Chapter 4: Hatching a plan


(Location: Jules Gym Wall Market Sector 6 Slums; Midgar; Planet Gaia)


The months have passed by, and neither Ruby nor Jaune had time to realize it. They've been doing so much during their stay in this world.

Adjusting to this new way of life, doing jobs, and training to get stronger. They have bought new outfits, have more Materia and they were hitting the gym every single day for three hours straight.

Hard to believe it's been four months and one week. It seemed that the two teens have gotten used to living here.

The Huntsman and Huntress have dominated the exercises and have beaten Ronnie, Jay everyone else including the head trainer Jules.

Both Ruby and Jaune could now do hundreds of push ups, sit ups, squats and pull ups without their Auras.

Once they passed that part of the training with flying colors they went with the weights.

Obviously they started with weights right for their size and weight-class.

Jules was just following the standard progression for weight lifting. However, he vastly underestimated the Hunters. By using Aura to constantly heal the muscle damage, they were able to go through countless cycles of hyper-recovery.

They worked out, healed the damage and worked out again. Because of this, the two Hunters were building up the same muscle type Nora so proudly boasted about on several occasions.

There bones were denser, their muscle fibers more flexible and durable, and lastly, they had an incredible growth of fast muscle twitch fibers.

Needless to say, Jules was shocked. Without even using their Auras, Jaune was lifting 8 times his body weight while Ruby was lifting around 5 times her own weight.

Pretty soon, they were using the heaviest weights in the gym to push their bodies even further.

Jules, being the great head trainer he was, helped them through every step of their training. He gave them tips on how to build up the proper muscles, methods in which to do it, and a nice nutritional diet plan with healthy fruit shakes.

Jules energy, protein, and fruit drinks did the worked wonders as well.

It surprised the two Hunters how much they have improved in these last few months, and eventually, the physical changes of their body became more apparent.

Jaune put on some more weight and had become toned. It wasn't over the top buff like Ronnie, but fine balance of red, white, and pink muscles that made him look like an Adonis sculpted from marble.

With a nice six pack of abs, muscles almost twice as large as he used to have, and less than 10% body fat, Jaune has gotten in shape and developed a muscular shape fitting of a young man of his age.

His hair has also grown and he currently has a short pony tail. When Ruby saw him purchasing hairbands, she teased him by saying, "So, a pony tail it is."

"I prefer a warrior's wolf tail," Jaune said smirking back at her before the two busted up laughing.

However, Ruby couldn't complain. Jaune looked good with longer hair, and she couldn't say it wasn't pleasant to see him every morning with a style she approves of.

As for Ruby's changes, she grew some slight muscles on her arms and legs, her body became hard like a rock, at least in most places, and all around, her petite body developed into a more athletic figure.

Of course, was still gorgeous in the Arc's eyes, maybe even more now. Not to mention her new style worked with the short haircut of hers. To Jaune, it just made her all that more attractive.

She mainly focused on doing fast twitch muscle exercises to build up her body's max speed and accuracy, and it was working wonders. Even though she had muscles now, it didn't take away from her natural streamline beauty, but made it shine brighter.

Because she was the only female in there, Ruby managed to impress all of the regulars, and became something of a gym mascot for Jules to attract more female customers.

Not a single woman from Wall Market would ever think of doing exercises and get in shape for the sake of their health. They would either chose to party, join the Honeybee Inn, or become properties of the Don that rules the place.

Eventually, Jules managed to get a couple female customers thanks to showing of the Ruby of their gym.

Ruby has never thought about wasting her body or slacking off, she was focusing everything she had into getting stronger along with her blond friend. Ruby was a god damn role model to all the women in Wall Market, and Jules loved her all the more for it.

Of course, Jules had no idea that the reason they were pushing themselves so hard was because they had a mission, save the world.

In truth, Ruby was just as determined as Jaune. Knowing she failed to protect everyone back at Remnant, she felt like had an even bigger responsibility to the people of this world and the world itself.

This time, she wasn't planning on failing. To Ruby the Red Reaper of Midgar, it was no longer an option.

Aerith's mother said they have what it takes, and she believed in her words. Besides, they weren't alone. Well, there's supposed to be more people to aid them in their quest, though she didn't know when she'd meet the other destined heroes.

"Well, Aerith has to be one, that's for sure. She's an Ancient and she can fight too. So that's one down, and who knows how many more to come," Ruby thought as she went on with her day.

Both were done with their reps as they went to vending machine to get some water for another hard day's work.

After they finished their drinks, the Hunters of Gaia took a shower and change before heading back to Sector 5.

While they walked, Jaune thought about all the things he had done this past few months.


Jaune tested many things over the months having to do with Aura and his Semblance.

For one, he has been constantly amplifying his own Aura, even when it was full. Surprisingly, constant use of his Aura Amp caused Jaune's Aura Levels to slowly increase over time.

When he was at full power and he increased his Aura past its limits, his soul would take small bits of the amplified Aura and assimilate it into his base Aura Levels.

However, over use came at a risk. One big mistake Jaune made nearly got his ear chewed off by the crimson reaper.

When his Aura Levels were too low, he tried to use a full Amp on himself and ended up screaming in pain.

They were in their apartment when he tried this out, and needless to say, Ruby came running the moment she heard him.

Jaune didn't have enough Aura to Amp his levels back to ten percent much less a hundred. So when his Semblance took the Aura necessary to amp it by the desired amount, his Aura levels dipped into the negatives.

It felt like his soul was burning, or like it was completely exposed to the outside world. Having your Aura shattered didn't even come close to the pain Jaune felt.

The only thing he remembered after that was Ruby screaming his name with tears in his eyes, and then, just pitch dark blackness.

He woke up almost three days later. His Aura reserves didn't just grow like the steady increments he was used to, but in a massive way. His Aura was a bit more than double what he had before, making the Arc jump in joy before Aerith and Ruby came in to see him dancing in his underwear.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" Jaune yelled while covering his crotch.

Before Aerith could say anything, Ruby turned into a blur and slammed straight into his gut.

