Winter had a mind to just finally go to bed herself, but just when she was up, she heard Shine give a yelp of surprise.
She rushed out of the room. Qrow and Raven both followed her--in fact nearly crashing into each other, to mutual annoyance.
Pietro was in the front hall also, with Maria. Penny had let him know she was coming to the school.
Shine had yelped not, in fact, because Penny had just come in with a stranger, but because both of them were flying and had caught her completely off guard coming around a corner.
She was recovered now, and Penny was cheerfully introducing her new "friend" to her father and the two women.
"This is Kip," she said. "He's like me, sort of, but not completely."
"Fascinating." Pietro was examining him. "I didn't know there were any more people like Penny in the whole world."
"But he's not totally a robot," Penny said. "He's 70% robot."
"Give or take," Kip said nervously. "Uh, I'm not really sure I should be here. My mother gets anxious if I'm out too long. I just wanted to meet Professor Polendina."
"That's Dr. Polendina now," Pietro said easily. "But why the big hurry? You just got here... I'd love to do a scan of those robotic body parts."
Winter stopped short and stared.
Kip looked at her and then yelped and jumped back--into the air.
"What the h--- is that?" Qrow was right behind her.
Raven said nothing, but she stared in disbelief.
"So many people..." Kip squealed, and probably didn't realize he said it out loud. [As a homeschooler, yes, I relate... That's a joke.]
"Well, this can't be good," Maria muttered knowingly.
"It is a little odd." Shine rubbed her chin. "I'm sure the show--but never mind that. Wally is missing this."
She pulled out her scroll to call him.
"I was literally in the kitchen." Wally appeared. "Really, Shine, you couldn't just call me with your voice? Let's not act like grandparents."
"That would be acting like grandparents," Shine said. "I didn't want to wake anyone else up again. Though the walls are so thick here..."
"Whoa..." Wally looked Kip up and down. "Icarus much?"
Shine blinked at him. "Like the myth?"
"Yeah," Wally said
Shine's eyes widened. "That was so hot."
"Don't be crass." Winter was disgusted with her.
"Was it really?" Wally ignored Winter. "I'm, like, 90% sure I only know that because of Batman. He loves explaining myths to people at random."
"Still hot," Shine assured him.
"Oh, really?" Wally made a mental note to learn more myths.
[And this is as good a time as any to explain that Kip really is a reference to Icarus, but he's also a reference to Frankenstein's monster. Victoria's name is a reference to Victor Von Frankenstein. She's also a reference to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but that doesn't come up til later. Their last name means wings in Hebrew--Kanap. Both characters were conceived of by my sister and named by her, and their designs were by her also. But she wanted me to use them in the story--yes, I pay her for this. I'm not a monster... I don't get paid for this, but you know, them's the brakes.]
Kip folded his wings into his back.
Without them he looked totally normal, but Penny seemed quite sure he was a robot.
Shine's eyes lit up.
"Hmm," she said. "He's a cyborg. But he's not a robot. I can tell. He has a soul of his own. Not like Penny's quite, either."
Kip looked nervous. "I really should go home."
"There's another one of these things?" Raven said very untactfully. "Well, that's suspicious. Did Watts have a twin brother?"
"No, he's an only child," Pietro said, like it was a serious question. "I'm not sure Watts is capable of this level of robotic design. He's more of a computer programmer. He hacked Penny, it's true, but only her robot processing parts. Her soul is another matter. And I thought I was the only one who could... But his soul may still be his. You were human originally, right, son?"
"Uh...I'm not your son." Kip didn't understand the expression. "And of course I'm human! I just have metal...anyway."
He shifted nervously. "I should go."
"All right, back off," Shine said, waving at Pietro. "You're scaring the poor kid. Penny, I'm not sure your father ever told you this, but you can't just bring home strange boys without any kind of warning. We could get accused of kidnapping."
"Oh...sorry." Penny looked down. "I didn't think of that. Of course, I'm familiar with the laws. I should have known that. But I got so excited!"
"I guess that is the least robotic thing about her," Shine mused.
"But...Penny," Winter said uncertainly, "where did you find this...boy?"
"Outside," Penny said. "It was the strangest thing. I was flying around, looking for Grimm, and some people said there was one, and I thought it was rational, but then I got close and I thought, 'that doesn't look like any grimm I've ever seen,' so I caught up, and it wasn't a Grimm. It was another human--robot--uh, cyborg, I mean. And I thought, 'I've seen General Ironwood, but this is even more unusual.'"
