Chapter Text
As Lynette’s boots hit the wooden dock below her, Lyney was busied by the waverider as he attempted to tie the boat down. Truthfully, she isn’t quite confident in why they were in Natlan— apart from the fact that Lyney was eager to head down to the resort the moment he caught wind of Traveller being there.
Speaking of which, here they finally stood Easybreeze Holiday Resort. After what felt like days of being on the water, she finally could get a proper chance to stretch her legs.
It was becoming evermore present to her that it was in fact not fully built yet. Narrowing her eyes, she could see the faint figure of the Traveller run back and forth, seemingly moving boxes.
A sigh grew in her chest as she came to another realization; they were likely going to get dragged into helping them with the construction. Knowing herself, she was bound to mess something up along the way. Lynette could only pray to the Archons above that she’ll be able to get out of it later.
Much too caught up in her own thoughts to notice, Lyney returned to her side as per usual. Only then did his talking catch her attention.
“So, dear sister, what shall we do first?” He smiled, placing his hat back atop his head. Lyney always had his way with all of the theatrics, even while they were alone. She very well knew the reasoning behind it, though she was never sure if he even knew himself.
“The hotel?” Crossing her arms, she shot a glance at her brother. Her answer was blunt, though it should’ve been obvious enough to Lyney. Though, his thoughts were much rather caught up in struggling to carry all their bags. This was his choice, of course. He had previously insisted he be the one to grab everything, much to his demise.
Pressing a finger to his lips, Lyney simply nodded. It appeared as though he hadn’t even thought of that quite yet. “Come along then!” His normal demeanor quickly returned as he grabbed Lynette’s hand to guide her along, pretending as though he had a clue on where they were staying.
Not more than a moment had passed before they came across a wooden sign with a map of the resort pinned to it. Lyney was practically giddy upon such a discovery, as he quickly ran up towards it.
Such an action only made something more obvious to her; they were utterly lost here. While she typically had a good sense of direction back in Fontaine, Lynette had no choice but to admit defeat in trying to find her way around Natlan. She didn’t quite trust her brother to lead them anywhere, either.
Lyney began to back away from the sign by now, waving her along with him. “So, you really don't know where we’re going?” She questioned, changing her pace to catch up with him. Once she fell into place beside him, he made a show of getting rid of her (rather reasonable) worries.
“You really underestimate me, sister? Of course I do!” His voice wavered a bit as it trailed off, taking a quick glance around where they were walking. “Yes, just down here, if I’m not mistaken.” Lyney’s seemingly infinite energy always managed to outstand her, as he still managed to walk multiple paces faster than her.
A sigh escaped her chest as she tailed him. Despite the map they had just checked moments earlier, it felt as though they were going absolutely nowhere.
That thought quickly disappeared as a giant building practically popped up into view. Lyney lifted his arm, excitedly motioning towards it. “This is the one, I believe!” He smiled, looking back towards her before opening the double doors and taking a step inside.
With varying colors of paint dripping from the walls outside, Lynette could only be concerned on what it looked like on the inside. For a brief moment, she stopped on the small staircase outside. Turning around, she realized something. It seemed as though every building happened to have the same array of colors splattered across them.
Well, that, and the girl who had just fallen to the ground a couple feet away from her. Lynette sighed once again, looking towards the hotel one last time.
Normally she gets out of every interaction possible, but nobody else seemed to be bothering to even look at her as she laid on the ground. So, she headed for the unknown girl immediately. Hopping off the steps. Lyney will be fine without her for a few minutes, surely.
As she finally reached her, she looked down. Upon doing so, she realized yet another rather important thing. This girl was in fact, not just a girl. Everything but her face seemed to be made out of a different robotic part.
Lynette bent down, and upon further inspection, every part of her seemed to be from a different region. It was practically impossible to try and place one city she might need to be brought back to. As she was crouched over her, she brought her hand out and made an attempt to wake her up.
