Here we go

Cover Art: Mystery White Flame

Chapter 31

"Well," Yang said, stood over the unconscious body of a man who'd jumped them. He wasn't feeling so hot about his choices right now, laid flat out with a rapidly forming black eye and what might have been a broken nose. And for once, it hadn't been her. "That escalated."

"He startled me!" Oscar gasped, clutching a hand to his chest.

"I think you startled him, too. He probably didn't expect the fourteen-year-old to knock him out."

"He came right at me!"

"We all saw that," Weiss said, "And no one is suggesting you were wrong. Strange for someone to attack huntresses in the wild, however. Is he a bandit who mistook us for easy prey?"

"We're covered in weapons, half a day out from Beacon, in the middle of Grimm-infested land, and walking around with famous singer and huntress Weiss Schnee in our party," Yang pointed out. "If he's a bandit, he's the dumbest, most ignorant one ever. At least turn on a TV."

"Touché. Not a bandit, then."

"I'll call this in," Ruby said, pulling out her scroll. "We're close enough to Beacon to get a signal. Blake, check him. Make sure he's still breathing."

Yang allowed a proud smile as her little sis took control and everyone followed, Blake going to kneel by the assailant and Ruby contacting the school. It wasn't every day she got to flex her leadership, but she did well whenever she had to. Oscar didn't do so bad either, she thought. Those reactions were pretty quick. The prof must have trained him to deal with sudden attacks.

"Is our esteemed escort not going to do anything?" Weiss asked.

Neo shrugged, waved a hand and ignored them, seeming to say without words that her job was to escort, not do all their work for them. Well, she wasn't wrong there. Weiss sighed and brought a hand up to her face.

"This is going to make things complicated."

"You're telling me. Can't just leave the asshole here if he's attacking people but it's not part of our mission." Yang sighed. "You know what this is going to mean – a big after-action report and probably us having to give statement to the police. Talk about a drag."

"Agreed." Weiss huffed. "At least it can't get any worse."

"I knew it!" Blake yelled, jumping up with wide eyes. In her hands, a white, porcelain mask was gripped. "The White Fang!"

Yang turned to Weiss, one eyebrow raised. "You were saying?"

/-/

"The White Fang? Here?" Jaune groaned into his hand. "Is Blake secure?"

"Yang has her pinned. Weiss has glyphs ready in case she tried to make a run for it."

Good. Yang deserved a medal for that. "Right. Keep her there. I…" He rubbed his chin. What to do. What to do. There was no ignoring them and this was a chance to scupper whatever Adam's plan was. "I'll be there with reinforcements. Tell her we're not stopping her going against the White Fang, just readying a bigger attack."

"Got it," Ruby said.

On the scroll behind her, he heard Blake yell something about not being an idiot and not even trying to run off and how they were all overdramatic idiots for acting this way. Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you. I'm not even sure how many times Blake has fooled me by now.

"Ruby."

"Yes sir?"

"Take no chances. Sit on her if you have to."

"Don't encourage them!" Blake yelled.

"Aye-aye, sir!" Ruby saluted once and hung up. Her scroll signal beacon flipped on a moment later, broadcasting an SOS on channels the school used. It'd help them pinpoint her location. Jaune stood and turned to Glynda.

"Did you hear that?"

"Enough. Who do you intend to take? I don't need to tell you there is a chance this is a distraction. Someone capable should stay in Beacon."

"That'd be you, Port and Tsune," he said. He'd have stayed himself but… well, she'd said someone capable. "I was going to talk to Winter first – she'll only get suspicious if I don't take her, and Weiss is out there."

"Fair. James will approve of Atlas presence in dealing with the White Fang."

"I was also thinking of Sienna…"

"Less pleasing, but I trust you have a reason for it."

He knew that was an invitation to explain. "If any White Fang escape, I want them to take the message that Sienna is alive and well, confirmed with their own eyes, back to Menagerie. Having her fight will also go a long way to proving she's left the White Fang behind to the students and public of Vale."

"I don't like it, but your reasoning is sound." Glynda looked impressed, smiling faintly. "You're becoming more like Ozpin than I would have thought possible."

