RWBY Through Worlds (End)

BC39: Mercury's Home Insurance (Mercury & Co.)

[I'm sorry, I couldn't resist with that title.]

Shine found the guys mostly joking around.

And ribbing Qrow about having two of them.

Mercury was in the back, not looking very festive.

"Hey." Shine went up to him. "Everything okay?"

Mercury frowned at her.

"Is it about your house?" Shine asked.

"Of course you know," Mercury said.

He knew they'd told her, but it annoyed him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know it was a secret," Shine said.

"I know everyone thinks I should just give it up," Mercury said. "I guess I should. I'm sure it's a Grimm trap though. We'd have to fix that."

"It would be fitting if you did it," Shine said. "You're his son--it means more if you do it. But if you can't, it's okay. Someone else can too. Might take a few more tries, but if you wouldn't want to do it, no one should make you. It's okay to leave the place you were born. Lots of people did. Abraham, for one."

"I don't really care that much about the project, but there's no reason to say no other than I don't feel like it, and that's stupid," Mercury said. "I'm putting it off because I don't want to go back there and deal with it."

Shine nodded.

"You think I should, don't you?" Mercury said.

"I've had a long time to deal with this stuff," Shine said. "Some of it I'm still putting off. I'm no one to tell you what to do. You'd be braver than me, maybe. We all have our weaknesses. Maybe it would help if someone went with you who you would trust."

"Well, I suppose I can say this to you because you already know," Mercury said, a little tersely. "The only people I'd feel any more relaxed with wouldn't go."

"Emerald would go if you asked," Shine said. "It might be a good idea, actually. She was there when you left it; she's an important witness. Cinder was too."

"Cinder wouldn't go back there."

"Cinder has a gift for perceiving things the way they are," Shine said. "I think it's because she had magic and Grimm. Sometimes having to get rid of things like that leaves you with higher perception than before. She's gone from being blind to it to seeing it better than most. She could help."

"And there's Hazel," Mercury said. "Just 'cause he doesn't scare easy, and if there's Grimm around, he'd be good."

"Why not just go?" Shine said. "If it would help...we could come to. If you want, tomorrow."

"Really? You'd do that?" Mercury looked up, surprised.

"Why not? It's important to you," Shine said. "We can't always be there, but if we can, perhaps it would be wisest to demonstrate this in person. This is a big step."

"Don't say that. That makes me want to do it even less. People will expect me to just feel better if I face this," Mercury said. "I don't want to face it. I want to forget it."

"You will never forget it," Shine said firmly. "And you shouldn't. Those stories give us power later. Once we've healed more. But, you can make it weaker. It may not happen right away, but I do know one thing--facing this would help you, eventually. It always does. Our demons are never as scary as just thinking about them is."

She always had some glib advice, Mercury thought irritatedly.

But she might be right...and thinking about it was getting him nowhere. He might as well just do something about it.