A Day in Argus
Darkness stood before what remained of his personal shrine. It wasn't hit the same way his brother's was when the moon was destroyed, so it was virtually unchanged after the ages had past.
"This place is imposing, ominous, and oppressive. And you wondered why mortals would never come to you." Darkness just grunted as Light came up behind him. He had nothing to say to him at this point.
"The mortals greatest flaw has always been their fear," Light continued, as he stood beside Darkness, "Fear of things that are different, fear of what they can't control…"
"Fear of losing what they love," Darkness finished for his brother, "The fear of death is merely an extension of that. That is why they wanted our power for themselves. They wouldn't know what to do with such power even if they could obtain it." Light looked into the black pool that his brother would dwell in, so different yet so similar to his own.
"Speaking of power, tell me, why did you take what you gave those mortals away from them?" he inquired. Darkness was silent for a moment.
"They wanted me gone, I obliged their request" he said, "And if that was the case, why should they keep the favors I gave them."
"They will have difficulties without the magic you gave them." Darkness knew that to be an understatement, but didn't say anything at that.
"At any rate…"
"No." Light looked to his brother, as if surprised by his interruption.
"Let me ask you a question this time, brother," Darkness said, "Why did you not stop me when I committed the act?" This time, it was the God of Light who was at a loss for words, as his hands fell to his side.
"Do not assign all the blame for the state of things to me, then," Darkness said, passing him, "You did not do anything to alleviate the situation." The God of Light watched him pass, before he slowly followed him. They walked down the path, looking around at the Grimm that still frequented the shrine.
"It seems your spawn are no less populace than they were in the past," Light commented, "More so, it would appear." Darkness did not immediately respond, as he looked over his creations. It brought a thought to his mind that had been pulling within him for sometime now. The mortals were wrong to call his creations (for which he had no name) "evil"; they were above, or perhaps more aptly beneath good and evil. They had no moral agenda, as they lacked the ability to make any distinction between right and wrong. They were no more "evil" than a storm or any other form of natural disaster. In his age, they would attack mortals who strayed too far from the path, while the more daring ones would sometimes try to attack the occasional village, and the largest would sometimes attack a city. But they never exclusively targeted mortals and their settlements, and Darkness did not create them with the ability to sense and act on mortal emotions.
"Could she have…. no, that would be impossible," Darkness muttered to himself. He had been wondering if Salem would be able to alter the creatures on such a level, but while she may have been able to manipulate their appearance (that would have been really easy), to alter them on such a level would've been beyond her power. Could his brother's own spawn have been responsible for such things?
"Come, brother," Darkness said, gesturing, "We have much to discuss." With that, the two siblings turned into energy again, and vanished into the sky.
(in the Cotta-Arc household)
With all the various introductions dealt with, the team was starting to settle in for their stay. Hopefully it wouldn't be a long stay, but they needed a plan first. Oz and Qrow had gone down to the Atlesian base to try and get them going out. Pyrrha had left to go visit her parents, and Yang had opted to come with her; Blake had gone with Cyan to a bookstore, and Ilia had opted to accompany her; Nora had gone to the park with Jade, eager to test her mettle against Jaune's fighter sister, while Ren went with her to ensure people didn't get caught in the crossfire. That left Ruby and Weiss, who were inside with Rain, Vermillion, Saphron, and Violet being shown the family album (there were also the twins in blue, and no one knew where they were). Milly had Adrian in her lap, who was screwing around with one of his baby toys.
"Jaune really slept with a stuffed dragon?" Ruby asked, as she looked at one picture which showed a ten year old Jaune sleeping with a red plush dragon.
"Sure did," Milly answered with a smile, "He called him Sparky. He slept with him up until he left for Beacon."
"That's so cute!" Ruby said. Weiss agreed, but figured she wasn't in any place to tease (she may have had her own stuffed Ursa she had brought to Beacon, she may have had to leave in Atlas when she left, and she may have really missed it).
"You should've seen Jaune when Saphron tried to take Sparky for Adrian," Violet said, "I don't think I've ever seen our baby brother so possessive about anything aside from Corcea Mors."
"Speaking of the youngest member of the family," Milly said, as she held up Adrian. She glanced at his mother for permission, who nodded it, before Milly held the baby out for Weiss.
"Are you sure?" Weiss asked hesitantly. Milly chuckled at that slightly.
"You sound like Jaune when Flynn was born," Milly said, "It's fine, just support his head." After a moment, Weiss took the baby, who looked up at Weiss with a smile. Despite herself, Weiss couldn't help but swoon.
"You are the cutest thing in the whole wide world!" Weiss said, as she held Adrian up.
"Careful," Saphron joked, "You're not going to steal my baby are you?"
