Chapter Text
Chapter One
Bunny Girl
“Uhh,” I sighed, gripping my steering wheel with both hands. It was my early Saturday at the library, and I had to open. Driving on the highway, my exit was coming up soon. There wasn’t much traffic, but a Semi had been on my ass for the last ten minutes. Lights beaming in my mirrors and blinding me. What a treat.
To make matters worse, it was my birthday. Another day at work and another year older. Facebook would alert my co-workers, and they would wish me well and I’d say “thank you” and they would forget about it for the rest of the day. It was just how things worked.
Day after day, after year and after work. On the highway, then off. Clock in and out. It was all consuming. My life held meaning to someone, but I didn’t want to dwell on it. I’d rather get back home and play my game with my sister.
Then it happened.
A white rabbit darting across the road.
I knew the consequences, I knew what was right behind me, and what my consciousness could handle. In the split second between my wheel veering and my foot slamming the break the car swirled. The semi-truck behind me blared its horn, but it drove past me barely.
When I looked forward, the rabbit was frozen still on the side of the road. I swear it winked at me.
Boom.
Crash.
Crunch.
OOOOOOO
Everything, every part, even my bones, hurt. I could hear the beep of monitors, and nurses and doctors celebrating. My eyes fluttered open, and I expected to see white ceilings, but they were metal. The nurses and doctors around me weren’t typical. They were wearing over coats, and what looked like masquerade masks.
“Am I okay?” I was barely awake, eyes blurring.
“The experiment was a success; the doctor will be excited.” A woman, she was clearly the one in charge of the room. She held a clip board and swirled the pen around her fingers. “Take her back to confinement.”
“What’s going on?” I fought against whatever they pushed into my IV drip.
“Go back to sleep.” A man put a blind fold over my eyes.
OOOOO
Next time I woke up, I was in a cell. The air was musky, thick with moisture and mold. For what I could only assume was the world’s worst rated hospital, I was in terrible condition. For having survived a car accident, I could stand some stronger pain management medication and a softer, less lumpy, bed.
I didn’t know whether to cry out for help, or sit back and wait for an answer. It was hard to remember what happened in the operating room, but I recalled being an experiment. What did they do to save my life?
I looked at my hands, they were pristine, from my finger tips to my elbows were all smooth and untouched ... .was this even me? I looked at my thighs next, the same thing. My skin was smooth. What was going on?
“This way has to be the way out.” That voice was familiar?
“Okay, just a little bit further.” That one too.
The two talking rounded the corner, and I was dumb founded. “Lumine! Paimon” I hollered before I could stop myself. I was dreaming. This was a dream and they were here to save me. “Please, help me?”
“Huh?” Paimon was the first to speak, her eyes going wide at the sight of me.
“I know this is a dream, but I’m scared.” I admitted, trying to stand up, but my legs were jelly underneath me.
“How do you know my name?” Lumine cocked her head, coming up to the bars separating us.
“Um, you’re the main character. I play as you?” I pointed at her. “Are you not here to save me? From wherever this is?” I coughed, parched from a lack of water.
“We were escaping from the Futai base. What are you doing here?” Paimon looked around. She was more cautious than I would have expected.
“What game?” Lumine glanced at the door then back at me. I needed to convince her to help me.
“The one where you are looking for Aether. You wake up in Mondstadt, meet Venti, the anemo god. Then you defeat Davlin and go to Liyue and meet Zhongli the geo archon and you save the whole Harbor…Ugh.”
“Paimon, stand back. You too.” Lumine motioned me back and I got to the furthest corner.
Lumine used her geo powers and pushed down the gate. An alarm started to blare. Once the dust settled, Lumine grabbed my hand and began to run, Paimon on our heels. I was barely keeping up.
“Come on, you need to hurry.” Paimon hurried me, pushing me from behind as we rounded corners.
“I just woke up and they did something to me.” I panted for each word, my body aching and burning. “Fuck me.” I whispered trying to keep my feet moving.
“Shh.” Lumine held her finger to her mouth, and we hid behind some boxes as Fatui members ran right past us. I took the chance to catch my breath.
“You haven’t seen the moon marrow have you?” Paimon asked me as soon as it was clear again.
“No, the Fatui have it, but it was stolen by one of the Frost Moon Scions. God, I need some water. My throat is dry as a powder house.” I tried to swirl spit in my mouth but it was useless.
“How did you know that? We just found that out.” Lumine tightened her grip on my hand.
“I told you, it’s a game. You’re the main character and I play as you.” I said it like it was so obvious, getting a little frustrated. “I better wake up soon, and be in a real hospital. This must be a coma.”
“What? Paimon’s confused.” We headed to the dark beach, and I saw Lauma and Jahoda.
“We’re about to run into Sandrone, look alive.” As soon as we hit the wet sand, I noticed Jahoda and Lauma were running to our side.
“Are you okay?” Lauma asked Lumine and Paimon.
“We’re fine. We picked up a straggler.” Paimon pointed at me.
“Oh dear.” Lauma covered her mouth at the sight of me. “She’s weak.”
“We think they were experimenting on her. She’s confused.” Lumine finally let me go, and I rubbed my wrist.
“Don’t say anything else.” Paimon whispered in my ear. “This is not a dream, this is very real. Just try to relax.”
“Sandrone-“ I pointed at the robot who was right behind us.
“Oh, you found the doctor's little bunny.” Sandrone laughed.
I looked around, before everyone looked at me. I knitted my brows together. There were many nicknames out there, but Bunny was odd.
“Do you have the moon marrow?” Lauma changed the subject, stepping in front of me.
A cold chill ran over me ... .what happened next was the wild hunt appeared. We’d all be separated and tormented. I reached for the person closest to me, as they all chatted. It was Paimon.