"More like a fourteen-year-old?"

Glynda laughed and shook her head. "You won't be taking Roman?"

"No. I want him keeping an eye on things around the city. Team RWBY haven't been spotted yet, so if it's worse than we think or Adam is there in person, I can call back and bring everyone out. Otherwise, I'm sure Neo, Winter and Team RWBY will be more than enough to handle anything they throw at us. And we have Ozpin. Even if Sienna turned on us mid-combat, he alone could probably fight her off if he took control of Oscar."

"I suppose you're right." Glynda moved quickly toward the door, drawing out her scroll. "Go collect your team and I shall have a Bullhead made ready for you. You can pick it up at the docks and head straight there."

Jaune was up and out after her, shooting Glynda a nod of thanks and rushing down the corridor. Students dodged with wide eyes, rarely having seen their esteemed headmaster run – or really exert himself at all. Running from Neo or Tsune didn't count. The guest quarters were closer to his office than Cinder's cell and he skipped knocking on the door, overriding the lock and pushing in.

"Winter, I need-"

"JAUNE!" Winter slammed a book down on her table. Her face fluctuated between red and white, blood rushing and draining out. She glanced down, put a hand over the book and none-too-subtly flicked it off the table and to the corner of the room. "W-What are you doing here? This is quite the unexpected visit."

Was that erotica…? No, doesn't matter.

"Team RWBY have located White Fang in the forests outside the city."

Winter's embarrassment disappeared. "Ambushed?"

"Dealt with and safe for now. They're undiscovered but we're going to clear them out before it can become a problem. I was hoping you'd come lend your aid."

"Naturally. My sister is out there." Winter stood, dusted herself down and picked her sabre up, which she'd left nearby. As she walked by her bed, she kicked the book underneath it. "Who else shall be accompanying us?"

"Sienna Khan."

Winter grimaced. "And Cinder?"

What-? Why would he-? "Do I look insane?"

"You're suggesting a Schnee and ex-leader of the White Fang fight side by side so… yes."

"I'm sure you'll be able to get over your differences." He rushed out, hearing Winter behind. There was no telling how long Team RWBY had and he wasn't convinced Neo would keep them out of trouble. Not if she got bored and decided attacking the White Fang head on would be more interesting.

They weren't supposed to risk attacking Vale. Why are they here? To kill Sienna before we can use her, or are they planning something big in the city? Neither option made sense. Vale was on high alert considering the Vytal Crisis happening less than six months ago. They couldn't have picked a worse time to attack the city. As cruel and obsessed as Adam was, he wasn't an idiot. This couldn't be underestimated.

He pushed into Sienna's room with the same lack of care. "Sienna. We need you to-"

"YES!" Sienna yelled robotically and rushed over, gripping his arms tight. "I'll do it. Whatever it is."

"Eh-?"

"Oh dear." Kali was sat on one side of a table with a tea pot in front of her. A cup on the other side was untouched, but the chair had been knocked over in Sienna's haste. Kali had a hand on her cheek and a woeful expression. "And dear Sienna and I were in the middle of such a lovely conversation."

"Help me!" Sienna whispered.

"S-Sorry, Mrs- Kali," he amended, knowing she'd only tell him off otherwise. "There's been an issue with Team RWBY and Blake is in danger. We need to go rescue her."

"And you're taking Sienna for that?"

"It's the White Fang."

Kali sighed. "My daughter is in danger, or she's going to throw herself into danger?"

"Little bit of column A, little bit of column B…"

"That girl of mine." Kali sighed. "Well, what are you waiting for? Do go off and help her. I'd love to come but the battlefield isn't really my place. Do be sure to bring Sienna back in one piece though. She and I were having such a lovely discussion."

Behind him, Sienna Khan whimpered.

Was the whole Belladonna family insane or something?

/-/

It was with the greatest relief that he counted six people waiting for him as the Bullhead touched down. And those weren't six clones of Blake, either. Team RWBY, Oscar and Neo were all there, along with now three unconscious faunus, each of which were unmasked but were curiously armed for wandering travellers.

Blake was sulking with her own weapon tying her wrists together behind her back.