"I just might have to," Weiss said, as she cuddled with the boy who could very easily become her nephew. Ruby smiled at the sight, as she eagerly awaited her turn with the baby. As she did, though, thoughts drifted into her head. While it was obviously way to early think about things like kids (Ruby was only 16 for Darkness' sake), she couldn't help those thoughts coming to her head. How would this "two girlfriend" scenario work when they wanted to take the relationship further? Ruby shook her head slightly to clear those thoughts; they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.
She then glanced out the window into the backyard, where Jaune was playing with Flynn and his nieces. They were playing their own version of keep away, with the octopuses scrambling around with their ball. Their uncle may have been letting them win, which Ruby found all the cuter.
Some day she thought to herself.
(somewhere else in Argus)
"It's right up here," Pyrrha said, pointing, as she rode on the back of Yang's motorcycle pulled up in front of the Nikos residence. The two dismounted, as Pyrrha rolled her prosthetic slightly.
"You good?" Yang asked.
"Yeah," Pyrrha asked, "Leg just hurts a bit." She didn't let the conversation go any further, as she came up to the door, and opened.
"Mom! Dad!" Pyrrha called, as she stepped in, "I'm home!"
"Pyrrha!" Thetis said happily as she burst out of the kitchen, and hurried over to her daughter to hug her, "I didn't think you'd be home so soon."
"Honestly we just got here," Pyrrha explained, "Us and our friends are trying to get passage to Atlas. I'm staying with Ms. Saphron. Turns out she's my teammate's sister."
"Oh, well I should send her and Terra my thanks," Thetis said with a smile. That was when she noticed Yang.
"And who is this lovely young woman?" she asked. Yang smiled after a moment, and waved.
"Hi," she said, "My name's Yang Xiao Long, I'm Pyrrha's partner."
"Well, please come in," Thetis said, gesturing, "I just made some coffee." Yang was all to happy to do so, as she came into the living room, taking a seat on the couch beside Pyrrha as Thetis came in with some filled cups.
"Unfortunately your father's out right now," she said.
"I can come back tomorrow, before we leave," Pyrrha answered with a smile as she took her cup. Her mother was happy to hear that, as she handed another one to Yang, where she noticed Yang's arm.
"I notice you have your own prosthetic," Thetis said, as Yang took the cup, "I guess that makes you a perfect sort of partner for my girl."
"Lost it about the same time as she lost her leg," Yang said, flexing her mechanical fingers, "I was lucky, at least I could move without issue."
"At least I could carry things without issue," Pyrrha said, "I think you had it worse than me. I was the lucky one." Thetis chuckled slightly; it was oh so like her daughter to protest something like that. But then that smile faded as a thought came to her.
"You weren't on that train that was attacked by Grimm, were you?" she said, as she leaned forward. Pyrrha and Yang stopped "arguing", before they looked at each other.
"We… may have been on that train," Yang said after a pause
"By the gods!" Thetis gasped. Both Pyrrha and Yang involuntarily winced at the mention of the gods, as their memories shifted back to Darkness. It had been a couple days since he took away their powers, and the empty feeling they had inside themselves still hadn't gone away.
"Well…," Pyrrha said as she found some words, "We were all alright if its worth anything. We spent the night after in an old farmhouse a couple hours South of here." She decided to omit the part about the Wendigo and the Spirit, figuring her mom didn't need the added stress of knowing her daughter and her team dealt with a particularly monstrous form of Grimm.
"It's good to be back though," Pyrrha added.
"And it's good to have you back here," Thetis answered with a smile, "You should've seen Dana the days after you left. I thought I'd have to call the police with how many times she kept knocking on our door."
"Dana?" Yang asked.
"My old agent," Pyrrha answered, "Not the best of people."
"I'll make a mental note to kick her ass if I ever see her," Yang said, sipping her coffee again. Pyrrha was worried her otherwise polite mother would disapprove of such language, but Thetis just laughed slightly.
"I like this one," she said. Despite herself, Pyrrha couldn't but slightly chuckle as well.
(in downtown Argus)
If she was being completely honest, Ilia wasn't much of a reader. True, she read when the impulse struck her, but compared to Blake, not as much. So she was sort of resigned to halfheartedly browse the science fiction and fantasy sections while Blake and Cyan shifted through pretty much every genre section in every bookstore.
"Have you read this?" Blake asked, holding out a copy of Howling at the Moon.
"I have," Cyan answered, as she turned her attention back to the book shelf, adjusting her glasses slightly, "Though being completely honest, I'm not a fan of that author's style." Blake shrugged slightly, as she returned the book to it's place on the shelf to continue browsing.
"It's good to finally know someone who shares at least some of my interests," she said, "Weiss always says my tastes are…. vulgar." That wasn't actually true, her word had been "filthy".
"There is nothing at all vulgar about mature themes," Cyan said sternly, waving a finger.
"Thank you," Blake said. Ilia, who was overhearing all this, just rolled her eyes slightly as she kept reading the fantasy book she had found.