She was crying again and yelling at Jaune, "You idiot! What the hell did you do to yourself?! I was worried sick…sob…You were asleep for three days…hic…I thought you'd never wake up."

"I was what?" Jaune shouted with wide eyes.

All he could remember about being unconscious was a strange dream of him floating in an endless abyss of darkness.

Now that he thought about it, the memories became clearer as he recalled seeing cracks against his glowy white soul floating in the void, and for a moment, it felt like the darkness was pouring into him, making his soul stronger through some form recovery.

No, to be more specific, it was like the clashing of light and darkness, hammering, tempering his soul back together, and eventually making stronger and purer than before.

"I'm…sorry, Ruby. I wasn't expecting my Semblance to rebound on me like that," Jaune said before explaining what he attempted.

"Are you freaking stupid?! You shattered your soul, Jaune! I don't know how you came back from that, but people who've over drafted their Aura's usually die! Don't you ever do something like that again! I…If you do, I'll kill you!" Ruby said while flailing her arms around wildly, hitting Jaune in the chest and face.

"I agree with, Ruby. I may not know much about Aura, but even I could tell what kind of damage you did to your soul was serious. The entire time you slept, Ruby continuously cast the Life Spell on you. You're lucky to be alive at all," Aerith said as she sat down a pan of water with a rag floating in it.

"I'm…wow, sorry doesn't even begin to explain how I'm feeling right now. Not only did I scare my partner half to death, I missed out on work. Guys, I…promise I won't let this happen again."

"You better not…hic…wait a second, why didn't you say you won't try something like that again rather than won't let it happen again?" Ruby said while trying to dry her tears.

"Because I got results, Ruby. I don't fully understand my Semblance, but after this event, I might have found a clue. If we're going to save the world, I need to use every trick I have in the book. My Aura has doubled in size twice since coming here, and my studies have even help you improve the pool of Aura within you."

"Jaune, please, promise you won't try a stunt like this again. At least consult me first," Ruby said as he lip quivered.

"I promise," Jaune said while holding Ruby's cheek and looking her dead in the eyes.

"Maybe I should leave, it's getting kind of steamy in here," Aerith fanned herself with her hand while chuckling at the two.

Ruby looked back at her then to Jaune. She then suddenly realized that she was sitting on Jaune's lap, with her breast pressed against his chest.

With a slight eep, they both jumped away from each other and looked in the other direction with faces as red as Ruby's name.


Another event was that took them by surprise was Ruby experimenting with combining the Dust tech of their world with the Materia tech of this world.

Surprisingly, the two technologies were extremely compatible with one another, and Gaia had most of the metals they had in their old world and some that didn't exist on Remnant.

Mithril was her biggest alloy she was experimenting with. One day, she tried to make a triple-linked slot on a single sheet of paper. Unfortunately, the result of that experiment caused the Materia to overload and exploded.

The Materia was fine, but the sheet of metal she used was broken into fragments and she got stabbed by some of the shrapnel.

Jaune ran in the room and quickly doused the fires with his water spell while looking for Ruby in the smoke.

He found her bleeding on the ground and nearly had a heart attack.

Jaune felt like the world had lost all its color, and he froze in place. However, with a quick slap to his own face, Jaune rushed over and swooped up the petite reaper before rushing over to his bed.

Jaune then removed the shrapnel from her body and combined the Restore Spell with his Aura Amp to rapidly heal Ruby's wounds.

When she woke up, Jaune was crying over her while saying, "Please be okay," over and over again.

"Jaune?" Ruby's eyes fluttered before he gripped her in a hug and said, "I'm so glad I wasn't too late."

Ruby blushed as her heart rate skyrocketed. She then felt him jerk her back from the hug and he wore a furious expression.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again. What happened in there? You're answer better be good, or else."

Ruby gulped before she shifted her eyes and said, "I was experimenting…the experiment won."

Jaune huffed before he almost growled, "Not funny, Ruby. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"I'm…sorry, Jaune. I messed up, but it won't happen again. I figured out where I went wrong. I was using Dust Circuits to run the Triple-Link, when I should have augmented it to fit the Materias unique energy source. After several of my studies confirmed my hypotheses, I figure out that dust is basically refined magic. My mistake was forgetting that Materia is more than that, the next model will defiantly include proper pathways the sentient Mako to travel without interconnecting with the circuits for the incoming flux of Mana."

"Ruby…I can't understand half of that," Jaune said with a sweat drop forming on his brow.

"Sorry, I promise I'll be more careful in the future. But I'm on to something, Jaune. I can't just let a little accident scare me off the path of progress."

Jaune sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Fine…but from now on, you're going to teach me everything you know about technology and weapons. I'm going to be right beside you so something like this never happens again. And why was your Aura so low?"

"I used a lot of it to carve up a massive Dust Circuit. I was really confident it would work," Ruby chuckled nervously.

However, a second later, her eyes widened as she asked, "Hold up, what did you ask me to do?"

"Make sure I'm around before you try and blow yourself up again, Crater Face," Jaune lifted a brow.

Ruby's cheeks puffed up as she turned red from embarrassment, "Watch it, Vomit Boy. You just amped the heck out of my Aura, I can still put it to use by smacking you around."

Jaune chuckled and said, "I believe what you wanted me to repeat was, you're going to teach me about weapons."

Ruby's eyes sparkled as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Jaune's neck while saying, "Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to ask me that? Forever! Come on, Jaune, let Ruby show you the beauty of crafting weapons and cool tech. EEEK! This is going to be so fun!"

Jaune blushed hard before he pulled her off of him and said, "You know you blew up your room. We're going to have to find another place."

"Tee-hee!" Ruby bonked herself on the head and stuck her tongue out before asking, "So, why do you want to learn about this stuff?"

"Well…you were right, we might end up hurting a lot of people if we get destroy all the reactors, I figure I might as well try to find a good alternative power source for when that day comes. I don't know if it's possible, but I'm going to try."

Ruby felt her heart thump before she blushed and looked away. She then put her hands behind her back and kicked her feet against the floor.

