A couple days went by of resting.
Qrow and Raven both interrogated the new captures.
Mino still refused to talk. Dolly remained pretty out of it. She finally seemed to recover enough to eat, but she didn't want to talk.
Oscar tried to help her recover. He had some success but not enough to get any explanation from her.
All she told him was that the Deimos' living nightmare had felt like her mind plunged straight into hell and everything was an enemy and torture. Fear is torture, and the fear of everything makes everything painful.
That made her more than eager to have the Grimm vermin removed from herself, and Oscar and Ruby removed it. However, the fear and dread of the bandits seemed just as much as before. And they couldn't get her to speak of it.
Royal was restless and ready to go to Vacuo and finish sorting things out.
But before they were cleared for this, the team got a surprise visit from Shine and Wally.
They had heard what happened and were anxious to comfort their crew as well as they could.
Emerald had a good cry with them about what happened to the shelter and the kids.
Winter asked if they could help them find the bandits.
"I'm sorry," Shine said, "but it won't mean as much if we do it. I'd fight with you, if it would help. But the world must not see us as the only people who know, or your success will forever be tied to us and not the real source."
"It's tough for us to stay out of it," Wally said. "I'm super mad about what they did. So mad, I don't even want to talk. I'd rather just go punch some bad guys." He made a fist.
Shine put a hand on his shoulder. "Me too," she said.
"Any ideas for the big battle?" Mercury asked, "if we find the scum. Which we don't know if we will."
"I believe that you will. They've messed up too many times for you not to," Shine said. "These people are always found sooner or later. Raven's idea of setting a trap has merit. But they'll expect you to try that. It's clear that this Mala woman is not stupid. But she is certainly crazy. You can't rule anything out. Any corrupt thing they might try when the Grimm are overrunning their minds... he horrors that people like that can contrive never cease to amaze and disgust me. That said...the power to use the Deimos, it's not something they would just get. They have to be using rituals of some kind."
"Ew," Emerald said.
"So what do we do about that?" Jaune asked.
"Nothing to do," Shine said. "You must stop them. Our power is stronger than any profane ritual, never fear. But you must be on your guard. The dark powers are strong, and they're sneaky--that's the worst part. In pure force, they can't beat you, so they will try to trick you into doing what they wish. When you find the tribe, be wary of any attempt to scare you or even anger you. You will not be able to help hating what they do, but do not let them use that against you. If they try to disgust you, you have to push it aside. Focus on justice, on life, on why you're doing this. That is what I always do when I face the corrupt, evil overlords of the worlds we go to."
"She's right about that," Wally said. "Same here. You can't let that evil get inside your head and sit there. That's what they want."
"Remember that is a weapon of the evil one also," Shine said. "Our revulsion of what they do is the proper reaction, but it can distract us. So don't let it overwhelm you. And remember, they are still human beings. You may have to slay them if it comes to that, but it's not a thing to take lightly. You've rescued some already. They may have been smaller members, but that is still something. They need the light more than anyone."
"Well, she's got a point," Pyrrha said. "We cannot forget that there may be good left even in these people."
"One thought about the trap," Shine said, "I suppose you will have thought of this already, but it's easier to catch the pirates than the tribe itself. The pirates are less involved in the worst of this, so they likely will be more careless. And you know where they will show up--they have to operate through the places you work in too. They probably can't take you to the tribe's hideout, but they can get you close. I'd start with them. No doubt Watts can help with that."
"Noted," Cinder said flatly.
"Well...enough about this," Shine said. "Tell me the other news. Especially you two." She looked at Emerald and Mercury, who smiled.
Really, they were acting so happy that it almost distracted the others from how dire the Menagerie situation had gone...though everyone was still upset about it. Emerald couldn't forget it, but at least she had some consolation.
Royal left the house they were visiting in not long after that.
Wally went with him, to get some fresh air he said.
"So how's it going, man?" he asked. "All good?"
"It wouldn't be all good," Royal said.
"Yeah, but...I mean, I heard you had some in depth stuff," Wally said.
"I found out more about my family," Royal said. "I think, anyway. Do you still keep in touch with Ozpin?"
"Uh...we do, but we try not to ask him about this world," Wally said. "Let him make a clean break. Is that what you were going to ask?"
"It was," Royal said.
"Maybe in this case it's okay," Wally said. "It's not that big a deal. But I think he's lost a lot of memory of the past. Still, if it's around Alicia... Wait, why not just ask her? How stupid am I?"
"Maybe both of them," Royal said. "After all, she might have missed some parts after she...left... So are they...still together?"
