Here we go, and the usual CF disclaimer of didn't get to see it. When Book 3 ends, I'll be taking a week off on this fic to plan ahead on book 4, and also write ahead so that CF can see it. Don't worry, as that will no doubt be another five weeks from now.


Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Dishwasher1910

Book 3: Chapter 10


"That's a suicidal plan."

I wasn't sure what I'd expected, and maybe to a degree I'd known it wouldn't be good, but Blake's easy and immediate dismissal of the idea hurt.

"Why is it?" I asked. "You told me to think like a Rogue, and that's what we're doing. If we can sneak into Torchwick's Guild-"

"And there is the problem. You cannot." Blake placed her book down on the library table, eyes narrowed on me. "You're a Knight, and there isn't anyone else in your group who could hope to pull it off. Torchwick is a higher Level than you, and he has a Guild filled with Rogues. You'd be found out easily, and then either blackmailed, expelled or killed."

"It won't-"

"It will be that bad," she snapped. "Roman doesn't play within the rules, and you want to go traipsing into his domain. That's going to worry him, and the best way to get rid of you would be to make you disappear. Accidents happen all the time. You could be the next one."

My stomach fell. It wasn't just Blake's refusal, but the fact she was confirming some of my own worst fears. There were other people in the library, but they gave Blake a wide berth as always, and now even a wider one because of her angry expression. She hadn't been such when I'd first arrived, in fact I dared say she'd looked somewhat – just a little bit – happy to see me.

That had soon changed.

"Blake, this is our only hope. We can't continue to pay Torchwick's fees, and we don't have a chance in hell of actually breaking free naturally. Isn't this what you told me to do?"

"I said to think like a Rogue, not to fight like one."

"What's the difference!?"

Blake sighed and looked around to make sure no one was listening in. "The difference is in what you can and can't achieve," she said. "Thinking like a Rogue is thinking outside of the box, or being willing to break the rules if needs be. That's fine. Your plan to expose Torchwick by finding the staff within his possession is fine – good, even."

I perked up a little, pleased despite myself. Blake killed my ego instantly.

"However, there's a difference between coming up with a good plan, and it being one you can execute. You need a plan you can actually pull off, and this isn't one of them. You don't have anyone capable of sneaking into Torchwick's base." Her eyes narrowed. "And no, I wouldn't be able to."

"I wasn't going to ask. This is our battle."

Blake huffed. "Idiot Knight, or is this just you being a man and feeling you need to protect me? I'm not refusing to do this because I'm afraid of the risks. It's because even I would not be able to pull this off. Torchwick has an underground Guild Hall. You have no idea where the Staff is kept, or what protection it has. If you want to steal something, you need to know the layout of the property, where the item is kept, and what security there is, at what times the occupants sleep – and that's before you even start planning your entry, route, and escape plan. You then have contingency plans for when – not if – it goes wrong. Do you have any of those?"

She knew we didn't, and my silence was answer enough. Putting it like that, it was obvious we hadn't really thought about what this entailed, and with Blake's explanation, I felt my spirits drop even further. She was right. Even if we got in, there was no guarantee the Staff would be there, or that it wouldn't take us several hours to find it. We'd be caught for sure.

"It's not like it was a bad idea," Blake said, voice a little softer. "I agree that it's your best shot, and you can't keep paying Torchwick off. He's going to make a move sooner or later, and he'll probably do something to force you out completely. That said, you've thought like a Rogue, but now you need to figure out how to implement that plan like the people you are."

"And that is?"

"Heroes," Blake said. "Or more specifically, a bunch of melee heroes with a Mage. Sneaking in is out of the question. Abandon that thought now – and I mean it, Jaune. Don't be stubborn and brute force this. People will die."

I nodded. "I understand…"

"I'm serious, Jaune. This isn't something you can pull off – even for you!"

"I know. I know… I won't try it. I'll tell the others not to, either." I made sure to look into Blake's eyes. "I promise."

She relaxed slightly, and then let out a short sigh, pushing some hair back behind one ear. Her anger disappeared as quickly as it had come on, and she picked up her book once more. For all intents and purposes, it was clear that the conversation on my plan was finished. "What else have you decided?" she asked.

Nothing, really, and I let her know with a defeated expression. Torchwick had us at his mercy, and that much was clear. With our finances effectively crippled, we were liable to fail the rent at the end of the month, let alone the repairs we all needed. To make things worse, Beacon clearly expected us to get started on those as soon as possible.