"Just…make sure you show up with a notepad, you'll be needing it," Ruby commented as she walked out of his room.

A few seconds later, Jaune heard Ruby scream and said, "MY ROOOM!"

And so, Jaune started to learn more about Ruby's obsession with weapons and technology. Of course, he too was interested in the stuff, he just never found the time to study it. He was always catching up with the class or pushing himself to try and be as good as the rest of the teammates he was surrounded by.

But now that he was in Gaia, he could go at his own pace. He didn't have a teacher breathing down his neck to finish the homework, or have combat classes and training that took up his whole day,

Jaune and Ruby continued to share their experiences and understanding of the technology of this and his previous world.

Ruby kept her word. She purchased a blast door that she could test out her experiments with more explosive results while teaching Jaune everything she knew.

Jaune was a fast learner, he picked up on a lot of stuff, and after making a hundred nails, he was even allowed to make his own dagger. With Ruby's guidance, of course.

The Triple-Link Materia Slot was still a work in progress. However, Ruby managed to turn the massive explosion she had in her first attempt into a small puff of fire that nearly melted the plate she was testing it on.

She had progressed quite a bit in her research, but still didn't have any viable results worth bragging about.

Ruby couldn't help but chuckle as she thought of Jaune almost blowing himself up by mixing the wrong compounds for a grenade.


Another big improvement was that they finally managed to afford a new place. They bought the ranch out by Aerith's house and ended up with a three bedroom house with a basement.

The used the spare room to work on all their combined experiments and studies while the basement turned into their own personal gym.

Ruby and Jaune both worked on repairing the property and nurturing plant life around the area, so it was full of green grass and some of Aerith's special flowers.

Purchasing the property was a way more expensive than renting the Apartment, but with all the Gil they saved up from completing missions, working for favors, and even taking down a few bounties like small time crooks and thieves, they had enough to live in luxury. At least in the sector five slums that is.

Another upside to the purchase was that they lived closer to Aerith, which in turn meant that they could better protect her.


The two Hunters snapped back to reality as they treaded across some monsters on the way back to sector 5.

Since they make daily commutes to Wall Market, the duo also got more live combat training since they usually encounter monsters on the path between the sectors.

It helped sharpening their skills, and they had already got the hang of using Materia, they soon learned that stronger spells were contained within the little spheres of Mako.

Jaune managed to upgrade his restore, barrier, ice, and lightning Materias while Ruby upgraded her water, fire, luck+, Steal, and Deadly Dodge Materias.

At least there weren't any dangerous monsters in these areas. So, if any creatures get too close to the slums, they can handle it with no problem.

They went back that day full of cheers and joy, but fate began to turn the cogs of destiny for the Hunters.


The next day, after Ruby and Jaune finished another intense work out, they sat next each other and sweated like active fountains before Jules came over and handed them each a water bottle.

They enjoyed the cool refreshing water and the short rest while they got seated on the ground.

Jaune was thinking what to do when they get back to Sector 5. They can continue taking request for jobs, or work on some of their projects, but something didn't feel right to him.

It was clear to see that whatever Jaune was thinking about was bothering him. For starters, a lot of time has passed, and they still didn't have an official plan to save this world.

Protecting Aerith is also part of the task but that wasn't all there was to it. The blond needed to talk to the silver eyed girl later.

"You guys done for the day?" Jules walked over to them.

"Yeah, another day's hard work and another day of gains, " Jaune chuckled as he clicked his water bottle against Ruby's as they were giving out a cheers.

"You two have gone a long way since you first came here. Never forget we're always here if you want to feel the burn and get in even better shape!" Jules said while pumping his fists excitedly.

"Hey Jules! Hurry up!"

The head trainer only shook his head in return.

"What's wrong?" asked Ruby.

"Seem Ronnie wants to challenge Jaune to an arm-wrestling match. He's been asking for it for a while."

"I remember, if he wants to do it now, that's okay with me," Jaune cracked his fingers while stretching his arms out.

"Then its official" the head trainer smiled.

The silver eyed girl wasn't missing this. Following the two men where there was a large crowd gathered, she saw that there was tall table with handles and standing marker. This thing is what they use for all the gym's arm-wrestling matches.

Jaune was impressed by how much Ronnie was really looking forward to this, and the Arc wasn't planning in letting him down.

"One more exercise before leaving," Jaune said as he stepped up to the table.

The people were cheering on both sides while Ruby was cheering only for the Arc. The blond was on the left side, pressing the handle with his left hand and grappling with his right.

The dark skinned man was more than ready. He trained so hard, harder than usual to take down the blond.

However, he has been so far unsuccessful in his endeavor to defeat the blond knight. He kept losing at everything, but her wouldn't lose at this.

Determination filled him as Jaune took on a serious expression. The Huntsman was also unwavering in his desire to win with the memories his months of working his butt off to get this far fueling him.

Jules got in the middle and held his hand up, ready to start the match.

"All right gentlemen, you know the rules. I want a clean match and no sore losers. Remember we treat everyone equal here so we can continue keeping our bodies fit and healthy."

Both nodded as they closed their fists for the match while Ruby was watching from behind the Arc. She was already cheering him on. The head trainer put his hands on their closed fists.

"Ready..Set...GO!"

Both men used their strength to push the other arm to the other side of the table. Since he was an honest man Jaune, wasn't using Aura, thus he was really struggling.

Ronnie has indeed gotten stronger as he increased daily workout ever since he and Ruby beat him on every single exercise routine.

However, Jaune was stronger too. He has been so determined to build up a better physique, for his sake, and the world's too.

It seems like both were in the same level of strength until, the blond grinned. Jaune then gave a big push, revealing that he had been holding back and making the dark skinned man gasp in astonishment.

"No way, he still stronger than me, and here I am, using all of his strength," Ronnie cried out mentally.

He was a ripped from head to toe, and he wasn't even half as strong as Jaune.

"How can he possess such power?" Ronnie thought to himself as he struggled to try and push his hand back.

