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“I don’t like this.”
“What’s not to like? The Treasure Hoarders have a base that we need found.” Honestly, Kaeya didn’t see the big deal.
“But it puts you in danger.”
“Nonsense, you’ll be there. How much trouble can I get into if I have the Acting Grandmaster by my side?”
Jean purses her lips, “still, I don’t like the idea of you using yourself as bait.”
Kaeya waves his hand, “relax. You’ll be following us the whole time. I trust you.”
Jean sighs, running a hand down her face. “If anything goes wrong I’m pulling you out of there. No exceptions.”
Kaeya nods, though he has no intention of letting that happen. Though, he can’t say for sure that things won’t go south. They need to get rid of these guys before someone gets hurt. He’s aware of the risks, and he’s not afraid to put himself in harm’s way. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
It’s feels weird going into a mission without any of his normal knightly garb. He’s gone undercover before, but usually he still has his sword and vision on him. This time, all he has is his vision clipped to his pants in a hidden spot, and a knife in his boot. If he has any visible weapons on him then there’s a chance that these treasure hoarders won’t go after him.
He greets Patton as he walk into Angel’s Share. The man smiles, though he can see that he’s confused by Kaeya’s overly casual appearance.
Kaeya sits at the bar. “Charles! How’ve you been.”
Charles nods, he’s wiping down a glass. “Master Kaeya, right on time I see. Can I get you something?”
Kaeya nods, ignoring how strange his old title sounds. “One Death After Noon, please.”
There’s a bit of a pause in the conversation as Charles makes him his drink. He makes an effort of adjusting the fancy collar on his shirt. He’d purposely picked an absurdly expensive casual shirt in hopes to attract the attention of the few Treasure Hoarders he knows frequent the establishment.
“Here you are, Sir.”
“Why thank you, Charles.” He takes a slow sip, savoring the taste. Nothing like a strong drink before purposely getting yourself kidnapped. “I heard my brother has a job for me?”
Charles nods, “there are some funds he needs moved from an undisclosed location. He assured me that only you’d know the place.”
Kaeya nods, he can feel several sets of eyes on him. He refrains from smiling, everything is going to plan. “Ah, of course, I’ll be sure to head there as soon as I’m able.” There is, of course, no money. Diluc isn’t even aware of his and Charles little story here. It’s not that he didn’t trust Diluc to know the plan, but Kaeya didn’t feel like getting into an argument with is ex-brother if he could help it.
They exchange some casual conversation after that. Once Kaeya’s drink is finished, he speaks. “Well, I should head back to the winery and get some sleep.” he fishes out a large bag of mora and hands a large handful to the bartender. “Keep the change.” If the prospects of the hidden winery funds isn’t enough for them to target him, then the belief that he is the wealthy brother of the winery owner should be enough to at least hold him for ransom.
He walks out of the bar and strolls leisurely outside of the city walls. It’s dark now, he wonders what he’ll do if he makes it all the way to Dawn Winery without getting kidnapped? It would be embarrassing to say the least, and he’d have to explain himself to Diluc…
Let’s just say that he hopes they take the bait.
He only walks for about ten minutes before a smoke bomb goes off. Seems like they took the bait after all.
Kaeya coughs, waving his hand in front of his face. He can’t see a thing, but he can hear people coming closer. He’s glad they’re so noisy, because he’s able to hear the metal shing of a blade.
He ducks out of the way just in time. A dagger? What were they thinking?
He digs out the knife he has tucked away. He slashes at a few of them when they get too close, and blocks a few weapons swing his way. Where is Jean? He’s surprised she hasn’t stepped in by now. Has something happened to her?
He swipes at another enemy, this time imbuing his attack with cryo. He does this a few more times, until he’s suddenly being pulled by a vortex of some kind.
Kaeya slams to the floor, clawing against the force that’s pulling him.
“Hold him down!”
Kaeya fights the hands, kicking and thrashing against them.
“Quit your squirming!” Another vortex, only this one doesn’t pull him closer. It’s as if it’s pulling all the air from around him.
Kaeya’s eye widens, he can’t breathe! He struggles harder, ignoring how his vision begins to dim. There had been no reports of a vision wielder among this group of treasure hoarders.
