Chapter 67: Argus - Final Confessions

Cover Art by Mi Chumi

Cinder was sandwiched in the back of the Vacuo-1 between Argent and Sarah, to the point where she couldn't take deep breaths. But she really didn't care. The adults had all retreated to the cockpit and were talking quietly among themselves. "So, yeah," Sarah whispered, "I got a call from Ghira Belladonna himself, telling us that you were spotted in Wind Path, and exactly where."

That faunus girl, Cinder realized. Veranda. Well dang.

"And then she called us," Tomas said from the floor in front of Cinder. "Well except for Clay, until we realized we couldn't get tickets on the Express without an adult," he frowned. "Sorry Clay."

The lanky-haired boy, one hand supported by a ceiling strap, shrugged with the other shoulder, "My parents are pretty forgiving. Comes from having too many boys. My brother's gonna give me hell over it though." He looked at Cinder, "I figure it's worth it."

"Awww… Clay you do care!" Laurel teased.

"Hey, I didn't choose to get left out of the early stuff," Clay complained, tilting his head so his hair would slide to the side and reveal his eyes, which betrayed the fact that he was a little miffed.

"Fair. Fair." Tomas patted the taller boy's knee. "Well, you're in now."

"So, you guys…" Cinder looked around in awe. She'd exhausted her tears a half hour ago, and was just in shock at this point, "jumped on a train?"

"Jumped off a train," Sarah corrected. "We grabbed the earliest one we could this morning. Promised Clay's brother all we wanted to do was ride it to Mistral and back on a dare, that we weren't even gonna get off in Mistral." Sarah shook her head. "Poor guy's face when we bailed at Wind Path station. That was a long freaking walk, by the way…"

"He'll live," Clay smirked. "Besides he made a ton of money off us." His mouth twisted. "And yeah, that was like two hours to walk from the station to the town. Was afraid we'd end up carrying short stack down there." He patted Tomas on the head and got a scowl. "Knew we shoulda taken the shuttle."

"Yeah… we… kinda pooled all our money for the tickets so… we were broke by then," Laurel explained to Cinder. "We didn't even know how we were gonna get back to Argus with you."

Cinder shook her head in awe. "You guys are… you're…"

"The best. Yeah," Sarah said, rolling her eyes.

Cinder stared at her best friend. "Crazy. You guys are nuts."

"You're calling us crazy?" Sarah said.

Cinder felt the urge to crawl under the seat, and instead Argent squeezed her and pulled her a little closer. "No teasing Cinder," her girlfriend said firmly. "Not until after we've got her safe and sound back in Argus." Argent closed her eyes. "We can have words later. Lots of words. After I'm done basking in the presence of my not-missing girlfriend."

Cinder's lips turned up, and she closed her eyes too. That was… really nice sounding.

"Awww…." Laurel motioned to the others to shift away. "Let's give them some space, eh?"

"Sure. Whatever. It's not like we didn't all bust our tails to get her," Sarah groused, but she got up and moved with the rest to the seats on the other side of the passenger compartment.

"Yes, Sarah ,we all know it was your idea," Tomas said, patting her back as he followed her over.

"That's right. Praise me with great praise. I drink from the soda fountain of glory."

"Seriously, though, how screwed are we?" Tomas asked, his face growing a little more serious.

Sarah pursed her lips. "Well… I think my dad will understand, and he'll keep mom from killing me. Laurel?"

"No idea. Might not see you guys for a while." She shrugged. "I'll live. And I get to see Argent at school."

Sarah's eyes flickered back to the other side of the Bullhead. "Argent is hosed. Her mom is already half bonkers about her and Cinder. Tommy?"

"Eh… I've never been in real trouble before—"

"Oh… a good boy, eh?"

"Uh… are you… into good boys? Or bad boys? Cause… you know, this was pretty nefarious."

"You keep using words like that, and I might kiss ya."

Tomas' face went several colors. "Uhh… yeah… I'm a menace to the good and orderly administration of society. Fear me?"

"8/10. We can talk later."

"Heh. Clay, you said you were probably okay?"

"Meh," the lanky boy shrugged again.

They all quieted and looked back over at Cinder and Argent. Cinder had pulled the half-heart out of her pocket, and Argent had taken her chain, the unbroken one, and had used it to put Cinder's pendent back around her neck. They looked really happy.

