(Valentina reminiscing her past continues...)
Valentina couldn’t sleep that night. She tossed and turned while her heart remained a flutter.
“I hope they don’t hurt him…”
The bug gifted to her mother was in the clutches of Amethyst, a gem-obsessed woman who bore no shame for wearing a blood diamond around her neck, forged unethically in the earlier days of the Metal Realm.
“I thought Guardians were supposed to PROTECT!”
She fumed into her pillow kicking her feet, until the sharp pain in her rib put her back in check to remain still. The night went on miserably, and as the sun rose a new face came to wake her in torment.

“Wakey, wakey. Lemon SHAKEYYYYYAH!!”

The short spazzy man with red cheeks and a blonde curled mohawk jolted his foot to the ground causing the entire room to shake - books falling from their shelves, and even the reinforced glass panes shattering. Valentina slipped under her blanket to hide until it stopped. When the quakes finally halted she hesitated for several moments before slowly lowering the blanket down, but as she did so; the man’s tiny pupils and large grin were inches away, darting at her.

“Ah!”
Instinctively Valentina reached her fist out to punch, but he tipped her over and out of bed.
Overstimulated, Valentina began to sob.
Annoyed at what he perceived was an overreaction, he pouted.

“It was only a joke, lighten up.”
He put her bed back together and kicked the books to the side while Valentina was too shaken up to calm herself.

“I hate everyone in this friggin’ realm!!!”
She screeched out before grabbing a book herself and throwing it at him, immediately as she had done so her stomach filled with regret.

He slowly turned to look at her, eyes crazily scornful darting her up and down, he looked tempted to throw something back - ten times as violently!
Until a metal spike gutted from the floor bringing its sharp edge to just barely miss his neck.

“That’s ENOUGH, Cinnabar.”
Amethyst walked in the room, her face disgusted at Cinnabar who side-stepped away from the spike, and the mohawk on his head lowered itself shamefully.

“I was just…tryin’ to play.”
His statement was genuine, but it was hard to pity someone so quick to irrational anger and unaware of their own strength.

“You’re too intense, perhaps you need to pick up a more delicate hobby to train yourself - I’d be more than happy to teach you some beading techniques.”
Amethyst spoke in jest, but Cinnabar’s excitement caught her off-guard.

“Really?!”
His hopeful question was pitiful even to Valentina.

Amethyst raised a confused brow, baffled he'd even accept the offer in the first place.
“No…not really. You’d break all my beads, you're not even gentle with yourself!" Shaking the thought off, she turned to pat Valentina on the head as a failed attempt at comforting.

“Valentina, do you want to come see the jewelry I made your mother?”
She really seemed proud and wanting to share the moment with her but Val gulped, her exhaustion was severe, anxiety on full parade, and becoming more dissociative by the minute. She dreaded the idea of finding the bug dead, and contemplated if she should join him.

---

(Vaughn grimaced at that detail and Valentina shrugged. “Sorry but it's true.”)

---

Typically, breakfast was peaceful, it was always just Valentina and her snippy handmaiden. Today, she was going to be eating with her mother, two guardians and the Zircon family. The only thing preventing her head from dropping to the table and slipping into a coma, was that every muscle in her body was tense and trying to prepare itself for what Amethyst had done to the bug she became so enamored with.

Her mother was the last to arrive at breakfast.

“My, my Ruby. That IS an intriguing necklace.”
Madam Sapphire’s eyes lit up in both admiration and jealousy, unlike Valentina’s eyes that watered. She could not stop her fists from angrily shaking.

The green bug she had quickly became fond of just the other night, was spray-painted gold, with gold embroidery and a few red gemstones glued to his slow, flickering wings. He wore a gold collar that hung from the chain of her necklace, as his little legs frantically tried to hold balance to her, but every time she moved forward he would slip off and frantically hang. She couldn’t see his beautiful expressions on his wings as they were painted over. This was a living nightmare and now more than ever, Valentina wanted it over.

---

Metal Guardian Amethyst when she first presented the beetle to Ruby Diorite.

---

“What is wrong with her?”
Cinnabar whispered loudly to Amethyst who hadn’t noticed, oblivious to the real reason, she scolded Cinnabar.
“You were too rough with her, she has a fractured rib - it is your fault she’s a mess right now!”

Ruby raised a threatening gaze to Valentina, fully easy to translate ‘I don’t care what’s wrong. Knock it off.’
But something inside Valentina snapped - she wasn’t going to argue back and she wasn’t going to put up with this either.

