I was stopped in a supermarket this weekend because my debit card registered as stolen on the shop's till. I absolutely had a panic attack and was like "ffs, my bad luck is back!" only for the woman to gasp and admit it was an error on her part. I felt lightheaded for a few seconds. Sheesh!

Nothing else happened. Totally normal weekend.


Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Dishwasher1910

Book 9: Chapter 16


The scythe was made from Ironwood, that much I could tell. Not like I would have made it, or even forged by a Blacksmith at all; its shaft and blade were all one piece of metal without a seam. It had been grown that way rather than manipulated into position. I could tell with but a glance that it wouldn't last long in a fight. One, maybe two good hits or parries before the blade's head would be jarred loose. Of course, that wouldn't matter with Ruby. Her cripplingly high Agility meant any weapon she struck with was destroyed by the impact. And likely her target as well.

"Archmage Ironwood and I worked on this in secret," Ozpin said, ignoring my silence or just mistaking it for awe. In Ruby's case, that was accurate. "Though shaping a blade wasn't something that came easily to him, he was able to grow it roughly into shape. From there, it took time to file the blade. We used magical weapons from the vault for that. Our original efforts to make a scythe from those magical weapons ended in failure." He chuckled. "It's not as easy as strapping a magical sword to a pole, and if the blades are melted down, they lose much of their power."

"It's beautiful," Ruby said – and it was. The point at which the shaft became the blade was a single uninterrupted piece of metal, but the plant like nature of the Ironwood shone through, resulting in thin vines of silver wrapping around it. "Can I touch it?"

"By all means."

Ruby stepped up onto the pedestal and took the weapon down. Cradling it in her hands, she gave it an experimental and slow swing. It whistled through the air a silvery blur I struggled to keep up with. It wasn't the weapon responsible. It was her.

"How is it?"

"Light." She gave it another swing. "A little top-heavy."

"I'm afraid our expertise does not lay in weapon forging, so finding the correct balance of the weapon was something we didn't think of."

"It's fine. Every weapon is a little different at first, even if it's meant to be the same. I can adjust for that."

To show her point, she twirled the scythe around her body and brought it to rest behind her, the blade toward the floor and the pole sticking up behind her. It was the usual way she stood relaxed whenever she was carrying the weapon. Scythes could never be sheathed as easily as a sword or dagger. I'd always felt bad about that, seeing so small a girl forced to lug around an unwieldy weapon climbing mountains and trekking for miles and miles.

"I have to ask though," she said, "If you had trouble with forging it, why not ask Jaune? He is the Blacksmith."

"Why not indeed?" Ozpin asked. "The weapon isn't finished. It needs one more thing; a Rune."

"Well, we can do that now." Ruby turned to me with a smile. "Jaune?"

"No."

The single word slipped past my lips a mere whisper but killed Ruby's smile stone dead. Ozpin sighed, expecting it from the start, but Ruby hadn't and the shock in her face hurt. Not as much as the thought of what Ozpin was suggesting, however. I rounded on him.

"How could you suggest something like this? You're throwing her life away. You want to send her one on one against Salem on the off-chance her Agility can carry her through." I swept my arm to the side, decapitating his argument. "What if it doesn't? What if it doesn't kill Salem and Ruby ends up stuck in the middle of a huge pile of Grimm with her?"

Ozpin met my eyes. "I would imagine Miss Rose dies."

"You-" The callousness shocked me. Anger bubbled beneath the surface as my teeth ground together. My eyes flickered blue, the familiar sensation of my Resilience taking hold and dampening it. That it kicked in at a time like this was evidence of just how furious I was. "That's right," I hissed. "She dies. And you move on and try something else, throwing another person into the fray. Maybe it'll be Blake next. If Ruby can't speed her way in, maybe Blake can sneak in."

"It's an angle we have considered," Ozpin admitted, "Though Miss Belladonna's level is hardly anything special for an adult. We would have sent Saren. Then again, the more the merrier and Salem cannot look in every direction at once. We might send every Assassin we have on hand."

