"Talk?" Jaune asked incredulously. "What is there to even talk about? We just heard everything we needed to, straight from the horse's mouth. We should be halfway to the police station right now with those two in cuffs!"

"They also said they aren't going to go to prison willingly," Saphron reminded him. "Or do you wanna start a fight with them to get them to comply?"

"Of course not!" He snapped.

"Then listen to me," She pleaded. "Something is going to have to be done about them. So what? What do you realistically think is going to happen here, Jaune? Are you gonna wait for the rest of your friends to get here so you can put up a fight? They'll just run off again once they realize what you're doing."

"What am I supposed to do then?" Jaune yelled. "Just leave them be? They're the reason my partner is dead! Why thousands of people are dead or homeless! Why are you taking their side?"

Saphron crossed her arms. "I am most certainly not taking their side, Jaune. They lied to me too. What I'm doing is trying to stop my brother from doing something he's going to end up regretting."

For a moment, Saphron thought he was about to yell at her again. Instead, he sighed, his shoulders slumping. He groaned, running both hands down his face and taking a seat on the edge of her bed.

She sat down next to him, placing a hand on his back. "I'm sorry, Jaune. This is the first time we've seen each other in forever, and I was so excited for you and your friends to visit." She smiled sadly. "And now look what it's turned into."

He shook his head, carefully removing her hand from his back. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. It isn't like any of this is your fault. You have nothing to apologize for."

She chuckled. "Well, I was the one who invited them to stay. And that was after they threatened us." She scratched the back of her head nervously. "Not my finest hour, I must admit."

Jaune grinned. "Only you would wind up in a situation like this, I swear. You're too nice for your own good, Saph."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Saphron placed her hands in her lap, kicking her feet lightly back and forth.

Finally, Jaune broke the silence. "What am I supposed to do, Saph?" He groaned. "Seriously?"

She chose her words carefully. "I don't know," She answered honestly. "It isn't really my choice. Never was. You're the Huntsman here, or the closest thing we have to it. I just wanted you to be in a good headspace when you do finally come to a decision."

Jaune leaned forwards, rubbing his temples. "Ugh. This is insane," He sighed. "Look, they…they said they were going to go clean, leave the Argus Limited alone and just live with you two right? How do you know they're being honest? They lied to you before."

"I don't," She said. "Not for sure. But…I saw Emerald, after she ran off. Nora did too. She was devastated at the thought that she'd have to leave. Terra said Mercury wasn't much better. Just angrier. I really do think they were trying to stop after Jadis."

"Well, it's a moot point anyways." Jaune sighed. "It's not like you would have let them stay after they lied to you for so long."

Saphron bit her lip, remaining silent. Jaune's eyes widened. "Saph, you can't be-"

"I made them an offer at the beginning of all this," She interrupted. "I told them I was giving them a second chance. I knew that they were criminals, even if I didn't know the scale of it. That offer still stands. I told Emerald as much. I spoke with Terra when I got back with Em and Nora, and she agreed."

She looked down, playing with her hands. "What you do with them isn't our choice, but I also can't just forget the last few weeks. I know what they did, and I know how much pain they caused you, and countless other people. I thought it would be simpler if they explained everything themselves. That I would find out if you were right, and I could hate them, or that there was some other explanation, and nothing would have to change. But it's not like that. They told us everything, but I still can't hate them for it. I still think of them as Mercury and Emerald, our really moody, but mostly helpful friends. And after what they said…I just want to help them. To help everyone. That's all I've ever wanted."

Jaune swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "Yeah," He mumbled softly. "Me too." He leaned back, stretching out on the bed. "Of all the criminals all across Remnant, why did it have to be two who worked for Salem? Why couldn't it just be some random pair of carjackers or something?"

Saphron frowned. There's that name again. "Jaune…who's Salem? I thought that Cinder woman was responsible for Beacon."

He sighed, pushing himself back up. "It doesn't matter right now. Someone very bad, worse than Cinder even." He scoffed. "That's our luck though, isn't it? There's like, seven or eight people in the entire world I know of who have directly worked for her, and two of them somehow ended up as your roommates."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing, then? If she's so dangerous, and there's so few people helping her, two less would be a huge difference, wouldn't it?"