We were running out of time.

"You can't do any more Quests either, at least not all at once. If you leave the Hall, there's a chance he'll send people back to destroy it, undoing any progress you make." Blake's expression softened. "I'd suggest you take some time to think on it. There might be an angle you're missing, and I'll think things through on my end as well – see if I can help in any way."

I stood with a nod, a little drained, but grateful nonetheless. "Thanks, Blake. Sorry for bothering you…"

"It's fine." She sighed. "I apologise for not being able to help you."

/-/

"I'll admit I'm not surprised," Pyrrha whispered to me. The two of us were stood in the training halls, currently watching Ruby dismantle her opponent while Miss Goodwitch stood nearby. I'd passed on the message to everyone before we got to our lessons, and it hadn't been taken well. "I know the others are annoyed, but Blake has a point. None of us are particularly stealthy. We're more suited to a direct assault."

"Yeah, but it's not like we can do that against another Guild from Beacon."

"There has to be something we're missing. I refuse to believe there isn't a way out of this."

I glanced to Pyrrha, a little impressed by her determination. I was also a little disturbed, too. Life wasn't quite as kind as she made it sound, and we were dealing with a professional here. There would only be some angle we'd missed if Torchwick left one for us – and that seemed unlikely. We were on a time limit as well. Someone would buy the Staff sooner or later, and then we'd lose the only piece of evidence we had.

Whatever we decided to do, we had to do it soon.

Think like a Rogue; but fight like a Hero. What kind of logic was that? I groaned and held my palm to my face. This was going nowhere.

"Winner; Ruby Rose!"

The crowd cheered and clapped, and ourselves with them. Nora and Yang might have been more vocal in their support, but I made sure to hide my own strife and smile for Ruby. She'd come a long way from the girl who lost her first spar, though that was mostly because she now had a weapon that could keep up with her. She hadn't lost a fight since gaining Crescent Rose.

My own record was more checkered, with more losses than wins under my belt. That was fine. I was a Blacksmith, so the fact I had wins at all was a huge thing in itself. It was enough for me to feel proud of how things were going.

"For the next fight, we'll have Jaune Arc," Glynda declared.

I sighed and stepped forward, smiling at the well-wishes everyone sent my way. It was hard to say whether I was pleased or not to be chosen, for while this definitely cut into my time to think, it would also be a welcome distraction from all the drama. Once I was up and beside the Warlock, she cast her curse upon my weapon, making it glow a deep purple.

"And against him, we shall have… hmm, how about Blake Belladonna?"

My shoulders tensed. This wasn't exactly what I'd hoped or planned for, and I glanced over to where I'd seen Blake hiding earlier. In comparison to me, Blake received no cheers or support as she moved through the crowd. Most got out of her way, but Cardin jostled his shoulder against hers with a sneer. She took it with ease, not even stumbling, and then dismissing him without a second thought. She climbed onto the arena in complete silence, and revealed both her blades to the teacher.

"I'll need your throwing daggers as well."

"I don't intend to use them."

"Then I'll ask you to remove them in order to avoid any accidents."

Blake nodded and unstrapped the bandolier from her chest, letting it fall onto the side of the arena. I didn't fail to notice how she made sure they weren't too near the edge, and I wondered sadly if that was because she expected someone to steal or `lose` them when she wasn't looking. Once her weapons were cursed not to kill, she walked over to stand before me.

"Hey," I whispered. "I… well I can't say I expected to fight you."

"Just do your best." Blake flashed a tiny smile. "This is a friendly spar. Possibly the only one I'm likely to receive."

"Is that why you dumped the daggers?"

"That and to give you a fair chance." Her eyes glinted, showing she was just teasing me. "Remember what I said. Try to think like a Rogue or you'll have no chance at defeating me."

We backed away from one another at Miss Goodwitch's call, and the crowd seemed disappointed there wasn't more of a pre-fight banter. They probably expected us to be at each other's throats, what with how Knights hated Rogues. Instead, my mind whirled as I tried to think up some kind of strategy.

Blake was being overly kind, both in fighting me with a handicap and her words. There was no chance for me here, and she knew it. Even ignoring my Class problems, there was the fact she was at least double my level, and well beyond anyone else here, maybe beyond any other first year. How had she managed that? What was her secret? She'd refused to tell me in Atlas, and yet again, the questions plagued me.

