"I just need to rest, that's all, to rest and sleep some, and maybe die a little," - George RR Martin
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At the Cotta-Arc home, they were all sitting down in the living room, Oscar was playing with Adrien on the floor.
"Before we begin, I think some introductions are in order," Terra said.
"My name's Vernal, the Older woman here is Maria Calavera, and kid is Oscar Pine," Vernal replied.
Terra nodded, "It's nice to meet you all," Terra said, "I'm Terra Cotta-Arc, and you've already met my wife Saphron, and of course, our son, Adrien," Terra replied.
Saphron looked to Vernal and wanted to get to the point, "So, we're here," She said, "Now tell me, how do you know my brother?"
Vernal looked at her and steeled her nerves as she began, "Do you know how your brother got into Beacon?" She asked.
Saphron shook her head, "No," She replied, shen then looked to Terra, "Do you know?" She asked.
Terra shook her head as well, "No, I don't think he told us how he got in,"
Saphron nodded, "Right, it was a bit of a shock though, I never knew how he got in despite our dad never teaching him anything related to combat, or even attending a Combat school," she finished.
Vernal let out a sigh before she would reveal the news to the two older women. "He lied his way in," Vernal said, "He got his hand on some fake transcripts and got into Beacon, but somehow, Headmaster Ozpin found out and kicked him out for the rest of the year, but offered Jaune a chance to come back for his 2nd year, wanting him to get some real-world experience,"
Saphron and Terra were shocked to learn that Jaune lied his way in, but another question was on the older Arc's mind.
"Then how did you two meet?" She asked.
Vernal was hesitant to say how, but Saphron deserved the truth. "I... I was a Bandit of the Branwen tribe, I and another of my... former tribe, tried to rob Jaune, but he managed to beat us, that was until Raven came along,"
Saphron's eyes widened with shock, "MY BROTHER FOUGHT RAVEN BRANWEN!?" Saphron cried.
Vernal nodded, "Yeah, he lasted a lot longer than I expected, but she managed to stab him, though, instead of letting him bleed out on the road, she wanted us to patch him up and bring him with us," Vernal finished.
Saphron was confused why Raven had spared her brother's life, "Why would Raven do that?" She asked. "What would she even gain from that?"
"From what she told Jaune, I guess she and your old man have some history back when they were students of Beacon," Vernal told her. "As for what she had to gain, I guess your dad was the only one who could keep up with her, so, she saw potential in him and wanted to make him part of the tribe,"
Saphron was once again shocked, finding out her father and the most wanted woman of Mistral knew each other was shattering what she knew about her dad's history.
Terra saw her wife's reaction and decided to continue the conversation, "Please, go on," She told Vernal.
Vernal nodded and began to speak again. "After Raven patched him up, he and I were partnered together, he never participated in raids, instead just dealing with Grimm, however, one day, Jaune and I were led away by another tribe member, he ambushed us and shot me and they tied him down to watch me die, it was a ploy by Raven to get Jaune to awaken his Semblance, it worked, but at a cost, He did something he never could take back..." Vernal said, her voice slowly breaking.
Saphron could see the sad look on Vernal's face and her worries began to grow. "What... What happened?" Saphron asked with fear.
Vernal could not stand the look of fear and worry in Saphron's face, as it made her feel guilty for what she was about to reveal to her. "Jaune... he killed the man who shot me, as well as his friends," Vernal told Saphron.
Saphron gasped and put her hand over her mouth as tears formed in her eyes, to know that her brother had killed someone, and hurt her on the inside. Not in a million years would she ever think her brother was capable of killing, Jaune was her little brother, he was innocent and kind, but now, her brother had changed. Tara was shocked too, but took her wife's hand to comfort her, knowing she was not handling the information well, and she wasn't either, she knew Jaune as the nicest person she had ever met, and never thought he would kill.
"After that, he faced Raven for his and my freedom, he won and we left," Vernal said. "A few days later, we ran into Oscar and His Aunt, they offered us work and a place to stay until we could get to Mistral and go to Atlas, but things didn't go as planned," Vernal said.
