AN: Alright! Here it is, I've had this story on the back burner looking at my ass for half a year but now! Have the first chapter! It's not going to be a rapidly updated story as I just wanted to get one chapter out of the way to get it done. In fact, I doubt I will update this story at all until some other ones are finished! Now until then enjoy some falls as we are about to get real.


Pain. The pain was all Jaune could see all he could breathe all he could think about was the pain. The awful burning, searing, charring mind-numbing pain that threatened to overwhelm his senses and break his mind as it shot through his body. Jaune cried out in anguish as white-hot tentacles of pure agony shot into his limbs and burrowed through his flesh and tunneled into his bones as his world was filled with crimson flames.

"AHHH!" The boy screamed at the top of his lungs as his vision seemed to explode in a burst of white torment as white-hot agony spread through his chest as the flaming scimitar entered his chest cavity striking past armor and splitting apart bone and flesh before twisting itself slowly, cruelly before ripping itself letting the boy tremble in torment bere collapsing to his knees in a pile of blood.

"GAK!" The boy spat out a wad of scarlet phlegm before gagging as a pile of crimson vomit exited his mouth, tingling his nose and burning his tongue as the acid lased bloody vomit left his system. As he sat their pant crying and screaming mentally beautiful haunting giggle entered his ears.

"Jaune, Jaune, Jaune. Isn't it about time you learned your lesson?"

A calm, smooth beatific voice said as Jaune force his head up to see a pair of searing amber eyes covering a beatific smile as a raven threaded woman smirked down at him as she wiped off the flaming scimitar free of his own fresh blood.

"I'll kill you!"

Jaune yelled at his attacker as the woman smirked at him. As her burning amber eyes held a trace of pure amusement.
"Forgive me if I find that hard to believe. You are looking quite wane there my dear night knight bleeding out on the earth "

"Shut up!"

Jaune hissed before the women gave a beautiful melodic laugh that sounded like nails on a chalkboard to him as he gritted his teeth as the woman glared at him.

"My is that any way to talk to a lady? That's not very knightly of you know?"

"Shut up! You bitch!"

Jaune yelled before a heel connected to his chin sending him flying forward into the dirt as a smug voice spoke up.

"Hey. Don't call the boss a bitch. K?"

A smug voice said as the woman chuckled beatifically.

"Mercury! Wasn't that a bit harsh now? He's clearly on his last legs, and I doubt kicking him like that was very polite let alone good for his health you know?"
Cinder cooed to her subordinate the damned assassin in grey and black as he shrugged his shoulders at his boos.

"Hey just doing my job right? Not like he's going to be alive much longer anyways right? I mean just look at his team."

The grey-clad assassin said calmly gesturing over his should as sickening slicking sound filled the air.

"That's the last one!"

Emerald said as she finally finished slitting the throat of a smaller girl with red hair and teal eyes. Grimacing as the damn ginger put up one helluva fight before Emerald could finally put her down for good. Who'd have thought the normal airheaded girl had it in her? Maybe seeing her lover get his own throat slit pushed her too far? Or maybe watching her friends die in Haven did the trick for... What's her name again? Emerald though as the pale gingers real mane eluded her even though she had gone to school with the girl albeit briefly, the name of her latest victim escaped her.

Norse warrior, Strong Viking? Odin son? Or something? Emerald thought as the girl gave a final sickening gasp as her scythes slit her throat ear to ear making a bright red smile appear on her throat as she gave one final pain-filled gasped before she fell slwoly as she collapsed in a puddle of blood.

Her desecrated body filled with scars, cuts and broken bones as she was kicked her onto the equally desolate body of her boyfriend? Emerald hazarded as the green-clad boy laid still on the ground ruined white and green pants and short torn apart while a steady stream of crimson dripped out of his body. Painting the grass and mud red as the dust rounds in his blood coated the cool brown dirty dirtying it with its presence and giving it an off-kilter pink color in the process.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!" Jaune said as Cinder chuckled beatifically.

"You sure have a loud mouth, don't you? But come on, let's be realistic now, shall we? I'll admit! You have gotten a smidge better since our time at Beacon but be honest Jaune. Even with your team you still lost."

Cinder said dropping her smug demeanor for an honest one she only used around trusted friends which she had none and people she was about to kill. And she definitely had one of those as she smiled down at Jaune. Her amber eye glowing cruelly at the bleeding out boy as she stalked over to him.

"let's be honest if the entirety of team RNJR failed to stop me when you had us outnumbered? What hope do you a broken, bleeding dying if I might add sad excuse for a knight have?"

"You murderer! I'-

"You'll kill me? Jaune my dear you are starting to sound like a broken record! Now you know you won't actually kill me, right? In fact, I doubt that you could lay a single finger on me let alone do me any real harm. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you actually mean me harm."

The woman said with mock surprise as she began to pace around the bleeding boy.

"Me your dear friend Cinder Fall. Who was nothing but kind to you? You wouldn't want to harm me now would you?"

"You killed them! You killed everyone!"

"Everyone? Well, that's an overstatement if I do say so myself. And I do. I don't remember killing everyone. In fact, I have not even killed that many people to be fair. Let's be realistic here, shall we? For posterity sake, if nothing else let's count how many of your friends I have killed."

Cinder said as she began to raise her fingers as she began to contemplate her body count.

"I mean there was your partner and lover? If I heard the rumors correctly. Your partner, your friends, the blonde girl, the cat faunus, the monkey faunus, the Schnee you teammates, Ozpin, the Branwen twins of course. Can't forget about them you know?"

Cinder asked scratching her chin raising up then fingers as Jaune glared daggers at her.

"Then there was... Oh! That's right! How could I forget? Your family. That brings it up to nineteen. Your sisters were quite the formidable foes if I do say so myself as were your parents but in the end, they charred quite nicely you know? That was a nice Arc Barbeque I had in Ansel you remember? Of course, you do you saw it! Now speaking of barbeques I wonder how you will cook?"
Cinder asked as a ball of fire appeared in her hands as she walked over to Jaune sashaying her hips with a Beatific smile on her face.

"Bitch!"

WHAP!

Jaune's vision blurred as another force slammed into his face making his world turn upside down as he began to lose focus.

"Hey! What did I say about saying that to the boss?"

Mercury asked slamming a black colored boot into the back of Jaune's head forcing his face down into the muck. He held him there for a few seconds enjoying the pitiful strangling noises he gave off before Cinder sighed and waved him off.

"Enough! Mercury you are going to hurt the poor boy! We can't have that!"
Cinder said with a faux passion as Mercury simply shrugged.

"If you say so, boss."

The boy said letting Jaune up as he gasped for air as he spat out the mud from his face.

"Jaune are you ok? Do you need a napkin?"

"I'll-
The boy began before the sharp end of a scimitar tickled his jugular as she stopped talking.

"Now where were we? Ah yes! Your family. After I chared your relatives, I left them for the Grimm who despite their beastly nature do enjoy a good barbeque just as much as the next fellow you know? Who knew blondes tasted good? Well going by your relationship with the sister I bet you did your fair share of tasting, of a blonde am I right."

Cinder said relishing the hate-filled glare that Jaune gave her as Mercury gasped.

"Whoa! You got with Yang blondie? Respect!"

Mercury said winking at Jaune with a cocksure smile as Jaune spat at him.

"We are friends nothing-

"Ah that's right I forgot to add her sister." Cinder said before crouching on the ground and reaching behind her not even grunting as she tossed a small red body in front of him. That laned in front of Jaune with a dull thud! As he felt his heart break at the sight.

It was a crumpled, bloody mess that was filled with scars burn marks, broken, shattered bones, and limbs that leaked blood from every conceivable orifice and was breathing?! It seemed like a trick of the eye, a trick of the moonlight or some cruel, vindictive god but it was real! Ruby was alive she was breathing! He just needed to get her out of here and-

"Jaune... is that you?"

