Stuck In Another Reality? Darn.

Chapter 14.

You finally managed to escape the tickling after Diluc had cut in, though he was extremely amused at the sight.

You let out a breath of relief, thankful that you were able to start banishing your extremely pink face. You made a mental note of how Diluc was the only person that wasn't a traitor and giggled mentally about how petty you were being.

Being happy was nice.

But alas, there were serious matters to attend to; all of you had nearly forgotten about the huge threat over Mondstadt, something you were reminded of when you turned to Venti.

"So uh...I'm pretty sure we still have a bit of a problem on us." You said semi-timidly, knowing that this happy mood would be broken.

All of the groups shoulders sagged at this grim reminder. "I really should examine the dragon tear a bit more." mused Aether out loud. He held out his hand then lo and behold, a crystal appeared. It was a bright and clear blue.

"Wasn't the tear red when you put the crystal away, Aether?" Paimon asked in confusion. Well, after Aether took her out of his pocket. You, Diluc and Kaeya leaned in, getting an eyeful of it. "Yeah...it was red. How is it clear?"

"Hmm, I have a bit of a theory." Venti mused, observing it as well. He then proceeded to take out another crystal from his pocket, holding it up. This one was a dark red and looked a bit murky.

"Try holding onto this one, Aether."

Aether looked at Venti dubiously, but took it anyways. Then, such a glow occurred that made you wonder if you were going blind. "Uh, am I going blind?" You wondered out loud.

But then you deadpanned as you saw the room come back into focus. "Nevermind, guess not." You quickly replied to yourself, grinning in awkwardness.

You then saw what caused no one to respond to you. The crystal that Aether held was now the same clear blue that he had originally...except that this one was formerly red?

How in the hell does that work?

...

You were a kinda zombie and Paimon had a house in Aether's pocket, why do you even bother asking yourself that anymore?

You clapped your hands, forcing your mind to attempt to wrap around this. "Alright, so Aether can uh...clean this tear. What now? Mondstadt is still in danger."

Venti then spoke up. "I already have a plan for dealing with Dvalin, though thank you for helping with the tear."

You turned to him, excitement clear in your eyes as you happily asked, "Really? So we'll be able to have the competition soon? Also, am I able to help?"

"Well, Aether, you probably could help. I'm planning on going to the Cathedral to get a certain lyre. It would make do for an apology for getting me wounded!" Venti chided, reminding you all that he was a part-time dragon tamer.

"Sure." Aether bluntly responded. Him being the angel he was, he didn't mind helping an entire city that he had just wandered into. Or make a big fuss about Venti being a bit of a gremlin.

You say only a bit because Kokichi was the Ultimate Gremlin. No ifs ands or buts about it. If Kokichi had a second title, that would be it.

You now felt bad for marking Aether as a traitor, but you didn't feel bad about the 'uwu hero daddy' label you mentally slapped onto him. You knew for damn sure that if you were him being dragged into this mess, you would be a lot less compassionate about this whole plight.

But hey, it did inspire you to try helping out a bit. You pouted. "What about me? I want to help!" You were sobbing inside at the lack of inclusion.