RWBY Through Worlds

134: Calls My Bluff

Raven didn't want to talk again--she felt drained--but there wasn't much chance of sleeping either.

Winter spoke to Shine and Wally first, before the others had been gathered with them again.

"We reacted poorly earlier," she said. "But after talking it out more, I think we can agree that there's something in what you said. We just need more details. Also...what is happening to Oscar, really?"

Wally glanced at Shine.

"Even I don't really know," he said. "I'm still too new to this. Has this happened before?"

Shine walked around the dojo's floor a little, looking out the sliding glass door of it.

"I have seen something like this before," she said slowly. "My friend, Raven--not this Raven, a different one--she inherited evil magic from her mother. She used to struggle with it. It would work against her...but when it came to it, it was easy to fall back on it. That was a tough choice, trying to let it go. However, it didn't take over her mind...usually."

"Really?" Wally said. "Wow...the most I usually see are weird inventions and magical, possessive rocks."

"I sincerely hope both of you are exaggerating," Winter said.

They weren't.

"Oh..." Winter said. "Well...still...have you ever defeated anything as powerful as the gods before?"

A reasonable question after what Shine had said before.

"In person? I don't know how to answer that," Shine said. "Wally, would you say Darkseid was as powerful as them?"

"Maybe at the end," Wally said. "But a whole planet? I don't know, they still seem on another level to me...but then again, my friends and I never ask how tough someone is. We just fight."

"That is true," Shine said. "One of the things I most admire about the League is how little they care if they're outmatched. People get too technical. Did David ask if he was outmatched by Goliath? Did Samson ask if he couldn't slay 1,000 Philistines? Did Gideon ask if he could defeat the enemy armies?--yes, he did. That was a trick one. But he did it anyway."

"I have no idea whom you are speaking of," Winter said. 

Qrow and Raven finally came in--Raven looked like she'd been dragged there, practically.

"I really don't want to talk again," she said.

"Then listen." Shine looked at her. "Then decide."

Raven frowned.

Qrow sighed.

"Well, I'll be the bigger person, I guess," he said. "I snapped at both of you earlier. That was going too far. I don't know why I always do that."

"It's no big," Wally said. 

"But it is," Winter spoke. "Perhaps it's understandable, but we shouldn't be blaming you for this."

"Did you discuss that earlier?" Raven said tightly.

"Were you listening?" Winter suddenly gave her a severe look.

"Not exactly," Raven said.

"It's just what you did to Oscar," Qrow moved on, "I didn't like it."

"She was trying to help him," Wally said.

"Yeah, well, I get that, now." Qrow frowned. "But it didn't look like it was helping."

"It doesn't always, at first," Shine mused.

"It did startle me that you just...stuck your sword in like that," Winter said. "I suppose it didn't hurt him...but I forget that part."

"I think it did hurt him," Raven said, "on the inside... Are you going to do that to us? We all have magic, don't we?"