Could I emulate it in some way to get an advantage?

The battle began with a shout from Miss Goodwitch, and a desperate parry from myself. It was followed by laughter from the crowd – mostly because I'd parried nothing. Blake hadn't moved from her spot.

Strange, she always attacks straight away against most people. My eyes narrowed as I circled her, sword and shield held up and ready. Blake tracked me easily, but made no move to attack. In every fight I'd seen her take part in; she favoured a swift and brutal conclusion, usually leaving her matches to end in a matter of seconds. This was the first time she'd held back and ironically meant I'd lasted longer against her than anyone else. Not that I deserved it in any way. Was this a part of her handicap, or was she trying to teach me a lesson?"

Think like a Rogue; fight like a Hero. It was the only thing I could think of, and that didn't help. I understood the general gist of it; that I needed to think sneaky, but that at the end of the day, I was still a Hero and could only fight like one. There was no point coming up with a plan only a Rogue could implement, because I just didn't have those kinds of skills.

For crying out loud though, it was easier said than done!

My frustration boiled over, and the crowd's jeers hardly helped. They were probably more for Blake than me, but that didn't help. I charged forward, shield held before me and sword chambered. It rushed towards Blake's head.

She blurred out of the way. That was the only way to describe it, and even then I barely understood. It wasn't like Ruby's speed, where she would simply be moving so fast I could barely track it. This was an actual blur, in which Blake's entire body seemed to turn to thick, black ink – and she swayed away from my sword and under my arm. After-images were left behind her, and far longer than they should have. It made tracking her all but impossible, and my eyes widened as she flickered out from beneath my arm, appearing behind me.

Her foot hit the middle of my back, and I fell forward, crashing to the ground. It could just as easily have been a knife, and in my throat. She wanted to drag the fight out, though for what reason, I had no idea.

That was a Skill. It had to be. She wasn't actually as fast as Ruby, and Ruby doesn't leave after-images. That means whatever Skill she used made them. She only kicked me though, so it was probably an evasive spell, maybe a movement one. The latter made sense and I staggered up to watch her warily. An Assassin probably needed some kind of Skill the distance, except that she could use it to create some, too. The after-images were maybe just to disorient people or make it hard to predict where she'd attack from.

Blake took a step forward and leaned to the left, before she took another leaned in the opposite direction. Her form darkened once more, and she suddenly surged forwards – the inky shadows blurring her from view once more.

The same move! I took a step back, holding my shield to the left, while blocking with Crocea Mors to the right. Blake charged in head-on, but diverted impossibly fast at the last second. She flickered, like she had the first time, and suddenly she blurred to the right, coming in from that side with her dagger aimed for my kidney.

I spun quickly, putting my shield between us – only to gasp when she smiled. Without thinking, I twirled and lashed behind me, and was rewarded with the sound of my sword striking against her twin-daggers.

Her eyes widened, shocked to find I'd caught her, but she recovered with ease, planting one foot down on my shoulder and kicking away before I could attack. She landed gracefully, and although her eyes were still surprised, there was also a pleased smile on her face.

I knew it. She was taking it easy on me. She was trying to teach me, or maybe just give me more of a chance. I'd seen her dismantle Cardin in seconds, and that guy was no slouch. My Dex and Agi were so low she could have beheaded me twenty times already.

"You thought like a Rogue," Blake said. "Well done."

My eyes narrowed. "What?"

Blake charged in and swung her daggers for my head. I parried them easily, which was the first sign she'd intended me to, but it was when she pushed close and spoke that I realised she'd never meant for them to hit. "When I vanished, you instantly attacked behind you. How did you know I'd be there?"

"It seemed obvious," I said, curious to see where this would go. I was stronger than her in terms of raw Strength, but I held the lock instead of breaking it. "I'm in full armour, and I have decent defences. I figured the best bet would be to get behind me where I couldn't block."

"And in doing so, you thought of what an Assassin like me would do. That is what I mean by thinking like a Rogue." Blake smirked and twisted her blades to the side, Crocea Mors fell free and towards her, but she diverted it with the back of her hand, before she hammered the pommel of her dagger into my chest. I felt it even through my armour, and staggered back, winded. "It's pointless to think of what I'll do if you don't bother to take advantage of it, though. You can't just think like me, you need to think of how to beat me. You need to think of what you – a Hero – can do."