My head spun. I staggered to the side and caught myself on the wall, eyes flashing as rage built up and was suppressed again and again. It was hard to breathe. My hand found Crocea Mors but didn't draw it. Touching the hilt soothed me. It was a dependency I'd never realised I had, but I needed it now so fucking badly. At a time when Ozpin, a man I trusted, was telling me just how freely he'd sacrifice the people I loved.

"You're a monster."

"I am," he acknowledged. "I will be whatever I must be to keep Vale safe. Really, Mr Arc, I'm surprised it took you so long to realise. You yourself have made spears that you know full well I intended to give to an untrained Labour Caste militia. How do you expect they will fare holding the line against Grimm and Salem?"

I bit my lip.

"I'll tell you," he went on. "They'll be massacred. Even now, they're being slaughtered out in the city. That's just a fact. Salem is within the walls and our Heroes will soon be overwhelmed. Blood will flow in the streets and good men and women, even some children, will stand before the horde with a spear in hand and no training to their name. Their job will be simple; to buy us a few more seconds as the Grimm sheathe their claws in those brave people's bodies."

"Shut up!"

"And you knew this, Mr Arc." Ozpin stepped forward with his eyes locked onto mine. "You know more than anyone the difference between a Hero and Labour Caste member. You've lived both lives. You knew even as I asked you to forge untold weapons for them, and you had to know what their ultimate fate would be." He paused, considered. "Or is it that you only protest now that it is someone close to you who I will ask to give their lives for the cause? Oh dear." He tutted and shook his head. "That's rather hypocritical."

"Ozpin!" Ruby rebuked. "That's too far!"

"No, Miss Rose. I think it's just far enough. You see, Mr Arc, we are losing this war. Not just Vale, but Remnant. We stand at a crossroads where our world might be saved from the Grimm or damned by them, and at this time we must grasp every option available to us. If I thought it might grant us victory, I would sacrifice every innocent currently being evacuated to Atlas right now. That was something I considered."

"What!?" I wasn't sure who it was who asked that; me or Ruby. It might have been both of us.

"It was an early plan discarded. Our idea – Archmage Ironwood and I – was to mimic the ritual to summon Salem, and to make a wish that would end this siege. Yes, it would surely have backfired and killed us, but Remnant would have survived. To summon her we would have needed great pain, and what better way than to betray hundreds of thousands of people to their doom?"

"You sick fuck!"

"I don't deny it." Ozpin removed his glasses and sighed deeply. He looked exhausted but I refused to let that stop me from stepping in front of Ruby protectively. "I am sick of this war. I am sick of Salem and sick with the fear of our world being destroyed. Make no mistake, I myself would have made the wish and allowed myself to perish. I can even see the ironic death Salem might choose for me. She would end the siege and save Vale, but in doing so leave me to be tortured and executed, torn apart by a mob of the people I'd saved, who would blame me for the deaths of so many." He smiled. "And rightly so. I would accept it all with a smile on my face. If it meant we would win this war."

"Up there," I said, breathing harshly. "You told me we had a chance. Told me not to lose hope."

"I told you what I must. I told you what you needed to hear to keep fighting. And make no mistake, there were others listening in. What good would the truth have done them? That we fight a losing battle and will surely die. Do you know what my scouts outside the walls have seen?"

"I didn't even realise we had scouts…"

"Individuals sent out via portal. They tell of more Grimm approaching. In the hundreds of thousands. They speak of armies the size of this one coming to reinforce, and skies blacked out by Nevermore and worse monsters. Of Beowolves rising from graves of humans and disgusting beasts crawling out the oceans. Salem is maintaining the summoning or creation of new Grimm. It does not matter how many we kill; there will always be more. We must strike her down or perish."

"Ironwood said he was developing a spell."

"Yes. We were developing many options such as this one. You won't be the only people I speak with today, Mr Arc. You can be assured of that. Did you know that Coco Adel has a Skill named Heartshot? With it, she can imbue her own life energy into an arrow. She uses it sparingly and only ever enough to wind herself, but the results are spectacular."

"No…"

"Yes," Ozpin said, smiling sadly. "Tonight, I will ask her to feed herself into a single shot targeted for Salem. It may work or it may not, but either way she will not be alive to see the outcome."

