Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sun beat down on the ruined city like a physical blow. There were no cool breezes or shady patches of greenery on this particular iteration of earth. Or ice-cream stalls, thought the hero of this particular story glumly. The heat had burnt faer skin to a soggy crisp, and the rough dusty wind flew up into faer eyes, the insides of faer battlesuit and every cut and scrape, and faer dried sweat made faer skin feel like sandpaper. If fae’d been less terrified of Miss Delta or less busy with faer sword, fae might even have complained about it. Despite the edict of flame that had razed this world to its bones millennia ago, the captain still thought there was something here worth sending them down to scout for. This bubble universe was dead.

“HYah!” Dead, but not lifeless. The honkai was still here, of course, and it tried its best to stop the scouts’ investigation in their tracks. “Just- die – already – jerk!” Rozaliya gasped, twirling on faers heel to carve a path through the hordes of beasts attacking them. Fae settled back down with faers legs neatly together and faers sword supporting faer, and panted through the dirty pink hair sticking to faers face. Fae could barely smell where faer sister and teacher were through the overpowering levels of dust in faer nose – fae could only trust that Lili was still okay. “Roza idiotka, get aside!” Something – Delta’s tail – caught hers and pulled faer back by it just as a horse-and-rider beast stabbed the ground where faer torso had been. “Fu-” She steadied faerself, feeling a sharp pain shoot through faer foot, which had landed on the ground twisted – faer ‘neat’ stance had left faer unbalanced. A boot landed on faer head, knocking faer chin down onto faer chest-spike. Liliiya, her younger twin leapt through the air, bringing her sword, Swan Lake, down on the beast. Roza rubbed faer chin sullenly. In another burst of humming technicolour, Miss Delta reduced the rest of the horde into scraps of smoking silicon. She looked to and fro, sniffing hard to check for any leftover attackers. “Well done, Liliya.” She conceded at last in her rasping, ruined voice. “I did tell you to keep a defensive position, though.”

“That’s exactly what I did, ma’am.” Said Lili. Roza bent down and almost toppled over. Faer mouth had gone completely dry and faer head thumped like a goddamn drum. “I kept in a position to defend Roza.”

“Good.” Said Delta approvingly, and even without looking Roza could see her pet faer sister on the head. Then fae heard her footsteps come closer to fae and froze. Welp, here it comes. Fae looked up at faer teacher’s face and at once regretted it. Every wrinkle and scar was pulled taut, the thin chopped-up lips pinched up in a scowl. “You, on the other hand. Have proven yet again that you can’t be trusted on the battlefield without a leash.”

“Yes, I can!” whined Roza, faer face burning.

“Then why do you insist on making yourself a liability? How many times have I had to tell you this?”

“It’s too hot-”

“Well, I suppose we should have notified the Honkai that Little Rozaliya was too delicate for it and told it to reschedule itself around faer terms!”

Roza bit faer lip and stared sullenly at the ground, teacher’s voice throbbing in faer head. Fae wanted to deny her, but everything she said was right. “What about your sister? You don’t see her complaining, do you?” What about my sister? What about how you never look at me like you do with her! “What of your crewmates, still working their asses off on deck? Do you think this war is gonna wait for your comfort?” She took a deep breath, and fae glanced up to look at her again. Her impossibly mutilated face was pulsing in the heat, as wet with sweat as faer own, blood and grime caked in every crease, a throbbing vein in her forehead. Her eyes were blazing with anger, and it made Roza sick to faer stomach. Fae looked across at Liliya, who looked embarrassed by her fury, but no more surprised than fae was. Of course. She can’t help being the favourite one, can she? And I should have been more aware – I should have been ready to protect her. Not the other way around.

Delta led them through the desert to a spot shaded by a collapsed building. What may have once been a road leading right into the ground was next to them. Faer head hurt from both the heavy heat and the tears that threatened to leak out of her eyes. The teacher was busy setting up an array of devices that Roza vaguely recognized. Lili sat down to watch and help, prompting Delta to quietly point and explain each of them. Roza bit faer lip and turned away, sneaking off as quietly as fae could. It embarrassed Lili to have Delta constantly nagging fae, after all. The tunnel mouth loomed over fae. It was far cooler in this shady area than out in the open, but the tunnel seemed cooler still, sending deliscious chills up fae sweaty body. Fae slipped in with only a brief glance back at faer teammates, trotting quickly down the gentle slope. The tunnel was wide enough for row after row of troops to charge out, the remains of barricades still standing – or more often, lying twisted and broken on the ground. Roza soon dropped Sleeping Beauty against one of the barricades, stretching faer arms and tail out in relief.  Fae walked on.

Every step hurt to take, even on an easy downward slope like this. Was that graffiti on the walls of the tunnel, or just mould? Fae couldn’t tell: even with faer enhanced night vision and glowing extremities, faer eyes were still recovering from the bright daylight. Sore and tired, bruised and cut all over, fae was oblivious to the movement of the shadows around faer. The tunnel split off into one smaller tunnel after another, as fae approached the level of the underground city where humanity had spent its final years. More to the point, those tunnels provided a perfect opportunity for hidden beasts to gather, smelling fresh prey from far away for the first time in millennia. Fae stopped for a moment, under a high archway. The shadows before fae moved and parted, and faer eyes widened, faer pulse quickened, as faer senses finally told fae what fae should have considered going in. There was a eight-foot-tall four-legged beast before fae, more in the shadows behind it, and hordes of them tailing fae from the back. Time seemed to still, as fae stood there frozen, too terrified to move. The beast came closer, slowly, like the predator it was, and at that moment fae was just another human child, cornered by that which every human knew to fear. Thoughtlessly, powerlessly, fae turned to run, a scream ripping faer throat apart, only to be choked down and drowned by the beast as it roared and threw itself forward, pinning her under one heavy paw. So heavy, faer spine popped as it hit the ground and skin bruised and tore under the weight – any normal human would have been crushed at once. The beast raised its other paw to crush faer head, and only instinct made fae duck aside at the last moment. Time slowed around fae, and all fae could hear was faer own heartbeat. Help, fae screamed, forgetting English for faer instinctive Russian. Matushka! Liliya! Help! The paw inched closer, soon the time fracture would end and it would crush faer head, soon –

