Big thanks for everyone that left a review last chapter it really helped to keep me motivated and inspired to try and get this next chapter out sooner than I expected.

Heart to Heart

Chapter 20: Argus City

The next few hours were the longest for Jaune, he tried to keep busy in that time. He would go around making sure everyone was okay, if any of the civilians needed anything, if anyone was hurt. Some people had some bruises from all the chaos that he went to help with his semblance. He just kept going around, making sure people were comfortable or needed anything.

Most people just assumed he was a nice person and he was, he would have been doing this same thing on any other day. It was just that if he kept busy then he wouldn't have worry. He hated not knowing what was going on with Ruby and the others but he chose to focus on just pushing forward. He needed to keep going because if he didn't he knew he would just be racked with worry and the people here needed people to keep them calm and safe.

Jaune had no idea how much time passed, it was all a blur to him as he went from person to person just checking in on things.

"We are arriving at Argus Station." An announcement was then heard from the PA system. It seemed like a collective sigh of relief hit the passengers then. They now knew they were going to be safe in the city as the whole mood of the train relaxed.

Jaune felt a bit of it too, if only because he could get off the train. He was starting to feel confined in the train. He didn't notice it at first but the longer he was in here the more the walls seemed to feel like they were pressing in on him.

The train finally passed through a secure tunnel in the massive wall of the city as the train went dark for a moment before light entered through the windows. They all felt the train slowing down as it came to a stop. Looking out the window Jaune could already see the local security forces waiting for them. Whoever was running the train must of called the authorities as soon as they were in range of the city to let them know.

He could see police units on the platform along with paramedics. The area behind them looked to be sealed off which made sense. As soon as they stopped those outside rushed forward as they got to the exits and helped to usher people out to what looked like a safe zone made not too far from the train. Jaune could see people being led to an area with benches and military cots already set up, as they were made comfortable.

They would be looking there for some time Jaune felt, they would have to get everyone's statements and check to see if anyone needed any medical treatment before they could leave.

"So, what now?" Nora asked as the passengers were slowly making their way off the train or it looked like to grab what they could before they left.

That might be a good idea he figured, he didn't want to be on the train anymore and he didn't want to come back for their stuff.

He wondered if Ruby and her team's cart were still attached as well.

"We should get our stuff and see if we can get the others as well." Jaune told them.

"Good idea," Ren didn't want to leave anything behind, and it might prove difficult to get their friends bags after they left the train, as they would have to have proof of their luggage. They made their way to their cart passing people on the way.

They were a bit surprised to find some of the civilians they passed thanking them for what they did. It made Jaune feel a bit better to know that what they did helped saved lives. He never really wanted to become a huntsman for fame but it did feel nice having people thank them.

They got their bags and Jaune led the way to the other rooms. Thankfully, when they had split the train the other rooms hadn't gone with the others. Most likely, the ones lost were the ones carrying the extra baggage and anything being shipped.

"You guys check on Qrow and Oscar's room first, I'll get team RWBY's." He told them as he hefted his own bag on his shoulder. They were going to have to take a lot of stuff with them. Thankfully, they had Nora in their group.

As he entered the room, he grabbed Ruby's fist placing the strap over his other shoulder. He reached for the next one to find Yang's bag in his hand. He stopped moving thinking about her, was she okay, were they going to make it to Argus on foot? That relic drew in Grimm so it wouldn't be easy but they were closer to this city than they were to Mistral.

He knew that Ruby and the others were together they weren't alone fighting without help. He knew that in his head but this whole situation was too similar to what happened at Beacon. Once again, he was pushed away while others went on to face danger without him.

His grip tightened on the strap of Yang's bag as he felt his breathing increase. The room felt small, smaller than it actually was. It felt like the walls were closing in on him as he thought about being stuck here. He couldn't leave and the others were out there fighting and maybe even…dying.

With his semblance, he could help anyone that got hurt but he wasn't with them.

The room felt stuffier now, warmer and the air nearly tasted stale on his lips. His hand was shaking with the bag in it as he couldn't help but see them now. They were fighting alone on the mountain surrounded by Grimm.