"Worth it."

There was a large group of people waiting for the Bullhead at Springhill. Pete and Sophia were there. And all of the Grimmslayers' parents, who had expressions that ranged along the spectrum between relieved and royally pissed off, and sometimes were transitioning between those over the course of seconds.

"Alright. Here we go," Sarah said. They'd agreed and convinced the adults that Argent and Cinder would exit last along with Rhodes, because it was likely the last time those two would be physically together until Argent's mom finished losing her mind. At least this time, Sarah didn't feel like Raechel was totally unjustified. But that all depended on how long Argent's mom stayed mad.

And so they went to their various fates. Many of the kids' parents bailed as soon as they had child in hand, and many foreboding promises of punishment were made. Sarah managed to convince her dad to let her hang out until Cinder exited so she could make sure things were okay before everyone headed back into Argus.

To her right were Garek and Selene. Selene was standing in front, and Garek had his arms wrapped around her, and was talking quietly to her. Selene's face was… well she was pretty messed up. Right at that laugh-cry point.

And then Argent and Cinder came out of the Bullhead. Argent took one look at her mom's face, gave Cinder a long hug and a kiss, and willingly marched to her doom. Cinder started toward Garek and Selene, and then paused, shaking.

"Cinder!" Sarah yelled, and her friend started and looked at her. "Don't be a butthead, k?"

Behind Cinder, Rhodes laughed softly, and said something to her, and Cinder got a little bit of her normal look back. The one she gave when Sarah was being… very Sarah. And then she turned back to Garek and Selene, and… her mom knelt down and put her arms out in a sort of begging motion.

"That's right," Sarah whispered. And Cinder broke down and ran into Selene's arms.

"Thank the gods," Sarah said.

"Oh you better start praying to the gods," her mom muttered. "You've got a lot of explaining to do, young lady."

Sarah looked at her parents. "I love you, mom. Dad," she said softly, and meant it completely. The surprise on her mom's face was perfect. She glanced back as she let them lead the way to their car.

"Totally worth it."

The car ride back to Argus was surreal. They'd asked Rhodes to ride with Pete and Sophia, and Crystal drove them the trio so they could sit together in the back seat of the car and talk, just for a little bit. Garek and Selene were already anticipating Rhodes demanding answers, and they needed to clear the air with Cinder first and early.

Cinder was sitting between Garek and Selene again. It felt like… it felt a lot like that first time that they'd smuggled her out of Atlas and into Argus, when they'd ridden in Helena Nikos' rental car back to the hotel near the park.

Except she kept waiting for them to tell her how badly she was in trouble. For what she'd done. For running away.

Cinder was starting to realize, though. It was starting to sink in that even though she'd messed up really bad... She'd used her Semblance and… even though she'd done things, running had been the wrong thing to do. She should have stayed and… faced it. Just faced it.

Because all her friends had been really torn up. And she was beginning to realize how much more pain she'd caused Selene and Garek and everyone else too.

"So… Cinder. There are some things we…" Selene's voice cracked. "I do not know how to do this…" Selene muttered softly. "I spent days thinking about it, and now…" She looked at Cinder. "Garek?"

He took a deep breath. "Cinder, we made a mistake. A horrible mistake. There were things we were waiting to tell you, decisions we made that put you in a really bad situation."

"But I-"

"No," Selene said firmly. "We… this was my error, Cinder."

"Cinder," Crystal said from the front seat. "I was there. And I know everything that happened," they'd opted not to mention video footage around Cinder. "You saved Selene, that night. There wasn't anything else you could have done." Cinder saw Crystal's expression in the mirror. What she was saying made her feel both stricken and desperately hopeful, hungry to hear the words. Crystal shifted her attention back to the road. "With your limited training? Acting on reflex? I would have done the same thing you did."

Cinder gasped.

That was… that was…

She looked to Garek, who wouldn't meet her eyes, but he nodded once. "I would have… tried to disarm him or disable him," he said. "But I'm an experienced Huntsman, Cinder. And I might have… I could have messed it up, and then…" he glanced at Selene. "It was a tragedy, but it wasn't one that you made, Cinder." He seemed to have trouble swallowing. He grabbed her hand. "It was our fault, for putting you in that situation."