Think like a Rogue, but fight like a Hero.

I took a deep breath and nodded. It was the only lead I had, and fighting Blake head on wasn't going to work. I had to think like an Assassin. How would I fight if I was one? Well, probably from behind wherever possible. I'd use my speed to get in fast and strike, and back out before I could take any damage. Blake probably had relatively little in the way of Constitution, so she couldn't afford to keep taking damage. She was a hit and run fighter.

I was a tank. That was good and bad, since it meant I could take her hits, or at least I hoped so, but I wasn't exactly known for my ability to dish them out, especially when my crappy Dexterity was going to be fighting against her incredible Agility. I couldn't hit her. Not a chance in Remnant. If she could dodge, she was going to.

Which meant I had to put her in a position where it was impossible… all the Agility in the world wouldn't mean a thing if she couldn't use it.

Blake came in for another attack, and this time I was ready for her. She stabbed low, then feinted and leapt into the air, placing a hand on my shoulder as she flipped over me. It was similar to the move, she'd used before, and I let go of my shield, tossing it gently behind me.

She landed atop it.

As graceful as she was, Blake cried out in alarm as the shield beneath her feet skittered away the moment she touched it. She stumbled and fell forward, eyes growing wide as my sword cleaved in for her chest.

I'd done it! I'd beaten her!

Blake's eyes flashed gold.

My sword cleaved through, but she disappeared in a puff of smoke, and the sudden weight on my arm told me where to. I stared up in shock, into glowing yellow eyes, as the girl perched with one foot on my forearm, the other on my shoulder.

"Not bad at all," she whispered, "but pure ability will always be a factor."

Her dagger hammered down into my throat.

Paralysis struck immediately, and I tumbled down like a felled tree, Blake riding me half-way before she leapt off to land nearby. Vaguely, I heard Miss Goodwitch shouting that the match was over. I also heard the absolute lack of applause.

"I shall remove the curse," Miss Goodwitch said, waving her arm. "There, you should be able to move now, Mr Arc."

Warmth washed over me as the curse was lifted, and my muscles twitched as I regained control of them. It was never a pleasant feeling, but probably better than being stabbed in the throat. I rubbed my neck, but quickly noticed the hand Blake was holding out. I took it with a laugh. "Well, that didn't work out."

"I'd disagree. You did well. You thought of what I'd do, and then decided on a plan of how you could take advantage of it. That's more than anyone else has accomplished against me."

My eyes narrowed. "You went easy on me. You could have ended the fight in seconds."

"Perhaps, but then you would not have learned anything." Blake clapped my shoulder and moved away. "Good fight."

It was stupid, but I couldn't help but feel a little proud of that. She'd gone easy on me – incredibly so, but that didn't rid me of my smile as I hopped down and walked back to the others. Ruby clapped happily, along with both Pyrrha and Nora, and even Ren had a congratulatory nod for me. It felt weird being praised for getting my ass kicked, but we all knew Blake was strong.

Weiss, of course, just had to be Weiss. "What was that all about? She didn't try very hard. I'd have called it more flirting than fighting."

"She was teaching me a lesson," I defended, cheeks red. "Besides, she's not like that. I don't think Blake would ever flirt with someone."

"I dunno, champ," Yang teased. "She spends a lot of time around you – and she humours you."

Yeah, because I stalked her across the library, and it wasn't like putting up with someone denoted attraction. Besides, I'd tentatively asked her after the Quest to Atlas, and she'd said no.

"Leave him be, Yang," Pyrrha warned. "You could stand to find a love life of your own before you start teasing others about theirs."

Yang cringed. "Whoah, whoah, where's all this coming from? I'm feeling attacked here."

"Good," I said, and then laughed it off easily. "Anyway, Blake was trying to show me why my plan to beat Torchwick was a bad idea. I guess she used this spar to show me."

"And what did you find?" Weiss asked.

"We thought like Rogues, but we're not Rogues. We can't sneak into his Guild Hall because we don't know how, and he'll beat us if we play him at his own game."

"That goes without saying, but it's our only option."

"The Staff won't stay there for long," Ren added. "Our window of opportunity is short."

"I know that," I said. "I think I have a-"

Ruby cut into the conversation with a startled gasp. All eyes were drawn to her, but she reached into her skirt and drew forth a vibrating rock. It was the same one we all had; allowing us to communicate, but I didn't understand how she could have one since we were all here.