She glared at him.

"Good work, team," he said to the others.

"Don't you think you're taking this too far?" Blake asked as she was untied by Yang. "I ran off once to fight the White Fang-"

"Ahem." Yang coughed. "Paladin."

"Twice!" Blake said. "Only two times-"

"Beacon," Weiss hacked. "Cafeteria."

"Three times. Only three times!" Blake's face burned bright red. "You can't just use that as proof I'll do it all the time. That's ridiculous. Oscar, back me up here. They're being stupid!"

Oscar looked caught between a rock and a hard place, and even if he wanted to say it was a little over the top, Jaune was sure Ozpin was in his head suggesting otherwise. Burning down an entire shipping district tended to cause a lot of paperwork, all of which Ozpin unloaded on his sorry ass. Still, the very aspect of causing paperwork was enough to earn Ozpin's eternal enmity.

"I… I don't think I should say…"

"You too…?" Blake looked horrified.

Neo knelt and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. She gripped tight, smiled and nodded.

"Y-You're on my side?"

Neo nodded again.

"Great…" Blake sighed. "That just makes me feel worse…"

It should, Jaune thought. Neo would run headfirst into danger for fun. He shook that off and stepped up to the prisoners with Sienna and Winter beside him. The three were obviously faunus and though their masks had been laid out beside them, it didn't look like they'd been wearing them when they attacked. Mostly because one had a black eye and his mask wasn't cracked.

"Oscar did that one," Yang chirped.

"He did?" Jaune looked back. "Nice work, Oscar. Your first terrorist. Even I didn't capture one that quickly."

"Says the man with a terrorist leader right next to him," Ruby mumbled.

Sienna scowled, not quite pleased with the suggestion she was some kind of collectable. "I don't recognise these ones," she said, pointing to the prisoners. "Adam must be cleaning shop. Expected. I was a voice of moderation for many. His policies wouldn't be popular with them. Wake them up and I shall talk to them."

Wake them? How was he supposed to just do that?

Winter knelt and drew out something from her coat pocket, holding under the nose of the first. The faunus snorted and his face twisted in displeasure. He tried to pull away, but she held him still until his eyes cracked open and he moaned. Why did Winter have something that could do that? Should he be worried?

The faunus looked around, took in his position and summed it up accurately. "Fuck my life."

Sienna leered over him. "Why, hello there. Recognise me?"

He shrunk back. "Fuck…"

"Oh, I see that you do. Good. Good! Now, I'm quite upset – do you know why? Oh, I'm sure you do. Something to do with Adam stabbing me in the back, maybe not himself but being a part of it. And the White Fang – my White Fang – being stolen away from me."

Jaune had a feeling Kali would have disagreed there.

"I'm quite upset about that you see. Even more upset to be called a fake and a liar. Do I look fake to you?" Kali dragged his head down to look at her. "Do these look fake?"

The man stared at her bosom, wide eyed. "T-They look real."

"I meant my stripes!"

"Those too!" he shrieked.

"Tell me what's happening? What are you doing here?"

"I… I can't! I'll be killed."

"Fool!" Sienna shook him. "Don't you see who is here? Winter Schnee, the cruel and brutal monster of Atlas! Do you want your shame branded on your face like Adam?"

Jaune turned to look at Winter. So did everyone else, Weiss included. Winter looked between them all with wide eyes, shaking her head as if to say she had no idea what they were talking about. Her hands waved before her.

"And Jaune Arc!" Sienna went on. "Scourge of Beacon, who smote untold brothers and sisters, casting down Adam and Cinder and thwarting the attack singlehandedly! Two hundred of our brothers cut down by his hand. Blood staining the dirt as he carved a path through our brethren!"

It was his turn to be stared at.

"Look!" Sienna hissed, taking his head in hand and twisting it to look at the two faunus Oscar and Yang had knocked out. "He has already slain your companions."

"No!" the faunus gasped. "I… It can't… Oh please, I don't want it to end like this!"

"Hey-"

"Hey-"

Winter and he cut off, staring at one another. They both had one hand out and had spoken at the same time. They had a moment of polite dancing around who should go first, "No, you" "No, I insist, you" and so on, until Winter won out and coughed.