A broken pain-filled voice asked as a lone silver eye opened up and stared tiredly at him. It was beaten black and purple and was bleeding profusely from its side as it seemed to sparkle with hope.

"Ruby! Don't worry we're going to get out of here! We just need to wait ok! You are going to be ok!"

Jaune begged as Ruby's broken shattered body sputtered to life on the ground. Creaking in pain as blood spat out from her mouth.

"Jaune I-

FISHT!

Ruby's voice was cut off as along orange arrow pierced through the back of her skull exploding out of her eye socket in a shower of blood and bone impaling her eye on its shaft and killing her instantly. As the girl went limp as all life left her body and as Ruby Rose died.

"Ruby!" Jaune yelled at the top of his lungs as he saw his best friend mercilessly executed in front of him.

"NO!"

He yelled at the top of his lungs as Ruby's body slumped forward, Her eyeball impaled on the glowing orange arrow, as her head fell down to the ground still as a rock. As bright red blood and pink with sharp pink brains and skull fell out of her corpse as Cinder chuckled beatifically behind him.

"Jaune. Jaune you really need to stop yelling you know? It's not good for your throat."

Cinder said waiting for a reply only to see the down blonde laying on the ground silent. Still, as the night sky as she cocked her head at him.

"Jaune?"

"~Jaune~?" Cinder cooed running a silky hand across his face only for a long line of liquid to fall on her velvet hands.

"What's this? No snarky come back? No smart mouthed reply for the woman whose caused you so much suffering? My, I almost fell insulted. Almost."

The woman said as she dragged a pair of immaculately manicured hands over his neck and-

"Kill me."
Jaune said in a low voice a Cinder paused mid-rant.

"What was that?"

"Kill me."
The knight said as Cinder chuckled again in a haunting manner as she put her ear next to his.

"Say it louder. I'm a slightly hard of healing you know?"

"Kill me!"

Jaune finally yelled tears falling from his face making the woman giggled as she withdrew her scimitar and pointed it directly at his chest.

"My I thought you'd never ask."
Cinder said revealing her scimitar with a dramatic flourish as she pointed it at the dying blonde. Running it along with his wounds slicing into his flesh sending showers of agony into his veins and making him shudder.

"Just do it already!"

Jaune yelled as Cinder ignited the blade murmuring something under her breath as she lifted the burning sword high above her head pointing at his chest before a smirk came onto her face.

"No."

"What?"

"No."

The woman said as she lowered her blade sending into nothing as Jaune recoiled.

"What do you mean no!"

"I mean I won't kill you Jaune."

"Why!?"

"Because you want that. You want to die to end this world of suffering that is your life. I won't let you."
Cinder said as she got close to the boy. So close that her burning amber eyes where scant inches from his making him shudder in fear, as he laked even the strength to spit.

"You are going to live a long and terrible regret-filled life knowing everything that I did. Knowing that I killed every last person that you ever loved or cared about while I go on to complete my goals."

"NO! Please! Don't... I ... I can't live like this. I lost everything. My friends my family my team. Please, Cinder. If you have any mercy in your heart. Just kill me. Please."
Jaune begged as Cinder smirked at him before swirl her weapon in a dramatic manner and putting it away in her cloak.

"No." Cinder said as withdrew her sword and signaled to her minions.

"Emerald, Mercury we are moving out."

"We're leaving him alive mam?"

Emerald asked as she drew a bead on Jaune with her pistol as she frowned not wanting to leave any loose ends as she eyed the bleeding knight, idiot or not Jaune had been a thorn in their side and Emerald hated persistent men.

"He is a loose end boss. You sure about it?"

"Yes. Now come along dears. We have a time schedule to keep if we are to avoid being late. You know how she feels about us being late."

"Yes, mam."

The two said as the left the bleeding knight alone in the broked bloodied bodies of his friends.

"Please. Don't go. Don't let me live."

Jaune whispered pathetically as the three figures walked away leaving Jaune alone staring at the broken eyeball less body of Ruby who's blood still flowed freely from her shattered eyeball. As it polled around her corpse dying the ground red as Jaune began to cry.

"Ruby... I'm so sorry." Jaune begged her for forgiveness to his dead friend as she laid silent bleeding onto the hard warm earth as time began to pass...

As the girl's body began to slump and slough as whatever ligaments kept her taught went slack, and she went full on to the ground as Jaune wept openly as he cried his eyes out onto the deceptively warm earth and waited...

He waited for seconds, minutes, hours, days. Time passed, days came and went as time past him by. It was far past the time when he could have gotten up and walked away from this. His aura had long since heald his crippled limbs, and he was fully capable of leaving, but he stayed, why would he go? He had nothing left to live for anyway. His family was dead. Ozpin was killed. For good, this time Cinder made sure of that in Haven.

His friends were dead. All of them dead. Yang had her heart pierced by a glowing spear in Haven; Blake was cut down alongside Sun in Atlas trying to find Winter who was by then already dead. Killed by Adam who left her head as a paperweight in Weiss's room.

Jaune grimaced as he could still hear desperate, shrill screams from her on that day. They were haunting, so painful so disbelieving so despondent... Luckily she didn't scream long as less than a month later it was her own head being severed by a burning, flaming scimitar and placed on a pike in Menagerie in front of the Belladonna manner for all to see.

Those where just his Beacon friends and did not include the multiple other deaths or the death right in front of his face.

He watched slowly helplessly as Ruby's body began to stink as it lost it was once-rosy smell sweet smell and started to rot. It was a strange thing watching your best friends body rot. Watching as her flesh lost all color and became an even more chalky white. As her hair fell from her face and flesh began to slough as an awful stink began to come from Ruby's usually strawberry scented body as her corpse began to break down

.
As her other eye fell out of her skull plopping on the ground in a sickly wet FWOP! As her once unique and lavish cloak was now tattered in blood and mud, as the body fell apart and the carrion eaters came and feasted on the girl's flesh. As Ruby was broken apart and torn to bits.

He didn't need to see behind him to know that the same thing was happening to Nora and Ren. The people who had been his honorary brother and eighth sister. And best friends in the world who now lay silent their bodies never to move again. Their mouths never again to utter a long sigh in consented or list the most exquisite dream interpretations and a call to arms for syrupy action. No, now they were still more and more silent than a sloth.

Their bodies were also decomposing by now. Slowly sinking into the warm eath of the Mistral soil. Being broken down by scavengers, birds, insects, and small animals. Their bodies where being broken down, desecrated and forgotten. Time lost its meaning to the boy as days and nights came and went to bother the boy a bit as Jaune laid silent in that still bloody meadow of their showdown.

In what was supposed to be the final engagement with Cinder. Thier final battle where they would finally beat the damned witch and finally save the world!

And to be fair to Ruby in a way it was their final battle, just not in the way she hoped for. Cinder was just too strong. She was always too strong. She was too strong in Beacon when she was not a maiden. And after that? When she killed Yang's mom in Haven? She was nigh unstoppable. And they thought they would win? Insane!

The thought brought a harsh string of laughed from Jaune's throat as he remembers Ruby's words. Jaune had cautioned them he tried his best. Saying that they would lose. That there was no way in hell that they could beat Cinder as they were now. But Ruby was..well she was Ruby...

When she came to rally them She gathered them as one as she spoke in such a rallying voice; she gave them such an impassioned speech that made them want to believe. She made them want to be better. Wanted them to stand up. Stand together as towering pillars against of light the darkness. She wanted them all to act as a Beacon of light in the sea of Black.

She made them believe that they had a chance! That even if they were outclassed out skilled and overall outmatched they would not only survive, but they could win! That hey had friendships that they had weapons! They had a plan! And more importantly, they had each other! And most of all we had hope! And that was something that Cinder and her minions would never have, and as long as they fought together as friends that they would always survive.