"I guess Jimmy is kind of a cyborg," Wally said. "That makes him sound so much cooler than a half crazed maniac."
"If only the machine part was the half in that comparison," Shine said.
Wally laughed weakly.
"Can you two focus on the fact that there's another one of these people out there that we didn't know about?" Qrow said.
"Oh, and Vacuo tells you everything?" Shine said. "But this is not good--if Theo finds him here, we're in trouble."
"Headmaster Theodore?" Kip suddenly looked freaked out. "Does he live here?"
"Well, it is Shade Academy," Penny said.
"Of course..." Kip said in a terrified voice. "I miscalculated. I assumed he would be at home at this time of night, but yes, the Academy is his home. This was a grave error on my part. I must depart from here immediately."
He turned and took to the air.
"Hey, wait!" Penny cried.
Kip paused... Maybe he was used to obeying whatever someone told him.
"He might be right," Shine mused. "I have a terrible feeling that Theo probably shouldn't know he's been here at all. I hope there aren't cameras all over this place."
"Oh, I checked for those the first day," Raven said. "There aren't...would out too many people for pick-pocketing their classmates, no doubt."
"Wouldn't that be the reason to have them?" Winter said.
"Schnee, you really don't understand the philosophy of this kingdom at all, do you?" Raven said condescendingly.
Winter rolled her eyes.
"Robyn also checked for them," Qrow said helpfully.
"Okay, but how is this guy even real?" Wally asked. "I mean, you think this would come up.."
Kip edged toward the door.
Shine studied him. "All right, you can go home," she said. "Sorry for the scare. You shouldn't get in trouble with your mother."
"But--" Pietro said.
Shine flashed him a warning look. "But what? He's not ours. We can't keep him here. That would be kidnapping him."
"Of course," Pietro said, reluctantly. "Go on home, son."
Kip gave him an odd look and edged to the door.
"You should visit again," Penny said, waving. "Or maybe I could find you. Where do you live?"
"I, uh...I'm not... Bye." Kip left abruptly.
"That was bizarre," Winter said. "And I'm getting tired of these secrets... What was that?"
"Should I follow him?" Raven asked.
"Yes," Shine said. "But carefully. He might have sensors like Penny. I strongly suspect I already know where he's going, though. I thought he looked familiar..."
She used her scroll to dial. "I need to check with Neo about something."
Just a few minutes later, Neo, looking sleepy and wearing only a t-shirt and shorts instead of her usual outfit, appeared.
She was totally adorable, but, given her violent tendencies, no one dared to comment on it.
:"This had better be important," Neo held up her scroll to say, just so they all would know she was ticked off.
"I'm sorry to bother you," Shine said politely. "But I wanted to ask you, did you see anyone else at that creepy lab before you-know-who arrived?"
Neo's eyes widened, and she began to sign frantically.
"What was that?" Qrow asked. "I got bird...I thought."
"Wings," Winter corrected.
"This is a bird." Shine put her finger to her nose in a beak shape. "This is 'wings' or 'angel'." She flapped her hands like wings. "Winter is right. Neo just said there was some boy there with wings and...purple hair?"
Neo nodded.
"I thought so," Shine said. "And he wouldn't be related to that woman you took the picture of, by any chance?"
Neo put a hand to her forehead in a closed cup shape, and then to her lower arm like she was holding a baby.
"That means 'son'," Shine said. "Who knew? It's the same here. So...Victoria Kanap has a son...who's part robot."
Neo tapped her chin, then she used her fingers to make some odd shapes and then pointed to her head in a "know" gesture.
"W-A-T-T-S--Watts? Knows..." Shine stopped. "Of course he does..."
"Wait, what? They're already in the know?" Qrow said. "And you didn't think to mention that part before?"
Neo signed something very rudely at him.
"She just said you were all being jackasses and she can't remember every tiny detail," Shine translated.
"Somehow," Wally said, "even without you saying it, I felt part of that in my soul." He snickered.
"Calling it now, if Neo spoke she'd do nothing but roast all of us every single sentence," Shine said. "Just like Shego... I certainly do attract the same kind of person."
"You are that kind of person," Maria said.
Neo signed something else.
:"I thought Watts (mustache man) died in Atlas (high city). Cinder planned to kill him. But Teacher said he sent message."
"I could see how that's confusing," Shine said after she'd translated this faithfully. "Watts did not die."
"You're just going to give that away?" Qrow said.