Jaune started to breathe even faster now, he felt trapped and confined in the small room. He needed to get out. He had to get out now. His heart rate was racing as he gripped Yang's bag tight and rushed out the door. He ran through the halls, he didn't even notice running by Ren and Nora, he didn't notice them talking to him.

He needed to get out, he felt hot and sweat was forming, as he needed to get out in the open. He found an exit and rushed out. The sunlight hit him as he slowed and stopped by a notice board near the tracks. He dropped the bags as he leaned his head against the cool glass as he noticed his breathing was out of control.

"They're fine, they'll be fine, they have everyone, they're not alone, and they'll be fine." He whispered to himself.

"Jaune!" Nora shouted coming up to him with Ren right behind her. They both were carrying all their bags as they dropped them.

Both of them had worried looks on their faces, they had never seen Jaune like this. They had noticed Jaune having a hard time dealing with Pyrrha's death, some days were better than others but they had never seen him this bad before. Lately they were thinking that he was getting better especially after he and Yang started dating. He had seemed a bit more like his older self but seeing him now, they were seriously worried.

"S-sorry I, I just needed to get out of there." He sighed resting against the signpost.

"Jaune," Ren started to say walking a little closer. "What was that? We've never seen you like this before and we're worried."

Jaune was silent before answering. "I don't know, I just don't know. I…I'm just so worried about them and…I don't know. I felt like I was in a vise."

"We're worried too," Nora told him. "But we're also worried about you."

"Sorry," Jaune honestly said to them seeing the looks in their eyes. He hated that he was causing them trouble. He was about to say more when a person in a uniform was coming up to them. All three took in the appearance of what looked like a law officer. At least he looked similar in uniform and the badge he was wearing was an obvious sign.

"Excuse me are you three the young Huntsmen and Huntress that the passengers were talking about?" The officer looked to be in his mid twenties as he had a notepad in his hands looking over whatever he had written down.

"Yes but we're still students," Jaune explained to him.

"Can I get your names please?" He asked politely as they did as he asked. He then started asking all kinds of questions. Mainly why they were on the train, what happened the whole story. They did their best to answer although Nora kept embellishing the story, which was clearing starting to irritate the officer as he was trying to get the facts for the report on this incident.

Ren came up with the story that they were on their way here to visit Jaune's family, remembering that his sister lived in the city with their friends before classes started up again. Jaune ran with it even giving his sister's name and contact info. The officer seemed to accept it as they went on, then they got to the point about how their friends had to stay behind as they stayed to protect the civilians.

They had to explain how they did what they did as the man wrote it all down. Although he looked a little hesitant about the next part when he spoke up.

"Sorry to hear about your friends." He offered.

There was a confused pause before Jaune felt anger starting to swell up in him as he realized what he was saying. "They're not dead."

That got Nora and Ren on the same page as they too looked at the officer with slight glares.

"Look I'm sorry but they're miles away with Grimm kid," He tried to gently break it to them. He had seen denial before and it was never easy to deal with.

"There's no way they would let themselves get taken out but those Grimm," Nora defended.

"You said that they were students with only one active Huntsman correct?" The officer asked and went on seeing their nods. "There was a full Huntsman on the train and he was a fatality as well."

Jaune didn't like that the officer was lumping his friends in with that guy. That Huntsman didn't seem like much even to Jaune. Of course, he didn't want to think ill of the dead either so he kept his mouth shut on that part. He knew that the man's partner might be taking it hard, losing a partner was never easy after all.

"Are you at least going to sent out a team or at least a plane to rescue them?" Ren said trying to get some information about it. That helped perk the other members of his team up.

The officer looked hesitant again, "We don't have any aircraft here to send in Argus."

"What?" Jaune felt a sick feeling in his stomach.

The officer started to explain. "You see most come here by train or boat there isn't enough room for an airport. The only place we do have one here is with the Atlas military station on the bay and we can't order them to send out a plane for your friends. I'm sorry."

"Can't you at least ask?" Jaune pleaded.

