I know the number of OC's is bothering some, but please keep in mind they're all just filling the roles of conversation holders. Corvo, Grey and Roux aren't becoming main characters, and are barely even side characters. They've been here for all of one or two chapters. Just put up with them for now if you dislike them. I cannot write a fic like this without using some, however. There just aren't enough side-characters to go around.

Practically everyone in RWBY is a main character at this point. You only have the old guy who is everywhere, and the occasional team member from SSSN who appears for one episode, swings a sword and gets beaten. I need to make some OC's to fill roles occasionally.


Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Dishwasher1910

Book 5: Chapter 10


"Torchwick," Yang snarled, only to be held back by Ruby.

"Yep, me. You got me." The Thief laughed. "Surprised? Not as much as I am, I assure you. Shouldn't you brats be busy with homework or something?"

"Shouldn't you be in a cell?" Blake snapped back.

"I've just been in one, and unless I miss my guess I'll be thrown back in it – unless you want to see me swing, of course. Is this to be my moment of execution?" The last was asked to Corvo with a sneer, though I could see the Thief's tense shoulders behind it.

Corvo ignored him but turned to us. "I had half a mind to execute him the moment he made an attempt on my life, but Finn recognised him from the wanted reports. Even if a criminalised Hero can't technically break the Treaty, nor would I for killing him, I'd rather play it safe."

"You want us to kill him?" I gasped.

"It would solve our problems, but I'm guessing you don't approve. Very well, then if you would take him back to Vale with you when you leave, that would be appreciated. We'll let Beacon decide what to do with its traitor."

My shoulders relaxed a little at that, and relaxed again when the guards moved forward and dragged Torchwick away, back to his cell. The Thief hurled abuse the whole time but his voice was quickly dimmed by distance. I hated the man, I really did, but I didn't think I'd be able to kill him in cold blood. It would have been different if it was in self-defence, but he was beaten and bruised, not to mention unarmed and clapped in irons.

It was also frustrating to realise Corvo was strong enough to take him when we hadn't been, but I had to remind myself that not only was Corvo older, but that we were stronger now, as well. Besides, assuming the man before us was weak because of his Caste was no better than some Heroes abusing the Labour Caste for being helpless.

"Tell your men to either gag him or not to listen to a word he says," I said. "His Passive allows him to influence people using his Dexterity as Charisma. If he wants to, he could convince a low-levelled Soldier to free him, or maybe even to try and kill you."

"No one here is that susceptible but I shall take your words into account, young Knight. Sarah, please see it done."

"Yes, sir." The woman bowed and left, hurrying after the guards.

"I'm sure the eight of you want some time to rest and acclimatise to the situation. We will have some tents made available for you on the outskirts of the camp. That should give you more time to react if Grimm appear or you need to leave."

"We appreciate it," Weiss said.

In the end, Corvo had another one of his people escort us out to the outskirts, where the tents became somewhat sparser and sentries stood periodically around the perimeter. The horses were kept off to one side and we were given space near them, which thankfully didn't quite smell of horse manure as much as I'd feared. Tents were brought for us, and even set up before we had a chance to. Ren busied himself with a cooking fire while Pyrrha left with another guard who wanted to show her where the food and water supplies were in case we needed them.

Mistral felt so much more organised than Vale in those regards, from security to discipline to how we were treated despite being Heroes of an opposing Kingdom. Within an hour or two we were arranged around the fire while a pot of stew bubbled away. It was only noon or so, but after a short night cut off early, we were none of us overly awake or alert.

Ruby looked the worst, still nursing her head with one hand and trying to refuse some water Yang was pushing on her. "It'll make you feel better," Yang said, urging her to drink.

"Ugh…" Ruby groaned, turning her head aside.

"This is a mess," Weiss suddenly said. I had the feeling she didn't mean Ruby. "An assassination in Magnis and now one in the Mistral camp – both aimed at important figures, but not necessarily the leaders in both cases. It doesn't seem to serve any logical purpose."

"Maybe that's the point," Nora said.

"I'm not sure everything works on your Barbarian logic."

"No, hear her out," Ren interrupted, motioning for Nora to continue.

"Well, it's just that you're trying to look at what works and that's not what the Greycloaks seem to be after," Nora said. "They're not trying to actually get anything. They're just trying to cause loads of chaos so that the war will continue."

"Killing people on either side might be a good step for that," Blake said. "Assassins can be Soldier Caste as easily as Hero, so they might have tried to play off each attack as being from the other side."

"But why kill Lord Roux instead of Grey?" I asked. "He's the commander of the garrison."

"To cause more suspicion and chaos. The lord of the keep dies, but the commander stays alive. There are some who would see that as an attempt by Grey to consolidate his power. It's nonsense, of course." Blake waved a hand, dismissing it. "A member of the Soldier Caste could never become the lord of a fortress like Magnis, but what's important is that it cause discontent and mistrust among the people."