"I gave mine to Velvet in case something happened," Yang hissed. "I told her only to use it if there was an emergency."

And she'd seen fit to use it to contact Ruby. I wasn't the only one worried, and the lack of a response from Ruby didn't help matters. She nodded her head and whispered into the Stone, all the while we waited with bated breath.

"Well…?" Weiss demanded once she was finished.

"There's a problem back at the Lodge," Ruby said. "Velvet could barely explain, she was so frightened, and she can't show herself or Beacon will arrest her."

Which meant the Lodge was defenceless. We'd known it would be, but had banked on the fact you couldn't wreck a wrecked building. What could even be happening to panic Velvet so? Ruby didn't have the answers, and that didn't help my imagination. Had Torchwick stolen another march on us? How!?

The remaining forty minutes of lesson-time were the worst of my life.

/-/

We sprinted back to the Guild Hall as soon as the lesson ended. People yelled and moved out of the way, and I know Miss Goodwitch shouted out a warning, but we were far too panicked to listen to it. All that mattered was that something was going on, again, and we needed to find out what. Ruby naturally pulled ahead, but we caught up after ten minutes, in time to see the Reaper staring at the Lodge in shock.

My mouth fell open, too.

"It's been repaired…?"

"What the hell is even going on anymore?" Yang growled. "Repaired, broken, repaired – can this god-damned place make up its mind already!?"

The others were no better. Repaired was a strong term, since it was clear the Hall was still in a sorry state, but the front doors had been affixed and looked new, while the windows were all back in place. Inside, I could see that there were still problems, but this looked like someone had taken effort to make the building at least look like it wasn't about to fall over. It was window dressing and little more.

Who could have done this, and why?

"There's someone coming," Pyrrha said.

True to her words, a couple of figures were making their way towards us. They were older than we were, and covered in dust and the signs of hard work. My muscles unclenched when I realised they were Labour Caste, and the others seemed to relax as well.

"What's going on here?" I asked the lead man, a Carpenter.

"Work as usual," the man replied in a thick, country accent. "We did the work as was requested, and done a good job, too. It wasn't easy, and I'll be honest friend, there's more work as to be done inside. This place is a dump."

"This dump is our home," Weiss said.

"No offence, my lady. I only say it as I see it."

I nodded to Ruby, who quickly pulled Weiss back before she could cause a scene. Inside, my mind was whirling, but I smiled for the man either way. "Thanks for the good work. I have to ask, though. Who requested for you to do this?"

The man's easy smile fell. "Is that a joke?"

"Excuse me?"

"Don't be thinking that you can play dumb with me, boy. Hero or not, I'm no fool, and I've got rights. I won't be taken for a ride here."

The sudden aggression caught me off-guard, and my mouth fell open. Luckily, Yang noticed and quickly stepped forward. "Hey now," she said. "No one's trying anything like that, so why don't we all calm down? We're just a little confused, that's all." She flashed a smile and angled her body in just the right way to show off her curves. Much like the Sailors in Kingsport, the Carpenter quickly reined in his anger and scratched his cheek.

"Sorry, missy," he said gruffly. "I guess me and the lads have just had a hard day. I had to send them home because we needed to wait for you all. We've been stuck here for an hour already, and my stomach is growling like a wild beast."

"I know what that's like," Yang said with a wink. "Anyway, you said you were asked to start repairs. Do you remember who did it?"

"Yeah, t'was him," the man said, pointing.

At me…

"He's been with us in class for the last two hours," Yang said.

"Oh, it was earlier than that, lass. I think he said it was lunch, but he asked if we could have it done before the end of the day, and promised us a bonus if it were possible." The man yawned. "We worked ourselves hard, but we pulled it off. Not easy work, I tell you."

Six sets of eyes turned on me instantly, and it was all I could do to shake my head. Of course I hadn't done anything like that. I'd spent lunch in the library with Blake, not that she was here to confirm it. Yang's eyes narrowed and she turned back to the men.

"You're sure it was him?"

"Sure as day, lass. Introduced himself, and I can remember the armour, right down to the name and the Class floating above his head. I might be getting old, but I'm not soft in the head yet. It was definitely Jaune Arc."

Several of the other men with him agreed, nodding and whispering that they'd spoken with me, too, and that I'd instructed them where and what to repair. I hadn't, of course, and made that clear with a subtle shake of the head. I'd done none of those things, but someone looking like me apparently had.