"No… no… you couldn't have…"

"Cinder, you saw me," Selene said quietly.

An image from that night, of pale skin and alien eyes, but with Selene's face. Selene's expression of horror.

"Yeah… I… I didn't…" She'd avoided thinking about what she'd seen, really, those past weeks. She'd focused on what she'd done, and then focused on blocking it out as much as she could. And trying to think about what Selene had looked like dredged up that other memory. Of what she'd done with Scorching Caress.

But they're saying I didn't have a choice. Because…

Her eyes took on a distant expression as she tried, carefully, to pull up other snippets from that night. That horrible night.

Selene riding Blackfeather. Selene could control Grimm because of her Semblance. Cinder knew that. Crystal knew that.

The Huntsmen attacked Blackfeather.

They attacked Selene.

Because… because she looked like a Grimm?

"Was that… because of your Semblance?" Cinder turned and focused on Selene. "Is that why they attacked you? They thought you were a Grimm?"

Selene was holding her right hand, and she could feel Selene's hand shaking. "It is… not simply a Semblance, Cinder. I am…" she took a shaky breath. "…not wholly human, love."

Cinder blinked. She glanced at the mirror again, and saw Crystal glance back, and nod slightly, and then she felt Garek squeeze her left hand. Oh. They all know. That's why… and Rhodes doesn't know…

"So you're…"

"Part Grimm, Cinder. From the moment of my birth."

"We wanted to tell you, Cinder," Garek continued on. "We wanted to… to offer to adopt you, but we wanted to wait until we could tell you all this, first."

Too much at once. Too much at once. They wanted to adopt her. What happened wasn't her fault. Selene was… part Grimm. Grimm were evil. Huntsmen protected people against Grimm. Cinder wanted to be a Huntress.

Garek was a Huntsman.

Garek loved Selene.

Blackfeather wasn't evil. He didn't… no he did kill someone. He killed...

I killed a Huntsman.

Am I evil?

It hurts. If I was evil, would it hurt so much to think about it? Wouldn't I be glad that I killed him? Wouldn't I want to do it again, instead of feeling like… like…

She swallowed the sick that had started trying to climb up her throat.

Garek said wrapped an arm around her. He gave her a few seconds to get her throat back in working order, then continued. "You've seen how faunus are treated. Even faunus Huntsmen. Can you imagine how people would react to Selene if they knew what she was…. before they knew her as a person? We needed to be sure you were old enough to understand that." He rubbed his face with his free hand, and his voice went from pleading to bitter. "And then we waited too damn long, and you paid the price for that." He took a deep breath. "Can you forgive us?"

"I need…. a minute," Cinder said carefully. She heard Selene make a small sound, like a whimper in the back of her throat.

Cinder's brain spun with all the information she'd just gotten. She felt dizzy and light-headed.

Selene has... Grimm stuff. Just like faunus have… animal stuff.

She could grasp that.

Did that mean that someone—No. No people weren't born faunus because someone mated with an animal. That was bigot thinking. That was never how it worked. So… was it magic? Or something?

Did that matter? What mattered?

They were telling her that they loved her.

They want to adopt me. They are saying that what happened was their fault.

They're taking all the blame.

Because…

They love me.

Cinder could believe that. Selene and Garek had showed her that, every day before that night. Every day since the Glass Unicorn.

We were a family, not because of the word, but because that's what we were.

Do I want that if Selene is… what I saw that night in the clearing?

What would Sarah say?

Sarah told me, confided in me, that she was a faunus, even though it wasn't obvious. She spent her life not telling people that, because… she didn't want people to treat her like an animal. Was that any different?

But Grimm traits aren't like having horns or sticky fingers. Grimm are…

Blackfeather wasn't like that. She'd ridden Blackfeather. Blackfeather helped save Summer and Visha.

"Okay…" Cinder said quietly. She turned to Selene. "Is this… you?" She shook her head. "I mean… this is what you're like…" she turned back to Garek, the question in her expression.

He looked relieved. "This isn't what Selene looks like, Cinder, but this is who she is." He smiled softly. "When I first met Selene, she scared the hell out of me, but she was the one who was in danger. She hasn't been putting on an act, Cinder. If you close your eyes, you can't tell how she looks."

