Hello everyone! First off, I finally have a beta-reader. HybridAlabaster offered to help out by reading the rough drafts of my chapters and giving their input on them. Considering that I'm about to get into a fairly important character arc, the timing couldn't be better. They'll be credited on the chapters they help me with.

In other news, I'm planning to start another fanfic concurrently with this once, since my writing pace allows for it. More info on that once I have that started. I'm thinking that I'll release that story on April 14th, once I have an outline written up and the first chapter written. This will continue to be updated on Fridays, and the new work will get a chapter every Sunday.

With that out of the way, I really hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Ten: Forever Fall

Beta: HybridAlabaster

Cardin knew that Blake was somewhere in the empty classroom, but he couldn't see her until she stepped out of the corner.

"Do you have the rapier wasps?" Cardin asked.

Blake held up a buzzing cardboard box. "You're planning to do something horrible with them, aren't you?"

"No, I was planning on giving them a tea party and putting dresses on them." He rolled his eyes. "Do you even have to ask?"

"I should throw this box off a cliff." She thought for a moment and corrected herself. "I should throw you off a cliff."

"Then I should give the Headmaster a call. I wouldn't want him to lose his position over hiding a wanted terrorist."

Blake's hidden ears drooped, and she gritted her teeth. "Why involve me in this? Why can't you do this yourself?"

"Liability reasons. If someone thought to check who went to get those wasps, you'd be the prime suspect. Now, are you going to hand me the box?"

Blake looked at the box. Her hands shook as she took two steps forward, closing the distance between them. She looked away and held it up. Cardin ran a finger along the underside, making sure it had been taped shut, before he took it from her. He gave it a shake and listened to the buzzing inside.

"Those suckers sound mad," he said. "Perfect."

"Can I go now? I have homework to do."

"First tell me when your next date is."

Her eyes widened. "The next date?"

"Yes, the next one." He glared at her. "Don't tell me you already broke up with him."

"I – I didn't, not really." Blake went pale, and one hand went down to stroke her thigh. "I thought it was only the one date. Jaune asked if I wanted to do another, and I said I'd think about it."

"Well, you thought about it, and you'd like to give it another try."

"Seriously? How many times are you going to make me do this?"

"Until I say so."

"That's ridiculous! You're going to make me string him along? What kind of sick, twisted game are you playing with him?"

Anger boiled up in his chest, but he gave her a lackadaisical shrug and his cheekiest shit-eating grin. "Does it really matter? You're going to do what I say, or you'll do what I say from a jail cell. Your choice."

A growl rumbled at the back of Blake's throat, like a panther poised to strike. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and her arms dropped to her sides.

"Fine. I'll play your stupid game."

"Glad to hear it."

She wiped away the tears with the back of her hand. "Could I ask you not to sabotage the next date?" She furrowed her brows for a moment. "It would be really awkward trying to explain why I keep giving him second chances if he keeps screwing it up."

"What do you mean?" Cardin asked. "I didn't do anything."

"It wasn't you?"

A sinking feeling, like a lead weight, hit Cardin's stomach. "What happened?"

Blake recounted the events of the date – Jaune's missing clothes, the battery taken from his scroll, and the stolen money. She swallowed as she told him about the fallen lamppost and Nora's threat.

"Nora would have easy access to his clothes and wallet," Cardin pointed out. "It was probably her."

"But why?" Blake asked. "She said she wasn't interested in him, but what if she is?"

Cardin wondered about it for a moment. It didn't make any sense for Nora to have any interest in Jaune, not when she was practically married to Ren. Then it hit him.

"She was probably lying," he said with a regretful shake of his head. Laughter threatened to bubble out of his chest, but he smothered it with an effort. "I wouldn't think it either, but there's no telling what that girl's thinking right?" Cardin snorted. "I heard she tried to bake a pancake inside of a pancake so she could eat more pancakes at the same time."

"I suppose you're right. Then, what are we going to do about her?"

"I'll deal with her. You will arrange another date with Jaune after I give you the go-ahead. I'll text something about a new shirt. That's your cue."

Blake sighed and leaned back on one of the desks. "I understand. Is there anything else you want?"

"Well, yes actually. There's the field trip coming up this Friday. I want you to be my lookout while I get some business done."

"What kind of business?"

"That's none of your business, is it? Just tell your team you'll take lookout duty and come find me. Stay out of sight in one of the trees, whistle like a bird to let me know you're there, and two whistles for trouble. Think you can do that?" Cardin put a hand on her shoulder and loomed over her. His skin crawled from touching a Faunus, but he kept a smile on his face. "I know you're a cat, but you can do birdie noises, right?"

She glowered at him and nodded.

When he made it back to his room, Russell and Dove were gone, but Sky was in bed, watching his Scroll. He glanced up when Cardin walked in.

"How was your run?"

"I got the exercise I wanted," he said, hefting the box of rapier wasps in one hand. He sat next to Sky and slipped the box under the bed. "I need you to focus on Nora. Find whatever dirt on her you can."

Sky shook his head. "Easier said than done. I don't have access to their records at Mistral."

"Entrance records?"

"They went to a Mistraltan prep school. All that's in there is a certification exam."

Cardin leaned forward. "What about their student stipend? Are they doing anything with it?"

"Their credit history's just food and grenades."

"They're buying food?"

"Yeah, and quite a lot of it." He opened up a folder and typed in a password. After some sifting, he held up Ren's credit history. "He does all the buying. Makes the pancakes from scratch, by the looks of it, and uses maple syrup too."

Cardin pored over the list. "It's tapered off lately."

"They're near the end of their budget. He's even bought a few boxes of cheap mix recently and switched to corn syrup." Sky took the Scroll back and went to the bottom. "They also just bought a few dozen jars. Empty jars, cheapest available."

With a grin, Cardin asked, "That syrup at Forever Fall's supposed to be pretty sweet, isn't it?"

"Disgustingly so, according to the lectures." Sky frowned at the Scroll. "Do you really think they're planning to put it on pancakes?"

"Knowing Nora, she'll probably think it's the best thing ever. Why don't we invest in a few jars of our own?"

Sky looked up at him, and as realization hit him, a twinkle lit up his eyes. "You're a genius."

"I'll do one better." He took out his own scroll and called home. A butler picked up the phone. Cardin put in a request to have the jars, some maple syrup, and pancake ingredients delivered to Beacon, with it made obvious what the man was carrying. They arrived an hour before curfew, and the two butlers handed him three bundles of clear plastic bags.

Within five minutes, Nora Valkyrie knocked on his door.

"Hello Sky!" she called when he opened the door. "There was a man walking around with baby pancakes. Did you happen to see him?" Her eyes fell on the plastic bags sitting on Cardin's desk, and she rushed inside. Cardin stopped her with an outstretched arm.

"Are those yours?" he asked.

Her face fell, and she gave him a childish pout. "You big meanie. You got those pancakes to make fun of me, didn't you?"

"Actually, they just arrived by mistake. I tried telling the delivery man that I didn't order them, but he insisted that he had the right address."

Nora scratched her hair. "He was dressed awfully fancy for a delivery boy."

"It was a very fancy company." He sighed and turned towards the ingredients. Beads of moisture glistened on the quart of buttermilk. "I was planning to call them up and have this stuff taken back, but I'm afraid the buttermilk will spoil by the time they collect them."

"So you're going to eat them yourself?"

Cardin shook his head. "I don't know how to cook. I'd just burn them, or something."

Nora wore an expression of horror, as though the mere idea of burned pancakes were a war crime. "Then what are you going to do?"

"Well, since you seem to want them so much, you can have them."

"Really?" Her eyes narrowed and she stood up on her tiptoes to stare down at him. "What's the catch?"

"What catch? You would be doing me a favor."

She backed away from him. "Nope. It's a trap. You're planning something sneaky, aren't you?"

Cardin affected a disappointed sigh. "That's a shame. I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, this would encourage you to not break my legs."

"Nope! You're mean. Ren told me not to take things from mean people, especially not food. He said I'd wake up in an alley with a kidney missing and my virginity taken."

Before Cardin could begin to process what she had just said, Nora gave the ingredients one last plaintive glance and ran out of the room.

Sky looked shell-shocked. He stared down the hall at Nora's retreating figure and said, "I thought you had her."

Cardin took a deep breath. "Give it time. We made the first crack, and more will come with time." He grinned. "After all, they're still running out of money."

A knock came at the door. Cardin cursed himself and looked up to find Ren in the doorway.

"May I come in?" he asked.

Cardin gestured towards Russell's bed. Ren walked in and sat close to the door.

"You appear aware of our situation," he said calmly.

Cardin thought about laying on some charm, but he decided that bluntness would work best. "Nora eats a lot, doesn't she?"

"Yep." He looked at the bags of ingredients. "You didn't do anything with those, did you?"

"If you don't believe me, I'll eat the first pancake."

Ren sighed and folded his hands in his lap. "Very well. What do you want for them?"

Cardin considered it for a moment. While he could ask him to keep Nora from interfering with Jaune's dates, it would be better that no one realize what he was doing. Instead, he said, "I want information on Pyrrha."

Cardin expected him to tense up or scowl at him, but Ren showed no signs of emotion. "What kind?"

"Her Semblance if you know it, and anything else that might influence how well she does in the Vytal Festival."

Ren shook his head. "She hasn't told us what her Semblance is. To be fair, we haven't said ours either." He shrugged. "It never came up. As for the tournament..." He glanced out the door, where Nora had just left. With a sigh, he said, "Pyrrha's been taking Jaune's relationship with Blake very hard."

Cardin gave Sky a significant look and gestured towards the door. Without a word, Sky rose from his bed, stood outside the room, and closed the door behind him.

"How hard?"

Ren related how Pyrrha had cried all night and refused to leave the bathroom the following morning. She was still in there when they went back to bed, and Nora had spent the night with her. After hearing from Nora that the date went poorly, Pyrrha's mood improved, but she still refused to speak with Jaune.

Cardin held up the plastic bags. "All yours Ren. A pleasure doing business."

"I wish I could say the same, Cardin." He looked inside the bag. "If I were to tell you Pyrrha's Semblance, what would you give me?"

"All the pancakes Nora can eat."

Ren nodded. "I'll ask her."

He dug inside one of the bags and took out a jar of maple syrup, twisted the top open, and dipped his finger inside. Turning away from Cardin, he slid the sticky finger into his mouth.

"Good stuff. Nora's done nothing but complain since I switched to corn syrup."

From underneath Sky's bed came a soft buzzing noise. A chill clutched Cardin's chest.

"What is that?" Ren asked.

"I think Sky left his scroll under his bed," Cardin said. He swallowed nervously and kept his eyes on Ren. "Could you let him back in? I think you'd want to get the milk into the fridge before it gets cold."

Ren opened the door and stepped past Sky. Sky's eyes followed the bags in Ren's hands.

"Looks like we have a winner."

Cardin let out the breath he had been holding and collapsed on the bed. "That was too damn close."

"What was?" Sky listened and heard the wasps. "Oh. Should I follow him?"

"No, don't. I doubt he knows, and even if he does, he'll stay quiet."

Sky lifted the covers and looked at the box. "I'm sleeping over all those wasps tonight, aren't I?"

The wasps had stayed quiet through the night, but a rough shake of the box the next morning revealed that the wasps were alive, well, and very pissed off. A stinger had worked its way through the tape at the top of the box, and the wasp underneath flailed, buzzing louder than the rest as it struggled to free itself. Russell decided to name that wasp Jaune.

Their entire class boarded a small fleet of Bullheads, which were usually reserved for the older students' away missions. Once they arrived at the scarlet forest, Professor Goodwitch had them practice emergency landings from the Bullhead. He hadn't accounted for a harsh landing when packing their extra jars, but by rolling to his side when he hit the ground, he managed to keep his half a dozen jars intact. The others met him behind a dense shrub.

"Mine broke," Dove said as he hefted his backpack. Shards of glass clattered around. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine. Sky, are the wasps fine?"

Sky's fingers shook as he opened up his backpack, but he heaved a relieved sigh and pulled out the intact box.

"Get to the spot. I'll get Jaune."

Back at the Bullheads, Goodwitch was giving wooden crates, full of jars and tapping supplies to each team. When Cardin received his, he had Jaune carry them and followed him to the clearing he had picked out. Nora looked as though she was going to follow after, but Ren caught her by a shoulder and pulled her away. Pyrrha gave Jaune a mournful, puffy-eyed glance before running after her other teammates.

While Cardin watched Jaune collect six jars of sap, Sky, Dove, and Russell snuck off to a different copse to fill the extra jars. About twenty minutes into the tapping process, a shrill whistle sounded overhead.

"What was that?" Jaune asked.

"Just some bird. Now, keep filling those jars. You wouldn't want us to be late to the Bullheads, do you?"

Jaune sniffed and rubbed at his swollen face. With a groan, he staggered to his feet and held six jars cradled in his arms. "Ugh, I think I'm allergic to this stuff."

Russell and the others had just gotten back with packs full of sap. They gave him a nod and closed around Jaune.

"Great. So, Jaune, I bet you're wondering why your buddy Cardin had you collect six jars of tree sap when there are only five of us."

"That is one of the many questions I have asked myself today, yes."

"Well, come with me and you'll find out."

They crept downhill, towards the clamor of the other groups. At the edge of a clearing, Pyrrha and Ren gathered sap. When Ren set aside a full jar, Nora swiped it and downed the whole thing like lemonade. Cardin tried a tentative lick of sap around the lid of a jar and cringed at the sugar burning his tongue.

"Cardin, what's going on?"

"Payback." He had prepared this answer last night. It seemed like a flimsy excuse, but Pyrrha had been stuck-up towards him.

"Pyrrha? Why-"

"That's her, know it all, think she's so smart. We'll see how smart she is covered with sap. I'm thinking it's time we teach her a thing or two, and you're going to do it."

"Do what?"

With a gesture from Cardin, his teammates crowded behind Jaune. Russell forcefully mussed Jaune's hair, nearly pushing him to his knees.

Cardin held out the sixth jar. "Hit her with the sap." He leaned in closer. Jaune's breath rasped with panic, and his blue eyes dilated wildly. "Either that, or I'll have a chat with Goodwitch and you'll be on the first airship out of Beacon."

He shoved the jar into Jaune's hands, and out of instinct, he grabbed it. Jaune looked down at the jar. "You want me to dump it on her? She'd know it was me!"

"Throw the jar you idiot, then run away before someone finds us."

"But wouldn't the glass hurt her?"

Sky and Russell chuckled. Cardin feigned an exasperated sigh and said, "Her Aura would block that."

"But not the sap."

"Very good Jauney boy!" Cardin clapped him on the shoulder. "See, I told you guys he could learn. Now, are you going to do it or not?"

Jaune swallowed and looked at his teammates. "I – I shouldn't."

"Hey, tell you what. Do this, and I won't say another word to you ever again." Cardin shrugged and twirled his mace in his hand. "Truth be told, I'm getting bored screwing with you, so I figured it might as well end with a bang. Do this one little thing for me, and I won't say a word. Not to Ozpin, or Goodwitch, or anyone else."

Jaune drew his arm back and aimed at Pyrrha. For what felt like an eternity, he stood there, at the brink of putting the final phase of Cardin's plan into motion. With that one jar of sap, he'd leave Pyrrha a broken and sobbing mess, easily persuaded into leaving Beacon for good. Cardin nodded to Russell. His shadow slid across the forest floor, swallowed one of Jaune's shoes, and fastened the laces around the root of a tree.

"Well?" Cardin asked. "We don't have much time."

Jaune's hand fell "No."

That one little word set off an inferno in Cardin's chest. He wanted to scream, but he kept his voice to a sinister whisper. "What did you say?"

"I said no!" Jaune hurled the jar at him. Cardin automatically blocked it with his mace, but the glass shattered, and its contents splashed all over his weapon and chest. The bees inside the box Dove held went into a frenzy, but he had the good sense not to open it.

Before he could stop himself, Cardin rushed forward and grabbed Jaune by the hem of his shirt underneath the armor. He punches him in the eye, and he can tell from the feel of bone beneath his fingers that it'll leave one hell of a shiner.

"You know that wasn't very smart, Jauney boy. I'm going to make sure they send you to mommy in teeny, tiny pieces."

Sky tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, maybe we should get out of here. Grimm are drawn to sweets too, remember?"

Cardin turned towards Sky, halfway to realizing that they should leave, but Jaune coughed and grabbed Cardin by the wrist. "I don't care what you do to me, but you are not messing with my team."

"What, you think talk like that makes you tough? You think you're a big strong man now?" Cardin threw another punch, this time intending to break his nose. Jaune screamed, and Cardin's fist was stopped by a brick wall of light. He staggered back and rubbed his aching fingers. Sky stepped in and kicked Jaune down from behind.

With his left hand, Cardin raised the mace high over his head. A tingle runs up his arm. Dove shouts something and grabs Cardin by the shoulder, but he didn't hear it.

Two piercing whistles snapped Cardin out of his bloodlust. Looking back where they had come from, an Ursa lumbered out of the forest. The bear-like Grimm stood ten feet tall on all fours, and it had bone plate covering its forelegs and back.

"That's a big Ursa!" Russell shouted.

Cardin returned his weapon to the loop on his belt. "That's an Alpha. Fall back and get the other groups."

Needing no further invitation, his teammates sprinted towards safetu. Cardin followed after them, but he stopped when he heard Jaune's panicked cry. Jaune struggled to get away as the shoe tied to the tree holds him in place. Cardin hesitated at the edge of the clearing, calculating whether his odds of survival would be better in front of an Ursa Alpha or having failed a mission for the Council.

The Ursa sniffed the air, and it ran past Jaune. Before Cardin could understand what was happening, the Ursa clobbered him with a blow to the side. His Aura soaked up most of the damage, but the blow stung all across his left arm.

Panicking, Cardin raised his weapon and pushed the trigger. Nothing happened. He tried again and again, but the chain refused to unfurl. A strangled whine came from the gears inside his weapon. Just as he had realized that the sap had gummed up his mace, the Ursa lumbered forward and knocked it out of his hands.

He tried running away, but the Ursa moved with speed that belied its monstrous size. Each attempt to dart into the thick tangle of trees was cut off by a swipe from the monstrous Grimm. Chunk after chunk of his Aura was gouged out, and he could feel the last of it flickering feebly around him. Swearing to himself, Cardin crawled away, towards the safety of a bush.

He remembered that Blake was supposed to be on watch. As he crawled, he craned his neck upwards, trying to see where she had gone.

She was perched in a tree branch about fifty feet above him, with a clear view of him and the Ursa. One hand was on her weapon, but she made no move to get down from the tree. When they made eye contact, she turned away from him.

He told himself he should've seen this one coming. Of course, when he needs everyone the most, his teammates left him out here, and his pawn was watching as an Ursa was about to tear his spine in half. The despair clutching his heart bubbles up as a panicked, maniacal chuckle as he rolls onto his back and stares death in the face. The Ursa raised one paw and lashed out with a killing blow.

Jaune, missing one shoe, leapt in front of Cardin, planted his feet, and took the full weight of the Ursa's blow on his shield. Jaune lashed out with his sword, scoring a shallow cut on its chest, but after he dodged a few blows, the Ursa got him with a punch to his chest. He got up, but blow after blow knocked him back into the dirt. His arms drooped to the ground from the weight of his sword and shield.

Cardin staggered to his feet. He found his mace lying ten feet off to his right, and he sprints for it. He could have kissed it, and almost did before he saw the other students watching from behind some trees. Professor Goodwitch was with them, watching, riding crop ready to step into the battle.

With a yell, Jaune charged at the Ursa, and it ran towards him. He lashed out with his sword, but his shield was too low to block the Ursa's incoming blow. The shield trembled and inched up, but it rose too little too late. Aura lit the forest as Jaune took the blow to the side of the head. He rolled onto his knees, battered, bloodied, but breathing. Pyrrha ran a few steps forward, but Goodwitch pulled her back by her arm.

As the Ursa walked towards Jaune, Cardin jogged up to it, raised his mace over his head, and threw the last of his Aura into his arms. The mace flew into the Ursa's hind leg, smashing it to smoke and pulverizing the ground beneath it.

The Ursa howled and whirled to hit him, but Cardin danced out of its reach.

"Now Jaune!" Cardin yelled. "Go for the other leg!"

Jaune dropped his shield and raised his sword. The Ursa whirled in a circle, and Jaune's blade fell into the dirt. Hobbling forward on three legs, the Ursa lunged at Jaune, snapping at him with teeth the size of daggers.

A black blur fell from the sky and landed on the Ursa's back, narrowly missing the protruding spikes. The Ursa let out a muffled grunt, and its head slid off its shoulders.

Blake jumped off the Ursa as it dissolved away. As she slid her weapon back onto the magnetic sheath on her back, Ruby ran up to her, gushing about how awesome that was, but Blake moved past her and went to Jaune.

"You okay?"

Jaune took a deep, shaky breath and tried to put his sword away, only to find its sheath missing. "Yeah, I think I'm fine. You?"

Blake chuckled. It sounded strange to Cardin's ears, a sound that didn't match her brooding behavior. "I'm fine." She had something else to say, but a quick glance at Nora made her stop and turn away. Jaune looked crestfallen as he watched her go.

Just as Cardin was ready to consider the whole day ruined, he happened to see Pyrrha's face the second before she ran back to the Bullheads. Tears streaked her face as she held her shaking hands up in front of her.

Cardin left the box of wasps where it had fallen.