"That's not fair."

"Life is not fair, Mr Arc. You know this. Blake Belladonna, Summer Rose, Qrow Branwen, Tyrian Callows, Cinder Fall, Hazel and Ellayne Rainart, even yourself and Miss Rose. How has life been fair to any of you?"

Each of those names was a dagger to my heart, even the ones who were still alive. They'd all suffered in one way or another, either by the very fact they had the Class they did, or because society turned on them. Heroes died Heroes while other Classes could do nothing but tow the line and hope to survive.

"These words above our heads are a curse. We are born to fulfil a role, to live and die tied to a destiny granted to us at the very moment of our birth. You railed against that. Did you think you were the only one to do so? I, the Sage, must forever be the one who advises. I plan and strategize, and have good men and women die to see it done. This is not the life I wanted, but then, I did not wish Salem upon us."

"Jaune, it's fine." Ruby touched my arm from behind, holding me back as thought she thought I'd attack Ozpin head on. I must have looked it with my legs spread and hand on my weapon. "It's my choice," she said. "I want to do this. Even if it's just a chance."

"Of course you do!" I sighed as much as spat the answer. "Of course you fucking do. You're Ruby Rose, daughter of Summer Rose. You'd throw your life away to save someone even if they didn't ask for it. This was the exact thing Qrow was worried about with you."

Ruby flinched back, face ashen white. "W-What…?"

"Qrow was always afraid you'd do the same as your mother." It wasn't fair for me to drag up his name, but I had a feeling he'd forgive me it if it meant turning Ruby away from this. It was my turn to hold her arm, to prevent her escape as she tried to back away with wide eyes. "He was afraid I'd be some arrogant Knight allowing you it for a shot at glory. When he found out I was the opposite, I think he was relieved. But if he could see you now, he'd feel that same horror all over again."

"T-That's not fair. He was my uncle. I loved him!"

"And he loved you. Apparently more than you love yourself."

"Do you think I want to die!?" Ruby shrieked the question, stunning me. It was the first time she'd ever really raised her voice, at least in anger. It wasn't cold like Blake's, but how and passionate, burning like a sun. It was hysterical. "I don't want to die! I want to live! I want to have a normal life! I didn't want to be a Reaper either. I'm not agreeing because I want to die; I'm agreeing because I don't want everyone else to die!"

"We don't even know if Ozpin's plan will work."

"We don't know it won't! And what other choice do we have? We have to kill her and I'm faster than Raven was. Who else is going to do it? Who else can even touch her?"

"I can-"

"You!?" Ruby laughed. It was a bitter sound. "Jaune, you're the slowest person in the Guild. All that Strength and Resilience mean nothing when she can walk faster than you can run. You couldn't kill her even if you had a `Sword of Salem Slaying`. You'd never reach her with it."

"Ruby…"

"No." She shook her head violently. "Listen to me! You're acting like you get to decide what I do with my life, well you don't. Neither does Yang and I know she warned you about me." Her foot stomped down. "This is a war, Jaune. People are dying. I'm a Hero and you're a Blacksmith. We need to do our jobs!"

"And what job is that?"

"You make me a weapon I can use against Salem."

"And let you run off to die."

"Let me run off and fight," she said, lower jaw jutted out.

Yet again, it came back to that. My Class. My fucking Class. I'd spent the better part of three years fighting it and succeeding. I was stronger, able to fight, capable of standing next to Blake and Pyrrha and holding the line against monsters normal people couldn't dare face. And yet at this moment, in the very end of things, the only thing I could do was be the good little Blacksmith and forge a weapon for a real Hero to use against the evil villain.

I felt tired. Exhausted. Not just physically but emotionally.

Ozpin chose that moment to target me. "What we need from you is a Rune. Specifically, we want you to place the `Seal` Rune on the scythe."

The same Rune as Raven's sword, my amulet and the door on the temple in Vacuo.

"Why? It didn't work for Raven."

