A/N: A lot has happened since doing that last chapter. Starting with that whole server problem with Fanfiction. I almost thought it was gone but glad it isn't. I certainly hope a crisis like that doesn't occur once again. Team PASM is starting to get along with their new member, all but Patrick who seems to have a major problem with it. How well will this turn out for them?
Chapter 63: A Much Needed Talk
Everyone is speechless due to the tensions arising from Aria showing off her combat skills. Patrick challenged her, and when he lost, his Grimm powers went berserk, fueled by the rage at the thought of Aria "Taking her place".
Once he had calmed down, he just ran away.
Rayla and Selena help Marina get back into her wheelchair. "W-what happened? How did he b-become like that?" Aria asks.
Everyone remains silent as they exchange looks. "Listen, Aria. There's...something about Patrick you need to know." Marlene says.
"Maybe one of us should go and check on him?" Rayla asks.
"Marina and I will go talk to him." Mashika says. She grabs Marina's wheelchair and starts pushing her out of the room.
Everyone then turns at Aria. "Get comfortable, Aria. This is going to be a lot to take in." Selena says.
While everyone explains everything to Aria, Mashika and Marina search all over Beacon for Patrick. At first, they tried searching for him back at the dorm, but he wasn't there. They then tried searching around the courtyard but he was nowhere in sight. Patrick isn't well known to have any places to hang out, so now they are left to wonder and worry about where it is he could be.
They decided to ask around, the students and the other teachers. Quite a few of them have claimed they've seen him passed by, but are unsure where he was heading. They even asked Rin, whose answer was. "I bumped into him when I was making my rounds. It was odd cause he didn't seem at all concerned for me. But when he bolted off, I noticed something was off about him. Before I could ask, he was gone." But based on the information they have gathered, they can tell that he hasn't left the academy.
They decided to take a short break at the cafeteria. Mashika orders themselves some drinks. Once she receives them, she returns to Marina and hands her a cup of black coffee.
"Thanks, Mashika." Marina says.
"I just don't get it. Where could he be at this time?" Mashika says.
Marina takes a sip of her coffee before speaking. "Let's think for a moment. Wasn't he always like this? Disappearing off somewhere without a trace?"
Mashika thinks back. She does recall trying to find him on some days, even asking his own team where he could be, but even they don't know where he wandered off to. Marina had similar encounters when she was trying to find him as well. "So...you think that wherever this mysterious place he disappears to is where he is now?"
"That seems to most likely case." Marina says. "The only question is: Where?"
Mashika thinks. It has to be somewhere where nobody else knows. No one else...Then it hit Mashika. She remembers what it is Qrow had mentioned back when they were talking in Atlas:
'Well, the answer to that is simple: It's because the Fall Maiden is his sister.'
Then there's what Ozpin had said: 'We entrusted him with the knowledge of the Maidens for the time being, though letting him know that his sister is one of them and is in danger was the only him that's kept him grounded at Beacon Academy.'
"I think I know someone who has the answer." Mashika says, and hearing this concerns Marina.
Meanwhile, everyone is finishing up explaining things to Aria, and she can't believe what it is she is hearing. Even though she saw it with her own eyes. "H-hy...Hybrid? ...Uh, y-you mean like a faunus?"
Marlene shook her head. "No. It's nothing like a Faunus at all. It's like he's a complete mixture of human and Grimm."
Aria doesn't say anything. She looks horrified like she's seen a ghost. "Believe us, we understand how shocking this is. Even we didn't know anything about it." Selena says. "But it was all revealed during the Vytal Festival in Vacuo. That was when he first went Berserk."
"It is also when Mistress Akira was injured." Rayla says. "We weren't there, but based on her appearance at the hospital, and what Mistresses Sherry and Marlene explained, it was horrific and tragic beyond words."
Aria looks down. "I-I...I see...So that's what it was."
"Hmm? What do mew mean?" Clawdia asks.
"I-I can't quite explain it. B-but...uh...You know see. I-I have this 'Sixth Sense' on me that I-I can tell how people are feeling." Aria says. "D-during my time here in Beacon, I-I felt something off about Patrick. Like even though he was cold and distant, something was eating away at him. T-then it happened."
