Nightfall approached, and the team was mostly ready to leave.
Shine and Oscar did talk more about the gifts from Alicia and his dream.
"I wondered if I could have done more against those Grimm if I knew what she meant by authority," Oscar said.
"Speculation like that is useless," Shine told him. "If we succeeded, that is enough. I used to ask that question--it never ends. But about what Alicia said...well, generally I do the same thing when I leave a world. I choose someone to carry on what I did. She wants you to carry on what she started. I think you are already."
"That's a tall order," Oscar said.
"It's full of small things," Shine said. "Don't worry about doing huge wonders--they come and go, and they're not even that important usually. Worry about the small things. They add up. But...if there was something in it other than just that, I think you'd only know when the time was right... Just be open to anything being possible. I didn't expect people to come back to life here, and it happened so easily."
"Yeah...how do you just do something like that and then act like nothing happened?"
"You'll see when it happens to you," Shine said. "It doesn't feel like us doing it. It's still amazing to watch, but it won't ever feel like you achieve something--if it does, run. That's the beginning of making it a monster. It's better this way. He is the vine, we are the branches... Speaking of which, I love what you did with your cane. It looks so much better now, and it's much more practical. I always thought it was a stupid weapon."
"Is everyone going to say that?" Ozpin muttered.
"Thanks," Oscar said. "Alicia said something about it... She wasn't really a fighter--she didn't even have a blade on her staff. And I have no memory of her really doing that much damage to Grimm directly. I don't think I'm just like her either."
"I don't think she thinks so," Shine said.
"No, I don't think she does," Oscar agreed. "But I'm not like Ozma either, so much. He was a warrior, but I don't feel like I really like fighting the same way as him, like I don't think I would have gone around just doing it all the time. I thought about being a huntsman, but now that I've met them, I don't think I would have focused just on slaying Grimm and stuff."
"I agree, you're not suited to it," Shine said.
Oscar blinked.
"I don't mean that you're not good at it," Shine said. "But that doesn't mean it suits you. There's talent and then there's passion."
"Oh, yeah, that's what I meant," Oscar said. "I'm not sure exactly what I want to be. I seem to be okay at planning, but I don't know if battle strategy is what I'd spent all my time doing either. I think if all this was over finally I'd want to explore more... I don't know. But I want to be better at fighting too. But I've almost been thinking that most of what I've really found useful is what you guys have taught me, about people and about knowing how to use a situation. I mean, our plan kind of worked...with a few hiccups."
"That's normal," Shine said. "That's why I always try to keep an open mind. Never know when you'll have to adjust your plan."
"Yeah," Oscar agreed. "I want to get better at that... Is there anyway I can?"
"Well, Oscar, I can't promise my way will work for you," Shine said, "but I use books, and you like to read, so..."
She pulled out a list. "I learned most of what I know from these books."
It was a long list.
But Oscar liked reading, so that excited him more than anything else.
"Wow, this is good...but these books don't exist here," he said.
"Yeah, I bring them with me." Shine handed him a bag that hadn't been there a second ago.
"That never gets old," Oscar said.
"Nope," Shine agreed. "Pick one that sounds interesting, I guess."
"Alicia did bring books too, come to think of it," Ozpin mused. "Not these ones, I don't think. Maybe it's a Word Walking thing."
"Most of us," Shine said. "Wally's more of a movie guy. But he puts it to use--though his friends used to say that was stupid. I was the first one who said it made sense. It's how I think. That's why people think we're kooky."
"That and nothing else?" Ozpin said dryly.
"You should talk," Shine said.
"Is that them getting in now?" Oscar asked.
Someone had come into the room.
"I still don't know about this," they heard Sun say.
Yang, Ruby, Blake and Weiss were all closer, in the kitchen, so they came to help--and Shine and Oscar.
Everyone stopped and stood still.
"Look who we found." Wally gestured at Cinder, who was glaring at him angrily.
"We took her hostage..." Ren said uncertainly, as if he wasn't sure how secure she was--she wasn't tied up.
"Kind of," Wally said. "I figured you'd want to talk to her, Sunshine."
"Sunshine?" Sun said. "Oh, I like that. That's cool."
"Dude, don't people call you that?" Neptune said.
