Lionheart groaned in pain as the transport bumped into the air, sending him jostling around. His knees were stiff, and the belts trapping him in place dug into his skin, but he did not complain. It was far less than he deserved. He ought to be in shackles.

In the aftermath of Haven, he surrendered immediately, being taken into custody, and placed in a cell in Haven's city jail. Ozpin must not have told the guards what he had done, because they all seemed mostly confused as to why they were apprehending a Headmaster.

He came to him the same night of the battle. He and Qrow, of course. A fourteen year old boy couldn't very well waltz in and demand to see a prisoner in private. They had asked him to reveal everything. What he did. Why he did it. They asked him if he meant to betray Cinder from the start, if it was his intention to pull a long con on Salem. They were almost begging him to say it was.

He was certainly tempted to lie. To say that he had never betrayed them, that whatever atrocities he had let occur, he had truly believed it would be worth it for the blow he could deal Salem. It would have been so easy. They wouldn't have argued a word, and he could be back in his office right now, sharing a cup of coffee with Ozpin. And if Hazel said a word otherwise? Well, he wasn't exactly trustworthy.

He could even spin it as a noble thing to do, if he wished to assuage his own guilt. That by avoiding punishment, he would be free to atone for his sins by helping Ozpin and the others, lending them the support of a Headmaster. No one would have to know the truth but himself, and he would live with the knowledge of his crimes for the rest of his life. In time, he might convince himself it was just punishment, for what he did.

He told them none of that, however. Lionheart told them the truth, as awful as it was. The whole, undiluted truth. He told them of how he felt when he was appointed Headmaster. He told them how hard he tried to do his best with the cards he was dealt. That he was failing. And he told them when Watts first approached him. And how quickly he went over to the other side. He told them of what he allowed to happen in the borders of his kingdom. How Tyrian and Hazel slowly winnowed the number of Huntsman in Mistral until the kingdom had practically no defense. How after he sent the students away, he locked himself in his office as Tyrian, Hazel, Cinder and her lackeys all slaughtered the staff. And he told them when he finally couldn't stomach it any longer, and called Qrow, telling him to arrive a little later than planned, so he could see the truth for himself.

Qrow didn't say anything. He simply sighed in resignation, as if he expected his answer. He probably did. The old bird was always rather perceptive. Ozpin must have been shocked though, because for a few moments, the boy took control, gripping the edges of the table to steady himself. Ozpin returned shortly.

Lionheart expected anger, vitriol, disgust. Everything he had thought towards himself, for years. He expected no mercy, and was frankly surprised Qrow didn't take his head off then and there. It would hardly have been uncalled for. He deserved so much worse than death, after all.

What he had not expected, was indecision. They weren't sure what to do with him. Ozpin admitted that he had failed him. He ignored LIonheart's pleas that he wasn't ready for the position, that he needed more help, that Mistral was much worse off than Vale, or Atlas, or even Vacuo. He had sowed the seeds of disquiet that Salem had harvested.

That did not excuse his choices, of course. He had told Ozpin as much. But Ozpin had continued, telling him that he had served faithfully for years, despite the odds stacked against him, and that ultimately, he had chosen to warn them.

He had to be punished, of course. But they couldn't decide what he deserved. What's more, they said it wasn't just their choice. In the end, they decided on not informing the public of his betrayal. Spirits were already low after Beacon, and the knowledge that a Headmaster had turned traitor would be disastrous, drawing even more Grimm to the already unstable kingdom.

Instead, they had elected to have him sent with Hazel in a prison transport, ostensibly for his protection, and to oversee the transfer of a dangerous prisoner such as Hazel. Qrow had told him, however, in no uncertain terms, that they expected him to remain in Shade, where Hazel would be transferred, and inform Theodore of what occurred. Once Ozpin and the others had reached Atlas with the Relic, then they would try and figure out what to do with him. Until then, he would listen to Theodore.

He had agreed immediately, and so began the long ride to Shade.

He wondered what his old friend would say? Theodore was always a little hot headed. He would be in a rage, no doubt. He might kill him before he had a chance to finish his story. Or perhaps not. Of all the Headmasters, Theo kept most to himself. Vaucans pride themselves on their independence, after all. He couldn't say for sure how the man would react. No matter what, though, he had promised to follow whatever decision he went with. He had sworn as such to Ozpin. And he would not break his trust again.