Everyone thinks back to when he lost it. Then they realized what it was he said. "YOU! WILL! NOT! TAKE HER PLACE!"
"Now it makes sense why he lost it. He's upset that Aria is going to replace Akira." Marlene says.
Selena speaks with a pained expression of sorrow. "And it's because of what he did to her, that he feels at fault for our position with Aria." Aria whimpers hearing that, and Selena realizes what she said. "N-Not that there's anything wrong with you, we love making a new friend. It's just..."
"I-it's okay. I-I get it, Sherry." Aria says. "This Akira person is your friend, a-and me being here does...U-uh...make it seem like I am taking her place...I-I guess it's understandable how Patrick felt."
"We should probably go talk to him as well. This does seem to be a team matter." Marlene says.
Selena nods. "You're right." Selena turns her attention to Team CPER. "Why don't you guys show Aria around Beacon?"
"It'll be a pleasure, Mistress Sherry." Rayla says with a curtsy.
Selena and Marlene make their leave, searching around Beacon for Mashika and Marina. Meanwhile, the two teachers start taking the elevator. Mashika pushes Marina in and then pushes the button to Ozpin's office. They ride the elevator up until it opens to find Ozpin and Glynda having a conversation, which is cut short upon seeing Marina and Mashika's arrival.
"Ah, Ms. Kirei and Rishira-Sapphire." Ozpin says. "To what do I owe this visit?"
Mashika pushes Marina in. "Professor Ozpin. We are looking for Patrick, and we are wondering if you know where he is."
"Have you searched everywhere for him?" Ozpin asks.
"We have, but you see, we believe he's somewhere...specific." Mashika says.
"There's been an...incident during the training hall with Aria." Ozpin and Glynda caught on quickly to what they meant by "incident." "We managed to calm him down before any casualties happened. Only once we did, he was...overwhelmed, and ran away."
"Hmm...I see." Ozpin says.
Ozpin stands up from his desk. Glynda catches on to what he's deciding. "Professor Ozpin? Are you sure about showing them to...that place?"
"I understand your concerns, but they know the truth about the world. About Salem." Ozpin says. "I believe it is safe to invite them to the vault."
"The vault? You know...where the relic is?" Marina asks.
"You'll soon see." Ozpin says.
Ozpin takes Mashika and Marina back to the elevator. Once inside, he's about to open the way when the elevator starts moving on its own. This settles the two professors and headmaster. Once the elevator stops, the door opens revealing Selena and Marlene behind.
"Oh, Professors Mashika and Marina, there you are." Marlene says. "Have you found Patrick?"
"Not yet, but they are about to. Care to join us?" Ozpin asks.
Selena and Marlene join in. The elevator doors close and Ozpin sets it to go down. During the whole trip, everyone is in an awkward silence. The elevator reaches the bottom and opens the door. Ozpin escorts everyone down the long hallway to the vault. Once they reached the end, they found a large capsule with Patrick sitting beside it, staring at it.
The girls are surprised to see him. "Greetings, Mr. Aki." Patrick is startled by Ozpin's appearance. But what he's more speechless about is seeing his team and two professors with him. "These friends of yours have been looking for you."
"And you bought them here?" Patrick says, feeling irritated.
"We were concerned about you, love." Mashika says.
Patrick doesn't bother to say anything, just turns his attention to Amber in cold silence. Ozpin can sense the tension going on here and decides to leave them be. The air is full of awkward silence. Selena tries to find a way to break the ice. She then looks at the capsule to see Amber inside.
"That woman...is she...?" Selena asks.
"Yeah. His sister." Mashika says.
Hearing Mashika's comment has Patrick tightened his grab on his arm. "She's really pretty." Marina says.
"Aside from the scars on her face." Marlene says.
Patrick doesn't even bother to say anything, even from Marlene's response. That's when they can tell something's wrong with Patrick. "Patrick, what happened back there, we understand the way you acted, but you shouldn't-"
"You don't get it! Do you?" Patrick says, shouting in frustration. "Aria was brought here to take Akira's place in Beacon. Because of Akira's injury. An injury that I caused! By my own hands."
