I'm not dead! Sorry for the wait with this chapter, school started for me recently, so I've been busy with that. But I've managed to get this chapter written out, and you can expect a few more on the way shortly. On an important note, I've got my beta reader back! I was worried that both they and all my readers would be mad at me for that long hiatus I took over the summer, but I was pleasantly suprised by the positive feedback I recieved. Regardless, here's the newest chapter of Silver Spectre!

Beta'd by: Fazadragonhart


The building the Malachite twins had told them about was on the outer edge of the Commercial District, far enough out of the way that there was no need to deal with the morning crowds in the more occupied parts of the city. That wasn't to say that the street was empty, as several sleepy-looking shoppers entered and exited the numerous shops that lined both sides of the cobbled street.

Tukson's Book Trade was a respectable-looking establishment, if a little small. But Weiss knew that if the Malachite twins were correct in their information, then it hid a dark secret. Currently, she was glancing at it from the window of a nearby shop much to the annoyance of the owners of said shop. An elderly man paced around behind her, clearly trying to tell her that she needed to either buy something or leave. Deciding it wouldn't be worth drawing attention to herself, Weiss wisely chose to exit the building.

As she stepped out into the morning light, she made out a familiar shape making its way toward her. shifting her cloak so she could more comfortably grip the hilt of her sword, she addressed Blake. "Did you see anything out back?"

The faunus girl shook her head sadly. "No. There was no back entrance. It was just a normal alleyway. A couple of crates from the nearby fruit vendors, a broken-down wagon, and a beggar sleeping underneath it. Nothing I wouldn't expect to find in an alleyway in any city."

Weiss just nodded and turned her attention towards the building they'd been scouting for the past hour."What do you think of it?" She asked her, surprising Blake.

"What do you mean?"

"This place. If the twins were right, then we should expect at least a dozen people inside. If there's no back entrance, then they'd have to be cramped up together in that building," The white-haired woman mused.

"Maybe there's a basement?" Blake asked shyly, ears pressed flat against her head. Weiss turned to acknowledge that idea, but was cut off by a familiar, grating voice.

"Not likely. This area's close to the coast, so the ground isn't exactly stable enough for one to be built. At least not one large enough to hold a dozen people," Yang explained as she approached the duo. Jaune was slightly behind her, conversing with a pedestrian as his companions schemed.

"But then where could they be? I doubt they're sitting in the backroom playing poker," Blake said sarcastically. Yang just shrugged and turned to face Weiss.

"Junior said Torchwick has all kinds of magical surprises up his sleeve. Is it possible that he's got some room that's bigger on the inside, or some kind of magic gate that he can travel to faraway places from?" The blonde asked with genuine curiosity.

Weiss just shook her head in denial."Not likely. The magic required to create a portal to other locations is lost to time, and we can only barely use already made portals. And while there is magic used to enchant objects to be bigger on the inside, that's usually for something small, like a bag. To enchant a room to be larger than it appears would require someone with... expertise. Not a trait Torchwick would find from a criminal," She lectured.

"Well, there goes that idea. I don't feel confident going back to the castle to get backup if we don't have at least an idea of what we should expect," Yang declared with a sigh. "Maybe Jaune has an idea of what to expect."

"As a matter of fact, I do," The boy in question stated as he approached the three of them with a small smile. "'I told the locals around here that we suspected someone might be using the shop as a place to do illegal business. They all told me that Tukson, the owner, is a respectable man who has lived in this city for almost a year without any problems. There's no way that would happen without him noticing, since it's such a small building."

"How small are we talking about here?" Blake asked with a brief glance towards the target of their suspicion.

Jaune just shrugged and shook his head. "The main part of the store takes up much of the building, and there's apparently a small storage room in the back. Aside from that, there doesn't seem to be much else to it. Tukson apparently lives nearby, and makes sure to lock up every night. I doubt there's room to hide a dozen thugs in there for anything longer than an hour."

"Well, that's quite strange. The word from the locals differs greatly from the information Junior gave us, and I don't doubt that either of them is telling the truth," Weiss mused, before flicking her gaze to Ruby. Her spectral companion had been oddly melancholic for the past hour, but she managed to send her a brief, albeit sad, smile. "I suppose there's only one way to find out more," Weiss declared boldly.