"If people don't trust those in charge, who can they trust?" Pyrrha asked. "Maybe these `Greycloaks` they keep hearing of? They might be trying to put themselves up as the solution."

"Or they just want both sides to react in anger," Ren said. "Either way, Nora is probably right. The reason we're not able to predict their moves is because they don't have to logically make sense. You could cause chaos in Magnis by doing any number of things, from assassination to arson or even poisoning the water supply. Of course, the latter would end the siege without a battle, so I doubt they'll want that."

"There's no way for us to predict it, then," I said. "And if we can't predict them, we can't stop them."

The Greycloaks really had the advantage there, though we'd obviously made them nervous with our arrival. Whether they saw us specifically as a threat, or just any Hero, was unknown, but Neo had definitely been after our scrolls.

"We need to root out the Greycloaks," Weiss said. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say I don't think Corvo is working with them. Anyone disagree?" The Mage looked around the group but no one spoke. "Right, we'll keep the scroll dismissing him hidden for now. He might still be influenced without realising it and we'll have to keep an eye out for that, but we should try and find the Greycloaks hidden here."

"How?" Yang asked. "Not like they'll be stupid enough to have their cloaks hidden in their tents. And like Ren said, we can't predict what they're going to do, so we can't catch them in the act either. We'll be late to anything that ever happens."

"We do have Roman," Pyrrha said. "We could interrogate him."

"Do you honestly think he'd talk?"

"Perhaps if we offered to let him live."

"It won't work," Blake said. "Believe me, as much as it doesn't look it he has all the power in that situation. He will know we need the information he has, and he'll hold onto it as long as possible – because the moment he tells us is the moment he loses the only tool he has left."

"It has to be worth a shot, though," Yang said. "It's not like we have any other leads."

The Assassin relented. "I suppose it can't hurt."

"Blake and Weiss should do that," I said, stepping in for a moment. "Blake is high enough level to resist his charm and Weiss was the best at doing so when he tricked us the first time. I think Pyrrha should stick with General Corvo. She's a Prestige Class and from Mistral, so he might be willing to talk a little more openly if she's around."

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked.

"Just keep an eye out and see who he talks to. If someone is going to influence him, they'll have to be nearby. They might even be in his Sub-Commanders."

"The rest of us should just keep our eyes and ears open and see if we can't hear something from the soldiers themselves," Weiss said once Pyrrha had agreed to my suggestion. "Blake and I can try and corner Torchwick after lunch. There's not much more we can do…"

"If the Greycloaks want the battle to happen, it'll happen," Ren agreed. "Both sides are here for the war. We can't single-handedly stop it."

"Even if we could, we wouldn't be allowed to," Blake pointed out. "We'll just have to do the best we can to make sure the battle happens as it's intended to. If we come out of this with the Treaty in one piece, that'll be a victory – no matter who wins or loses at Magnis."

/-/

As the only one without a real task, I'd been left behind at our little camp, both to look after our equipment and to be present if someone needed us. No one from Mistral would try to steal from us, but the Greycloaks might have felt it worth a chance, and there was no telling what they might do. We couldn't exactly let the tents be trapped or burned to the ground.

I wasn't the only one who stayed, of course. Ruby sat a little to the side of me with her head in her hands. Considering the state of her, it was perhaps the right call from Yang not to trust Ruby to look after the camp on her own. She could barely keep her eyes open, let alone keep watch.

"You feeling okay, Ruby?"

"Ugh…"

"Want some water?"

"UGH!" she groaned, louder and sharper and leaned away from the offending canteen.

"Okay, okay, no water. Sheesh, you really can't handle your alcohol."

"I-It's not like I've had much practice," the little Reaper whispered. "Dad would flip if he saw me drinking and Yang would never take me anywhere. Uncle Qrow wouldn't let me, either."

"That's probably a good thing he did," I pointed out.

"Yeah, except that it's not because of morals. He wouldn't let me try any because he drinks it all before anyone else can." Ruby tried to laugh but lost control and shook a little, buckling over like she might be sick. I moved over to try and help her but she waved me off. "I'm fine, it's okay. I just… ugh. Everything tastes like death."

Poor Ruby, or Rubaby as Yang would affectionately call her. I'd tasted the joys of hangovers before, but my Constitution normally worked it out of my system, and the only times I'd ever drunk heavily was during celebrations back home in Ansel. Even then, I'd had mom and dad to keep an eye on me so it wasn't like I'd gone over the top. Lord Roux's wine had been something else entirely.