“Ahem, let’s show them- what?” Sandrone balked all her countless soldiers dead on the ground, a headless demon coming her way.
“Stay together!” I yelled as the darkness took over.
Paimon clung to me, her little hands digging into the soft flesh of my arm. “What do we do now?” She asked
“Stay close.” A demon staggered our direction. “Actually, we need to haul ass.” I grabbed her, tucking her to my side like a child and dodging the dark blobs and wild hunt headless demons. “Where are Illuga or Flins when you need them?”
“(Y/n).” I paused my running, hearing my sister’s voice.
“Sis?” I asked, looking in front of the sand to the black sea.
“She’s not here, we need to keep moving.” Paimon nudged me.
“No, she’s here. Sis!” My voice came out in a dry croaked scream. Paimon didn’t let me go.
“You have abandoned me.” My sister’s voice echoed over the sand dunes.
“Come on Bunny Girl, we have to go.” Paimon pulled me hard enough I barely missed a punch from the wild hunt.
There was no way to tell how long we’d be in the dark, the Traveler would need to fight their urge to give into their brother, and Lauma needs to overcome the voices…and I need to overcome this dream. And in a dream anything can happen, you just need to believe it can happen.
The monsters were creeping in, Paimon stopped pulling me as I bowed up. “I have an idea.” I held my arm in the air like Sailor Moon. A Hydro Vision appeared in my hand.
“What is it?” She gasped, looking at what was in my palm. “Is that?”
“A vision.” I gritted my teeth. “We need some power if we’re going to get through this.”
“Here, Paimon has this.” She reached in her pocket and pulled out a Nod Kari travel guide, it was the size of a deck of cards. “Hurry and use it.”
“Right.” I didn’t have a clue how it worked, but I poured what little energy I had into the tiny book, the pages flipping back and forth. “Ah.” I hurled an empty hand at the monster before me, headless and angry. A glop of water pushed it down and suddenly I felt stronger. “It worked.”
“Alright, keep it up. I think you’re a healer.” Paimon grinned. “You look steadier. If that makes sense.”
“Let’s go.” I gathered up some water from the air and took a greedy gulp to wet my mouth. It was a little salty but nothing bad. With my energy coming back up as I drank the healing water, I threw my hands around pushing the enemy back.
Finally light broke over the darkness, and the enemies receded. The headless monster I was fighting fell down as Lumine cut him in half.
“Oh Traveler. You missed it, Bunny girl got a vision." Paimon flew to Lumine and hugged her.
“We all missed a lot it seems.” Lumine looked me over. “You seem to be standing better on your own now.”
“Yes. I remembered something about dreams; you have some control…though I can’t wake up no matter what I do.” I sighed. “Or coma, that’s more likely.”
“You guys alright?” Jahoda and Lauma were by our side again in a moment.
“How many of you are there? Pathetic really. “ Sandrone reached inside her robot, pulling out the moon marrow. So she did have it. “Here, take it and get lost.”
There were a few more words exchanged, but I kept trying to remember what happened next. I walked behind them, keeping a careful eye on our rear. I clutched my vision in my hand, and took a moment to go over my body.
I looked at my legs and arms, no wounds. Checked my hips and reached back to my bum…it was exposed. I wasn’t just in a gown, but a hospital gown. And it was breezy for a reason, I just was so focused on being dirty I didn't notice. Then I felt it… a soft cotton like mound above my tail bone. I froze in place.
“Guys?” I reached for my head, and felt two long soft appendages next.
“Yes, Bunny girl?” Jahoda’s words sunk in.
“Am I? Am I part rabbit now?” A cold chill ran through my blood.
“You didn’t know?” Jahoda pointed to my ears. “It’s hard to miss.”
“She’s really out of it.” Paimon whispered but I could hear her.
“I think. I think I’m.” I took a knee, trying to keep the spinning from making me puke. “My god.”
“She doesn’t look so good.” Jahoda crossed her arms in front of her and leaned back in horror.
“We’ve approached this all wrong.” Lauma approached me, tucking the moon marrow away for a moment. “I am Lauma, the Moonchanter of the Frost Moon Scions. What is your name?”
I shut my eyes tight, thick hot tears following down my face. “(Y/n), I’m (Y/n).”
“What a pretty name, for a beautiful woman.” She wiped my tears. “Do you think you can stand?”
“Yes.” She helped me up, before almost falling over herself.
“Are you okay?” I steadied her, drying my tears.
“It has been awhile since I felt the true power of the moon.” She let Jahoda and Lumine take her from me, and hold her up.
“I felt the presence of the wild hunt nearby. Don’t tell me you all already took care of it?” Flins…and he was behind me and I was in a hospital gown. I didn’t know what was worse, flashing a handsome Fae or turning so I could gaze upon him and have him gaze upon me crying. He’s already seen my ass, might as well keep my back turned.
I reached behind me, and used my hand to close the gown. I looked at Lumine, and tucked behind her. Quickly I wiped my eyes and let them chat. They talked about how the wild hunt was now impersonating people. And how the moon marrow was at the center of part of the problem.
“Hmm, seems you have no problem trusting me.” Flins teased Paimon and I snickered.
“Hey, it’s not funny.” Paimon turned on me, stomping her little foot.
“Sorry Paimon.” I had drawn attention to myself.
“I shouldn’t be making jokes like that right now. I apologize. I’ll report this to HQ, it seems the wild hunt is evolving. I bid you all a good night.”
“Good night.” I was the only one to say it back, he paused, turning back to glance at me. His eyes crinkled on the side, but I couldn’t tell his expression as his coat obscured the rest of his face. If there was one thing, it was a knowing look…did he know this was a dream?