his employ. It was also during the entire time of assassinations and political power battles between the Fatui and the Qixing that many people, mostly children or young teenangers, went missing. Beidou and Zhongli had worked on trying to find the missing people with Tartaglia's being an insider to see if the Fatui were any leads while Ningguang and the rest of the Qixing, including Zhongli's daughter Ganyu, worked on keeping the Fatui back from having a foothold.

"Either way," Zhongli cleared his throat, getting back to the present, "if you wish to meet with me, you must make an appointment." Zhongli was getting anxious. Any moment now Lumine was going to wake up and come downstairs to start a late lunch. If Dottore saw her…he knew all hell would break loose and any semblance of civility that was currently being shown would go out the window. He knew the guards would kill Dottore if he did anything, he wouldn't leave here alive…but he also doubted Dottore was alone. He was certain some Fatui assassins were currently outside, ready for a signal of some sort.

One word from Dottore if he sees Lumine and those assassins would be on them in seconds!

Lumine groaned as she awoke in Zhongli's bedroom, blinking her eyes a bit. Right…nightmare, the one with blood red eyes. She rolled onto her back, thinking…how late was it? She looked at the clock on the bedside table and jerked, eyes going wide. It was already past eleven?! "Shit." Lumine hissed under her breath and got up and out of bed, fixing it up as per habit. Once that was done, she headed to her room to change into her work clothes, the usual maid outfit and then reached for the frilly choker to keep her neck hidden. She wanted the scars covered, if she saw one she'd have another flashback.

Lumine left her room and heard voices downstairs in the foyer. "Due to your sudden and rather unwelcome visit at the parlor on Monday, I was behind in my work. When I work from home, my hours are shorter, allowing me to spend time with my children." Zhongli snipped and Lumine felt the sudden urge to head below and give a good, long lecture to whoever was annoying Zhongli. Yet a part of her heart was screaming that it was a very bad idea to head below. "Oh, you have children? I was not informed of this." That voice…so smooth but menacing to her ears…it sounded so familiar.

Heart pounding in her ears, blood going cold, Lumine slowly made her way to the stairs, intending to just take a look…and froze. Eyes going wide as fear squeezed her heart, blood turning to ice as it felt as though the world stopped. Those eyes, so familiar. That outfit, too similar. That smirk, it flashed before her mind's eye. A knife raised, the memories cleared and suddenly, as her breath quickened, memories began to flood her mind. The man who held the knife cleared, revealing the very same person standing before Zhongli, a maniacal grin on his face. The same man clipping a metal collar around her throat and yanking her forward, pushing her down and grabbing a syringe. The man dragging her from a dark room, revealed to be a cell of some sort as someone reached for her.

"LUMINE!" A voice called and the memories cleared more, revealing the boy from her happy memories reaching for her, being held back by a male with indigo colored hair. The same indigo haired male cleared, revealing a young man, he didn't look much older than her, grinning as he tightly gripped her chin and forced her mouth open. A round pill forced into her mouth and forced to swallow, her gagging as she dry swallowed. Lumine backed away, hiding behind the corner even more as she gripped her head, tears running down her face. Too much! Too fast! She couldn't think! All that she felt was the need to flee, the need to get as far away from that man as she could and she didn't know why! Her legs were heavy, her mind felt like it was ripping apart, she couldn't breathe! She couldn't breathe! Eyes glazed over as fear took hold, shutting her mind off and she collapsed, darkness taking her back into the past as she began to relive her painful memories.

Her body shut down.

XXX

Zhongli narrowed his eyes as murder flashed in them, if this man even thought of laying even a single finger on his children, he would- "Relax, I just wasn't informed you had children." Dottore said as he waved out any sudden protectiveness Zhongli was having. Dottore wasn't interested in any children Zhongli had, he was only after the female that one of his associates revealed lived here. There had been no mistaking those eyes or that body. She was still so beautiful, still so lovely and gorgeous! Scaramouche had, originally, been tasked with her retrieval but…when the indigo haired male had returned, covered in blood…well, there had been a fight. Scaramouche was meant to grab Lumine and bring her directly to Dottore so he could do with her as he pleased. The buyer, a councilman, under suspicion of prostitution and embezzling had called them, demanding they get rid of her. Scaramouche had gone and grabbed her but returned covered in blood. He claimed he had killed her because she struggled and was too troublesome. He claimed he'd do the same to Aether once he found him.

Dottore had not been happy.