"The headaches will go away in time," I said, rubbing her back. "Your body just needs to get over it first. At least you don't have lessons today or something. That would be really bad. Just try to stay still and focus on the fresh air."

"The air smells like death," she reported.

I rolled my eyes. "That's the hangover talking. It could be worse."

"Yeah, I could have climbed all over my friend's boyfriend in a dressing gown," Ruby groaned. "Oh wait, I did! Yay for me."

I winced. "You remember that?"

"Yep." Normally, Ruby would have been much more embarrassed and probably would have pretended she didn't, just to avoid the conversation. It looked like her hangover had sapped her ability to care, or maybe she was still a little tipsy and couldn't put a filter between brain and mouth. "I don't remember everything, not perfectly, but I can remember some things. I can remember tripping and catching onto your bed. I can remember crawling on top of you." Ruby sighed loudly. "Kill me now."

"It's not that bad…"

"Kill me before the embarrassment kicks in."

"Blake knew it was an accident," I offered, hoping it would cheer her up or at least make her laugh.

From her horrified expression, it did neither. "You told her!?"

"No, no."

"Oh, thank the Gods…"

"She saw it herself."

Ruby stared at me. She appeared to choke on air.

"But she knew it was nothing wrong," I quickly added. "She knew it was just the drink and she didn't jump to any conclusions. She told me so herself."

"Didn't jump to any conclusions with you," Ruby groaned. "She probably did with me. Nooo… not like this..."

"But she said she knew I wasn't taking advantage."

"She said she knew you weren't. That's not me."

I had to laugh. "Why would Blake think you'd be trying to do that with me?"

Ruby didn't answer, though she muttered something under her breath. If possible, I'd only made her mood worse as she glowered at the floor and cupped her cheeks with both hands. "I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe it…"

"It's fine, Ruby-"

"It's not fine! It's terrible!" Her silver eyes peeked from between her fingers. "What else did I do? Did I say something? I can't remember what we were talking about."

"We talked about the war. You mentioned we could use the scroll to arrest Corvo and slow down Mistral's assault. You made it sound like we would sneak off together to do that." While I wasn't sure telling her that was a good idea, it at least distracted her from the mortification over how close we'd been. Even if it replaced that with obvious guilt. "It was just the alcohol talking, Ruby. I didn't take it seriously."

"Booze doesn't make you lie, though," she whispered. "Yang says people are more honest when they're drunk."

"Honest, maybe, but they also make decisions they normally wouldn't. I don't think anyone here isn't aware you want to stop the war, Ruby. I do, too. I also don't think you'd actually try and take advantage of Cinder like that normally. You weren't yourself. Don't dwell on it."

"Does… everyone know?"

"No," I lied. Blake did, but Ruby looked like she didn't want the truth. She just wanted to be reassured it was all okay. "I didn't tell anyone."

"Thanks…"

"I don't think there's anything wrong with what you want either," I said. "Obviously, we can't betray Cinder by using her scroll for our own advantage, but if there was a way to stop this battle I'd want to take it. I think everyone here would."

"I don't think Blake would agree."

I wasn't sure what to say in response to that. Blake didn't want the war, per se. It was just that she'd rather have the war than some other possibility. She liked the structure of it, the Treaty, and just didn't want it to spiral into something far worse.

That she could happily accept whoever won boggled my mind, but she wasn't from Vale, so that was at least a little understandable. It occurred to me that I'd never asked where she was from at all, but she was always tight-lipped about the past.

"It's complicated," I finally replied. "Blake would stop the war if she had a chance, but she wouldn't break the Treaty to do so. I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with her thinking like that."

"I know, it's just… I wish we could do more." Ruby sighed again. "I feel so useless…"

"We're not useless. We're helping to protect all the people in Magnis by stopping the Greycloaks."

"Soldier Caste are still going to die…" Ruby grumbled. I opened my mouth to say something but she beat me to it. "I know, I know. It's not our fault. I'm not really upset," she promised. "It's just me feeling terrible and getting angry." She gestured towards her face, still pale from the hangover. "Ignore me, I'm being an idiot."

"You're not wrong," I said. "Whatever we do, the Soldier Caste are going to fight. But the sooner we can help Cinder and Ozpin end the war, the better it'll be for everyone in both Vale and Mistral. We have to remember that."

"And focus on the Greycloaks for now," Ruby said. "I get it." She sighed and looked up toward the walls of Magnis in the distance. "We don't have much time, though. You heard the General; the siege equipment is going to be ready in a day. They'll attack in two days. We just don't have time and there's no way to find the Greycloaks that quickly."

We all knew that but hearing Ruby say it made me wince. If we'd arrived sooner we might have had more time, but we'd ridden our horses hard to get here and only paused in Magnis long enough to rest and nearly be assassinated. It wasn't like we'd wasted time. Mistral's army was just too organised. They'd already had the siege equipment being built.

