𝕍𝕚𝕔𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕦𝕕𝕖 ○ 𝕂𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕒𝕥𝕠 𝔸𝕪𝕒𝕥𝕠

0. Deal with the Devil

Prologue: seldom are your altruistic acts, let alone one of this magnitude for your closest friend. Tonight a trail of gunpowder is laid, and a match is set alight. Where, or who, the trail will lead you to, however, you are unsure.

You and Yelan have found yourselves in a sticky situation after breaking into one of Pantalone's illegal trade routes, though you're the one who has to pay the price.

━━━

"...And that should do it," you say, your deft, skilled hands dropping a now-picked lock onto the grass below. Your whispers do not go unheard as fireflies incandescent dispel the dark of the night that has befallen.

"Great. I'll head in first, then," Yelan replies. You can almost see her nodding in approval. "Make sure to leave the vent open so we can leave after we get what we want."

The crickets of the night hum a tune, a dirge for the events about to unfold – as if they were chanting a warning that not one of their audience heeded.

You follow swiftly after Yelan, leaving the vent open as requested, slipping through the gap with little difficulty. The room you enter is spacious, and empty. It seems to fit Yelan's description, and now you find yourselves in one of Pantalone's many illegal trade routes.

The notion of a Harbinger being present is dangerous, but also rather exciting. The place is not well lit, and both yours and Yelan's torchlights cut through the darkness, needles of light ready to pierce a new specimen of animal in a museum display, directly through the abdomen. With steps quiet and inconspicuous, two agents advance through the underground den.

"Retrieve the bracelet and leave as soon as we're done," you murmur aloud, asking Yelan for confirmation. You do not look at her as you speak; you and Yelan have been working together for years, and you trust one another enough to know where the other is.

Perhaps the both of you have grown slightly prideful of your partnership. There is a fine line between pride and hubris...and you both tread very carefully on that line.

"Take the bracelet and go. We shouldn't linger around if there are too many Fatui crawling around here. It's not worth risking being outnumbered."

"I'm sure Lady Ningguang would be dismayed if she lost us," you laugh quietly. It's true. You and Yelan are the best of the best working for Lady Ningguang.

There does not seem to be any activity in the cavernous halls of the trade route. Soon, you arrive at a fork. There are two paths to take.

"We'll split, then. You take the left. I'll take the right," you say.

Yelan nods, and takes the left pathway. "I won't stray far."

"I doubt I will either. Regroup here if anything goes south or we find anything interesting."

The trade route once again falls silent as you split paths. Your hand drifts to the gun holstered at your waist, an advanced sort of quick-fire, quick-load pistol that you proudly flaunt as a spoil of war from a highly guarded Fatui base. It boasts of elemental workings that work in harmony to maintain the gun – Cryo energy harnessed to cool down the muzzle so that holstering the weapon after firing doesn't scald one's skin off, compressed Anemo energy to soften kick and recoil, among many. The technology is quite unlike anything you have come across in your life; it is, indeed, the creme de la creme of weaponry, even in the Fatui – and by extension, Snezhnaya.

If you concentrate hard enough on how the cool metal of the gun soothes irritated calluses on your lithe fingers, you can perhaps extract a sliver of the thrill you experienced that day on your most difficult and most rewarding infiltration mission.