December 7
0704 Hours
Airspace Over Liyue – Denyu Pass
The four aircraft flew in tight formation, the night sky slowly giving way to dawn as they penetrated deeper into Teyvat territory. They'd flown through the night, throttling back and trimming for endurance. Every drop of fuel mattered now.
Below them, the rugged mountains of Liyue stretched out—snow-dusted, remote, unforgiving.
Emilie exhaled, her voice tight over the radio.
"We've got nowhere to land…"
Ayaka responded quietly, eyes scanning the terrain below.
"I know. If we do, we either get shot or arrested."
Mona's tone was darker.
"Or the 5050th catches up and turns us into fireballs."
Kaeya broke in, calm but edged with tension.
"We hold steady. Wait for a sign… or someone."
The radio crackled—an all-too-familiar frequency.
"This is the 5050th Squadron. We have the traitors in sight. Requesting permission to engage."
Then came Maksim's cold, unhesitating voice.
"5050th… engage."
A pause. Then, as if twisting the knife, their former AWACS came online.
"This is AWACS Thunderspike. 5050th, you are cleared to fire. Weapons free."
A low, bitter chuckle followed.
"Can't believe I flew with those bastards…"
Kaeya snapped into action.
"We dive. Stick to the valley. Take us down the pass—follow me to Dihua Marsh."
"Roger that, Kaeya." Emilie's voice was firm.
Kaeya slammed the throttles forward. The Hawk rolled inverted, nose dipping hard into the descent. The others followed—Emilie, Ayaka, and Mona dropped in behind him, their F-5s groaning as the g-forces pressed in.
Above, the pursuing squadron's comms lit up with surprise.
"That maneuver… wait—is that him?"
"You mean the Colonel? The 'Prince of Khaenri'ah' from the last war?"
"Yeah. The biggest traitor in our history. Kaeya Alberich…"
Kaeya keyed his mic.
"Hadura. I figured it had to be you. 5050th, huh? You renamed yourselves since the last war. You never could stomach flying in the same sky as me."
They weaved low through the winding valley, a ribbon of icy water tracing their path just beneath the rocks. The sun crested the peaks, casting long, early shadows over their route.
Suddenly, the river ended. A wide clearing opened below, dotted with skeletal wrecks—jets stripped for parts, their fuselages rusting beneath the frost.
Ayaka's voice broke the silence.
"What is this place…?"
"Aircraft graveyard," Emilie replied grimly.
"Old combat birds dumped after their last fight. Nothing flies here anymore…"
Kaeya's Hawk suddenly snapped into a hard-left, his wings slicing the air in a blistering maneuver.
Emilie's eyes went wide.
"Holy shit, Kaeya! How the hell did you pull that!?"
Ayaka flinched.
"He expects us to follow that!?"
"Yes!" Emilie barked, jerking her stick left. Her F-5 shrieked through the turn, wings nearly clipping the mountain wall as she mimicked Kaeya's move.
Kaeya's chuckle filtered through.
"Relax, young ones. You've got this."
Mona and Ayaka followed Emilie's lead, their jets clawing through the tight airspace. No room for error. One wrong move and they'd be lawn darts in the valley floor.
Emilie banked again—hard right this time—keeping with Kaeya's path. As she rolled level, she caught a glimpse above them: seven F-15S/MTDs circling like vultures, unwilling to risk following into the terrain.
Then another sharp right. Kaeya led them into a wider canyon, the rock faces towering on either side.
"My senses have never been this sharp!" Mona shouted, exhilaration creeping into her voice. "It's like flying on knives!"
They surged left again, now hugging the ridge line of a mountain that flanked them to the north.
"How's Houallet doing back there?" Emilie asked.
"Still alive and hanging on," Kaeya replied with a grin.
"Barely."
"You two keeping up?"
"So far, so good, Kaeya." Emilie answered.
Ayaka called in, her voice still catching her breath.
"Where the hell did you learn to fly like that!?"
Kaeya's voice came back light, but proud.
"Many battles ago, young aviator. This sky used to be mine…"
He then banked left, turning sharply into a narrow chute between the cliffs.
Emilie followed immediately. Mona tucked in close behind.
Ayaka hesitated—just slightly—then yanked her stick left with a startled gasp.
Mona keyed her radio.
"Ayaka! Don't stray too far off course!"
Then—looming ahead—yawned the dark mouth of a massive cave.
Ayaka's eyes widened in disbelief.
"WE'RE FLYING THROUGH THAT!?"
Emilie's tone was flat, calm under pressure.
"Yep."
Kaeya's Hawk darted into the black void, followed seamlessly by Emilie and Mona.
Ayaka braced, grit her teeth, and plunged in after them.
"Ugh—uhh—gah! Wh-WHOAAA!"
The walls pressed close. Shadows danced wildly from their strobes and nav lights.
Kaeya banked right again—this time toward a second cavern, darker and tighter than the first.
Emilie keyed up.
"Don't lose your sense of range in the darkness—you've got this!"
Mona chimed in, tension in her voice.
"This place is barely wide enough for our wings!"
Kaeya chuckled over comms.
"You're all making it sound too easy. Don't give me that much credit!"
"I know you can do it. Keep a wide field of vision. You're all excellent aces."