Fae could hear something pounding down the tunnel, and it wasn’t faer own heart. A roar of rage from a broken throat, and a flash of thrumming power passed over fae, and the great weight lifted from faer body as Delta crashed into the beast with her whole body. Fae gasped, scrabbling at the gravelly road so fae could turn over and look at faer teacher go. She left trails of blue and pink light in the wake of every attack, and that was the only way Roza could even see her attacks, so rapid and furious were they. “Die.” Delta growled, rage filling that shaking voice. “How dare you, how dare you-” Every movement was filled with speed and precision, and such strength as the dancer could never hope to match. “Roza, get aside!”Lances or teeth flashed at fae through the dark, but Delta grabbed faer hand and pulled fae aside, wrapping one arm around fae and fighting with her remaining two limbs, pulling the little warrior to her chest. Even sobbing as fae was, near-unconscious as fae was, Roza knew to move with her, somehow, instinctively knowing how to move forward and back with her as she cut through the remaining beasts, how to stay in her protective embrace but not interfere with her movement. Roza didn’t know why, but somehow fae knew just as well how to move with her as fae did with faer partner in dance and battle and everything else that mattered, Liliya. Delta blocked an attack with the sword in her arm and swept the one in her tail over the enemies, but something happened, an attack was deflected or a beast was faster than expected and the tail-sword flew out of her grasp and into the air. “I can d-” Roza began, and Delta swung fae around before fae had even started to speak. Fae caught the sword in faer tail and almost dropped it, but somehow managed to swing it, letting Delta spin fae to slice up any beasts fae could see. It wouldn’t be long now – just a few more beasts, to be decimated in a few blows by the elder warrior. Roza clutched Swan Lake tightly in faer tail – wait, Swan Lake? Yes, fae would have recognized Sleeping Beauty’s sibling anywhere, despite how old and worn down it looked. The mystery was shoved to the back of faer mind as Delta pulled fae close yet again, concluding their dance with danger in a few swift strikes of her own.

“It’s safe now”, she rasped, in a voice so soft Roza wondered if she was talking to herself. “You’re safe.” Her own greatsword clattered to the ground beside faer borrowed one, and those strong arms wrapped around the little warrior. Roza trembled from deep within at that tight embrace, even as the hard bone of her ribcage pressed uncomfortably into faer face. It was too tight, too close, too much; and fae felt faer eyes burn as the tears finally began to leak out, one by one and then all at once. Sorry, fae tried to say, frustration and guilt building in faer throat. All fae could do was sob, through watery nose and lumpy throat, and Delta did not berate faer for once. Instead, she held the child in that uncomfortable and utterly wonderful hold, stroking a hand through faer hair, and whispering words that were lost in the croak of her voice. Gentle, gentle, gentle. Hush, little one. Hush, my kin, my spark-eyed dancer-fighter. My arms and horns are here to protect you, no harm will ever befall you again. You are all I have, and I will lead and follow you, as I was tied from birth to do. This tail, this sword, the two souls dwelling in one body in imperfect accord, all are to protect you (Rozaliya), and you (Liliya). None of these words were actually said, of course, for Delta was as gruff as she – or rather, the soul usually in her tail – had ever been and more. Instead, she let fae cry and cry and cry until faer eyes and face was tired and worn, and then, leaning her chin on faer head, said, “Let’s go, Roza. Let’s go home.”

Chapter Text

• The reason the twins can't tell that Delta is actually Roza, is because she's so horribly scarred and augmented that they don't even look human anymore. Even their voice is ruined, between the surgery, the trauma, the nightmares and everything.
• I don't actually headcanon Roza as non-binary, at least not more than I headcanon everyone as nb, since my perception of gender is nonexistent.
• A lot of the fighting references are based on the game mechanics - from how Roza spins around and lands with faer feet together, to how wobbly both the twins seem in general, Liliya bursting in to save roza with her ult, Delta saving fae (FT's QTE activates when a teammate is hit), and Delta throwing Roza around (like Liliya does).
• Delta does have (a very old and battered version of) Swan Lake, but Sleeping Beauty got lost a while ago and they just use a replacement greatsword. (Like in the game, you can equip any sword you like, but Swan Lake always appears in her ult).
• Delta is a fusion of Roza & Lili, yes, but Roza is usually 'in charge', while Liliya stays in the tail. (Source: the bathtub scene from her event). This is why she prefers Liliya (aside from Roza just. not being a very agreeable student). At the end of the story, Lili sort-of takes charge, so little Roza gets love at last. They are the same person, though - imagine it being like mixing paint, where there's a lot of overlap, but you can sometimes tell the difference.
• BTW, how cool is it that FT looks like a mech-type character, but isn't, but BB is?
• I made up the idea that the twins' colourful bits glow, because honkai beasts do glow in the dark.