He refused to lose, he has lost enough in this gym, he should be winning this, all these thoughts empowered Ronnie to push himself even harder. However, even with the proper motivation, even with Jay and others cheering him, on it wasn't enough.

Ruby was still loudly and excitedly cheering for her partner, "Go! Jaune! You can do it!"

The blond was winning, and hearing Ruby motivate him only made the match getting interesting.

Ronnie was trying so hard to pull off a win, but he just couldn't. It felt like he was pushing a solid piece of rock stuck firmly within the ground.

"If you win, I'll bake my special cookies tonight and share half of them with you," Ruby cheered again.

"Ruby's special cookies? Sorry Ronnie, I think it's time to end this," Jaune said before everyone's eyes widened at his statement.

"Was he still holding back?" Ronnie thought before Jaune started putting in even more strength.

With one final push, Jaune was able to take down the dark skinned man to the other side winning the match.

The crowd exploded, but Ruby was louder than them all. She then rushed over and hugged Jaune while shouting, "You did it, Jaune!"

The Arc was caught off guard as the silver eyed petite hugged him. His face turned red as he felt certain parts rub up against while people in the gym were still cheering loudly.

Ronnie thought deeply before giving a sigh, "I lost even when I gave it my best. Guess Jules was right, it doesn't matter how much muscle mass you got. You need more than just strength to win."

Ronnie has seen Jaune countless time these past months. He saw the blond exercising, lifting weights, and sparing with his partner in the ring, but he went through the same training with the sole focus of defeating Jaune, but no matter how much he tried, it never worked out in his favor.

Every single day, Ronnie could see that Jaune had a goal in mind, a goal that motivated him beyond the norm. The dark-skinned athlete was curious to know, just what it was that made the Arc push himself beyond his limits every time he came here.

"Is Jaune preparing to save the world, or a really strong monster, maybe he's trying fight an army by himself or something else just as crazy." The dark skinned man thought seconds before he was surprised by Jaune approaching him.

The blond knight walked over to Ronnie and offer his hand. Ronnie gave him a smile before he chuckled and shook the blonde's hand. Nothing personal it was a friendly competition.

"Congratulations, both of you," said the head trainer with a great big approving smile on his face.

"Great match Ronnie," Jaune nodded his head.

"Same. Just to let you know, I ain't giving up. I'm still going to keep on working hard, and eventually, I'll surpass you! "

"Wouldn't want it any other way," Jaune chuckled.

Ronnie smiled and then asked, "I just gotta ask. What motivates you to work out so much?"

"I want to get strong so I can protect people, that's all" Jaune replied with a confident smile. However, his motivation wasn't just that he wanted to protect people in general, but he also wanted to save the world from whatever threat it was facing.

"A goal?" the dark skinned man knew it has to be something like that, that's why he work his butt off in these three months.

"Some of us work out to stay in shape, others to be healthy. Guess your goal is more noble than most. Either way, you both did great, and I'm proud of your progress," said Jules.


Once again, Ruby and Jaune were taking the path to Sector 5. After that exciting arm-wrestling match, the teenagers took a shower and changed back into their new outfits.

Once their bodies got used to the extreme workout sessions, it became so easy they had to put in even more effort just to feel the burn.

It felt great to see the results of this training. It was hard to believe he was the same person that came to Beacon.

Remembering himself a couple of years ago, often made him blush out of shame. He was weak, oblivious, and had no idea what aura or a semblance were.

It really excited and scared him from how much he changed. Well, he wasn't the only one, Ruby has also gotten stronger.

The monsters from the slums they used to beat up, now they were defeating them in seconds.

They couldn't even force the two Hunters into breaking a sweat, and when they used their Auras or Magic, it wasn't even a challenge.

The Arc wondered if he'd be able to take Nora on and win now. The Valkyrie was truly the strongest member in his team, and by following her work out regimen of never using Aura unless it was to heal their fatigue, they both had developed superior super human type muscles.

Jaune's mind drifted to the second physically strongest in their group, Pyrrha. Even she had to admit that Nora's training was…effective.

"I wonder if we're ready for this task," Jaune mumbled to himself.

Ever since arriving into this world, both he and Ruby has had some major uncertainties that they can pull off something as big as saving Gaia.

The biggest doubt they had stemmed from the fact that they couldn't save their world. If they couldn't save Remnant, what chance did they have to save their Gaia.

Even at their current level of strength, they had no clue if they stood a chance against Cinder, much less the world ending threat Salem.

Jaune and Ruby have desperately been trying to come up with a plan. They knew the constant draining of Mako for electricity is killing the planet, and they have Shinra to thank for that, which means the company itself is the enemy of the planet and their prime target.

Both came to various choices. For one, they could try to find the group Avalanche and join them. However, they didn't know where to find them and they doubted the members of Avalanche would let them join if tried asked nicely.

As for the second choice, they could try and infiltrate the power company on their own. Not the easiest of tasks. The security must be tighter than Ruby's old corset, and not to mention all the resources Shinra had in their disposal.

"You were pretty good, you were cool. You showed Ronnie who's boss!" Ruby's boasting over Jaune snapped him out of his thoughts.

"He was a great opponent. If it weren't for the Nora's workout methods, he would have beaten me easily."

"But you did beat him and Jay in squats, pull ups, push ups, and sit ups. Even Jules, don't sell yourself short silly," Ruby tapped him on the arm with a light punch.

"We didn't have an arm-wrestling match when we started though, so there's no telling how much stronger he was back then," the blond smiled with a bit of blush on his face.

"Hmm, okay, maybe he would have beaten you back then, but the past is the past. Just goes to show you how much progress we made. Ooh! We should have an arm-wrestling match too," Ruby declared with an excited expression.

"You? Want to arm wrestle me?" Jaune said with a bit of mockery in his voice.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Ruby was giving him a cocky expression "You think I don't have what it takes to beat you?"

"I never said that," Jaune chuckled as he waved his hand in front of his face.

"But you were thinking it. Your tone of voice said I can beat her without lifting a finger," Ruby's cheeks puffed up.

"I think you're exaggerating. You've gotten stronger too," Jaune patted her head with a condescending smirk.