In the same way someone looking like Velvet had trashed the Lodge when we were on our Quest.

"Okay, well this is weird," Yang said. "He claims he didn't."

"Well he did," the man said, expression darkening. It seemed even Yang's charm wasn't going to sway him. "We were all here, and more to boot. I can bring back twenty, maybe thirty workers, all of which saw and heard him. I have signed proof!" He revealed a small receipt and contract, which did in fact have my signature on it. It was almost perfect.

"You sure you didn't do this?" Weiss whispered.

"I was with Blake, I promise. Why would I agree to this?"

"Who else would know your signature?"

"Torchwick would," Ren said, silencing us all. "Jaune signed himself down as the Guild Leader if you recall. He would have a copy of that, and direct access to the forms Jaune signed."

"Damn it, so this is his doing?"

"It would seem that way." Ren looked at the contact and winced. "This says we agreed to pay seven thousand lien, along with a one thousand bonus for early completion. We don't have that money."

"Then we don't pay," Weiss whispered. "We didn't book this. We can't be held to it."

"According to this, we did. They have witnesses, too, and will almost certainly go to the headmaster if we refuse to pay what is owed."

"We send them to Torchwick, then!"

"He'll deny it and send them back. Or straight to the headmaster, which won't help us."

My stomach dropped as they argued and threw ideas around, all the while Yang desperately tried to keep the workers distracted. I had nothing to say and nothing to offer, but for a desire for a pit to open up and swallow me whole. Torchwick had outdone himself again. The work was to make the Hall look habitable, which was probably what someone in our situation would have had done first. If these people went to Glynda and Ozpin, then they'd believe them and come in on their side. Despite the month or two offered, this would force their hands and make them close us down early.

The contract would kick in. Torchwick would ruin us, and we'd be sent away in disgrace.

It was over. Torchwick had done it. He'd struck the final blow, and at a time where we were completely unprepared. Even if it wasn't me, even if it was someone else pretending to be me, what proof did we have? No one would believe that someone was capable of emulating me so perfectly, right down to the Class and my name floating above me. It was all but impossible.

"Jaune, can you haggle with them?" Pyrrha asked. "It's our only hope."

"How much do we have?"

"Maybe three thousand lien…"

Haggle eight down to three? That was impossible. My heart started to beat faster as all eyes turned to me. My legs felt wooden, but I forced them forwards. We were screwed. We were doomed.

It was over.

"Is there a problem?" the Carpenter asked.

"Not so much a problem, as an inconvenience," I said, deflecting it. "You see, we might need a little time to get the payment to you. We can cover almost half of it up front, but would it be possible to pay you for the rest on a credit agreement?"

The man's smile fell. "You told us this would be a cash job. My boys need paying, and I can't cover them on a credit agreement."

"I understand that, but-"

"But nothing, lad! You took me on when you knew you couldn't pay. Is that what you're saying!?"

"No, no, no. Only that the money isn't readily available. We just need a little time to bring it together." I looked at the others desperately, but they were as lost as I was. Maybe we could sell some of our gear, not all of it, but a little. Which, though? I couldn't think of anyone who could afford to lose a weapon.

There were no good answers. The Carpenter didn't give me any.

"I can't do that," he said. "I have boys awaiting payment, and I can't pay if there's no money. You either fork up or I'll go to the man in charge and have him pay me. There are provisions for this. I know my rights, and I've done work for Beacon before."

"I'll bet you have. It's a good job you've done."

"Quit stalling. We've been stood here an hour already. Where's our money?"

Not with us. We didn't have it – and nothing we did would satisfy them. I could feel everyone staring at me, the Labour Caste from the front, and my Guild from behind. Everyone expected me to have an answer. I had none. I had nothing.

"I-"

"I have it here."

The voice came from behind the rest of the Guild, who parted themselves to see who had spoken. Amber eyes stared back at me, and Blake strode forward, a leather bag slung over one shoulder.

"Your money," she said to the men, who backed away in fear. "How much is it?"

"E-Eight thousand in total…"

Blake didn't bat an eyelid, and instead reached under her armour. The grown men flinched back, but it was no dagger she drew forth, and instead a small leather pouch. She took some coins from it, and then tossed the pouch to the tallest of them. "There, eight thousand lien in cash. I assume that is enough to cover the repairs to our Guild Hall?"

O-Our Guild Hall?

"It is," the man said, counting it. "Thank ye for your patronage, and you," he added, glowering at me. "When you say you need time to get the money, make it clear if you mean weeks or minutes. I thought you were trying to get out without paying!"

"Y-Yeah," I stammered. "Sorry."

They left peacefully once the lien was divided between them, with a comment that if we needed their services again, we had but to call. I had no idea what to say but nodded nonetheless. I hadn't been able to take my eyes off Blake since she arrived.

"Why?" I asked when it was finally just the eight of us. "I don't understand…"

Blake sighed and looked away. One hand came up to flick some hair back behind her, and she didn't quite meet my eyes.

"You once said if I ever changed my mind about joining, your doors would be open. Does that still hold true?"

/-/

Words had continued to elude me for the last ten minutes, even after Blake finally managed to extricate herself from a grateful pile on courtesy of Yang, Nora, Ruby and even Ren. The latter might have been because Nora threw him on first, but it didn't really change anything.

Blake had saved the Guild. She'd joined the Guild. She was going to go down with the Guild…

Weiss gestured for Blake to sit on one of the couches, and Velvet offered her a mug of water shyly. Once she'd had a chance to drink, Weiss crossed her arms and spoke.

"Blake, I think I speak for us all when I say thank you for helping us there, but are you quite aware of what you've done?"

"Painted a target on my back for Torchwick," she said easily.

Weiss floundered. "W-Well yes, exactly! You've tied your fate in with ours, at least in Torchwick's eyes. This was yet another attempt to have us kicked out of Beacon, and the most aggressive yet. Are you sure you want to go ahead with this? It's not too late to back out and say you merely owed us the money."

"I'm quite content with this decision."

I couldn't remain silent. My hands slammed down on the table, my voice rising. "Why?" I asked. "Why do this? Blake, you're insane. You're not a part of this and you don't have to be."

"I do. I am."

"In what way?"

"It's hard to explain."

"Then try."

"I can't."

A growl escaped me as I gripped my face with one hand. This was stupid, and her evasive answers weren't making things any easier. "You shouldn't be doing this. It's possibly the most foolish decision you've ever made!"

"Not even by half," Blake said. "I've made my decision. If I need be a foolish Assassin, then I shall be. You're hardly one to talk about not making intelligent decisions."

"When did this turn into being about me!?" I cried.

"Okay, okay, calm down, you two." Yang strode between the two of us and placing her hands on my shoulder to push me back down next to Nora. The Barbarian slung an arm around my shoulder, but it was obviously intended to hold me down.

I glowered at her and crossed my arms.

"Blake," Yang said. "Jaune is right, even if he's being an idiot about it. This is dangerous. Are you really sure you want to get tangled up with us?"

"I've made my decision. Even were I to back out now, Torchwick would target me."

"She's got a point, Jaune," Yang said, looking to me.

I acknowledged it with a reluctant nod.

"Welcome to the Guild, then," Weiss said, smiling. "I'd offer more in the way of an introduction, but you know everyone, and you also know the situation isn't exactly good."

"So I saw. What happened there?"

"Those labourers claimed to have been approached by Jaune during his lunch hour, where he hired them for extensive repairs on the Guild Hall. Jaune claims he was with you."

"He was," Blake confirmed. "He stayed with me for the full hour."

That caused a murmur between the rest of them, and even if they'd believed me the first time, it still made for unsettling news. Somehow Torchwick had managed to mimic me perfectly, which wasn't just unlikely, but downright impossible. My amulet could change the look of the Class above my head, but that was all it changed. It didn't make me a Knight, and no amount of disguise could make someone Jaune the Knight. They'd either been lying or something was afoot, and I didn't think those guys were confident enough to lie to Heroes.

"This is bad news, but I suppose it does prove that someone could have emulated Velvet when they damaged the Hall," Pyrrha said, nodding to the still-bruised faunus.

"It's a problem because it could happen again," Ren said, "and soon. Torchwick is becoming desperate, though I'm not sure why. This is twice he's struck in two days, and if it holds true, he'll hit again tomorrow. It might be far worse. It might be something we can't handle, and there won't always be a generous benefactor to help us out."

"My lien is all but spent now," Blake said. "I had ten thousand saved."

