It was dark, too dark. You could feel your heart racing, sweat dripping down your face. It was cold, not enough to make you shiver, but enough to make you anxious. There was a slight breeze. Though it felt nice, it made you feel a bit uneasy. Where were you?

Suddenly, you could hear a scream in the distance. A young boy? No, it wasn't just any boy. That scream belonged to none other than your little brother, Tobi.

Without thinking, you rushed to the origin of the sound, desperately hoping and praying to any archon that would listen that he was okay.

Just before you reached him, you saw a small silhouette. It had to be Tobi's, surely.

Running towards the shadow, you almost made it. But just as you attempted to grab ahold of the figure, it dissolved into thin air.

He was gone.

Before you had the chance to react, a voice called out to you from all directions, saying your name. You couldn't pinpoint where exactly it was coming from. You kept hearing it, piercing through your head.

"Y/N!"

That's when you woke up in a cold sweat. The first thing you saw when you opened your eyes was the nervous face of your boyfriend, Scaramouche.

"Y/N? Are you okay??" He swiftly asked as you awoke.

"Huh..?" You slowly sat up, trying to recall what had just happened. It was obvious you were dreaming. And yet, it felt so real.

Scaramouche explained, "You were crying and calling for help."

You took a deep breath, careful not to let any of those negative emotions get to you. So, you threw on a smile, "It was just a dream. I get them often, don't worry about it."

He sighed of relief, laying back down. To that, you leaned over him, a smirk plastered all over your face, even through your puffy red eyes, "Why, Lord Scaramouche, could it be that you were.. worried about me?" You teased.

"Shut up, I wasn't. It was your imagination." Scaramouche defended.

You chuckled, "Sure it was." That little scene of his was quite amusing to you, which definitely brightened your mood.

Looking out the window, you noticed the sun about to rise, "It's going to be light soon, should we get going?"

Scaramouche sighed, followed by a large stretch. You had to admit, him doing his little morning stretch was kind of cute.

"That would be wise," he slowly emerged from the bed, rubbing his eyes to make himself feel more awake, "I'll head out first, you can say your goodbyes."

You nodded in agreement. You didn't know when you'd get to see Lu Wen or Tobi again. It honestly made you quite sad. Then again, you knew Tobi was in good hands with Lu Wen. After all, she reminded you of a more mellow version of your mother. Your mom was almost exactly like your best friend, yet she was more strong-willed and spontaneous than Lu Wen.

Though you hated to say it, Lu Wen was more of the "mother type", way more than your mother was. Yet you still loved her dearly. She might not have been super nurturing, but she loved you with all her heart. She would take you on adventures, teach you survival tactics, and your favorite part, she'd always tell you amazing stories about her travels. You couldn't help but wish you had spent more time with her while she was alive..

After you both got ready for the day, you exited the bedroom. To your surprise, there was a knock on the front door. Not just one, multiple. Someone seemed to be in a hurry.

You quickly ran to open the door, and low and behold, there was Childe.

"Childe?? What are you doing here? Weren't you way ahead of us on the trek to Snezhnaya? And- how'd you knew I was here..?" You asked, extremely confused.

Childe quietly let himself in, closing the door behind him, "I don't have much time to explain. You need to get out of here. Both of you. Now."

You suddenly became very alert, "W-What's going on?"

That's when Scaramouche entered the room.

Scaramouche scowled, "What are you doing here?? Hey, step away from them, you're too close." As he said that, he walked over to you, pulling you closer to him.

Childe's demeanor was totally different from before, back in Mondstadt when he was helping you devise a plan to fool the Tsaritsa. This time, he was serious. It was almost terrifying..

"The Tsaritsa is onto you. A group of Fatui soldiers ratted you out, so she sent Signora to go deal with you and bring you in." Childe said.

Scaramouche was speechless. For once he didn't know how to respond. Probably because he knew it was his fault for being so reckless around the agents.

You attempted to reply for him, stuttering your words. As one would, after all you had a Harbinger and an archon after you, "How long do we have?"

Childe crossed his arms, "I'd say mere hours."

"Hours??" You were really starting to worry.

Scaramouche walked over to the other side of the table, placing his hands onto it and looking down, as if he was thinking, or in a state of deep regret.

You glanced over at Scaramouche, then back to Childe, "Why are you telling us this anyway? You know, if you brought us in you'd probably be rewarded yourself."