Ruby threw hands up in a boxing stance and threw a few punches before she said, "I may not have that muscle mass like you, mister. But I can still take you on."

"Muscles means nothing if you don't have the will and the determination to go beyond. Both Pyrrha...and you taught me that."

And just like that the conversation turned silent.

Ruby felt her heat clench as he has mentioned the name of his previous partner. The very same red headed champion she saw getting killed by Cinder with her very own eyes.

Ruby will never forget that night when Beacon fell and everything started falling apart. It was when she first used her silver eyes on the Fall Maiden, and discovered the might of the Silver-Eyed Warriors, but even then, it was too little and too late to save Pyrrha.

Sometimes, it felt like the past was too painful to move on from. It was something both of them had been struggling with these past few months.

It was a past that would always haunt wherever they go, or in whichever world they are on.

The petite put her hand on his shoulder before Jaune gave her a reassuring smile, letting her know that he was okay.

Pyrrha will always be part of his life just his teammates, friends, and family. Now more than ever, her memory gave him strength to move forward.

They resumed walking, but the silence was still in the air.

Ruby hated silence, she wanted to bring something new to the conversation, and she definitely didn't like when the Arc was down. Sure, he was smiling, but she could tell that he was forcing it.

"Well, then…I guess we'll have to have an arm-wrestling match," Jaune smirked at her.

Needless to say, his words caught the girl by surprise. She didn't expect that he would bring up that topic again.

"Really?" Ruby raised her eyebrows with a look of expectancy.

"Sure, and I won't go easy on you. So, you better be ready," Jaune said as he put his hands behind his head and whistled while he walked a bit faster.

"You're on!" Ruby smiled, happy to see him back to normal.

"Jaune! Ruby!"

The teenagers turned to the other way seeing someone running towards them.

The young girl's name was Sarah, a member of the children from the secret hideout.

"Why was she in such a hurry? Her expression, she's seems really scared," Jaune frowned as he watched her running so fast that she ended up tripping.

The Huntsman and Huntress went to the poor girl and checked if she was all right. After picking her off the ground, Jaune saw that she only suffered a minor bruise on her knee and used a Cure spell to do away with it.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" Ruby sked.

"Monsters! At Evergreen Park! The others are trying to fend them off but they can't hold on much longer!" Sarah yelled with a worried expression.

They immediately left without a word. The girl did her best to follow them, but with all the running she did to get here, Sarah was exhausted.

Jaune plucked her up and carried the girl in his arms as they ran through the streets of the slums, trying not to bump into people or kids.

Evergreen Park wasn't that far from their location they just needed to hurry. They were cutting it close as they ran in the street. Jaune could see that a car passing nearby would slow them down, so he told the red cloak girl to get ahead using her semblance.

"I'll catch up! No time to waste, Ruby. We can't afford to lose any more time," Jaune shouted as she nodded her head and turned into a blur of petals.

Instead of slowing down, Jaune jumped on the top of the car with Sarah still in his arms and leapt off to chase after his partner.

"If the monsters are more dangerous than the ones we're used to, the children aren't going to last. Come on, move faster, Ruby!" The red cloaked petite shouted to herself as she pushed her Semblance to the limits.

She arrived just in time to see that there were a group of Smoggers surrounding the kids. Ruby huffed and rushed forward, plucking up the kids before flying them out of the encirclement.

The moment she landed, a Smogger shot a poisonous mist towards her. However, Jaune jumped down from a nearby railing and slammed his shield into the ground while activating his barrier Materia.

The cloud of dirt shot up and defused the poisonous smog before blowing it away.

The children of the secret hideout had their wooden swords but that won't be enough for the enemy they were facing.

There were two Chronomoggers, and a group of Smoggers following them. Since they were both mechanical types, Jaune prepped his lightning Materia and looked at leftovers scrap-monsters made by Shinra.

Both Jaune and Ruby drew their weapons and smiled.

"These guys don't seem that tough," Ruby grinned as she aimed her sniper rifle, plucking off the Smoggers with her lightning bullets.

"Go back to the hideout, we'll handle this!" Jaune shouted as he raised his sword and threw it down. The All Materia and Lightning Materia shined before bolts appeared from out of nowhere and slammed into the remanding monsters.

The smoggers blew up and fell across the ground while all of the kids nodded, running away as Ruby and Jaune turned back to face the two remaining mechanical beings.

Starting off strong, Ruby cast water, splashing one while Jaune added with thundara with her spell.

The Chronomogger was staggered immediately.

The red cloak reaper used her semblance again as she slashed it in many directions, followed by firing a couple of lightning shots. The Arc cast thundara on the other before it could use it's arm that was in the middle of preparing to launch the wrecking ball attached to it.

While the creature became staggered, the blond knight performed a barrage of combos before casting thunder again, causing critical damage and causing it to fall apart.

By now the silver eyed petite has finished defeating the other one as she ripped it to pieces with Crescent Rose.

They thought they were done, but one last Chronomogger hopped down from a nearby railing and used the wrecking ball to try and hit the blond knight.

However, Jaune was too fast for it and dodged, rolling under the chain and ball before he charged in with a counter.

Before he hit, Ruby splashed it with a water spell followed by her thunder bullets. The moment it was staggered, Jaune performed a barrage of Aura infused sword slashes, cutting through the metallic monster like a hot knife against butter.

As it fell to the ground in pieces, the two Hunters sheathed their weapons while thinking, "We never thought the monsters would get this close to the slums."

Usually, they would be in the outskirts, where it is more isolated from people and didn't have to worry about being hunted by mercenaries like Jaune and Ruby.

A few seconds later, Aerith arrived, running, out of breath, and looking worried. However, it looked like all that anxiety was for nothing.

"I heard from the children. Are you guys okay?!" Aerith asked before she started catching her breath.

"Yeah, they weren't that much of a threat," Jaune said as he kicked aside the broken parts and pulled out a Mithril Core from the Chronomoggers.

"Ooh, it's Mithril instead of carbon steel alloy," Jaune said as he held the fist-size sphere of metal in his hand.

"Who knows what would have happen if we didn't arrive on time" followed Ruby as she watched Jaune pull out all the most valuable parts.

"I was late, that's kind of annoying I missed all the action," said the florist with a pouty expression.

"It's all right now. Let's patrol the area in case there are any more," said the Arc as he finished scavenging the fallen mechs.


After doing a full patrol around the park, killing a few Hedgehog Pies, and making sure that there wasn't any debris from their fight that could hurt the kids, the trio went to check on the children at their secret hideout.

Once they arrived, the Ancient and her bodyguards saw that the kids were all right. They were just a little shaken up.

Jaune thought that it was impressive they tried to hold them off with mere wooden swords, but he still scolded them while Ruby told them to run next time and get an adult.

"Now, now, nobody got hurt that's what matters," Aerith said to calm down the worried hunters who were acting like distressed parents.

"I suppose your right," Jaune sighed.

"We're going to go on patrol. Just in case, we'll cover all of Sector 5 to make sure there won't be anymore…" Ruby looked at the scared kids shaking and huffed before saying, "Accidents."

Aerith giggled and kneeled down to the leader of their hidden hideaway and whispered, "They're only acting like this because they were scared something happened to you guys."

The kids blushed before they jumped on Jaune and Ruby, hugging them as they thanked them for saving their lives.

After they calmed down, Aerith, Jaune, and Ruby scouted the entire slums to make sure Sector 5 wasn't in any danger of a monster tide.

Once they were sure that everything was safe and up to standards, the Hunters chose to help Aerith pick flowers from the old church.

It was so strange for Jaune and Ruby to be here.

Not just because they haven't been back here in a while but, this is where they arrived when they were sent to this world.

To this day it was still felt crazy for them to think they died and were given a second chance at life. Sure, they have to save the world as repayment, and they were still clueless how to do that, but they were still grateful towards the will of Gaia for bringing them back.

However, going against a powerful company that provides power to all of Midgar, it still very taxing on the spirit.

"I hope you guys are taking care of the flowers I gave you," Aerith said with a look of expectation.

"Yes mam we always water them every day!" Ruby confirmed as she gave a salute.

"Don't forget sun light and shade, they also need that to grow," Aerith replied.

"Right! I made sure to make some shaders for the green house, as for natural shade, we made sure that the bushes around the property are growing healthy as well.

Jaune was silent in deep thought.

He took a glance at the red cloak girl helping the green-eyed woman gather flowers to sell and smiled.

"Guess I shouldn't be thinking too much if I didn't know what to do," Jaune said before he went over and started plucking the flowers like Aerith taught him.

Ruby had every right to doubt they could make a difference here. He didn't blame her after what they went through. However, even how strong they have become, can two people really make that much of a difference?

The Arc thought that instead of focusing on the Shinra Company they should search for the others who are supposed to be helping them.

The more people they have helping with this endeavor, the better.

However, when Jaune thought about everything, he realized that the silver eyed girl has done her part to try and forget the past and move on, but what about him.

It was clear Ruby wasn't the only one who was impacted with what happened at Mantle.

The blond will never forget that experience, it has left him permanently scarred, and to this day, he is still haunted by the memories of his failures, including Cinder Fall herself.

Jaune's opened his eyes to feel intense suffering, his body laid in the snow. Noticing he was covered in blood, he thought that it was no wonder he was feeling such pain.

The Arc gave a cry of agony, attempting to get up even while more blood spilled on to the white canvass of snow below.

Even with all his massive stores of Aura, it will take a while for this injury to heal.

The blond knight's eyes widened in horror as he stared at a pile of burning scrap not that far from him. It was the same Atlas ship they were using to escape the city.

That's right, he remembered now, that giant whale Grimm and all those Berringels with wings.

First time he has seen the gorilla type Grimm with wings.

There were too many, no matter how many they took down, the ship as they crashed into the snowy plains below.

His worse fears coming true, did the others, his teammates, Team RWBY, Oscar, Penny, Qrow, were they all dead?

Trying to ignore the pain the Huntsman was able to get on his feet.

The Bullhead was barely recognizable. Jaune wondered if they were they able to escape, or.

"Please don't let it be true, please don't let it be true…." he kept whispering to himself.

With all of his strength, Jaune tried to run to the destroyed ship and searched for any signs of life.

It was hard to see with the fire and smoke obscuring his vision, but much to his reprieve, it seemed there was no one was left in it.

"Well…That's a relief. I guess that means everyone found a way to escape before the ship crashed," Jaune spoke too soon.

As his blue eyes adjusted to the environment, he was able to see something inside, bodies.

Jaune was shocked to the core as he recognized that the dead bodies belonged to Pietro and Maria.

Both were burned and beaten by the explosion, but he was able to recognize them instantly.

"They didn't deserve this, what a horrible death," Jaune mumbled with tears falling from his eyes.

"I don't have time for this, I needed to find the others. Forgive me, guys. I'll come back for your bodies."

The skies were filled with Grimm an army of winged Berringels. It seemed they hadn't spotted him yet, so he let himself feel a bit of relief.

Looking at the snowy field, he had no idea where to go. The blond knight hoped his friends weren't that far and that they were all right, and that they didn't share the same fate as the old woman and older man inside the Bullhead.

Barely running with his injury, Jaune huffed it across the snowy plain as he thought, "Stupid Aura. It better heal me now, I don't have any time to waste bleeding out here."

It didn't took long before the flying creatures sensed his negativity and spotted him rushing across the frozen plains.

They howled and alerted the others while the Arc kept ignoring them. All his thoughts were on finding his friends.

"Please let them all be safe and sound. God, just let me find them hiding or fighting against the Grimm. Damn it how could it all have come to this. Salem was really one step ahead of everyone's plans. Tyrian and Watts were probably decoys to bring down the inevitable. Creating chaos, panic so the Grimm would come and eventually bring the witch herself with them."

Tears were filling his eyes. It was impossible to think positive with all of this happening around him.

The Berringels were all pilling towards him as he drew his weapon. Using the gravity dust within his shield, Jaune blew some of them away before he gripped Crocea Mors tightly and started slashing through them, not even letting his injury stop him.

The blond Huntsman ran while stopping every now and to attack the winged creatures. He was forcing them to line up by chasing him, and whenever he spotted an opening, he would kill the closet one to him.

That brief change in speed confused the Grimm and bought him time to start running again.

His bet was to get his butt to Mantle as fast as he could and see how things are looking in the city.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" Jaune shouted as the Grimm tried to swarm him again.

There was so much fury in the voice of the blond knight. Every slash, shield bash, punch, or kick, killed a Berringels, bursting them into shadowy ash as he fought on with every breath.

Jaune could care less if they were strong, fast, or had the ability to fly. If they wanted to stop him from seeing his friends, then let them try.

The Arc used his semblance on himself enhancing it increasing the speed of his healing, "Why didn't I think of this from the start, I really am stupid."

With his aura enhancing his strength and speed, Jaune increased the rate of which he slayed Grimm. With a single stroke of his sword, four Berringel perished into a haze of black ash.

The blond changed his weapon to great sword mode to better the odds against the swarm.

A cry of fury and determination was heard as the blond kept killing any Grimm that came his way, and before he realized it, Jaune had killed every last single one of them.

Well, at least the ones that were after him.

The cold wasn't bothering him anymore, he continued to Amp his Aura while running faster than ever before.

When he came around the side of a rock formation, Jaune eyes were able to see someone nearby. The blue eyes widened as he got closer and saw that Ruby was laying in the snow, bleeding, and surrounded by enemies.

Cinder Fall was presently approaching the red reaper with Neo at her side.

"No...Not again...Please not her…."

Jaune went faster, he never knew his Aura could help him reach such speeds.

The blond knight felt like the world around him was melting away as he zeroed in on the silver eyed girl at the mercy of the Fall Maiden.

Memories of the red cloak girl flowed his mind. From when he first met her at Beacon all the way to the present. The fun times, laughing at silly jokes, reading the next issue of X-Ray and Vav, and even the sad times when they doubted their roles as leaders.

Ruby has helped him in many ways. She made his life a brighter from just being around, especially when Pyrrha passed on.

He never blamed her for his partner's death, and she stood by his side through the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Ruby has always believed in him even when he never did. She promised that she'd return when RWBY separated from them back at the Argus Limited, and she kept her promise, despite all the suffering he saw in her eyes when they met up again, she kept her promise, and so would he.

The Arc kept running, wanting to be the shield for the silver eyed girl just before Cinder made her sword appear. She reached back her hand, planning to stab her like she once did with Weiss back at Haven.

Neo saw Jaune, but it was too late to stop him. Jaune plunged himself before the girl, taking the blow. However, he was unable to protect her.

The blade ripped and tore through his chest and shot straight into the girl he wanted to save.

"Aw…man, I can't do anything right," Jaune cried before he heard shouting.

"Jaune!" Ruby shouted inches away from his ear.

The blond was snapped from his traumatic reliving of his worst memory. He was panting, covered in sweat, and shaking as if he were freezing.

However, he tried his hardest to shake off the memories in time to turn and see a worried Ruby staring at him dead in the eyes.

His eyes glanced over and noticed that Aerith was next to the petite, wearing the same worried expression.

"Oh, what's up? You guys alright?" Jaune tried to play it off while thinking, "PTSD is bitch. Why did it have to be that memory I flashed back to?"

"That's what I want to know. I called your name five times now, and you didn't answer. Are you okay?" Ruby clenched his long coat.

"Uh...Yeah…I was just stuck in my own head is all. You know me, thinking too hard as always,"

The red cloak girl had a strong feeling she knew what this was all about. However, since he didn't feel like talking about it, she decided not to say anything. It would be better to save it for when they're alone.

The florist knew it has to be something personal, and that it most likely had something to do with the tragedy that took place in their world.

As much as she cares for Ruby and Jaune there was nothing she could do for them when it comes to their past. She couldn't force them to open up. All she could do for now is to just be there for them.

The two teenagers were the closest friends she has ever had. However, many times she has thought of scared she is for the two humans from another planet, and even more so, she wondered what plans fate has in store for them.

"That's right, I was helping you guys pick flowers, right?" asked the blond.

Aerith had a bad feeling crawling on her skin as she said, "That's okay, I'm done. Ruby helped me plenty. We should head back now."

However, it was too late. The trio were suddenly surrounded by the same hooded ghosts that kept appearing around them.

They were flying all over the place in greater numbers than they had ever seen before.

Jaune and Ruby gasped at the sheer number of Whispers that floated around them.

They remembered Aerith's explanation vividly as the words, "Whispers are the arbiters of fate that set the course of destiny in this world," echoed in their skulls.

This was the third time they had shown themselves to the Huntsman and Huntress. However, it was the first time they had someone else with them when they showed up.

The Whispers kept flying until they were twirled around and grouped together to make a whirlwind.

"This was only getting creepier by the minute," Jaune mumbled.

"What do they want?!" asked the red cloak reaper.

"They know we play an important role in destiny's plan. They won't ignore us," replied the florist.

"Is that a good thing or bad?!" The Arc followed up.

"It's hard to tell. Even if the events have been set in motion a long time ago, anything can happen to change fate. That is why they're here, to make sure we follow the path."

"The path they want, or the path we want?" Jaune frowned.

"I don't know," the Ancient admitted as she stood in thought.

"We get it! We're big heroes that will change fate or whatever. Now, just leave us alone!"

Then just like that, the Whispers all vanished. Jaune and Aerith turned to Ruby, bewildered and not believing that they actually obeyed her.

"I totally didn't see that coming," Ruby blushed as she rubbed the back of her head.

"If we have a big role in their grand plan, then it won't be the last time we will see them," Jaune commented as he looked at the distant scrap heap and Shinra's headquarters looming over all of Midgar.


After leaving the church Jaune told them he wanted to go to orphanage without saying what for.