Another bump in the road elicited another groan of pain. Hazel grunted. "Shut up, old man."

Brothers, he was getting old, wasn't he? He had been doing this for too long, far too long. "You'll have to pardon me, I'm afraid. I'm not quite in as good a shape as I once was," He told the hulking man across from him. Unlike Lionheart, Hazel was bound in state of the art aura dampeners from Atlas. Two guards seated on his side ensured he was going nowhere.

Another grunt, and Hazel went back to ignoring him. Lionheart sighed. This is going to be a long ride, huh?

Without warning, static emitted from both of the guards helmets. They frowned. "Hello? Hello? Does anybody copy, over?"

He heard a high pitched ding, and the dampening cuffs around Hazel's wrists turned red. The speaker in the truck activated, and a sickeningly familiar voice came through the static. "That would be your cue to leave, you oaf," Watts said.

Lionheart gulped. "Oh dear." Hazel pulled his arms away from each other, using his aura enhanced strength to snap the now useless cuffs. The guards yelped, and raised their weapons, and that was when the transport went flying.

He groaned, holding a hand to his head as he tried to stand, balancing on the ruined transport for support. "What…what happened?"

"I told you to shut up," Hazel growled, and Lionheart snapped to attention. The transport. Watts interfered somehow, there was an attack. Close to Hazel, he saw the already disintegrating body of a deathstalker. Watts must have lured it into the transport somehow.

He looked back into the ruins of the transport. The driver had crawled out of the vehicle, and passed out up against a tree. The other two guards were still unconscious inside. Hazel nudged the fading corpse one last time, and began walking away.

Lionheart paled. Hazel could cause too much harm if free, and nothing was standing in his way. A feeling of guilt nagged at his heart. Curse you, you old fool, he told himself. He ran back into the transport, grabbing one of the guns off of a guard, and fired at Hazel.

The dust round bounced harmlessly off the back of his head, and he slowly turned around to face him. A chill ran up his spine. "I don't have time to bother with you," Hazel said slowly, "I don't care whether or not you suddenly decided to grow a conscience, but you can't seriously think you're gonna keep me here on your own, do you?"

"Not really," Lionheart told him honestly, his hands shaking. "But I figured I have to try,"

Hazel scoffed. "No, you don't. Pull that trigger again, and you don't accomplish anything other than a pointless death. Use your brain, Lionheart. We're in the middle of the woods. Grimm are already on their way. Find some village out in the middle of nowhere and hide there for the rest of your pathetic life. But don't try and stop me."

He turned to keep traveling down the path, and Lionheart almost pulled the trigger anyways. He didn't care what happened to him. He was old, and had lived a poor life. Failing to stop Hazel wouldn't serve any purpose, but neither would hiding away in the backwoods of Mistral. He might at least die trying to do the right thing.

He stopped himself, though. Because there was something he had to do. Hazel was right, Grimm were surely already on their way. And behind him, all of the guards for the transport had survived, and were entirely unable to defend themselves.

He bit his lip. He was hardly the man he used to be, but once upon a time he had been a Huntsman. And his duty was to the people, the innocents, the ones who couldn't help themselves.

Lionheart watched as Hazel walked off into the distance. He sighed, his choice already made.

The former Headmaster groaned in pain, his joints creaking as he climbed to the top of the overturned transport. He strained his ears and miraculously, he could make out the familiar sounds of Grimm, moving towards through the forest. Moving fast, converging on them.

He took stock of his weapon, ensuring it was loaded, and in good enough condition for the coming fight. He couldn't stop Hazel. Not even if he was in his prime. But he had a more important duty. To defend these people, to his dying breath.

And afterwards, he would make it to Shade Academy. No matter how long it took, he would find his way to Theodore, and tell him of what had occurred, and warn him of what will. He had given his word to Ozpin. And he will not break it again.

"Come on, just stay still for a minute!" Emerald pleaded. "This is for your own good, you little jerk!"

"Maybe try holding his arms?" Saffron offered weakly.

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Emerald snapped back. "He's slippery!" Adrian ducked under her grasp, splashing more water outside of the bathtub, drenching her and Saphron both.

"Here, just-I got him!" Saphron wrapped a towel around Adrian's waist, lifting him out of the tub and onto the spare towel they had laid down on the floor.