Childe sighed at your question, "Look, I might not get along with shortie over there, but I too think the 'no relationships rule' in the Fatui is idiotic." He continued, "I'd hate to see a strong relationship like yours go into ruins just because of some stupid rule. Just think of it as a friend helping a friend."

Fatui Harbingers, though they're scary and mean at first, all of the ones you've met weren't bad people at all. Underneath all that intimidating exterior and god complexes, there's a person in there who can genuinely care for people. You realized that not all harbingers were truely "evil", they're not like what you're mom taught you at all.

"Thank you Childe.." you then glanced over at Scaramouche, who was in the same position as before.

Finally, he lifted his head to speak, "What are we supposed to do? Be on the run from Signora forever?!"

"I warned you last night that this might happen.." You softly tried to remind him.

Scaramouche walked around the table, standing next to you and Childe, "And what if she finds us? What's she gonna do? Huh? Kill us both?"

Gently placing your hand on his shoulder, you reminded him that Tobi and Lu Wen were asleep upstairs, to which he calmed down a bit. Childe, who had just been watching Scaramouche go off, sighed once again, "I'd love to stay and chat about how wrong the system is, but I'd advise that you two get moving."

You sat down, feeling a bit dizzy. Maybe it was from the sudden heartbreaking news, maybe it was your lack of sleep the night before, or maybe it was that dream you had.

Now that you thought about it thoroughly, that dream was probably foretelling what had just happened. The silhouette, Tobi's silhouette, that disappeared into thin air. It really could've been telling you that you would now have to leave Tobi behind, never to see him again.

Once you left today, there was no coming back. If you came back here to see Tobi, you'd be bringing the danger right to him. You'd hate yourself if you ever put him in danger like that. The only way to assure his safety, was if you ran away and never came back. That way, he'd be free from any harm regarding Fatui.

To your dismay, you had started to tear up and you didn't realize. You immediately wiped your tears away, hoping neither of the harbingers noticed. Of course, when you looked up, they were both staring at you. But at this point, you didn't care who saw you break down. Your whole life had just been ruined. You wished Childe had never come through that door, that you'd never have opened it.

Maybe that way, this pain you felt wouldn't exist.

Scaramouche looked over at Childe, "Could you give us a minute?" To which he simply nodded and left the house.

After Childe left, Scaramouche knelt down beside you as you sat hopelessly in your chair. He placed his hand onto yours, in an attempt to comfort you, "I'm so sorry.. this is all my fault. It's my fault you won't get to see your brother anymore, it's my fault you might die while you're with me.."

Then those words, the words you dreaded the most, came out of his mouth.

"Maybe.. this wasn't meant to be. Maybe it's a sign, saying that no matter what we do, we can never be together in peace." Scaramouche said, even though he was a bit choked up.

This caught your attention, "What? No! Why would you even suggest that?"

Scaramouche chuckled, though it was obviously forced, "I know I shouldn't think like that, but I can't help it." He continued, "It's not too late you know. If we parted ways now, you'd be safe from harm, they still don't know who you are. It's too late for me, but not for you."

"No..!" You yelled, you didn't care who was sleeping at this point, you'd wake up the whole neighborhood to make sure Scaramouche heard you, "I don't want to leave you again! I can't lose you a second time.."

Those words did indeed make him feel happy, but it didn't change the fact that the situation you were in was quite difficult.

Scaramouche finally stood up, "Well, Y/N, are you sure about this? Is this what you really want? You may never see your friend or brother ever again."

You knew he was just thinking negatively. If all goes well, and you're able to either convince the Tsaritsa that you mean no harm, or successfully get Scaramouche out of the Fatui, then there was a chance you'd see them again. It may not even be the last time you see them.

That being said, you nodded, "I'm sure. I'm positive this will work out, and I'll be able to return to them safely."

He sighed, cracking a small smile, "You never fail to amaze me, Y/N."

You stood up as well, looking into his blue eyes, "So, what do we do? Run? Fight?"

Scaramouche sternly folded his arms, "Personally, I think it's best to run for now. Only to make sure your brother and friend are as far away from us as possible. It'd be bad if they were caught in the crossfire."

"So, we run, and then let the fight come to us?" You asked for clarification.

"Precisely," Scaramouche quickly answered.

You sighed. There was no turning back after you left this house. You so desperately hoped that you were making the right decision. With that, it was best for you to say your goodbyes to your loved ones upstairs, just in case you never saw them again..