"I'm shocked she didn't already know that," Shine said. "But come to think of it, we've hardly mentioned him since we got here. Well, Theo clearly has had a little tete-a-tete with him. We'll discuss this tomorrow. I think we'll need to adjust our plan a little. I was supposed to talk to Ironwood and him anyway, right? But I didn't have time today."
"I'm not sure why everyone is insisting on you, a 20-something, to intimidate two grown men," Maria said. "Don't they have anyone who's tougher?"
"Despite Hazel's experience with torturing people," Shine said flatly, "I somehow doubt he has the mental capacity to get around Watts. I'm not sure I do--that guy is slippery as an eel--but I'm sure Hazel doesn't, at least."
"You're still salty about the kid, eh?" Qrow noted.
"If he did it to Ruby or Yang, you'd have broken his teeth," Shine said calmly. "Now, I'm letting it go because he's not so bad, and he helped Oscar in the end, and I'm a Christian, but it's still disturbing to think about someone beating up a kid, isn't it? Forgive me if I'm not over it in three days."
"Actually, I think that's the most positive sign I've seen that you're normal at all," Qrow said. "Good for you, you have some human feelings."
"That's not funny," Shine said. She frowned at him.
"I should warn you about the General," Winter said stiffly. "The last I spoke to him he was not extremely cooperative. Nor did he seem to have any sense that he's done anything wrong. I'm not sure he would tolerate your interference. And Watts was...as usual, insolent."
"When did you talk to him?" Qrow asked.
"Second day," Winter said. "But all he wanted to tell me was what we already knew."
"I remember you were so mad," Shine recalled.
"Yeah, didn't you tell Shine to take her best shot at blowing him up?" Wally said. "With words."
"Yes, well, getting info out of Watts will be harder than that," Winter said. "But be my guest. It's Theodore who's more likely to stop you."
"Don't worry, I can get in there without him opening the door," Shine said smugly.
"I am loving this new James Bond thing," Wally told her. "It's so cool. See, now it's my turn to say that was hot."
"Wally, not in front of Winter," Shine said. "She's clearly not out of grade school yet."
Winter raised an eyebrow at that, but Qrow thought it was hilarious.
* * *
When the adults finally just turned in, Penny was much more wired, no pun intended about what happened. But Pietro finally told her to just get some rest.
Penny didn't need rest like a human did, but she did seem to get emotionally drained after a point and needed to recharge her Aura.
* * *
The next morning, Shine took some time to review things with the teens before their daily assignments.
"Sorry we didn't have time for this yesterday," she said. "But I'm sure seeing your dad was more important, but I did want to know if you girls talked about what I said."
"Well, the thing is, we all talked about it while we were in Underland." Ruby had taken to calling it that.
Little nodded importantly... So far the mouse had almost evaded detection by anyone outside the team, and no one knew she could talk... People just thought Ruby had a pet mouse for some reason.
"It did get us thinking though," Weiss said. She'd been so much more compliant since Winter's scolding that Shine almost wondered if Winter hadn't gone overboard. "About how all our personal goals kind of just disappeared once we heard about Salem... But I mean, that's not a bad thing." She looked sideways like she did when she was uncomfortable or emotional. "It's mature."
"Sure, whatever." Yang was not liking this at all.
"Why did you bring it up though?" Blake asked Shine.
"I thought it was interesting that Alicia gave each of you personal advice," Shine said.
"How did you know that?" Yang said.
"I was right, then." Shine smirked.
Yang glared at her.
"Something about how you glossed over that part made me think so," Shine said. "And Pyrrha and Jaune admitted to me later that she had some words for them, so it wasn't a great leap to assume she did for you too. I wasn't sure if it had anything to do with your goals."
"Actually, she did say to listen to our teachers," Ruby said, to the annoyance of the three older girls who didn't want Shine to have any other leverage.
Ruby didn't get it.
Shine hid a smile not very successfully. "Well, a girl's gotta have another DJ's back, I suppose."
"Whatever that mumbo jumbo means," Yang said, "are we done here?"
"If you mean done with your attitude, then yes," Shine sassed her.
Yang winced slightly but other than that wasn't deterred.
"Why did you think I asked you about it?" Shine asked.
"I don't know," Blake said. "I wasn't sure why Dr. Oobleck asked us the first time... Just that he wanted us to realize that being a Huntress is a job, I guess. Not a romantic idea."
Shine tapped her chin. "And do you think you've come to see it more as a job since then?"