Cinder turned golden-yellow eyes back to Selene, and saw the pleading in her eyes. "Okay. I need to… can I see you?"

"Not now, not in the car," Crystal warned from up front.

"Oh. Yeah. When we… when we get home?"

"Yes. Of course. No more secrets about me," Selene said softly. She took a shuddering breath. "I had hoped…"

"I think…" Cinder hazarded. "I mean… so much happened and… I'm trying to get it all straight in my brain." She shook her head, as if trying to rearrange her thoughts. "But I won't say anything. I promise. And I won't run away anymore. So… I guess we'll be a family again?"

Selene choked and looked away for a second, but Garek squeezed Cinder. "Never stopped, Cinder. That's why we kept looking for you."

Something settled in Cinder's chest, and she felt the pendent, back where it belonged against her chest. The feeling inside her was like that, too. Things where they belonged. "Yeah."

. . .

The feeling solidified when the walls of Argus came into view.

And further when they passed through the main gates.

Their neighborhood.

Their street.

Their house.

Her eyes started to overfill.

This was right. This was all right. She stood in the doorway of their home, just feeling.

"Cinder, what would you… prefer to do right now?" Selene asked carefully.

"I wanna…" she blinked. "I think I wanna take a nap and… could you read to me?"

"I would love to."

"I'll handle Rhodes when he arrives," Garek said. "You two hang out."

Their living room. Visha was there, waiting, and gave her a rib-crushing hug before letting Selene take her upstairs.

Her bedroom. Bed. Pyjamas. Midnight hanging on its wall mount.

Why did I think I could be anywhere else? She thought as she slid under the covers. She shook her head, and then smiled as Selene sat on the edge of the bed.

"What would you like for me to read to you?"

Cinder considered and realized what she really wanted. She eased up onto her elbows. "Selene?"

Selene's face went slightly wary at the tone. "Yes?"

"Did you mean that? That you wanted to adopt me?"

Selene folded her hands. "How could I not? I love you, Cinder. But… we wanted it to be—"

"My choice. Just like the Glass Unicorn. And afterward. You guys… you always let me choose," Cinder stared at the window of her room. She felt like crying and laughing all at once.

"Yes. It is… not something I was always able to have, and so it is precious. But to choose, you have to know what you are choosing." Selene's voice dropped as she spoke. "You did not know what I am, so I feared..."

Cinder frowned. "But… you're you, right?"

Selene gave a small gasping laugh. "Is it so simple for you? All this time?" she shook her head.

"Well… I mean… I was friends with Sarah, and then she told me that she's a faunus, and I'm still friends with her. Because…" Cinder sat up further and fiddled with the edge of her comforter, "because it didn't change anything."

"But faunus is not Grimm."

"No, I guess not." Cinder thought for a bit, and then turned to look at her… mom? Yeah. She was gonna say yes. Of course she was. "Can I… I mean…"

"You wish to see me?" Cinder nodded. And then watched carefully as color washed out of Selene's features. Except for her eyes, the whites fading to bottomless black, and the irises blazing to an almost luminescent dark scarlet.

Selene watched her daughter carefully, waiting for any sign of… revulsion, fear.

Cinder flinched once, and then immediately grabbed Selene's arm when she saw the pain that caused. "No! It's not… it's not you. I just… got a… that night." She drew her hands back, and her fingers flexed. "It was bad. I…" she looked back up… "But I can do it. Okay? I can see you." Her golden eyes flicked between Selene's scarlet ones. "I can… see you in there, still." Her smile was slightly brittle.

"Close your eyes, Cinder," Selene said. Cinder obeyed and was enveloped in Selene's soft embrace, and then was rocked gently. "Once upon a time… there was a little girl who had a wicked stepmother and two very mean stepsisters…"

You feel the same, Cinder thought.

Because you are the same.

. . .

An hour later, Selene made her way quietly downstairs, to find Visha alone in the living room.

"How is she?"

"Exhausted, but… accepting," Selene shook her head in wonder.

Her former maid eased over to her, and gave her a hug that she desperately needed. "And you, little Grimmling? How are you?"