Emerald sighed in relief. "It should not have taken that long to get a baby out of a tub."

"Oh you'd be surprised," Saphron laughed. "Thanks for your help. Terra wasn't back yet, and Mercury's been with him all day already, I didn't want to bug him."

"No worries," Emerald said dismissively. There's something deeply wrong with that child, she thought. She swore he squirted shampoo in her eyes on purpose. It was baby shampoo, sure, but she felt the intent! No one that young had any right being that malicious.

"We, uh, might need a third towel," Saphron noticed. "I had to get this one wet to pick him up out of the tub."

Something soft hit her in the head, clouding her vision. Emerald tore the towel off her head, and glared towards the doorway. Mercury was leaning up against the frame, smirking. "Don't worry, I got you covered."

"Oh, thank you Mercury!" Saphron said. "You're a lifesaver."

He shrugged, crossing his arms. "It's been said before," He told her nonchalantly. Emerald had to choke back a laugh. Idiot, she thought fondly. Mercury wasn't finished, however. "So why do you two look like you swam here from Menagerie?"

"Oh, Adrian decided to make a bit of a fuss," Saphron answered with a smile. A bit? Emerald thought incredulously. "He gets a little cranky when it's bath time. We managed to survive, though."

"I see," Mercury said, a smile twitching at the edge of his lips. "And he's normally so well behaved," He drawled, every word dripping in sarcasm.

"I know!" Saphron exclaimed, completely missing it. "I guess everyone has off days once in a while. Come on you, let's get you all dried up and ready for mommy when she gets home!" Wrapping Adrian in the new towel, Saphron stood up, walking past Mercury to get Adrian dressed.

"Ugh," Emerald groaned once Saphron was out of earshot. "That was hell," She moaned.

"No, that was a ten minute bath." Mercury observed. "You aren't the one who gets stuck with that demonspawn all day while Saphron's doing chores. How come I'm the designated babysitter?"

"Because you're so good with him!" She said, laying the praise on thick. "He's always a perfect little angel when you're watching him! Seriously, tell me how you do it. I'm going insane."

Mercury shrugged, grinning. "I guess he just likes me more."

"Then there's a perfect reason for you to be the babysitter!" She argued. "If he likes you more, he won't complain as much."

He rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. You definitely don't just wanna get out of watching him. Mmhmm."

"Hey, those two aren't mutually exclusive!" She defended.

"Whatever," Mercury said, giving up the argument. "Serious question, though."

Emerald frowned. She cleared her throat nervously. "Wh-What's up?" She asked, not quite managing to keep her voice even.

Ever since…everything got put out in the open, they'd done a good job of keeping things mostly normal between them. They laughed together like they used to, argued like they used to, looked out for each other like they used to. They did a great job of making it seem like everything was the same.

Except, it wasn't. Not at all. She knew all about his past now, and while that didn't change anything between them other than maybe explaining why he tried so hard to get her away from Cinder, him knowing exactly how she felt about him certainly did change things.

It was never in a big way. She might blush a bit more than she used to, or Mercury would avoid teasing her in a way he wouldn't think twice about before. Nothing that felt like it would obviously change anything, but it did nonetheless.

Some nights, she hated it. She wishes Saphron just never said anything in the first place, and she never started looking at Mercury in a new light. She wishes they could just forget this whole mess happened and go back to the way things were.

And other nights, she smiles, remembering the pure euphoria she now felt whenever he smiled at her, or laughed at one of her jokes. She thinks about how happy she is knowing that someone cares about her, that someone isn't going to leave her, no matter what. She holds out hope that when Mercury finally sorts out his own feelings, he cares about her the same way she does him. And sometimes, when she's in a particularly good mood, she thinks it makes having to deal with all this awkwardness worth it.

"Hey, you listening, Em?" She snapped out of her thoughts, her cheeks growing red. "I said it was serious." Great. Now she could add spacing out to the list of ways she's embarrassed herself in the last week.

"Sorry, my bad," She mumbled. "I guess I'm a little out of it."

Mercury waved a hand lazily. "It's whatever. Don't worry about it. Seriously though, it is important."

"Go ahead," Emerald told him, this time managing to keep her voice level.

"The train," He said. "What's the latest?"

Oh. It was just that. She felt a little disappointed for some reason. "It's finally on its way," She answered. "There was some mess in Haven a few days ago, which made it delay again, but it should finally be leaving today or tomorrow."