"What happened?" Terra asked with a raised brow.
Oscar turned to the two women, looking up at them, "Turns out, my aunt was an Ex-Detective on the run from Spider after they killed my parents to get to her," Oscar said
Hearing the name of the Gang, Terra's eye's widened, "Wait, the gang that was just recently slaughtered in Mistral?" Terra asked "That spider?"
Oscar nodded, "Yeah," he said.
Quickly, Terra came to the conclusion of who was behind said slaughter of one of the most powerful gang's in Mistral. "It was you guys and Jaune... you guys took them out, right?" Terra asked, her voice full of shock.
Oscar nodded, "It was us," He admitted in a sad tone.
Terra looked at the young boy, "Why?" Terra asked with a confused expression.
Oscar looked back at the older woman, a look of regret on his face. "They killed my Aunt," Oscar said, "They sent people to our farm and they killed her, she... she was all the family I had left, and I... I felt sad, and then I felt angry, I wanted revenge, and Jaune offered it, and I agreed, and I regret making him do that for me, I-It's my fault he's gone," Oscar finished looking down in shame.
"Don't you dare blame yourself," Vernal quickly told him. "You are not to blame, for anything, Oscar,"
Terra looked at how sad the boy was and saw the regret, Terra then looked at Maria, "And how do you know Jaune?" Terra asked.
Maria looked at her, "I met these youngsters in Mistral, I knew what they were up to and was willing to help," She said.
Saphron looked at the older woman with a glare, "You should have stopped them," the elder Arc child seethed.
Maria turned to her, a calm expression on her face, "It was not that simple, young lady," Maria said. "I gave them advice, but I could do nothing to stop them," She finished.
"Bullshit! You could have done something Oum damn it!" Saphron cried, "You could have stopped them! Called the police! Anything! ANYTHING THEN MAKING MY BROTHER A KILLER!" Saphron cried as she stood up.
Sensing things were going to get ugly, Oscar covered Adrien's ears as he continued to play.
Terra turned to his wife and held her hand, "Saphron-" Terra began, trying to calm her wife down.
"NO! SHE LET IT HAPPEN! THEY ALL STOOD BY WHY MY BROTHER BECAME A MURDERER!" Saphron cried as she pointed at Maria. "THIS SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED! NONE OF THIS...! None of this should have happened to him..." Saphron said as tears fell from her face.
Saphrin quickly walked away as tears fell from her eyes and went upstairs, Terra called out to her but nothing happened and they heard a door slam, and the three guests quickly felt awkward and uneasy.
Vernal got up and turned to Terra, "I think we should leave," Vernal said. "It's for the best,"
Terra stopped her by putting her hands up and shook her head quickly, "No, please stay," Terra said. "It's the least we can do after all you have been through, Saphron... she just needs time to process everything," Terra said sadly.
"We understand," Maria said, "I know it is never easy hearing such things,"
Terra nodded, "I'm still processing all of this myself and it isn't easy, but I'm trying to understand everything from your end as well, Saphron didn't mean what she said, she just... she and Jaune are close, hearing everything that happened to Jaune is hard on her, and I can't imagine the reaction of the rest of the family knew," Terra said, "Let me talk to her, for now, would you like something to eat? I'm sure you are all hungry," Terra asked.
They all nodded and Terra led them to the kitchen, Oscar picked up Adrien and brought him with him, and inside the kitchen, Terra cooked while Vernal and Oscar played with Adrien. Once the food was cooked, Terra and they ate, and Terra brought a plate to Saphron, and when she came back to the kitchen, Terra picked up Adrien to take him to bed, and also led the three to two empty guest rooms, Vernal and Maria would sleep in one room, while Oscar had one to himself.
The three quickly went to bed, but Vernal had trouble sleeping, feeling guilty for everything that had happened with Jaune, after all, she blamed it all on her because Jaune didn't save her, he might still be who he use to be...