Selene laughed, and then wiped her face, "I need a tissue, and a good cry, I fear. But… I have hope again that the worst is behind us. She wishes us to adopt her." She managed a watery smile, and Visha released her, retrieved a box of tissues, and motioned her to the sofa.

"Where are Garek and Rhodes?" Selene asked, after blowing her nose.

"Crystal took them somewhere. Said she was going to make sure they could yell and beat the 'shit' out of each other without disturbing Cinder or the neighbors."

"Oh." Selene put her hands in her lap. "Yes… I suppose there is still one person to enlighten," she thought for a moment. "Rhodes will take it well, he is too good of a friend to abandon Garek."

"Well, I'll start making dinner for…" she counted silently, "six I guess, just in case they all come back breathing and Cinder wakes up long enough to eat."

"Yes, that would be… well."

"Why don't you rest, Selene?" She patted her ward on the shoulder as she stood with a grunt and cracking of joints. "You've been through enough. It's time to breathe a little, eh?"

Selene nodded, as Visha made her way humming to the kitchen.

. . .

Two hours later, the smell of cooking was wafting from the kitchen when the front door opened with a bang, and Rhodes and Garek staggered in, leaning on each other. They looked like… absolute shit. Crystal stood behind them with a long-suffering expression.

Rhodes' left eye was purple and swelling shut. Garek had a busted lip and dried blood beneath his nose. They were covered in dirt, bruises, and cuts.

And they were smiling.

Rhodes' good eye fell on Selene, and he paused for a moment before giving that crooked smile of his. "Hey Selene… uh.. Ow! I'm gonna… borrow the guest shower if that's alright."

"Yes.. of course, Rhodes."

"I'll help you up the stairs," Crystal offered, and then when yelped as she grabbed his arm, "big stupid baby."

"My shoulder got dislocated, Crys, that's not nothing."

"And I put it back for you. Stop whining," she rolled her eyes as they made their way up the stairs.

Garek hobbled over to his wife, and gave her a careful hug before easing down onto the couch with a whimper.

"Garek. What have you—"

"I told him most of the truth, and he accused me of betraying his trust, of being 'the shittiest dad in the history of shitty dads', 'a worthless lying piece of shit of a friend' for keeping you a secret from him, and that it was my fault that Cinder was going to have to carry the weight of what had happened for the rest of her life."

Selene winced.

"And then he said he should beat the shit out of me on general principle, and… I may have said some things. Crystal set the ground rules. No weapons. No Semblance. No Aura. She refereed." He glanced up at his fiancé and fingered his lip. "Apparently it was cathartic."

"So you two are?"

"Me and Irons? Selene we were the only friends we had for years, even if we didn't see each other all that often. We got each other. And Cinder's the most important thing the three of us have. He knows that. It was just… anger and fear talking. He needed to get it out."

Visha entered from the kitchen, took one look at him, and then returned to the room with a wet cloth and an ice pack, which she gave to Selene. "Boys. Never grow up, do they?"

"Apparently not," Selene mused, as she began carefully wiping the blood and dirt from his face. "Garek, he took… my nature well?"

"As well as the rest," he held the ice pack against his side and winced. "Talked a lot of trash, but by the drive back he was asking if you were gonna be okay."

Selene shook her head. And yet another human or faunus who knew her secret. And yet another who… accepted her.

"How's Cinder?"

"Still sleeping. We… talked. I showed her. And I told her a bedtime story," she sighed. "Can this be the end of all of this? I am unsure whether I can handle more."

"For now," Garek started to ease an arm around her, winced, and leaned over instead. "There's still my parents I guess, but we've got time for that. And probably Lionheart, if it ever reaches that point."

"Yes, your parents." She sighed. "It must be before our wedding, whenever that is to be. I will not ask them to welcome me into their family without understanding all of whom I am."

Garek snorted, then looked at her with frustrated respect. "You're damn particular with your morals and ideals, aren't you?"

"I am, it is why you adore me," she kissed his temple, which did not appear to be mangled.

"I was doomed the moment I nearly cut out your kidneys."

Selene snorted. "I almost wish you had given me a scar from that night, so I could lord it over you daily."

Garek leaned back and considered his future wife. "You… are a manipulative little thing, you know that?"

"Blame my mother, and kiss me, bloody lip or not."

He did so, and didn't mind the pain, before she helped him up the stairs to his own shower.