"Why is my – I mean our – reputations so bad?"

"I can protect you," Sienna said, ignoring them. "But only if you co-operate. Your lives have been thrown to the Beowolves but there is still time to fix this." Sienna let her voice lower. "If only you and I can reconnect with our brothers and sisters. I can help you, but only if you help me."

Blake had Gambol Shroud out instantly.

Weiss pushed it down. "I think she's acting," she muttered.

Yeah. Think…

"I…" The faunus looked between them all, utterly terrified. And not, for once, by Neo. It was him and Winter the faunus was so afraid of. "I'll talk," he wept. "Just keep them away from me, I beg you. I'll tell you everything."

/-/

"Did you really kill two hundred terrorists on your own?" Oscar asked.

Jaune was sat glumly on an upturned root as Sienna, Ruby and Blake finished the interrogation with the awake member of the White Fang. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off him or Winter, so they'd stepped aside to let the others work. Winter was much like him, leaning on a tree with crossed arms and a scowl so fearsome even Grimm would have thought twice.

"I didn't kill a single person. I got arrested and dropped a battleship into a Grimm dragon. Hell, I didn't even manage to kill Cinder."

"And I've never branded anyone," Winter snapped. "Nor would I countenance it."

"I know that, Winter," Weiss soothed. "You're not like that."

"I'm not! This is… This is slander. I should take them to court!"

"I'm not sure you can take a terrorist group to court," Oscar said. "Or expect them to show up…"

We don't need your logic right now, Oscar. The young man backed away as both Jaune and Winter glared at him. His reputation was usually glowing thanks to the things he'd done, deserved or otherwise. Knowing that it wasn't among the faunus? Well, that kinda hurt. Hopefully, it was just the White Fang. He looked up as Sienna and Blake approached, leaving Ruby behind to tie up the White Fang member.

"Right," Sienna said. "There's a White Fang operation being led out of a freshly made clearing nearby. He was a scout sent out to keep people away – non-fatally, if possible. Turns out her ex-girlfriend is running it," she said, jerking a thumb at Blake.

Yang blinked and tilted her head to the side. "You're gay?"

"Ha-?" Blake stammered. "N-No!"

"Bi? Doesn't matter if you are, Blakey. We'll not think less of you."

"No, no, no. I'm not – look, my sexuality doesn't matter here. It's run by an old friend – emphasis on the friend. She may or may not have had feelings for me, but that's only according to her!" Blake stabbed a finger at Sienna, making it clear she trusted the woman's words about as far as she could throw her. "And it doesn't matter. Her name is Ilia, she's a chameleon faunus and she's in charge."

"Can she blend into her surroundings?" Yang asked.

"Yes."

"Huh. And here I thought faunus didn't automatically come with genetic advantages. Semblance?"

"None that I know of."

"Question!" Ruby asked. "If faunus have genetic advantages, what's yours, Blake? Night vision?"

"All faunus have night vision. I don't have any traits."

"What? But how does that even wo-"

"That's not important." Blake hissed to keep them quiet. "Whatever they're planning – and this guy doesn't know the specifics – it's aimed at Vale. That means we need to stop it."

"For once, I agree with Blake," Jaune said, rising. "It doesn't sound like a big group is here; they're more relying on stealth than numbers, especially this close to Beacon. We're going to sneak up, infiltrate and take them down." He slammed a fist into his hand. "Any questions?"

Every hand went up.

"Hm. Weiss." He pointed.

"How will we approach? Do we sneak in or go full attack?"

As soon as Weiss asked the question, all the other hands went down.

"Good question." He delegated. "Sienna?"

"Full attack," the woman shrugged. "The only ones who could sneak in are Blake and I and we're both known figures, me to every faunus there and her to Ilia Amitola. We'd be recognised immediately."

"Our priority should be the munitions," Winter agreed. "It doesn't really matter how many of them escape. News of their failure may even serve us more being delivered to their allies, but we cannot let them take away any dust or explosives. It would also be convenient if we could capture the leader, but that is a secondary priority."