And for a time Jaune believed her as he pushed his pessimism to the side and allowed himself to think that they could do better. That they could be better. And it had gotten them all killed.

As he sat in the clearing the sun had finally set again as he was greeted by the sight of a perfect broken moon star-filled night sky, it was beautiful in a way-
SNAP!

A twig snapped in the distance as the boy turned his head lazily as Jaune saw a lone Beowulf coming out of the forest. Blood red eyes and slobbering jaw snapping at him as he let out a long tired sigh. As the monster stalked forward. The creature snapped its jaws in anticipation Jaune closed his eyes.

"Ruby. Pyrrha. Guys. I'll be with you soon." Jaune said in a calm voice as the monster got closer. Stalking forward menacingly as it stalked forward snapping its jaws as it growled at him.

A harsh laugh left his throat as he let himself wallow in the irony of his situation. "I guess I get to see you guys huh? Who thought it would be so soon? At least I get to have some damned rest finally. I-

"You look like you could use some help!"

A strange sing-song voice said as Jaune jerked his head to the left only to open his eyes in shock. There in front of him was a kid. No a child. She stood three feet tall with light brown sun-kissed skin and a smirk on her lips. She had long flowing pure silver hair and bright purple eyes. She was wearing a hilariously oversized pair of silver cowboy boots and a searing white blazer the covered her upper and mid body.

"What are you doing here!?"

Jaune yelled felling in his grip on Crocea Mors tighten inexorably. If this child were here, then the Grimm would kill them both!

"Kid you need to leave! There's a Grimm here and-
Jaune began before the kid wave him off.

"You mean that thing?" The child asked pointing to the Grimm who was now curled up in a ball whimpering at the top of its lungs as it refused to approach the two. As Jaune paused as he saw a Grimm cower in fear.

"What the hell? Why is it so scared? Grimm doesn't get scared!"
Jaune said the child giggled. It might have been a child's voice, but to Jaune, it was the single most disturbing sound he had ever hear in his life.

It even put Cinder's damned haunting giggle to shame as he felt his blood run cold.

"They do if there's something more powerful then them in the area."

The girl said calmly as she stalked over to Jaune giving him a glimpse of a long purple tail coming from her back with a heart shaped tip to it as Jaune opened his mouth.

"Who are you?"

Jaune asked as he noticed the girls long purple tail and similar eyes as he decided she was not a human but also not a faunus. So what the hell was-

"The name's Mink! And I am here to make you an offer you can not refuse!"

The girl said as Jaune blinked owlishly at her. "Mink? What are you talking about?"

"Like I said! I am what you might call in layman's term... Well, I'm a daemon."

The thing said like it was the most obvious thing in the world as Jaune blinked owlishly at it.

"What?!"

"Like I said. I'm a daemon, and I'm here to help you."
The daemon said sitting down a few feet from his face crossing her legs as her tail came up to scratch her head leaving her with a deceptively innocent appearance.

"Help... how?'
Jaune asked still not sure he was not hallucinating this as another near death mirage as she smirked at him.

"Well let's see you just lost your friends, your family and all of your hope at life. Along with watching everyone you ever loved or cared about get butchered by a woman in red right? Well, I'm here to give you a chance to save them."

"How?!"

Jaune asked shouting at the thing before recoil as its mouth split open into a devious smile revealing far, far too many teeth as it's tail began to swish happily.

"Simple. What would you do if I told you that I could send you back... back in time? Back to a place where you could train build to become stronger. And have a chance to save your friends?"

"You can do that?! Please! Mink! You have to help me!"
"And I will! I will! You just need to give me something in return."

"What do you want?"

"What do you have to offer?"

Mink asked cocking her head inquisitively at the human in front of her as Jaune reached for his pockets.

"I... I don't have any money."

"Jaune? Did you just try bribe a daemon with money? Really? I know you are not the smartest guy out there but seriously."

"I have armor! The clothes on my back! Th-
"Jaune come on. I'm a daemon! Think about it! What do I want?"

The thing asked as Jaune gulped as he lost all color to his face. "I... I have my soul."

"Your soul? I don't want your soul! Jeez! What is it with humans and always thinking that I want their souls of all things? What am I even going to do with them! Start a damn bobblehead collection!?"

The daemon? Ranted as Jaune stared dumbly at her.

"Then... If you don't want my soul or my money what do you want from me?"

"Well," she said sitting up again her still hilariously oversized cowboy boots near reaching her chin as she sauntered over to him.

"I have had a long day of working out with mortals, and it's made me famished! Seeing as I have yet to eat, I am quite hungry. You could always give me a bite to eat!"
The demon said going to the boy and pointing directly at his chest where his heat was and making him squeal.

"You want to eat my heart?!" Jaune asked his face blanching in panic as the demon sighed.

"No! Your fool! What do I look like a monster? Why would I want to eat a humans heart?"

"If you don't want my heart then what do you want in me? My Bones-

"No silly! Your emotions! Daemons love them!"

Mink said with a flourish of her arms as Jaune stared blankly at her.

"Let me explain flesh bag. We can't have them ourselves so when we see humans going through all this love, hatred, sadness, fear it's like catnip to us! The more powerful and strong the emotions the better they taste!'

"Do. Do you get off on watching us suffer?"

"More or less."

"You pieces of shit," Jaune said with a bitter tone to his words as the thing grinned an inhumanly broad grin showing off an impossibly large amount of teeth.

"Hey! Watch your language young man! Do you want a chance not to save your friends or not?'

"I'll do anything to save them. Name your price," Jaune said in a steely voice as the demon's eyes sparked to life and were filled with baleful purple fire.

"Now that's what I like to hear meat sack! I knew that you were a catch from when I first met you, but since your being a good boy I'm gonna to make you an extra special offer!"

"Extra special? Forgive me if I don't jump to my feet."

"Sarcastic? I like it! Anyways meat bag here's the deal. You are going to be sent back in time by me for as long as it takes to save your friends. But in return! You agree to let me and all of my... compatriots in the seventh realm of pleasure to feed off your emotion as you do so!"

The demon said making Jaune grimace.

"Fine. Just do it."

Jaune said the demon snapped her fingers like a piece of old smelling parchment as the paper fell out of her palm and shoved it into his palm.

"Sign on the dotted line. By agreeing on to this, you agree to allows us to monitor your everyday life and feast, on every last one of your emotions while I send you back time and time again until you finally save your friends."

"And once I do save my friend? What happens then?"
Jaune asked as the thing smirked at him in a smug manner.
"Then nothing! You live your life, with no hitches or hangups! You get to relish your victory until you eventually die."
"And my soul?"
"Your's to keep. This is only for the meal! Your soul is in no danger from us meat rack."

Mink said bowing slightly to Jaune as he gave the thing a hard glare staring it down before a heavy sigh left his mouth.

"Fair enough."
Jaune said taking an antique feather pen that Mink made appear somehow in a puff of purple smoke as he signed his name on the paper. Wincing as he saw his own blood on the document. Before Mink took the paper and did the same.

"Good job meat bag. I Hope you have better luck next time." Mink said as she snapped her finger and the word turned purple. As the human let out a scream that defied the limits of a human larynx as he was ripped out of reality and tossed back in time...


" And that! Makes attempt number four hundred and fifty-seven!"

Mink said happily as bleeding Jaune Arc came out in a purple cloud as Mink grinned at him. Coughing up a mouth full of blood as baleful energy glowed around him as chaotic energy began to heal his wounds as Mink licked her lips as the exquisite! The scent of emotions fell off of him making her mouth water as hatred, despair, fear, and hope fell off him making her drool.

It was like going to heaven! Or her work office now that her own private realm was set up and fully functioning as the bleeding panting human was sent into her real in could of smoke.

