Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

'Ifa? Ifa!'

'I know, I know!'

He scowled as he ran back to the front after heavily scolding a child and her saurian. It wasn't unique anymore; archons may know how many times he swore, cursed and scowled last week. Guess that's what war does to an already sleepdeprived vetenarian.

'Oh dear, oh dear!'

Cacucu swiftly flew up from the door as it got kicked open full-force.

'Hey-' he was polite enough to at least close the damned door before he turned around.

'Ororon?' Ifa was not expecting his friend. Not in times like these. And not with a crate of cabbages

'Oh great radish lord, what happened to you?!' He almost dropped the crate in shock as he scanned the vet from head to toe in concern, causing said vet to take a look at himself. In the first time since, what, days, weeks?

He was covered in dirt and feathers. Streaks of red across.. everywhere, actually, and to top it all off, he had messily applied bandages all over his limbs, covering a dozen new scratches that will probably scar. He was sure this was his newest low; he never thought he could look worse then that time an adult tepetlisaur ran over him.

'I, uh, doctored.' he sheepishly shrugged.

Ororon sighed. 'Listen bro, I know you want to help people, but you have to take it easy!'

'...Even in a war where it appears you're the only vet?'

'I- yes..?' The guy didn't think his argument through, did he?

'Listen, I appreciate your concern, but I can't let all those saurians die.'

'Well, if you don't rest, you can't treat saurians! You'll... you'll have shaky fingers! And, uh.. You'll..' He looked at the table to find at least a dozen cups, presumably coffee which could not be cleaned. He opened his mouth to begin his next rant, before a person opened the door behind them.

'Is doctor Ifa here?' A middle-aged man asked, holding the door open to let his injured yumkasaur in. A quick glance was thrown to Ororon to leave and he walked over to the next patient, leaving the guy behind.

'I.. will just put this here then...' he murmured basically to himself a he made some room for the cabbages on his busy friend's desk.

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Blood. Bones. Breaking.

Bennett was all too familiar with them.

But not like this.

A towering excuse of a creature was rapidly assimilating itself, skin and muscle attaching to the bloody skeletons strewn across the domain he was exploring.

As it began finalizing it's 'face' - the eyes a sickening mix of yellow and green and black and brown and a kaleidoscope of colours lost in panic - he snapped out of it and started running. A loud thud could be heard as the thing changed it's stance to run after the boy like a crazed, unnaturally ginormous wolf.

He ran out of the ruins and bolted away.

His mind raced as he sprinted, the creature hot on his tail. The heavy footsteps made it's presence loud and clear; a force to be reckoned with, one swipe of it's tail or limbs easily able to wipe an adult from the face of the earth.

Thunder bellowed as he came to a skidding halt before Starsnatch cliff, the ocean already inviting him to do it, to free himself from the terror of his existence the monster, to ju- 

The creature lowered it's head. Wait...

'Bennett?'

Fischl's face hovered above him, filled with concern.

'Bennett, my- ahem!' She corrected herself, 'One beseecht thou to arise in the shimmer of the dawning morning sun and assist us in a treacherous task!'

'-Which is picking herbs.' Oz swooped through the open window and perched on her shoulder, not even attempting to translate what she was saying. Bennett knew her mannerisms well enough.

'Oz!' she sissed through her teeth. That did not save her from a blossoming blush adorning het face.

'Meine Fraulein means: 'Rise and shine, friend of mine.' Besides, sir Razor is waiting.' The bird sighed, as Fischl patiently waited for the adventurer.

Bennett shot into his clothes and stumbled after her, trying to ignore the pooling dread in his stomach.

Chapter Text

The scorching sun above nearly blinded him as he stepped out of the clinic. He raised his arm to shield his eyes and sighed.

He just wants to help. With anything but fighting. With his friend.

He doesn't like the role he plays in the war. It's too complicated. He can spend less time gardening.

Less time with his friends.

And nobody appreciates it anyway.

But it's for the greater good, so he can't complain.

It's fine.

It's all fine.

It's just a little longer.

He didn't notice that he started pacing around the Flower-feather clan.

Did it matter?

No.

Do you matter?

Do you think he cares?

Do you still work for the weak?

Pathetic.

Shut up.

Wiping his quickly forming tears, he realized that he needed help with this problem. From a well-trained shaman, no less.

---

'Granny?' He shouted while entering the house. Nothing. She must be up to some antics, because it is far too early to drink.

At least, according Granny.

And so, he searched through her house, trying to find his saviour in need. Ororon first checked in Granny's chamber.

Well, safe to say he didn't need to look any further. Granny was in the middle of the room, papers strewn around her as she sat in the middle, presumably meditating.

He took a peek at the papers. They used a ton of fancy words of which the meaning was beyond him.

He picked up some that looked most important - not a great idea being a thief but he needs something powerful, and fast - he turned on his heels and quietly sneaked out, not wanting to disturb Granny with whatever she was doing.

---

As he ran to his home (A tree with a vast garden surrounding it), he was filled with glee. His friend is going to get some rest instead of sipping coffee all day!

Leaping into the air and landing on a pretty wide branch, he spread out the oh-so-important scrolls and sifted through them.

'To achieve a higher alcohol tolerance-' Why did she need this? Can't she easily chug double the average?

He quickly grabbed a new one.

'Crippling depression and how to appreciate life.' May be helpful, but the choice of scroll leaves Ororon questioning the shaman's mental wellness.

Another one.

'Illnesses of the mind can be cured by multiple ways, such as therapy, hypnosis, and-' Wait, didn't a scroll mention something like that?

Quickly looking through his loot, he quickly found the one he was looking for. He could not contain his smile.

Time to save a friend from 'crippling depression'!

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After walking a mindnumbingly long time, surprisingly in solemn solitude as Bennett was uncharacteristically silent, they finally arrived at the place where their friend was.

Where Bennett normally greeted him first, their only was an awkward silence, causing Oz to do the greeting.

Awkward silence. Again.

Archons, why didn't he start rambling about his adventures already?

'Katheryne said: get blue flowers.' The wolf boy tried to break the quiet.

'No purple ones. Purple ones evil.'

'Ah, okay.' Bennett finally said as he started to look for the plant.

The two wielders of electro looked at each other. Then at Bennett. Then at each other again.

'Bennett?' Fischl barely asked. 'If th-

'I'm fine.' the boy said less cheerful then normal. Less passionate. Less Bennett.

More bitter.

Fischl was suspecting that there was something with Bennett.

Something leeching at his personality, until the blazing passion was reduced to fading smoke and the embers of adventure stopped glowing.

She, as the investigator of the Adventurer's guild, must get to the bottom of this!

Chapter Text

Another gruesomely exhausting day had passed and Ifa was busy on the what, 70th, 80th patient of the day? Numbers lost meaning after insomnia settled. But there are more pressing concerns then his sleep schedule, so he kept working diligently for his patients.

Until the door was kicked open once again and guess what? Yeah, it was Ororon who stood triumphant in the door opening, probably with more antics to get him away from his patients. Seriously, didn't he see he was busy?

'Hey Ifa! Guess what I got?' the bat boy said, slamming yet another crate of veggies on the table, along with some scrolls, neatly rolled up and not-so-neatly stuffed in the corner of the crate.

Ifa finished up the saurian as Ororon yapped about something he didn't quite catch. He simply nodded along and pretended to notice.

'-Great! Then if you're done, we can start!'

Wait, wha-?

And as soon as the koholasaur walked out of the door, he got dragged away from his clinic and into the broom closet.

'My dude, I'm sorry, but what are you doing?' Ifa muttered, rather frazzled.

Ororon simply started doing... Ritual stuff? Don't ask him, he's no expert on what the Masters of the Night Wind do.

He was probably still under the presumption that he agreed to everything he said, wasn't he?

Should he play along? Perhaps this ritual would give his friend some peace. Which would give him some peace too.

So that is why he ended up being surrounded by symbols, salt, cabbages, and a dancing guy, for some reason.

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The breathtaking sight could not soothe the tension between the three of them. The usual small talk was gone, replaced only by the gentle breeze and the strumming of a lyre somewhere in the distance.

However, the quiet didn't help the misfortune they so often faced. Whopperflowers sometimes popped up and a hilichurl camp or two were there too, but they were quickly dealt with.

It appeared that even Fate was uncomfortable with the awkward silence.

It felt weird.

The cecilia's softly brushed against her legs as they made it up to Stormbearer's. 

And there it was. The flowers.

They were a very deep blue, sharply contrasting with the gathering clouds high above.

She already walked over and reached her hand out, until she heard metal clattering behind her.

She turned around.

Bennett was staring into the distance. He took a step back.

There was nothing there.

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Oh archons, save me.

Bennett stared at the same, horrible eyes that were piercing his soul, ready to tear him to pieces.

He dropped his sword in shock.

The creature is real?

He took a step back.

And another.

And another.

His friends didn't do anything, just stare like he was going insane.

He wasn't. Surely not.

Didn't they see the giant thing in front of them? Or worse, was it parasitic? Did it control them? Make him look stupid?

Like he isn't already,

He hated staring.

Another step.

It felt like the crowds.

It felt like disappointment.