Lumine and Aether were his most PRIZED subjects, he had specifically worked and 'fixed' Lumine to make her a good little girl. Aether had not needed such work. The two twins were the reason Dottore had such a wide connection and had so many clients, as well as plenty of mora to do as he pleased. Hell, Dottore had his own fun with Lumine, same with Aether. When out of line, he'd torture them right in front of the other, a way of mentally and emotionally breaking them. He was getting off track, all Dottore knew was that he was POSITIVE that Lumine was here and she belonged to him.

So did Aether but he was a lesser priority.

"Hey dad, what's-!" Xiao went silent at seeing the newcomer and instantly his defenses were raised, gold eyes staring the male down. Despite his short stature, Xiao was scary when angry and terrifying unleashing it. Dottore, however, was unfazed as he raised a brow. Where had he seen that look before? Oh, right…Aether when the blonde haired boy had staged that riot and escaped. "Who are you?" Xiao asked in a hiss, teeth clenched as he slowly made his way toward his father, standing beside Zhongli.

"My name is Dottore, accomplice of Tartaglia." Dottore gave a bow once more, quickly realizing he was getting nowhere. He had heard about the young boy from an associate. The boy was known for picking out troublesome Fatui members and dealing with them. Generally speaking, the members never being found or, if they did find the member, they were either already dead or were on the verge of death. The young man worked as an agent of the Adpeti, an organization specifically under Zhongli's control as they kept peace in the shadows.

He was aware guards were getting antsy with him there, some reaching for guns and sighed. Another day, he'd come by another day and force Lumine out of their hands. She was too dangerous to leave unattended. Scaramouche was livid she was alive but Dottore was pleased. She could be of use again. However, if she grew too troublesome…well, then Dottore would put efforts into finding Aether and bring him back and break them both. Using one against the other was what always made the other obedient.

"I see I have outstayed my welcome." Dottore said as he glanced around, giving a signal behind his back. The assassins outside disappeared, Zhongli saw their red outlines vanish. Smart. "Well Mr. Zhongli, I bid you adieu." Dottore bowed one last time, before turning and leaving the manor. "Expect a call for an appointment soon!" Dottore said as he waved, the doors closing behind him. "Dad?" Xiao asked as he glanced at his father, who was glaring at the doors. "He knows we have Lumine, he was sniffing around for her. Three Fatui assassins were outside, ready to jump in if Dottore was proven correct." Zhongli said and Xiao huffed.

"No, they wouldn't. Several snipers were outside, guns on them. If they made to move inside, they would've been shot. Remember, they have to lower their camouflage when they attack." Xiao reminded his father, who sighed. "I remember now. Make sure the Adepti Agents increase their patrol." Xiao nodded, when Ganyu screamed from the second floor. "LUMINE!" Zhongli, Xiao and the guards all jumped and rushed upstairs, seeing Ganyu was cradling Lumine to her. "Wake up! Wake up!" Ganyu cried out, purple eyes wide in horror as Lumine lay still within her arms.

"Ganyu, what happened?!" Zhongli demanded as he and Xiao ran over, the guards watching and awaiting orders. "I don't know. I woke up late and left the bedroom after a shower and saw her on the ground." Ganyu cried out, tears forming and falling. "Why won't she wake up?!" Ganyu shook Lumine slightly, worry heavy on her heart at seeing the pain on Lumine's face. Zhongli looked around, realizing she was at the corner of the hallway, it was now closing in on noon; she never woke after noon, always before.

Suddenly he was piecing things together.

He had heard a faint thump up the stairs but figured it was Lumine doing stuff, he hadn't seen her but…his eyes widened. What if she had seen them?! "Carver, grab the cameras. I need to see what happened! Check from Dottore arriving to Dottore leaving, second floor." The dark haired male nodded and hurried off to the security room, intent on grabbing a recording of what happened this morning from when Dottore arrived to when Dottore left. "Xiao, get Lumine to her bedroom. Ganyu, call a doctor." The two children nodded and Xao picked up Lumine, taking her to her room.

Minutes later, Moon Carver was showing a video recording of what happened and Zhongli cursed. Lumine had seen Dottore and, by her reaction, she had recognized him. The way she gripped her head, the staggering steps, the whimpers coming from her, then her collapse. "I need to make a call." Zhongli muttered, trying to stay calm, when Moon Carver grabbed his shoulder. "Go be with her Zhongli." The dark haired male looked at his guard. "I'll call Tartaglia, you be by her side." Zhongli nodded, grateful Carver knew who he wanted to call.