Instantly she felt her legs quake as the plethora of emotions that he radiated came over her. Fear, Hatred, Pain, love, loss, Anger. It was a smorgasbord of goodness that made Mink sigh in happiness as the human coughed up bloodily onto her tiled floor. Of her personal realm in the cathedral of the damned.

"How's it going there flesh sack? Anywhere near your end?"
Mink asked the panting bleeding human as he glared at her.

"Again! Send me back again!"

The human said as the daemon paused to take a good whiff of his emotions taking time to revel in their scent before nodding to him.

"Eager are we? That's what I like to hear! You know Jaune I like this you a lot better than the other one! You are much more of a go-getter! You don't complain like him! He's always going on about. Mink! I don't want to be in the gamer! Mink! I want my soul back! Mink I don't want to kill people-

"I don't care about him, Mink! I just need to save my friends now send me back!" Jaune snapped as Mink smirked at him.

"As you say," Mink said ss he snapped her fingers and the human disappeared in a puff of smoke as Mink smirked at him. Out of all the Jaune's she saw this one was the one she liked. As he rarely spoke to her for longer than one minute and always wanted to do his damn job. Unlike his damned alters that complained all the time, this one was grateful!

"And he tastes delicious!"
Mink said as she licked her lips taking up some more of that sweet, sweet ager as hse liker her lips. She could wait for the human to return so she could take a more personal taste as Mink licked her lips as the human left her.


"Jaune we need to talk."

The demon said as Jaune growled to her.

"Mink! Again!" Jaune yelled panting heavily as Mink sighed in frustration.

"Jaune that was attempt number two thousand! Are you sure you're putting enough work into this?"
Minka asked her nose furrowing at the mortal. Before he was once a raw, visceral spread of emotions, Hate love lust fear! All bombarded her in a brutal cacophony of smells that Now he was getting more refined. Now he smelled of discretion, planning, cunning. All... edible feelings to be sure but nowhere near the pure spread of emotions that came off of the mortal now...

"Mink just do it!'

"Fine. Fine. As you say." Mink said as she snapped her fingers and the boy disappeared. This was not good... Jaune was giving off less and fewer emotions. Meaning he was loosing all of his taste! At this rate, he would become a net loss for her at a time when Mink could ill afford a loss! She was so close! She just needed two more gamer contracts and she would be golden! She already had three new gamers now she just needed to hold on! As Mink knew that she did not no she could not tolerate failure...


"Jaune. This has to stop." Mink said as she looked up at her counter to see he was clearly past the three thousand attempt mark now. And while this was normally not a problem for the daemon as human emotions tended to get stronger and more delicious per repetition this was a problem. The human had lost a step or five hundred over his do-overs over the years to be precise. As the boy glared daggers at her.

"Mink I Can still fight! I'm getting better!"

Mink sighed the human spoke the truth. He was getting better. He was steadily and effectively breaking down the barriers that fate threw at him and was inch by inch succeeding in saving his world. At this rate it ous only take another twelve thousand cycles for him to achieve victory. But!

This was starting to get boring! Jaune had gone from a bright hot ball of emotions that every daemon from a lowly crossroad daemon to the mighty Dagon! Could salivate over to a cold hard efficient ball of emotionless apathy that not even the most carrion of daemons would consider appeasing!

"Jaune. We need to make some changes to your deal."

Mink said as the human suddenly growled at her.

"You said you would send me back for as long as it took!"
The human glared cold efficient felling falling from his cool cerulean eyes as Mink barely! Tasted the faintest hints of anger and loss in him as she shook her head.

"And I will! I will! I am bound by my word. And my word is good. It's just you need to draw more ratings, so I'm going to be altering your next journey to the past!"

"What do you mean by altering?"

Jaune asked raising a spurious eyebrow to Mink as she smiled at him.

"I'm going to be twisting with fate a bit."

"Mink...

"I'm going to be sending you back in time without your memories of the future.'

"Mink!? That would kill the entire point of my journey!"

"Calm down! Clam down meat sack I'm not totally screwing you over here! Remember how I sad I would be altering things?"

"Yeah?'

"Well as it turns out you have been quite the ladies man in your attempts to save the world. You've been dating and bedding I might add some pretty impressive woman! Form your partner. Pyrrha Nikos, to the adorable Ruby Rose, Her sister Yang Xiao-long, the enigmatic Blake Belladonna. Weiss Schnee, Coco Adel, Velvet Scarletina. Hell, you even dated Neo that one time round when lost your shit and went to the bad guy's side to beg for clemency!"

Mink said with a happy expression in her eyes as she sighed happily.
"Remember that trip? I sure do! Now that was a run! Your emotions her all over the place. Fear! Vice! Love! Lust! It was amazing! Why don't you go back and do that huh? You seemed to enjoy being a criminal!"

"That was a mistake."

"Your dating the ice cream queen or the bad guys?"

"The bad guys. Dating her was not a mistake not now not ever. Neo is... Neo is hurt. And what she doe is not her fault..."

"See! That's what I'm talking about! That's the spark! That's the juicy good stuff that we need for you to get back! You lost your emotions kid! You had such a good thing going too! You gave these ladies so much love and care! You made them all every last one of they fall deeply and truly in love with you! When you were their paramour your ratings where through the roof!"

"But now as this hard cold shell? I mean don't get me wrong I dig the cold badass look as much as the next mind daemon but seriously! With no emotions? No kick-ass one-liners! Come on man! We got to change that!"

"What do you mean?"
Jaune said not flinching as he moved towards her n the strange ground of the chamber as Mink barely detected any anger in him as she sighed.

"What I mean is I'm going to send you back blind. But! I am going to be sending every girl you ever fell for back with all thier memories and feelings intact of you. And fill them with that burning, searing passion you had at the beginning of this deal!"

"Mink! the; at not fair!"

"What's the problem! You are going to go back in time with a bevy of beautiful women who will want to be with you to fight for your cause!"

"But Mink what about me!?"

"You will default to whatever you did before you ran away from home the first time around. What were you like five? To go on a road trip that turned into a decade-plus journey to get into Beacon."

"Mink wait!" Jaune said yelling at the demon as she shook her head.

"Too late! My minds made up!"

Mink said before snapping her finger and turned the world into purple.


Blue eyes shot open as Jaune jumped to his feet.

"It's time," Jaune said out loud as his tiny four-year-old body ran through his house. Being the youngest sibling out of eight gave him plenty of boons in life. One of them was him waking up far before his elder siblings or parents as he crept through the old wooden wall of his house in Ansel.
It was five am and Jaune was as silent as a mouse and faster than a comet as he quickly and efficiently snuck through his large wooden house.

"I just need to be quick!"

Jaune said under his breath as bypassed the sleeping family members tiptoeing past his parent's bed avoiding waking his mother and father, or his seven elder siblings as Jaune did not want to deal with his parents or sisters as he entered his family's lush living room looking past the one dinner table to see his prize.

"There!" Jaune hissed she near sprinted over the floorboard and bounded to his prize.

Crocea Mors. The iconic sword of the Arc family along with its accompanying shield lay in a small glass case as Jaune pulled up the nearest chair and hopped up to it.

"Here we go. That's it! Just like that!" Jaune said as he worked the stolen key taken from his father last night as Jaune faked an illness to take it from him into the slot opening the case and freeing the prize antiqued from its slumber.

"There we go-

WHOA!

Jaune yelled as the wight of the weapons nearly sent him toppling as his childlike body was barely able to hold them.

"Why are they so heavy!?" Jaune hissed to himself as he fought to maintain balance as he cursed and leaped down.

Either way, it was no matter! He thought he drug his protesting limbs outside and into the crisp morning air of Ansel.

This was it! Jaune was finally old enough to start his journey to become a true hunter! Just like his father who also ran away from home at the age of four to start his life as a hunter! Just like his father Nicholas Jaune would do the same thing!