The last thing Kaeya sees before his vision goes black is a bag that’s about to go over his head.
Jean runs in the second she hears the sound of metal clashing. She’s quickly surrounded, she’s unsure if they’d known she was there, or if they’d just known something was amiss. Whatever the reason, by the time the smoke clears she’s alone. The only proof that Kaeya was ever there is the vision lying on the floor.
Jean curses, this is exactly what she was afraid of. They don’t have any insight as to where the base might be. She has no idea where they possibly could’ve gone. Kaeya’s in trouble.
Kaeya wakes up to cold water being dumped on him. His head snaps up before he looks around the room, sputtering and disoriented. Everything is blurry, the colors of the room are swirling together. He realizes, with mild annoyance that his eyepatch has been removed.
“Glad to see you’re awake.”
Kaeya groans, moving to look over at the voice. He finds a woman, a serious expression on her face and an anemo vision dangling from her neck.
His head is pounding, and trying to focus on anything is making everything ten times worse.
She walks over to his side of the room, or maybe it’s a tent? It’s hard to tell when everything is blurring together. “So tell me, Sir Kaeya of the Knights of Favonius, is there actually mora hidden away somewhere, or was that a ploy to try and take us down?”
Kaeya forces himself to take a slow breath. He doesn’t like this, but it’ll be ok. Jean will be here soon, she’s supposed to scout the area and decide whether or not to continue with or without reinforcements. He just has to stall thill then. “I assure you, this was no ploy. Do you think I’d risk the safety of my brother and his employees?”
She grabs his face and pulls him forward, his neck gives a twinge in protest. “Then tell us the location, or this will get very ugly for you.”
Yes, Kaeya has no doubt of that, “I’m afraid I cannot do that.”
The woman makes a noise of disapproval. “Very well, we have ways of making you talk.”
Diluc sighs, pushing away his paperwork. Being the owner of the most profitable business in Mondstadt is easier said than done. He looks outside, it’s dark, and has started to rain. Charles should be here soon, if he isn’t here already.
He clears his desk before heading to the main room.
“I trust the kid, I do. But I don’t like that I had to be apart of it.” Sounds like Charles is here and conversing with one of the maids.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine. It seemed pretty straightforward from what you told me.” Ah, seems like he’s talking with Adelinde. He wonders who they’re talking about.
“I know, but if he gets hurt… I don’t think I’ll be able to forgive myself.”
“I’m sure he can handle a few treasure hoarders.” Diluc can hear the smile in Adelinde’s voice, “you’ve always had such a soft spot for Master Kaeya.”
Diluc frowns, walking into the room. “What about Sir Kaeya?”
Charles jumps, “Diluc! Nothing, Kaeya just had me help him with something, that’s all!”
His frown deepens, “you seem worried about it. Sure doesn’t seem like it’s nothing.” Kaeya and him haven’t been on good terms for quite some time, but that doesn’t seem to stop the worry that he suddenly feels.
It’s at that moment that Jean comes barreling through the door. She’s soaking wet and wearing a rather distressed look on her face. She immediately locks onto Diluc, “Diluc! The mission went south! I need your help!”
“Woah, Jean. Slow down, what mission.”
She takes a few deep breaths before her panic morphs into confusion. “He didn’t tell you?”
“Who?”
“Kaeya— he didn’t talk to you?”
Was he supposed to? “Why would he?”
“He said he talked to you.”
“About what?! Jean, what’s going on?!” He doesn’t like this, it’s not often that you see The Acting Grandmaster so frazzled.
“The group of Treasure Hoarders were starting to attack people more frequently.”
“Kaeya used himself as bait,” Charles speaks this time. Diluc can hear the shake in his voice, “he didn’t want to involve you, said you had enough to do.”
“Yeah, well he told me the opposite. Gods, I never should’ve let him talk me into this!”
“Dammit, Jean, get to the point! Where is he?!”
“I was following him from a distance when they ambushed him. I went to pull him out but they vanished before I was able to.”
Diluc can’t believe what he’s hearing, “so what, he’s been kidnapped?!”
Jean nods, “Kaeya’s been taken by Treasure Hoarders.”
Everything hurts. Kaeya’s head snaps to the side painfully after being punched for what feels like the hundredth time. The woman had brought some brute in to be her muscle. He can’t breathe, but it’s ok. It’s ok…
Jean will be here soon.
He actually doesn’t remember why he thinks this. He’s been saying it to himself in his head like a mantra, but he’s not sure why he thinks she’ll come. He’s not even sure how he got here in the first place. Everything is fuzzy and he can’t breathe…
They hit him again. Why are they hitting him? Did he do something wrong? He doesn’t think he did.
He wants his dad. The thought leaves his chest tighter than it already is. He’s not sure why, maybe it’s because he’s scared he won’t get out of here to see the man again. His dad is strong and safe, and he doesn’t have to be a strong knight around him. He wants his dad to hold him tight until his lungs work again and the pain goes away.
It’s probably late now, maybe his family has noticed something is wrong by now. Surely his brother would send out a search party for him once he realizes. His brother always comes to his rescue.
“I’ll ask one more time, where is the mora?!”
Kaeya isn’t sure what money this woman is talking about. He sobs, “please—“
His head snaps to the side painfully again. His vision swirls even more, his head is pounding and his stomach clenches—
He’s gonna be sick. Kaeya heaves, ignoring the disgusted exclamations from the people in the room with him.
Once the nausea has passed his face is being grabbed. He’s forced to look at a rather angry woman. “I’m growing impatient.”
Kaeya isn’t sure what to say. If he had to guess these Treasure Hoarders found out he was the son of Master Crepus. Usually he and Diluc walk home together from work so it wouldn’t be too hard to figure out.
They haven’t mentioned his brother, meaning they must’ve waited till Kaeya was alone to strike. Smart, considering it would be foolish to attack when he was with The Cavalry Captain.
The only thing Kaeya can’t figure out is why they think there’s mora hidden somewhere, and why they think he knows its location. Maybe he’d remembered earlier before they started trying to bash his head in. He wishes he remembered. He would tell them just about anything they want if it means they stop.
The woman sticks out her other hand. The air suddenly shifts, and all the air is being sucked out of his lungs. “I will not ask again. Where is the mora?”
Kaeya tries to jerk his head back and away from the woman. Oh gods, he can’t breathe. The edge of his vision is dimming. He’s going to die, he’s never going to get to see his family or friends again. He’s never going to take over the family business like he dreamed of. He’s never going to get his vision and catch up to his brother. He—
Suddenly there’s a loud explosion, followed by yelling. The woman steps back, and the air suddenly comes rushing back to his lungs.
Kaeya coughs and sputters, taking in what air he can whilst in the middle of a panic attack.
“What’s going on out there?!”
“Miss, we’re under attack!”
Finding the Treasure Hoarder base isn’t too hard when you’ve memorized their patrol paths and can easily capture one.
It took Diluc and Jean two hours to find an unsuspecting Treasure Hoarder and get him to squeal. Two hours too long if you ask Diluc.
Now that they’re here, Diluc can see it’s a much larger operation than Jean had let on. “You let him walk into that?!” He can’t seem to hold back his anger. How could the knights be so idiotic as to let someone be bait and walk into danger with nothing but a small knife?
Jean sighs, “he was very convincing.”
Of course he was, Kaeya’s always been able to have things go in his favor, though he can’t imagine why he’d ever want to do something so dangerous. “Let’s just get this over with.”
“Wait, shouldn’t we get backup? There’s only two of us.”
Diluc cannot believe what he’s hearing. Does she not think that the two of them couldn’t take a group of Treasure Hoarders? Diluc seriously doubts that any amount of Treasure Hoarders could stand a chance against them. “Shouldn’t be a problem. We actually have weapons, after all.”
Jean winces but makes no comment. Instead, she nods before pulling out her sword.
The two rush the camp before they have the chance to spot them. They’re able to take down quite a few before reinforcements come in.
Diluc isn’t sure how many enemies he’s taken down, nor is he heeding Jean’s instructions of keeping them alive. He truly doesn’t care about the wellbeing of these people, or the knights’ mission. All that matters is getting Kaeya back safe and sound…
Not that Diluc cares about the man. All they do is fight, and anytime he sees the younger man a strong, unpleasant emotion settles in the pit of his stomach that he’s yet to process. Despite that, the idea of Kaeya dying evokes a panic that fills his veins like ice. Diluc has to admit that it’s a confusing development.
They clear out the camp relatively fast. Jean insists on restraining those who were lucky enough to survive Diluc’s rampage. It takes time, but he knows that Kaeya wouldn’t have put himself in this situation if he didn’t think this was important. So Diluc helps with little complaint, though he’d much rather go and find Kaeya as soon as possible.
After about fifteen minutes they’re finally able to search for the missing knight. Jean calls out for Kaeya, though Diluc stays quiet as he trails behind. He’s not sure how Kaeya would feel about him being here.
Jean pulls back the tent. Diluc watches her entire body tense before walking in.
Diluc follows behind her. His heart stops. There, tied to a chair, is a limp, bloody Kaeya Alberich.
Diluc can’t move, can’t breathe. Kaeya looks awful.
Jean kneels down in front of him. “Kaeya?”
Kaeya’s head whips up, his eyes wide with fear and his breathing fast. Where is his eyepatch? “Please! I swear— I don’t-“
“Kaeya, it’s ok! It’s me!” Jean puts a hand on his knee.
Kaeya freezes, “Jean?”
“It’s me, Kae.”
“You came. I knew you’d come,” despite his words, there’s a hint of disbelief in his voice that makes Diluc’s chest hurt.
“Of course I did,” she brushes his hair out of his face. “I’m gonna heal you the best I can, and then we’re going to go the cathedral ok?”
“No! No, no, please—“ Kaeya’s breathing picks up and Diluc can see tears in the corner of his eyes. “Please— don’t— take me home! Just take me home.”
“Kaeya, I can’t. You need help.”
“Please,” he sobs, and Diluc’s heart constricts at the sound of his barely coherent babbling. “Please, take me home. I want Dad and Luc.
Diluc goes rigid. He figured Kaeya would be concussed, but how bad was it for him to forget their own father died and that he and Diluc hate each other?
“Oh, Kaeya.” Jean’s voice is soft.
“Jean, please. I want them.”
“I know.” She pauses, Diluc can hear the emotion in her voice. “We’ll send for Master Crepus, ok?” It was a lie, but Diluc can see why she’d lie in a situation like this. Odds are he’ll be out before he even grows suspicious of the man’s absence.
“What about Luc?”
Jean pauses, “oh, well he’s—“ she turns to look to Diluc, uncertainty on her face.
Diluc weighs his options: he can hang back and pretend he’s not there, and let his guilt over it fester, or he can pretend to tolerate the man and comfort him for a couple hours.
Diluc sighs, taking a step forward. “I’m right here, Kaeya.”
Diluc’s heart shatters at the sight of Kaeya’s face crumpling. It reminds Diluc of when they were young, and Kaeya was scared of practically everything. He supposes that right now, cognitively, Kaeya is that small, anxious teen that he was when he’d first started with the knights.
Kaeya starts to pull against his restraints. He begins to breathe faster at the reminder that he is still tied up, and he begins to struggle harder as a result.
“Hey,”Diluc finds himself crossing the room faster. “Relax. Deep breaths, ok?” Diluc’s taken Jean’s place. He places a stiff hand atop Kaeya’s. “I’m gonna cut you free, but I can’t to that until you stop squirming.”
Kaeya stares at him before nodding.
Diluc pulls out the knife he keeps tucked into his boot. He works slowly, the man is shaking like a leaf even with Kaeya trying to stay still. He’s worried that if he moves too fast that he’ll end up cutting him.
He cuts the ropes binding Kaeya’s legs and arms first before cutting the one tied around his torso. The second the last rope is cut he slumps forward.
Diluc is able to catch him before he can fall out of the chair. He’s like a dead weight in Diluc’s hands.
“Can you prop him up so I can heal what I can?”
Diluc nods, positioning himself so that he’s sitting on the armrest. He then props Kaeya up against his side.
“Alright, Kae,” Jean speaks softly, and she somehow manages to give the man a smile despite how gruesome he looks. “Why don’t you tell me what happened while I heal your wounds?”
Diluc sits there in silence as Kaeya explains that he isn’t sure how he’d gotten kidnapped. He tells them that all he remembers is two Treasure Hoarders beating him senseless while demanding he tell them the location of the mora he has no recollection of.
Diluc hates having to hear Kaeya recount what he remembers. He sounds so small and pitiful that Diluc’s heart can’t help but ache in sympathy.
By the time he’s done explaining Jean’s finished as well. She sits back, giving him a sigh, “I’ve stopped all the bleeding and healed what I could. Barbra should be able to do the rest.”
The two decide that Kaeya is in no condition to walk. So Diluc offers to carry him. Once the man is settled on his back they head towards Mondstadt.
It’s been a few hours, but Barbra’s finally finished healing Kaeya. “He’ll probably have a headache when he wakes, but as long as he takes it easy for the next couple of days he should be right as rain.”
Diluc nods, perfect. As long as the man was fine then he was able to forget this ever happened. “Right, well if he’s fine then—“
“Why don’t you stay? Just for a little?” Jean cuts him off, there’s a hopefulness to her tone.”
Diluc shakes his head, “no, I should leave. I’ve already worn out my welcome.”
“Why can’t you two just work it out? You’re brothers for Barbatos’ sake-“
“Don’t— we’re not brothers. Not anymore.” Diluc burned that bridge a long time ago. There’s no going back to how things were before.
“I don’t understand why you can’t at least try.”
Of course she doesn’t. No one does. No one knows what truly happened that night. “It’s… complicated.” Diluc begins to leave, “I was never here.”
He thinks that’s the end of it, then Jean speaks again. “Crepus would be ashamed.”
Diluc freezes. He knows that already, he’s reminded of that almost anytime the Winery staff bring up his father or his estranged brother, and he hates himself for it. “Goodbye, Jean.”
Kaeya wakes to his head absolutely killing him. He groans before sitting up and pushing his palms into his eyes.
“Glad to see you’re up.”
Kaeya startles at that, “Jean! What—“
“The mission went south. They’d ambushed you and I’d lost trail of you in the attack.”
“But you found me. I knew I could count on you.” He offers her a half grin.
She does not return the smile, instead deciding to give him a grim look. “What do you remember?”
Kaeya thinks, what does he remember. “I remember waking up, and ensuring the mora was in fact real. Then I must admit everything gets a bit fuzzy from there.” He vaguely remembers… his father? No, he must’ve been really out of it, that couldn’t be right.
Jean doesn’t seem alarmed by the gaps in his memory. “You were severely concussed by the time we found you so I’m not surprised.”
“We?” Kaeya frowns, who else would’ve been there?
“Oh, I’d come across a couple other knights who were patrolling during my search. They assisted me.”
That makes sense. Though, Kaeya’s not exactly sure why she hesitated. “Well I’ll have to thank them in person sometime.” He swings his legs over to the side of the bed. “I suppose it’s back to work then. You’ll need my report I presume?”
“Why do you always put yourself in harms way?”
Kaeya frowns, sure he knew it was dangerous, but it’s not like he wanted to get kidnapped. “We’re knights, Jean. It comes with the job I’m afraid.”
“I told you it was too risky!”
“They were becoming far too active for us to prolong it any longer. Besides, someone had to do it.”
“It doesn’t always have to be you, Kae. You know that, right?”
Kaeya huffs at that, “of course I do.” He crosses his arms, this is ridiculous. If he doesn’t do the dangerous jobs then someone that’s actually important will. Besides, he’s had so many close calls that he’s starting to think Celestia refuses to let him die. “It’s not like I wanted to get kidnapped, Jean.”
“But it’s something you accounted for. And you still didn’t care.”
Kaeya opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. He sighs, “you’ve got me there, Acting Grandmaster.”
It’s Jean’s turn to sigh, “all I ask is you be a little more careful. I need my Cavalry Captain.”
He’s not much of a Cavalry Captain, not with the cavalry galavanting who knows where with Varka. Still, it’s nice hearing her say that she needs him. “For you, Jean, I’ll try my best.”
Jean looks like she wants to continue the conversation, but she thinks better of it. “Alright, c’mon. Let’s go get something to eat. My treat.”
Kaeya follows her out of the cathedral, a smile on his face. He’s glad everything worked out in the end.