"Team RWBY sticks with Neo and scouts ahead," he decided. "Team RWBY's job is to secure the munitions. Winter and Neo would be best to take on the leader and Sienna can try to address the soldiers and calm them down. I'll help wherever I'm needed." Which would hopefully be nowhere. "If Adam shows up, which I doubt, we retreat and call for help. Everyone happy?"

They all nodded, even Winter.

"What about the prisoners?" Blake asked.

"Send them back with the Bullhead we came on. Glynda will hand them over to the authorities. Or Ironwood," he added. "Depending on how merciful she's feeling." It might buy them some good favour. Either way, dealing with the White Fang would now would strike a nice blow against Adam. He found himself smiling eagerly despite the danger. Far from afraid, he felt light and eager for a fight. Probably because there was no Cinder or other dangerous monsters involved. "Alright, everyone. Let's go."

They split up and pushed into the forest, separating into two smaller groups but not being too far apart. They travelled behind the girls, who had at least been mistaken for innocents by the first few faunus. The hope was that it might continue that way, with sentries choosing to attack them head on rather than panic, flee and alert the main camp like they would if they saw the famous adult figures in the group. Or two adults and one student-pretending, but same thing.

They picked their way through the bushes, staying slow so that Team RWBY would have an easier time. They had to deal with clearing all the branches and bushes in the way. While they travelled, Winter continued to glare at Sienna, enough so that the faunus woman looked back and rolled her eyes.

"I don't see what your big deal is," she whispered. "I got the information."

"You made me sound like some monster that brands young faunus."

"And me like a psycho," Jaune added, crouch-walking through the underbrush after the two, one hand on Crocea Mors at his side. "I didn't kill anyone at Beacon. At least, I don't think so. And even if the airship did land on any terrorists, it wasn't on purpose."

"You killed no one," Winter confirmed. "Grimm and Atlas property, but most living combatants were wise enough to get out the way after the ship hit the tower, and it went through the tower. Even if some wreckage fell, anyone below had more than enough time to get out the way."

"Nice." That was a weight off his shoulders. "So, what gives?"

"You two…" Sienna shook her head and sighed. "I could hardly tell my people you were just average folk, could I? Oh yes, go risk your lives to kill some perfectly normal and good people who just happen to have different philosophical and political leanings." She rolled her eyes. "No one wants to fight a war against normal people. They want to face villains and monsters."

"You lied to them?"

"We didn't lie. Your practices are cruel and faunus do suffer under you. We had to portray you as being personally involved so that people would not hesitate if they faced you. The same way you do us. Yes, some of those things might have stretched the truth a little-"

"You said I branded people!" Winter hissed, angrier than he'd ever heard her. "Children!"

"Better than what we said about your father. Who, by the way, does in fact brand children."

"That doesn't make it better!"

"Doesn't make it wrong either," Sienna muttered.

"Let's not argue," Jaune said, even though he'd been just as much a part of it. "It's not much different from what we're doing to Adam. Except that he deserves it. We've not run into any more of their sentries. I can't tell if that's a good or bad sign."

The White Fang had never been what he'd call the best of the best. They relied on numbers, surprise and their anonymity to get close. The only reason they'd been able to sneak in and attack the docks of Vale was because they hadn't had to. They all lived nearby and some probably even worked at the docks themselves. All they had to do was slip a mask under their work clothes and pull it on when night fell. They'd otherwise been as clumsy as one might expect.

That said, Adam wasn't of the same ilk and might have pushed for better people – and if this attack was important, the best ought to be here. Did that include Ilia? Maybe. But if she could blend into her surroundings, was she really best used in a pitched battle? She sounded perfect for infiltration and assassination, like a discount Neo.

Speaking of which, he could just make out Neo's hair – not that it was hard in a forest of green – bobbing ahead with Team RWBY. He'd initially thought to tell her to guard the munitions with the girls but telling Neo not to get involved in a fight was a good way to be disappointed. Might as well indulge her.

A quick in and out. We capture the supplies, get hold of this Ilia girl and let the others run. Job done, Adam looks like a fool and we get to tell Ironwood and the Council what a good job we did saving everyone. Nice and easy.