"You don't mean we're going to just waltz in there?" Jaune asked in disbelief.

"Why not? We're just going to be looking around. It's not like he can kick us out if we're just window shopping," Weiss explained with a slightly smug look. "We're just going to try and find out as much information as we can before we go to the guards. We'll be fine."

"As much as I hate to admit it, she's got a point Jaune," Yang spoke up. "We can go in and look around, maybe buy a book or two so we don't seem suspicious, and get out without causing too much of a fuss. There's no danger," She reassured her fellow knight-in-training.

"Even if we don't find anything important, we'll still have gotten a better idea of the store's layout than before," Blake pondered aloud. Upon hearing the three girl's reasoning, Jaune hung his head and groaned.

"Fine. We'll check it out. But once we've checked it out, we head straight to the guards. Don't try and deal with this on your own," He pleaded, receiving three unenthusiastic nods in response. "Why do I have a feeling this is going to go poorly?" The blue-eyed young man grumbled as he and his companions entered the store.

The faint smell of dust and old books permeated the small room they stood in, as soft light trickled through the window blinds along the front of the building. Along the walls were tall bookshelves, packed haphazardly with books, with little rhyme or reason to their placement. Two long bookshelves ran along the middle of the room, with a soft blue carpet between them. In the back was a long counter, and behind it, a door.

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade! Home to every book under the sun!" A gentle voice called out energetically. Behind the counter stood a towering man with jet-black hair and piercing yellow eyes. His neatly shaven beard gave him a professional look, and his expression was one of both interest and enthusiasm. His large, hairy arms and long, sharp nails made it clear he was some type of faunus, likely of the feline variety.

"Hello. We're just window shopping," Yang called out to him before beginning to peruse the shelves on the far left wall, Blake following alongside her. Weiss took to investigating the far left bookshelf, leaving Jaune to wander between the middle two shelves. Ruby sat near the entrance, seemingly lost in thought as she stared blankly at Yang with a confused and worried expression.

As Weiss's ice-blue eyes darted along the spines of the slightly worn books, she took note of how many of them she recognized. She couldn't help but laugh at the slogan the faunus, Tukson, had stated when they came in. Home to every book under the sun. What a laughable idea. Even the Grand Library of Atlas, which was tens of times bigger than the one in the Schnee manor, wouldn't be so bold as to claim that. This store, perhaps a hundredth of the size of her family's library, couldn't possibly compare.

Many of the books on the shelves she didn't recognize, as they were obviously meant to appeal to a different crowd than rich Atlesian nobility. Cookbooks, books on crop rotation, textbooks detailing the intricacies of metalworking, and other books that would be valuable to craftsmen and artisans. A few historical texts and fictional novels could be spotted, but they were about Valean history and heroes, not the Atlesian.

Yet as she glanced behind her at some of the shelves, she noticed something odd. There was a certain type of book that she couldn't find, and this meant she'd have a chance to talk to the owner of the store and possibly get him to reveal something to her.

"Excuse me, Mr. Tukson?" The ex-heiress asked in a polite tone she usually reserved for Atlesian nobility. When the large man turned his attention from Blake and Yang, who he'd been staring at slightly, he gave her a charismatic smile.

"What can I do for you, young lady?" He asked with a soft but firm tone of voice. Her three companions, as well as her ghostly friend, all turned their attention toward her, wondering what she was doing.

"I was wondering if you perhaps had any books on magic?" She queried, already knowing what his answer would likely be. The man's smile broadened as he gave her a nod.

"I do, but the law requires I keep them in the back, locked up. Would you like me to go get some for you?" He asked with a friendly chuckle, to which Weiss nodded. "Alright then. Are you looking for some beginner stuff, or something a little more advanced?"

"Just some intermediate readings. Nothing too complex, but no need for a beginner's textbook," She stated sweetly. The black-haired man nodded and turned around, heading through the back door into the storage room. Unbeknownst to him, four sets of eyes peered into the room as he did so, trying to observe as much as they could.

A few boxes were placed randomly throughout the room, with books strewn atop them. A few barrels were placed near the edges of the room, but it was impossible to tell the contents from the distance they were at. Several high shelves contained quills, ink, paper, and other miscellaneous writing supplies. in the back of the room was a locked box, to which Tukson was kneeling in front of and fiddling with.