XXX

It was a few hours later that the door to Lumine's bedroom slammed open, Aether at the doorway with Tartaglia behind him. "Lumi!" Aether rushed to the bedside, Zhongli got up to allow the boy to sit down. Aether ignored the chair and instead grabbed his sister's left hand, tears forming. He was relieved to see her but…she was down, looked to be in so much pain…and Aether was sure he knew what happened. From what the person, Moon Carver, said, it seemed she had seen Dottore and had what looked like a panic attack and then she collapsed.

It was his worst fear, a trauma induced coma.

"Lumine." Aether gently brushed her cheek with his fingertips, forcing his tears back. He had always dreamed of seeing his sister again…but not like this. He had dreamed of a happier reunion, of he and his sister running to one another and embracing, of a life free from the threat of being dragged back into the human trafficking program. Zhongli was watching, amber eyes tight with concern…they were unsure when Lumine would awaken. It depended on how severe her memories were, enough to send her into shock and shut her body down.

From what Aether had spoken about, it seemed it was severe.

Aether eventually pulled the chair over and sat down, still holding Lumine's hand. "Tartaglia, I…" Aether frowned, looking at the ginger. "I know we should return to the safe house…but…" Aether looked back at his sister's unconscious body. "I want to stay." Aether laid his head on the bed, eyes trained on Lumine's face. "I want to be here when she awakens." Tartaglia looked at Zhongli, eyes questioning; Zhongli nodded. "Yeah, we can stay as long as you want buddy." The ginger said as he walked over, wrapping arms around Aether's shoulders, making the blonde sit up straight.

The door opened not too long after. "Father," Looking to the door, it was Xiao and Ganyu, "the doctors here." Zhongli nodded and said to let him in, in which the doctor who previously looked after Lumine walked in the room. "Ah, Mr. Zhongli, we meet again." Zhongli nodded and inclined his head toward Lumine. "Please, see what you can do." The doctor nodded and made his way over, opening his bag as Tartaglia tugged on Aether's shoulders. "I know you wanna stay," Tartaglia looked at the doctor, before looking toward the doorway, "but let's get you settled in." Aether reluctantly let go of Lumine's hand, before standing. "I'll show you to the guest rooms." Zhongli said, before looking at his son and daughter. "Stay here." The two nodded and then Zhongli left the room with Tartaglia and Aether.

"Due to the events, I believe that when Lumine awakens," As Zhongli firmly believed and prayed she would, "that it would be best if you introduce yourself after she awakens." The dark haired male stated and Aether sighed. "I would want to hold it off…but it's possibly for the best." Aether muttered sadly, he originally wanted the reunion AFTER everything was said and done. He couldn't stay away any longer though, especially knowing she was down. "Lumine was slowly remembering you." Zhongli said, making Aether look at him. "She was?" Zhongli nodded, smiling sadly at him. "Yes, two days ago she had a memory of you and her staying with some woman." Aether's eyes filled with sadness. "Ah yes, Ms. Li'Quing." Aether muttered, sighing softly.

"Two bad news flashes in one week." He growled and Zhongli raised a brow as they stopped outside a room. "What do you mean?" Zhongli asked, opening the door to reveal a large bedroom. It had a king-sized bed with four bedposts, red drapes covering the bed attached to the bedposts. The covers and pillows were a deep red as well. The window had black drapes and there was a red pinewood table with black cushioned chairs to the right of the room with a large sandwood bookcase. To the left of the room were two doors. One led to a walk-in closet and the other led to a large bathroom. "Ms. Li'Quing was the woman who bought us to act as her children. At least, that's what the papers said." Aether walked in the room with Tartaglia and Zhongli.

"She was actually an undercover agent, tasked with bringing down the human trafficking ring." Tartaglia and Zhongli jerked in surprise. She had been an undercover agent? But…why buy them? "She bought me and my sister in order to see exactly how severe the ring had gotten." Aether continued explaining. "Ms. Li'Quing saw me and Lumine malnourished and 'bought us' in order to see what we had gone through." Zhongli frowned. "The 'training'." Aether nodded. "She had to give us back though, she noticed Fauti agents keeping tabs on her and did all she could to find our parents. Realizing we had no one, the day before she was being called to give us back, she told me and my sister to not worry, that she would save us soon." Aether shook his head and sat down on the bed, sighing.