"There," Winter said, pointing. "I see cargo containers."

"Looks like this is it," Sienna said, readying her weapon.

Team RWBY saw it too, and the tents set up on the other side, where the faunus themselves would be staying. The cargo containers were set aside to avoid accidents and guarded by a number of people. Twenty or thirty. Not enough to hold against Team RWBY, let alone them and Neo both. Seeing their chance, the five girls and one boy leapt out from cover, charging across the open ground. It took a few seconds for the White Fang to notice. One yelled out and the others stopped to stare, not even thinking of bringing their weapons up.

"Amateurs," Winter said, standing. He could only assume she meant the faunus. "Let's go, before they escape."

"I've got my own scores to settle," Sienna snarled, dashing forward.

Left behind, Jaune considered waiting in the woods. He could and no one would stop him. They wouldn't need him either, and yet he drew his sword and charged forward as well, blood rushing through him and heart pounding. All that dealing with Cinder, Ironwood and the Council was getting to him. And he couldn't solve any of those problems by smashing someone in the face with his shield.

A little stress relief sounded wonderful.

/-/

If there was one difficult thing about being the Spirit of Knowledge it was those inconvenient rules placed upon her. Not being able to provide knowledge was such a strange caveat of a rule. It was also broken so regularly. She couldn't tell anyone new information without using one of the three questions, yet she could give her name freely. Where did the rules end or stop? Why was it that she could explain what the Relic of Knowledge did, which one would think was vastly important, but she couldn't answer a simple question like `how are you today` or `where is the bathroom`?

She also couldn't lie, which made approaching the trade vessel from Vale to Menagerie and running into her first disguised White Fang member a little difficult.

"Name."

"Jinn." That, at least, the God of Light allowed her.

"Goods for Menagerie, I take it." He could see the crate of leaflets behind her. "What purpose?"

To destabilise the White Fang. To destabilise the White Fang. To destabilise the White Fang. Sweat poured down her head as she tried to think of an answer that was somehow both not a lie but also not information he didn't know. She couldn't even say she came to sight see because he didn't know that, and he'd asked her a direct question.

Thus, it was knowledge.

"To take my goods to Menagerie."

The faunus lowered his clipboard and stared flatly at her.

Hey, it wasn't her fault the God of Light made her this way.

"This ship is the only one going to Menagerie today," she said before he could interrupt and ask another question. "And I'm here with the cargo you can see behind me." Also true, and obvious. "I'm sure you can put the pieces together."

"Hmm. Yeah, sure." He marked down that she was a merchant. Not that she could see what he was writing, but she knew it. He also thought she was – in his words – a smarmy-ass-bitch. He also had a thing for his motorbike. As in, an actual thing. He once kissed its exhaust and would secretly sneak into his garage to caress its chassis.

Jinn leaned away from the man.

"Faunus type?" he asked.

Oops. And now she couldn't say shark because it wasn't true, and he didn't know.

"Doesn't my blue skin give it away?" she countered.

"It is fairly distinctive." He chuckled. "Same colour as my bike."

Jinn screamed internally.

On the outside, her left eye twitched. "That's… nice…"

"Aquatic faunus are rare," he said, marking her down as an eel faunus. An eel faunus!? Really, she ought to be offended. Was she not the very visage of vicious and aquatic grace and death? Did her teeth not sparkle like gleaming daggers? "Then again, you guys have always been better on the open waves than most. I take it you know the rules about cargo? I don't need to explain them."

"Let's just say I'm something of a know-it-all."

"Cute. We need to check your cargo. Standard rules."

"I'm not sure you need to," she said, placing a hand on the wooden crate behind her on the deck. "This cargo is special. Only for a certain type of person if you catch my drift."

"What's in it?"

Great. And now there was no answer she could give without sounding like a smart-ass. "Cargo."

He sighed. Again. "What kind of cargo?"

"The kind that is special," she reiterated, "And for a certain type of person. Like an important person working on important things, things that the average person of Menagerie wouldn't need to know." She winked meaningfully. "I'm sure you would understand, brother in arms."

The man's eyes widened, though only for a moment. White Fang flashed through his mind, she knew, but he recovered his surprise and affected a bored shrug. "I see. And is there anything you'd be able to offer as security?"

A password. He'd asked her – which would normally disqualify her from saying it – but he knew the answer, as was his responsibility, and because he knew it, she knew it. Unable to say it out loud where people might overhead, she leaned in, closed her eyes and abandoned all self-respect.

"Blake will be mine."

The man nodded, though not without a little internal sigh of his own. He was thinking about how the passwords under Sienna were so much less emasculating, which she couldn't help but agree on, now having a list of prior passwords from the old leader, which included simple things like; Indigo Waves, Dawn of Hope and A Gift for Grandpa. Nice, wholesome, passwords.

"Looks like everything is in order," he said, slapping a sticker that read `approved` on her crate. "Welcome on board. It'll take two days to reach Menagerie. And remember… remember that Blake… She will…" He sighed.

Jinn laid a hand on his shoulder. "You don't need to say it. I know."

He nodded sulkily and walked away, regretting his life choices.

To be fair, she knew that Adam hadn't actually heard Corsac ask him for a weekly password and had just been monologuing – and that Corsac had been too eager to just take it as that rather than deal with Adam's rants. The White Fang really were a mess right now, but that was what made them so dangerous. Especially since they'd teamed up with Tyrian in Vale. Jinn paused as she stepped up onto the vessel, the knowledge filtering in with its usual lack of grace.

Oh.

Oh dear…

And she couldn't tell anyone.

"Stupid God of Light and his stupid rules."

Actually kind of tired today. I got bored last night and played a little Magic the Gathering Arena – tried the new draft format, but it's set to three games. You know, best of three, etc. I started a game at 10pm thinking it would take maybe 45 minutes, but the opponent thought for as long as humanly possible on every play, running the timer down low. It was disgusting. I didn't finish until 12:45. A whole two and three-quarter hours. I won 2-1, but there were times where I just wanted to quit and accept the loss to go to bed.

But then I thought how they were probably doing it on purpose, hoping for just that, and my stubbornness kicked in. After all that wasted time, I'd have been furious if I also lost to him. Was about 1:30 before I could fall asleep, then up again at 6:00 for the dog. Early night tonight! And you know you're old when you look forward to going to bed at 10pm.

Omake:

"I laid an ambush on that route."

Summer looked up from the board, eyes widen in abject panic.

Taiyang coughed. "Can we see the card?" he asked Raven.

"Card? Why would I need a card?"

Summer sagged in relief, moving her huntsmen ahead and defending her village from attack. "We've told you, Raven, you can't just decide to do something without a card that lets you do it. And why would you want to stop me saving one of my villages? You don't benefit if the Grimm kill everyone."

"No, but I could rob you. And why do I need a card? That makes no sense. I am the Queen of the Bandit Tribes-"

"Actually, you're playing as Mistral."

"-and I can do as I please," she went on, ignoring Taiyang. "If I decide to ambush a route, it will be ambushed or those who defy my orders will swing from the gallows."

"Not how it works," Summer reiterated smugly. "And it's a game, not real life. It has rules."

"Here." Taiyang put his cards down and shuffled over to Raven, less eager to help than he was to subtly have a chance to cuddle up with her. Qrow was already making gagging noises as he looked at his shrinking empire.

Tutorial game or not, Summer was playing for keeps.

"Oh look," Taiyang said. "You actually do have an ambush card here."

Summer slammed her cards down. "WHAT!?"

"Yeah, see. You play this and you can ambush them if they pass within two hexes of a force you own. Which they are."

"NO!"

"Yes," Raven cackled, laying the card down flat. "Now, give me your loot!"

"NO!" Summer stared at the little village. "No, no, no. Why?"

"You don't actually get loot," Taiyang patiently explained.

"Then what is the point of me ambushing her?"

"Honestly, just messing with her game plan and making her life miserable."

Raven stroked her chin. "Hmm. That is a surprisingly good reward. It feels… pleasing."

"Why…?" Summer wept.

"Because you attacked my brother," Raven said imperiously.

"YOU DID AS WELL!"