Jaune's brow furrowed in thought. "I suppose," He said. "It would depend if they're being honest, first of all. But that doesn't change the fact that they haven't paid for anything! I can't just forgive and forget the destruction of a kingdom, Saph!"

"I know," She said gently. "I'm not saying you should. But think practically for a second. You can't really get them to face justice on your own. Not if they don't want it. What you can do is take the high road. If Mercury and Emerald stay with us, that's two less people trying to kill you. Two less people working for this Salem person. It isn't fair. And maybe they deserve a lot worse. But people don't always get what they deserve, and sometimes those who don't deserve it get punished worst of all. You don't have to forgive them. But maybe, for now at least, it's better to ignore them, so to speak?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe you have a point. I don't know. We have to get to Atlas, and we don't really have the time to waste dealing with Mercury and Emerald."

"Like I said, it's your choice," She said again.

Jaune took a deep breath, pushing himself off of the bed. "In that case, I have to speak with them again," He announced. "I have one more idea, that might help."


Mercury frowned. Emerald was uncomfortable.

He couldn't really blame her, of course. She was pacing around beside him, chewing nervously on one of her fingernails. Every so often, Ren or Nora would throw a look towards her, or sometimes Mercury. They tried to hide it, but there was a hatred in their eyes very familiar to Mercury. Especially Ren. At least Nora was trying to remain civil.

But with every look they sent, Emerald flinched, ever so slightly. Another dagger of guilt burying its way into her back. Emerald was uncomfortable. They were making her uncomfortable.

He felt a hand on his leg, and froze. He had begun to stand up. He hadn't even realized it. "Here, maybe you should hold Adrian for a minute, he's fussing." Without giving him a chance to answer, Terra handed him over. He leaned back slowly, nodding his head. Probably for the best. They might be making Emerald uncomfortable, but he had a feeling starting a fight would be a little bit more problematic for the two of them at the moment.

His eyes drifted over to the hallway where Saphron had dragged Jaune. Now and again, they could hear the muffled arguing of the siblings seep out of the room, but never clear enough to make out any words. He wondered how it was going. Poorly for them, probably. Why the hell did he let Terra convince him coming back was a good idea? This wasn't going to lead to anything. They killed their teammate. They weren't just going to let them go, and Mercury refused to let the two of them be shoved into some cell to rot and be forgotten about.

Better than wandering around Argus aimlessly, I suppose. After all, Emerald had arrived with Saphron not long after him. If he had refused Terra, He'd wind up coming back anyway looking for her, and they'd be stuck in the same exact position they were now.

Still, he hated having to watch her like this. Tense. Nervous. Fearful. He thought he'd never have to see her like that again, not after leaving Cinder. This was supposed to be good for them. They were finally supposed to live for them, not anyone else.

He scoffed. Of course they can't have that. They hardly deserved it. He wouldn't deny that. They had bought themselves a spot in a cell long before Cinder had found either one of them. It was only fair they got their punishment.

But since when did the world care about giving people what they deserved? It certainly didn't care about what his father did. It didn't care about Emerald, starving on the streets as a child. Sure, they may have deserved to be imprisoned, but screw that! If the world didn't care about what was fair when it mattered to them, he sure as hell wasn't going to start caring now.

He had Emerald. She had him. And he wasn't going to let anyone snatch them away from each other, no matter what they deserved.

"You didn't recognize the Cotta-Arc's name," Ren spoke up suddenly.

Mercury frowned. "So? What does that matter?"

"I'm curious," He continued. "Did you just never bother trying to remember the rest of us? Or was Pyrrha all that mattered to you?"

He shrugged. "Pyrrha, and team RWBY. They had the silver eyes girl, and they kept interfering with Cinder's plans. That made them important. Pyrrha had skill, and was the obvious candidate. That made them matter. You three, though…" He gestured lazily. "It never really mattered what happened to you."

"No, it didn't," Ren said bitterly. "Did you never think about what would happen to the people she left behind? About what we would have to go through?"