The box opened with a creak, and Tukson hummed faintly to himself as he sorted through the books, occasionally setting one aside in a small pile. Once he had a substantial number of books, he shut the box and stood up, heading back out toward the counter. Setting them down, he chuckled and spoke.

"Sorry about the wait, ma'am. Valean law says we have to lock up any magic artifacts or books, what with them being so dangerous and all," Tukson apologized, but Weiss dismissed him. It was the same in Atlas, and used to be the same in Mistral, before the ongoing civil war started. Vacuo didn't have any laws about the sale of magical documents, but Vacuo barely had any laws in the first place.

"It's fine. Might I take a look at these?" Weiss asked, receiving a nod in response. Satisfied with his answer, Weiss began to read through the spines of Tukson's small collection of magical texts. A Treatise on the use of Glyphs and Sigils and Enchanted Artifacts from the Golden Age of Vacuo sounded interesting, but many of the other books were things she'd already read or were obviously for someone with less experience than her.

Weiss shifted her cloak slightly to the side to pick up one of the books, but stopped when she heard a choked noise come from Tukson. Looking up, she saw him staring directly at her chest. More specifically, her Schnee family crest that adorned her breastplate, which had been covered by her cloak when she had been talking to him before.

The faunus's yellow eyes darted from the crest to her snow-white hair, then back to the crest, then finally stared into her own ice-blue eyes, seemingly morphing to match her own. Her eyes widened as his narrowed, and she let out a gasp as he let out a roar.

"Schnee!" Tukson cried out as he swung his hand at her. Despite her years of training under top instructors, she was so caught off guard at being caught that she was unable to dodge the obvious attack. The faunus's sharpened claws were aimed at her neck, and would easily slice through her exposed throat. As the faunus lashed out at her, she felt as though she was paralyzed despite time seemingly slowing to a crawl. She'd heard that one's life flashes before their eyes when they near death, but she could only think one thought.

"I've failed Ruby."

Yet the attack never came. Instead, she was thrown to the floor and the shop was filled with a horrible screeching noise as Tukson's claws raked across Yang's shield. Drawing her sword in a flash, Yang slashed across the large man's forearm, causing him to scream in pain. The faunus backed away, but Blake leapt acrobatically over the counter and slammed her knee into his face, causing him to crumple onto the ground in pain.

The faunus cursed as he stumbled to his feet, but soon found himself slammed against the wall courtesy of Yang. Despite the difference in size between the two of them, Yang's magically enhanced strength was enough for her to pin the man with only one hand, leaving her other hand free to hold her sword against his throat.

"Jaune, go into the back and find something to restrain him with! Blake, go with him! Weiss, calm down!" Yang barked out orders with an authoritative voice. Blake and Jaune both nodded and ran into the back of the store, leaving Yang to hold the subdued faunus down and Weiss to catch her breath.

Weiss's erratic breathing slowed as her heart stopped pounding desperately in her chest. The white-haired girl looked visibly sick as she struggled to regain her composure. It hadn't been the attack that had thrown her off balance, nor had it been how close she came to death. Rather, it was the moment where the book salesmen had recognized her.

At that moment, it had felt as though she wasn't in Vale, but back in Atlas. She knew Tukson had screamed her last name, but all she had heard was her father's voice. She had felt more powerless then she'd ever felt before, as if her entire world was crashing down on her. It had felt as if all her worst fears had been realized, and her father had dragged her back to Atlas and locked her away, leaving her to wither away while Ruby was left to suffer.

"Weiss... can you hear me?" The ex-heiress heard a familiar voice ask. Looking up, she found herself gazing into a brilliant pair of pure silver orbs. Ruby's concerned gaze partially snapped Weiss out of her panic and helped her find her bearings. She was in Vale, not Atlas. She was with Ruby, not Father.

"I... I'm fine," She croaked out, not caring that Yang sent her a curious look. Her hand found its way to the hilt of her sword, and her eyes locked onto Ruby's own. In her slightly panicked state, all she could think about was how unique Ruby's eyes were. Not harsh, like her family's icy blue gaze that seemed to hold no love for her. Nor were they like Blake and Tukson's amber eyes that pierced right through her and always seemed judging.

Rather, Ruby's eyes were twin pools of gentle silver light that filled her with warmth. They did not need her to prove herself to be worthy of love, nor did they cut through her and judge her every action. They merely radiated a pure, gentle light that promised comfort. She'd never met someone with eyes like Ruby's, and she doubted she ever would.

"I'm fine," Weiss repeated, not taking her eyes off Ruby. Steadying herself against the bookshelf, she rose to her feet just as Jaune came out from the back room with a coil of rope. The two blonde knights-in-training set about restraining Tukson with the rope while Weiss calmed her breathing, squeezing Myrternaster's hilt as she did so.

"Where's Blake?" Yang asked Jaune, to which he shrugged. Tukson's eyes widened when he heard Yang speak, and he strained against his bonds. Unfortunately for him, the rope held taut and didn't yield.

"She said she wanted to check something out. She's still in the back," Jaune explained as he jerked a thumb toward the storage room behind him. Weiss finally tore her eyes from Ruby's to look into the back room, where she saw Blake digging through the chest where Tukson stored his magical documents.

Suddenly, the raven-haired faunus fell backward and gasped, dropping a small black book onto the ground. Yang, Jaune, and Weiss all shot toward her, trying to see what had spooked her.

"Blake, what's wrong?" Yang asked, concern lacing her voice as she helped her friend back onto her feet. Blake was visibly shaken by whatever had spooked her and held up a hand as she tried to calm her breathing.

Weiss's gaze wandered to the book the amber-eyed woman had been holding when she'd panicked. It was a small, black, leather-bound journal with a stylized red rose on the cover. Above that, written in neat silver lettering, was three words. The Third Crusade. Reaching down to pick it up, Weiss observed it closer. The book was well-worn, as though it had been read often, almost religiously. But she didn't recognize it as any religious text she knew, and she couldn't even tell who wrote it.

"Blake, do you know what this book is?" Weiss asked. Blake's eyes widened as she nodded. Jaune sent her a confused glance, while Yang sent her a concerned one. Tukson was merely glaring at the four of them while he strained against his bonds.

"Yes. It's... I guess you could call it... the White Fang's manifesto," She explained, much to the shock of Weiss, Jaune, and Ruby. "It was written for the purpose of inspiring downtrodden faunus into joining the movement."

Jaune flicked his gaze between the book and Blake, as if trying to solve something. "How do you know what this is? I've never heard of it," He questioned. Blake stiffened and only spoke after Yang gave her a reassuring pat of the back.

"It's kept secret from those outside of the Fang. Only high ranking officers have a copy, which they read to lower-ranked grunts. I know what it is because..." Blake trailed off.

"Because you helped write it," Weiss spat out, holding the book open to the cover page, where Blake's name was listed right below another name, Adam Taurus. "When did you plan on telling us this, Belladonna?"


Blake is part of the White Fang? Who could have ever seen this subtle twist that was very unexpected? In all seriousness, it's somewhat weird having to write Blake as an ex-member of the White Fang without any of the characters knowing it, since all of my readers know what's coming. For the characters it's supposed to be a big twist, but literally everyone who watched Volume 1 of RWBY knows that she's a faunus.

I think that's one of my worst problems with this particular arc. So many of the story beats match up with the ones in the show, just with slightly different characters involved. That's why I can't wait till I finish this arc and move on to the next one, since that's the one I've spent the most time planning and am most excited to write.

One of the most nerve-wracking things for me as a Fanfiction writer is the fear that Volume 8 will come out and throw all of my plans for this story into complete disarray. Hopefully there's nothing major that will force me to re-evaluate all of my outlines, but I'm worried that some characters will change in ways I didn't anticipate, and I'll look dumb. Or worse, there might be things I wished I implemented into my story after Volume 8 is finished but there's no time to add them in.

School's keeping me somewhat busy, but once I've had time to adapt I'll get better at uploading, since I'll be more organized. I doubt I'll ever go back to being able to upload a chapter a day like I used to, but there hopefully won't be anymore hiatuses longer than a week or two. Unfortunately, I can't be sure how that will work out, but I'm hoping for the best.

I hope you all enjoyed this (delayed) chapter of Silver Spectre, and I'd appreciate any constructive criticism you could give me. Feel free to review or PM some, since I won't get better as a writer without learning what I'm doing wrong. Anyways, I hope all of you stay safe and have a nice day!