"Only when they want me to cream them," Sun said.
"What the h--- is she doing here?" Yang asked.
"Didn't they just say they captured her?" Blake said.
"I mean, why is she just here in the hallway? Shouldn't we have her tied down?" Yang said.
"She didn't even put up a fight." Wally was speaking to Shine as if no one else was there while they were saying this. "I think she's kind of in a tough spot. I know we can't stand her, but I felt kinda bad after Kanap did all that stuff. I mean, doesn't the book say, 'If your enemy is hungry, feed them'? Do we get a pass if they're a psychopath?"
"I'm not sure," Shine said. "I think only if they're currently doing something evil. I'm amazed she came willingly."
"Well, it's not like she could have won," Wally said. "That's the thing, I don't think her Maiden power's back."
"That woman did something!" Cinder finally responded to this. "I'm going to tear her apart when I find her."
"And how would you do that without your magic?" Yang said. "And you're down an arm. Sheesh, I bet even Oscar could take you right now."
Cinder glanced at Oscar, who didn't like being called out.
"I don't really see the need," he said. "She's basically helpless, right?"
"I am not!" Cinder snapped.
"This feels weird," Ruby said. "I don't want her here, but attacking her when she's this weak also feels kind of wrong. I don't know, what do we do?"
"I don't see a problem with attacking her," Yang said. "She deserves it."
"How did you all survive that fall?" Cinder had a positive genius for asking the wrong thing.
Oscar sighed.
"We're harder to kill than you thought." Yang made a fist.
"Yang, hold on," Weiss said, putting an arm out. "I agree that we can't trust her, but a full on fight right now isn't a good idea. We've got too much going on."
"I think so," Shine said. "Cinder, did you think about our conversation?"
"What conversation?" Yang shot Shine a look.
"Why would I?" Cinder said.
"Because you couldn't help it." Shine really was just too confident at times.
"I--" Cinder sputtered. "You--I didn't--If you think you can just manipulate me, then you're--"
"Someone of average intelligence?" Shine cut in.
"I don't have to take this," Cinder said.
"I thought you didn't like her either," Yang said to Shine.
"I don't," Shine said, "but I'm willing to overlook that if it's smarter to do so. If you'd think for a second, Yang, you'd see that, currently, Cinder make more sense to leave alive than to kill."
"In what universe?" Yang asked.
"What's going on?" Pyrrha walked in.
Cinder flinched.
"Cinder." Pyrrha blinked.
Then she put her hand on her javelin. "What are you doing here?" Her gaze hardened.
That was so rare for Pyrrha, it surprised Sun and Neptune, and their teammates decided to just leave right then.
"You all aren't going to like this," Shine said, still calm somehow, "but I think Cinder could help us here."
"Cinder?" Yang said, like she'd said a plague would help them.
"That Cinder?" Weiss pointed at her.
"The one who's been trying to kill us since Beacon?" Blake echoed.
"The part Grimm Cinder?" Nora said.
"Well, the Grimm part seems to still be gone..." Shine noted.
"Miss Likstar," Ozpin said, "I know we say this a lot, but, this time, you have truly gone mad."
Oscar wasn't so sure about this either.
"I understand that," he said aloud. "But her? She's a killer."
"Oscar, you've already hired, like, two of those," Shine said. "Granted, she's worse, but just her personality. Her kill count can't be that much higher...probably lower than Hazel, actually, I hate to say it."
"Yeah, but...they're not the same," Oscar said.
"Oscar, to be honest, Raven is probably responsible for as many deaths," Shine said. "And we have allowed her to join us. You guys all pick and choose who you think is the most guilty based on a set of rules that make no logical sense. I may not like Cinder, but I can't stand here and tell you I honestly think she's committed worse crimes than half the people on our team. If that's your only reason, this conversation is ridiculous. But if it's a question of who's the most crazy, I agree, we have a conundrum."
"You know, I'm right there," Cinder said. "And I didn't come here to be insulted."
"Where do you usually go?" Wally asked. [If you've seen Quest For Camelot, you got that.]
She hissed at him.
Then she raised her chin finally. "I don't care about helping you all. I just want the Relics. And the Maiden powers...but I can't take them anymore...and I can't go back to Salem empty-handed... You want to save Vacuo, right? Perhaps there's some kind of compromise here."
"You're crazy if you think we'd ever give you a Relic," Yang said. "I can't believe you even asked. I can't believe we're listening to this... Shine, she's tried to kill Ruby, like...5 times."
"3," Shine corrected.
"So?" Yang said. "Why the heck does it matter?"
"Because, Yang, I know some stuff that you don't know," Shine said. "For instance, I know that Cinder is actually not supposed to kill Ruby, per Salem's orders, and that if it gets back to her that she did, she'd be dead."
Cinder suddenly gave Shine another look, almost a nervous one.
"I know also that now that she's lost Neo, she has no one who isn't on Salem's payroll to do the job for her," Shine said. "Ruby should be safe enough. I know also that Cinder can't take those people without Salem's help. So her obvious bluff is partially true. I also know that she's not currently in Salem's good graces anyway, and it's probably just a matter of time before Salem kills her or us, so we don't need to waste our time worrying about revenge. But for now, I think she could help us."
"Anything she did," Weiss said, "would be for herself and for Salem, not us."
"Granted," Shine said. "But so?"
"So...so you can't win a fight like that," Weiss said.
"Maybe you can't," Shine dismissed it. "But I see no reason not to."
"See, this is why we used to think you were on Salem's side," Yang said. "But even if you aren't, somehow, you've lost it. Did Victoria scramble your brain while you were in there?"
"Yang," Shine warned, "do not talk to me that way."
Yang frowned...then she glared at Cinder. "I'm not working with her."
"Why does all this matter?" Neptune spoke up. "She'd never help us do anything anyway."
"Actually I can think of one thing she can help us do," Shine said.
"And that is...?" Ruby said.
"She can help us get the Fall Relic," Shine said.
Silence.
"Uh...what?" Weiss said.
"I beg your pardon!" Ozpin cried.
Oscar winced.
Cinder gave Shine a look of pure astonishment.
"Think about it," Shine said. "Sooner or later Salem is going to find it or blackmail us into telling her where it is. I've been having the same thought since yesterday. We're going to get an ultimatum from her sooner or later. It happened it Atlas, didn't it? And she made good on it. Beacon can't survive another blow like that. And what would you do to stop it?"
This...actually was a good point.
In fact...why hadn't that happened yet?
[I can't pretend to understand why.]
"But we couldn't just give it to her," Pyrrha spoke. "Even if she said that."
"So you would give up Beacon for that Relic?" Shine said.
The girls exchanged an uncomfortable glance.
"But that doesn't make it okay," Sun said. "Just getting the Relic out now...won't that just let Salem get it?"
"And isn't the Fall one really bad?" Oscar spoke. "Why else is it so hard to find?"
"It is dangerous," Ozpin said.
"But only you know the password, right?" Shine said.
"Well...but still," Ozpin said.
"Salem can't use it without that," Shine said. "Now, granted, we don't want her to get it either, but we can't leave it there. And we can't get it without Cinder. Unless the power goes to someone else...and I thought we had all agreed we were not killing people over this stupid magic anymore."
"I think I could live with an exception," Yang said.
"But I couldn't," Shine said. "And who would you give the power to? You're all obvious choices. There's no way to hide it from Salem if it goes to someone in this group."
Cinder looked from all of them to Shine.
"So you're saying that, even though she's horrible, she's our best option?" Weiss said.
"That is exactly what I'm saying," Shine said. "You can control how it happens this way. Otherwise, it's inevitable that Salem will just get it anyway. You all ought to see that this plan is the best one."
"Wait a minute," Yang said. "If Cinder is around the Vault, she'll just take the Relic."
"Should we talk about that while she's right here?" Sun said.
"Even Cinder can figure out that we'd think of that," Shine said dryly. "Let's not kid ourselves."
Cinder glared at her.
"Wow, you insulted her while defending her," Wally said. "That's impressive."
"Thanks," Shine said. "What would you do, Cinder?"
"I'm not answering that," Cinder said. "If I said I would do it, you'd never believe me--you've made that clear. And if I say I wouldn't, then what's the point of this?"
"Better question, are you willing to cooperate with us if we take you to the Vault?" Shine asked.