"If only there was some way to slow them down," Ruby said.

"Yeah." I sighed. "If only."

It would solve a lot of our problems…

/-/

"Roman didn't give us anything," Weiss reported once the group had recollected, all except for Pyrrha who had sent back a message of `nothing suspicious` with Ren, and then opted to stay and keep an eye out.

It was just turning towards the evening, and Ruby had finally recovered enough to stomach a meal. Of course, the time lost only served to remind us just how little we had remaining.

"Oh, he gave us something," Blake drawled. "Snark, sarcasm and constant whinging."

"No details, though. The only thing we got was that something is going on, and even then we only figured that out from what he didn't say. He won't admit there was a plan and he played dumb on knowing what his companion was doing in Magnis."

"That's nonsense," Yang said. "There's no way they're not working together."

"Hence why I said we figured it out from what he didn't say. There definitely is a plan. We're just not sure what it is."

"I asked him why he'd work with them," Blake said. "I tried to play on Salem and how she betrays those who summon her. Since we know he favours looking after himself, I thought mentioning how she has killed everyone who summoned her might turn him off."

I was intrigued despite my reservations. "What did he say?"

"That it wasn't he who wanted to make a wish. He's just in it for the money."

The crackle of the fire remained the only sound for a long moment as we digested that. It was the closest we'd come to proof there was someone higher behind all of this. Watts, perhaps? It was hard to say. The Paladin would have a harder time hiding than Neo or Roman would with their illusions and Thief skills.

Still, at least Roman had more sense than Merlot or Tyrian. On the other hand, his actions didn't exactly help the stigma against rogue-based Classes. Little wonder people thought badly of them with people like Roman Torchwick running around.

"We need to get him back to Vale," I said. "If Cinder or Ozpin could figure out who he's working for, it could make all the difference."

"That'll have to wait until after Magnis. We can't exactly leave."

"It's not been a bad day, all things considered." I wasn't sure my optimism was really shared by anyone, but I forged on nonetheless. "I mean, we got a lot done. We met Corvo, found Roman captured, set up our camp and have decided what we're going to do in regards to keeping watch on the General. That's not bad for twelve or so hours' work."

"Yeah, and Lord Roux is dead."

"He would have been dead with or without us there," Nora pointed out. "Jaune's right. We haven't done all that bad. We'll just need to keep our spirits up and try harder tomorrow. We'll try really hard, right Ren?"

"We shall. And Nora is correct, it does us little good to dwell on what we haven't achieved. We should focus on the morrow instead."

I shot Ren and Nora a grateful smile, earning a wink back from the Barbarian. Keeping morale high was about the only thing I could think to do, and no matter how bad the situation was, we had to keep at it. The others eventually agreed, and seemed to relax into their evening meals once we'd all decided our time hadn't been wasted.

The conversation turned to lighter topics too, from what Velvet was up to, to stories from Yang about the first time she'd gotten drunk – which involved very little in the way of crazy shenanigans, and more in the way of her father holding her hair back as she threw up. It earned a few laughs and helped everyone else to open up, with Nora telling stories of her and Ren's adventures before Beacon, with only a little interruption from Ren to correct some of her more boisterous exaggerations.

As the hour ticked away, the Mistral encampment went through a change of the guards – those sleeping during the day awaking for their own breakfast, ready to take over for the night and keep the army alert in case of an attack. We were close enough to Mistral that the gates would be audible if they tried to open, but more than far enough to be out of archer or siege weapon range.

For the most part, Mistral took care of it with its usual discipline, though the majority of the sentries were understandably collected toward the front, facing Magnis. They probably had scouts ranging much further afield behind, since it would hardly be considered a `warning` for a sentry to see an army approaching their rear when the force would have less than three minutes to respond. There must have been mounted patrols, ambushes and all sorts of things I, as someone with no knowledge of military tactics, just couldn't see or fully appreciate. These were career professionals, after all.

"Someone should keep watch at all times," Blake said as everyone finished their meals. "I doubt Mistral would try anything, but we can't ignore the possibility of another Greycloak Assassin." The reason for her bringing up the idea was quickly revealed as she smiled. "I claim first watch."

"Second," I echoed, beating Yang by a hair's breadth. The Brawler cursed.

"Last!" Nora yelled.

"La- Damn it, you too?"

"You snooze, you lose." Nora blew a raspberry. "Or in your case, you'll lose some snoozing either way now."

"Ugh. I hate having watch in the middle."

The rest was sorted out soon after, each divvying up a single hour for an eight hour resting period. While everyone crawled off to get what sleep they could, Yang complaining how hers was going to be split in the middle – and Blake blatantly ignoring the hint to switch – I sat on the logs and warmed my hands by the fire.

"Aren't you going to get some rest?" Blake asked.

"Doesn't feel like there's much point for a single hour."

"Hm." Blake sighed. "We can switch if you want…"

"No, it's fine. My head's pretty much spinning anyway from all the stuff we've been talking about." I pushed myself up with a sigh. "You mind if I go for a walk, just to clear my mind? I'll be back in time for my watch, I promise."

"You don't need to ask me for permission. Be careful though, the Greycloaks could be anywhere."

"I won't leave the encampment."

Blake nodded and left me to it, taking her own stance in the shadows off to one side, clearly intending to present the image that our group were fast asleep in the hopes of catching some unwitting prey. I'd have asked her if that was safe, but this was Blake. She was stronger than me anyway, so hanging around would just make her job harder.

Even if the Mistral army had a good third of its people awake, the encampment itself was still much quieter. Those on guard either didn't want to wake their fellows or didn't feel as comfortable talking in the cool night air. Whatever the case, I found myself wandering through deserted pathways between hundreds and hundreds of round tents.

It was one of the few moments where Mistral's ironclad uniforms didn't seem to matter, as the tents were a wild array of colours and fabrics of different material and wealth. It was possible they brought their own, or chose to upgrade to make the campaign more comfortable. These people were very far from home after all, and probably wanted what comfort they could have, whether it be in the form of more space or simply room to hang pictures of loved ones back in Mistral.

Another reminder of just how normal the invaders were. I wondered if the Soldiers in Magnis saw it that way. It was probably different when you knew they'd be trying to kill you in a little over a day or so, and that you might have to kill them in return. Then again, that was only if things went as planned.

I had a feeling they might not.

A very treasonous feeling indeed…

/-/

I reached the sixth tower under the cover of darkness. The siege equipment from Mistral was being constructed behind the encampment, defence against a pre-emptive strike from Magnis that might have seen them damaged ahead of time. It meant they needed to be wheeled around when the assault began, but the effort would be worth the added safety, at least from Mistral's point of view.

Of course, that also meant there were less sentries watching them since the majority were keeping an eye on Magnis. There were still some around, but it wasn't like they paid any attention to the Hero walking among the equipment and occasionally stopping to inspect them.

What could a Knight do, anyway? He hadn't even drawn his sword.

At least, that was what I imagined they were thinking as I rested my hand on the cladding attached to the front of the siege tower before me. Most of the thing was wood, but there was a fair bit that wasn't, especially the mechanical aspects such as the winches and chains holding bits of it together. I kept my face hidden as I faked an approving nod, all the while my eyes glowed a faint blue.

It wasn't a pattern I `Engraved` onto the metal this time, but rather a line scored into it. And then another line, and another, and another, and over and over on the exact same spot until the metal was worn and pushed aside, creating a deep chasm. It wasn't a Skill I could really hope to use in melee since it took a good ten minutes on each tower, but it did work. I could even push it through connected metal, allowing me to touch the cladding on the front and trace the pattern over a hundred feet above me – so long as there was enough metal to work with.

In this case, there was. My eyes flared a little brighter before they dimmed, and I stepped back without a word, heading back towards the encampment. While I didn't have much to judge the time by, I'd been at work almost an hour now and Blake would be expecting me back any moment. The guards at the gate, or what classed for a gate in a wall made more of cloth, stick and wood, nodded at and welcomed me back inside.

The camp remained quiet as I made my way back towards our tents. I caught sight of the fire first, and paused to try and locate Blake. I didn't doubt for a second she was still awake, but the visual exercise in trying to locate her might save my life. Between mine and Ruby's tents? No, the shadows weren't deep enough to hide her. The others were the same and the light from the flickering fire bathed them in a ruddy orange glow.

"Looking for me?" a voice whispered from behind.

"I was, but now I remember how fruitless that can be."

Blake laughed quietly. "I wouldn't be much of an Assassin if you saw me coming."

"I always thought you hated being called an Assassin."

"I don't hate what I am so much as I do how others treat me, or what they expect of my – my people's – Classes. Anyway, you've been gone a while. Where did you go?"

"Just for a walk," I said. "And I'm back in time for my watch as promised."

"That you are and not a moment late. Good for you. I'd have been upset if you forced me to stand watch any longer than I had to."

It was my turn to laugh. "I wouldn't do that to you."

"Then you're wiser than most. Nothing really happened here. I'm sure your night will be just as boring-"

A loud crack reverberated through the air, cutting Blake off. It was a dull and distant thing followed by an ominous creak, but such was the sheer volume that no one could miss it. Shouts of alarm echoed from the tents of those around us, Soldiers and Heroes included.

Blake's eyes were fixed in the distance behind me. "What on Remnant was that?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's a raid."

"Magnis wouldn't raid here. They don't have the numbers. The best bet is-" Her eyes widened as she saw something. "The towers!"

No sooner had she gasped the word did the first fall. I heard it, but turned to watch nonetheless. The dark shadows were just that, silhouetted against a night sky that was a mix of purple and blue, dotted with stars. The black shape of the first tower seemed to waver slightly, before – with a horrible groan – it folded and bent in on itself. It almost seemed to shrink, but the cacophonous noise it let out didn't resemble that in the slightest. It crashed to the floor, waking everyone in the encampment.

The second fared no better. That one toppled to the left, catching onto the third, which should have stood firm – or at least deflected it. But no, the third was weakened too and shattered on impact, several struts giving way and causing it to collapse inwards and to the ground. It kicked up a dust cloud that covered the encampment, though that did little to hide the sound of a few more siege towers being destroyed.

"H-How?" Blake gasped.

"Like I said, it must have been a raid from Magnis."

She shot me a sudden glare at that, perhaps suspicious, but it was hidden a second later when the others burst from their tents to figure out what the commotion was. The moment they saw the fallen towers, and the Mistral soldiers rushing towards them, they stopped to stare.

"Well," Weiss said blankly. "I suppose the attack is going to be delayed now…"

I kept my expression neutral, and facing away from Blake.

"I guess so…"

It took a while for Mistral to figure out what was going on, mostly because they were gripped with sleep and shock, struggling for weapons in case of an attack. The voices of those who were on guard were drowned out by cries of panic and question, preventing any semblance of order from taking hold. Even in the distance, the walls of Magnis had lit up with torches, the defenders no doubt curious to see what the ruckus was.

General Isaac Corvo was the one to ultimately restore order, barking out orders and sending his sub-commanders running in all directions to see to the chaos. I initially suggested the others get some sleep while it was going on, but the threat of an attack remained, and they had no way of knowing if we'd be needed or not. I couldn't argue, and so had to wait with them.

To their credit, it only took fifteen minutes for the whole camp to realise what was happening. That was perhaps slow given that if it were an actual attack, they'd have been slaughtered – but it wasn't and that was what led to much of the confusion. People ran about with weapons to their posts, then were confused when the enemy wasn't present. Once it was sorted and explained, many returned to their tents, though a general air of unease and paranoia gripped the camp.

It was that which led General Corvo and his lieutenants to us. "Hail," he called, striding toward our camp. "I would speak with you Heroes a moment. Do you have the time?"

Did we have a choice? I kept quiet and waited for Weiss to answer.

"Of course, General. What is happening? We heard the noise but we've no idea what is going on."

"Several of the siege towers have collapsed," he replied, and one of the men with him scoffed. "A daring raid by Vale, or perhaps a weakness in our own designs. I wished to speak with the Knight among you, if I may."

Everyone's gaze turned to me. I tried to smile. "Me? Sure. What's wrong?"

"Where were you tonight?"

Ruby looked nervous. "Jaune…?"

Blake leapt to my defence. "He was-"

I cut her off before she could make a mistake. "I went for a walk to clear my head."

"Did you perhaps go outside of the encampment's walls?" Corvo asked.

"I did."

There was a sharp inhale of breath from Blake, split by a cough as she looked aside and covered her mouth with one hand. The other members of the Guild looked confused, more so from just being woken up. I'd told Blake I wouldn't leave the encampment, but that wasn't enough for such a reaction. I dreaded what her expression might have said, but thankfully kept my attention on Corvo instead.

"One of the sentries said they saw you by the siege towers," one of the men with the General spat. "What do you have to say for yourself!?"

"Finn, I shall thank you not to make such accusations," Corvo said. He nodded to me. "I apologise but what Finn says is true. The sentries reported that you left the encampment and moved towards the siege towers, spending some time there. Is this true?"

"It is."

"And you inspected the towers?"

"I did."

Some of the other soldiers shifted awkwardly, not quite drawing weapons but looking a little confused – like they weren't sure if they should be or not. I was a Hero, after all. To Mistral, that was sacred, as Corvo well knew from the troubled expression he wore.

"I hate to ask so callous of a thing from you, honoured Hero, but please understand that I must. Did you sabotage the siege towers?"

"How dare you?" Weiss howled, stepping forward. "To accuse us-"

"Weiss," I said, cutting her off. I smiled in her direction before answering the General's question. "I didn't sabotage the towers. The Treaty prevents me from doing that."

"He's lying," Finn said. "He's from Vale and obviously loyal to them. This sets us back days. It could make all the difference if Magnis is reinforced. We don't have the food to last that long. We need to take Magnis and the supplies inside."