Unfortunately, her attempts would be quite pointless. She simply wouldn’t budge, and she couldn’t help but wonder if she somehow broke this girl— if she could even call her that. Lynette knew she had a habit of breaking any robotic thing she came across, but she never considered it was so bad she could break one from multiple feet away.
Never more had she wished Freminet had agreed to come along with them than she did now, as he’d definitely know what was going on. He truly had a knack for that, managing to fix anything she breaks in her path.
With only one choice left at this point, Lynette knew she would have to try and pick her up. As she couldn’t simply leave her on the dirt outside, she’d have to carry her back inside the hotel.
Luckily enough, she had enough training lugging around giant props for her and Lyney’s shows to be able to pick her up. Not that it lasted very long, though. Just as she managed to grab her, she stumbled over a rock and toppled both of them over with a loud crash.
Apparently, this sound had been just obnoxiously loud enough to startle Lyney and have him come racing outside.
“Lynette?” He called out as his pace slowed, looking down to where she still sat on the ground. “What in Teyvat happened?” His eyes shot between her and the girl, his worry only increasing as the situation unfolded.
Once he had reached his hand out to help her up, she took it as a chance to explain what happened. “I was trying to help that girl,” Lynette paused, glancing down at where the robot lay completely still. “I managed to break.. something about her.”
Lyney’s lips pursed, clearly pondering on what to do with her now. “Very well…” He nodded, seeming to have come to a conclusion at last. “Let’s take her inside, then I shall get a mechanic of sorts to fix her.”
There was still a hint of uncertainty in his voice while he spoke. Lyney must’ve noticed she heard it too, as he quickly got to work on trying to pick the girl up to hide that fact. “Well then, let’s go!”
He flicked his head, motioning for her to follow along back to the hotel.
Night had long since fallen, yet Lyney still was out. Lynette had agreed to stay behind to watch over her while he hunted down a mechanic, but her worry had begun to swallow her.
He had been out for ages now, and she couldn't help but wonder if he had gotten lost. It was their first time in Natlan after all, Lynette wouldn't put it past him. She supposed she would simply have to wait by and see.
Shaking off her anxiety now, she sat at their dining table sipping away at a cup of tea. Glancing to her side, the robot stayed placed down on a chair in the corner of their room. It wasn't quite that she thought she would have moved by now, simply that she hoped she’d miraculously power back on by herself.
Placing her teacup back down, she couldn't help but go to inspect the robot further.
She could have sworn she was crazy, as the moment she reached the girl, her eyes seemed to light up. It was a small difference— it would’ve been hardly noticeable. Though in such a small room which only was lit by a dim lamp in the opposite corner, her blue eyes appeared more vibrant than ever.
Lynette could only feel surprise at this discovery, with her history of seeming to break everything around her. Unless, that is, her eyes really weren’t meant to do that, and—
Just before she could convince herself she was even more broken than before, she spoke; “Powering on.” Her voice was soft, yet monotone, and she sounded as if she already knew where she was. It startled Lynette, sending her jumping back in surprise.
“Ah, you’re awake now..? How’s that?” Her voice shivered, leaving her usual calm demeanor completely destroyed by now. That didn't last for long, though, as Lynette quickly straightened herself out and took a step forward.
The girl didn't respond for a moment, only offering a stare back. It felt like ages had passed as her eyes pierced through her, but the long silence finally drew to a close after that agonizing minute.
“Apologies, it.. appears I cannot recall what happened.” Her head titled to the side while she spoke, completely lost in thought as she tried to restore whatever memory she may have had previously.
None of her responses ever seemed to truly answer Lynette's questions, instead rather her own. This only made her more curious about her, though.
“Ineffa…” She finally stated, pressing a finger to her lips as if she wasn’t even sure about her own words. “That’s what my name is, I believe.”
Lynette blinked, glancing down to the ground before her eyes glided back up to her. “You only believe?”
Whatever situation Ineffa was in was getting more and more confusing by the minute, leaving her completely dumbfounded every time she spoke.
Just before the other girl had a chance to open her mouth, Lynette quickly retracted her statement. They had larger problems at hand aside from her name, and it wasn't like she’d suddenly start to understand everything now.
“Nevermind.” She shook her head, all while still staring at Ineffa. “You truly don't know how you got here?” Despite what she had already previously told her only moments before, Lynette was hoping she’d get some sort of answer.
Deep in thought once again, Ineffa answered with nothing but silence. That’s when only a sigh could escape Lynette's lips, knowing this was a sign she would be learning nothing from her, not like this at least.
“Apologies, it appears my memory has been damaged.”
Hm. Ineffa’s answer was practically identical to the one before. A side effect from whatever happened to her, perhaps? Whatever the reasoning was, it seemed she only had a few set responses.
“Very well.” Lynette’s shoulders slumped ever so slightly in disappointment.
Her eyes averted from the girl sitting down now, scanning through the room around her. She hadn’t looked around quite yet, only now noticing how small the room was.
There were two beds placed into the middle of the room, accompanied by a wooden night stand separating the two where a lamp was placed to the side of one of them.
From where she stood sat the chair where Ineffa was. Alongside with a small table, pushed against the wall, where Lynette was only a couple minutes before.
Even while she distracted herself by looking around their room, she couldn't help but have her eyes land onto the window behind Ineffa. The moon had reached its peak in the sky, but there was still no sign of Lyney returning back.
Worry crept onto her face, exchanging her usual ambiguous expression for one more anxious. Ineffa must've been able to tell this, as she wasted no time pointing it out to her.
“Is something wrong?” She scanned her face, staring at her. Lynette could've sworn she heard something close to empathy in her voice, but she couldn't quite be sure. She’s a robot, after all, she wouldn’t be able to feel emotions like that, right?
Lynette quickly ignored her own thinking, knowing very well she had too many questions and very too little answers. “It's nothing, simply that my brother hasn't returned yet.” She sighed, rolling her eyes a bit in annoyance. What could possibly be taking him so long, anyhow?
Ineffa nodded, taking the information in. “You should go look for him, I can stay here.” She offered, motioning her hands towards the door. Lynette knew she was right, but it still didn't feel right to just leave her behind like that so soon.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine alone, really. He got himself into whatever's taking him so long, he can figure it out.” Lynette snapped back, though her annoyance was very clearly directed towards Lyney.
Truthfully, she knew she was lying to herself. Ever since the first time they were separated as children, Lynette couldn't help but be a bit worried anytime they were apart for long periods of time. Just as much as she knew that, she knew it was a quite silly thing to ponder over.
She’d much rather stay back with Ineffa and wait for him to return, though.
Well, until Ineffa spoke. “You should go find him. Especially since you don't come from here, correct?”
“Huh. How’d you know that?”
Well, she supposed it is quite obvious they were in a hotel room currently.
“Your clothing, it is Fontanian.” She pointed out, motioning her head down to what she was wearing at the moment.
Ah. It had slipped Lynette’s mind that Ineffa likely had some sort of programming to be able to detect things such as that. It’s something Freminet would probably know about.
Thinking of which, this entire situation would be much easier if he had agreed to tag along with them. Or at the very least, could contact him quicker than just a letter.
Dismissing that now, she shrugged. “I suppose you’re correct. Stay here until I return.”
She took that as her chance to finally get away from their conversation, so she questioned Ineffa no further. “See you.”
It's not quite that she disliked talking to her specifically, she found her interesting to listen to really. More so that she needed to hunt down Lyney and drag him back still, and that wasn't going to happen by itself.
Now with one last long glance towards the teacup which was likely far colder than just room temperature by now, she opened the door and headed out.
Knowing Lyney, he was probably out getting dragged into doing something with the Traveller by now.