With Crocea Mors on his back and a pep to his step. With a backpack full of all the essentials he would need for a lifetime of roughing it battling Grimm and saving the world! Including but not limited to snack candy bars and every issue of X-ray and Vav he could find! Jaune took his first step on his journey.

As Jaune took his first steps on his journey all over the world eight pairs of eyes open across the world as Silver, Emerald, Lilac, Amber, White, Brown, Gold, and tri-colored eyes opened up with a gasp and eight mouths opened up to let cry a single word from their lips. "Jaune." The voices said so fully saturated and filled with emotion as the denizens of the seventh realm all licked their lips at the beginning of another good meal...


"Jaune!" Ruby yelled as she dove past a burning spear of flickering fire barreled knocking him to the side. Saving his life in a desperate move only to see her friend leap over to her before a flaming sword pierced her chest. Stabbing her clear through her heart and -
'RUBY!"
Jaune yelled blue eyes crying in pain only for a spear to piece the back of his neck making Ruby shout out his name. Before cursing silently as darkness overcame her sending her back into a blank space an-

"HAH!" Ruby gasped as she bolted out of bed. She was back. Back in Patch. Back in time. And once again she failed. She got killed. She got her friends killed. Her sister killed and she got Jaune killed. Again. As Ruby checked her body, grimacing as she looked at her soft pink sheets she was a child once again. Only around three in Patch and her body was covered in a cold sweat. As she sat bolt upright in her small red bed glaring forward with death in her silver eyes.

As she panted heavily on the bed, she curled her fist onto her bed ass he growled in anger. This was well over her third hundred repeat, and she was once again defeated by Cinder. She tried to save the day, but she failed. She got everybody killed again. As tears fell from her eyes Ruby quickly quashed them as she shook her head and started to move.

Not letting herself get taken down by guilt she stelled her self and got out of her bed. A gasp enters her body as her cold, tiny feet, and her normal knees hit the floor of her house. She forgot how short she was even as a child Ruby was never tall. As she looked around her small room in Patch marveling at how everything in her room was larger than her.

Not wanting to waste even one second Ruby decided to do what she always did when she came back in time, she trained. It was one of the two joys she found in her life ever since the first dozen repeats. During those first frantic hellish times, Ruby had no idea how she was going back in time only that she was doing it or how long it would last but she needed to make the most of it.

The other thing that made her life worthwhile was a tall blonde with blue eyes who was probably at home in his bed if he hadn't left for his road trip as he called already. But that was ok Jaune was going to be with her and Ruby had time though. More than a decade until she met Torchwick then Ozpin and got to see her white knight and finally she that same self-assured smile that made this hell worthwhile. But until then she did what she always did. She left her room and went to train...

As she crept through the still silent house of her childhood, long shadows followed her as she crept through the early morning light she had to marvel at just how short she really was. As at best she was at roughly a quarter shorter than every chair table and ask as she crept through the house. The wooden floor didn't even creak under her lightweight. Another advantage of being so small?

She guessed as she made her way down the hallway. Pausing in front of a large wooden door with a fire sigil painted on it as a familiar grunt made her heart soar as she had confirmation that Yang was indeed alive with both arms. Though that always happened. She hadn't fought Adam. Beacon had not fallen, and she had Uncle Qrow Sum-

Ruby paused as her heart once again threatened to stop as she realized that right here right now her mother was alive.

When she first learned of that, she had run to her bed wailing her eyes out and telling mom the who story of time travel the fang and Beacon.

At the time her parents simply told her that she had a bad dream and her mother in a way that only she could rock her back to bed and for a time Ruby thought it would be ok then Summer died, and she knew it wasn't a dream.

As she reached the outside of the door to Patch, she took a deep breath inhaling the Patch air as she took her first steps and the training began.


"Mommy! What's going on!?"
A child with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes yelled as his mother cradled him in her arm. As the two ran down a shaking concrete hallway as bright red warning lights filled the air with a piercing klaxon that gritted the woman's ears.

"Calm down baby! You mommy's just going to go on a trip all right?"

Yang asked wincing in pain. Sprinting through the building as the crumbling concrete walls shook with the weight of massive explosions. As she cradled her child, who struggled in her arms.

"Where's daddy? What going on!?"

The small boy asked as another explosion rocked the hallway and Yang cursed.

"Your father is off trying to get himself killed, and we are trying not to let him!"

Yang hissed before instantly regretting as she saw the terrified look on her son's face.

"Listen. B-

"Yang get down!"

A familiar voice yelled as a Blonde man ran in front of her forcing Yang and her son to the ground as he pushed them out of the cross section of a hallway, falling flat on the ground before kicking bolt upright only to be torn in two.

FIT! FIT!

Yang paused as she watched her husband for over two years Jaune Arc was suddenly reduced to a nasty red smear on the compounds grey walls as he was torn into bloody pieces by a wall of shrapnel. She never heard her son's scream as she dropped to her knees as she stared dumbly at this most recent version of her husband's corpse.

"Jaune?" Yang asked too shaken to move her son as he tugged at his mother's side as she stared blankly at the pile of shredded meat bone and cloth that used to make up her husband, as she gawked at his annihilated course. There was nothing left, nothing above the torso as the dull grey walls of the compounds were painted red and brown as Yang felt her mouth drop. Flesh pulped the wall as everything above Jaune's waist was now a messy red stain on the compounds cold grey walls as Yang began to shake...

"Vomit... boy?' Yang asked before her sons voice broke her ear.

"Mommy! Look out!" Her son yelled as Yang looked up only to see large claws come down to her face as an Ursa rounded on her, as it barreled through the hallways like a big black freight train ran down at Yang as her son screamed at her to move! As he cried, "Mommy! Look out!" Yelling and crying as he pulled his mother's shirt as she laid still eyes blank as she only asked, "Jaune?" As it charged Yang and her child slamming down its claws and-

"HAH!"
Yang gasped as she shot out of bed. Panting loudly as her entire body was covered in sweat as her heart jackhammered out of her chest. As she looked around to see a small wooden room covered in blue light a growl came to her lips as she snarled as her eyes ignited.

"Goddammit!" Yang yelled as she pushed her bedpost. Shooting up to she her damn old room in Patch as she ground her teeth and punched her bedpost. Even as a child she buckled the wood and bruised her knuckles giving them a nasty purple mark as she shot out of bed.

She was back. Back in Patch. Jaune was dead, and so was everyone else. The white fang killed him and all her friends where dead. Along with her son.. or this version of him. Yang seethed as she thought of her life. He friends, her partner, her husband her child! Yang thought as tears fell from her face as she began to shudder.

She never liked having kids not since she lost her first son. Her original child was taken away from her in a wall of shrapnel and fire right in front of his mothers as Yang learned the hard way just how hard it was to have a kid! Not a kid in general but a specific kid. It was insane, truly baffling just how many little unnoticed microscopic things had to go perfectly right for one! Just one human to be born!

As she learned the hard way that just because she had a child once does not mean she would ever have that child again. It was another painful lesson she learned in her life but this time! This time it seems so right! They had gone so far! Sure Beacon fell that always happened but they were making progress! They were beating back the fang! The kingdoms were coming together and even Cinder was on the back foot!

It seemed like the perfect time to start falling with the dork she called husband.

And for a while, it worked. He was happy Jaune happy her son L-
She refused to speak his name. Not now not ever again. After she found out that her original child born on her twenty-ninth repeat would never come back. Not now not ever. He was gone and she would never see his face again.

Time didn't work like that. The same child was never born twice. At least not to her. It was always a different child born to her and Jaune. Different name different face, all her children but never the same... She used to speak their names only out of memory for lives that would never live but now? She didn't have time to do that, all she had time to do was get stronger.