"And this Hero could not have known that before you so foolishly said it out loud," Corvo pointed out, silencing the man. "Unless he has been hiding in our camp for over a week now, he would not know of to the importance of our attack. And Finn, we cannot throw out accusations here." Despite his words, I couldn't help but notice just how sharply his eyes fixed on mine. "Tell me, did you see anything while you were out there?"

"I saw some figures in the dark," I said. "There were more than five, less than ten."

"You didn't see fit to raise the alarm?"

"The Treaty forbids it." I pointed out. Neither of them appeared particularly pleased with my answer, but there was nothing they could do about it. I was barred from choosing sides in a war, and that meant even if I saw scouts, an ambush, or just about anything else, I couldn't reveal it to the Soldiers I accompanied. It made for a convenient excuse. "That's why I spent so much time out there. I realised what was happening and saw the possibility of a battle if the small group from Magnis was discovered. Even if it's a small skirmish there's a chance Grimm might spawn. I was just out there doing my duty."

"Doing his duty? What a load of-"

"General Corvo!" someone called, hurrying over to us. It was a man in armour, an Archer, and he knelt in front of Corvo. "I apologise, General, but you requested I inform you the moment we found something."

"I did. Please speak."

"The siege towers were damaged as expected, sir. It was no structural fault which caused this and no blame should fall on the engineers. We came across evidence of tampering that damaged the foundations."

Blake tensed. I let out a long breath.

"What kind of tampering?" Corvo asked.

"Scored and broken metal – as though someone cut through it. There was also some parts that appeared… melted. It was odd, sir. Some of the metal had twisted and set in odd patterns, like a pool of water turned to iron. The wheels too, in some places, had burn marks that indicated fire or extreme heat. All things being equal, the engineers think a Mage of some kind must be responsible. The sentries would have easily seen torches otherwise."

"I was at the camp all night," Weiss quickly said.

"The guards listed all who left the encampment. She was not among them," the messenger confirmed. "Few of our men did, with only the Knight there leaving for any amount of time."

Corvo sighed. "And a Knight can hardly melt and twist metal, nor destroy a siege tower with his bare hands, can he, Finn?"

Finn's face was hard. "He cannot, sir."

"This is a problem for us but a problem of our own making. We apologise for bothering you tonight," he said, nodding to us. His eyes fixed on mine, and though it was subtle I still registered a small amount of suspicion in them. "Thank you for your work tonight, and for answering our questions. Had any Grimm spawned as a result of this daring raid, I would have hated to see them harm Soldiers from either side."

"It's fine. I was just doing what I'm supposed to do." I held his gaze until he nodded and ordered his group away, striding back into the camp to bark orders and plan a solution to their latest problem.

"Well, that was tense," Pyrrha said. "It's a good job that messenger came by. I thought for a minute they might actually think it was you…"

I laughed. "Ha, yeah. That would have been weird."

"A lucky break it was a Mage who damaged them and not someone with a sword, or you might well have been in trouble." Weiss said. "Is this another attempt by the Greycloaks to frame us, perhaps?"

"If so, it's not a good one."

"Maybe not, but it does delay the battle," Ruby said, smiling happily. "If their food is low, they might have to lift the siege entirely!"

Yang grinned. "Hey yeah, that might actually be a thing."

I watched as they discussed it between them, and was about to join in with the laughter, when a hand clamped firmly around my arm, just below the elbow. Blake's breath washed over the back of my neck. Her fingers dug into my arm. "Jaune."

"Blake?"

"I think we need to talk. Privately."

"Um. Okay?" My stomach flipped because of the sudden momentum of her dragging me aside, away from our camp and to an empty patch of ground near the horse pens. Her eyes dug into mine and her face was pale. She checked and double-checked to make sure no one was around.

"Blake, what's got you so bothered?"

"It was you."

"What was-"

"Don't play games with me, Jaune!" she snapped. Her tone was sharper than I'd heard it before. I wasn't sure I'd ever heard her sound as angry, even when Roman was scamming us. "I don't know how, but your reaction when you heard the siege towers fall. You were too satisfied."

"W-Well of course I was. It helps us by delaying the battle but that doesn't mean I'm the one who did it. How could it be me? You heard what they said. I didn't even draw my sword out there and even if I'm strong, someone would have seen me bend metal with my bare hands."

"I might believe you if you'd look at me when saying that. Look me in the eyes and tell me it wasn't you."

I did so, turning to stare into those amber orbs. They pierced deep into my soul. "It wasn't me."

"You looked away!" she snapped, catching my arm. She spun me back around, cupped my cheeks and dragged my face down. We were nose to nose. "Say it again. Did you just break the Grand Treaty by destroying those siege towers?"

"I didn't."

I don't know what she saw in me, but see the truth she did. She backed off, eyes wide and shaking like a lead. "Y-You absolute fool," she breathed. "You… I… I can't believe you'd even think that a good idea, let alone go through with it!"