"Yeah," Wally said. "Happily married now, I think."
"She really was able to get past him doing that to her?" Royal said.
"Should you talk, man?" Wally said. "Anyway, she knew it was the curse. She's a cool lady."
Royal sighed. "About that...I think I'm reaching some kind of tipping point with Cinder."
"In a good way?" Wally asked.
"Well, someone told her something," Royal said. "I think she knows already, you know? She's not stupid. But she won't go there unless I come out with it, and I don't know. I need to explain myself, but the timing of this isn't great"
"It never is, trust me," Wally said. "But it happens."
"I was hoping maybe you'd have some insight," Royal said.
"I've never understood Cinder that well," Wally said. "We're friends and all, but she always thought I was dumb."
"I don't think she does, actually."
"Well...I think the real question is are you serious about wanting her?" Wally said. "She's got some complications, and I don't mean her personality. That can grow on you. But she's in a lot of danger. It's like dating a superhero--it's not for everyone. Shine is cool about it, but she also has a dangerous job, and she gets why it's demanding."
"I have that too," Royal said. "Couldn't you just as easily turn it the other way around?"
"I guess that's true," Wally said. "Well, some people like danger. I kind of do...though as I get a little older and have a family, it's not much of a rush anymore."
"I can see that," Royal said. "And that's something to think about. You guys all take relationships so seriously, and I see why. I really like how you guys see this stuff and treat each other. I can't say I saw much of that in Atlas. People got together there for prestige or convenience, usually. My parents were the same. There wasn't anything like the passion and affection all these people have. Makes me kind of jealous."
"I hear that. I felt the same way when I dated around and my friends had serious relationships," Wally said. "But when you meet the right person... I gotta say, being with Shine was a totally new experience for me. She had different standards and different ways of handling stuff. At first, I didn't know if it would fit me, but I started to like it more. Sometimes you don't know you like something until you get it."
"I can relate to that," Royal said. "I had no idea this was what I liked either. It seems to concern a lot of people...and sometimes me, a little."
"Why? There's nothing wrong with liking strong women," Wally said. "You should meet most of my friends at work."
"So you really don't think it's weird?" Royal said.
"Uh..." Wally hesitated. "How can I put this? Once you've been Shine's partner for as many years as I have, the term weird loses all meaning. We've met so many different kinds of people and plenty of couples that are a good guy/bad guy pair. It's nothing new anymore. And I knew plenty of weird couples before I even met her. So no, not really. Cinder's not the first woman I met who almost got the world destroyed and then bounced back. I was just glad she did it before it nearly blew up."
"Ha," Royal laughed dryly. "Well, at least one person thinks it's not crazy."
"It is unusual though," Wally said. "That's true. But that's fine. It's more fun that way."
"She's actually nicer than people think anyway," Royal said. "Just doesn't want them to think so."
"Of course, that's always how people like her are," Wally said. "They think being nice is somehow kind of embarrassing for them. I know a bunch like that. But they can be really sweet when no one's looking."
"You do get around, Mr. West," Royal noted. "So, all that said...now that it's staring me in the face, I just don't know."
"I think it's time to decide what you want," Wally said. "You want to date her? Is that it?"
"Well, right now, we're kind of in the middle of something big," Royal said. "But yeah...if we live through it. That's a big if at the moment."
"I'd just start with that," Wally said. "There's a good chance she'll reject it right off the bat, but a lot of people change their minds over time, and you have a window there with the bandits thing. You don't want to put pressure on, but it's fine to be honest, I think."
"And if it's a hard no either way?" Royal said.
"I guess you have to decide if it's worth trying to change her mind or not," Wally said. "I stuck it out with Shine, but she's...well, she's not the same. Still, she can be pretty stubborn. I think Cinder has that same trait of not liking to be convinced she's wrong."
"I can see that," Royal said. "So Shine gives you trouble too?"
"Let's just say I don't usually win a fight with her," Wally said. "But anyway, you're gonna disagree. And you're not gonna be ready at the same time. I think it has to be one or the other person's standard takes the lead. That's the only way to do it. And if she's not looking for that, it's even harder."
"I didn't pick the timing of this," Royal said. "But it happened. I feel like if I keep ignoring it, it's just going to get more weird."
"Probably," Wally said, humorously. "Well, that's the difficult part. Still, on the other side of it, it's great. Settling down is a lot better than people think. Dating around is over-hyped. It's stressful, always having to impress different people. I like it a lot better having one person I can come home to, or vice versa, and know they have my back. I guess I'm supposed to be weird for feeling that way, but I do."