Then—light.
A shaft of it—breaking through the end of the tunnel.
Emilie leaned forward in her seat.
"I see light ahead!"
Ayaka winced against the sudden brightness.
"The light—it's a bit blinding!"
The four aircraft burst from the tunnel into open air, climbing slightly to gain altitude.
Kaeya keyed his radio.
"Emilie, do you see them? The 5050th?"
Emilie craned her neck, scanning sky and radar.
"Clear skies. Nothing on visual."
Mona exhaled hard.
"Phew… Looks like we're in the clear for now."
They pressed on northeast, skimming the treetops toward Mondstadt's border.
But then—radio static.
Crackling. Then the familiar, loathsome voice.
"This is Thunderspike. What the hell happened, 5050th? I've reacquired the traitors on radar!"
Another voice joined in—clear, cold, decisive.
"This is Tempest. I have visual. Do I shoot them down?"
Emilie sighed.
"Well… this might be it. Our end."
Mona's voice was weary, almost defeated.
"Even Mualani thinks we're traitors…"
Then—Maksim.
"Yes, Tempest…"
Kaeya laughed, just once.
"She's not our enemy."
Emilie frowned sharply.
"What the fuck are you talking about, Kaeya?"
The four aircraft pulled into a tight formation, wings almost tip to tip.
Then—breaking formation—Mualani's F-14A Tomcat roared past them from above. Fast.
She pulled into a sharp 180 and repositioned behind them—nose on, wings beginning to extend for low-speed flight.
Emilie glanced at her mirror—then blinked.
"Hey… I got something. Mualani's signaling with her flash beacon… Morse code."
Mona read it aloud, syllables slow and certain:
"Trust...
Me...
Bail...
Out...
Sea Monster Crew...
Arkhe."
"She wants us to bail."
Kaeya nodded.
"Then we trust her."
He glanced back at the rear of his cockpit.
"Houallet, pull the eject handle. You first."
A moment later—whoosh—Houallet's seat launched from the Hawk.
Then Kaeya followed—canopy blowing free as the ejection fired.
But just as Kaeya's seat cleared the aircraft—
A missile screamed across the sky.
Impact.
Kaeya's Hawk exploded into a fireball behind him.
Mualani's voice came over the comms:
"Tempest to Thunderspike. Splash one."
Thunderspike replied flatly.
"Kill confirmed, Tempest. Continue mission."
Next—Ayaka ejected from her F-5, followed by Mona seconds later.
Two more missiles streaked from Mualani's Tomcat.
Boom. Boom.
Both jets turned to fire and smoke.
"One left!"
Emilie's hands tightened on the handle. She pulled.
Whoosh. Canopy off. Seat launch.
She rocketed upward just as her F-5 was ripped apart by Mualani's final missile.
Dangling beneath her chute, Emilie reached up and detached from the seat. She pulled her chute's lines close and held still—watching burning debris rain into the ocean.
The five drifted down slowly, parachutes blooming like ghostly flowers against the ocean sky, then splashed into the cold waters below.
They stayed quiet.
Hidden beneath their parachutes.
Emilie remained silent—face half-submerged, breathing through her mouth, cloaked under the canopy fabric as seawater lapped around her.
She kept her ears locked on the radio—still active in her helmet.
"This is Thunderspike… all planes down! Good work, everyone. Return to base."
"Tempest, cleared to return to the Arkhe."
The radio hissed. Then silence.
They floated there for minutes—adrift.
Waves gently rocked their bodies as the parachutes spread across the surface, making them look like little more than debris.
Then—
Another voice, this time from a different aircraft.
"This is Sea Monster. No survivors on sight. Just wreckage…"
"Roger, Sea Monster. Return to base."
But Sea Monster didn't leave.
Instead, a new transmission crackled in—this one clear, personal, and intimate.
They'd switched to Emilie's frequency.
"Wolfsbane? This is your rescue helicopter. We're bringing you to a new place."
"You all have a new home."
Emilie's eyes shot open beneath the parachute. She slowly pulled the fabric off her head and looked up toward the sky.
The steady whup-whup-whup of rotors echoed above.
A UH-60 Black Hawk hovered just overhead—blades chopping the air, kicking up spray. From the open bay door, a rope was lowered toward her.
Emilie reached up, seized the line, and held on tight.
The hoist engaged. The rope went taut.
Her soaked flight suit clung to her skin as she was slowly lifted from the sea.
Up—rising past the remains of her downed F-5, past the floating canopy and parachute silk now rippling like seaweed.
Up into the belly of the beast.
She was pulled inside by gloved hands. A towel was immediately tossed over her shoulders.
Dripping and cold, Emilie caught her breath.
The pilot glanced back from the cockpit, flashing a tired but familiar smile.
"Hey Emilie. Welcome back."
She gave a soft exhale, slumping against the cabin wall.
"Thanks… guys."
The pilot nodded.
"We're taking you to the carrier Arkhe. Mona, Ayaka, Kaeya, and Houallet are aboard Helicopter Two."
Emilie nodded, silent for a beat.
"Right. Let's go."
The helicopter banked left and pulled into forward flight, rotors thrumming as it climbed away from the wreckage.
It turned northeast, toward the horizon.
Toward Musk Reef.
Their new home.