He shook his head, "Maybe if there was a different base commander but the current one, well you can try and ask them for help but you won't get it. They do protect the city from Grimm but anything else it's outside their standing orders and the woman in charge from what I hear is stubborn about keeping to her orders."

"I'm sorry kid, I really do and I hope they're still alive but it's a long walk here and we don't have the means to go looking for them at the moment. The best we can do is hope Mistral realizes the train is late and sends out a train with a full team to help clear the way. It happens sometimes when they have to clear or fix the tracks from Grimm attacks. Normally we would have just called them in the past but with the network down…"

Jaune didn't listen anymore, it was just like he thought earlier about the network. All the cities were starting to get isolated from each other.

The rest of what the officer asked was more mundane and also repeating a few other questions to get more details. Jaune was thankful when it was all over and so did Ren and Nora at the end of it all. Still the fact that no help could be sent out for Ruby and the others twisted Jaune's stomach in a knot. He had hoped that the city could send something out there and in a few hours they would be all together again.

Now he didn't know what to do, other than wait for them to show up.

He checked his scroll but none of them was within range, he knew it wasn't likely they would get this close to fast but it was the only thing he could do. Keep an eye out and hope that they would make it to the city soon.

"So now what?" Nora asked looking around as people were starting to leave the area.

"I guess I should call my sister," Jaune told them finding her contact info and calling her on his scroll. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her although it would be nice to hear her voice again. Saphron was the eldest of his siblings and she looked out for them all. She always could make things seem better and always there to help.

"Hello?" The familiar voice said on the other line.

"Hey Saph? It's me, Jaune."

"Jaune!? Oh my god how are you I haven't heard from you since-wait...Jaune are you in the city?"

"Yeah me and two of my friends we just got in."

"Just got in, I don't remember any ships coming in to port, wait. You weren't on that train that was on the news were you?"

"It's on the news?"

"Oh my god you were! Jaune are you okay? Please tell me you're not calling from the hospital." The worry in her voice carried over from the call.

"No-no I'm not, we're at the station and we're okay," He wanted to say that 'most of us' were but that was something to talk about in person.

"I'll me right down there, I'm so glad that you guys are okay. The train attack has been on the news for the past twenty minutes, Jaune, there are reports of casualties." Her voice trailed off softly at that part.

Jaune sighed, "It was one of the Huntsmen guarding the train that's all I know."

"Okay, I'll see you soon Jaune."

"I'll see you too sis," He hung up the call. It did feel good to hear her voice again and he wanted to see her as well. He still felt like a wreck, he was starting to feel tired not only physically but emotionally but there was still plenty left in the day to do.

"So we get to finally meet one of your famous siblings," Nora grinned as they exited the train station. They chose to wait by the entrance to make it easier for Saphron to find them.

"Famous?" Jaune asked confused.

"Well yeah, not many people can claim to have seven siblings," Nora smiled she had heard some of the stories back when they all shared a room at Beacon. Nora actually liked to hear the stories because as an orphan she wondered what it would be like to have grown up in a family, especially a large one like Jaune's.

"Be that as it may," Ren started. "It will be nice to meet a part of your family."

Jaune smiled at his friends glad that they were still with him. An hour passed before he heard his sister call out to him.

"Jaune!"

The three of them looked to see a woman a few years older than them. She had long blonde hair the same shade as Jaune's although she did seem to be carrying a toddler with a dark complexion with her.

"Saph!" Jaune waved over to her as the made her way over to them. As she got closer, Ren and Nora could see the family resemblance between the two of them. She gave him a half hug so as not to crush her son, as she looked her baby brother up and down.

"I think you got a bit bigger last time I saw you and look at you." She smiled taking in his appearance the armor and clothing really did make him look like a huntsman now. When she had heard that he had gone off to Beacon she hated to admit it but like the rest of the family she was worried for Jaune. Although the family supported him, he hadn't really had the chance to train for it. There had been no combat schools to train in back home and the only other one was miles away, too far for him to join.

However, here he was and looking him over she couldn't help but look for any injuries. "You're not hurt or anything are you?"

"No, I'm fine not even a scratch." He assured her.