"Raven never managed to land a blow on Salem," Ozpin said. "And she had greater understanding of her than anyone else on Remnant. Ourselves included. If Raven truly believed the Seal Rune would somehow imperil Salem, then it is the best option we have. Her only fault was in failing to land a blow with the Starmetal Sword."

"And killing thousands of people."

"Let's not quibble specifics, Mr Arc. There are thousands of people up there dying while we argue."

That didn't make it my fault. Nor did it make it any more a reason why Ruby should go off on a suicide Quest. And it was. Even if this worked, Ruby's scythe would explode on the first hit. She'd be unarmed and defenceless, surrounded by Grimm. And that was assuming it worked as advertised, or that Salem didn't dodge, see the attack coming or use her magic to swat Ruby away like a fly.

"What if it doesn't work?"

"I think I've already discussed that. Miss Rose will die. We will try something else. And yes," he said before I could speak. "We will try again and again and again, until every last option is taken away and even then I shall not accept the death of our world. That is our duty. Our destiny."

Duty broke Tyrian. Destiny destroyed Cinder's life. I'd had enough of both.

Ruby touched my back again, pressing her face into my spine. "Please, Jaune. I don't want to see everyone die. I can do this. I can do something. I'm already dead anyway. I can't fight if you all die; my Agility is too high, and I'll break every weapon I use. I won't even be able to defend myself and you know how low my Constitution is."

Low enough that she'd be winded or even exhausted after launching an attack on Salem. It really was an all or nothing prospect. The second she hit, she'd collapse. If the Grimm didn't instantly vanish, she'd die. If Salem dodged, she'd die. If it didn't work, she'd die.

"If things continue as they are," Ozpin said, reading my mind or just my expression. "It won't just be Miss Rose who dies. It will be everyone. And not just here. Vacuo, Mistral and Atlas. All will fall. The tribespeople of Vacuo know this. It's why they fight and die right now for people who never asked for their aid. It is because they trust us to find a way to end her. If you reject this, you throw away their sacrifice. As you do the sacrifices of every single person on Remnant. And that includes those who have died before. Miss Belladonna's mother, Summer, Cinder and Qrow. They all died for this moment, Mr Arc. Do not fail them now."

Hands shaking and teeth gritted, I glared at him. "I know what you're doing. You're trying to guilt me into this."

"I am," he said shamelessly. "And I'll continue to do so. And make no mistake, if needs be I will ask Miss Rose to launch her attack without a Rune. There is just as much a chance Salem will die from decapitation."

Son of a bitch.

"I'll agree," Ruby said sadly. "Sorry Jaune."

I couldn't believe it. No, I could, and that was the problem. Ruby would do whatever she thought would help the most people – and if that meant her death, then so be it. Ozpin would do what he felt he needed to. What he maybe did need to do. And I… I was just a Blacksmith. A tool. With that in mind, I strode forward and gripped the haft between Ruby's hands.

She tensed and I knew why. In truth, I considered destroying it then and there. I could, but then wouldn't Ruby just find a lesser scythe to go out with? How would I feel if she died because she didn't have this weapon?

My eyes closed. Blue light filtered out from the bottom of my lid as a Rune was etched onto the blade. Familiar and simple, one I'd seen more than any other, even if I hadn't realised so long back that it had been a Rune at all. My Runesight was engaged and I looked at it. Seal, it read. No other information. No hint of its true purpose. Only the desperate efforts of Raven Branwen to go on.

"Thank you," Ruby whispered. "Thank you, Jaune. I – ah! Jaune!?"

I didn't listen. My work done, I – the lowly Blacksmith – turned and walked away, leaving the glorious hero to her task. What did my opinion matter? It hadn't been enough to stop her now and wouldn't later. If she wasn't going to listen to me, I wasn't going to listen to her.

"Jaune!" she cried. "Jaune, please. I'm sorry!"

I stormed up the steps and away.

/-/

The war still raged in the city. I had a good view from my precarious perch on the roof of the Lodge, legs splayed over a triangular peak and back against the chimney. Lights in the city flickered and flared as spellfire did its best to cleanse the narrow streets and lines of figures clad in sparkling armour fought and died. Congregations of torches arranged in circles lit areas I assumed to be healer camps or other administrative areas. They were kept away from the fighting and defended as best as could be. I couldn't find Salem. It was too dark, and she didn't stand out.