"Yes," Blake said.
"Definitely," Weiss said. "It's not fun...really. But we have to do it. Now more than ever."
"Ruby?" Shine asked.
"I guess I always just wanted to help people," Ruby said. "What hurts most about it now is that I'm not sure I am helping them. Leadership is tough... I never wanted to be the leader." She looked down. "Ozpin picked me, but I wonder now if it was just because of my eyes."
"Humans have a lot of problems," Little commented.
Shine laughed. "Comes of being rulers, Little. Your life is so much simpler than ours."
"No argument." Little nibbled on some cheese.
Yang might have felt slightly guilty for encouraging Ruby to think this way, and it showed.
"That's not fair, Ruby," Blake said. "All of us have made bad choices, not just you."
"Still..." Ruby said, "I thought about what you said before, Miss Likstar, about lifting people up and being okay with normal knees and stuff. Is that why you brought this all up?... Do you think we're...trying to be something we're not?"
"Hmm," Shine said. "And what do you think you're trying to be?"
"Heroes," Weiss suggested. "Saviors of the world."
"Exactly," Shine said. "I want you to think carefully about what you all originally wanted and tell me right now, what is the huge difference between now and then."
They all thought, even Yang--because, against her will, she was getting invested in this conversation.
"I think the big difference is," Ruby said, "helping people isn't really super specific. I could help anyone and make the world better. But now this is kind of...bigger than that."
"I'd have to say the same," Weiss said. "I started off just wanting to uphold my family's legacy and improve it, but now I can't even think of my family anymore. It's the whole world... Our legacy looks kind of small in comparison."
"I think maybe what I wanted before was still pretty out there," Blake said. "Undoing the hatred of the White Fang...trying to make it right. I mean, it's better now--my father is in charge again, and maybe people will look at us a little differently now, but it's...still not perfect, and now it doesn't even feel like it matters."
"I guess I don't really know what to expect anymore," Yang said. "But I wouldn't say it feels like an adventure now... It's a burden." She frowned. "That's just how it is, though. The whole happy ending thing, it doesn't exist."
"Wow..." Weiss thought that was really depressing and out of character...but then, how long had Yang been acting out of character?
Shine studied them.
"There's something to be said for adjusting your goals," she said, "in that, we can realize some goals are insignificant. But would you really say those things no longer matter? Ruby, surely not, because it's still helping people to save the world. But Weiss, would you really say your family doesn't matter anymore?"
"I...don't know," Weiss said. "I mean, sure, as people, but our legacy...it won't, in the grand scheme of things, make that much difference."
"We're just a drop in the bucket, personally," Blake said. "Compared to someone like Ozpin...I mean, it makes me feel small."
Shine nodded. "But let me ask you, what happens if a bucket leaks?"
"All the water slips out," Ruby said immediately. "Are you saying that our lives are still important because of that?"
"It seems small," Shine said, "but if everyone just concluded that living their lives was meaningless, there would be no life, and there would be no greater good. I was talking to one of Wally's friends about this once, that if we don't experience the same kind of life that we claim to protect, we say we are unlike everyone else...and if we all thought like that, the happiness that we fight to protect wouldn't be real for anybody. We cannot be exceptions to our own rules. I find that tendency is strong in Ozpin's followers, and himself, and I see it growing in you all more and more all the time. Every loss you take seems to make it stronger and makes you feel more detached from yourselves."
They stared at her... They couldn't even argue.
Shine nodding. "One of my favorite teachers has said that going on the right path is more of a regression than it is a progression. And he meant by that that we have to go back to what's right. Most of us know it better when we start than when we're further along. The fact is, all things that you wanted before are much nobler causes than Ozpin's stupid war, which is a spite fest on one side, and at most a desperate attempt to preserve a dying world on the other. The thing is, none of you are the judge of the world. And neither is Ozpin. Don't be Ozpin. All of you, for whatever purposes your lives have, have what you need, and what you don't have, you can ask for, and you'll get it when the time is right. The only way to win this game is not to play it. Do you understand?"
It had been ages since any of them had been asked that question. Normally it's not that emotional of a question, but Blake had had it.
"No!" she said. "I don't! Oh, my gosh, can we just say that already?! I don't understand anything thing that's happened--or what to do about it. I'm sick of pretending that I do!" She put her face in her hands.
Weiss winced. "Blake..."
"Don't be upset," Ruby said, trying to smile.
"Don't stop her," Shine shrugged. "She's right. Props to you for admitting it first, Blake."
"I mean...yeah, I guess it's true," Weiss said hesitantly. "I don't get it either...but how does that help?"
"Maybe you aren't supposed to understand that part," Shine said. "Maybe the truth is, it's beyond you for a reason--and Ozpin himself, even."
"This is all great coming from you, the alien," Yang said. "Don't you have some kind of insider information on this? Why don't you just tell us?"
"I believe I already told you I wasn't going to do that until I saw some changes," Shine said. "You forget, Yang, that I also have free will. I can choose not to do something if I want to."
"But if your God says to," Yang said.
"Well, the thing is, He also has said we should use our heads," Shine said. "That's one of the many things I love about Him. Now of course I defer to Him on matters I cannot understand, but in this area, I think I've got a fairly good handle on it. You all are walking disasters because you overshoot."
Blunt... Ouch.
"That said," Shine said, "the Grimm problem is under control since yesterday. The plan worked. Until we get more of an idea what Theodore is up to, all of us need to keep a low profile. So I'm giving you the day off."
"Off?" Ruby said.
"Yeah, you haven't had one since Atlas," Shine said. "Team JNPR will have it also. I think the rest of us can handle the problem for now. More huntsmen are helping us since yesterday. Theo took my little speech to heart, I guess..." She made a face. "You all need a break."
"But technically Winter is in charge," Weiss said. "Not you."
"And she's fine with it," Shine said.
Winter was only too happy to have them out of the way, she didn't trust them not to blow cover.
"Anyway your dad is here. Don't you want to spend time with him?" Shine added. "And Blake, your parents are still here. I suppose they'll go home soon, but for now, you can catch up with them too.
"There's only one thing," She added. "Emerald. I hate to keep her cooped up again toady...but she can't be out unsupervised either with her psycho ex-teammates around, so..."
"I knew there was a catch to this," Yang said.
"Just Emerald?" Ruby said. "I mean...isn't Oscar getting tired of being inside too?"
"Good point, you should take him with you also," Shine said. "Just don't get lost and don't get robbed."
"I mean..." Weiss said, "things are finally slowing down here a little."
"What about Torchwick and Neo?" Yang questioned. "And my mother? They're just going to be around?"
"Why not?" Shine said. "Are they hurting you?"
Yang started to say something and then stopped... She was on the edge of probation, she remembered.
"Fine," she muttered.
[The World You Want--Switchfoot. Skip to the 40 second mark or so for the lyrics part of the song, very long intro.]
* * *
Actually, earlier Shine had discussed the day's plan with the adults.
"I intend to go back to the field today," Winter said.
"No," Shine said. "Klein said you need at least another day of taking it easy, preferably more than that."
"I don't think you can order me to do that," Winter said.
"I suppose not," Shine said.
There was a pause.
"Did you have a better task?" Winter asked finally.
"Well, I know what I have to do today," Shine said with an eye-roll. "Fun, fun, fun. But I was hoping Qrow would consider trying to find out who this Victoria Kanap really is. There have to be archives here. Raven confirmed that the kid flew back to the same spooky hideout thing Neo found, so that seals it. They don't just work there, they must live there. So she likely isn't listed on any housing records, but school records, lab records--there has to be something, unless that's not her real name. Also, Theo's records."
"The CCT tower has records of some people," Winter said. "In the database. We should have thought of that before."
"I'll put that one down to heatstroke." Shine couldn't resist getting her digs in to prove her point about Winter needing to rest. Which annoyed Winter more.
"Meanwhile, I'll try to wring any connection with Watts out of him," Shine said. "I hope that will not be as difficult as it sounds. It's possible Hazel might have heard of her also, but I wouldn't count on it. Watts probably has his own secrets."
"Why are we here for this?" Torchwick asked.
"Because I want you to investigate her also," Shine said. "She must leave that hidey-hole sometime to get food and supplies, right? We'd have more luck catching this woman for a 'chat' if it was outside her own house. I'm not sure there's no traps there, when she's not expecting 'company'. "
"So you want someone to check the CCT," Qrow said. "Well, that's not something I have the most clearance for."
"But neither do I," Winter said. "I have security clearance, but that would have worked better in Atlas than Vacuo. They might just slam the door in my face here."
"I'm sure it's not popular here to dig up dirt on anyone," Shine said. "That's why your mother and Whitley would handle it. Many people know about them working on getting dust shipments in here. They could look for names to help without suspicion...and you could be overseeing them. See, I'm not sure they should go around alone."
"You want me, the commander, to escort my family around like a bodyguard?" Winter looked like Shine had asked something extremely embarrassing.
"This is top secret stuff, Winter," Shine said. "I thought that was your forte."
That was a good answer, admittedly. It was hard to argue with it.
"But given how much better Qrow knows Vacuo, I was hoping he'd go with you," Shine dropped the bomb. "I'm sure there are names and faces that only you would recognize other than Ozpin...and I don't want Oscar exposed like this or coming with us more than necessary. I'm sure Theo has guessed he is Ozpin already, but let's not put him where it's easy to connect him with us. He can't stay inside all the time either, but that kidnapping cannot happen again.
"I want him to stay with team RWBY and/or JNPR at all times today. I'm giving them off time today, and if they are spotted by the enemy, the enemy learns absolutely nothing of use. We know RWBY and JNPR are targets, might as well use that to our advantage. All these things you guys are doing are damage control." She pointed at the window.
"You want to use the kids as bait?" Qrow said.
"We can be pretty sure they won't be attacking yet," Shine said. "Not while the game is to play it cool till the Maiden shows up. It's a risk, but it's a smarter risk. If we hole them up here, it looks like we're plotting something from this school. You do see the problem with that, right? We have to try to keep as many of our cards as long as we can. Neo and Torchwick should be our secret weapons--and Raven, as long as possible. I hope she hasn't been detected already. This is smarter. You get it, right?"
Qrow thought about it.
"Okay...I kind of see it," he admitted sullenly. "Give them a moving target and they have a harder time finding out our plans."
"Not bad," Raven admitted. "It's not a perfect plan, but I do think it minimizes the risk. If any one of the groups gets attacked, it won't throw the whole mission. What about the tower, though? Salem is going to find out that we're trying to build it here."
"It's a decoy," Shine said. "We hope that it will work, but think--if she believes we're stupid enough to put all our eggs in that basket again, so much the better... In fact, I think I can make that work to our advantage. But one more order of business before we get started on this...Watts will not cooperate without bargaining in return. I think we're going to have to release him."
"What?" Winter said. "No, I won't agree to that."
"That's crazy," Qrow said. "He knows Raven is here already."
"Yeah, and after that camp ambush, Salem will find it out soon if she hasn't already, so it's nothing to us if he knows," Shine said. "But think about it, we can use him. Cinder tried to off him. He's going to want revenge... He may not be willing to betray Salem, but Cinder? Come on, he'll want that. And while that's a stupid motivation, I'm sure we can use it. Cinder will be here for the Maiden at some point, we know that. Who can help us make sure she looks everywhere but the right place?"
Pause.
"That's risky," Winter said.
"But it's not crazy," Raven said. "Leaving him in jail to rot, you run the risk of Theo using him instead, and he already is. Make him work for both of you."
"But then he might sell us out to Theo," Qrow said.
"Yes..." Shine said. "So Watts will only know what we want Theo to think."
Pause.
"You play both sides against themselves and us?" Qrow said. "You think you can juggle that?"
"Baby, I know you're smart," Wally said, "but even I think that something like this can be really easy to mess up. I mean, not just you--anything could ruin it."
"Remember that we have resources Watts doesn't know about either," Shine said. "I know he'll find some stuff out...but I believe if we do this right, it won't be anything that can hurt us badly in the long run. We're trying to stay one step ahead of Theo, that's all. And Salem. But think, that's all on their playing field. So we let Watts play there, but our real strength is off the field. You have us. You have things that the enemy doesn't have. Salem will want to know that...and that, my new team--" She put her hand together. "--is what we keep them wanting."
Pause.
"How do you plan that??" Winter said.
"We will let everyone know that Watts will be spying on them," Shine said. "But tell them not to mention that we are what we are, at any time, unless we can be sure he's not around--so, basically, when we meet in whatever new meeting place we find. And, Qrow and Torchwick, make sure you get some places for that today. We can't keep meeting here. As it is, I had Wally check this area three times in the last 15 minutes to make sure we're not being spied on."
Wally had a water bottle that he hadn't had before, they suddenly noticed.
"As long as you all are more discreet than you were in Atlas," Shine said, "I think this will work. But you have to trust us."
Pause.
"We'd be depending entirely on your wits to outsmart Watts," Winter mused. "If you can make him do what you want, then we win."
Shine shrugged. A long pause.
"All right," Winter said finally.