"Yeah we kicked those Grimm's butts!" Nora said proudly with her hands on her hips.

Saphron looked at the two others and smiled. "Now let me see if I remember this right. You're Nora and you would be Ren?"

"I take it Jaune talked about us," Ren stated with a nod of his head.

"Oh my baby brother always talked about his team," Saphron smiled looking at a slightly embarrassed Jaune. "Honestly every time he called home he would talk about you three…"

Her smile faded as she remembered the last bit of news as she looked to Jaune, he had lost his partner in The Fall and looking at him now, she could see the pain in his eyes. She also couldn't help but notice that her little brother didn't look as innocent as he used to. There was a slight hardness to him now and a part of her was sad to see it in him.

Jaune tried to change the subject as he looked down at Adrian. "Hey little guy, you've gotten a lot bigger last time I saw you."

Saphron took the chance to change the subject knowing what he was doing. "Of course you only saw him when he was a new born. Adrian this is your uncle Jaune."

The toddler looked up at him for a moment before giggling something and reaching up to him. Jaune poked out his finger as the young boy took it playing with it.

"You didn't tell us you were an uncle!" Nora grinned at him.

"Well…I guess it never came up?" Jaune shrugged at them.

Nora leaned down to the boy who looked curiously up at her. "Hello there little guy, aren't you the cutest little boy, yes you are."

Saphron smiled as Adrian giggled as Nora played with him. She had to admit in her eyes her son was the best child in the world, yes she knew she was biased but she didn't care.

"Well come on, you can tell me all about everything on the way to my place." Saphron told them. They were all grateful to finally leave the train station. She led them to the streetcar that stopped in the area. It was the easiest way of getting around the city they found. There were tight roads and not many personal vehicles like there was in Vale. The smaller size of the city made public transportation a bit better for its size.

The city seemed to be built on a hill between two large hills making natural barriers for most Grimm as they wouldn't be able to climb down (at least not easily) leaving only the walled entrance and the sea to the city's back. All the buildings tended to be slim, pushed up against each other and on average about three stories tall. It was all very compact and made use of the limited space of the city for the populations. The few gaps were small alleys between the buildings.

Yet even with the tight architecture, there was a beauty to the place. The buildings all had very decorative designs to them. Even though there was hardly any natural nature in the city, the roads were lined with trees keeping with the Mistral culture of working with and respecting nature.

All in all Jaune thought the city looked very nice and he could see why his big sister liked living here.

Saphron would point out little things about the city to them, the things that tourist like to see when they came, also the things she felt they would need to know such as good places to eat, buy items, little things that only a person living in the area would know. They took the streetcar to their next stop as they got off. It was a short walk to a pleasant looking three story building as Saphron let them in.

"Ohhh, nice place." Nora looked around.

Saphron laughed a little, "Thanks we take pride in our home. Come on I'll show you three to your rooms."

"Wait you have enough space for all of us?" Nora asked.

"With my family it was kind of needed," Saphron grinned at them as when her family came to visit they still struggled to find a place for everyone sometimes. "Thank god Terra has a government job, they pay is great given I'm a full time house wife and mother."

"Wait…Terra?" Nora asked confused at the name. "Isn't that a girl's name?"

Jaune face palmed, he forgot to mention the slightly unique nature of his sister's family life here and Nora was the one person on their team that had no tact.

Saphron had an amused look on her face, "That might be because she's my wife."

"Oh, wait." Nora looked to Aiden and had on a thinking look on his face. "But then, how did the two of you…"

"That's what sperm banks are for," Saphron had to hold back some laughter. The girl was just a bit too innocent and the embarrassed looks of the boys was almost too much.

"Oh okay! That makes a lot more sense now," Nora would have scratched the back of her head if her arms weren't burdened with all the bags she was carrying. They put the bags away as they all went to the living room to relax.

Saphron put Adrian on the floor to play with some toys. "Hey can you guys put those weapons in the closet by the door? I don't mind them in the house but I really don't want Adrian near them."

"Of course," Ren nodded pulling out his weapons.

"Good idea," Nora did the same as the two of them put them in the closet door. Jaune was last as his two friends gone to look after Adrian. Jaune pulled the sword and scabbard off his wait as Saphron got her first good look at it.

"Wait Jaune," Saphron placed a hand on his wrist looking at it. "Did you get a new sword? Mom told me you took Crocea Mors."

"Oh it is," Jaune showed her by expanding the shield function.

Saphron's eyes widened. "Jaune what did you do to the family weapon?"

"Uh, well I kind of, well I had it remade?" Jaune shrunk down a bit. He hadn't even thought of what the rest of his family would think of it. It had been in his family for generations after all and he did this without telling them. It wasn't really 'his' as he technically stole it when he left. Of course none of his siblings wanted it so his parents let him have it.

From her earliest memories, she could remember seeing that blade, of her father taking care of it, of it sitting in a place of honor in the living room on the wall of their home. Looking at it now though it looked so different, it looked like it had been given a rebirth.

"It looks amazing Jaune," Saphron said as her hand ran over the family crest on the shield. Even the shield had something done to it with the gold trim it had now.

"Thanks, I was kind of worried there," Jaune's shoulders sagged as he blew out a sigh of relief.

"Can I?" She asked as he nodded and handed her the sword.

Although she wasn't a warrior, she could feel the balance of the blade. She had held it a few times growing up but it never felt 'right' in her hand like the sword was waiting for someone, the right someone, to take it up. Running her hand over the pummel at the new design and how the blade seemed to shine, she could see how Jaune took care of the weapon.

"You know little brother I think this isn't the family's sword anymore," she looked at him as she proudly handed it back to him. "This is yours now."

"Yeah but it's still part of the family legacy isn't it?" Jaune asked her.

"Yes but now it's part of your legacy," She hugged him. "I think Great-great-grandfather would be proud of what you've done with it."

"R-really?"

She nodded. "Yeah, you're not the same little boy I remember and that's kind of sad but looking at you now I can see that you'll make a great Huntsman. I'm proud of you little brother."

Jaune felt his eyes sting as he looked away and quickly seethed the sword and put it away in the closet. He didn't want her to see it but it was the first time ever that someone in his family actually thought he could do this and that they were proud of him. He had always been just kind of average his whole life, nothing to stand out from his siblings other than being the one male in the group.

He always felt like he was living in everyone's shadow growing up. All his sisters excelled in something or another and yet he never found his footing until he managed to get into Beacon.

So hearing this from his big sister really touched him. He took a moment before facing her again.

"Thanks sis." He honestly said.

She smiled at him, "Hey what are big sister's for?"

Jaune smiled but it only reminded him soon after of another big sister he knew. He really hoped Yang and the others were okay. Saphron went to the living room as Jaune paused to check his scroll. Still no contact yet for any of them on it. He closed his eyes and took a breath before putting it away. He would keep checking and he hoped they would soon get within range.

As everyone was enjoying themselves in the living room, Saphron went to the kitchen to start on dinner as she left Adrian in their care.

It was later when the front door opened up as Terra walked in, the dark skinned woman had short dark hair and glasses as she sighed glade to be home. "Honey, I'm home."

She pauses as she got into the living room seeing that they had guest although they seemed a bit young to be friends of Saphron's. There was a tall dark haired boy sitting with a girl with short hair playing with her son on the ground. The last was…Jaune!?

"Jaune is that you?" Terra said happy to see her brother-in-law as she went to hug him. He returned it as she had to admit he had looked a little bigger than the last time she had seen him.

"Hey Terra, sorry for dropping in like this but it's kind of a long story." He explained.

"Well we can fill her in," Saphron said from the kitchen as she came in and kissed her wife on the cheek. She saw the tired look in her eyes and saw that her wife must have had another one of 'those days' again today. "Rough day?"

"You have no idea," Terra sighed again going to pick up her son and hug him close as she nearly collapsed onto the couch. "I swear if we didn't need the money I'm tempted to quit some days."

Saphron stood behind her as she gently caressed her wife's hair. "Well you're home now and dinner will be ready soon. I think we're going to have a lot of catching up to do tonight."

TBC…