"Though I haven't had much time to read lately," Cyan said, "I've been too busy writing."
"You're a writer?" Blake asked, her eyes widening as she noticed Ninjas of Love on the shelf.
"I am," Cyan answered, before she noticed the one Blake was carrying, "Ah yes, Ninjas of Love."
"Ah yes, a personal favorite," Blake said, looking at it, "I can't wait for the sequel."
"I've been trying to write the sequel, but I've been having trouble writing lately," Cyan said. Blake froze in her tracks, as she looked at her friend's sister, who paused as she seemed to realize what she had just said, as she turned bright red, which Ilia felt complimented her hair and clothes as she peered around the corner. Blake looked at the book she was holding, then at Cyan.
"Wait!" Blake said, as her eyes widened, "You're Arc Cyanblood?" Cyan did't say anything, as she shifted on her feet.
"I've read all your books!" Blake said. Despite herself, Ilia couldn't help but chuckle slightly.
"Well, thank you," Cyan answered.
"I have to buy this book," Blake said, looking at the book in her hands.
"I thought you already had a copy."
"I do, but I need to get one with the author's autograph!" Cyan would've protested, but figured that would've just been rude, so she didn't, and when Blake came back with the bought book, she proceeded to promptly sign it.
"Why haven't you been working on the sequel?" Blake then asked. Cyan averted her eyes as she coughed slightly.
"My mother doesn't necessarily approve of the works I write," she explained, "And Vermillion always gets angry when I write it in the same room as her children. And that's saying nothing of Saphron, who won't even let me write while I'm here."
"Oh, that's a shame," Blake said.
"That's a way of putting it," Ilia muttered.
"What?" Blake asked.
"Nothing," Ilia said, not even bothering to hide her smile.
(at the Cotta-Arc household)
Last time Jaune had seen Flynn and his nieces, they had been five and four respectively before he left for Beacon. While they hadn't grown much, that didn't seem to discourage them from thinking they had.
"I'm going to beat you now, Uncle Jaune!" Flynn said, as he wrapped his tentacles around Jaune's arm, and hoisted himself up to his uncle's shoulder. Jaune just laughed slightly as he held up his arm, not bothered by the weight of his nephew, who managed to hoist himself onto his arm.
"Go easy on your uncle, kiddo," Jaune said, "I've been really busy lately."
"Have you been fighting monsters?" Lapis asked, as she hugged Jaune's leg.
"I sure have."
"What're the monsters like?" Lazuli asked, as she came up to his other leg.
"Scary," Jaune said. Fortunately, the kids didn't press the question. That was certainly true, but he sure has hell wasn't going to tell them about creatures like the Wendigo. He wasn't thrilled by the prospect of Milly and Hunter yelling at him for giving their kids nightmares.
"But Mommy and Daddy say you aren't scarred of anything," Lapis said.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Weiss said as she and Ruby came outside, Adrian still in Weiss' arms.
"Aunt Ruby!" Lazuli said happily, as she ran up to them, "Aunt Weiss!"
""Aunt'?" both girls echoed in surprise.
"Yup!" Lazuli said, smiling, "That's what Mommy told me to call you!"
"That seems a little… premature," Weiss said, as she shifted her head to make sure Adrian to grab her ponytail.
"I ain't complaining," Ruby said, as she picked up Lazuli, "I wouldn't mind having a cutie like this as my niece." She tickled Lazuli slightly, causing her to laugh gleefully. She stayed out there with Jaune and Weiss for a time, until they got word that Oz and Qrow had gotten back.
"So, what's the news?" Jaune asked, once he and the girls were back inside. The two adults (okay, more accurate the adult and the adult in a teen's body) exchanged looks with each other, before Qrow sighed, and pulled out his flask.
"Well," he said, "No one said this was gonna be easy."
Note: I originally had that snippet with Darkness last chapter, but with everything that happened last chapter, it ended up losing it's impact. So I put it in an otherwise quiet chapter like this one to give it the proper room to breath.
Most of this chapter was indeed meant to be quiet one; mostly to depict where the group stands in Argus at the time, and to expand a little on a couple of Jaune's sisters. I've seen that concept of Jaune's sister being the author of Blake's favorite books done a couple times in other stories, and I found that I liked the idea, so I decided to include that there. I plugged "Cyan Arc" into an online name generator, and took the most obvious one I could find. I had considered the idea of including the scene with Nora and Jade, but I found it would've been too short to really be anything.
I hope we get to see the rest of the "Seven". If anything would make for a good character short, it would Jaune with his sisters. Alas, I don't think RT cares enough about him anymore to do something like that.
Little tidbit, I also still have my own security item, a blanket I had since I was three years old; its more a rag than a blanket now, but it still means a lot to me. I don't sleep with it anymore, but I still have it with me, even in the Air Force. Please don't judge me.
Be sure to review.