Yang thought to creep out of her room taking a moment to check on Ruby who to her immense panic was not in her own strawberry bed as she should be. But that was not a problem Summer was still here and Ruby probably had a nightmare again. And was with both her and Tai, so Yang began to do the one thing she really could do as she walked down the large wooden steps of her house to the front door. She began to train and prepare for her inevitable return with her thin lanky blonde dork of a husband and that red-dressed bitch...


"You idiot! What are you thinking!"

"To be honest! I really wasn't! I was kind of winging it!"
A pair of blue eyes said warily through a holo scroll as a burning wave of shrapnel nearly decapitated him as a voice seethed.

"Jaune you fool! you will die!"

Weiss screamed through her scroll as Jaune grinned the same self-deprecating grin he always wore when he was about to die.

"Maybe. But you'll live."

The boy said as Wess glared death at him.

"Jaune Arc If you do this I will never forgive you! I will hate you for the rest of time!"

Weiss screamed as Jaune gave her a wry smile.

"You have to be alive to hate me Snow angel! And as long as you are alive that's what matters to me!" Jaune said closing the communication channel to the rooms Weiss screamed at him.

As the Schnee manner shook dangerously as the final fire dust charge went off. Weiss let out a long sigh as she felt her scroll fall to the floor.
"You fool. We will all die anyway."

Weiss said as the door to her room blew open as a wall of fire rushed in to greet her... "We all die anyway," Weiss said in a tired voice as the wall of fire reached her, as her flesh was cooked off of her skin as she sighed...

"We all die anyway-

"AH!" The girl shook as she shot up panting heavily in her elegantly furnished bedroom. As Weiss took a second to regain her bearings. This was not the first time the callous hand of fate tossed her back home and if she had her way it would be the last.

"Back home. Back as a child." Weiss said as she looked to see her familiar room and ceiling as a low tired sigh left her mouth.

Once again she had died. And once again she was sent back in time. She had no idea how long she would keep this up. She had no idea how long whatever gods or deities could be entertained by her suffering would cease taking enjoyment out of her torment and finally decide to put her out of her misery. And she had no idea when her next death would be her last. It had happened over five hundred times now and if the pattern showed anything they would not grow tired any time soon.

She had no idea how this whole time traveling started, but she knew that it was an odd time. She hated dying. Weissremebredevery last second of every last death. Her death. Her team's team. JNPR's deaths. His death.

Her fingers curled into tight balls clenching them hard that they drew blood from her knuckles before a wry smile came to her lips as she fought back the memory of this. So many repeats so many restarts one stupid blonde as a constant. It all started when she got bored and said yes to a scraggly blonde adventurer who had just finished besting her teammate and her still reluctantly acknowledged leader and future best friend in his first arena fight.

She had no idea how the hell her and Jaune fist really started to care for one another. Maybe it was during the dance when he danced the most perfect waltz with her. Maybe it was when he saved her life during the breach? Or maybe it was when he watched his partner die in the fall as Weiss comforted him for the loss. Or maybe it was when she lost her partner at Haven. And he returned the favor.

Either way, it was irrelevant. Weiss did not care why she like the blonde or why she kept coming back to him but as long as he lived that's all the mattered. She didn't know why he mattered to her as much as he did, as all Weiss really knew was that in all of the myriad of timelines, when she was... together with the blonde, those were the ones that tended to go on remarkably longer then timelines when she shunned him or went out with somebody else.

And longer timelines meant more progress more progress meant more knowledge and every piece of knowledge she had mad her just one step closer to finishing this damn puzzle end an eternity of misery and suffering and saving everybody.

"Until then." Weiss breathed out from under her breath as she got out of the bed and prepared to do the one thing she always did when she returned.

She prepared to train.


"No food. No money. And no map. Great going Jaune." Jaune said to himself as he wondered the forest. He had no idea how long it had been since he had the bright idea. To run away from his house and become a hunter! But he had done just that he ran away from his home to chase a dream and for better or worse he was now stuck roaming the wilderness of Remnant hoping to Monty himself that no random Grimm would come and use him as a damned chew toy.

Although to be fair Jaune was not a defenseless starving child! Well not anymore. Now, he has a starving child with a sword and a shield! And could rest easy knowing that he was a clear blue eyed half sentient child, struggling to remain conscious as he dealt with the reality of not having a good meal or hell any in over two weeks.

Now instead of a starving five-year-old, he was just a half-starved nine-year-old who had been wandering the wilds for the better part of his life with nothing but a sword shield and a dozen well-read comic books. All because of one stupid, ridiculous and incredibly unthought out impulsive decision to be a hero as a child. Now he had been away from home so long that not only did he not know the way back he wasn't sure his family wanted him back.

I mean he was the youngest of eight children who was by far the weakest of a family of heroes, who stole his family's most prized heirloom and left in the morning one day to never return. If running away wasn't enough to get his family to hate him stealing the single most valuable treasure int he Arc household was probably the final straw. And they would probably shun him away if not outright kill him on the spot! If the saw him again. Making him sigh as he kept walking alone in the forest as his stomach growled and he knew he had to eat.

"That or die..." Jaune thoguht grimly as he walked along a small forested hill covered in leaves as he ruminated over his life going from a loving well-fed home to this...

He was once a well-fed happy go lucky child with everything he could ever want, loving home family and all the food he could eat! Now he was a half-starving half dead one foot in the grave and one on a banana peel. And give him a few more minutes, and he would most likely slip on that leaves and go tumbling-

I didn't mean this literally. Jaune thoughts he felt ground gives way beneath his feet as his grip on the world was suddenly ripped out from under his feet, and he was sent tumbling to the ground.

"Well I guess this is how I die," Jaune said tiredly as what it tuned out to be nothing more than a stray piece of earth that caused him to lose his footing and go tumbling over the hill and to what would most likely his doom. As he fell his vision became a whirlwind of greens and orange as he crashed down to his inevitable death by a snapped neck or some other bodily injury.

At least I had to go on an adventure. Jaune thought as he closed his eyes only for a high pitched shrill voice to yell in his ear.

"Wait!"

A loud feminine voice yelled as Jaune suddenly felt a powerful gust of wind envelop him as he saw slammed against and lifted up by a pair of strong arms as his blue eyes shot open to reveal a shining pair of silver eyes under a mass of red-black hair covered by a flowing white cape and surrounded by white rose petals...


"Hiya!" Ruby yelled at the top of her lungs as she swung her scythe forward only for a sudden shadow to fall over her as a nasally voice filled her head.

"Too slow kiddo." A dry, raspy voice yelled as a force struck the back of her head as she was sent sprawling down to the earth.

"Gah!" Ruby gasped as she was sent flying through the air and sent sliding into the dirt as her uncle sent her crashing into the earth only for a dry, raspy voice to say, "You got beat, you might have lasted a bit longer kid but you still got a long way to go kid."

Her uncle said as he took a swig forms his trademarked flask as he looked down at his niece with a crooked smile.

"Don't beat yourself up to hard there kid you get a few more years and you might get somewhere close to scratching me," Qrow said as he kept both hands in his pocket s as his niece glared daggers at him.

"Again," Ruby said simply standing up straight gripping the bone-thin framework of Crescent Rose as Qrow cocked his head.

"If you say so, kid. Not like you're going to scratch me is all." Qrow said taking another swig before turning away and chuckling.

Really she's getting a lot better. Qrow thought as his niece stared at him with a glare that should not be on the face of a seven-year-old.

As his niece shot forward in a wave of roses the man had to suppress a grimace. As she shot forward, she was quick for a child and swung at his ankles. Good shot. He thought as he jumped over her swiping ankle swipe as her strike was neatly dodged by the man making as he went to strike back at the back of his nieces exposed head only for her to stop on a dime and shoot backward. In a blur of roses as she bent her knees and launched herself at him again going around Qrows guard and appearing right behind his head in an apparent attempt to cave it in with her prototype scythe Crescent Rose raised high like a executioners strike as Qrow smirked.