A window opened below, and I heard someone sniff the air. A hand clutched the lip of the roof and a lithe figure swept up. Blake landed agilely, looked around the rooftop and spotted me. Her eyes were glowing softly in the dark. I waved weakly back at her.

"Didn't expect you to be up here," she said, coming up to sit beside me.

"Needed some fresh air."

"Sure. And I'm a horse faunus. You came storming back with a face like thunder, then Ruby came back on the verge of tears ten minutes later. Neither of you says a thing and you retreat to the roof before anyone can question you. Normal behaviour for sure. I have no idea why anyone would think otherwise." Her fingers touched my hand. I think the desperate way I clutched onto her told her more than anything how troubled I was. "Tell me," she pleaded. "Tell me what's wrong."

Was it my secret to tell? Was it a secret at all?

There was no screaming from downstairs. No shouting and arguing and sounds of Yang throwing a table out the window, so I assumed Ruby hadn't told anyone a thing. That was just like her. Just like me. Hadn't she learned from my example what keeping secrets did? I wasn't feeling particularly loyal to the idea at that moment, so I told Blake everything. Free from Ruby, Ozpin and anyone else, I didn't just tell her what happened but everything I felt as well. If Blake called my childish, I didn't know what I'd do. Break, maybe. Lose it. I wasn't sure I could handle it.

"That damned fool," she said instead, voice filled with so much anger. "I can't believe she'd accept."

Blake had no idea how crushing my relief was. I almost cried.

"She didn't tell us down there. Just said you argued about her fighting. She's told them the scythe will let her fight again on the front lines without losing control of her speed. She said the Rune seals her speed."

"Ha." I laughed bitterly. "That's not a bad excuse for her. She's good at lying."

"I can't believe… No, I can believe. Damn it. And Ozpin. At least him I can agree with. In principle, anyway. He has to do something, and he knows how doomed we are. Him asking her to throw her life away is one thing. Her hating it but accepting would be another. If she knew it would work, that is."

"We don't know," I said. "The Rune didn't help Raven."

"And you've no idea what it does?"

"No. It was on the temple doors in Vacuo. According to Sun, it was a symbol used by the royal family or something. That bit might be lost to history, though. Maybe it wasn't their symbol but rather they knew how to use the Rune and it was useful to them in some way. I don't know what that is. It's never reacted or done anything when I used it before."

"The definition implies it would seal her away," she said. "Like sealing her in the temple."

"That's what Ozpin seems to think. Or hope."

"It's a gamble. She's gambling her life on a thousand to one odds."

"Someone gets it," I said, holding her hand tight. "Ruby… I don't know. I'm sure she understands it, but she just doesn't care. I can't tell if that's because she's acting like her mother or out of some wish to see us safe."

"Probably all of the above. Knowing her." Blake sighed. "You put the seal on the scythe."

"I had to. If I didn't, she'd just have run in with the scythe on its own and tried it that way. What if she died specifically because I refused? I couldn't do that. Even if it's a thousand to one, I refuse to be the one who makes it two thousand to one."

"But now you don't know what to do."

"Hm. I'm angry. Furious."

Blake looked at me askance. "Are you hoping she'll not go until she makes peace with you?"

I hadn't thought of it like that. It was a good idea, though, and I bit my lip, thinking on how long I could drag out the argument and whether it'd really stop Ruby. The thought of her going and dying with us still not having made up was too painful. "No. I'm just angry. I wanted her to feel hurt in the same way I do." I sighed. "Does that make me a bad person?"

"Probably. I'd have done the same, though. We can be bad people together."

"Ha." I smiled. I wasn't sure I'd have believed her if she said I was in the right, or that it would have helped me feel better. Weirdly enough, this did. Just knowing I wasn't alone with these disturbing thoughts. Ozpin had no choice. Ruby felt she had no choice. I knew I had no choice. "Thanks, Blake."

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

"We?"