Another step.

The waves beckoned, far down below.

Would the height kill him?

His friends were now worried.

The monster crept closer.

Another.

His heel slipped.

The monster lunged.

He had no choice.

He heard distant screams as he let go.

As he stopped hurting.

Chapter Text

'BENNETT!'

Fischl screamed in terror.

Nothing mattered in that moment.

She reached her hand out, knowing damn well that Bennett was already long gone, lost between the waves.

She collapsed.

She sobbed.

She cried.

She wept.

Somebody whimpered.

She smelled something.

She didn't care.

Because nothing mattered.

She heard the thud of a heavy metal object behind her, causing her head to whip around. 

She wasn't reliving things like in those cheap visual novels, was she?

Thankfully not.

Razor has dropped his claymore to pull out something out of his back.

It took her time and effort to realize he was holding out his signature hash browns for her, like wordless consolidation for the loss of their friend.

She sobbed as she took one of them out of his hand.

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'Okay, now please open your eyes.' Ororon mused while reading from yet another scroll. Or was it the same? To be honest, it was taking way longer then he expected, so things tend to blur from boredom.

He hoped Cacucu and the random person the fluffball stole from the street, could manage the patients, although he doubted that the duo could,

And he really hoped that that random person even has any medical knowledge.

Ororon, in the meanwhile, was rereading the thing. Again.

For the third time.

This was taking way too long.

'Oro-'

'Ifa, how many times do I have to tell you, you can't talk otherwise this won't work? It's going to take even longer this way.' He grumbled while readjusting the vegetables' position for the umpteenth time.

---

Ororon lost the motivation to continue after it seemed to take longer than expected. However, he can't stop as it would look like he was wasting his bro's precious time.

After adjusting the cabbages for the who cared time, he decided to just freestyle it and just do something.

As long as it saved time.

Because the way Ifa was looking at him made him shiver in fear.

After finally convincing the cabbages to not roll away, he started the long, long, long chant.

After a minute or whatever, he finally read aloud the last line, grabbing some salt he earlier laid from the floor in the intricate pattern the paper indicated, and blew it onto his friend.

The vetenarian's knees buckled immediately, causing a loud thud.

'Oh my archons, I did it.'

Oh, look at him, he did it. Bet for how hard this is going to fail?

Mm buddy, I guess an eight and I'm feeling generous today!

Nine, for sure.

I thi-

Oh, to Celestia above, can you all SHUT UP?!

My guy, calm down. What happened to respecting your elders?

He scowled and turned back to the matter at hand.

How to get his bro to stand up and rest?

He decided to look through the scroll once again to find out what to do.

'Please heed caution, as breaking the sa-' He flipped the page around.

'The subject may get increasingly ag-' he continued to scan for the information.

'The subject may have sudden moo-' Oh archons, where is that thing?!

'Please state your orders in a clear manner. Then, snap your fingers.

Finally, he could save his friend from depression.

Chapter Text

'Alright bro,' he spoke to the collapsed form of his friend, 'I, uh, command you to rest?'

He did not respond.

Of course it failed, told you!

Gah- can't you see it's an experiment? Of course it could fail!

He sighed as he lifted the surprisingly light body of his friend, walked out of the janitor closet and put it on a clinical table, so he wouldn't look like he just murdered his best friend.

'Alright... So the scrolls mention that I have to snap my fingers..' he mumbled to nobody in particular.

'Alright. So, uh... Can you please take care of yourself better? And... do something fun, perhaps?'

He snapped his fingers.

The limp body was still, well, still, but he knew the vet heard him. He just had to. Surely.

He just noticed that the sun was setting.

..Wait.

Archons, he had to be at that extremely important meeting! And he couldn't get late...

He hoped nothing would disturb Ifa until he woke up.

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He recalled... Drowning.

An endless blue expanse, the dark enveloping his vision, as he reached out to the light in the distance, to escape this hell-

Something lifting him up.

Yelling in a foreign language.

Ocean.

Fish.

It was... An odd experience, to say the least.

The face of a woman. Red eyes, mischievous smile, kind of reminiscent of Klee.

More darkness.

Finally, after hours or days or even weeks, he felt solid ground under his feet. 

Moonlight shone down upon him as he pried his eyelids open.

The same woman, long drapery and all, was sailing away in a boat. Nothing like you'd expect a lady from her stature, the boat was rather sinple, but she was getting away way faster then normal. 

Noting the rather cold stone floor below him as the mysterious person sailed away, he took it upon himself to push himself up in a sitting position.

He looked around the area. It was... lively, to say the least. People ran to and from while weird creatures fought alongside them against... Hilichurls and abyssal versions of themselves?

It was weird and moved too fast, but he can never have comfort in his life anyways.

---------------------------------------------------

She opened her eyes. Did she fall asleep? 

Probably, judging by the fact she laid upon moss, grass, and flowers.

Flowers...

She remembered. 

She directly sat straight, like waking from a nightmare.

The nightmare of reality.

Razor was probably out hunting, or asking Lisa for help, giving her enough space as needed... And Bennett...

She shook her head,

Why? Why did he do it? As investigator of the Adventurer's guild, she has to find out.

She just... Needs to.

She felt a tear staining her cheek.

Chapter Text

The clanking of metal, wood, claws and whatnot weaved together into a symphony.

The symphony of war.

Bennett, who, frankly, did not ask for this, was thrown into yet another life or death situation he didn't ask for.

Yet this time, his friends weren't there to cover him.

It made him stand on edge.

Is it worth it to fight for people you don't know?

Yes. Yes it is.

He was an adventurer after all, so he stumbled towards the music of death and destruction.

Shouting. Screaming. Bleeding. Biting. Fighting.

It's like he found himself in the opposite situation he was in less than a minute ago.

He was crudely ripped out of his thoughts by the claw of a... Fish dragon thing? But purple?, barely parrying it with his sword.

The thing quickly withdrew and lunged, giving the allogene the opportunity to slit it's stomach with a fire-imbued sword.

Spilling guts, no matter how burnt or abyssal, came with the job.

Turning around, he spotted an onslaught of the same creatures creeping towards a small group of people.

Guess his work is cut out for him, he thought as he sprinted through puddles, shattering his reflections with them.

Lunging into the air, he created his signature inspiration field, sending the things flying and landing in between the creatures and the cornered group.

'Listen!'

Heads whipped towards him, both human and fish dragon.

'I don't know who you all are, nor where I am, but to fight these... things, I need you all to help!'

A beat.

'So, uhh... Let us show 'em who's boss!'

There was a momentary pause before battle cries were heard from behind, as he turned back towards the horde of creatures starting to get back on his feet.

His vision glowed brighter then he ever remembered.

And for the first time this day, he felt the will of adventure again.

------------------------------------------------------------

It has been weeks since his little escapade with Ifa, and thing had seemed to wind down a bit.

It.. wasn't really what he hoped, he didn't stop the onslaught of patients just to have a picnic, but he realized that yes, maybe he was (partially) right. 

But he smiled more often, and that put a smile on his face.

Alas, if all things were that easily resolved... The life as one of the six heroes wasn't really the best. Once you were done with fighting, you had to attend really long and boring meetings you wouldn't add anything to anyways. And then you'd only get like, what, two to three hours of sleep?

Safe to say, it was far from Ororon's best time.

Today was a day like that. Another boring meeting.

---

'Listen, listen, after that devastating attack on the people of the springs where the only reason the tribe is still standing is this random guy who gives an inspiring speech, you're also telling me we have to deal with a possible saurian trafficker? Archons, what have we found ourselves in?' Xilonen sighed.

'I mean, that is far from the weirdest thing that has happened.' Iansan interjected.

'...Fair.'

'Anyways,' Chasca interjected, trying to get them back on the rails again, 'about the trafficker. It's... probably a group, seeing their kidnappings are all around Natlan.' she scratched the back of her neck.

'That.. that's all we frankly have at this moment.'

--------------------------------------------------------

After what seems like an eternity of waiting, the wolf boy finally returned. The smell of hash browns clung to him like Fischl to herself.

She was sitting on the moss, knees tucked tightly as she tried to shield herself from the cruel world.

'... Friend?' He barely whispered, 'I.. I have food?'

'My most illustrious friend, one is afraid that a gift so sublime cannot be accepted at present.'

Razor, not knowing what those words meant, still put the hashbrowns next to her.

She simply curled up even tighter, refusing to accept the fried whatever was inside. Instead, she wanted to cry.

But she had felt sad enough already. Crying doesn't help.

She slightly eased as she looked towards the claymore wielder.

'What would Bennett do..?' she muttered, not caring for her imago. It didn't matter at this point.

Razor sat down beside her.

'..Honor him. Teacher once said 'legacy'. Benny likes adventure. Biggest adventure?' he put serious thought into this, didn't he?

He still cared.

It made her want to diecry.

'My... friend, thou art granting advice so profound, I'm... basically speechless... But pray tell, where shall this grandiose endeavor lead us?' she said with the feeling of hollow grandeur, able to break under the slightest amount of pressure.

But a second was needed to decide. They both had the same thought.

The pinnacle that adventurers attempted to reach.

The sea of ashes.

The windless land.