Mercury frowned. "Haven, huh? Do you think it might have something to do with Ci…with those kids from Beacon?"

"I don't know," She snapped. She had been in a bit of a panic since she found out about Haven. It was the first time she'd heard anything to do with their…prior employment since they left. "There weren't a whole lot of details. And honestly, I don't want to know. I never want to hear about Ruby Rose, or maidens, or-or Cinder Fall ever again!"

"I get it," Mercury said evenly. She was glad he didn't tell her to calm down. She took a few deep breaths to relax, while Mercury continued, pretending not to notice. "Trust me, I'm not exactly in a hurry to run into them myself. Thankfully, somebody awesome, who shall remain nameless for the sake of anyone else in the room, had the incredible foresight of picking Argus as a pace to lie low."

Emerald frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?" She asked. "You said we should go to Argus because we have the best chance of not being found. If they come here, how the hell are we supposed to rob the Argus Limited without anyone noticing? Robbing a train isn't a small affair. Sure, we're hoping to only take enough that the cops won't notice, but they still could. And you know that a huntress, even if only one in training, is going to stick her nose in it.."

"Why would they come here?" He countered. "Alright, yeah, I suggested Argus because it'd be easiest to lie low, but also, think about it for a moment." He began counting off his fingers. "One, we know Vacuo is next on Salem's agenda, assuming whatever happened at Haven involved her, which it probably did. Two, Atlas is on a lockdown. No one gets in or out without Ironwoods say so, and it's a little hard to do that with no CCT. So unless there's something we're missing, little miss silver eyes should be on her way to Shade as we speak."

Emerald sighed, rubbing her arm. "Yeah, I guess you're probably right. That's good for us, I suppose. Makes robbing the Argus Limited a little easier."

Mercury frowned again. "Yeah. It will." He cleared his throat. "Alright, well that's figured out then. Good. We finally know for sure it's coming soon."

"Should we tell Jadis?" She asked.

He snorted. "Brothers, no! She's been nothing but a pain in our ass this entire time, and I don't like how eager she is to find out details. I think you might be right. She's probably trying to steal the dust herself, cut us out from the job entirely."

She raised an eyebrow. "So…we just don't do anything?"

"It's not that we aren't doing anything," Mercury corrected. "We're just waiting. Nothing more we can really do. And if Jadis wants to throw a little hissy fit, well she can just get in line and wait with the rest of us. Or fuck off and die in a hole for all I care." Emerald giggled. "Honestly, she's starting to be more trouble than she's worth." He said.

Mercury sighed, uncrossing his arms. "Alright, well I think I'll take a walk then."

"And leave me here with that monster?" She asked jokingly.

"Eh, you'll be fine." He reassured her. "Adrian just had a shower and Terra should be here soon. I'm sure you'll survive."

She scoffed. "Unbelievable. And here I thought we were a team." She managed to keep a somewhat convincing look of betrayal on her face for all of five seconds before breaking down laughing. "Go! Take a walk. I should grab something to eat anyway."

He nodded. "Take care, Em."

Emerald watched as he disappeared from sight, sighing as she heard the front door close. She leaned against the wall, slumping down to the floor.

Brothers, she was a mess. She needed a damn break. All of this, from Jadis, to the Argus Limited, to everything going on with Mercury, was just so damn exhausting! And it was all going on at once!

At least it'll be over soon. The Argus Limited would be arriving soon. Then they could take the dust, get their money, and never have to see Jadis again. Or Saphron and the others. Her throat hitched, suddenly feeling dry. That's right. They would have to leave once the train got here.

That was the plan. That had been the plan from the very start, and she knew as much. She was okay with it then. She told Mercury she was. But that was then, and now? She didn't want to go. She was happy. As awkward and infuriating as it could be, the last couple weeks had been the best in her life. Not having to worry about a place to sleep, finding something to eat, or whether she had made Cinder angry. She could just…live.

And soon it would be over, with no chance of ever coming back. The Argus Limited finally arriving would mark the end of her short-lived bliss.

But it would be fine. It's what she wanted. Once they had the dust, they could sell it for the money they needed to do whatever they wanted. This was good for them. Honestly.

Ugh, she groaned. I can't even lie to myself anymore.