"Ruby means just as much to me as she does you. And the others would never forgive us if we didn't say or do something. I'd never forgive myself. Would you?" I shook my head. "Then we have to do something."

"What can we do?" I asked. "Look." I pointed to the city. "People out there are fighting and dying using the weapons I made them. Weapons which won't save them from the Grimm. I was told to give them Strength. Just to give them a chance of killing one Grimm before they die. I knew that when I was asked to, but I didn't feel bad. Or not bad enough. I found ways to distance myself from the responsibility. If I let them do that, what right do I have to stop Ruby?"

"The same right you had with them. Two wrongs don't make a right and picking right the second time doesn't undo the mistake of the first. That happened and people are dying. There's no changing it. Maybe we can even be blamed for Salem being here in the first place. If we'd stopped the Greycloaks sooner this wouldn't have happened. If my parents hadn't kept the tome in their vault when Raven attacked, she would have never found out how to summon her in the first place. If they'd thrown it in the sea, we wouldn't be here."

"Can we even stop Ruby? She's too fast. And… and she's right in a way. The battle is getting closer and closer to Beacon. It'll be a day, maybe two, before it hits. And then we'll all be at the risk of dying." I looked down at the rooftiles. I hated to admit it, but I couldn't not. "Maybe Ruby is right to do this."

"Maybe she is."

Blake's frank admission caught me by surprise. I turned to look at her, finding her sat with one knee up to her chest, arms crossed over it and her chin atop her arms. I finally noticed the little signs of her own exhaustion, the weariness that pervaded her as it did all of us. We were safe for now but we both knew how little that would last. We were catching as little rest as we could before being thrown back into the melee. The only reason we were kept out now was the possibility we could be useful. Me as a Blacksmith and her as an Assassin.

"There's another option," she said, looking at me from the side of one eye. "I'm not sure it'll make it any better, but it would mean we could do something."

"I'm listening."

"We don't stop her. Hear me out," she said as my eyes closed. "I'm not sure we can stop her, not with her speed. I might be able to sneak up on and knock her out, but what would we do? Lock her in the basement until we all die and she starves to death? Ozpin would come free her before that happened. If we can't stop her, we can at least try and even out the odds."

My eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?"

"If Ruby is the Hero and you're her Blacksmith, we're falling into old roles. The kinds from legends and tales we heard when we were children." Blake smiled fondly. "Why not embrace that? Since when did the Hero ever go alone? Didn't they always have their loyal companions with them?"

"You're saying we go with her…?"

"Ruby isn't an endurance runner. Even less so with her current Agility being so high. And the longer she has to run, the more time Salem will have to react. She's going to need to sneak into the city and get close. That's my forte, not hers. And we'll need an escort. Someone who can act as the muscle if we need to make a retreat or get spotted."

The three of us out in Vale, beyond the front lines in a city overrun with Grimm. We'd need to sneak through the buildings and get close enough to Salem that Ruby could launch her attack without being spotted. That was a big ask. Not so much for Blake on her own, but we didn't have her Skills. Then again, it would be just as crazy for Ruby to try it alone. She probably expected to just run through the lines of Grimm and use her speed to reach Salem. It'd work, but she'd be exhausted by the time she made it and Salem would have all the forewarning in the world.

If we explained that to Ruby, she'd agree. As long as we were helping her achieve what she wanted to, she'd accept their idea. Did we then sabotage it on purpose? No. That wasn't what Blake was suggesting. We'd do this and they'd do it in the hopes of giving Ruby a better chance. Because if we couldn't stop her, we could at least try and make it work.

"I don't need to tell you this is insane."

"No." Blake squeezed my hand back. "You don't."

"Are you really willing to die for Ruby's sake?"

"I'm not that unlike her in the end. Like you, I hate how self-sacrificing she is, but I know it's the only real option she has. I hate the way she acts about it, not the decision she's made. I think you're the same."

I was, as much as it hurt to admit it. If it were me in her shoes I'd agree, but I'd do so reluctantly and after expending every other option. Maybe that just made Ruby more heroic. Maybe I was cynical. I wasn't sure. In the end, it didn't matter. Ruby had made her choice and all we could do was react to it. We could either get out the way or we could help her.