"Yes, but he is my brother and it is expected. Only I can pick on him. Ah, it says here I get to steal a card from your hand as reward."

"Random," Taiyang warned before Raven could snatch them all. "And one."

"I can read, Taiyang." Raven plucked a card from Summer's hand and stared down at it, eyes lighting up. "Oh my. Oh my, my, my."

Summer's eye twitched.

"I play the ambush card I just took. I steal another card."

Raven plucked another.

Summer's eye twitched again.

"I play `Misinformation Campaign` to take one card and force Summer to discard one more at random." Raven smugly snatched a third while Summer looked over her remaining in agony, ultimately giving up a powerful card.

"Is that your go?" Taiyang asked.

"Not quite. I finish by playing `Grimm Anarchy` forcing Summer to discard two cards."

Summer slammed her final two cards down on the discard pile, crossed her arms and pouted. Her whole hand was gone. "There," she snapped. "You've ruined my hand, ambushed my huntsmen, doomed my village and left my empire to the mercy of the Grimm. Satisfied!?"

Raven looked down at the board and then up at her. "Yes."

"Why are we teaching her this game again?" she asked Tai. "It's stupid."

"You're the one who kept going on about playing it. Speaking of, I think it's my turn. Hm. I could come and help you out, Summer."

"Really? Would you…?"

"I require your aid as well," Raven said, locking eyes with Taiyang. "Choose wisely."

The blonde swallowed and looked between her and Raven. Summer gave him her best pleading look, appealing to his humanity, his place on the team as her partner, the state of her board, her empire, and the fact that Raven absolutely did not need his help. Raven appealed to him too. Simply by existing as the woman he had a stupid crush on.

"Sorry Summer," he said. "But this is Raven's first game. I think it only makes sense I help her."

It was treason then.

"Sure. It's totally because of that. No other reason at all."

Taiyang tried to hide his blush.

"I can help you, Summer," Qrow chirped.

"Qrow, you can't even help yourself. You live by virtue of the fact Raven gets more from plundering you than she does conquering you."

"This is true," Raven admitted, leaving Qrow to slump at the table. "It's your turn, Summer."

Glaring, she looked down at the board. "I have no cards, so spend my turn drawing to four."

"Your village gets destroyed," Taiyang said sympathetically, removing it. "That causes negativity that spawns two more Grimm, triggering an outbreak and spreading it here, here and here." Three more villages came under threat. They bordered Raven's lands.

"Raven," Summer said. "Will you let me help my villages?"

Her nemesis shrugged. "Sure."

"You won't ambush me?"

"Apparently, I can't without a card. I still say the rules of this game make no sense."

"Good." Summer moved her pieces. "I move to save Ansel."

Raven laid down a card. "I play ambush."

Summer flipped the table.

Poor Summer. This is basically me playing Civilisation with my friends.

"Hey look guys, with that wonder, I'm in the lead."

TJ has declared war on Coeur

Nidge has declared war on Coeur

Phil has declared war on Coeur

Greece, Macedon, India, Rome, Scotland and Germany have been bribed to declare war on Coeur

"…"

Still waiting on Rooster Teeth to make an epic boardgame of RWBY. Come on, I even thought of trying my own hand at it. A 4-player co-operative game where you need to work together to stop Grimm taking over the four Kingdoms while also dealing with random negative events and trying to locate the Four Relics, all the while one of you is secretly a traitor pretending to work with you but sabotaging efforts.

Can you locate the Relics and defeat Salem, all while preventing the Kingdoms falling to ruin? Or will you hand the Relics over to the traitor without ever realising it? I took inspiration from a few existing boardgames of the like where you'd get limited actions per turn and there's four segments of the board to work on (based on the four kingdoms) and you need to ration between protecting them, reacting to threats and pro-actively searching out the win condition, but random events can cause more Grimm to spawn in one segment, or make travel impossible for a turn or increase negativity, meaning you have to run around and fix problems to keep the Kingdoms alive. The traitor can then pretend to do the same, but be subtly gaming the system to their own ends.

Or, you know, just an epic Risk or Conquest variant. It'd be so cool!

Next Chapter: 24th October

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur