(A/N: For now, though, welcome to my first long-term story! This was inspired by a Whose Line is it Saturday? post on /r/RWBY. This won't follow Scott Pilgrim vs The World's plot, but I hope you enjoy what I'm giving.)

Somedays, I wonder why I get myself into these situations. I mean, one second I had my sword to the throat of the girl who killed my partner, the next few minutes? Sitting across from me and telling me all about this "little problem" she's having. I guess I should introduce myself, and her for that matter. I'm Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. I am pretty sure ladies love it...as much as I can be. Sitting across from me? Cinder Fall, the killer of the girl I loved. Let's...start at the beginning. And, maybe I can stop narrating. Something tells me that I won't be able to keep up this job for long.

As the buildings of Mistral melted apart in a sea of red and bronze around them, the sheer heat and the sounds of Grimm growling making it seem more like Hell then the once proud kingdom that stood in it's place, the sound of broken bricks and shattered glass completed the choir and destruction as a blond haired Huntsmen was blasted through a nearby building onto a grassy field. Jaune shook his head and carefully stood to his feet, gripping the ground under him to hold steady his aching body, as he looked up to the girl who perpetrated the knockback and injuries resulting. Cinder stared at him with an unflinching gaze, only one eye still there after the Fall of Beacon to use to burn a hole through Jaune's head in sheer hatred, as he stepped to him with her swords held steady. With surprising speed becoming of a Huntsman in training, Jaune suddenly sweeped Cinder's legs before swiping upward with his sword, sending her flying through the power of his strike. Flipping through the air, Cinder turned her swords into her trademark bow, but Jaune jumped up and gripped the bow before gravity took hold yet again. With the force of the cruel mistress by his side, he slammed Cinder into the ground with her bow as the fulcrum needed, breaking the dirt floor under her as he rolled back. Turning back, he saw Cinder try to get up, but before she could, Jaune pointed his sword at her throat. "This…" he began, as he began to raise the blade in the air.

"...is for Pyrrha!" he shouted in fury, but before he could deal a crucial blow, he had one last look drawn to her. Her eyes were closed, her lips quivering as she seemed to accept her punishment. Just then, he heard a familiar, high pitched voice shout out from the building he was launched from.

"Jaune!" Ruby yelled out, rushing forward in a sea of rose petals. Before she could say anything, she saw Cinder and let a scowl emerge from her features. Noting Jaune's hesitation, Ruby turned to him and said, "What are we going to do with her?"

Jaune's mind was drawing a blank;not uncommon, but in this situation, he should've had his mind deadset on one thing: ending her life the same as she ended Pyrrha's. Yet, this was exactly the thing keeping him back. He could just hear her voice as he deliberated, her words spelling out "Jaune, if you kill her, you will be just like her. Revenge isn't the answer for her crimes, and you know that.". With a sigh, he turned to Ruby as he sheathed his sword.

"We need her to answer for everything she's done. Take her weapons and make sure that Evac's coming," Jaune said as he walked closer to his quarry, "I need to figure out why she did all this." Grabbing her arm with enough force to crack stone, he picked Cinder up to her feet and began to drag to the empty field, away from earshot.

After some walking and dragging, Jaune finally made it to a quiet spot where he could truly vent his frustrations. Throwing her onto the ground, he stood over her and said "Alright, Cinder, I want to know everything. Why Beacon? Why Mistral?" he said, kneeling over her. "Why Pyrrha?!" he suddenly yelled, as he wrapped his hands around her neck and furiously picked her up.

As Cinder began to choke, he threw her back down and said "Start talking."

Cinder began to choke out an answer, carefully and slowly enunciating each and every word so that she could actually say it. "I...You….weren't like...this…" she gasped out, with made Jaune's eyes widen with realization. "I...guess I wasn't this cruel. But after Pyrrha…"

With another nervous sigh, he said "You're the one who killed the girl I should've spent my time with. Every day I could've spent with her, I spent chasing down Weiss and making goofy attack plans. Then, on the day I realized her feelings for me? On the day she must've felt she could save the day and win the boy in the end? You kill her. You destroy Beacon. You ruin my damn life! What did you think was going to happen?"

With Cinder's silence, he sees nothing but thought pass through her eye as she contemplates her answer. With another gasp of breath, she says "I...wanted to please...my Goddess."

Jaune simply scoffed and said "Who? Salem? What did she do that would make you destroy a whole kingdom?". With another breath, Cinder simply said "She...saved me…"

Jaune's features suddenly relaxed slightly as he breathed out with a breath he wasn't aware he was holding in. "So, you have a debt to her?"

Cinder nodded as Jaune continued "...You killed millions just to satisfy that;ruined families for that debt, Cinder," Jaune said. "So why should that make this any better?"

Cinder gulped hard, wincing in pain as she did, as she placed a hand to her throat and began to speak, which helped to ease the pain slightly. "She told me I could have anything, on the condition that...I help her," Cinder said, wheezing slightly as she continued. "In exchange for my services, she would keep me alive. She...even gave me Guardians…"

Jaune sat across from Cinder with baited breath as he said "Guardians? Like, really strong Grmm?", a curious tone in his voice.

Cinder shook her head softly and, placing her hand back to her throat, said "No...Salem handpicked seven people from across Remnant...to collect me if I turned traitor. They were given deals...powers...they're strong enough to kill me, if need be," pausing slightly to cough, she continued "And since I've been captured…"

Jaune's eyes widened, his hands suddenly shaking as he learned exactly what she was implying. "Oh, God," he began, his voice nervous and light. "They'll go after me, too, right?"

Cinder nodded as she spoke "Civilians are expendable. I...need to...die. It's their...their mission."

Jaune leaned back onto his hands as his thought raced through his head. "OhGodOhGodohgodohgodohsweetmercifulBrothers, I AM GOING TO DIE!" he thought, only to snapped out by a low hum. Turning to Cinder, he saw her look down with regret, her lone eye watering slightly.

Before Jaune could speak, Cinder said "Look...I know you hate me...but you kept me alive. You need me for something. Please...can you help me at least try to stop these...these Guardians?"

With more thoughts in his head, Jaune listened in, his mind going numb through the sheer amount of fear represented. "On the one hand, we do hate her, and if we stay out of the way, she dies. But...on the other hand?"

As Cinder sat there shaking, with regret and emotion on her features as a tear actually fell to her dress, he made up his mind. "Cinder...fine. I'll help you. I can't just let you die, and these people could hurt my friends getting to you. You're hurt, and you seem so...different." As Cinder looked up, stunned, she saw the blond look at her with more pity than anger with him.

"Let me make something clear: I still, at least think, I hate you. No matter how I feel about how you are now, I still don't trust you. I do pity you, and you've clearly changed, but I can never get over what you did to me. But...I'm willing to help." With that, Cinder nodded with a small smile on her face as the sound of a Mistralian transport boomed in their ears.