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The morning had arrived and Terra woke her three guests up for breakfast, and they quickly got up, used the bathroom, and went for the kitchen, however, all three stopped in their tracks when they saw Saphron was in the kitchen. The elder Arc sibling turned to them, and both Vernal and Oscar felt awkward, however, Saphron's expression changed to regret.
"I'm sorry, about last night," Saphron told them, "I... I shouldn't have blamed any of you,"
"You don't have to apologize, Saphron," Vernal told her, "I... I know it was hard for you to hear about Jaune, but you're not wrong in being angry,"
"Still, it wasn't right," Saphron said, looking down in shame, "You all have also been through alot,"
Vernal gave her a nod with a soft smile, "Thank you," She said.
They all began eating dinner, and Terra came down with a now awake Adrien, who was happy to see all of them, Saphron went to her son and kissed him on the forehead, and the young baby giggled, his eyes then fell on Oscar and reached out for him, much to the surprise of the two moms.
"Do you want to play with him, Adrien?" Terra asked her son with a smile.
Adrien nodded, "Ah!" He said.
Terra smiled, and turned to Oscar, "Oscar, would you play with Adrien after you eat?" She asked.
Oscar turned to her and the baby and smiled, "Yeah, no problem," He said.
They all ate and Oscar, Adrien, Terra, and Maria went into the leaving room, turning on the TV, which was on the news. Meanwhile, Saphron was beginning to clean up, and Vernal offered to help, which Saphron accepted, however, it was silent as the two began to clean, and even though they both made peace in the morning, Vernal couldn't help but feel some tension in the air, she handed Saphron some of the dishes and Saphron loaded them into the dishwasher, Vernal stepped back and looked at Saphron as she loaded the dishwasher.
Saphron finished and closed the door, and looked up to see Vernal staring at her. Her brow rose in confusion, "Vernal? You ok?" the blonde asked.
Vernal was taken out of her thoughts and shook her head slight, but then nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, it's just..." She began.
"Just what?" Saphron asked.
"I still feel like everything's unresolved," She said.
Saphron looked at her, "If you want, do you want to talk more, about everything that's happened?" she asked.
Vernal nodded, and the two sat at the table, facing each other.
"So..." Saphron began awkwardly.
Vernal looked down with a sad expression, "I... I want to say I'm sorry for being the one to cause all this pain to you and Jaune," Vernal said as she looked down, her body shaking in anger and sadness. "I-I know it's my fault Jaune's the way is, it's my fault he's on this fucked up road, it's all my fault, all because I was too damn weak to save myself! I... I'm the reason for-"
"Stop,"
Vernal's eyes widened and she looked up to Spahron.
Saphron looked back at the younger woman. "Please don't blame yourself," Saphron said. "When he was a kid, that's all he could talk about, being a Huntsmen, and I supported him, but the more I grew up, the more I heard about what Huntsmen go through, what they do, what they see, and what they have to live with and I was scared, because I knew if Jaune went down that path, sooner or later, it would happen to him, yet, I still supported him because I thought it wouldn't happen to him, it wouldn't be the same for him... How dumb was I to assume that?" She asked with a bit of a smile.
Vernal continued to look at her, "You weren't dumb to have that hope, we all hope for things like that,"
"But I already knew what he was getting himself into," Saphron told her, "I knew that he was bound to do something or have something happen to him, I just... I wish my heart had time to prepare for it," She said.
Vernal shook her head, "I don't think any person's heart is ready to hear about the things we've done or what anyone like us has seen or been through," Vernal told her. "Do you think differently of him? Now that you know what he's done?" Vernal asked.
Saphron shook her head slowly, "No," Saphron said, "I don't think I could ever stop seeing him as my young goofy brother, yes... he has blood on his hands, but that doesn't change the fact that deep down, he's still the Jaune I know," Saphron told Vernal.
"I hope so..." Vernal said, looking down.
Saphron smiled at the younger woman, "You care for him a lot, don't you?" She asked.