Mercury whistled, walking down the snowy sidewalks of Argus. He had gotten very familiar with the paths of the city over the past few weeks. He enjoyed going for walks every now and again. It felt…strange, in a way that wasn't entirely unpleasant. He wasn't scouting out a mark, or looking for the fastest routes out of the city, he was just…walking.

And thinking. That was the less enjoyable part of his walks. He had too much time to think about his problems, and nothing else to distract him from it while he was out walking.

First in his mind, there was Emerald. That…was a mess and a half, and one he hadn't even come close to puzzling out just yet. It wasn't that it was hard to figure out how he felt. She was the most important person in his life by a mile, and mattered a hell of a lot more to him than anyone else he had ever met. She was his best friend, his partner in crime. He couldn't imagine a life without her, strange as that sounded.

The problem was, while he knew how he felt, he wasn't sure what that meant. He never had a chance to think about anything other than survival. His father had made sure of that. At least, not until Cinder. And even then, he never put much thought into anything other than doing what she said, and teasing Emerald. Things got complicated after Beacon, and ever since, it had been a roller coaster of events, never slowing down enough to give him time to sort through his thoughts.

Until now, that is. Now, he had nothing but time. Literally, he couldn't do anything until the Argus Limited arrived in town. Funny, he had been counting the days until the train pulled into Argus, but now that it was fast approaching, a part of him wanted it to never arrive. Boring as it was, staying with the Cotta-Arcs had been kinda fun. Emerald was happy, of course. He thought Terra and Saphron were kinda weird at first, but apparently they're just nice people. And he had finally figured out how to deal with the devil that was Adrian.

He grunted, kicking a clump of snow in his path. Another problem to think about. He really couldn't catch a break could he? He finally sighed. I'm going to have to figure out what I have with Em soon. It wasn't fair to her. He had seen her sneaking looks and noticed her stumbling over her words in the few days before they spoke to each other, but he didn't really pay much attention to it. Now that he knew how she felt, it was hard not to notice. And if the past few weeks were anything to go by, it was clear none of those feelings had dimmed.

For the thousandth time since he did the bastard in, he wished he could go back and kill his father again and again. It was his fault he was so fucked up in the first place. Otherwise, he would just know how he felt, and quit having to make Emerald wait for him to figure it out on his own. At least, he assumed so. Normal people probably didn't have a hard time dealing with this, right?

The sound of a metal can skittering across the ground snapped him out of his thoughts. He didn't stop to turn around, or change his pace, or do anything else to suggest he noticed something. But he did pay closer attention, straining his ears.

Footsteps behind him, following at a similar pace to his own, a little slower so they wouldn't overtake him. He pushed down the instinct to cut and run, or turn and shoot. It could be a coincidence. Argus was a large place, and it wasn't so late that it couldn't just be some random civilian.

He decided to wait a little, feel things out. He took a few turns, stopped to lean on the corner of a building for a few minutes, changed his pace a few times. Every time, without fail, the footsteps would follow.

He frowned. He was being tailed. It was clumsy, for sure. Any professional would either follow him well out of earshot, or at the very least match his footsteps so he wouldn't be able to hear the difference. But clumsy or no, he was still being followed.

Well, tonight just got a lot more interesting. He took a sudden turn down an alley he knew was a dead end, walking down about half way. Sure enough, he heard the footsteps not far behind him.

"Oh, come on," He groaned. "I was gonna cut you a little slack. It's not like Argus has a thriving criminal underground, so I can excuse you not following like a professional, but dude. Following a mark who you have to know is extremely dangerous down an alley late at night passes the line of amateur, to just plain stupid."

He didn't hear footsteps running off, so he assumed he must have scared the tail by talking to them. He turned around, and was met with the sight of a short, skinny girl with bangs covering half of her face. She was hanging at the edges of the alley, her face frozen in fear, as he knew it would be.

"Get over here." He told her. "I got a few questions for you."

She took a couple nervous steps backwards. Mercury rolled his eyes. "If you run, I'm going to chase you," He warned. "And if you make me chase you, it'll be the last running you'll ever do."

She let out a small eep, before nervously taking a few steps forward this time. At least she's not that stupid. Slowly but surely, she made her way towards him, until finally standing just a few feet away. She didn't look all that young, two or three years younger than him, but she was tiny, and scared out of her wits, practically shrinking away in fear. It made him tower over her.