"What kind of question is that?" Mercury asked in disbelief. "Of course not. I never cared. Why would I? You think you're the only person who lost someone at Beacon? Do you think you matter anymore than the rest of them?"

Ren opened his mouth to reply, but Mercury carried on. "What am I saying, of course you do. Huntsmen. You're all so full of yourselves. Convinced you matter more than anyone else. That you specifically have to be the one to save the world. That's what got your friend killed, by the way."

Ren's eyes narrowed in anger. "It wasn't because of the Maiden powers. Cinder already retrieved them before Pyrrha had a chance, something I'm sure Arc has already told you. She could have walked away with her life, and lived to fight another day. But no, she was the great Pyrrha Nikos! Of course she'd be able to save the day! No one could ever hope to stand against her!" Mercury grinned. "Well, you know how that turned out."

Ren's eyes flared wide in fury. "You don't know anything about Pyrrha!" He snarled. It sounded alien, coming from the usually reserved manner he preferred. "She never thought of herself as invincible! She went after CInder to stop her from causing more destruction! Because it was the right thing to do, even if it was probably going to kill her!"

"She should have finished the damn job, then," Mercury snarked.

Ren stepped forward, already reaching for the gun at his side. Mercury grinned, pulling his leg back and preparing to fire. Nora stepped in, placing an arm around Ren to restrain him, all the while glaring at Mercury.

"Let me go," He hissed. He struggled against the mute some more, but Nora held him firmly in place, pulling him back.

"And what about you, huh?" Mercury asked, nodding towards Nora.

"Mercury…" Terra warned, but he ignored her.

"You've been a little quiet this whole time," He mocked. "I'm sure you're dying to insult me just like your little friend here, so have at it." He laced his hands behind the back of his head. "Why are you even bothering to hold him back? You have to hate me at least as much as he does, if not more."

Nora closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, before releasing it through her nose in frustration. Mercury felt the flicker of a smile at the edge of his lips. He was getting to her. Good. He hated them. They came here, ruining everything. Let them suffer.

She pulled out her scroll, slowly, deliberately typing out her response. There was a cool sort of anger written on her face, one that made him almost eager to see what she had to say. She held out her scroll, waiting for him to grab it.

He reached over, taking it into his hands. Because it's what Pyrrha would have wanted. Because for all that you want to act like you're above it all, the fact is that you're here. You chose to come back. Because you're tired of it. You just want to be left alone. And no, you don't deserve it. No more than Pyrrha deserved to die. But I know she'd be disappointed if we didn't at least give you two a chance, if you're actually being sincere. So maybe treat her memory with a little respect.

Mercury felt his throat go dry. He huffed. What did she know? It was just like he said. She and all the others like her want to play savior. She thinks he acts like he's above it all? That's rich. She's the one with a death wish going up against Salem. She's the one talking down to him.

She's…she's the only one between her and her friends willing to entertain the idea of leaving them alone.

He rolled his eyes, tossing the scroll back to her. "Fine. I'll shut up about your friend, happy?" He cleared his throat. Why did he feel uncomfortable all of a sudden? "Besides, at least she was a little interesting. She could put up an actual fight." There. Never let it be said he couldn't make small talk.

Ren glared at him. Mercury frowned. "What? I'm being nice."

He made to open his mouth in reply, but Nora laid a hand on his shoulder, more gently this time. She shook her head. It's not worth it, she seemed to say.

Ren relaxed a little, backing off. Terra breathed a sigh of relief. "Mercury, you're about five seconds away from giving me a heart attack."

He grinned. "You know, this isn't even the first time I've done that. Or second."

"Oh, I'm well aware," She growled. "That isn't a good thing."

"Not for you," He muttered. Terra crossed her arms, and he raised his own in defense. "Which means it isn't a good thing at all! Obviously!"

She shook her head lightly, but there wasn't any malice behind it. She was tense, nervous just like Emerald. Which was making him nervous. Or anxious. That probably suited him better. These people…mattered to him. And Nora, and Jaune, and Ren were all disrupting that. Ruining it. And he couldn't do a thing about it without making everything worse.