. . .

"Dinner's ready," Visha announced as she entered the empty living room. Her wrinkled face turned down. "Children. They're all children." She sighed and went back to the kitchen to place the food where it would stay warm.

. . .

Cinder slept through dinner. The adults used the time to make sure everyone was on the same page about what would and wouldn't be discussed with her. Garek and Rhodes seemed as close as ever, and Selene was glad to see that Rhodes was not treating her much differently based on what Garek had revealed to him, though he did give her quizzical glances from time to time.

They also fielded several scroll calls and messages.

Several of the Grimmslayer's parents, surprisingly, checked in to make sure she was okay, including Raechel though she was very brusque about it. And then the kids themselves called, because Cinder's scroll was still turned off. They reassured them that she was sleeping, and fine, and that everything was going to be okay.

Garek messaged Sanctum to inform them that Cinder was back but would be convalescing at home. Selene messaged Summer, who expressed legitimate happiness. If anyone could sympathize with the soul-eating fear of separation from a daughter, it was Summer Rose.

And Garek received a message from, of all people, Ghira Belladonna, who made it clear that he was not only aware of Cinder's safe return, but that his people had played some role in it, and he expected Garek to show due appreciation by calling him back the next day.

Yeah. That he could do, though he still didn't understand fully how the White Fang had become involved. He suspected that there were a group of teenagers to blame for that, or to thank.

They discussed, also, how to handle a certain not-dead former Huntress and her apparent friendship with Cinder, though they didn't come to any conclusions other than 'very carefully' and 'ensure Cinder knows not to ever discuss what happened in Argus'. The rest would require long and careful thought.

Maybe, if they were lucky, Deedee and Cinder would go their own ways, and it wouldn't become an issue.

But their luck, so far, had been a fickle little bitch.

They set Cinder's dinner aside for her, for when she awoke, and Selene returned her daughter's bedroom, to watch her sleep peacefully as she composed a message to her own mother.

. . .

Mother,

I wish you to know that Cinder has thankfully been returned to us, and we have revealed the remainder of my nature to her. Garek and I have purposed to formally adopt her. We have discussed this with her, and she is overjoyed as well. This means that… I suppose… you will now have an adoptive granddaughter. I pray this will act to counter some of the hurt and fear that I have caused you.

It feels as strange to type this as it must be for you to read it. After the trauma she had suffered, she rallied quickly, telling me that I am still who I am. She has accepted that for my safety, neither she, nor we, can reveal this to the world at large. I am heartened and relieved, as I hope you will be also.

This leaves only the sole remaining casualty of the incident. I would ask your advice on how to best recover my friend, who lies still in a dark place far east of here. How do we return him to my Queen's kingdom?

-Selene

The response came in minutes:

Daughter,

I find myself as usual torn between pride, joy, and terror at the audacity of your decisions, especially after the tragedy that nearly occurred.

Please, I beg of you, continue to hold your own safety in the highest regard, for yourself, and for others.

Regarding the news that I am now an adoptive grandmother… I find myself at a loss for words. I will… consider more carefully before I respond. Would it be possible to send me a picture of Cinder? I would wish to see her. Perhaps someday, you can safely bring her to visit me… perhaps at your island? I could feign put on a fairer appearance, for your sake.

Regarding Blackfeather, I will likewise consider this. It must be done quietly, and safely for all involved. I would avoid the use of The Queen's agents, if possible.

-Salem

Selene thought for some time, considering her sleeping daughter, before replying.

Mother,

I would be overjoyed, and I believe given time your true appearance would not temper the joy of such a meeting with her 'grandmother'.

I love you, as always. Until we are able to see each other again. I will send you a photo as soon as tomorrow.

-Selene

As she sent the final message, she heard Cinder stir, and smiled softly when her daughter's golden-yellow eyes blinked open.

"Mom..." Cinder's face softened with happy recognition, and Selene felt complete.

[A/N] And FINALLY we wrap up the Cinder Family Trauma Arc and Selene's Big Secret with The Lone Huntsmen Arc. Next few chapters will tie up a few loose ends, and then a TIME SKIP of about 6 months to a year instead. I feel like this story arc is ending on a nice, solid note right here. Thank you all so much for following along with me.