“Please excuse me, I’m very unwell and need to retire to my room.”
All eyes were on her surprised at how she properly articulated herself. Valentina made as direct eye-contact with the struggling beetle as she could, hoping to convey at least to it - she wasn’t okay with this.

Valentina left the room politely to return to her quarters, but not to rest: to concoct a plan.

---

(Vaughn’s eyes were full of tears as he reached for Bernard. “They went and tortured both of ya- treatin’ you like objects only meant to be pretty. I hate the Cyber scum.” Bernard flicked a tear from Vaughn before settling on his shoulder.)

---

Thankfully no one had disturbed Valentina that entire day.
Her bedroom was too high up to tie any blankets together to escape, but she was able to hammer together a ladder by breaking off the legs of all furniture in the room. It could reach over to the tree right in front of her window and she’d later try to climb down from there - she just wanted to get it ready first.

“Now. Time to save the bug.”
Successfully stealing an extra maid uniform from their break room, it was time to act.
Valentina knew her mother’s schedule well, including that she drank every night with someone while gossiping. She watched from around the corner of a hall, waiting for her mother to leave. When she did, Val darted across the hall, easily able to hide in the shadows being small, and dressed in the black and white uniform.

Taking a bobby pin and the curved backing of a dangly earring, she picked the lock and successfully snuck into the room. Val scoured the entire room leaving a mess along the way, no fingerprints left behind with the thick gloves she had on -and hanging on a hook inside the bathroom, the bug was barely balancing to remain on the hook and not fall off to indefinitely dangle.

“I’m here to rescue ya!”
She stretched her arm, which pained her ribs once again and she bit her lip to trap a cry. The pain was so bad, she instead opted to climb onto the sink and was able to snag the bug, and place him quickly in her pocket before stealthily making her way back to her room.

Climbing across the ladder she laid out earlier, Val kicked it to fall. From there, she slowly climbed down making it to the ground after about twenty long minutes before sprinting into the wilds that divided the Cyber Elite and Steam districts.

“Don’t worry buddy, I’m gonna get ya all cleaned up.”
The night was cold, and the moon was bright. Not a single sound could be heard in the petrified forest - all life leached from it long ago. Valentina removed the chain clasped to the beetle, and with some soap, the cloth of her uniform, and spit, she cautiously washed the bug off. Unfortunately, she had no way to remove the gems, but this was a good start.

“I’m so glad that you’re okay…”
She cried and smiled that she could at least mostly see the bug’s expressions again.
“[T.T]”

She gave him a kiss, as well as a name.
“Uh- beetle…bug…B…brrr it’s cold…..berrrNARD!!”

---

Vaughn and Valentina walked down a dirt road, on their way to the festivities of Vibrance Day while Val finished up her story.

“That’s the weirdest way I’ve heard of someone come up with a name.”

Valentina chuckled in agreement.
“And pretty much after that, was when we hiked down for several hours and found the docks. I emptied out one of ya crates with supplies and hopped in, prayin’ I wouldn’t get caught and hoping wherever the cargo went, it was far, far away from Metal.”

Vaughn stood up straight and stretched his back out, releasing all emotional tension with every bone that cracked.
“And the next day I found you crawlin’ outta that crate like you did the washing machine just a little while ago.”

Valentina went to smack Vaughn who successfully dodged it.
“The maid outfit was a nice touch, really had me convinced you were a slave who escaped child labor. Well, I guess you kinda did in your own way. I suppose.”
He looked down to his feet still overcome with stress from learning of her horrors, but Valentina bumped into him to bring him back to the present.

“I’m a coffee drinker myself, but it’s tradition we drink tea this day.”

Vaughn’s eyes lit up as he clasped his hands together happily.
“Oh, that’s right. The ol’ mayor snagged a tree from the Realm of Sound when he made his roots here. Well, I’m gonna expose his secret.”

Val kicked a rock ahead of her. “Secret?”
Vaughn wrapped his arm around her shoulder, using his other hand to point dramatically over the horizon to beckon her imagination.

“Forget about the white blossoms, they are bitter at best. The secret to the best cup of Vibrance tea, is to steep two parts purple blossoms, one part pink, and one part blue. Infuse them in hot water separately and then combine after steeping three minutes. You’ll have a superior cup of tea unlike the bumblin’ idiots grabbing any and all blossoms to shove in a pot.”

Vaughn demonstrated the mixing of the infusions within a clear glass pot as if he was the main activity, to all intrigued by his charming nature. Interestingly enough, the colors did not blend into one, but swirled separately within the pot.

