RWBY Through Worlds (End)

204: Down in My Soul

Well, the development of the magic getting stronger proved to be more than a slight hiccup.

Qrow didn't turn back to a human. They waited for hours, during which Winter got her magic to turn off for a short amount of time, and then it turned back on.

Raven had less success than her, only getting it to dampen, and Vara couldn't get hers to stop at all.

Cinder didn't try.

Shine even tried to turn Qrow back, and it lasted for one second before he went back to bird.

"Perhaps this is something he needs to do himself," she said, shaking her head. "I can't force you to give it up."

"We haven't given it up yet," Raven said.

"But you've tried to take that step," Shine said. "Qrow had hardly begun to even question if this was a bad thing... I don't know. Not everyone is the same, but if he keeps building up resistance, perhaps he can turn back with help from above. It may be I can't do this without taking the magic out, and we're not doing that yet. Unless you want us to, I suppose."

"Speaking of taking magic things out, what happened to Cinder's Grimm arm?" Jaune asked.

"She gave it up," Shine said--nonchalantly, considering.

"Why?" Jaune asked.

"Ask her." Shine waved it off.

Jaune didn't want to ask Cinder anything like that.

Everyone had wondered about it but been too scared to ask her why.

Yet Cinder had been pretty much silent since the earlier conversation and hadn't looked anyone in the eye.

Most of them didn't believe for one second she was ashamed of herself, but they assumed she was wary of them now, and they were fine with that.

The few who thought she might be ashamed didn't know what to say to her.

Shine pulled Wally aside while they were having their meager breakfast.

"Are you still sticking with your plan?" Wally asked her. "She has a hostage."

"I know, and we should have seen that card coming," Shine said. "In fact, we did. Just thought it'd be Oscar. She'd like to get him too, but she knew we'd protect him more, probably. My plan is still essentially the same because the reasons it would work have not changed. But we will have to adjust it."

"I hope that adjustment includes me."

"Of course." Shine smiled but looked tired. "You'll have to get him out. But she'll expect that. However, I hope she might expect just you to, not more than one person. Or she'll expect us all to try it, but not to do what we're going to do anyway. I'm not going to try to convince her to give Mercury up--that's what she wants. If you could take Emerald and Neo and sneak around her Grimm and Callows, she might not have a way to stop you. Ren also. And Jaune. Your speed should be enough to get them in and out, but, depending on how she's containing Mercury, it doesn't hurt to have extra cover. I want you to get him out and then send me a message when you have--but don't send me one before that. It's essential that we don't blow cover, so whatever happens, you'll have to figure it out without my help. I'm sure you can, though. Rescuing people is your thing."

"It's like somehow you knew this would happen, so you purposely planned to make sure I wouldn't be going with you anyway," Wally said.

Shine shrugged. "It's astonishing to me how God has a way of anticipating these things for us and providing the according inspiration. No strategy survives a first brush with the enemy. That's a famous quote from someone." [I think it was Churchill, but I'm not sure.]