16 Ruby and Fall

It was the day before the start of the new term at Beacon, but Jaune wasn't resting at a hotel, nor was he visiting his friends or pupils. He had left a clone with Nicholas, Weiss and Blake, so his clone was active around Vale still, but the real Jaune nor his clone had not made contact with anyone they knew until Weiss and Nicholas arrived. Now that Jaune's parents and sisters were heading back home after delivering Jaune to Vale and touring the place a few days, Jaune had some errands to run as well, and presently he was in another part of Vale, headed to a small cottage in a relatively safe location on a small island outside of Vale. Not an Island like Patch, but rather one in the center of a large lake.

A young woman was sitting outside at a table on her porch, and smiled at him "Hello again Jaune."

Jaune nodded "Good evening Amber." he came and took a seat across from her and used his system to put a very high quality chess set on the table "It was your turn." he reminded her, the boards pieces were still exactly how they'd left them after they parted amidst their last game.

"You didn't get around to saying what you wanted with me last time you were here." Amber noted while considering her move on the board. "Always so mysterious, aren't you?"

"I want nothing from you. I want only to make sure you stay safe." Jaune insisted to her "Hopefully I've weakened Salem sufficiently so that she wont come after you, but I doubt we could be that lucky. At most I've delayed her a bit."

"You never did say how you know that." Amber finally made her move, taking one of Jaune's bishops.

"There was a little girl named Cinder, who lived in Argus with her father. After her mother passed away, her father eventually re-married, but Cinder knew that the woman was wicked, that the woman was deceiving her father, but she couldn't prove it." As Jaune finished speaking that much, he made his own move, and left Amber considering her move.

Jaune continued speaking "Cinder's father fell ill. Cinder believed he was being poisoned, but her step-mother refused to let him go to a doctor, and when her father died, her step-mother paid to prevent an autopsy, and the death was ruled natural causes. After that, her step-mother and step-sisters became her tormentors. People saw what was happening, but did nothing because her step-mother had money and they feared her. With her innocence shattered, Cinder ran away from home and suffered more and more hardships for years, as a homeless child."

Amber made another move "What does that have to do with my question?"

"This is a future that I foresaw. That once good nature girl worn down time and time again until she became a monster, joined Salem, and came to kill you." Jaune made his move again, this time taking a pawn of Amber's "Only, since I saw it all before it happened, I was able to go to that girl, to Cinder, I was able to save her fathers life, and even turned Cinder into an ally against Salem. But, I am not delusional. Since she was unable to recruit Cinder, she'll probably find someone else. The world is full of damaged people that she can manipulate, and I can only see some things, not everything."

Amber frowned as he concluded his explanation and she made another move "So you have been following me because of a future you say you already prevented, because you think someone else will still try."

"Check." Jaune said as he made another move, putting a knight into position for the check "Well, this technically is our first meeting. I had a shadow clone following you before, the me you see before you now is the real deal."

"If we are to assume I believe you, what do you advise me to do?" Amber asked Jaune while making another move, seizing Jaune's knight that put her into chck with her Queen. It was her only move, which was not a pleasant one, because she'd just noticed what Jaune had set up.

Jaune took her queen with his other knight "Check Mate." he then smiled at her "And as for what I feel you should do, I have prepared a place where you can lay low, if you wish, or you can come to Beacon. If you are there, myself and my allies will be able to watch out for you. We cannot let your powers fall into Salems hands."

"Rather then just stalking you, do you mind if I leave a clone here again?" Jaune asked Amber "That way when you do make your decision, my clone will be nearby, so I can be informed right away. Also, if the worst case does happen, it can help protect you."

"There's no point in refusing. Wouldn't you do it regardless of what I said?" Amber asked, arching her brow a bit.

Jaune laughed "Yes, but you wouldn't see the clone at least. I'd try to grant you the illusion of privacy while protecting you from the shadows."

"Fine, I'll allow it." Amber relented and Jaune waved his hand over the chess board and it, along with all the chess pieces, disappeared "Even if my clones do share all their memories with me, it was a pleasure to meet you officially, Amber." he stood up, then used the shadow clone jutsu, to create a clone beside him, followed by the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to leave.

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Ruby was in a Dust Shop called 'From Dust Til Dawn' looking at a Magazine about weapons while listening to some music that she'd gottten from Jaune with her headphones in. He wasn't around now, so she'd been a bit depressed, though she tried not to show it.

Tomorrow, she and her sisters were heading to Beacon. They'd come to Vale that morning and were staying at a hotel to catch a Bulkhead in the morning. All her depression would end tomorrow, since Jaune would be going to the school tomorrow as well!

Ruby was confident that he was somewhere in the city, but she couldn't go around to all the hotels and find him, even if she wanted too. She'd look desperate and pathetic, and she certainly did not want that!

'Endure Ruby. It's only one more night. One more night and then you can see him again.' Ruby reassured herself in her inner monologue.

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While Ruby was looking at the magazine and contemplating these things, a group of men entered the shop. If Jaune were there, then he'd be able to recognize the leader as Roman Torchwick, and the other men people that worked for Junior. Though Jaune had assumed that all the changes he had made would have prevented this meeting between Torchwick and Ruby from ever happening, it appeared that it was an unavoidable confrontation.

While Jaune could not have known this would happen, he would later be angry at himself for not taking greater precautions, just in case.

"Shhh, calm down, we're not here for your money." Torchwick insisted, then looked at his men "Grab the dust." he ordered.

As the henchment split up to do as instructed, one of the henchmen spotted Ruby with her back to hin. He drew out a sword and pointed it at her "Alright kid, put your hands where I can see 'em."

Ruby did not react at all "Hey, I said hands in the air!" the henchman then came over and put his hand on her shoulder "You goy a death wish or something!?"

"Huh?" Ruby turned her head toi face the henchmen, her hood falling away and revealing her earphones that were playing music for her.

"I said, put your hands in the air, now!" the henchman ordered again.

"Are you..." Ruby seemed amused "robbing me?"

"Yes!" the henchman said with annoyance.

"Oooh." Ruby said and went on the offensive, visciously kicking the thus away hard enough that he went flying through the front window of the shop.

A moment later, another thug went after Ruby, this one with a gun, and using swift release, she kicked him and flew with him out of the stores window as well, landing on the street safely.

As she stood up, activating Crescent Rose into it's scythe mode, she took a heroic pose and faced Roman Torchwick.

"Okayyy..." Torchwick commented "Get her." he ordered and his remaining men went after her.

The three remaining thugs went after Ruby, and tried to surround her at once, but as they did so, lightning ploded all around Ruby as she used the defensing technique Jaune had taught her, called 'Chidori Current'.

Needless to say, the three men were sent flying away like ragdolls.

"You were worth every lien. Truly you were." Torchwick said sarcastically at the scene "Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening" some sirens were heard in the distance "And as much as I'd like to stick around..." he lifted his cane and pointed it at Ruby "I'm afraid this is where we part ways."

Torchwick sent a powerful shot from his cane that appeared to be caused by fire dust. It's power was impressive. Ruby had assumed that her Chidori current would protect her, so she hadn't dodged, but the defense wasn't perfect and an attack of that scale actualyl penetrated a little bit.

Even though she was stunned a moment, Ruby did not lose track of Roman, and saw him leap up to a rooftop in a single jump, completely ignoring a ladder nearby as that method was too slow for him right now.

Recognizing his speed, while maintaining the lightning element defense, Ruby leapt up to the roof as well "Hey!""Persistant" Torchwick said with annoyance as a Bulkhead flew up in front of Torchwick with the doors open. A woman could be inside, her identity hidden in shadow, though she was wearing a red dress.

Torchwick leapt up into the Bulkhead backwards and landed next to the woman "End of the line, Red!" he threw a large fire dust crystal and shot it with his cane, and while it was exploding he laughed, but stopped when he saw an attractive blond woman on the roof as well, protecting Ruby with a purple telekinetic barrier.

She then started throwing a barrage of purple telekinetic attacks at the Bulkhead, and the mysterious woman had to use her clothes, which had been enfused with fire dust, to defend against Glynda's attacks while Roman went to tell the pilot in a hurry "Get us out of here, now!" he ordered the older man with silver hair.

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Roman's escape went pretty similar to what Jaune had seen in the show, even though Cinder was not with them, there was still a mysterious skilled woman in the darkness on the Bulkhead that used clothing infused with dust to repel Glynda.

Upon escaping to their base, the red-haired woman with rather average looks that stepped off the Bulkhead while glaring at Roman with contemp "What the hell happened out there?"

"No one said a brat like that would be there. She seemed to have a speed semblence and used lightning dust, or maybe that was part of her semblance too. She took out all the men I hired before we could reach her, Ana. That girl is certainly not simply. Plus, her eyes." Roman did not seem frightened at all by the red-haired womans attitude "If you satisfy the Queen, she might give you the power you desire. Tonight was a good start, you perfomed well, but we still have a long road ahead of us."

There was an immensely burning hatred in Ana's eyes "Once I am stronger, I'll find the one responsible for destoying my life and I'll kill her."

Ana thought back to her childhood. She had a sister named Drew who she loved very much, she thought back to her mother as well, both of whom she'd lossed, and there was only one person she blamed for their deaths.

When Roman told her about this Queen of his, this Salem, Ana finally saw her path forward,, towards her own twisted version of justice. No matter what she had to do, as long as at the end she was able to kill her enemy, she'd endure it all! She'd willingly become a monster if she could just kill her step-sister, Cinder Fall!

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END OF VOLUME ONE