"I have no reason to think you wouldn't just kill me once I open that door," Cinder said.
"You need the Relic for Salem to not lose patience with you," Shine said. "This is your best shot. You can't imagine you're possibly secure. She's not above just letting you die and seeing the power go to someone else, if she could still get the Relic. You're desperate--let's not pretend that we don't know that. I can't say we're friends or anything, but I do feel a little bad after all that talking we did in the bunker. So I'm willing to offer you a parley. A zero sum game, to put it scientifically."
"I do love that," Watts came in. "What are we--?" He stopped.
"You?!" Cinder cried.
"What is going on here?" Watts said. "I thought we were rid of this harpy finally."
"Oh, shut up, Arthur," Shine said roundly. "We're trying to work out a hiring strategy."
"I quit if she joins," Watts said.
"Fine, have fun with Salem," Shine said. "And you can explain to her along the way why you lost Cinder on purpose."
Watts didn't like that she called his bluff that easily, but he coughed. "Why would you ever trust someone who's only ever wanted the Maiden powers?"
"Because to get them she'd have to do this first," Shine said. "The deal I propose to all of you is this: Cinder will open the Vault, at which point, whoever is strong enough will get the Relic. It's a race of sorts. At which point, it's up to her if she wants to keep pursuing her targets or give up. I recommend the latter, but if she goes after the Maidens, you all can finish her off. If not, you allow her to go, provided she does not have the Relic at the time. Cinder, if you get the Relic and cleanly get away, fine, we concede that you beat us. It would be pretty impressive to get that from all of us, wouldn't it?"
Cinder frowned. "That's too easy."
"Well, Watts is here." Shine gestured at him. "So you'd have some competition. Both of you have a choice to make. Again, I hardly care. I feel like you'll help us either way, but it'll matter to you in the end, won't it?"
"I thought you were kidding when you said you didn't care about that," Yang said. "Why would you want them to work for Salem?"
"Because they're both arrogant and short-sighted," Shine said. "They do more to help us by ruining her plans with their own egos than you guys have done directly interfering. You can thank Cinder for the battle of Haven ending the way it did--if she was smarter, you would have lost. And had she not used up the last question of the Lamp, Salem would have had it and the password from her and would now know where the Fall Relic was...and who knows what else. You all ought to thank Cinder for being such an egomaniac."
They looked at Shine blankly.
Cinder looked at her lividly.
Watts laughed.
"When you put it that way..." he said.
"As for Watts, if he wasn't dumb enough to believe Cinder to begin with, we never would have rescued him," Shine added, "which has allowed us to stay on top in Vacuo for as long as we have. They have been indispensable to our success. Killing them would be a huge waste. They are the only thing keeping Salem more at bay. If you all can't see that, forgive me, but you're far stupider than I thought."
Silence.
"Dang..." Wally said proudly.
"How dare you," Watts said.
"I'll admit one part of that was true," Cinder said. "Watts is a fool."
"And you have not the slightest bit of integrity," Watts said.
"At least I win," she said.
"I'm not sure saying that they're both despicable human beings, so we can use them is...right...?" Weiss was getting confused.
"I'm just laying my cards on the table. Isn't that what you prefer?" Shine nodded at Watts and Cinder.
"You're basically saying you'd let us help because you don't trust us?" Cinder said. "But you need my power...and you have some reasons I can't fathom for needing Arthur...so, what? I just help you anyway?"
"Cinder, you cannot possibly think even your own side trusts you anymore. Why is this any different?" Shine said. "But if you think you can't pull off a victory under such circumstances, I guess you can refuse. I thought you were more confident than that."
"I know that's a trick," Cinder said.
"Give the girl a prize," Watts muttered.
"If so, is it any less true?" Shine said. "I'm challenging you, aren't I? If you back down, I win already. There's no need to go back to Salem at all. And to be fair, that is by far the wisest thing you could do. So what will it be?"
"Uh, guys." Ruby motioned at the others. "Can we huddle for a second?"
They stepped aside.
"Ruby, if you're about to say this idea might work, I can't believe you," Yang said.
"I know, I know," Ruby said. "I don't trust Cinder either...but the thing is...she is the Fall Maiden. Shine might be right... How long before Salem figures it out? This way, we might snag the Relic before she can get it."