So, there would be no more saves if something like this happened again. Worse, Blake had stubbornly put herself between us, and would probably face repercussions for it. I growled and clenched my hands into fists. "We need to put an end to this, and fast!"

"Well, yeah." Yang crossed her arms. "That was kind of the point of sneaking in, but you said it wouldn't work. Now that Blake's here, though…"

The Assassin nixed the idea. "It still won't work."

"It won't work because we're still playing Torchwick at his own game," I said. "Even after we said we wouldn't. Think about it, we've been focused on trying to get through this by the rules – and that didn't work because he's set the rules. Then we decided to try and beat him by sneaking into his Guild, but that's us trying to out-Rogue a Rogue. It would never work."

Ren's brow creased. "Then what are you suggesting?"

"We need to beat him in a way he doesn't see coming. We need to do the unexpected, something he'd have never considered, and couldn't possibly defend himself against. We keep trying to beat him as a Rogue, but we should instead force him to fight by our terms."

"I'm not going to like this idea," Weiss said. "I can just tell."

She wasn't, and I didn't either, but there was nothing else left. I'd thought like a Rogue and seen his weakness. He wanted to trick us by the rules and strangle us with them. I'd already considered breaking those by sneaking into his Guild, but that was us trying to be Rogues, and like Blake said, we weren't. We were Heroes.

More specifically, we were a bunch of melee Heroes with a Mage. We were front-line fighters. We were direct, we were aggressive – we were suited for overt action.

I took a deep breath.

"I suggest we attack TRE directly."

Outside, far away, a bird chirped. The room was so silent I could hear it.

"You're insane," Weiss whispered. "You've snapped."

"No, hear me out! We need to reveal what Torchwick is, and we don't have much time before the Staff is stolen. We were already going to break into his Hall to try and find it – and then use it as proof to get ourselves out of trouble. Well, this is the same."

"Except you're suggesting we attack fellow members of Beacon. We'll be expelled!"

"We'll be gone in a matter of days anyway, if Torchwick gets his way." Ren mumbled.

"What? Ren, are you saying you agree with his idea!?"

Ren shrugged at the Mage, his expression bland. "I'm not saying it's a good plan, but it's all we have. Torchwick won't wait for us to come up with something better. We'll be removed within days, maybe within twenty-four hours. We might as well go down with a fight."

"Aw, Renny!" Nora squealed, engulfing the Monk in a hug. "I'm so proud right now!"

"We don't have much of a choice, Weiss," Ruby whispered. "I don't want to do this, but we'll have more a chance of this working than if we try and sneak in."

"If we find the staff before the teachers find us, we'll have proof," Yang said. "If not, then sure, we get expelled – but we'll be out anyway once Torchwick runs us out of cash."

I didn't smile as everyone came to accept the idea. I didn't smile because it was a terrible plan filled with desperation and more optimism than it really deserved. It was, however, possibly the only thing that would catch Torchwick off guard, and only then because it was a ridiculously stupid plan.

"There's one problem," Blake said, drawing attention back to her. "You've forgotten the other lesson in our spar, Jaune. It's all well and good to catch someone off-guard, but you still need to be strong enough to capitalise on it. Even when you had me at your mercy, you simply weren't fast or strong enough to beat me. The same will happen here."

"I know… which is why there's a second part to this plan. One on one, I couldn't beat you, but things might have been different if I'd had more people with me. The eight of us took out Merlot, albeit with a little help from people stronger than us."

"Exactly," Blake said. "Viktor and Kaedin were much stronger than we were, and Penny, too. We don't have anyone like that to help us."

"We don't," I said. "But we could... for the right price."

Everyone stared at me.

With more confidence than I really felt, I strode over to the windows, pulling the tattered curtains aside. Sunlight poured in, and slowly the silhouette of Beacon revealed itself. Before that, however, and still within the bounds of the Guild City section of Beacon Academy, stood a huge, stone castle. It was the one Coco had pointed out to me. It was the Mercenary's Guild…

And our last hope.


And so Blake joined the Guild, for reasons only she knew, but others hinted at with waggles of eyebrows, and whistles towards Jaune. And a new plan was hatched, one far more desperate, but also aligned to their skills and capabilities. A direct plan, a foolhardy plan, a desperate plan…

A Guild War.

That would be the name of the third book, for those who have been waiting for it.

Forged Destiny Book 3: The Guild Wars


Next Chapter: 7th August

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