"So," He began clapping his hands together. "Let's start with the obvious. Jadis sent you."

Her eyes widened. "N-no! I don't even know who that-"

"Shut up," He interrupted, already tired of her whining. "Don't waste my time. Jadis is literally the only person who could possibly have sent you. I have a lot of enemies, but pretty much none of them send scared little teenage girls to do their dirty work." He frowned, a certain silver eyed pain in his ass popping into his mind. "Well, not most of them anyways."

He shook his head. "Point is, you don't have to lie and say you don't work for Jadis, because I already know that you do. Which is a good thing, because if you do lie to me, I will kill you. Got it?"

She didn't answer, too nervous to speak. "Got it?" He asked again, a little more forcefully She let out another eep, and nodded shakily. "Good. Now, I'm going to ask you a question, and I don't want you to waste my time by lying, or just shaking like a leaf. I want a clear, immediate answer. Why did Jadis send you?"

"The Argus Limited!" His tail blurted. "She told me to watch the two of you whenever you left the house, and look for any signs that you were preparing for its arrival, so she would know it's arriving soon. She doesn't want to just buy the dust off you, she wants to cut you out!"

His eyes widened in surprise at how much she managed to spill so quickly. He shrugged. At least she's a good listener. That was about as immediate an answer as he could have asked for. He went over what she said. It wasn't anything new, really. They were expecting her to look for ways to cut them out since they first approached her. The only surprise was that she finally grew a pair and decided to act on her greed.

Mercury sighed. "Your boss has got a very high opinion of herself, doesn't she?" The girl flinched. "Here's what you're going to do. You're going to run away, very fast, all the way back to the decrepit warehouse your pathetic excuse of a boss actually thinks is worth calling a hideout. You're going to tell her you were spotted. I doubt she'll be angry. She's greedy, but she isn't stupid, she would have known there was no chance of you actually spying on me. But once you're done admitting failure, you're going to tell her, in no uncertain terms, that I'm tired of her shit. There will be no more calling Emerald, trying to squeeze out details about when the train will arrive. There will be no more sending useless tails. And there will be absolutely no entertaining any thoughts of stealing the dust for herself. Period. Got all that?"

The girl nodded shakily.

"Then why are you still here?" He asked, shooing her away. "Go! Run! And make sure you tell her every word!"

Her eyes widened, and she turned immediately, tripping over her feet and falling to the ground, before pushing herself back up and running off.

Mercury grimaced as he watched her turn the corner of the alley. Just one more thing for him to think about.

He stuck his hands in his pockets, shaking his head. Today sucked.

The first thing he was met with as soon as he opened the door to the Cotta-Arcs was the smiling form of Adrian, held out in the arms of his mother. "Seriously?" He asked.

Saphron pulled her son back into her arms. "He's tired and I have to wash dishes. Could you get him to bed?"

"I just walked in the door," He pointed out.

"Please?" She begged, pouting.

He rolled his eyes, holding out his arms. "Fine. But knock that off, you look like a kicked puppy."

She grinned, handing Adrian over. "Thank you! I promise, he's already tired, you'll barely have to do anything." She rushed off to the kitchen, out of sight.

Sure enough, Adrian yawned, laying his head against Mercury's chest. "So, how was your walk?" A voice quietly whispered. Emerald was at the door frame, presumably masking herself from Adrian so she wouldn't disturb him. At least, she better be. "Anything exciting happen?"

Mercury thought for a moment. Honestly, nothing had really happened they weren't already expecting. All that changed was they had a confirmation now "Not really," He answered. He could tell her the rest in the morning. It wasn't so important that it couldn't wait.

She nodded, apparently satisfied. "Alright then. I'm off to get some sleep. Saph will wake us in the morning for breakfast." She turned to go, leaving him alone with a half asleep Adrian.

Mercury gently laid down on the couch, careful not to stir the toddler. Just as he sat down, he heard the front door open and close.

Terra was looking down at the two of them, her face utterly bored. "The man who kidnapped me is almost asleep, with my son in his arms. Again." She scoffed. "And you know what? It doesn't even bother me anymore."

"Coerced," He yawned. "I coerced you. Big difference."

She shook her head, smiling. "Whatever. Sweet dreams, Mercury."

He was alone, now, for real this time. He yawned again, closing his eyes.

Today sucked, He thought one last time, as Adrian curled into his chest. But this isn't so bad.

Jadis growled. "That's exactly what he said?"

Lucille nodded fervently. "Every word, ma'am! I swear!"

She grunted, waving her off. "Shoo. You've done all your good for."

The little rat nodded one last time, running off out of sight. She sighed. "Morgan?" Her enforcer stepped up, awaiting her words. "Our friends tell us they're sick of our shit, apparently. Well thankfully, so am I. We don't need them. Never did, really. The moment Emerald brought us word of the Argus Limited coming in, we should have killed her and her friend, and organized this ourselves. Take whoever you need, and break into the home they're staying in. Find the manifest. Don't bother trying to kill them. Fight them off if you have to, but disengage as soon as you can." Morgan nodded, and handpicked four or five of her men, to follow him, all ones who had their Aura unlocked.

"They're dangerous," She said, "But they're also running scared. They can't risk drawing attention to themselves, so they can't strike back. All you have to do is get the manifest away from them, and come back."

Her men nodded, and left in an excited hurry. Jadis grimaced. This whole affair had been one giant mess from the start. She should never have met with them, when they first reached out. She should have sent a tip straight to the Atlas forces stationed on Argus, and let them sort her problems out for her.

She sighed, reclining in her couch, kicking her feet up on her table. At least it will all be over soon.

The Cotta-Arc household was dead quiet. Not a light was on in the house, all the doors were locked, and its occupants were fast asleep. Emerald slept alone in her shared room, dreaming of a day like any other, where she could laugh along with Mercury, playing with Adrian while they waited for Saphron to finish cooking.

Terra and Saphron slept together in their room, Saphron hogging most of the blankets. She dreamed of a very detailed fantasy, where she was a secret princess hidden away, working as a simple maid of a castle, waiting for a dashing knight with glasses to sweep her off her feet.

The knight in question, Terra, shivered as she slept in the cold. She would be annoyed when she woke up, before laughing it off and deciding they would need another blanket soon. She dreamed of the day when she could actually use her day off. Where she wouldn't have to rush around town all day on errands, or waste time in doctor's appointments, but an actual, true day off, where she sat in bed all day doing absolutely, positively, nothing.

In the living room, Mercury slept on a familiar couch, with a snoring toddler curled up on his chest. Now, as to what little Adrian dreamt off, there likely isn't anything on Remnant that could truly say, but it was almost certainly something malicious. Probably. Or maybe it just involved some little chocolates, and the nice gray haired man who always sneaked him extra. As stated before, it was impossible to say.

Mercury himself was in the grips of an unfortunately all too familiar dream. One of a long dead father, stumbling into their little cabin in the mountains drunkenly while Mercury hid, desperate not to raise his attention. It was an old dream, one that had haunted him for as long as he could remember, but there was something else, a recent addition, that had been showing up more and more in the last few weeks. One where he wasn't alone. One where he had a friend, with green hair and tanned skin, who could hide the two of them from his father's rage. The dreams were pleasant, then, as they laughed together quietly, hidden in his room. But always, always, she grew tired, and her powers slipped, and his father found them. The dreams weren't so pleasant then.

Thankfully, for a time at least, he could sleep in peace. Tonight, his dream would never go that far. Tonight, his father would never find him and his mysterious friend, who seemed so familiar despite him never having met anyone his age before. Tonight, he would wake before it came to that point.

Tonight, unbeknownst to any of the sleepers in the household, a window creaked open, and a set of footsteps landed quietly on the floor.

Well now, I wonder who that could be? Fun little fact, The first time Jadis showed up, one of the commenters mentioned TWD, which I completely forgot had a character who shared her name. So now, I decided to snatch up a couple names, for Lucille and Morgan. Why not?

The Argus Limited is finally on its way after weeks of waiting. Soon, Mercury and Emerald will FINALLY catch that break they've been waiting for. It's not like Ruby and her friends would have any reason for going to Argus specifically, right? Right?

I really liked this chapter. Just a lot of fun to write in general. A repentant Lionheart was NOT at all what I had planned when I started this fic, but hey, it just kinda happened. And I happen to like it quite a bit.

If you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a comment! I love reading everyone's thoughts on my work!

As always, I crosspost on AO3!

Next Chapter: Tuesday, June 4th