"If we killed Cinder and gave the power to someone else, we could do that anyway," Yang said.
"Yang!" Weiss hissed.
"Why are we worried about sparing her life of all people!" Yang said.
"We wouldn't be safer if one of us had the Maiden powers either," Blake said. "If one of us wanted to make that sacrifice, that's one thing. But who could we ask to do that? I mean, if there was a chance we could just take the Relic and not have to worry about it..."
"And with it?" Yang said. "It makes no sense to take it out when we could just get rid of the Maiden. Salem can't get it."
"But that would be murder," Ruby said.
"How can it be murder? It's Cinder," Yang said. "It's the smarter choice."
"Even if I was okay with this," Weiss said, "Winter won't be. And your uncle...and your dad..."
Ruby sighed. "I'm just thinking they had a point... This never stops...but this would be different...and how long can we put this off?"
"She's weak now," Blake said. "Now would be the time."
"Again, we could just kill her," Yang said.
"Excuse me, ladies." Shine had walked up. "I think there is one more thing you should know before you make up your minds."
"What?" Ruby looked up.
"I wasn't going to say this in front of Watts," Shine went on, "but Cinder wants Salem to go down also."
"Huh?" Ruby said. "But she...she's like her most loyal follower."
"No, that's Tyrian," Shine shuddered. "Emerald has told me more about how things worked in their messed up group. But I talked to Cinder at length. She wants Salem overthrown...so she can be the powerful one."
"She was probably lying so that you'd trust her," Yang said.
"Have you met Cinder?" Shine scoffed. "She's a terrible liar. And besides, she wasn't trying to get me to do anything. She was just pissed off at me. I do that to get information."
Yang suddenly gaped at her.
"But it works," Shine said. "The point is, if you think she's better off dead, then you want to reconsider. If she works against Salem, she's helping you. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. This way we might keep her off our back if she thinks she's close to getting one over on Salem."
"But wouldn't she still give her the Relic?" Yang said warily.
"I'm not sure she will," Shine said "I don't trust Cinder either, to be clear...but I believe I can play her, for now. As long as we don't get cocky. Of course we will watch her closely. She would claw your eyes out in your sleep as soon as not, but at gunpoint, Cinder is useful. That's the only reason Salem employs her."
The girls exchanged a look.
"But this isn't because you're on some quest to save her, right?" Yang said.
"And what is it to you if I was?" Shine said.
"Because then I don't buy it," Yang said. "You talk tough, but at the end of the day, you'll let her go. You never kill anyone."
"I already said that," Shine said. "If you guys are sick of losing, then start changing how you play this game. You're going to have to be open to trying something different. Like it or not, the 'bad guy' hires have been the main reason we won most of these rounds. We need these people. My faith isn't against it--God uses the wicked and the just both for His plans. You are the ones who have the big problem with it. But I thought you wanted to stop Salem--doesn't that mean you need to allow for anyone who might help that, even if you hate them?"
They exchanged looks.
"To put it bluntly, are your grudges worth upping the odds of destroying the world?" Shine added.
"It's not just a grudge," Weiss said. "We have reasons to not trust her."
"Weiss, you had reason to not trust the others either," Shine said candidly. "But we're all fallible. Cinder might not be worthy of your trust, but she could still be a solid investment...if we play our cards right."
"And you're sure you can just outsmart her?" Blake said.
"I think a bird could do that." Shine rolled her eyes. "The trick is keeping her in check, not outsmarting her. Once we get to where she'll pull something, I will be implementing steps to make it safer. But until then, we're all in the same boat."
"No!" Yang suddenly burst out. "I don't even care if it works. I don't want to work with her!"
"Yang..." Ruby was beginning to waver but didn't want to upset her further.
"Can I talk to Yang for a minute?" Shine asked.
They exchanged a look. "Sure..." they said reluctantly.
They went back to give Cinder resentful looks, which she returned.
"Are you going to try to talk me into this now because it's smarter?" Yang said.
She clenched her hand. It was shaking.
Shine, instead of scolding her as usual, took a different approach.
"I understand that the last few days have been extremely stressful and possibly traumatic," she said.