"I think that sounds about right," Royal said. "Though I'm not that far yet... I wonder if there's anything that would work in my favor here?"
"If I knew, I'd answer that," Wally said.
[Who knows, right?]
* * *
Cinder actually told Shine about the same thing before Shine left.
"I see," Shine said once she heard it. "Well, it sounds as if things are coming to a head."
"I didn't want to think about this," Cinder said. "But if that's...well..."
"Please don't ask me what to do here," Shine said.
"Why not? You always have an answer," Cinder said.
"I'm not telling you this time." Shine folded her arms. "You're a grown woman. You can make up your own mine. And I'm not so good at this. It's easy to preach something but not practice it. What I will tell you is, whatever you do, you shouldn't lie."
"Lie?" Cinder said.
"Yeah, if you want to turn down this thing that's going on, fine. But don't lie. If you care, don't say you don't. Trust me, it will backfire if you lie. It's better to just say no or yes... I think it's a weird time to be talking about this, but we can't always pick the timing."
"Some help you are." Cinder frowned at her.
"I am not your convenience," Shine said. "You don't need to complain just because I refuse to do something you want. I'm happy to help you, but I'm not always a teacher. I can be other things."
The rebuke put Cinder off, because it was deserved. It was easy to treat Shine as such.
But who else would be any authority on the situation?
"I see at least that you are concerned about hurting the guy," Shine noted. "Or at least you know it would be unkind, whether it worries you or not. That's good. I would ask you to be considerate. He may decide not to explain himself to you after all, and he has his reasons if he does. You of all people cannot judge."
Cinder frowned at her again. "All this might be nothing."
"It might be something. Have you allowed yourself to picture it?" Shine asked.
"No. And I don't think I will." Cinder frowned at her. "I know, you're a hopeless romantic, but I'm not."
"Yes, you are," Shine said.
"No, I'm not," Cinder argued.
"No one who is as disappointed at the world as you are is not a hopeless romantic," Shine shrugged. "In the classical sense of the word. And I am too. I'm inclined to wish it could go by the book, but people are living beings who cannot be predicted that easily. I try, but still. Now here's your problem--life has proven itself to be too harsh to believe in things working out well, to you. So the idea of it working out never occurs to you with anything, least of all personal matters like this."
That was true.
"So seemingly this is a chance," Shine said. "I won't tell you that you need to do things like dating to be a fulfilled person. There are people who don't need that. But I will tell you, if the reason you have written it off is out of fear or a blatant disregard for the worth of those things, then that's foolish. It's the cornerstone of civilization, and we can't afford to neglect its importance. I think you know that already...so...yes, you have a choice here...but don't act to me or anyone else as if it's not a choice between two options. You don't have to decide that being alone the rest of your life is your ultimate fate."
"I have never really considered anything else," Cinder said.
"Surely that's not true... When you were a child you must have," Shine said.
Cinder thought. "I guess everyone has an idiotic phase like that, but not one I'd take seriously now."
"You have friends now," Shine said. "Once you didn't want those either. Just...leave the door open, all right? And, sure, I'm not God. I don't know it all...but on the other hand, if something fits, and it lines up, and there's no real reason to say 'no,' then often it is God, I believe. We tend to miss the obvious when we look for some hidden signal of something."
"Shine," Cinder said more somberly, "even if I had the desire to consider that kind of life, do you think I could do it? I've never been suited to it. How could I even think about letting that happen?"
"Well, you do have problems that other people don't," Shine admitted. "I don't think personality is it--I think it's that there are people after you...and no, you can't be sure that, years from now, one wouldn't show up at your door...but that can be said of anyone with public enemies or allies. I don't think we should deny ourselves all kinds of bonds just over that. And...yes, there would be a lot of work to go before you'd be ready to be a role model to anyone. But I've known people like you who've pulled it off. I still know them." She tugged her hair. "So who am I to say? My concern is not to tell you what to do, but to tell you that you can't limit yourself into a tiny box."
"I am limited!" Cinder blew up at her, out of nowhere. "Ever since this started, it's like I have a target on my back. The Mind Grimm keep coming right for me! I went under the Deimos... Do you have any idea how humiliating that is? Once, I didn't have to worry about it. And now, I was the only one who went under like that."
Shine stared at her quietly but undisturbed. Nothing Cinder ever said could shake her.
"There you are." Cinder grew exasperated again. "You never care, do you? It's nothing to you. If I'm powerless, then it doesn't affect you."