The resulting tornado esque attack nearly struck him in the back of the head, as he simply bowed his head allowing the attack to sail harmlessly over his skull as he neatly dogged his niece's stirk on to snatch her up by the cape making her epp! Loudly before slamming an elbow into her back before giving her a knee to the stomach and sending her flying back.

"Don't get your emotions in your head. You let your emotions get ahead of you, and you almost had me. Almost." Qrow said with a wry grin as Ruby glared at him.

"Again." She said making Qrow sigh.

She's just like her mother. Where the hell is Summer anyway? She was supposed to be back a week ago. I wonder if she got lost. Probably helping a cat out a tree for some other snot-nosed brat. He thought with a grimace as his niece charged him.

"Your choice kid," Qrow said as grinned.


"Keep your hands up!"

"I know!"

"Spread your legs!"

"I know!"

"Keep on the balls of your feet!'

"I am!"

"Than why can I do this!?"

A voice yelled as a fist slammed inot the girls face sending her tumbling backward as Tai struck his daughter sending her shotting backward as he hit her over her face with a light haymaker and sent her flying.

WHAP!

Tai struck his daughter over the face with a harsh haymaker send her sprawling backward as she crashed in a twisting pile of limbs as she spat on the ground.

"Again."

Yang said getting up glaring daggers at her father how smiled back at her.

"You are getting better."

Tai said ruffling his blonde mustache as he stared proudly at his eldest. Much better, you are already far above where I was when I was nine. Tai admitted silently smiling as his daughter shot forward hands up and ready to strike at him.

As she charged, a frown came over his face as he saw her technique that he recognized as his own just much more refined.

As his daughter swears her right fist only for him to block it as her other came searching for in a fierce uppercut. That he neatly sidestepped as he smiled at Yang with a proud look only a father could have.

"Not bad. But still not good enough."

Tai said sliding to the right before drawing back his fist and punching her in the face making her go flying back as she swore loudly.

"Dammit!" Yang swore as Tai frowned at her.

"Watch your tongue young lady. What if your mother head you talk like that?" Tai asked as she smiled at her.

"Summer would have had me put a lien in the swear jar. Then immediately give it back to me an hour later."

Yang said with a tired smile as Tai grinned.

"Yeah that sounds like her," Tai said before his daughter charged him again flying at him as her eyes turned red as he grinned at her.


"Well, that was one helluva day. Tai! When's dinner? I'm starving here!" Qrow asked tired already drinking heavily from his flask as his nieces glared at him.

"You know uncle Qrow you could always help with dinner you know?" Ruby chided as Qrow parroted her voice with his free hand.

"You could always learn how to fight with a scythe Ruby," Qrow said back at his favorite student growled as his other nice glared at him.

"Insulting children now Qrow is that right?"

"Hey! That's uncle Qrow to you, missy! And I am not insulting children I am just informing them that after over a year of training they have not managed to land a single hit on me since!"

Qrow said chuckling darkly as Yang sighed and Ruby flushed. Speaking of Ruby, she had got better much much better over the last years. Far better then any child had any right to be. Qrow thought as he looked at his niece.

She was fighting like her mother did when she got into Beacon. Her skills her movements were only hampered by her age. Her smaller than usual form and weak bone structure. But give her some time to grow?

She would be Huntress to rival if not surpass her mother. Even today her skill level was easily surpassing Summer in her own time and that was saying something. Summer was no slouch even after a child she was still a huntress in prime while raising two kids. Speaking of the other brat in his life Yang was looking more and more like her mom every day. While that was not unexpected as she was her daughter and the beside for a color swap she as a dead ringer for a younger Raven. Wherever the hell she was.

Qrow was now convinced that Yang had been in some limited form of contact with her mother for the longest time now. As the evidence was becoming more and more apparent that Raven was a part of her daughters' life probably from the damned shadows as Qrow saw the signs. She had been moving like her talking like her and had actually used some direct duplicates of his sisters fighting style. Moves that only Raven herself knew and ones she would never just teach somebody.

So that meant that two options were now possible either Yang was the poster child for genetic memory, or Raven had somehow under his watch had gotten been back in contact with her child. And to be fair Qrow didn't know which was worse.

The fact that yang might be the next living breathing Raven or that she was talking to her crazy mom some way and he had no idea how.

Though his thoughts on this matter were interrupted as the door opened and a familiar voice rang out.

"Tai! Qrow! Come here, please! I need to talk to you!"

The voice of Summer said as Qrow sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Coming dear!" Tai yelled from the kitchen as Ruby squeaked.

"Mom's home!"

Ruby said jumping out of her chair as she began to form herself into a wall of roses before Sumner called out.

"Not you girls! You two stay back! I have a surprise for you!"

Summer said as Ruby and Yang gave each other a questioning glance before shrugging their shoulders.

"Ok?" Yang asked as Qrow got up lazily complaining all the way as he stalked over to the front door.

"What do you think up Rubes?" Yang asked her younger sibling who gave her a curious look.

"No idea," Ruby answered honestly, and she really had no idea. Whenever Ruby saved Summer's live the timelines got erratic. Summer went wherever the hell she pleased and Ruby was forced to accept that that she did not quite know why her mother would just vanish for weeks or months on end. She was just happy she was able to convince her mother to stay away from that mission. And was just glad to have her home.

"I fell you," Yang replied as she eyed the door. Wondering what mom brought home this time? Yang thought as she was still dumbfounded by Summers' life. Usually, when she was brought back Summer was already dead or was just leaving for her mission that would kill her. And no matter what Yang tired Summer always left and Summer died.

But now? Now summer was alive. And that was going to shake up her timeline something fierce. Yang was sure as the mom of the decade hell mom of the century even was left alive as Yang got to grow up with a mom for the first time making the girl smile in a way she hadn't done for years. Either way summer her was amazing. Yang had always had to balance her training for the future with raising Ruby caring for her dad and just dealing with the problems that came with being a mom at age five. Now?

With Summer always in or out and her dad never having a mental breakdown? Yang finally had all the time she needed to train to improve and got better.

Now she knew she was still weak. Horrendous horrible laughably weak. As she knew that even, at this age Cinder would flay her alive and burn her family at stake. But to her surprise, Ruby was going better too. Her once carefree sibling had devoted her entire life training with her uncle. That fact surprised Yang as Ruby was usually at this early of an age was rarely interested in anything other than Cookies and milk, and to see her training like she was just might do her some good.

It might save her life even. Yang though darkly before another voice entered the room.

"Ruby, Yang. We have something to show you! Come here!"

Summer asked as he is shrugged there should and left their seats at the dinner table.

"What's wrong mom?"

Yang asked as she and Ruby walked out of the living room behind Yang.

"Yeah, mom what's-

Rubys jaw dropped and Yang dropped her glass as it shattered it as the info the was her family Tai, Qrow Summer, And family half starve blonde, blue eye, and all too familiar sword and shield and while grinning like a damned fool.

"Yang Ruby this is Jaune. He is going to stay with us go awhile..."


"And that makes the eighth consecutive win for Pyrrha Nikos! At this rate, she might be champion huh!?" The announcer said as Pyrrah glared at the beaten body.

"Good fight." the Spartan said evenly before leaving he beaten panting opponent in the dust of the arena ignoring the cries of adulation from the screaming crowd and proceeding to the locker room...

"Just a few more years Pyrrha. Then it's back to Beacon. To Jaune, To Ren and Nora. RWBY. And people who your true friends." Pyrrha said quickly in her private locker. As she put away her arena kit as she heard the voice.

"As long as you don't get them all killed. Again." A dark voice said in her head as she grimaced.

"Shut up. I didn't get them killed."

"Of course, you did! You are the fall maiden, but you can't even beat one pretender? What type of maiden are you?"

"Shut up!"

"You can't even keep the one boy of your dreams from dying on top of a damned tower! Again and again! "

"I said shut up!"
Pyrrha roared punching her locker making the voice give a dark laugh as it spoke into her ear.

"He dies for you-you know? He dies for you every time... Weather it be in Beacon or on top of the tower, or if you're lucky in Mistral in the vault, or if you are really lucky he dies in Atlas but in the end. You, one true love, dies. Consistently. And it's all your fault. "

"I said... Shut up..." Pyrrha said tears leaking from her young face as her knees bent and the voice chuckled.

"Crying, is it? Well, that's a laugh. Do you remember how many times he cried? how many times he cried? You remember when he shoved you in that locker the first time and sent you away and ran off to his death? Or the other myriads of ways he always got you away from the tower?"

The dark voice said as Pyrrha gritted her teeth.

"You remember how he always gets you out of harm's way and goes himself? Remember the first time he died and you cried for days? You wailed to the heavens for days until Ren slapped you out of it? Then you go on a killing rampage all the way to Haven just to get yourself killed in the Vault?"

"You remember how on your first return you spent a week wailing praying thanking the gods promising them that you would do everything right and make this ok? That you would save the so-called love of your life and all your friends? Do you remember how you failed?"

"How many times have you failed Pyrrha? How many deaths are on your hands? How much as he the literal weakest of all your friends save you? The literal strongest? How much have you save by those you swore to save?"

"That's not true!"

"Say what you want but you know it is. We've been sent back so much I have no idea how the hell we are going to survive this time. If we go back to Beacon and we will go back. We find our friends our love. You wait your three months and confess your feelings. He accepts them and then?"

"Then we wait," Pyrrha said as she cleaned Milo absentmindedly as the voice sighed.

"And? Then do we fight and die like always? Or do we kidnap Jaune like we used to? You know knock him out one night on the roof. Drag him to that abandoned warehouse where you kept him as a pet? You remember how he screamed and begged scared for his life while he was suddenly chained up in that house with nothing but a mattress tv and bathroom?"

"That was a mistake!"

Pyrhha cried as the voice chuckled.

"Really? A mistake was it? Maybe the first time we did it you could call it a mistake but we did it fifty-eight times. I got to say the word mistake became a bit lose especially after you started using him for... "Stress relief" let's call it. I thought we finally broke. I swore we were finally getting worse than the literal bad guys. with the kidnap-assault and lies, you know?"

"It was for his own good!"

"What about kidnapping him and using him as some type of living sex toy? Was that for his own good as well?"

"That wasn't the case! And you know it!"

Pyrrah shouted to the empty locker room as the voice chuckled.

"Wasn't it though? Because I a had a first-person view of it all. And let me tell you from what I saw Jaune was not into it. I think his words were and I quote. "Stop! Please let me go! Why are you doing this!? And Don't do this! I don't want this! Please! I'm your partner!"
"End quote. And if you ask me there was a bit of a consent issue forcing yourself on him day in and day out besides leaving him in an abandoned warehouse you know? I mean to be fair what we did to him starts with an R and ends with an E and rhymes with date..."

"It was because he kept dying! He always died! He never let me protect him! It was always him dying for me! for Nora! For Ren, Ruby, Weiss Blake! He just kept dying and I couldn't take it!"

"And you know what happened when we kidnapped him?"
"..."

"Pyrhha?"

"..."

"Don't ignore me."

"..."

"I am literally in your head! You can not avoid me."

"I stopped ok! I stopped and let him go!"

"Was that my question?"

"No...

"What was my question?"

"What happened when we kidnapped him?"

"And what did happen Pyrrha?"

"He died either way. The Grimm swarmed the warehouse, or fire burned it down, or I was forced to leave, and he starved to death. Either way, he was stuck and he died cold and alone."

Pyrrha said as tears fell from her face as the voice nodded.

"Don't forget terrified, hungry panicking or scared shitless. He died chained to a floor with naught but a mattress and a television to protect him. You really were one helluva partner you know?"

"I said it was a mistake! What was I supposed to do! I was scared desperate! What did you want from me!?'

"I didn't want anything from you. I was just remembering those times when Jaune got the word out let alone escaped! Remember when Ruby burst into your room scythe flaring and demanding your surrender? Boy, I didn't think I would see her head on our spear at the end of the day did you?"

"Shut up."

"Or when Yang broke into the warehouse itself during one of your more intimate moments? Now that was something! I never thought her hair could glow like that you know? The blonde actually got the better of us. That was the first time we got beaten to death. And it would not be the last either. Not just by her but in general, you know?"

"I...

"Let me guess shut up right?"

"...

"Well, either way, we messed up, and we got better. According to you. No more Ruby arresting us or fights to the death with Yang or that one time with Nora and Ren. Those two put up one helluva fight you know? I honestly thought we were done for until we used our semblance. Killing Ren with Nora's hammer was a stroke of genius to be fair."

"Why are you talking? You know what we have to do? Why are you making it any harder than usual?"

"Because I don't want to die! I want us to get out of her with Jaune and live our damned lives Pyrrha! Why don't we leave this? We know where Jaune is right now! I say we leave Mistral we find him, and we stay away from Beacon!"

"But what about Rena and Nora?"

"We find them too! Team JNPR can exist without Beacon! We can make it in the wilds hell maybe join the Brawnren tribe? Isn't that a good idea?"

"You know that's a pipe dream Even if we leave and even if Raven accepts us eventually Cinder will show up at her door looking for the relic and it will be for naught right?"

Pyrrha asked as the voice gave a long tired sigh.

"I know. I'm just tired of watching my self-die."

"Me too. I want to live. I want to be with my friends and love and I won't let anything stop me."

"Sounds like a plan. Now get out there, I can hear them calling our name, and we got fans to please...


Mud. There was mud everywhere. Cold thick mud, it was on her clothes her har her face her eyes it was everywhere. Every strand of hair every piece of exposed skin every waiting orifice was slathered caked or sprayed in cold mud as a girl sat on the side of a muddy road. She laid on the side of a muddy road and waited.

It had been a long day for the girl as she sat on the cold muddy road ignoring the sounds nearby as the heat went down as the crowded road dispersed and the sun was setting. As people and horses walked by the small child curled up in a ball on the side of the road. As she pulled up close to her tattered white pink outfit clutching the one thing that had value in her hand as voices filled her ears. With questions, jibes, and threats of all kinds. All serious but luckily none directed to her.

As the voice of criminal mobsters and every other type of lowlife that could walk around as the girl waited. She was a small waif of a girl barely three feet tall and half a foot wide. She had ribs that looked nearly twig thin and that poked through her clothes and her once possibly immaculate dress was currently in tatters Torn into pieces and ripped to shreds. There was a possibility of an elegant background to her, possible influential history, but it was too far gone now. As she sat tired on the side of the road, she held the one last item that contained her past.

It was a long thin black thing, a long elegant black parasol that would soon save her life. And would eventually allow hers to save and claim the lives of other an-

"Kid? The hell are you doing here? You need some help?"
Neo fought the urge to grin as a smile came to her lips as a man dressed in a pure white pair of shoes followed by a long cane in front of a smoking white tuxedo and burning pearl pants all under a sharp pair of emerald eyes with orange hair asked.

"What took so long?" She signed to the man as a pair of emerald eyes flickered at her as the man smiled.

"Sorry about the wait kid now come on. We got ourselves a blonde idiot to find."


AN: There we go! Chapter one of Falls! This fic will not! Repeat not be a regularly updated fic. I'm just uploading it because I want to have it on the sight. I won't be working on it until I finish my other stories so don't get too attached to it! It will be uploaded just not now ok? Expect monthly updates. Until next time thanks for reading.