Scaramouche touched the sleeve of his arm gently. It was the same place you grabbed onto when he tried to pull away from the kiss. He remembers it all too well, maybe he even thinks about it from time to time.

Still sitting on a chair in a Fatui tent, the young man continued to think deeply about his next steps. There was a lot to plan, if he really wanted to get his precious secretary back from the clutches of that damn Traveller, there will have to be a little bit of dirty play.

Anyway, every wooden crate in the camp was already broken and laid to waste. Obviously, Scaramouche had left the cleaning up to the Fatui recruits who really don't have the option to refuse.

At random times of the day, there would be a few violent outbursts where a barrel or even a tree would be blown to bits from the Electro bursts of his hands. Doing that too much was bound to injure Scaramouche sooner or later, but he couldn't seem to care. The pain was almost deserved.

Pulling Scaramouche out of his dark thoughts, he noticed that there was someone walking towards his tent. Once again, the curtains of the tent were pulled open as another Harbinger stepped in. Concerned and looking frightened, a certain Snezhnayan male daringly walked up to Scaramouche.

"You are trying to kill her," Childe said breathlessly. "You're really trying to kill her...!"

"I'm not," Scaramouche replied. "I just sent out a little surprise for [Y/N]."

"Well, I think it's overkill. How will she come back if you're going to send that thing after her?!"

"She'll learn her lesson to never leave me again."

"You're crazy," Childe shook his head out of disbelief. "Even I wouldn't try to hurt [Y/N], she doesn't deserve any of this."

"She betrayed me. Now she's walking around Liyue like she did nothing wrong. Like she never even cared about me at all!"

"Did you forget why we're here in the first place?" Childe asked for an answer. "Y'know, Rex Lapis' Gnosis isn't going to find itself! We have to get moving, we need to hurry up and take it away. The Tsaritsa does not like waiting."

"The Gnosis mission can wait!" Scaramouche argued back, leaning against his seat menacingly. "First, I'll capture my darling secretary and lock her away! Then, I want to see the look on [Y/N]'s face when I kill the Traveller right in front of her-"

"No!" Childe suddenly shouted which resulted in Scaramouche shooting a deadly glare in his direction. The Hydro user felt a cold sweat drape over his neck as he cleared his throat. "I think we should keep secretary [Y/N] and the Traveller alive for now... because it would be easier to have them together at one place at a time..."

There was a deafening pause.

Childe finally finished his sentence, "Because it would be much more efficient capturing them that way."

"So, we can all contribute to the death of the Traveller," Scaramouche concluded. "Great idea, Childe."

His gaze fell to the floor as he lamely let out a shaky sigh, "Yes, we will kill her... And then lock up secretary [Y/N] in a cage, just for you."

Scaramouche chuckled lowly as if he was excited from the mere thought. The younger Harbinger stood there tensely as he watched helplessly as the other man began laughing maniacally.

Imagine that! Scaramouche relished the idea of finally keeping you locked away for his service only. He was obviously pissed off at the interrupted confession, that and overall the cold betrayal. He just wanted to tell you about his feelings, only to realize that you never wanted to return them.

"Oh, Archons... You're a mess without her." Childe whispered sadly. "This isn't good for the mission..."

The Eleventh Harbinger's voice was slowly drowning away.

It was upsetting. It was true that Scaramouche loved you, he even said it himself. What terrible timing. He never knew about your family's situation. Well, not fully even after sneakily reading your letters to and from home. It seemed that all of this was his own fault.

But Scaramouche was a stubborn enough man not to admit it out loud. Instead, he tried to put the blame on everyone, even you, except himself. His own thoughts were getting quite messy: The soldiers can't even do a simple mission properly. [Y/N] should just stop caring about that burden of a brother she has. I didn't do anything wrong, everyone seems to hate me!

I've never been this long without her.

"I just think you're taking things too far, I'm sure [Y/N] is already scared for her life." Childe tried to explain but decided to back down because his voice was being drowned out by psychotic laughter, meaning no one was listening.

For a second, there was a look of pain on Scaramouche's face when he tried to force an angry smile. He held the brim of his hat to cover his panic-stricken expression, a short airless breath left his lips. The chuckling slowly died out.

Childe crossed his arms, "Sending out a Ruin Guard for one person is too far."

Finally, the hat chimed in the silence when the hand retreated and fell onto the armrest. Scaramouche leaned back against the chair, his eyes spiralling into deep insanity, as he replied flatly: "Do you want to see how far I can go?"

•••

There was a full moon shyly peeking through the clouds. The sky seemed to be the only peaceful thing during this time as the ground below your feet trembled. You were starting to hate Liyue's almost hostile environment. Well, then again, it's not like Snezhnaya is any different.

Right now, you were pressed up against a large rock as you covered your mouth to silence yourself. Only limp tree branches covered you with leaves as a hiding spot from the danger that was lurking around. It was too bad you didn't get a look at it, you wanted to know what exactly you were hiding from.

To the right of you, Lumine and Xingqiu both had their swords out ready to fight. Beside them was Xiangling, for some reason, had a chilli pepper in one hand and her spear in the other. To your left, Chongyun had his arm stuck out in front of you, as a way to stop you from advancing any further.

"Stay put," The Cryo user pulled you back when you tried to lean out from under the tree.

You just wanted to see what was making all that racket. You wanted to know what kind of creature it was, maybe even check if it could be killed easily. As Scaramouche probably commented on, you really do stick your nose into dangerous things. Curiosity is a killer.

All of a sudden, a metal hand slapped the stone and a metallic headpiece peered down past the branches of the tree above.

Everyone, including you, became as still as statues from the realization that a Ruin Guard was staring at each person, calculating. When its dead glowing eye landed on you, you felt your heart thumping erratically against your ribcage and your hands becoming slick with cold sweat.

Frozen with fear, you stood there like a sitting duck. You've never been targeted by a Ruin Guard before, never. You knew what these things were capable of and you were obviously scared of being hurt. To put it simply, they were killer war machines. However, in this case, it wasn't moving.

Lumine felt her breath get taken away, "Don't make a sound..."

"I-It's not attacking us..." You stuttered.

"Shut up, Fatui girl...!" Chongyun fired back.

The only thing going through your mind was: Lord Dottore's robots...

After it let out an electronic blare of noise, you immediately adjusted the knob on your ice tank and pulled out one of your spray guns to shoot it. At least, that's what you planned. You knew that the weakness is in that golden yellow eye, but the Ruin Guard's next actions shocked you and everyone.

It reached forwards and a large metal hand clasped around your body, dragging you out of the hiding spot and raising you off the ground. You let out a panicked gasp as you scrambled to escape but it was already too late.

"[Y/N]!"

"W-Wait!"

"Oh no!"

Lumine, Xiangling, and Xingqiu cried out when the Ruin Guard pulled away and turned around. Chongyun was the first to step out into the open but then he lowered his shoulders when he realized that it was now attempting to get away with you in its grasp.

"Oh, Morax! [Y/N]'s getting kidnapped!" Xiangling exclaimed in horror.

Lumine flashed her sword and prepared for a fight, "Okay guys, let's not panic. We need to save her, that Ruin Guard is most likely taking her back to a Fatui campsite!"

"I'm way ahead of you, my liege." Xingqiu began his pursuit.

The exorcist stood still, "Why don't we let it take her? It's obvious who the Fatui is targeting, and it's not us. Her going back to them will solve everyone's problems."

"Unbelievable! Chongyun, she needs our help! Gosh, you're acting like such a jerk today!" Xiangling scolded, running full speed into the danger.

"Fine."

Like a damsel in distress, you feared that Lumine's party was going to get hurt in attempts to save you. Then again, you were also terrified at the thought of seeing Scaramouche again. This was clearly one of his strategies to bring you back to him. You were scared of what he was going to do to you if this kidnapping was successful. You didn't want to die tonight.

They caught up to you and already began unwinding their rescue plan. Even though the Ruin Guard tried to avoid the party, they were very quick with their reactions. It was stopped in place and it was ready to fight back.

Xingqiu gracefully painted the Ruin Guard with Hydro while Xiangling quickly jabbed her spear at the joints to immobilize it. The arm was raised which resulted in you being lifted up higher into the air, further out of everyone's reach.

"Starfall!" Lumine shouted and summoned a Geo structure, providing some sort of higher leverage to which Chongyun quickly took advantage of.

As the robot was getting overwhelmed with all kinds of elemental reactions, its arm swayed in the air, almost making you nauseous enough to hurl. Chongyun let out a short, frustrated yell as he swung his weapon and impaled the Ruin Guard directly into its weak point. The machine leaned down as it short-circuited.

Chongyun gouged out the eye mercilessly, destroying the robot's sight. With all his strength, he pried open its face with the claymore and metal parts flew into the air as the machinery slowly powered down. You felt the Ruin Guard's hand loosening its hold and you were slipping out from below.

You exclaimed fearfully as you fell, gravity pulling you back to earth. You braced for a painful landing, only for you to be caught just in time by Chongyun, who pulled onto his body and then so rudely pushed you off him right away.

Lumine grabbed onto your arm securely to hold you next to her, the relieved look on her face showed that she was happy you were safe. The rest of the party separated from the metal beast as it failed to stand up again.

The war machine let out one last robotic groan as it came crashing to the ground, breaking apart like a cheap toy that was thrown away like nothing. It laid there sadly, lifeless, and like the garbage it was. Everyone was now staring at the empty corpse and finally placed their weapons away.

You let out a sigh of relief as you pat down your body, checking your weapons too. Nothing was missing, broken, or even bent the wrong way. That was too close of a call.

A claymore was thrown at your feet and you stepped away as the blade stood upright in the dirt, a certain icy-haired male was making his way towards you. His eyes darkened and you felt frightened that he was going to fight you next.

"You're lucky I decided to save you," Chongyun pointed a threatening finger and jabbed your shoulder. "If it was only me and you, I would have stood back and watched."

This time, you felt your face flush bitterly, "I understand you're angry... but please don't blame me for something I cannot control...!"

The young man almost chuckled, "I don't know what you're trying to run away from, but it's obvious your Fatui inventions are trying to kill you, and only you. I can't believe it. You put me and my friends in danger, I don't know if you'll understand, but I love them dearly."

"I-I do understand... and I'm sorry," You whispered breathlessly.

Chongyun gritted his teeth at your apology, "I told you to stay put, yet you decided to move around anyway. That's how we were discovered."

"B... But the Ruin Guard would have found us regardless... It's programmed to lock their sights onto any living target..." You replied meekly, cringing slightly when your response riled him up some more.

"I should have just let it take you away...!"

"Hey!" Lumine stepped in angrily. "I said no bullying!"

"Xingqiu and Xiangling could have gotten hurt badly... If anything happens to them, I will never be able to forgive you."

"Dear Chongyun, please." Xingqui tried to hold him back.

"You better watch your back, Fatui girl, because maybe next time, I might not want to save you." Chongyun rubbed his knuckle on your shoulder, pushing you slightly.

"Chongyun," Xingqiu tugged at his sweater forcefully. "Stop it. Now."

Both boys stared at each other with hard eyes, almost silently arguing with one another. After a brief moment, the tension seemed to break as the hand on your shoulder was pulled away.

Finally, Chongyun sighed out of defeat and separated, but didn't forget to get one last word in.

"I would like to kindly ask you to not bring any more of your Fatui problems with us. It's just unacceptable." He frowned deeply, glancing at each person. "I'm sorry everyone, I lost control over myself again."

"Why don't you calm down and eat another popsicle?" Xiangling prompted nervously.

"I'm already on my last one," Chongyun glanced at you briefly before pulling his claymore from the ground. "It's because I've been feeling a lot more heated than usual... I'm going to walk around for a bit, don't follow me."

Everyone helplessly watched the Cryo user separate from the group and walk ahead unbothered, raising his huge weapon and carrying it over his shoulder effortlessly. The trio of best friends was currently down to two as Xiangling and Xingqiu sighed, disheartened.

Lumine was mildly disappointed at her party members but obviously wouldn't admit it out loud. You continued to stand back, out of the way to not cause any more problems. You wouldn't want to break apart another friendship.

"The Fatui are most likely sending more Ruin Guards to this area. I suggest we venture through the night, it's too dangerous to stay here." Xingqiu said sadly to the Traveller.

"You're right, Xingqiu," Lumine agreed. "Can we look at the map together and find another resting stop? I suggest we should avoid the main road to the Harbour for now."

As both adventurers began planning an alternative route to the city, you continued to sway timidly as your eyes fell to your feet once again. You started to reflect on what just happened. That Ruin Guard, Harbinger Dottore's little play thing, had just attempted to kidnap you. Surprisingly enough, it didn't attack anyone.

There were no missiles being fired, or deadly spinning of the sorts. It was like it was programmed only for locating you and stealing you away, that's its only purpose. You were starting to fear that Scaramouche had something to do with what just happened.

Your thoughts were cut short when Xiangling walked up to you and flashed a sympathetic smile, reaching over to give you a reassuring pat on the arm.

"He's not that mean, I promise." She spoke in a comforting voice, most likely referring to Chongyun. "He's just... very confused right now. If it'll make you feel better, I can try cooking you a dish that would bring your mood up? I can make almost anything!"

"Aren't you upset with me too?" You asked her as you recalled the first day you met. "I don't think I deserve such hospitality... After what my boss and I had done..."

"[Y/N]," Xiangling said your name with a kind grin. "You're being too harsh with yourself. What happened at the restaurant was in the past. I forgive you and I would like to be your friend...! We're practically teammates now!"

The chef girl pulled you along to join the rest of the group, both Lumine and Xingqiu happily welcomed you into their conversation.

"We have decided to stray off the main route and make our way to a more secure location where we wouldn't run into any more surprises," Lumine announced happily. "When we get there, we can finally sleep for the night."

You sighed nervously and then looked away sadly, "I would like to say that I'm sorry about what happened..."

The three of them gasped in shock.

"There is nothing you need to apologize for," Xingqiu replied earnestly. "We are glad that you are safe with us, [Y/N]."

You shuffled awkwardly, "I mean, your friend..."

"Ah, dear Chongyun." The bookworm spoke slowly. "I believe it is hard to explain..."

"It's not like him to be so upset..." Xiangling sighed sadly. "It's weird!"

"It's very strange indeed. This has never happened to this extent before." Xingqiu nodded his head in agreement, placing a fist on his open palm. "If we don't get him under control, he will do something crazy again."

"Something crazy?" Lumine raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Traveller, his anger has the same effect as eating a hundred Jueyun Chili! It really makes him act like a lunatic!" Xiangling exclaimed dramatically and the blonde's eyes widened in response.

"I had no clue...!" Lumine replied. "I mean, I know about his condition but I didn't know it could be that bad...!"

"It gets worse if he continues to bottle up himself and his emotions. His mind goes cloudy and sometimes he will not remember the events that took place during his explosive episode," Xingqiu explained. "It would be best to let dear Chongyun cool off. Things can get messy."

Just as Xingqiu said those words, everyone was startled by a loud bang and immediately turned towards the direction of the sound. From afar, you saw that Chongyun had swung his claymore so forcefully into a tree that the weapon was embedded deep inside the trunk, and it stayed there when he released the handle.

It made you feel worse knowing that he was most likely taking out his anger on his surroundings because of you. Though, it feels a little bit too familiar for your liking.