"If you are powerless?" Shine repeated. "Is that my concern? Should it be?"
Cinder slowed.
"I'm sorry, Cinder, but you cannot have it both ways," Shine said. "Do you remember, I think I once told you--I told someone--the words of my mentor, Lewis, about love? To love is to be vulnerable. Don't you know that as soon as you left the path of pursuing the powers of darkness, hate, fear, spite, and pride--the worst of all--they would always try to get you back. Evil will leave good nothing, if it can. Any remnant of good is abhorrent to evil, because evil corrodes. Any shred of goodness is more powerful than all the evil in the world, because it's enough to start it all over. The worlds have been whittled down to as few as 8 people to carry on goodness, and have still come back from that brink of death. Yes, you gave up power once. Would you take it back now?"
"I... Well, no," Cinder said.
"And why is that?" Shine pressed.
"Because that power was death," Cinder said. "Death in every way. But I didn't feel that at first...and it was easier."
She rubbed her face. "Is it ever going to stop bothering me that there's so much less thrill in being on the right side? It's so easy to start off the other way again."
"Cinder, to be perfectly honest with you, the reason there is no thrill in the right side for you is because you keep rejecting what makes it thrilling," Shine said. "Evil has its thrill in being selfish, always. As long as you focus on yourself, evil is more thrilling than good. But good has its thrill in being loving. They are the joys of love, and so only in love will it be exciting. And I find it exciting, but not the same way I found evil exciting when I did it, or when I do it still. That's all that your problem is."
"That's all, is it?" Cinder frowned. "So, I keep getting attacked because I'm selfish?"
"You isolate yourself, and that makes you vulnerable," Shine said. "I think there is more to it. I think they want to eliminate you. If you ever did turn full force into an agent of love or justice or whatever name you give it, who would dare say that it's not possible for evil to lose? I think it already proves it that you're here. But the world may not see it yet. And this is not to inflate your ego. All this is just you admitting you're in the same need as the rest of us, but you, they don't expect it from. That's why. But also, you try to fight alone. Every single time, isn't that the trouble? The Deimos took effect, but you ran off. You should have stayed and let Oscar try to help you. Your first thought it still to go at it alone."
"If it had not worked, I could have..." Cinder trailed off.
"But it did work," Shine said. "And that Royal was able to find something that helped anyway. You're very lucky he took that chance. You nearly did get in serious trouble."
She folded her arms. "I don't like to scold so much these days, but seriously, did you even thank him for that?"
"Well, no..."
"Do you ever?"
"Not...often..." Embarrassed.
"Because you didn't want help, right?" Shine was still capable of being quite killingly savage. "Once, I didn't think I would get help. I got Wally at that time. It's not good for man to be alone, you know. Again, that's not always about romantic relationships, but Raven didn't just assign you a partner because she's a hopeless shipper--it's because you have to have someone to watch your back, and even more if you do good and not evil. We need that. Wally and I have saved each other so many times I've lost count. The same goes for our other teammates... To be honest, Cinder, sometimes it's the blink of an eye. My students have saved me, as well as my equals. You never know what could happen. A child can turn the tide of a fight, though I would wish they didn't ever have to. So, that said, aren't you being kind of prideful by saying you do not want or need help?"
Leave it to Shine to find the thing you were falling back on and yank it out from under you.
Cinder clenched a fist. "Well, I've not had so many people to rely on in the past, you know," she said bitterly. "When you live the way I did, only you can defend yourself."
"But it is not the past." Shine didn't let her have that. "I've had that too, you know. Many of us do, when we're young, so that we'll do it to ourselves when we're older. That's the enemy's trick: attack you when you're weak so that you will not try to get help when you're strong enough to escape. I will leave it to you what to do about Royal, as I said, but do not think I will ever lie to you about not needing help. If you want to be picky about who helps you, I guess that's your call, but you had better decide who you're willing to let in, or you'll go down. That's not even a question."
She gestured widely. "It might be to the bandit tribe, it might not be. But it will happen. And I think you're being quite thickheaded, actually. Every time you need help, someone has shown up in your path. Think about that. You don't even ask for it. That's a lot of grace...but it won't last. You cannot spit in the face of a gift forever and hope to keep it. I've learned that too. So I suggest you learn to take care of your gifts. But that said, I'm glad you're okay."
She relaxed more. "And as for the Deimos...don't worry about it. I've given in to fear hundreds of times. I'm afraid that we're not immune to it. It's hard to kick. But we have to try. I think the idea you all hit upon was right. Love casts out fear. Anyone who acts in love cannot be afraid. That is the key to stopping all of these mind games."