“And voila, that’s how you make the tastiest brew. Ain't gonna let Volkan keep it all to himself.”
He dispensed a cup to pass to Valentina - who happily took a confident sip and smiled.

“Comm'on, someone else try it. I promise I ain’t full of bullock.”
A few restively held their hands up rejecting, confusing Vaughn.
“What’s the problem? I don’t bite. I didn’t spit in it, ya’ll saw me.”

Vontell pushed his glasses up before opening a book he had brought with him that covered the lore behind the Blooming March.
“Ah, it is nothing personal Mr. Vaughn. More simply, it is superstition that sharing a pot of tea with someone will bind their souls more closely together and strengthen their attraction to one another.”

Vaughn crossed his arms and scoffed half jokingly.
“Actually, it’s not sharing the pot that matters but a cup. If you sip from the same cup that would be when the romantic hookery allegedly unfolds.”

Vontell looked back down and flipped through several more pages for further reference, only to find Vaughn was correct.
“My, my. You are quite knowledgeable about this I see. I concede.”
Vontell felt a tinge of shame but was alleviated by Vaughn’s heavy metal hand patting him on the shoulder.

“Comes with age, mate, I’ve traveled all the realms for almost two decades and amassed quite a bit of knowledge about all their traditions of sorts.”

A large clamor began to ensue behind them.
Before Vaughn could turn to look, wires sprung out in front of him and immediately restrained him to the ground, a small current of electricity shooting pain throughout his body.

“Vaughn!”
Valentina leaped to his side but was also restrained by cables that shot out from a military grade cyber mech that unearthed itself from underground. Vaughn spat at it, frustrated, cursing the situation.

“What hell hole did you crawl out of, CinnaBAR!”
Vaughn furiously glared at the mech that held a struggling Valentina captive. The cabin cover of the large red glared mech released a hissing sound as the pressure shifted to lift open. Inside a powerful and chaotic magical energy leaked out as the young looking man swiftly propelled himself out.

His feather plume mohawk, red cheeks and crazily darting eyes disturbed everyone. Cinnabar swiftly jutted his boot into Vaughn’s gut - causing him to choke out a cough before being lifted by the hair to face him.
“Funny, you boast yourself as a wise man that knows all about the lands, yet you apparently are clueless about the laws of Metal. I’ve always wanted to say this: Vaughn Mard’Gear, you’re under arrest for lying under oath, obstructing justice, and kidnapping.”

Vontell and others readied themselves for a fight but hesitated to attack - involuntarily intimidated by the intense magic aura that was comparative to Frizz and Static.

“Let em’ go! Vaughn didn’t kidnap me, I ran away all by myself!”
A large thick cable moved like a snake to wrap itself around Valentina’s mouth to muffle her quiet. Cinnabar dropped Vaughn down to stalk towards her mockingly.

“Val, it’s been so long. Have you any idea how worried your mother has been for you? We aren’t stupid, we are aware you ran away. But you were still a minor, and he aided in your escape. Never reported you even when we detained him for questioning. Had he come forward when we asked that would be one thing, but this? No, no. He’s a predator and an enemy of Metal.”

With the snap of his fingers the cables that restrained Vaughn surged a small current of electricity again as he shouted out in pain.
“BLOODY SAKE, I am TIRED of being restrained.”

Cinnabar cackled at his helplessness until a blunt, hot and shattering impact dazed him for but a moment. Vanora glared viciously at Cinnabar, still holding the handle of a now broken glass teapot. Raising a confronting hand up to strike her, both Vivienne and Vontell defensively stepped in the way - shoving him backward and stumbling into someone else.

Cinnabar hissed in frustration before cockily laughing - he went to kick his foot down to cause a quake but it fizzled out - his face going cold in disbelief. The mayor approached to face him, arms crossed...he wearing a mischievous smirk alluding to how the tables had turned. Cinnabar erratically fought back the arms holding him pressed down - before a stronger magic caused a hot threatening sensation down his spine.

“Hey little guy, from one bird guardian to another, make yourself at home - but show some manners or things are going to go very, very wrong.”
Spark kept his grip tight while Valentina succeeded in freeing herself and rushed to Vaughn's side, Vanora and all the other shop-keepers standing between them and the mayor, all facing an annoyed Cinnabar.

“Ho-ho, feisty guardian are you? I like that! Even I can appreciate the swift feelings of wanting justice, lad, no worries. But why don’t you come, sit down, have a cup of tea with me and we can discuss this.” Volkan’s words may be perceived by some as too kind, but for those that know him, he doesn’t take or tolerate bull and would be more than happy to squash a genuine threat in an instant.