The Mare Jivari.

Chapter Text

'H.y! W. ..ed t. h..p ..e ..y!'

What was happening?

Rushed footsteps, arms lifting him up towards archons know where, cheering..?

Did he fail again?

He could already see it before him: falling off a cliff, saved by a fancy woman, fights and then nothing changed. Except for that he is alone.

All thanks to his luck, if you could even call it that.

And now a woman is doing who knows what, maybe flaying him alive. He was too numb to know.

Who cares anyway.

The woman was hyperfixated on his arm. He did want to take a look, but his past experiences taught him that that is as painful as being hit by a certain big anemo dragon.

Yet finally, after who knows how long, she started talking to the man next to her. The adventurer could make out that they both were wearing a labcoat with a bunch of feathers.

The man also had a hat, if that's important. Probably not, though.

Anyways, the woman appearantly said something very impactful, making the guy with the hat very... worried? Something like that. He had a different expression then some moments ago, so he assumed he was.

He tried to listen, but everything blended into white noise. 

Exhausted, he closed his eyes again.

---------------------------------------------------------

Silence befell upon the speaker's chamber.

Even the Peacemaker, one of the Heroes of Natlan, couldn't find anything? Well, then it must be a hoax... right?

'Anyways...' Mavuika would attempt to start the conversation anew, 'The Eye in the sky. Kinich, according to reports, will return soon. Furthermore, our plan will soon-'

Ororon blocked the rest of the conversation out, instead choosing to stare at the flame flickering in the middle of the chamber. He imagined who the trafficker could be, if he or they existed, of course.

His first guess was that harbringer, Il Dottore, if he was correct. Seeing his track record, this would probably be the tamest thing that he ever did.

Second... Yeah, not really anybody. Everybody was rather nice, actually. But maybe that was a hoax.

'-Alright, thank you all for coming. And I promise you, the war will be over soon.' Mavuika concluded the meeting, and thus the bat boy's thoughtful thinking.

Chapter Text

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the girl.

The second, more people behind her.

The third, everyone was on edge. Tension so high that you could cut it and all that yadieyada.

'Good morning!' The girl happily chirped. She was wearing a swimsuit? How odd, especially in this situation. Perhaps they were caught off-guard, that's why they didn't wear combat clothing.

'Slept well?'

'Could... could've been better.'

'Well sorry for the rough introduction, but I'm Mualani and we-' she pointed at the crowd behind her '-Are the People of the Springs.'

He looked past her into the crowd. They wore similar clothing as Mualani, so they most likely were ambushed.

People among the group were either hurriedly scanning the area, others had their weapons ready and some were disheveled, including loosely tied bandages and fresh wounds. 

'Soo.. anyways, the Abyss, as you may have noticed, has... well, declared war and did pretty well. So we have to evacuate to the Stadium right this instant! We had to wait for you before we could move out, though.'

Uneasy stares turned dark.

Bennett fidgeted with his hands, realizing he had bandages all over his arms.

'So! Not a moment to spare!' the girl continued, hands trembling from what Bennett presumed was excitement.

'Auntie Atea! Tell the people they can move towards the Stadium!' She shouted to a woman with a pyro vision before picking the adventurer up and leading the charge on a land-surfing surfboard modeled after a shark, however that may work.

He could hear the familiar yelling behind him as the purple creatures appeared again, not being held by the warriors.

Instead, they were surfing on their weapons in basically the exact same way as Mualani.

The People were picking up speed as the fish dragon things tried to catch up. Thank Barbatos (or was the pyro archon more appropriate?) they couldn't go very fast on land as in water, as expected from.. basically fishes.

People cheered as they zoomed over paths, unanimously speeding towards the destination that promised relief from the deathly dance of destruction behind them;

The Stadium of the Sacred Flame.

------------------------------------------------------------------

As Ororon walked out of the speaker's chamber, he realized that there were a lot more people than he thought. Bloodied and beaten, most worn down. He could hear crying, both human and saurian.

He saw a glimpse of Mavuika trying to calm down the chaos, which unsurprisingly worked, because everything worked with Mavuika.

He leaped high into the air, dodging any would-be boring questions or suffocating crowds and instead took a stroll over the unguarded roof of the Stadium.

The view was beautiful, the starry sky shining down on the wartorn earth below, almost mockingly. For they had no war to worry about.

Anyways, he plopped down against a pile of bricks he supposed was a tower once as he stared into the distance.

The cliffs were unmoving as always, graffiti providing a splash of color even in this dark, dark night. The volcano towering above him and the dark ocean. The building of the Springs.

Suddenly, there it was in the distance.

The survivors.

The warriors.

The People of the Springs.

Chapter Text

She was just comforting a distraught child when a scream pierced her ears.

'Mavuika! MAVUIKA!'

The archon turned around, facing Ororon, which was looking just as distraught, if not more, then the little girl she was just talking to.

'Ororon? What is it?'

The boy came to a skidding halt as he was gasping for air.

'T-the People of the Springs! They- they're coming! And.. and the Abyss! It's-'

She didn't hear anything else.

They just were just told that they won.

Maybe the Scions didn't do their job well. 

Involuntary, her eye twitched for a moment, before regaining composure.

'-Oh Archon, what do we do?!' the bat muttered distraught.

'Alright then, I'll take a look. Take care of the people here, please.'

He nodded before Mavuika summoned her Flamestrider and rode out, into the creeping darkness, banishing the error that were shadows.

The corners of her mouth curved upwards, before losing restraint and twisting into a manic expression of anger.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Mualani grunted as the sky turned pitch black, streaks of purple and cyan adorning the would-be bloodbath. 

The weaponriders were fine. However, the koholasaurs could fall any second, as it was no easy task, especially for long distances like these. And she, as Umoja, had to save t-

She narrowly avoided debris crumbled down as an entire cliff was torn apart by manic creatures.

She weaved left and right, dodging rubble and motivating them to push, to continue, to escape the terrifying fate that was on their tail (sometimes literally), to reach the place that would save them all.

And she had to balance the boy on her shoulder, who was twice the weight she expected him to be.

And she had to smile.

Plants waved in terror as the first people zoomed over the bridge, into the warm embrace of safety.

At the same time, bloodcurdling screams could be heard from all the way in the back, signalling the first victims.

Shit, shit, SHIT!

She handed over the boy to the nearest person and charged towards the end of the line, evading the seemingly neverending crowd.

Finally, she threw herself into the chaos.

People were desperately fighting off the stream of monsters as corpses were already hitting the floor and blood seemed to come from everywhere.

She coordinated with the warriors around her to create an offensive, where she'd take out the big game, and the others wiping the small ones.

People were getting into safety as they were fighting off the giant creatures.The experienced fighter created an basically impregnable defense that shed guts left and right.

Finally, after what appeared to be just a minute, the last people zoomed over the bridge.

She smiled. Genuinely.

Her people were safe. It couldn't be much longer.

A bead of sweat fell down her face.

She could make it.

A final charge to win time. Easy as relaxing.

She jumped into the fray, and-

Something grabbed her.

Something stabbed her.

Something left her.

That same gorgious substance that surrounded her.

Everything seemed to at jump her.

She commanded her shark to bite, she threw stuff, she kicked and trashed, Archons, she bit herself, yet the onslaught of attack did exactly the same thing.

Splatters of the red substance was present the entity struggle, be it from herself or the monsters around her.

Her hands trembled as they were hanging on by tendons, ligaments torn. They were on the verge of falling off.

She could faintly hear something loud, as black spots started clouding her vision. She'd swear that her insides were getting ripped out, judging by the sickening snap and the empty feel in her abdomen.

Viscera splattered everywhere. Muscle torn from breaking bones.

Her vision, both ornament and sight, turned dark.

This was it. The end of the line.

Just in time to witness what was about to happen.

Chapter Text

The pyro Archon flew above the bridge that provided a safe haven to the desperate tribe below. 

The area was stained in viscera, blood, and disgusting Abyss, dissolved into meaningless blobs of uselessness.

It was chaos. People fled all at once, people were fighting all kinds of filth, and people were dying.

Did Umoja really think that she had the situation under control?

The insane grin slowly turned into a scowl.

This is not how she taught her heroes.

She could've done better.

She instantly plunged down in a purple carcass of decomposing goo, incinerating the very ground below in what some people may call overkill.

They were wrong.

It had to be exterminated.

It had no place in her utopia.

She just noticed the boy cowering behind her. He looked absolutely the most disheveled of all, yet he was still standing there.

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Bennett's head was still foggy from whatever just happened and he was thrown into yet another fight.

He could hear the agitated growls behind him as they reached the rickety bridge leading them to safety.

He was handed over to a random person who didn't even look around, causing him to fall down.

Nobody helped him up, but they had better reasons then back in Mondstadt. So he shouldn't- no, couldn't complain.

Something struck him from the right. He narrowly dodged it, scrambling back on his feet, just in time to be jumped by a squadron of hilichurls.

What a way to go.

... Or not.

Like the gods didn't want him to die, a wall of flames was thrown up as a woman on a... Something? on two wheels descended from the heavens to exterminate his assaultants.

A quick glance from the woman and suddenly she stood before him, like she didn't just kill those things with the most flair ever. And then basically teleported.

'You doing alright? It's rather dangerous out here, do you need help?' she inquired with the most disarming tone that could make Klee jealous.

'I-I'm fine..'

'You don't seem like it.'

'I-' he wanted to reach out, but he noticed the bandages so quickly shut up. Best not to get on the bad side of the person who can murder you in cold blood.

'Get to safety, you don't need to handle things alone.' the lady said resolute, like a born leader.

He could only gape as she drove away, a loud revving sound left in her wake. 

He ran after her. 

Needed or not, she saved his life and required direct repayment!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

An orange glow lighted her face.

It was like somebody have her a blanket to sleep under. And that blanket prevented her from sleeping forever.

Her wounds started to cauterize. It helped. A lot.

She pried her eyes open to see a boy standing above her, standing tall.

A koholasaur head rolled over to her, spinal chord limply hanging out, before disintegrating in purple dust.

The boy wanted to start attacking, judging by his sword, but was intercepted by Mavuika, who set the skies ablaze. Crimson paired with the orange to create a hellish tint to the slaughter before her.

A descent of flames was cast down to the emotionless Abyss down below, followed up by a barrage of projectiles piercing and burning the unlucky few that did survive.

The Archon skidded behind her in a half circle as the skies became normal once again.

The white-haired boy, whom she just realized was the same guy she handed to someone else, was equally surprised as her. For good reason.

Behind her she heard the clicking of heels and the woosh of desummoning her motorcycle.

'Mualani.'

Shit.

'Please, come with me. I'd like to have a nice chit-chat with you, after all that has happened today.'

She said, in the most faux tone of comfort.

Oh Celestia, save me.

For my Archon will not.

She could only lay defeated as her deity picked her up (which wasn't the most pleasant, considering what just went down), threw her over her shoulder more aggressively then normal, offering Bennett a cheerful laugh and riding away.

Mavuika summoned her helmet.

Mualani knew her well enough that she was pissed.

Chapter Text

They zoomed over the wooden bridge towards the Stadium.

Once arrived, Mavuika desummoned her helmet and motorcycle.

Bennett smiled and took his leave after Mavuika told him something about 'strategic talks' (how in Celestia was he so fast?). The motorcyclist smiled warmly to her people.

Mualani followed suit, to minimize punishment.

The dreadful walk was short. The Speaker's Chamber wasn't far from the entrance, and people who asked questions were rare. The ones who did were kindly redirected by their oh so beloved Archon. The only thing what slowed them down was her limping, and in irritating response, Mavuika completely ignored, even supporting her.

Now, de couldn't simply say no to this due to various obvious reasons, so she swallowed her nonexistent pride and moved forward.

The doors creaked open as Mavuika held the door open for the surfster.

She stepped in.

The door was shut.

The flame in the centre was diminished to embers, leaving the room shrouded in darkness.

Mualani gulped.

The façade dropped.

She tried to adapt a defensive stance, but was instantly interrupted by a gloved hand gripping her face, smashing it down to the floor.

The blazing hair only lit the sides of Mavuika's face, shrouding the rest in darkness. Her eyes were like active volcanoes, ready to explode at any moment.

'Do you not know?' the shark girl's face was squeezed even more.

Blood trickled down her forehead.

'How much I have sacrificed?'

The poor girl was thrown into a wall.

'EVERYTHING!' 

The Archons crept closer. A cold expression was plastered on her face, poorly hiding the fuming beast within.

'My family, my life, my sister, gone. And what happens when I've put everything on the line?'

She leveled with Mualani, crouching down to the girl hanging on way better than expected.

Yet that didn't stop blood dripping down, towards the dirt trapped by tiles.

Soil prevented from a normal life.

Would it ever see the light of day? How long hasn't it?

Of happiness? It's inanimate, it's not deserving

Of love? -I...

She'd sworn she was going insane.

'Dissapointment. Filth. Nothing but imperfections!'

The surfster could only wince in pain as she was dragged to the middle of the room.

She felt like dirt, in all the ways you could put it.

'I've found you, when you were at your lowest point.'

I've awakened you, to what you are destined to be.'

I've trained you, so you can be one of the Heroes of Natlan.'

And yet, you fail. If you require external forces to do the job for you, do you deserve anything?'

The grip on her throat got tighter. The pyro Archon reached out a hand to the flame.

'I handled this war extremely well. I awakened the Heroes. I saved this entire nation. I've saved countless lives.

And I am going to make it perfect. All on my own.'

The already charred wood was set ablaze as Mualani was lifted afront of the sweltering heat behind her.

Her deity smiled maniacally.

'Now. The blemish on excellence will soon be purged!'

She was thrown into the fire as the pure consumed her whole, in unbearable agony.

For once, she condemned the Ode of Resurrection, as incandescent flames burned her broken and battered body, just to come back perfectly to die again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Bennett was left in the dust once again.

This time, in a completely unknown environment.

People were everywhere, some wounded, some crying, some laughing, the entire spectrum of Emotions was present, basically.

With nothing to truly do, he walked up the nearest stairs (in the meanwhile marveling at the exotic plants displayed) and arrived in the what appeared to be a forge.

However, the only thing what appeared right now was a man. 

(Lab)coat, feathers, hat. Same guy as in the Springs. Now with a bird. A very, very rotund one at that. With an eye patch. And backpack.

Seriously, that bird looked very strange.

Anyways, he quickly apologized to the man, who silently picked his stuff up again (pointy stuff with vials, tubes, and a lot more he couldn't identify. Maybe he should ask Albedo sometime).

The hat guy walked away, as the bird loudly squawked in his ear.

'Bro! Bro! No way, bro!'

Should he still be surprised when animals talk here too?

The presumed doctor was rather annoyed by the small delay. Yet, his face was still deadpanned.

'Cacucu, we don't have time for this.'

'I dunno what you're saying, b-'

'Cacucu' was tugged away by the loose belt(?) on his backpack. Kinda reminiscent of a balloon.

And Bennett was alone once again.

Chapter Text

After the short meeting with the bird best described as an orb, he genuinely did not know what to do.

The forge was interesting, don't get him wrong, but he frankly did not know what was happening. Phlogiston? Secret source somethings? Dragons? He directly got a mental image of Dvalin making up things like Mavuika's overcomplicated cart.

Very confusing, so he decided to take his leave.

Passing past a waypoint and walking through the giant open doors, he entered a indoor market were it was extremely busy. Refugees from all over the land of pyro were huddled up on the floor.

To his left was a restaurant of some kind, to his right... Katheryne?

Wasn't she in Mondstadt...earlier today?

He was surprised by how much happened in a singular day and how in Celestia somebody could travel that fast. Nonetheless, he didn't question it and walked further.

A few shops, graffiti artist, and 'Saurians' later, stairs led him down to a tavern. One quick glance showed him that it was packed. Including the floor.

He sighed, but he was used to it. 

So he walked back to Katheryne to ask her where to calm down.

The problem?

The woman was in a heated (not really, they were actually rather civil, but to someone who isn't listening, it would) discussion with a guy he could only describe as 'green'.

He had a similair pet to the presumed doctor, however, it was cubic instead of circular. And it was eating popcorn.

He noted that he should later ask after this trend with geometric pets and walked up to the discussion.

---

'For the last time, sir, we cannot accommodate your request.'

The guy sighed. 'Is there any possibility to put up a commission, in that case?'

'We are running low on staff and adventurers, as war is in full swing and we require everyone we need. You, of all people, should know that.'  the receptionist responded with her usual emotionless state.

'I at least expected someone to be available...' the guy turned around and barely avoided being the second Natlanese guy that bumped into Bennett that day, prompting even more apologies.

The cubic thing made a sound, namely snickering. Extremely annoyingly so.

He should really ask about the pets around here.

Once he was done offering his help, of course.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Mavuika strutted through the door. Her heels clicked in contact with the floor.

It was a bummer what just happened. Too bad that the show must go on.

Changing her expression from manic to gentle was easy, she had done it a billion times at this point.

She straightened her posture and softly closed the door. It was soundproof, but Mualani wouldn't scream. The minor inconvenience knew that would only make things worse.

She stood tall while she smiled to children just like she had done before. She waved too, occasionally. 

She didn't let them slow her too much, though, as finding the guy that made her one shot that Abyssal garbage was way more important than anything.

Chapter Text

It was perfect!

He would help this person, gain some Mora, and get a name for himself! What if this guy was pretty famous..? That would be awesome!

He quickly broke free from the adventuring daydream and focus.

'I could help you, uhh...'

'It's-'

'-THE GREAT ALMIGHTY DRAGONLORD, KU'HUL AJAW!!! Alright, now you may introduce yourself, lowly servant!' The cubic dragon yelled. Aggressively, at that.

'And Kinich.' Kinich said.

'Alright... Anyways, I'm Bennett, nice to meet you!' He stuck his hand out for a handshake, but he was left hanging.

Kinich looked at him with the same tired eyes as the entire conversation and Ku'hul looked at him like he had grown, what, eye patches? That's bizarre right?

'I just heard you talk to Katheryne. I can help with whatever you want to do!' he grinned as he did his signature thumbs up pose.

'Alright. Let's go to a more private place, shall we? The green guy said, serious as always.

---

After having his ears screamed off by the cubic thing named 'Ajaw' due to 'LETTING KINICH LIVE!' or something like that, he was taken to a large room, a ginormous fire in the middle of the room, with seven seats surrounding it.

Another thing of note was the amount of wood that fueled the fire. The pile was almost as tall as Bennett. Was that a tradition, or..?

'So, as you might've heard, there is a serial killer on the loose.' Kinich broke the silence.

'Okay.'

Kinich stared at him. It made him uncomfortable.

'You're not well informed.'

Did he say something wrong?

'I, uh... Did I say something wrong?' he nervously asked.

'No, no. This just proves I can trust you.' he pointed at him with a giant claymore(?) he conjured from thin air. He was loosely holding it with one hand, so he was most likely very strong, unlike his anatomy made him out to be. A small smile crept upon the green guys face.

'Alright. Now here's the real deal...'

--------------------------------------------------

The Archon was about to start strolling through the Stadium when she was suddenly stopped by a brown, gloved hand, donning the same amount of scars as always.

'Ifa, good evening! How are you?' She offered him the biggest smile she could make, because unlike a certain somebody he did his job. Near perfectly, at that.

'I'm well, madame.' he adjusted the box he was holding due to it's size. 'There were no deaths at the Springs, as far as I could see.'

'Straight to the point as always, very well. Thanks for telling me.'

'Oh please, it's nothing. By the way, can I do something for you?'

Her smile dropped for a moment. She had expected  him to say 'bro' at the end. That's unnatural. Yet, she regained her posture, because he basically read her mind with what she needed.

'Yes, actually, you can. See, when I was protecting my people, there was this boy I don't know, so probably a foreigner. White hair, torn clothing, very disheveled. He had a pyro vision too, but I don't remember giving it to him.'

Ifa nodded. He was such a good listener.

'So, when Mualani was in a dire situation where I had to save her, this boy showed up. He made this.. field? Which allowed me to instantly banish the Abyss.'

'And you want to find him to wipe out the Abyss once and for all?'

'Precisely.'

Mavuika was pleasantly surprised that he knew her exact needs. If only there were more people like Ifa. Efficient and hardworking, unlike some people.

'Then, allow me to aid you in your noble quest.'

Chapter Text

'A group of traffickers? But that's horrible!'

'Exactly. And I have the mission to weed them out, with anything I need at my fingertips.'

'Alright..' He would probably add that amount of freedom to his growing pile of questions. 'So anyways, where do I come in?'

'I- my, uhm... friend, required me to stop soloing my missions. For safety reasons.' Kinich calmly said.

'His girlfriend doesn't want him to die so she forced him to stop soloing his missions. Also, she thinks that maybe she can join along on some.' Ajaw said at the exact same time, thinking he was clever stating the obvious.

'...Alright.' He ignored the very faint blush on Kinich's deadpanned face. 'But that didn't answer my question. Where do I come in and what do I do?'

The green guy sighed. 'We know the location of their base. We don't know if it's their main base or a random one, but we'll have to make do.'

'There's going to be an auction there soon, this evening in fact. They're going to sell kidnapped Saurians. You, because you are appearantly foreign and don't know crimes like that are extremely rare due to our extremely efficient Archon, are going to infiltrate there.'

This was... Way more complicated than normal. 'Do I have to buy something, or..?'

'Yes. Try to gain as many as possible so we can return them to their actual owners.'

'..Alright.' How many more times was he gonna say 'alright'?

'In the meanwhile that you save them, I will go and look into their base. You don't require details on that. Any more questions?' Kinich finished his yapping session.

'Yes, multiple actually. First, what's up with all these geometric pet-'

'THE ALMIGHTY DRAGONLORD KU'HUL AJAW IS NOT THE PET OF A MERE MORTAL! HOW DARE YOU!' the geometric pet in question screeched right into his ear.

'Sorry, sorry.. geometric companions. First it was that round bird from the doctor, I think? And the we have the...'

'Grandiose and resplendent Dragonlord, Ku'hul Ajaw? Exactly.' The egotistical thing huffed.

'Dunno. Our pets can be weird sometimes.'

'Second, why can you have everything you need, that fast?' It's more then I've ever gotten in the land of freedom.

'Our benevolent Archon wanted less trouble quickly, due to the raging war. That's also why she sent me in particular, although I do need to find her for a report on a recent mission of mine...'

'Third, is it tradition to throw this much wood on a fire?' he pointed at the charred pile. He noticed it was bigger then Kinich too.

'...No.'

'...Ah. Do you think it's..?'

The silence of both the guy and the Dragonlord said more then enough.

'Shall we just...' He was ready to step towards the door, when surprise surprise, he bumped into a Natlanese guy. Same guy, too.

'Ah, there you are. Could you please come with me? The pyro Archon wants to see you.'

'..Alright, may I ask why..?'

'She didn't tell me.' Most likely a lie, yet he was a master at masking, rivalling Kinich's equally deadpanned look.

'.. Alright..' He looked at Kinich for some emotion he'd expect from your average Mondstadt who needed one guy more on their team, yet he was staring at the hatted guy. And, you wouldn't believe it, his expression was the same as always. 

At least it wasn't negative.

Hopefully.

'Now, if you'd excuse us, then we'll go to the Archon.'

'I'm afraid I'll have to tag along, for reasons you know already.'

A quick scowling competition between both owner and pet later and they were off.

---

She was found in the middle of a crowd, being cheered on from everywhere while she comforted the victims of the slaughter.

'Ah, there you all are.' She quickly patted the child on her head before turning towards them. 'I don't think we introduced ourselves properly. I am Mavuika, Pyro Archon and ruler of Natlan.'

'Bennett, leader of Benny's adventure team. A pleasure to meet you!' He smiled widely. If he was going meet a deity, them he was going to leave an impact!

'Welcome, Bennett. Excuse the rough introduction, but I need your help with something.'

Again?! Why does everyone need specifically his help?

'You were the one who created that blazing circular area, right?'

'..Yes?'

'Very well. Tell me, are you perhaps interested in waging a war alongside me?'

At least they were direct.

Chapter Text

The Archon looked at him like she just asked the plainest of questions.

The adventurer looked at her like she was Celestia personified.

Why did anybody, let alone the pyro Archon, want him, the unluckiest person ever, on their team?

'You... you want me on your team..?'

'Of course. Why wouldn't I when you can help me beat our common enemy?

Well, first he had bad luck. (It hasn't shown itself at all since he arrived here.)

There were better candidates who could do his job way better. (They were all fighting. Gone.)

And he made mistakes. They weren't small. (Yet does that render every moment researching anything that could occur useless? Everything he learned on his adventures? Everything he learned alone? It was only recently that he met Razor and Fischl, did they intend to throw him away too? What if Mavuika would do the same..?)

He realized that Mavuika was still waiting on an answer.

'I-Uhhm.. Aren't I-?' Finding the correct words seemed impossible in this never before seen situation.        The Archon was patiently waiting in the meanwhile.

'Please. It's an honor to fight alongside me.' She kindly said, as if she wasn't being a stranger being kind to the unlucky boy.

He took a step back. The fact that there was an infinity of eyes staring him down instead of three pairs did not help. He could swear that that unholy creature's eyes were in there, too.

Another.

Were his eyes always prickly?

And another.

Yet this time, there was no fall that could save him from humiliation.

So he ran. As fast as his legs allowed him to.

He immediately regretted his decision, because who in their right mind said no to a god? The one who gave him his vision, specifically. 

But he couldn't run back now too. That would make him look even worse then the idiot he already made himself out to be.

He looked back. 

The Archon seemingly had no intent of following him. She just stood there, back straight.

He quickly averted his gaze and bolted away, the beat of his heart and feet being the only sounds that accompanied his idiocy over a wooden bridge. 

It was almost morning; the sky started to turn pink in a direction he did not bother to figure out.

After what seemed to be an eternity of running, his boots touched the paved road leading him away from his stupidity. Or back. Things are really unclear when you're having a mental breakdown when people are somewhat nice to you. Nonetheless, he did not slow down.

The path lead him towards a wooden structure of some kind; then ravaged, presumably by some rogue hilichurls who have left since then.

He walked past it.

Or, well, attempted to, if it wasn't for the dendro tendril(??) that wrapped around his waist and pulling him away.

'My, my, you were pathetic already, but this? No wonder you ran away.' That same irritable voice rang out.

'Do excuse us,' Kinich punted the cubic dragon thing into the stratosphere, 'he may be like that sometimes.'

Uncomfortable silence.

He already fumbled his reputation. Why don't we rub more salt in the gaping wound?

'Do.. do you mind if- if I still join..?'

'No, I do not. Do you need some paper, though?'

Bennett almost wanted to say no, but decided the undercover plan would work better if his cheeks weren't as red as a tomato.

----------------------------------------------------------

The Archon stood there. Flabbergasted.

She didn't want to take 'no' for an answer. She truly didn't. Yet chasing him down, or reprimanding him for having an opinion was only going to make her look worse.