"You think so?" Cinder sounded tired.
"Remember how I wasn't affected by any of them, that much?" Shine said. "And neither was Wally? Not till the end... I said that the reason I thought I stayed out of it was I had students to focus on and that kept me focused on love. When you're giving of yourself, it's hard to think about greed or envy or anger. But you can still listen to pride. Which is the one that almost got me, as you well remember."
Cinder winced at that memory.
"And that was where I needed help," Shine said. "My God and my partner, both helped me. And that is what you need. We can overcome every sin but pride and fear by our own effort, maybe, but those will always be too much for any man or woman to resist alone. That's okay. Just be aware of it."
"About that...what if they have the Fastus?" Cinder asked. "The things they have already looked like it...but haven't been as powerful."
"Pray that you will be protected," Shine said soberly. "We can never be too sure of ourselves there. But it is possible--we survived it once. I suspect the Fastus are mixed up in the Avarice they keep using. They must have both. Pride is always a problem to everyone else. But if it becomes dominant, you have more issues than just their obsession with gain and power. They could be completely unreachable. At least the few you've rescued still had it in them to be horrified by what they became. That's not pride. But it sounds as if Mala is pretty far into that."
"If we find her, you know she'll have to die, right?" Cinder said. "I don't know who will do it, but if no one does, she'll come back. This thing is too complicated for her not to have backup."
"She may die, but people like her will come and go," Shine said. "Worry more about spreading the truth than that... But if she has to die, I pray for mercy on her soul. She'll need it."
Her expression said that, behind those words, she was pretty angry.
"Hmm." Cinder smiled, but not very happily. "Well, if even you say that..."
"Once I said the same about you too," Shine reminded her. "I was wrong. But I have not met this woman. She sounded worse than you, but we are not the judge of that. I guess we'll see."
Cinder had to think about that.
Mostly she thought about Shine's warning to her. The Deimos incident had bothered her a lot, though in the end she'd lived through it. She resented that she'd needed to be saved at all.
But on the other hand, Shine exposed so easily how foolish the things she'd been thinking before that mission had been. She should have known that thinking she didn't need help was already falling into temptation.
But she hated needing help... She knew she wasn't the only one--a bunch of the others weren't crazy about it either. But they had gotten mostly over that and used to relying on their partners and teams.
She, on the other hand, only asked when she had no choice.
Shine reframed the incident for her by calling her out on it, however.
She began to think that she'd not been very gracious about the whole thing to Royal. Much as she'd resented his interference many times, it proved to be necessary all of those times.
She'd never asked for it, or done much to repay it, and really her only reason for that was that she didn't like needing it.
While that was all very well for her to be brooding over herself, it wasn't exactly valid.
She knew that now...or she had before and hadn't wanted to acknowledge it. Same as with Emerald. She never did.
But she was almost starting to feel guilty for being so ungrateful all the time, which was new. It seems like she was just punishing people for helping her at all, and that was stupid.
She always had done that...down to the very first person who ever had.
That made her feel uncomfortable now.
She decided that having a conscience was a nuisance, and that was why she'd never had one before...but she didn't think she could get rid of it now that it had started. It seemed the habit of thinking about whether things were right or wrong was hard to lose.
Well, why was Royal always following her and making sure she was okay, anyway? she thought moodily. Even after being told not to so many times.
Was Shine right?... Maybe it had been a gift...but...
But no...even if that was true...
That didn't mean anything, did it? It was just to stop the evil, that was all. There's no reason any Higher Power would have further plans about it...right?
Destiny was a path people had to walk alone, right?
The reality was Cinder had no real facts to back up that thought, and it was just like how she used to think, so it was wrong.
But she also didn't like feeling that her edge was being lost and she was becoming a sappy kind of person who would go on about how she appreciated her teammates. That didn't sound like her.
Maybe that was prideful, but she just didn't like the idea of going too far the other way. Being needy, overly dependent.
Still, she couldn't dismiss Shine's warning either. And that made her more confused than before about what to do.
And she thought also that she was running out of time to decide. The bandit tribe was a problem they'd have to deal with together, and if she kept putting herself out there, alone, she likely would cost the team and herself.
On the other hand...
She thought of what Roman had told her. The tribe wanted her to be alone... They might get what they wanted if she was caught off guard again.
If they and the Grimm worked in tandem, it cast a more sinister tint to how the Mind Grimm kept trying to get her isolated.