"It didn't take long for the underground ring to figure out she had been a cop when Ms. Li'Quing called up again six months later, asking to buy us again." Aether frowned, eyes showing pain. "Sadly, that was a mistake on her part. Me and my sister were never given to the same person twice and buyers are notified of this." Aether explained, leaning forward on his arms. "They told her they never give us, specifically us, away to the same person twice. Then they waited almost a whole year, so that she didn't know they were onto her, before they silenced her…permanently." Aether growled and Tartaglia groaned. "Archons." The ginger hissed, rubbing his temples.

The blonde nodded with a frown. "I found this all out this week, sometime around Monday. Was still processing it when you called." Aether replied, looking up at Zhongli. "I was looking into people I could hire when I came across her name, got her information and recognized it before I looked into her files, thanks to you contacting and connecting me to Ningguang." Aether supplied and Zhongli nodded, glad that Ningguang was taking necessary precautions to keep Aether safe while giving him information. "Realizing who Ms. Li'Quing was, I realized everything she was doing and looked into her only to figure out she had been dead for a few years now. She bought me and Lumine when were were sixteen, then a year later they murdered her. The whole thing was covered up by a malfunction with the oven starting a house fire while she was asleep or something." Aether shrugged.

"Accidental mishap my ass." The blonde hissed, Tartaglia smirked at how much Aether looked like he, himself. "There were too many unanswered questions about the entire investigation of Ms. Li'Quing's death. Nothing made sense and there was obvious signs of tampering with her appliances." Aether explained, leaning back on his arms now. "Yet Ningguang couldn't get the case reopened as there was obvious signs of evidence tampering as well, meaning someone on the inside messing with the evidence so the truth isn't figured out." Zhongli sighed. "Stuff of that sort prevents a case reopening since there was no other evidence." Aether nodded, before falling flat on his back on the bed.

"I am so DONE with this week." Aether growled and Tartaglia raised a brow at Zhongli, making the male sigh. "You know how to soundproof the door." Zhongli opened the door and closed it after Tartaglia grinned. Yeah, he definitely wasn't staying around for THAT! Not that Tartaglia would do anything to Aether while Zhongli was in the room anyways; the ginger was possessive of Aether. Couldn't blame him really, Zhongli was possessive of Lumine and she was Aether's twin. Their similar looks and the fact that Tartaglia and Zhongli had similar tastes…well…they were both possessive of the twins.

Walking back into the room Lumine was in, he saw Ganyu sleeping on Lumine's left side, head on the bed as she held the blonde's left hand. Xiao was sitting in a backward chair, resting his arms on the backrest with his head on his arms, watching Lumine intently. The doctor sighed as he put his stuff away, wrapping his stethoscope around his neck again. "There's not much I can do for the woman aside from hooking her up to IV's to keep her sustained until she awakens." The doctor suggested and Zhongli sighed.

Guess they'd be playing the waiting game.

"Thank you doctor." The man nodded and began ordering the needed equipment to have Lumine looked after at home. Zhongli walked over and grabbed Lumine's free hand, running his thumb across the smooth skin on the back of her hand. He watched for any reaction but there was none, making his heart ache. "Wake up soon Lumine," He brought her hand up, kissing the back of it, "we're all waiting for you." He muttered against the skin, praying her memories would not cause more suffering.

…Zhongli knew it wouldn't be granted…

Okay, so this is where Lumine starts remembering her past, or at least we'll see some of those memories in the next chapter.

So, as I said in the previous chapter or was it the one before that? The woman who bought Aether and Lumine, her name is Ms. Li'Quing and literally that name was just a random jumble of letters that seemed like they fit for a Liyue-styled name. XD She was an agent hired by Ningguang and Yelan to find out about the rumors they were hearing. Aether and Lumine were young when she was killed and when she called to buy them a second time? She was doing it for a few reasons: Get them out and into her care. Reveal them to Yelan and Ningguang so the ring could be taken down. Have them testify against Dottore and Scaramouche.
Ms. Li'Quing actually had a TON of evidence against the human trafficking ring because of what she discovered with the twins. She had a friend who was a doctor who kinda worked undercover with her and made sure the two were healthy. Ms. Li'Quing was going to, originally, play a bigger role where she lives and adopts Aether and Lumine but I thought it'd hit harder if she murdered instead. She was going to adopt them as it was once she got them out of the ring, her plan was, after the ring feel, she would officially adopt them and step down from being an agent and work some other job so she could be with them. Sadly, no all happy endings come to fruition.

Anyways, I think a trauma induced coma is a thing? I know some trauma can be so bad that a person goes unconscious but I dunno if one can lead to a coma...but in this story it does because I need reasons for Lumine to stay asleep.

Well, be prepared for heartache...and possible triggers in the next chapter!