Vernal blushed but kept facing down, "After everything we've been through, how could I not?" Vernal asked, "He risked everything for Me, then risked everything for Oscar, I don't think I've ever known someone so selfless in my life,"
Saphron chuckled a little, "That's Jaune for you, always caring for others but never himself," Saphron said.
Vernal nodded in agreement, knowing exactly that Saphron was speaking the truth.
Suddenly, Terra appeared with Adrien in her arms, and she looked at the two sitting at the table. "Maria wants to head to some store here in the city real quick, I and Oscar are going alone, do you want me to bring him with or do you wanna watch him?" Terra asked.
Saphron smiled, "He can stay here with us," Saphron said, grabbing Adrien, "Yes, he gets to stay here with Mommy and Auntie Vernal~! Yes, he does~!" Saphron said, making Adrien giggle.
Vernal smiled but then realized what Saphron had just said, and her blush intensified, 'A-Auntie Vernal!?' She thought.
The three left, leaving Saphron and Vernal with Adrien, the two brought him back into the living room, where they turned on the TV and set Adrien down to play with his toys. For a while everything was fine, however, Saphron excused herself to use the bathroom, and just as she left, Adrien turned toward the couch only to see his mom was gone, he then turned his attention toward Vernal and crawled toward her.
Seeing the baby coming at her, Vernal was a bit worried since she never had to deal with a baby before so when he grabbed onto her pant leg, she tried to shoo him away as if he was a dog but he began to grunt as he tried to stand but he fell back onto his butt and looked at Vernal with a sad look. Not wanting the baby to cry, Vernal picked up the baby and looked at him.
The baby boy looked at her and smiled and he held out his hands, trying to play with her hair. Vernal looked at Adrien and saw how happy and... innocent Adrien was, he didn't know anything about what his Uncle was going through and what he had done, he was truly ignorant of the darkness of the world.
Yet, for Vernal, holding Adrien was... wrong.
A person like her, who committed so many sins, and who had so much blood on her hands, should not be allowed to hold something so pure and innocent.
It was undeserved...
'Should I even be allowed to hold you with the same hands that killed so many people?' Vernal asked herself with a sad expression on her face. 'I... I wonder if my own child would look at me like you do? Would they smile? Giggle? Clap their hands? Do I... Does a monster like me, even deserve to have a child...?'
That's when it hit her, she soon realized why Jaune didn't come to Argus, and why he left them behind, and her expression saddened, tears formed in her eyes as she still looked at the baby, however, she set Adrien on her lap, and held him with one hand as she wiped the tears away before they fell.
She then smiled at the baby, "You want to hear about your uncle little guy?" Vernal asked
The baby boy clapped and smiled, wanting to hear a story about his uncle.
Vernal's smile widened and nodded, "Alright, well, you see, one day, a very nasty person hurt me, and I was scared because I was hurt really bad, but your uncle, he healed me, and then he took me home, however, a giant nevermore snatched me away and didn't want to let me go, but he fought with all his might and in the end, he beat it!"
Adrien smiled and clapped, cheering about hearing his uncle beating the Nevermore, and Vernal smiled, knowing that he loved the story.
"After that, I went along with your uncle, because no one, ever cared for me like that," Vernal told Adrien. "Do you wanna hear another story?" She asked.
Of course, the young baby clapped, and Vernal smiled, beginning to tell another story about Jaune, one of lies, but one that a child his age would love and not be scared of, and unbeknownst to her, Saphron watched from the doorway with a small smile.
Eventually, Terra, Maria, and Oscar returned, and later that night, dinner was cooked, and during it, Saphron offered them to stay a bit longer, letting them rest after everything they have been through, and at first, Vernal wanted to decline, wanting to catch up with Jaune, worried about him, but... they need to rest, they were still reeling from the aftermath of everything that happened in Mistral, so she agreed.
However, she was still very worried about Jaune, but she prayed that he wouldn't be doing anything stupid and that he was going to be ok, because she didn't know what she would do if something happened to him...
PART 1 - ARGUS ACT END