He hated feeling so powerless. He thought he would never have to feel that way again. For so long, he dreamed of the freedom he would have once his father was finally dead and gone.

Only to walk right into the arms of Cinder. Fate just loved to make him the butt of its joke, didn't it?

Finally tired of pacing around, Emerald sat down beside him. He wanted to tell her to get back up, that it would be better for her to be on her feet if they had to run. But as soon as she sat down, much of that tension she had been carrying seemed to evaporate, and he couldn't bring himself to spoil it for her.

"Do you have to try and antagonize them?" She whispered hurriedly.

"I could have doubled down on insulting their dead friend," He pointed out quietly.

Emerald smacked him in the arm, hard. "This isn't a game!" She hissed. Ren and Nora were giving them strange looks. Terra sat at the end of the couch desperately trying to pretend she couldn't hear them.

Underneath Emerald's anger, he could see genuine fear written on her face, in her eyes. She was scared, worried, and now he was the one making it worse, not the others. "Hey, it's gonna be fine," He told her. "I'm playing nice now, aren't I?"

She left him alone, the anger leaving her face a little but the fear remaining as strong as ever. He frowned. He hated having to see her like this. He hated it all the more knowing he couldn't solely blame the others anymore. Now he was stressing her out.

And once more, there wasn't a thing he could do.

Things were so much simpler when he was a rotten bastard. He didn't have to care about how anyone else felt. He could simply tell them to fuck off if they bothered him. But he couldn't anymore. He had to be careful, he had to watch what he said. Emerald was one thing, he didn't mind her. But now Saphron and Terra had wormed their way into his list of people he tolerated, and for their sake as well as Emerald's, he had to watch what he said to these three brats now too.

Even so…it was all still worth it. He was miserable back then. Every waking second of his life was an annoyance. He didn't have any reason to fight, he didn't have anything to look forward to when he woke up in the morning. He just carried on from day to day simply because he had nothing better to do.

He had something now. With Emerald. Even with the Cotta-Arc's, yes, and it was something he cared about, for some damn reason. And he was rather invested in keeping that something. So, for their sake, he kept his mouth shut.

Behind them, the door to Saphron and Terra's room slowly creaked open. Beside him, he heard a faint, almost silent gasp from Emerald. Despite himself, his own heart was racing a little. Not because they had anything to fear from them in a fight. But because now is when they'll find out for sure what was going to happen to them. Whether they could stay or not.

Heh. Like there was a chance in hell.

Jaune came into view with a sigh, rubbing his temples. He crossed his arms, standing across from them, staring. He wasn't…glaring at them or anything, not like Ren and Nora were. It was like he was staring at a puzzle he couldn't quite figure out the trick to.

Finally, he spoke up. "Alright, let's just start with the easy stuff first," He said. "Cinder. Salem. What do you know about their plans? If you really aren't with them anymore, you don't have any reason not to help us."

Mercury glanced over at Emerald and shrugged. "Not too much. Cinder plays her cards close to her chest, and we left a while ago. That said, Haven was the next stop on her list, but from what I heard you already knew that, didn't you?"

Jaune nodded. "Go on,"

"After Haven, the plan was to go to Shade. Save Atlas for last, as the most defended. Let the paranoia and fear build up as Ironwood watches the last of his allies fall. Outside of bringing down the kingdoms, I assume you know about the relics?" Jaune nodded again. "Collecting those is high on her priority list. Those, and the maiden powers. Cinder is designated to hold all of the powers of the maiden. Oh! And Ruby. Salem wants the silver-eyed girl."

Jaune frowned, but didn't remark on that little tidbit. "Anything else?" He pressed.

Mercury rolled his eyes. "We've been gone for weeks, and trying very hard to stay beneath their notice. The only thing we've heard is that something went down at Haven. I assume it went fairly well considering both you and the kingdom are still standing. And since you're here, in Argus, you're going to Atlas. Which means Cinder is either going to try and double down on Haven, or move onto Vacuo if she managed to get the Relic. Of course, that's assuming nothing's changed."

Jaune stared intently at the two of them. He seemed genuinely puzzled. He shook his head. "You…you two really don't even know, do you?"

Emerald narrowed her eyes. "Know what?" She asked hesitantly.

Jaune bit his lip, thinking over his next words. "Cinder's dead." Mercury's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes widened. Beside him Emerald choked. "She was killed in the vault at Haven. Hazel was taken prisoner, and Lionheart is going with him."

Cinder…was dead? That didn't make any sense. It seemed almost impossible. For so long, Cinder had seemed…well, invincible. Unstoppable. Like Salem, there wasn't any opposing her. You either did what she said, or got out of her way.

But that wasn't exactly the case anymore, was it? Even before they left, she was unstable. Irrational, after what happened at Beacon. That was why they left in the first place. And if they weren't there to distract Ruby and her friends…why couldn't they manage to overwhelm her? It wasn't like Cinder was ever a great team player.

He glanced over towards Emerald. She looked like she was still trying to process what she heard. Despite everything Cinder did to her, Emerald could never quite forget how much she had done for her. No matter how many times Mercury told her it didn't matter. That she only saved her so she could use her. It was hard to get over something like that. It was easier when they had simply left. They could just ignore her, pretend she wasn't their problem anymore.

But finding out she was actually dead was another matter altogether.

It's for the best, He thought. Sure, it would hurt her for now, but it was for the best. Emerald won't have her hanging over her head anymore. She could start to move on. But it would take time, and right now, they were in the middle of a grilling.

He turned back to Jaune. "Okay. Good riddance." Emerald winced at his words, and he pretended not to notice. He could help her later. "So what?"

Jaune stared in silence a little longer, before finally uncrossing his arms. "What is it you two want, exactly? If you aren't working for Salem, what is it you're after? What's your idea of a good outcome, now that we know you're here? Seriously?"

What did they want? Mercury could almost laugh. That was the question, wasn't it? That's what caused this whole mess for them in the first place. They wanted something better.

He almost answered himself, but to his surprise Emerald spoke up before him. He thought she'd be more impacted by the news of Cinder's death. "We…we just want to be left alone," She said quietly. "We don't care about you. We don't care about Ruby Rose. We don't care about Salem. We were happy here. We were going to stop, to try and live a normal life. That's all we want. Whether it's here, or-or somewhere else if we have to, we just want to be left alone. That's all."

Jaune shifted his gaze over to him. Mercury nodded in agreement. There was more to it than that, maybe, but when you boiled it all down, that was it. They wanted to be left alone. Somewhere safe, where they wouldn't have to worry about hiding themselves.

Jaune leaned forward. "Ozpin's reincarnated already," He said.

Behind him, Ren's eyes widened. "Jaune!" He hissed, but the blonde ignored him.

"A fourteen year old boy named Oscar is his new host," He carried on. "He's also almost completely defenseless. Seriously, the kid's worse than I am."

So that was his angle? Mercury shrugged. "We don't care."

"They also have the relic. They'll be arriving sometime tomorrow and have absolutely no idea you two are here," Jaune pointed out. "And as you were so eager to remind us all, you two won't exactly have a hard time taking the three of us on if you wanted to. You could catch them by surprise and make off with the Relic without much trouble."

Mercury leaned forward scowling. "We. Don't. Care," He said through gritted teeth.

Jaune sighed, stepping back. He made a point of taking one last look at Saphron, who nodded. "Okay then. I believe you. Terra and Saphron say that they'll have you, so you can stay." His eyes widened. "Not because you deserve it. You should both be imprisoned at least for what you did. But because we can't afford to have more enemies than we already do. The less people Salem has to do her bidding, the better."

"Jaune, you can't be serious!" Ren protested. "After everything they did, you're just going to let them go?"

"I am serious," Jaune said sternly. "Because I believe them. I think they really do want out of it. I think they want to lie low, and forget about Salem, and Ozpin, and everything else. I think they really do want to make use of their second chance. And I know Pyrrha would have been glad that they're at least trying to do…maybe not the right thing, but they're trying to be better than they were, so that's something."

Mercury didn't understand. Jaune was supposed to kick them out. He was supposed to want revenge. Why didn't he?