"That's not why!" Yang said. "I'm fine anyway... I mean, you should talk. Weren't you captured? I don't get it--you know what Cinder is like. It's like the only thing any of us ever agreed on. Why would you even let her near this school? It's like you want to put us in more danger."
She was worked up now.
Shine decided not to take that personally.
"I do understand your anger at her," she said. "I had some strong words for her myself while we were locked up."
"Then what?" Yang said. "Even if she hates Salem, she's still a devil."
"First of all, you don't know what a devil is," Shine said. "She's bad enough, but she's still human--sort of. And you don't know why she is the way she is."
"Nothing could justify her actions," Yang said.
"I agree, nothing could," Shine said. "I don't care what she's been through--every one of you has suffered, and she chose to become what she is. I don't feel that less than you. I feel it more."
"I doubt that," Yang said. "She hasn't hurt anyone you care about."
"I'm insulted that you think I do not care about this team," Shine said. "I love you guys. And I've always had a special place for Pyrrha, the one who's suffered the most perhaps. I hate this, Yang. I hate bringing Cinder to where Pyrrha will ever have to see her again."
"Then why the h--- are you?" Yang's words were angry, but her tone had become more astonished.
"Do you know, I hated Cinder before I came here?" Shine didn't answer right away. "When I heard of your stories, I loathed her. She's so smug and cold and cruel."
"Yeah..." Yang wasn't getting why that had changed.
"But after talking to her," Shine said, "I realize that Cinder is nothing. She is empty and small and weak and cowardly. My hatred, which was more for what she stands for to begin with than her herself, turned to pity. Pity because nothing she ever does is ever going to make her happy even for one second."
"So? She deserves that," Yang said.
"Because she kills?" Shine said.
"Yeah!" Yang said.
"And you've never killed?" Shine said.
No one ever brought it up to Yang, and it hit her right between the eyes.
"I... One time in self defense isn't..." Yang said.
"Is that what you thought when you did it?" Shine asked quietly. "Were you not angry?"
"Of course I was angry," Yang said. "He was a monster. And that's why we killed him. And I protected Blake. Are you saying that was wrong? Because you don't kill?"
"I don't condemn killing in self defense," Shine said. "I don't do it, but that is because of what I am. I can't make those kinds of calls. I'm not you. If you think it was right, fine. He deserved it, I won't argue that...but my point is, bloodshed alone isn't enough to go by."
"She kills for fun," Yang said.
"Actually, upon further consideration, I think she kills for power," Shine said.
"So...?"
"So...that's not good. But it's more pliable," Shine said. "Someone like Callows can never be reasoned with--killing has become a pleasure to him... Ew. But Cinder isn't like that. She enjoys the thrill of power over someone...but she doesn't kill always for it."
"So?" Yang said again.
"So she can be worked on," Shine shrugged. "She pisses me off, but because I understand her better, she doesn't worry me as much. You hate her, sure...but hatred is not going to beat her. She doesn't care if you hate her. And killing her is not a smart option, as I discussed. I'm doing this for all of you. I'm tired of Cinder terrorizing this group, but if we can't stop her by pure force, this is all that is left. I think you all would learn not to fear her if you were forced to look at her more objectively--and if you didn't fear her, she wouldn't be able to do much to you. She's a coward. It you stop giving her what she wants, she'll run."
"What do you mean?" Yang said
"I mean that if we act like we aren't afraid of her by including her in this, she's going to have to get more creative," Shine said. "That means she can't just kill you. She'll have to try trick us. But that's a lot easier to foil because she sucks at it. So I intend to protect you all with this plan. I'm going to personally oversee her inclusion if we do this. She'll ignore the rest of you if her big problem is the Maidens. Your mom already beat her once--she can't take on three Maidens at once. She has to play nice. Even she realizes that. And that's our window. So while I see why you don't like it, if you want to protect them, this plan makes far more sense. This way, we have more control."
There was a long silence.
Yang finally clenched a fist. "I'll go along with tricking her. Because we should have the Relics...and because I want to slow Salem down, and if Cinder alive will do that more, then fine. But I'm not trusting her, and I'm not playing nice with her either. Keep her away from me and Ruby... I wish we'd just lock her up."
She nodded at the other girls.
"I guess I could always laser her with my eyes if something goes wrong..." Ruby said cheerfully.