Cat out of the bag, with the possibility of that becoming literal, I rushed forward to clamp a hand over her mouth. It was a sign of how shocked she was that she couldn't react in time to stop me. "Not so loud," I whispered. "Do you want anyone nearby to overhea- oof!" An elbow dug into my stomach. Blake caught my hand, twisted it, and then brought me to my knees with a wrist lock.

"Don't you dare chastise me on not being cautious," she hissed. "Do you have any idea how much you risked tonight? Do you have no clue what you just did?"

"I… I bought us more time," I gasped. It was the wrong answer. I knew that when her hand twitched and agony flared down mine. "Ah, ah, ah. Not so tight!"

"Time? Yeah, you bought us time – at the risk of what remains of yours! Don't you get it? What do you think would have happened if you'd been caught?" She let go of my hand but grasped my collar before I could do anything, dragging me bodily up so that we were face to face. "Do you think it would be a slap on the wrist or a detention with Miss Goodwitch? No, you'd be executed in order to protect the Treaty. They'd make you swing from the gallows and I would have to fucking watch!"

"Blake, I-"

"No!" She raised a hand to slap me but paused, considering it. It balled into a fist and buried into my stomach instead. "You stupid son of a bitch," she hissed, and it was on the last word that her voice broke. A strangled sob came out. "What would you have had me do? Stand there and watch? Give my life to try and stop them? Just move on and forget you ever existed?"

"You can't do this," she whispered. "You can't just make these decisions that affect all of us without telling us anything. You're not a Thief or an Assassin; you're a Knight. Everyone saw you out there and I've no idea how you managed to trick them, but whatever the case it stops here. The Grand Treaty exists for a reason. You might not like it, Ruby might not like it – and neither do I or anyone else here – but it's the only thing preventing a massacre! Stick to it, or I swear to any God out there I'll break both your legs and render you crippled until we get back to Beacon!"

She pulled me even closer. Close enough to see the frustrated and frightened tears in her eyes. "Don't test me. You know I'll do it."

Guilt crashed over me.

"Blake, I'm sorry…"

She laughed bitterly. "Sorry you did it, or sorry I found out?"

My silence was telling. All those lives and Blake's pained expression.

Which mattered more?

Right now, she did - but earlier, with the threat of the siege on my mind? Things had been different. She saw it in my face and in my refusal to answer, or maybe it was just in the way I stared shame-faced at the ground.

"This can't keep happening. I'll… I'll keep your secret. Not like I'm going to tell anyone, but you can't do this. You're playing with fire, Jaune, and you have no idea just how much worse things could be. You think you do, but you don't. That battle before? That was nothing compared to what it could have been. The Treaty isn't perfect but it's all we have."

"I-It was a one-off," I said, honestly this time. "I just… I wanted to buy us more time…"

"And if you'd been caught and sentenced to be executed?"

"I don't know. I didn't think about it…"

"That's what I thought." Blake released me and took a step away. Her breath came out in a long and laborious gasp, but when I stepped after her she held out a hand, stopping me. "Don't. I can't deal with you right now, not like this. I'm too angry. Things will be better in the morning." She paused to take a deep breath. "At least I hope they'll be..."

"I'm sorry, Blake…"

Her eyes met mine.

"No you're not. That's the problem."

She stalked away, shaking her head and muttering under her breath, and I, in a moment of cowardice, watched her. My heart begged me to stop her, to apologise, to say something. But what could I say?

Sorry again…?

Like she'd said, I was only sorry my actions had hurt her. I was only sorry I'd been caught. We needed the time. The Greycloaks had to be stopped. I rose with a sigh, dusting myself down and wincing at the pain I could still feel from her blow. It was nothing compared to the guilt inside. I didn't feel nearly as proud of my actions as I had before. I felt like a bastard.

Hopefully, I'd be able to make it up to her.

Hopefully, this whole war would be over before I messed things up even further.


Oh, Jaune. Breaking the rules is a thing, but there will always be consequences. I know some have said "But he's actually Labour Caste", but I would like to remind you all that the Treaty goes both ways. It prevents Heroes attacking Soldiers, but also NPC's doing the same. As such, Jaune would still be breaking the Treaty with his real Class. It's just that the Kingdoms are less likely to expect it because of the prejudice in them seeing Labour Caste as harmless.

Truth revealed, he remains just as guilty.

So, I'm expecting the judgment patrol heavily on this one. Who is right? Who is wrong? Could it be that both have a point and it's two differing points of view? Lol, nope. Let's act like Michael Jackson and turn this one black and white!

And no…

He doesn't get EXP for slaying siege towers.


Next Chapter: 16th April

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur