Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

One-shot

-Move on Without Me-

Jaune Arc took a deep breath.

Aura glimmered gently as it covered his body.

Crocea Mors rested in the scabbard, never unsheathed. The young knight scanned the surrounding one last time before holding his breath in, leaning forward. He broke into a full sprint. The next tree should be a good spot to hide himself in the open.

Within five steps, a gunshot echoed in the snow. One part of tree's trunk snapped apart in front of him. Flame burst out. He recognized the effect of Fire Dust round.

He bit his lower lip. That was her intention.

The sky was dark, only the shattered moon knew what happened as it shone the path. She could barely see him by the moonlight, she wanted him exposed to her vision by creating a stronger source of light.

Another shot came, from somewhere he could not see. It grazed his shoulder, Jaune almost squeaked. He kept running, the pile of snow underneath prevented him from moving faster than he already was. It was troublesome.

He stole a glance over his shoulder. There was a flash, not very far. The sound of gunshot rumbled the air as bullet craved a straight path in the cold air. The ground next to him took impact.

"Missed!"

He saw a blur approaching, jumping on top the dried trees and to the sky above. Red hood and cape elegantly spread in the wind. Giant blade opened, barrel aimed at his running figure, scythe mode activated.

BANG!

In the blink of an eye, roughed force struck him right in the back of his head. Aura flickered dangerously outside of comfort zone. He fell, face hit the soft layer of snow. Not giving up, he picked himself up and immediately made a dash to narrowly dodge an incoming shot.

This would be his last stand. He was the last enemy she needed to put down.

He made a decision.

On that day, he decided to leave all his friends behind and join the dark side. Just so things could be the way they were now. He became a villain, now Salem's last survived minion. Team RWBY and NPR, Remnant's strongest heroes, who achieved victory over the Grimm Queen, were his enemies.

Jaune blinked. No more shot.

The Reaper ran out of ammo, she was reloading. He skidded to a halt as there was a cliff ahead. The knight dropped his head and sighed, their chase ended here.

"Surrender, Jaune."

He looked back. The huntress stepped out from the darkness of winter night, burning tree shadowed her figure. He could never mistake a threat when the sniper riffle-scythe hybrid pointed directly at him. She already prepared to pull the trigger.

"Ruby."

If he made any sudden move, Ruby Rose would have no problem performing execution right on the spot. Jaune gripped the sword hilt. Ruby raised the scope to her vision, bullet loaded into the chamber with a click. They stared down at each other. It was only the two of them in this snow, no one moved from their spot or shifted an inch. Jaune could feel the glooming tension rose in the atmosphere.

"Surrender!" Seeing the young man unfazed, the Red Reaper shouted.

"No." He stated. "Not a chance."

Words hang in the air, silence drowned in dread. Ruby gritted her teeth.

"Why!? Salem is gone, why are you still-!?"

Crocea Mors finally left its scabbard, bathed in the moonlight.

"Less talking, Ruby! Take the shot!"

"…"

He waited.

And she stood there, riffle aimed at him without doing anything.

…..why is she…..hm?

Her finger held onto the trigger yet didn't pull. It was shaking. He could see beautiful silver eyes glittered from the other side of the scope. Was she hesitating? After coming this far?

Dust. Just a moment ago, she was determined enough to shoot a bullet at his head without a care in the world to break his Aura. Now she acted like this!? Her kindness had got the better of her.

"Ruby." Jaune repeated, his voice was deep, heavy as if posing a threat. "Take the shot."

"Shut up! You were…you were supposed to….."

Scabbard expanded, a shield transformed, cutting her off. The golden Arc emblem in the middle was replaced by a dark symbol of the Grimm Queen.

Jaune raised it, blue orbs glared at his former friend, now enemy. The tip of Crocea Mors pointed down, carving a thin line on the snow and touched the ground beneath. The faint sound of metal sliced the earth brought chill to all things that witnessed the tension.

"I was supposed to be your friend." He frowned and snorted. "You're trying to tell me that now? You let your kindness blind your judgement at this very moment and forget all the horrible things I did to humanity?"

He shook his head at the ridicule. She flinched when he took a step forward.

"Stop!"

"What's wrong? Go ahead, shoot me. Where is the killing intent that nearly knocked down my Aura from before?"

Another step.

"Stop! J-Jaune!"

"I am one of Salem's most trusted servants, the only one remains. Even if her Majesty is gone, it's my responsibility to see this through to the very end."

Another step.

"Don't come any closer!"

"You. Team RWBY and NPR, you all became the heroes that every men, women and children across Remnant look up to." Crocea Mors dragged on the snow, shield held steady as the last barrier between the villain and the hero. "Don't you dare acting docile now of all time just because I was once your friend. Wake up already, I joined Salem. The entire world hates me, my family disowns me. They want me dead because I am a criminal, I became the worst person to ever live and you are a Hero, a Huntress, Ruby! Do your job properly!"

Gunshot rang in his ears. A bullet flew past him, yellow strings fluttered in the cold breeze.

"Not another step! I won't miss next time!"

"Fair warning, my Aura is quite low right now. I probably can handle a couple of swings from your weapon and two or three more shots at best."

"?"

She looked confused. She didn't understand why he was telling her all that.

"If you plan to capture me alive rather than end me here. You won't take the risk."

Without a warning, he charged forward. At the same time, she moved her finger. The trigger snapped the bullet within Crescent Rose chamber, sending it out. It went past Jaune's head and lost in the thick snow. Crocea Mors slashed the air. Ruby switched hand, blocking the strike from below.

Surprised, widened silvers met heated, narrowed sapphires. Breaths mixed together at close proximity.

"I know you will miss. It's because deep down, you still care." Jaune declared. "I'll be happy to take advantage of that."

The knight planted his feet. Using raw strength, he pushed his nemesis back. Ruby quickly jumped back, something he saw coming. Jaune roared as he dashed and slammed the shield into Crescent Rose. Being knocked backward, Ruby hurriedly found her balance. The sharp scythe that cut through thousands of Grimm began to spin, dancing with the girl's momentum.

Slash. Shield. Strike from above. Block. Full swing. Deflect. Metal hit against metal at a quick pace, repeating like a loop.

They couldn't afford to give the other a second for catching breath. The knight cocked his arm back, sword thrusted forward. Faster than lightning, Ruby titled her head to dodge the blade in time. A second too late and it would cut her cheek. The girl began her counter, rose petals flew as she used her Semblance to get behind him. In a flash, the tip of Crescent Rose embedded to the ground and spun clockwise. Jaune ducked a sweep from Ruby as the Red Reaper delivered a roundhouse kick midair.

What he didn't expect, she fired the riffle. The force made the scythe tear apart the earth and move upward, successfully hitting the young man's back. Jaune groaned, stumbled a bit, then he quickly turned. Crocea Mors stopped its movement and went back. Hand gripped tight, ready for a brutal swing.

"!?"

He saw no one.

Shifting his vision to the sky, Jaune's eyes went wide, breathless at the sight of rose petals flew in circle, gathering around Ruby who was still in the air. Her customized weapons aimed behind her, both feet rested on the great scythe's blade. Red hood slid back as the wind picked up, revealing grown long black hair with red color at the tips. Tiny rose in the form of a hair clip held the left side of her bangs, partially showed the fair-skinned of her forehead. Her eyes, the pair of mystical silver orbs shone brightly along the shattered moon. They reflected his face.

Jaune froze, completely stopped moving. The whole world turned slow. The transcended beauty of that blooming Rose mesmerized the former noodle turned villain.

For a second, the tension of their battle vanished in his mind as he took in the appearance of that eighteen years old girl. From cute to borderline gorgeous, that flower had blossomed. He could have sworn his heart just skipped a beat.

Millions of ice crystal continued to fall.

He forgot to breath. She breathed in.

Trigger pulled. Riffle opened fire. She launched forward like an arrow.

"Ah." Jaune blinked, he got distracted.

The side of Crescent Rose smashed him in the face. Whatever amount of Aura he had left was gone by the following kick to the chest. His body flew off the ground, sending toward the edge of the cliff. His side hit the snow. The young knight glided a good distance before he found himself right next to the edge.

"…...ouch."

Jaune squinted, right hand clutched the snow as he gazed at the landscape below. His shoulder already drifted off the surface, one push and he would fall. Left hand rubbed his cheek and nose, facial structure was almost swollen by the hit.

….I think I made her angry.

Ruby got him good, that attack really packed a punch.

Jaune rolled up to see the reflection of his face flashed on the scythe's blade. It pushed down, leaning against his throat. He looked up. Furious, impatient silver eyes glared back at him.

….yup! She's angry!

"This is your last chance." She warned. "Give up!"

The knight paid no heel to those words, he scanned around. Jaune found nothing within his reach, his weapon was gone. The sword and shield laid a few feet behind the huntress. The young knight relaxed his body, head rested on the snow, releasing all the tension in his tired muscles. Closing his eyes, he finally took a moment to fill his lung with air, she did too. They were both exhausted.

Crescent Rose withdrew, a small hand extended to him. Palm outstretched. Jaune cocked an eyebrow, half-opened vision glared incredulous at Ruby. Her lip formed a thin line, but he noticed there was hope in those big, softened eyes.

…oh, come on…

She still had faith in him, as if all the bad things he caused was for naught. This was wrong, he couldn't let her think that way about him.

"This is not how it works." Jaune sighed.

"We can try." She replied in a firm voice, determined. "Everyone can help you start anew, Jaune. There's no need for any of this. No more."

He leaned up, scrunching his nose slightly. And he stopped just to stay there, doing nothing to encourage her idea. He would rather disagree with it. Ruby seemed to aware of that, her hand halted in front of his face, telling him to take it. Jaune kept doing nothing, head turned away, looking at anywhere but the Red Reaper.

"Jaune."

"I'm not doing it." He said, much to her dismay.

"Jaune…"

"Not gonna happen."

"Don't be stubborn, you can change."

"I stooped too low to see things eye to eye with you and the rest, Ruby." He resisted. "Again, no. The fact that I can change or not has nothing to do with what we're doing."

Her hand clenched, forming a fist. It went back to her side and traced the pouch on her belt.

"Fine. If this is how you want it to be." She took out a handcuff. A tool made for Aura users, specialized in constraining their abilities.

"But!" Jaune raised an arm, interrupting her intention. He wasn't finished. "I appreciate the thought, though."

"…"

"Say, I never told you why I joined Salem. Do you know the reason why, Ruby?" He suddenly said, which surprised her. She frowned and listened. It was clear that she wasn't going to let that catch her off guard. "It's to cure my social awkwardness."

"You are really bad at lying." She was not impressed.

"Oh, you can tell?" He shrugged. "Guess that will never work. Still, thank you."

"For what?"

"For giving me time to recharge."

His Aura flared up like the sun. A small amount fully restored for him to change the tide.

The sudden brightness blinded Ruby's vision, the young girl did not expect this. Jaune swung his right hand, which holding a snowball. It struck her in the face, causing the huntress to stumble back. Immediately, she was tackled to the ground as the boy launched himself at her. Crescent Rose left her grip, knocked away. Her wrists being held together, tender and slim waist straddled by Jaune's large built form.

"You fight dirty!" Shaking the snow stuck on her face, silvers opened and glared at sapphires.

"Yeah, cheap tactic. I know." He pinned her down, gripping so tight that she won't be able to break out even if she tries to use her Semblance. "I learned how to fight mean whenever I have to put up with Tyrian. Normal means and chivalry never work on that scorpion, this was the only method I could use to get that creepy guy out of my hair."

"Let me go!" Ruby struggled, she kicked her legs in vain.

"Nope." Jaune smirked as he popped the p. "You'll just try to catch me again. Give up, Ruby."

"Jaune!" She growled.

"I said give it up. There's no point in trying to bring me back, I went too far to turn my neck and look at what's behind me. I crossed the point of no return."

"Nope." This time, she popped the p. "I know you still have some good qualities in you."

She said it. The same hopeful gleam reappeared as silver orbs glittered. Jaune gritted his teeth slightly, he didn't like it. Not one bit.

…Ruby, please…

"These hands are stained by thousands of innocent's bloods, you know." He taunted. "Clearly not a single bit of good remains within me."

"Then what are you going to do to me now?"

Jaune flinched.

"Maybe right now we won't see things eye to eye because this is how it turns out, Jaune. But I know you won't hurt me." She stated with confidence. "You never wanted to."

"I tried to kill you just now, didn't I?"

"You tried to act like it."

"Proof?"

"You hesitated."

"That means nothing."

"Then do it."

Silence.

"Do your worst to me."

Silence.

Smoke rose up high, toward the night sky. Snow piled up as each second past. Clear hardened sapphires looked deep into her eyes. Bright tranquil silvers also gazed back at his soul, searching the good, the qualities of a certain noodle she once knew. His firm hands remained on her wrists, doing nothing else. The long silence that followed spoke volume.

He couldn't do it.

"…...please." Jaune blinked at the soft tone. Her voice sounded so fragile, so desperate. "Come back to us."

Was she pleading him? Gulped!

Cold sweat dripped. Heartrate increased. Body heated up. Not a good sign!

"You shot me in the head, where has that enthusiasm in hunting me from earlier disappeared to?" He forced the topic.

"I used none-lethal rounds."

Right, Crescent Rose was a high caliber sniper riffle and it was upgraded just recently. The blunt force trauma he experienced happened to be enormous, more than average firearms. Even though it didn't make a hole on his head, it still hurt like hell.

"No matter what I do." He sighed. She looked back at his, silvers faintly shone. "You really have no intention of giving up or doing what they want you to do, huh."

"Yep."

"Okay then."

Clicked!

She gasped.

A barely audible sound echoed in the snowy night. Ruby widened her eyes at the cold, roughed sensation around her wrists. The handcuff was put there, sealing off her Aura. He took it from her. It made him satisfied to see that hopeful gleam in her eyes fades away. Good, she didn't need to have that kind of feeling hinders her job while she was dealing with someone like him.

"Vomit Boy!"

Needless to say, she was furious.

"Oh, we're doing nickname throwbacks now?" Jaune just grinned, rolling his eyes at the reaction, and the nickname. First impression hardly forgotten.

She pouted. Cheeks pulled out to emphasize her adorableness, which overshadowed by the blooming beauty of an adolescent girl. He missed that feature of her. It was one of many special things about this wonderful girl that caused him to have a crush on her from the very first day.

"I got you good, didn't I?" Jaune leaned down, gently blowing a few snow pellets stuck on her knitted eyebrows. "Crater Face."

Ruby tried her best to break out his grasp. Not much effort was spent, she couldn't budge an inch. Suddenly, something buzzed. He noticed it came from the huntress's pocket. Keeping her arms pinned down by the wrist with one hand, Jaune showed no hesitation by shoving his other free hand into her pocket.

It was her scroll.

The ID caller displayed an image of the blonde brawler. Big sister Yang Xiao-Long was contacting her baby sis.

"Our friends know where we are." Faint breath left her lips as she revealed. "They're coming. Together, we will drag you back."

Ruby Rose truly was determined to bring him back to the old days. She refused to back down. Jaune blinked, then frowned. Hand gripped the scroll tightly. He was not amused by this situation.

….well, this certainly changes things.

"Our friends? We're way past that stage. The right term is nemesis. That's the key word."

Jaune canceled the call and threw the device away. At this moment, his eyes set on Crocea Mors. Following his sight, Ruby perked her head up to see the sword as well. His gaze returned to hers, then shifting to the pouch on her belt.

"Jaune, don't…."

"You only have one objective from the Council, Ruby. To kill me. But you couldn't."

"You don't want to do this!"

She knew that look. Just like her, he chose not to back down.

"Catching me alive has never been an option." He opened the pouch, taking out another handcuff as he ignored her struggle. "I hate to see those bastards forcing this on you, your team and NPR."

"I can persuade them!"

Soon, the handcuffs placed on both her ankles. Despite her attempt to kick and roll over, Jaune made it clear that he wasn't going to let her do so by keeping her down.

"I'm too far gone for everyone to have second thought about me. If you, Yang and the others cannot do this. It's best that I make myself disappear from Remnant forever. This will be the last time you see me. You'll never find me walking in broad daylight again."

The young knight was dead seriously.

Panic overwhelmed Ruby when he rolled off her and made a run to the sword, he wasted no time. She screamed his name. A hopeless voice shattered the atmosphere.

Immediately, silver eyes lit up. Powerful streams of light burst out, consuming the snow, the burning trees and spreading through the forest.

Once the light faded, that blonde boy stood tall in her view.

The power of silver eyes could only affect Grimm, it did nothing to him. It was powerless again human.

But…

"You still care that much, huh." Jaune muttered, his expression softened.

It was the magical ability fueled by the strongest desires to preserve life and protect loved ones. The manifestation of human's most genuine and caring emotions.

Besides the snowfall that grew heavier, something wet hit the soft ground.

Tears, fallen freely from the same pair of silvers.

"Please, Jaune." Ruby whimpered. "…..don't go. Stay with us."

She truly cared, to the point that she feared of losing him.

"I can't."

"Why!?" Her voice cracked. Eyes narrowed accusingly at him. "Why can't you!?"

"This is how it should be."

For the first time, Jaune smiled. The same goofy expression he had in the past, back in Beacon days. She had always been fond of that smile.

"This is the path I chose to walk out of my own accord, Ruby. Just like how you always dream of becoming the hero to protect the world. I have nothing to regret, so you don't have to blame yourself over this whole thing. You don't have to worry about not being able to convince me."

"You know that is not true!"

The girl tried to crawl on the ground with all her limbs tied, forcing herself to push her knees and her elbows as hard as she could to move faster. It didn't work. It was all in vain.

"Jaune….I….I…"

Ruby looked at him once more, tears damped her vision. He stood there, so far away. Her lip slowly moved, forming soundless words. Sapphires widened and the small smile expanded.

Jaune Arc would gladly accept and cherish those words, her little confession.

"Happy to know." He said, picking up Crocea Mors but leaving his shield on the ground. "The feeling is mutual, Ruby."

Jaune grabbed the sharp edge, letting it slowly bite into his palm, letting it pierce through the Aura. He pushed the blade, cutting a bit of the skin. Drops of blood paint the white body of the shield.

"Jaune!"

"Take this shield, bring it back to them. Tell them Jaune Arc is no more, he is the least of your concern now."

Ruby quickly rolled to her side, reaching into her pouch to look for the key to unlock these handcuffs. Dust rounds, all-purpose aid kit scattered as she pulled everything out. It was never there.

That key hit the snow right where Jaune stood, he also took it from her.

"It has to end this way."

"Jaune, please! Don't leave!"

Red cape fluttered in the air as strong gusts of wind flew. Thick, grey clouds covered the glowing shattered moon. Visibility reduced greatly as Jaune's form now appeared like a shadow.

"You're always kind, brave and strong. I wish you good luck. Everyone else, too." He took a step back. "Goodbye, Ruby."

Jaune turned around and walked away.

"JAUNE! COME BACK! Why do you have to say goodbye!? You big DUMMY!"

She screamed his name, again and again as he faded further into the darkened landscape of winter.

"Move on without me."

His last words resounded, hanging. Eventually, disappeared.

Ruby gritted her teeth, hoarse voice and dried throat. The girl tried to move and reach out for the key. But she stopped, staring into the distance where that idiot had gone. More tears formed and shed.

He was gone. And there was nothing she could do to sway his heart.

Burying her face into the snow, Ruby sobbed.

Cold breezes muted her cry.

/

Author's Note: That's the end of this little one-shot. Since English is my second language, I apologize if there are grammar errors.

Storywise, "Move on Without Me" takes place in an alternative universe where Jaune stopped being a huntsman and decided to serve under Salem for some unknown reason that will never be revealed to his friends. He took the role of a villain and stuck with it to the very end. Instead of using flashbacks to provide more insight into the background story that led to the current situation above, I let the dialogues do the work and leave everything to your own interpretation.

Overall, this is just an idea that suddenly came to me. Asides from all the usual sweet and adorkable stories about the Lancaster pairing, I want to see a scenario that gives you a different feeling. Ruby cared about Jaune, yet the latter didn't want to burden the former with what he had become and he strived to push her away with everything he had. Because he too, also cared about her. It is something that sad and bittersweet like that.

I hope you enjoy this little one-shot and thank you for reading it.