"It's going to be…awkward, to say the least, when the others get here," Jaune said. "They're going to want them in jail."

Mercury snapped out of his daze with a growl. "We are not going to prison,"

"I just told you that wasn't the case, didn't I?" Jaune grinned. "And an Arc never goes back on their word."

Jaune turned to his friends. "Ren? Nora? I need to know you at least understand why I'm doing this."

Nora nodded, quickly typing out her answer. The less we have to worry about, the better. And if there's two less crazies in the world trying to kill people, then that's a plus!

"Ren?" Jaune asked hesitantly.

The other boy sighed, and much of the anger seemed to leave him. "I understand. It's…it isn't fair. But I understand. It's for the best. We can avoid a fight that we may not even be able to win, and deny Salem two very useful pawns. What's more, they at least seem to care somewhat about the wellbeing of your family if they were willing to kill those who broke in."

Jaune frowned. "Yeah. They do." He turned to address him and Emerald. "I don't like this. None of us do. I doubt you two do, either. But like Ren said, it's better than a fight we can't afford to start right now. So listen up."

Oh, he wanted to give orders now? That was rich. I gotta hear this. Jaune cleared his throat. "Tomorrow, the others will be here. And they are not going to be happy said that you wanted a normal life. That you wanted out, right?"

He and Emerald nodded in unison, and Jaune continued. "Then prove it. So long as you agree to stay here, and watch over Saphron and Terra, and do not under any circumstances hurt anyone unprovoked, then I'll argue to the others for letting you stay. Sound like a deal?"

Mercury shared a look with Emerald. Gone was the fear and the tension. Hope had come back. He wasn't sure if he didn't hate that even more. Every time he saw it in her eyes, it inevitably came back to bite them in the ass. This shouldn't be possible. It sounded too good to be true.

Emerald's eyes were like saucers, wide-eyed and full of earnest hope. He felt his suspicion slipping. Screw it. They had got themselves into this mess through hope. They were already up to their necks in trouble, what harm would it do to throw out a line and see if someone pulls them out?

He nodded. "Deal."

Jaune breathed out in relief. Saphron immediately shot to her feet, clapping her hands together. "Okay then! Awesome! We've got that settled! Mercury, Emerald, I'm sure you two are tired. As for you three, we have a spare room, but one of you is going to have to sleep on the couch until we can figure something out tomorrow."

Jaune crashed on the couch without a word before one of the others could offer. He yawned. "Wake us up early. We're going to have to meet RWBY at the gates, unless you want a repeat of today." He frowned. "Trust me, you do not want Yang opening the door to find Mercury. That…that would not end well for anyone involved."

"Can do!" Saphron said, a little too eager. "Now come on, everyone, off to sleep!" She rushed over to him and Emerald, shooing them away as quickly as she could. She must want to separate us before tensions rise again. Fair enough. They were all exhausted anyway.

They had made it through the day. The worst had happened. They had been discovered, and yet, there was still a chance. If Arc was willing to leave them be, maybe the others could as well?

Tomorrow…tomorrow would change everything.


And so Jaune finally calms down a little. Honestly, It's hard not to empathize with the guy. After everything he's been through, finally catching a break and getting to see your sister, only to see Mercury and Emerald already there? Yeah, I'd say his anger is a little understandable.

I loved writing Saphron's conflicted emotions on this. On the one hand, M&EM are murderers. She knows they're murderers. But at the same time, she's known them for weeks. It's a very human response to express disbelief, and have trouble accepting that.

And even then, because she's just a nice person, after hearing about their pasts she STILL wants to help them. I've loved writing about everybody's conflict with this whole mess, from Jaune, to Nora, to Saph and Terra. It's not a black and white situation, it's messy. VERY messy.

Mercury and Emerald are murderers. They have done awful things. This is an undeniable fact. And yet, they're trying to change. They've helped out Saphron and Terra, and genuinely want to be left alone. This is also an undeniable fact. So what to do about it? We'll have to wait for the others to get here, I suspect.

If you enjoyed, then please leave a comment! I love going through them all!

As always, I crosspost on AO3!

Next Chapter: Tuesday, July 23rd