"Patrick, nobody blames you for what happened." Marina says.
"Ironwood. Winter." Patrick says with a stern expression.
"Ironwood's just a stubborn tin man, and Winter's...well, Winter's just a blind follower of his." Mashika says. As much as Patrick knows how much of that is true, it's not enough to convince him otherwise. "Listen, what happened with Akira isn't your fault. It was just an unfortunate accident."
"Isn't 'accident' putting it lightly, instructor?" Selena asks.
"The point is you weren't yourself. Akira only did what she believed was right." Mashika says. "But don't forget one crucial thing: Akira is still alive. She's just resting and recovering. Aria isn't here to replace her, she is only here to fill in for her until she's back on her feet."
"Instructor Mashika is right. We all miss Akira, and we too do worry about Aria taking her place, but she is a nice person who is only filling in until Akira recovers." Marlene says. "Look, we all know and understand that it's not going to be easy, pretty hard even, but it is something we'll have to accept. It's what Akira would have wanted."
Patrick doesn't say anything. He tightens up his fist just thinking about it.
Nobody says or does anything. Patrick keeps staring at his comatose sister, and Mashika and the others stand there waiting for him to do something. It felt like an eternity, but Patrick finally made his leave and everyone else followed. Once everyone returns to the ground level, they've noticed how late it is.
"8 PM? We've missed dinner." Marlene says.
"Marina and I can order something. Let's take you back to the dorms and we'll decide." Mashika says.
The group starts heading back to the dorms. When they arrive, they are surprised to find Earnest standing right out of their door. Earnest turns and waves at them, then speaks. Marlene and Selena are confused by his sign language. "I'm sorry, Earnest, but we don't know what you're saying." Selena says.
"He says, 'Oh good, you've arrived.'" Patrick says. "'Rayla figured you were taking this long so she's preparing a meal for you all.'"
"Rayla is...making dinner? For us?" Mashika asks.
Earnest nods and then speaks, of which Patrick further translates. "'Everyone's waiting for you in the cafeteria.'"
Everyone starts heading towards the cafeteria, with Earnest following them. Everyone's pretty much quiet the whole time. They arrived at the cafeteria. the place is completely empty, except for Aria, Clawdia, Peter who are sitting at a table nearly in the middle of the room. When they make the approach they hear them having a conversation.
"I-I meant no offense. R-Rayla is v-very pretty and nice. B-but uh...for some reason I feel scared being around her. Especially when s-s-she says, 'What terrible manners'." Aria says.
"Yeah, Rayla has that effect. On the outside, she's all gorgeous and friendly, with that pretty face and loving smile and those two wonderful..." Peter is shortly cut off when Clawdia starts pulling him by the ear, growling at him. "Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!" Clawdia then releases her grip. Peter painfully rubs his ear. "Thanks, Claws, I needed that."
"Mew are welcome." Clawdia says with a glare. She then turns to Aria clearing her throat before she speaks. "Well, mew get what he means. Rayla is well-mannered and polite but can have a scary side. Mew should have seen her at the festival tournament." Clawdia hints to Aria to lean closer. When she does, Clawdia whispers into her ear and becomes astonished.
"What? S-s-she did that?" Aria asks.
"No kitten. Her opponent was inappropriately screaming, she came out of the blue and made hiss-tory out of her." Clawdia says.
"O-o-okay. Now I'm scared of her." Aria says.
Clawdia can't help but laugh at Aria's comment. Earnest knocks on a table to get everyone's attention. "Oh, mew're finally here."
Everyone takes their sit. When Patrick is about to, he notices Aria. She looked at him for a moment then averted her eyes. Patrick doesn't blame her, he knows he's been rough on her since she joined this morning. When Patrick takes his seat, Aria steels herself and gives Patrick a stern look. "Patrick!" Patrick turns his attention to Aria. Aria speaks but is hesitant. She knows what she has to say but is still worried about what may happen. "I...uh...About what happened back there..." Aria takes a deep breath before further speaking. "Your friends explained everything. I-I...I'm sorry about what happened...W-with Akira." Patrick's hands tighten at the mention of Akira's name from Aria's lips. "I-I just want you t-to understand." Aria nervously rubs her hands. "I-I have no intentions of replacing her. I'm only here to...you know, f-fill in her shoes. But I uh...I-I do hope that she will return." Aria manages a smile after all that nervous talking. "S-she sounds like a pretty amazing person. I-I hope to meet her soon."