"We should make our aid conditional on her telling the others first," Blake said. "They deserve to know."

"Yeah. You're right." I stood and drew a deep breath. "And if we're going to die, we may as well go out fighting." I held out a hand. "Together?"

Blake took it.

"Let's try not to die at all."

/-/

"Jaune." Ruby rose from her bed, expression nervous and hands clutching her new scythe like she expected me to take it away. She adjusted her body to place herself between it and Blake, all too aware of who was the more dangerous to her speed. She noted out expressions. More specifically, the serious look on Blake's face. "You told her," she accused. "Did you come to shout at me some more? Call me an idiot?"

"Would we be wrong in doing so?" Blake prodded.

Ruby bristled. "I have to do something!"

"Yes, and a suicidal charge to death is clearly the answer." Blake sighed. "We're not here for that. We know there's no stopping you. Jaune and I." She motioned to me and herself. "Are instead offering to help you do this and get out alive."

Ruby's shoulders dropped a little. Her anger faded. "You are…?"

"Not because we think it's a good idea," I said, voice grating. "It's a stupid risk. Sadly, it's a stupid risk you and Ozpin are determined to take. We want to mitigate it. Blake and I will escort you out into the city so you can get a shorter run up against her."

"What!? No, that's dangerous. You'd be outside the friendly lines."

"And you won't be? Your plan is to just run out there."

"I'm fast."

"You don't have the stamina," Blake said. Ruby tensed and stepped back. "We're offering you a better chance. If you can jump her from up close, you not only give her less time to react, but you might even be able to escape back after. If it works or not. Jaune and I can then get you out. This would even let us try multiple times if it fails."

That wasn't part of the plan, but I stayed quiet. If it failed to have any effect on Salem, there'd be no point trying again. Ozpin wouldn't waste Ruby on that.

"I…" Ruby's brows drew down and she bit her lip. "I guess… I… You want to sneak close? I'm not good at sneaking."

"No, but I am," Blake said. "I can scout ahead invisible to the Grimm and you'd follow behind. You wait for my signal before moving and we go from house to house. You don't need to be good at sneaking if I pick a path with no Grimm to see you. Salem doesn't have eyes everywhere. Or if she does, she'll be distracted by the battle. If I can, I'll get you so close you can run from house to house, hitting her in the middle. She won't even have time to react, let alone stop you."

"If the scythe breaks, I can make a new one," I said, stepping in once I saw Ruby was wavering. "I'm the last person who can manipulate the Ironwood. There's no one else who can make one for you, let alone give it another Rune. I can also fight my way out with you over my shoulder if we need to retreat for whatever reason and you're too exhausted to fight. Blake can cut the path ahead while I follow and fight one-handed."

Ruby licked her lips. She was brave but not insane. Like she'd said before, she didn't want to die. With the prospect of a successful and safe Quest dangled before her, she wanted so badly to say yes. She had to. But she was afraid. I could see it in her eyes. She'd resigned herself to death, and suddenly being offered hope was both heady and frightening, especially when it would mean putting us at risk as well. I could see she was wavering, but also that she wanted to say no and only risk herself. I pushed the final nail into the coffin.

"If you do this on your own and fail, you let everyone in Vale down."

It was cruel, to place everyone's lives on her like that. I saw her flinch back and knew she felt it. But then, it had been cruel for her and Ozpin to do it to me. Turnabout was fair play. If Ruby turned us down now, her hubris would risk the lives of everyone.

"I… I accept." Her eyes closed. I knew she was cursing herself. "Please help me…"

Blake's victorious eyes met mine. She nodded back at Ruby, indicating I should take the lead on the last little issue.

"There is a condition to our help."

Ruby tensed. It was obvious she expected not to like the condition. "What is it?"

Well, she wasn't wrong to sound so nervous.

"You have to tell the rest of the Guild."


My expectation is for Forged Destiny to be finished before Christmas. I'm saying expectation because I don't want to formally quote and then be accused of false advertising or whatnot. We shall simply see.


Next Chapter: 14th October

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur