Persistent Pyros

"I'm not feeling well" said Xiangling one day as she woke up. "You're probably dealing with another sore throat or something" said Hu Tao. "Actually I think it's inflammation, remember when Lumine gave her that ghost pepper yesterday, that's the most likely reason" Klee teased. "It's not inflammation, it's something that doesn't need much attention" protested Xiangling. "Also, the water near the mountains has been contaminated, so don't drink it" warned Klee. Xiangling took no notice and just blew steam before leaving to do her job. Amber saw how Xiangling was looking and tried to comfort her. "Cheer up, Xiangling, it's a lovely day to do some hard work" "I can't, Amber, the others say I have inflammation but I don't, lately I keep thinking about the dreadful state of the world, is it true what the Hydros say?" "Well what do they say?" asked Amber. "They boast about that they've been killing Pyros too" "Yes, Xiangling, it's true" said Amber gravely. "But what about all of our former members like Yanfei and Dehya?" "All gone, except one" finished Amber. Xiangling said nothing and just walked away sadly. Later, Hu Tao and Klee were talking when they saw a ship approach them, Bennett knew that ship from a mile away. "Do what you want 'cause a pirate is free, you are a pirate!" said a familiar voice. "It's Chevreuse, she has returned to see us!" everyone exclaimed. "Avast ye, lads, oh I missed seeing ya loveable faces, now let's see what changed around here since I've been gone" Xiangling came in just in time to see Chevreuse. "Is that Chevreuse, Amber must have brought her here to see me, oh thank you, Amber!" she said cheerfully. "I see you've changed quite a bit since we last spoke, ya eyes have dilated slightly, ya bangs became longer, and I see that you trimmed your eyebrows" "Ah well, I've been trying to look better while doing all this work, it does getting tiring, but you know what they say, all good Pyros must have resilience" Xiangling said. "I know that's right!" Chevreuse agreed. "Your observations are quite keen, Chevreuse, I respect that" said Klee. "Oh it's not all that, besides this eye can see things better than most" Hu Tao then surprised Chevreuse by taking her hat, Chevreuse just smiled. "Glad to see ya haven't changed, Tao, actually I think of the bunch, you're the one who has stayed basically the same" "Oh believe me, there are different sides to Hu Tao, but at heart, she's still our little mischievous Pyro" Klee assured. Chevreuse then looked at Yoimiya and Bennett. "Yoimiya, now I heard that you've actually trained with the Raiden Shogun, I personally don't admire Electros, but I do value her story deeply, one that can stand the test of time" she said in admiration. "Yeah, Raiden's a great mentor figure, she taught and shaped me into a different person" Yoimiya said tenderly. "And ol' Benny, my boy, I've heard that you only made a mistake once, messed with the high tide, I think?" The others laughs, while Bennett just smiled. "You see, I only made that mistake because I was curious, but Amber threatened to break my goggles, I sure learned my lesson since" "Wow, you guys really been through a lot, I don't know if that's a good or bad thing" Chevreuse said. "Well those events did shape us into better Pyros, and we've really learned a lot, met new faces, visited locations, we've made a name for ourselves" put in Klee happily. "Oh you all have changed, it really makes me proud, almost makes me wanna cry" said Chevreuse. Xingqiu noticed that Xiangling was coughing roughly. "Are you okay, Xiangling, you don't look well, you have some bruises on you, what ever happened?" he asked. "I drank some water, but it made me feel terrible, then I had to walk up the hill in Liyue, I fell down it so much, the locals call it Xiangling's Hill, I should be cross, but I'm quite flattered by, you know, making a mark in this world, I enjoy it" she told Xingqiu humbly. "Since when has Xiangling became so chill?" asked Chevreuse. "I think she's getting older, therefore her past mistakes are encouraging her to be a better person" said Klee. "Or maybe she's just tired of embarrassing herself, so she's striving to be a little more calm" continued Hu Tao. "Now this little lad appears to be dressed in blue, what the deal with that?" Chevreuse asked. "My name's Xingqiu, I'm the first Hydro within the ownership of Amber, I do like it here, everyone's so friendly and kind, especially Xiangling, she's my favorite" he said. "Ah, would you look at that, a Hydro who doesn't see Pyros as enemies, but as friends, how poetic" she complimented. Chevreuse then talked to Amber about her daring adventures and said how grateful she is of her new guns. "Yo Lumine, where's Aether, I want you two to meet Chevreuse" said Yoimiya. "He has some work to do somewhere, I don't know" she said while being half asleep. Meanwhile, Aether was delivering some garbage to the scrapyard when he saw a flame shine behind a garbage bin. "That looks like it came from a Pyro" he thought. The flame grew brighter, and a voice whispered. "Are you one of Amber's Pyros?" the voiced asked. "Yes, and I'm proud of it, who are you?" "My name's Diluc, and I ran from my old location to here because some Hydros were trying to kill me" he said. "Then I'll be glad to help you, come on, we mustn't waste any time. So Aether told Diluc to stay as quiet as he can while they were escaping. "Hey hey, A Pyro's escaping, A Pyro's escaping!" said a Hydro who was nearby. "Take no notice, let's keep up the pace" he told Diluc. It took a while but they finally made it to Mondstadt. "So tell me, where did you come from, and how was it like working there?" Aether asked. "I actually did come from Mondstadt, but I had to move to Sumeru, I worked with Nahida and Yaoyao for a while, and then that's when the Hydros found me, and well that's when I ended up in the scrapyard. Aether found Diluc a place where he could stay until he could tell the others about him. Diluc said goodbye and thank you. "Well I have to go, but remember this, I too was a runaway, if Lumine didn't bring me here, I would've been feared to do it on my own" he said before leaving. Aether came in just in time to see Chevreuse say her farewells to everyone. "It has a been a great honor to see you all again, and I want everyone to know that the Pyros will stand out as of one of Teyvat's best elements, and tell them that if they want to see real hard workers, tell them to visit this lovely place, until we meet again" And off she went, while Hu Tao was singing a well known farewell song in Vietnamese. Aether finally told everyone about Diluc, they knew that something must be done. "We do need a another Pyro to help with the workload" said Yoimiya. "But Amber will probably trial another Hydro to help" responded Lumine. "Well what we need to do is to tell Amber about him, but I think it'd be best if Aether should tell her" finished Klee. "Me, speak to Amber, but I don't know about that, I don't think I should right now" "Well here she is, now what is it you wanted to tell me?" Amber said cheerfully. Yoimiya broke the silence. "Excuse me Amber, but we do need someone else to help with the extra workload" "I know, that's why I'm trialing another Hydro to help out" Everyone looked disappointed. Hu Tao then winked at Aether. "Actually Amber, we were thinking of an actual Pyro, perhaps one who escaped and came here" "I see, but the chances of that are very slim" "But Amber, one has" said Aether while shaking a little. "I know, and thanks to your act of bravery, Aether, Diluc will be getting his official seal and start working with us" "Amber, is there anything you don't know?" "Much more than you think, Aether, and as a reward for your bravery, I've given you the privilege of getting your own weapon to use for whatever purposes you attend to" "Oh yes, thank you, Amber!" Aether said bouncing around happily. Ever since then, the locals call the squad, 'The Persistent Pyros', they laughed when they first heard it but they couldn't find a better name for it, so it stuck.