Patrick doesn't say anything, he tries taking in what Aria has said, then finally speaks. "I'm sure she'd like that as well."
With all that said and done, Mashika and Marina proudly smile seeing the two. "I think Patrick's doing much better with everything." Marina says.
"I couldn't agree more." Mashika says.
Rayla then finally arrives with the meal. Coming and going with every tray of meals she can carry with her two hands: Grilled Garlic Chicken, Cooked Potatoes with butter and sour cream, Vegetable Stir-fry, and loaves of bread. Everyone's pretty much drooling at Rayla's delicious creations. Seeing their excitement, Rayla allows them to dine in with the words: "Bon Appetite."
Everyone dines in on her food, some like Peter and Marlene have begun to show some poor table manners. It catches Rayla's attention and she then rushes to their side to give them a slip on the wrist. Peter and Marlene both look at her to protest but suddenly become silent seeing her expression. "Oh? I do hope you two are minding your manners." Rayla's all smiles with eyes closed but beyond that expression, Peter and Marlene can sense a dreaded aura around her.
"S-sorry Miss Rayla." They both said in unison and just like that, they ate their meals more effectively.
"That's better." Rayla says, clipping her hands together.
Aria nervously watched that little scenery and lowered her head. "Yep. S-she defiantly scares me." She says with a whisper.
"Rayla, this is delicious." Selena says.
"I agree. You're an amazing cook." Marina says.
"Isn't she? She cooks most of our meals." Clawdia says.
"It's a pleasure." Rayla says with a bow.
After dinner, everyone decides to turn in early for the night. It's been a long, exhausting day for everyone. Returning from exams, meeting Aria, training, Patrick going berserk a third short time, and a long day of searching, talking, and explaining everything involving Patrick and the Grimm Incident.
Patrick and his team introduced Aria to their dorm. However, Aria mentioned that she is going to be staying in one of the guest dorms. But Selena tells her that she is welcome to hang out and visit as she wishes. After an awkward shy reaction to the offer, Aria gladly accepts.
Aria is now sitting on her bed. She's having a video chat with some guy on her scroll.
"M-my first day at Beacon went very well. The t-t-team I was assigned to were really friendly." Aria says.
"And I assume that you reacted very shy and nervous that they offered comments of a friendly warm welcome?" The guy says.
Aria reacts astonished hearing that. "I-I...Uh, well. Th-they...I...Uh."
The guy laughs. "Same old Aria. No matter where you are, nothing changes." Aria laughs nervously. "Are you really gonna be okay in such a strange place by yourself? I seem to recall you having separation anxiety when you've spent a day or two away from home."
"I-I'll be fine. I think seeing and hearing you on video chat helps calm my nerves." Aria says.
"Fair enough." There's a moment of silence before the guy speaks again. "By the way, you mentioned that you were showing them your combat skills. How did they handle it?"
"Th-they were very impressive with my strength and reflexes." Aria says.
"I see. Does that mean they know about...the experiments?" The guy asks.
Aria shook her head. "No. I-I never told them about my past. Ma-ma-maybe someday."
"That's understandable. You take care, Aria." The guy says.
Aria smiles and nods. "You too, brother." The video chat ends, and Aria lays down on her bed, looking at the ceiling in the night. She thinks about her Team PASM. And the comment her brother made about revealing her past. It made her realize something. And it has her thinking about Patrick. "I-I know I sensed something eating away at him. That whole Akira Situation might have been it. Yet at the same time...I feel like he's hiding something else." Aria takes a deep breath. "Well...maybe I'm thinking too much about it. It's been a long day, I should get some rest."
Aria then goes to sleep, awaiting for what the next day will bring.