So she swallowed her pride and continued smiling towards the gossiping crowd. No, they weren't unsatisfied. She had given them everything. Food, protection, even her soul. She didn't ask anything back.

Yet they were still talking behind her back.

'The Archon made a child cry?'

'She must've done something terrible.'

'Does he know something we don't?'

She could already see the news spreading, about how their deity is wrong. Imperfect. Disgusting.

No. She couldn't let that happen.

'Ifa?' she called upon her right hand man.

'Yes, Madame?'

'Give me that child,' she murmured while vaguely waving her hand to Bennett's direction, 'You know what to do.'

A grin as maniacal as Mavuika's slowly crept onto his face.

'Of course. I assure you; you will not be disappointed.'

Chapter Text

They zipped past destroyed structures, abandoned carts and patches of Abyss. No carcasses or bodies in sight. Surprising for a war of this scale.

The dendro user constantly flicked out those green chains (he didn't have a better description) which attached themselves to the air, using them as leverage to stay airborne. 

Another thing to add to the list of questions.

They swung over the ruins of a beautiful town adorned with purple paint and golden ornaments, yet they didn't stop to gawk. They were still speeding through the air by their unconventional way of transportation.

---

They landed after a short while. Bennett quickly regained his footing, impressing Kinich in the process. At least, according to his small nod.

The area ahead was clear from any Abyss, surprisingly. A bridge connected the mainland with... a floating city?

Bennett gawked at the sight, but realized that the Natlanese was already walking away, so he passed the Statue and scrambled behind him.

It wasn't as silent as he expected. There were people. Scummy looking ones, mostly, probably Snezhnayan or Nod-Krai, yet many were masked or covering their faces by other methods. The masks were all blank and covered their entire face.

He looked at Kinich to ask if they needed a mask too, but he took Bennett's wrist and pulled him into an empty house after a swift inspection, door already broken down by someone. A few rooms, thank Celestia they all provided privacy.

It appeared that the guy had already swiped two whole clothing sets, handing one set over to the adventurer and putting the other one on himself. 

When they stepped into the hallway, they looked completely different, as expected from an outfit change.

Kinich looked good. Sleeveless suit and a tie. In combination with the mask, he could very well fill the role of 'hot love interest' out of those Inazuman visual novels.

Bennett, in the meanwhile, had a hoodie, long sleeves that covered up his scars, and a cylindrical thingamajig hanging from his waist. The mask made it even more ridiculous. But it's probably the best he'll get, so he had to live with it.

He stared at Kinich, not sure what to do.

Kinich stared back, deadpanned even through the mask.

Awkward silence.

Kinich broke the quiet.

'We should probably make a plan.' 

'Oh. That's- that's probably a good idea.'

'So. I need to lay low as people might recognize me. Of course, we have masks, but they'll know my voice. So you have to the talking, alright?' he rambled, straight to the point.

'Umm.. okay?'

'Great. Here's the deal. I'm your bodyguard and you are here because your father couldn't attend. Or something. We'll make stuff up on the fly.'

'Okay..?'

'Very well then.'

He spoke with a subtle Fontainian accent.

They walked outside as dawn was painting the crowd below into a vast array of colors of violet and magenta.

Chapter Text

Wood creaked as the duo walked over the floating bridges, passing odd houses and admiring the giant structure in the distance. The sun rose in the distance, painting gorgeous skies yellow and red.

Bennett just followed Kinich because he didn't know where to go.

Kinich in question was following people that were heading to a giant obsidian pillar in the middle of the tribe, a somewhat large crowd gathering around it.

As they came closer, they discovered that they were gathered around three people. Fatuus, to be exact. Cicin mage, hydrogunner and a guy with a cowboy hat and mustache.

Behind them, there were giant pink birds, beaks bound by makeshift reins. They had lots of bald spots too. It didn't comfort the adventurer in the slightest.

Nothing did anyways.

Meanwhile, the two fatui shushed the crowd to let the mustache man speak.

'Alright, everyone, line up so we can transport you to the grand event!' Mustache man yelled. 'And watch so we don't have to explain a billion times!'

The duo lined up.

The first people in line were escorted to the birds and saddled upon them.

'Now, a very important part to riding Ququsaurs is that they are rather stubborn. So be careful and don't be aggressive, as they may bite, drop, or ignite you!'

'The rest isn't that hard. They're trained to go to the place. Are there any more questions?'

One hand.

'How do we get back from the island?' a random guy asked.

'It's simple. Contact us so we'll get you out.' he also muttered something under his breath which Bennett could make out.

You don't, sucker.

'Well then, class. Time for your exam!' The cicin mage joked as she zapped the birds, signalling them to go. No wonder they were so devoid of feathers. Still, the sight of them setting off was marvelous to watch.

The hydrogunner drew his gun, forcing the next wave of people forward. 

Chattering picked back up. It fluctuated between 'The pyro Archon is so gonna find us' to 'That's Ochkanatlan in the distance, the literal city of dragons. How don't you know??' to 'Mmm, yeah, that sounds like a great investment opportunity.'

The crowd was thinning quickly, and it would be their turn soon. The Mondstadt trembled as he looked at Kinich, who was  c a l m . 

'Soo.. first time flying?' He had to get into his role somehow, so why not start yapping already. His 'butler' only responded with a small shaking of his head.

'No fan of talking, huh? Gee, my parents really like torturing me..' He looked up to Kinich, curious to his response.

'Why so quiet? Afraid you'll take my spotlight?' He didn't like this in the slightest, but at least nobody would suspect him. Even though they had masks. Or nobody knew him. 'Or afraid because you'll steal all the girls?' Well, it was plausible, according to how some girls in the crowd were looking at him already.

'Already have one.'

Something - or somebody - fell into the floor with a loud bonk.

'You're lucky. Or is it a golddigger?'

'No. Mualani wouldn't do such thing.'

Oh. So they are in love. He wondered how that would work in war.

'SPOILED BRAT, PRETTY BOY! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF?! THE PEACEMAKER CANNOT WAIT!' Mustache man screamed.

Bennett didn't flinch, just strode towards the birds. The insult reminded him of that one time he accepted a commission to act evil just so a guy could be a hero and win over a girl. 

It was one of his few successful commissions. He also united two people to beat him up, which wasn't in the contract, but at least he made them happy.

He was handed the reins of the Ququsaurus, which thankfully did not throw him off (yet). But he couldn't grab them properly before the mage zapped the birds, which took off.

The steady thrum of wings was... Less scary then whatever Kinich does.

The overgrown flamingoes circled around the tribe to gain altitude, before speeding off towards their destination; an imposingly large grey mountain with sparse vegetation, ruins of a bygone era and levitating boulders.

Ochkanatlan, their impending doom.

Chapter Text

The flight was shorter than expected. They landed on a thin cliff, connected to the giant mountain by a stone bridge.

He dismounted the giant bird, kicking up a bit of dust and making some grey flowers waver before joining Kinich and the rest.

Once everyone (except for the fatui and Mustache Man) arrived, four cicin mages appeared and signalled to the crowd that they had to move along.

Two upfront, two in the back, probably to easily pick out troublemakers.

The people walked over the pavement as they were led over makeshift wooden stairs, slopes and bridges, as the rocks they step on have seen better days. They turned a corner to see their destination. 

To the right, there was a giant drop that could definitely kill a person.

To the left, there were fatui guarding the entrance to a small cave.

The crowd squeezed into the narrow opening, nervous chatter picking back up again. They turned left at an intersection point, the other side aggressive guarded by tons of fatui too. It was weird. 

Thankfully they went the other way.

It led out to a tavern, stone tables strewn throughout. To the side was the bar, made from large stone tiles. A guy stood behind there, ready to start serving. In the back of the room there was a giant wooden pair of doors, probably where they'd be going after this.

The thing what made it look old were the unidentifiable splotches on the floor. He hoped it was alcohol.

The cicin mages walked to the center of the room and one of them stepped onto a table. She cleared her throat.

'Everyone, please take a seat so we can explain this to everyone. And as our colleagues may have said, we do not like explaining things twice.'

The people obeyed that command and sat down. Suspiciously, there was the exact amount of tables with the exact amount of chairs to house them all, even though it appeared signing up wasn't required.

'So, you are all here for the auction tonight. And yes, thanks to our absolutely amazing boss-' you could basically see the sarcasm drip from her voice '-that stupid Archon will not interrupt our lovely evening.'

Surprised murmurs of them crowd. Well, it was kind of justified, seeing that she can fend off a majority of a Abyss herself. He did wonder when she had the time to do anything else. War can't be that fun, right..?

'Now, for the morons among you; when the bidding starts, use the signs we will provide in a moment. It's simple. Just lift the 100 Mora sign if you want to increase your bid by 100. Do lower it right after, as we may think you're continuing with bidding.'

'Now, please wait here while we dot our i's and cross our t's. Of course, you can get some alcohol over there'. She pointed at the bar, while Bennett took a table for him and Kinich.

They both collapsed into their respective chairs.

A moment to work on their alibi.

'So, err, my parents never told me your name. What is it?' He still hated the way they were forced to act.

'...Viktor.' He lied. 'From Fontaine.'

'Well, Viktor. My name is B..Bob. Yes, Bob.'

Great imagination, Bennett. Just great.

He could already see the disappointed face of his 'butler' under the mask.

'Just... Just get me something on the rocks.' he sighed.

A quick nod of Kinich and the conversation was saved. Phew.

Chapter Text

Lowly servant, why in *MY* name are we in this place?! he could hear Ajaw scream in his bracelet. Seeing the little pipsqueak annoyed made him a very tiny bit happy.

Yes.

Yes? YES?! HOW DARE YOU TO NOT LEAVE A FULL RESPONSE AGAINST YOUR DIVINE LORD?! IF ONLY YOU WOULD DIE ALREADY, THEN I'D SHUT YOU UP!

Yup, a normal conversation.

He twisted the device for a moment, shutting the 'Almighty Dragonlord' up for how long he requires.

Kinich walked towards the bar, accompanied by lively chatter and the clinking of glass.

'One on the rocks, please.' he said to the bartender, not really knowing what that meant, but confidence gets you places.

'Of course, what would you like?'

Uhm.

'.. Whatever's cheapest.'

The bartender quickly nodded as he prepared the drink.

Once the bartender was done, he shoved the glass into Kinich's hands to start on the next client.

Kinich looked down into the glass.

Golden color (most likely Aphimead, judging by the sickeningly sweet smell), ice cubes, and a reflection.

It reminded him a tad too much of his father. How very fitting.

He stared into it for a moment, then decided that he was wasting his time. He already dealt with his trauma  thanks to the love of his life, there is no need for an existential crisis.

He took the glass and threw the Mora on the table - 20, to be exact, extremely cheap, but he won't complain.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kinich gave him the glass and sat down in his chair, opposite of Bennett.

'You... Didn't take anything... for yourself?'

'I don't like alcohol.'

'Ah. Okay. Uh- ahem...' he should probably change the topic. '..what is this?' he gestured to the glass.

'Dunno. Aphimead, probably.' Kinich shrugged.

'Ah. Okay.' He wanted to say something to seem like a brat, but the only thing he came up with were 'get me something else' and he wasn't planning on emptying Kinich's pockets.

He took a small sip.

It was cold. And rather sweet.

He liked that.

That was the billionth time that a thing didn't go wrong.

Well, maybe he just jinxed himself. Like he doesn't do that on a daily basis.

'So.. Viktor, right? What other jo- crappy job do you do? Uh.. so I can never go there!'

'..I hunt Saurians.'

'...Okay? That's... That's weird... Anyways,' he took another sip of the delicious drink. 'I don't work, but I do adventure. Katheryne is really nice, she still registered me when I was alone.. not that I still am, though. I'm like, the coolest kid in town.'

With three friends. Sure Bennett, sure.

'I've met her already.' the Saurian hunter flatly remarked. 'She's fine, I guess.'

'Oh. Hey anyways, what's the biggest thing you ever faced?' Screw being a brat, this is a chance he'll never get again! Especially with his luck.

Kinich thought for a bit.

'Depression.'

'Depression?'

'Correct. I can praise myself lucky that the love of my life was my knight in shining armor.'

'You sure can.' he finished his drink.

'I think it's almost time.' Kinich pointed towards the line afront the now opened doors.

'Ah. Right.' he stood up and followed the Saurian hunter to the crowd.

After a while of waiting, they finally entered the ginormous room.

There was a stage in the left, and rows and rows of chairs facing said stage on the right. Each row was elevated so people could at least see properly.

Cicin mages pointed them to their seats, all the way in the back. Bennett plopped down. There were tables that also served as separations; on them, the signs with Mora.

'So, we have to save as many as possible..?' the adventurer whispered.

'Yes,' Kinich replied, 'we have the funds to do so. However, I have to leave halfway through, so be careful.'

Right.

He turned back towards the stage, where another cicin mage appeared. She was testing a device.

'Hello, hello..? Alright, we can start.' Her voice crackled slightly through the thingamabob.

'Welcome to the auction!' She said in an even less excited tone to Kinich. 'No, it doesn't have a name. So, I'm under the assumption my colleagues explained the gist. If not, then that's your problem.' she shrugged.

'Now, we all have places to go and Saurians to sell. So without further ado-!' a cryogunner pushed a cart onstage, a blanket draped over presumably a cage.

'-Presenting, Saurian #0132!'

The crowd went wild, as the blanket was rem-

Oh Celestia above.

What the fuck was that.

A squelching blob of meat was in the cage, making it look even more pathetic then it already was. A mystery liquid (probably a mixture of (fresh) blood and others he did not want to name was pooling under the beating, bleeding, squirming, twitching, comprehending... skinned Saurian?

He genuinely could not tell if it was skinned or it's intestines were turned inside out. It made his stomach act up either way, and that was certainly saying something.

Nonetheless, it was alive.

And the crowd went wild.

Chapter Text

'Yes people, this is exactly what you expect!'

The crowd cheered as two guys with identical clothing, bird masks and hairstyles entered the stage.

One of them had light blue hair and had a lighter skin tone, as well as a specific cowboy hat. The other, white hair and tanned. Science earring(?) on his right.

Bennett couldn't tell who was Dottore and who was the 'Peacekeeper'. He suspected him to be the guy from the Stadium, but it was way too far to possibly be that guy.

Except if he could go as fast as Kinich.

Most likely not, though.

The man with earring granted the girl a death glare as she was lead offstage, probably about her boredness, which very much worked. In the meanwhile, the man with cowboy hat spoke loudly into the thingamajig.

'They are sharp in every sense of the word, but that's not why we're here today! See, have you ever had that thing when your little fighters die?'

Loud screams agreed with that statement.

'Well then! We now have the power to make them invincible!'

'You can burn them!' A pyrogunner shot at the Saurian in the left cage, causing it to catch fire. The creature screamed in agony as it was burnt, over and over and over again.

'And you can drown them!'

The cages couldn't hold water, because they were cages, so the hydrogunner came up with a creative solution.

He grabbed the Saurian's head and yanked it's mouth open. He was so aggressive will it, that the edges of his mouth were torn open.

He placed his gun in the poor thing's mouth and started to shoot.

The water was blasted into the struggling creature at such high speeds that it went straight through the unfortunate thing. It's intestines hung out, broken by the sheer force. Blood and the mystery liquid were blasted away by the water.

Yet it lives.

He looked at Kinich, who was (presumably) unphased by the ordeal. He was just staring.

Everyone was staring.

Is this how it feels like to stare at him, back in Mondstadt?

'...And you can turn them into meaningless piles of misery! To reverse that, your favorite harbringer is her to give you a live lesson in 'How to fix a Saurian'!'

The guy with the earring was ordering some people to roll the other abused Saurians away. In the meanwhile, cowboy hat person kneeled and started to search through the creature.

'Now, everyone, in the rather uncommon event your plaything is turned inside out-' the meat squelched in protest of the hands searching through it.

The mad doctor pulled skin up. '-you search for a long, flat and sturdy surface.'

'The rest is easy.'

He turned the blob of meat insides inwards this time, unphased by the protesting muscles and the mystery liquid staining his knees, revealing a very beaten koholasaur with a deep cut splitting it's stomach in half.

It was still blinking.

'Now, I'd gladly share all the details with you lot on how we figured this out, but confidential information is confidential, after all.' 

His twin(?) handed a needle and thread to the man, which started to stitch the creature's belly.

'I guess you could break in. I'd love to see you try.'

The man chuckled. At a time like this.

Kinich wasn't leaving yet.

He himself was feeling rather nauseous.

The door was right there.

---

The entire crowd snapped their uncanny blank faces towards the clicking sound of a door closing.

Dottore smiled as his challenge was almost immediately accepted.

'Well now I have to go!' he pouted like a child.

'Uhg. Ifa, gas these people and make them appear at site 4B. And to the rest of you, toodles! I won't see you until you're horribly deformed!'

Oh, how he loved those masks. Everyone just nods along! How splendid!

The corners of the doctor's mouth turned upwards as he walked offstage, delightful confused chatter from the crowd behind him.

'Alright, little plaything of mine, the hunt is on.'

Chapter Text

Footsteps echoed as Bennett ran through the tunnel.

Why was nobody realizing what was happening?

Muffled shouting.

Is it tradition?

He was being chased. One person. Extremely high speed.

But animal abuse cannot be normal.

He turned a corner.

What if it is?

Duck, roll slash. Red liquid fell on the floor.

Then that's a world I don't-

Steel connected with his chest as an Electrohammer skirmisher hit him with an overhead slam, violently forcing the air out of his lungs.

He crawled back up to see a dozen fatui blocking the way, weapons drawn.

He prepared to counterattack, already holding his sword high.

Well, that is until he was hit by the mad doctor kneeing him at maximum velocity, causing him to be knocked back all the way against a wall.

The impact made him lose his sword, which clattered right in front of the man's feet.

'Oopsies, did that hurt?' Cowboy hat taunted.

No comment.

'Hmm... Very well,' He took out a notepad and scribbled on one of it's many pages. 'Subject has an ounce of patience. You wouldn't expect how rare that is nowadays.'

The adventurer tried to hoist himself up, but the doctor simply walked up to him and stepped on the guy like he was a worm.

'Not so fast, we still have so much to do.'

His smile went from insane to psychotic.

'At least one of us will enjoy this, and spoiler alert: It's not you.'

Those were the last words he could make out before everything turned dark.

----------------------------------------------------------------

The grin was instantaneously wiped from Dottore's face.

Ifa, that Tsaritsa be damned vet, had shot his toy. And had the audacity to eat an apple in the meanwhile.

'Ifa! You miserable pile of feces, are you this jealous to not let people have their fun?!'

A loud crunch. 'Hmm. No.' 

'Ifa, I swear to the Tsaritsa, I WILL HAVE YOUR LIMBS SERVED ON A SILVER PLATTER WITH YOUR BLOOD AS THE SAUCE!'

Nervous shuffling from the fatui who weren't dismissed yet.

Ifa, who knew the doctor well enough that he knew that he could simply do that and find another way to the Tonatiuh, was wise and shut his mouth.

The madman rose. 'Ahem- now, why the fuck did you think it was a good idea to interrupt me?'

Another annoying crunch.

'We need everything, as we can't act the same as anywhere else, thanks to the pyro Archon. You were about to kill him.'

'You are severely underestimating my ability of restraint.'

'Am I? You were basically crushing the boy.'

'Fuck you.'

'No thanks. I have more important things to do currently, so if you don't mind-' the infuriating vet turned around, '-I'll be taking my leave.'

And he left.

The harbringer sighed.

He signed to a few skirmishers. 'Take him to 3B, and quickly!' he scowled.

Chapter Text

An arrow pierced through the last mimiflora.

The scorching sun above nearly blinded him as he stepped towards the cowering girl. He offered his hand, which she used to houdt herself up.

The child in question was probably younger than ten. She sobbed heavily.

'Hey, hey, it's alright, the monsters are gone..'

'S..So are many parents! And my brother! And- and granny..'

He had nothing to say to that.

'Maybe it's a good idea to go to a camp? Your parents might be there! I can carry you, if you're tired.'

And we'd be out of danger too.

'Oh..okay...'

He let the girl climb on his back to piggyback.

---

The camp wasn't that big. It was just there to bring survivors back to the safety of the Stadium.

The girl didn't know where her parents were (six feet underground), but was easily convinced into waiting at a group that was going to be evacuated soon.

Somebody would most likely help her to the safety of the Stadium.

That left a bit of time where he could do stuff before he was expected to attend the chorus of cadavers again.

He looked around.

Emergency training camp. Open air kitchen. Dining area. Sleeping tent. Clinic.

His choice was rather straightforward.

He raised the curtain with his arm.

The white tent, as expected, was full of activity.

Guards running to and fro, patients leaving and entering, doctors, vets, and nurses dealing with the wounded.

He stood there for a bit, rather lost.

What was he doing?

There is no need to be here.

He let the curtain drop, before turning around.

Unfortunately, something grabbed him and pulled him behind the tent.

And that certain somebody turned out to be none other than the person who he expected most. This was getting as predictable as the 'fanfiction' Granny always reads.

'Ifa?'

A deadpan stare of the vet was everything he needed to confirm that he was, in fact, his best bro.

'Ifa! How have you been?'

'Well.'

'Oh, that's cool. But... where's Cacucu?'

'In the clinic.'

'Oh. Okay. Is he tending to patients?'

Hesitation, for just a moment.

'Yes.'

No.

'Okay! Hey, are you still interested in hanging out?'

'The answer is still no.'

'Well... I'm not going to stop at that.' The bat boy teased, 'besides, why did you pull me aside then?'

Something switched in the vet.

'Yeah, actually. I got some business in Ochkanatlan, and you know what they say. It takes two to tango, doesn't it?'

It was way more lively and expressive as just now. Maybe a little too much.

'O.. Ofcourse!'

Nobody lives in Ochkanatlan. He has no reason to go there.

'Great. We do have to be there before... 4 AM, I suppose. Race?'

'.. Ofcourse.'

'Last one is a hilichurl!' Ifa shouted as he sprinted away.

'Hey, no fair!'

They rushed off to the cinder city, as both of their schemes were going exactly as planned.

------------------------------------------------------------

The doctor dragged the limp body through the halls of the underground complex, passing the Fatui on guard.

The boy was slung over his shoulder, out of the way of Dodo, naturally.

His subordinates all bowed in his presence.

The smile slowly sneaked onto his face.

The newly built lift sent him downward, into the depths. 

He crossed a bridge, walked over stairs and entered another lift. All man-made, a stark contrast to the secret source junk those reptilians made rond ago.

The only interesting thing to research above them was how they even survived this long.

But that made sense. He specialized into creating masterpieces that would shame the dendro Archon, not in how bedrock erodes or some other delusional yap.

That would take too much precious time.

The elevator came to a screeching halt, which affected neither him nor his new test subject.

He stepped into floor 7A. The layout didn't make sense. It didn't have to.

After all, more mistakes, more test subjects.

The Harbringer strutted over the dead grass, reaching the end of the ledge.

Fatui were busy creating bridges and draining the water, creating his giant private lab, stylish energy source creating a truly marvelous sight.

The draconic statue glared at his shit eating grin, unable to do something about it's imprisonment.

It's fun to play god.

Chapter Text

He marched over the man-made structures, with salutes from every soldier unfortunate enough to cross his path.

The child on his shoulder was now fully awake, judging by the way he shuffled around, yet didn't do much.

He took a turn and entered a hallway with many doors. He directly opened the first door. 

The room was compact. It had a bed. And bugs.

That was all.

He threw the adventurer in harshly, forcing the air out of his lungs and creating a thick crimson trail behind him. One of the bugs already crawled to the boy, investigating if it was food.

The harbringer slammed the door shut. Not because of disgust, no (he had seen way, way worse things), but the Ode would work better when he's not around. Bummer.

Anyways, he walked down the hallway, briefly wincing at the irritating noise after passing one of the last doors. Probably- no, most likely that stupid vet's doing.

He opened a door, leading him to a secret lab all for himself. Entering it while you were called anything other than Il Dottore 'The Doctor' Zandik was strictly forbidden and punished by becoming his test subject (which is many more times worse then death).

The lab was rather small, for obvious reasons. A table, a knife, a cabinet with supplies and a tank with something completely irrelevant, outdated, stupid, outdone and dead in it.

The Segment took one of the books from the table and started reading it.

'The breaking down of an allogene; Body, bone and soul.' by Alice A.

Safe to say that there were some hypothesises he'd like to test.

----------------------------------------------------------------

'Ifa, are you sure this is the right way..?'

'Yeah bro, I'm rather sure.'

They were walking for an hour now. They still had to arrive at his bro's place.

They passed many things. Cliffs, ququsaurs, the Flower-feather clan, more cliffs, Ashflow street. Ifa took a rather hidden path. Iktomisaurs, islands, floating rocks.

They came across some ruins. Entered them.

A mural was on the back of the chamber, showing a gilded orb(?) with excessive ornamentation.

The vet knocked on a wooden plank on the floor. Most likely in a specific manner.

It was thrown aside by a man under it. He held a flickering candle.

'G'mornin', do yer' want yer' drink neat or rocked?'

'Neat, please.'

'Alrighty! Come inside, you too, c'mon, don't be shy.' He extended his arm, an invitation into the gloomy darkness. Ifa barged in, ignoring the help.

Ororon followed the Ifa and the man inside the dark tunnel, the only light being the guy's candle and the faintly glowing vision of his friend. In the meanwhile, they started talking about a 'Tonatiuh'... Whatever that means.

They walked for another (short) while, until they passed a gate.

The light was very harsh, in stark contrast to the darkness a moment before.

The culprit was a giant orb, perhaps the same as on the mural. It pulsated(?) slowly.

Both his friend and the stranger ignored the thing, instead opting to enter another secret passage.

The tunnel was rather long, but finally ended up in an hallway.

The walls were made of metal sheets. There were a ton of doors, bars being the only way to look in- or outside. Tables littered the sides, a singular apple on the last one.

The best way to describe it were the pictures he saw of the Fortress of Meropide in books, but somehow even more uninviting.

The man took his leave while Ifa opened te very last door. The bow user peeked inside.

It... was big. Luxurious even. The walls were covered with murals depicting dragons and humans at war. A bed and a table were there, as well as pen and paper. A window, and even a balcony, displayed the grand dragon statue overseeing many walkways.

Ororon, frankly, did not expect this kindness. There was most likely something else involved.

Even if it is your best friend? Wow, grateful much.

Oh, will you ever shut up?

Being polite, like his Granny (And NOT some random souls) told him so, he asked.

'So.. Ifa, may I ask why-'

In response, the door was slammed shut.

Shit.

'Ifa, if this is some elaborate payback, then I apologize-'

He winced at the sound of a loud clang. The doorway to the balcony was blocked by metal bars, indifferent to his feelings.

'Ifa..?'

Bitter silence.

'IFA!!'

A singular response.

'I know.'

A click.

Fading footsteps and a crunch left him in an agonizing cacaphony that only he was cursed to hear.