The demise of a hero

Darkness

With a jolt, the immobile body was dragged ashore. A long look from violet cold eyes slid over him and quickly removed the objects that might be of value. Then the thief carelessly left him and went on his way, since he could not longer linger here. But he did not get far, for he was surprised in front of the house.

"Scaramouche. So we meet again..." said Pulcinella coldly, folding his arms.

"Not you, too. I'm done with you," his counterpart hissed, turning away.

"But we're not done with you. Where's Childe?" asked Pulcinella directly.

"Ohhhh if you knew..." retorted Scaramouche sadistically.

"...I wouldn't care. You obviously ran into him, I see," Pulcinella countered slowly. Inside, he was boiling. Outwardly, however, he was able to hide his feelings. He could only hope that his counterpart was bluffing.

"You can say that. And now you're coming after him, huh? Honestly, I've always had respect for you.... Number five... But now I won't hesitate to finish you off too if you try to get in my way. I have nothing more to deal with you, I advise you to let me go!" said Scaramouche with a dangerous undertone.

"You advise me to... cute... I didn't intend to do anything to you. However, I was going to make you a deal.... Give me back the gnosis, you can't do anything with it anyway. Also, you tell me where Childe is. And I'll negotiate better conditions for you with Dottore in return...", Pulcinella tried to negotiate with him. But he noticed that it was difficult. Scaramouche must have really gone completely mad. The gnosis was lost for the time being. It could probably be regained if the Tsaritsa or another archons intervened, but that required further strategic planning.

"Forget it. You won't get me to come back to Snezhnaya with you. And as for Childe..." put in Scaramouche, grinning wryly. On purpose, he apparently did not speak further.

"What!!! where is he!!!?", Pulcinella was now losing patience.

"Hmm...that...is difficult...because I don't really know...", Scaramouche replied, apparently amused. Pulcinella realized directly that he was lying to his face.

"Tell me where he is, or ...- do what you want with your gnosis, get lost from here and never come back.... but give me back Childe, you know I need him," Pulcinella said, now angry.

"Ohh... you're welcome to have him back..." retorted Scaramouche. His face derailed into a psychotic expression that slowly turned into an absolutely insane grin. "In the courtyard he lies... he might just be very, very lifeless..."

Pulcinella stared at Scaramouche, in shock. His hands began to tremble and he wanted to go for his throat without hesitation.

"You..." he hissed, while his hands almost wrapped around Scaramouche's petite neck, he called himself to his senses at the last moment. This was what the little poisonous dwarf wanted, after all. He had only a brief moment to decide what to do now. And he decided to go and look for Childe. There was still the possibility that Scaramouche had lied and was just taking advantage of him going into the courtyard and then running away. He let it happen. There was no stopping him anyway. Not now. And so he walked with heavy steps into the backyard.

There, however, his worst expectations came true when he saw Childe lying motionless on the ground. His clothes were hanging away from him in shreds, his whole body was covered with injuries. He quickly rushed to him and carefully propped him up.

"Childe...!" he tried to address him, but he did not move. He was not breathing.

"Well," he heard a voice that snapped him out of it completely before he could even allow any kind of emotion. Looking up, he looked into Scaramouche's condescending face.

"I have no time now to bother with such banalities as the dead.... Farewell, Pulcinella," he said coldly. Then he turned his back on him and left the courtyard. Pulcinella had no choice but to look after him and let him go. He didn't know exactly what it was.... it felt like something had been ripped out of him and that he no longer had the strength to stand.

#

But he needed the strength. He needed it for Childe. And so after a while he lifted him up, or rather what was left of him. Gently he held him on his arms and did what had to be done now. A brave warrior had to be buried with dignity. He strode down to the canal where an old gondola was tied up. Carefully, he placed Childe's body inside and reached for the oar. In the meantime, night had fallen on the city.

When he left, he put on his mask, black, with a beak. He didn't want to show his face to anyone. It was a puny attempt to hide his feelings, which was usually not difficult for him. But now everything that the fifth Harbinger had feared had happened. It didn't even surprise him, and yet it left him shocked.

"I always wanted to protect you, but then everything changed..." he said softly, looking down at Childe.

"...Control slipped out of my hand, even as you decided to go to Liyue and live your own life there. Why did I just know it, that at some point you would go too far and face a battle you couldn't win.... I just hoped it would bring you to your senses, only now it's the end of you.... and I couldn't do anything to prevent it," it dripped from his lips like bitter cold.

Slowly the gondola slid across the canal with the dark water wafting like black pitch through the gloomy houses.

Childe's face was as it had always been. Youthful, delicate, unharmed, just a little pale, in fact, as if he were just sleeping. But he would never open his bright blue eyes again.

"I should have known... I always told you that you were going too far... and every damn time you didn't listen to me. You knew better," Pulcinella said, shaking his head.

"From that, I once had good reason not to trust you too much or to want to be close to you in any way. Even when you left, I didn't mind as long as you were happy. But what even are good intentions - it's too late. And now, my heart is breaking after all anway-", Childe couldn't hear him anymore. Besides, there was no one around for miles. It was all right to say that. Pulcinella tried to swallow the feeling down, but then a tear dripped from under his mask.

The next moment he clenched his hand into a fist. The fifth Harbinger swore to take revenge on the gods in the name of Fatui and the Tsaritsa. If only his Childe had managed to come further with him... then they could have gone to Celestia together with the others with the help of the gnosis - only at that moment he wished he could have stopped him from becoming a Harbinger at all. Why had he guessed that this would be his demise and ended up being right - but now time had run out. This was the end. The end of Ajax.

##

"One can trust him, but one ought not get too attached. He has unusual tastes when it comes to combat - the encounters he craves the most being those that bring him closest to his own demise." -The cautious counsel of fellow Harbinger, Pulcinella

- Quote from the character announcement of Childe/Tartaglia, mhy lab.

(also my inspiration for the story, along with the Scaramouche leak).