This really caught Ruby's attention it wasn't like the Arc to keep things from her. Aerith was curious and thought maybe he wanted to visit Ms. Foila's class.

As they entered the large building the florist realized that at this hour there was no class, the kids were all on their recess break.

"So why Jaune want to come here?" Aerith pondered.

Needless to say, Jaune's sudden outburst got the attention of both girls.

Seeing that they wouldn't stop staring, the Huntsman finally spoke up, "The teacher and owner of the orphanage have something important that will be vital in helping up complete our task."

"Okay, but what and how?" Ruby scratched her head.

"I learned about this little item from Mireille. It's all thanks to her connections. As for the items, that's a surprise," Jaune chuckled.

"That woman truly is very reliable. Not only can she do what she says she can do, sometimes she does more," Ruby said, getting even more curious to what Jaune was talking about.

The trio stood at the entrance to her office before Jaune knocked gently on the door twice.

The dark skinned woman with glasses was waiting for them. She quickly closed the windows keeping her office lit with the light from the desk lap.

"What was going on? She was acting very secretive, did Jaune cross-class into a spy?" Ruby's eyes looked at the blond knight.

"You're just in time," the dark-skinned lady commented.

"Do you have it?" Jaune asked while lifting a brow.

"Oh, my gosh, where's the popcorn when you need it!" Ruby thought as she watched them interact with each other.

"I do. Now remember, you have to promise not to tell anyone what I'm about to give you. I will never forgive myself for what I had to do to get these, and just when I thought I can have a peaceful life here."

"You have my word, no one will know," Jaune said as he held out his hand.

"Jaune what's going on?" asked the red cloak girl.

"You'll see," Jaune smirked.

Ms. Foila reached for her desk opening a locked drawer.

Opening it, she took out many documents that had been rolled into cylinder shape and had a tied string keeping its shape.

She gave them to the Arc as he removed the string checking the documents.

Ruby and Aerith joined him while not having a clue what was this about. However, their eyes widened as they took a better look at the documents spread out on the desk.

"This is…." the florist stood shocked.

"A map of all the Mako Reactors owned by the Shinra Company," Jaune said as he grinned.

"No way, it's all here" the petite kept staring "all eight of them."

"The maps are all very detailed and easy to understand. This is going to be a big help for us, Ms. Foila."

"Foila when did you-how did you…." the green-eyed woman didn't know what to say.

"My ex-husband used to be a high-ranking officer for the power company. He took the maps with him when he quit. He forgot all about them the day he left me, and he never realized that he left them with me."

"I had no idea" Aerith was still shocked.

"How did you know about this?" Ruby asked her blond friend.

"Like I said before, you can thank Mireille, she knows the slums and it's people better than anyone. It's like she's some sort of library filled with all of Midgar's information. I paid her a pretty big sum of Gil to give me any important intel she could find. I am sorry that I had to butt into your personal information, Ms. Foila."

"It's all right. I had a feeling that it wouldn't have been long before someone found out. This secret wasn't going to stay a secret forever."

"Don't worry, like I said I will keep my word. Arcs always keep their word," Jaune's eyes gleamed for a second.

"Thank you. I hope you kept those maps from falling into the wrong hands," Ms. Foila said before sighing.

"I'll make sure to keep them safe," Jaune gave a nod.

They left the office walking the hallway of the orphanage. Aerith stood in thought, and she couldn't help but experience a feeling she didn't like.

"You're planning on stopping Shinra, aren't you?" Aerith questioned.

"If we want to save the planet we have to, you know that, right?" Jaune replied with a question of his own.

"So, you're just going to walk into the reactors front doors and go guns blazing," the florist put her arms on her waist, not looking happy at all.

"No, that's crazy and suicidal. That sounds like something Nora would come up with, I have a plan…that might work if we do it right. Aerith you'll play a big part in it," Jaune said as he rolled up the papers and stuck them in his satchel.

"That's great! I'm glad you planed on including me in all this. Because if you weren't, I would still get involved whether you like it or not," Aerith commented as she crossed her arms.

"So, what's the plan?" asked the eager Ruby.

"Aerith, when will the next visit from those men in suits be?" Jaune asked while looking the florist dead in the eye.

"You mean the Turks?" the young pink-themed florist stood in thought before saying, "I know that they're always keeping tabs on me, and they usually come to visit me once a month, almost always at the end. I think they still haven't come this month, and hey, there are only a few more days left. They could come any day like tomorrow or the day after. They would either come to the church or my house. I'm pretty sure it will be Reno."

"Then we'll be ready for when they come," Jaune said while nodding his head.

"You're not planning on fighting them? The Turks are frighteningly good at fighting," Aerith asked with a worried expression.

"It's the other way around. We're going to talk to them. Just leave the rest to us," Jaune smiled before gazing at the silver eyed petite.

"You better tell me everything" the florist was serious.

"But that would ruin the surprise. You do like surprises, don't you?" Jaune asked while lifting a brow.

"I do like surprises," Aerith nodded her head.


Later that night, Jaune suddenly found himself in a faraway place. It took him a bit to adjust, but when he did, the blond knight's eyes widened in shock while looked around at the very familiar scene before him.

He was standing on the snowy fields just on the outskirts of Mantle. Was he back in Remnant, but how.

The sight before him was nothing but pure horror as noticed Ruby's dead body laying in a pool of her own blood.

"No…"

Cinder grinning as she held on to her tainted sword covered in blood of the one he held so close. Her lone eye was glowing with the golden with flame of the Fall Maiden's power.

Jaune stood frozen, like he was rooted to the ground. In response to his lack of response, the evil woman's Grimm arm extended before she grabbed him by the neck and pulled him back towards her.

She was chocking the life out of him. The Arc was losing air, unable to breathe, and feeling weaker by the second. However, his eyes never left the deceased body of his partner.

"I failed her, just like I failed Pyrrha. Again, he lost someone important to him.

While the Fall Maiden had a wicked grin on her features, she spoke to Jaune in a mocking manner, "You will always be weak, a useless fool with a death wish. Just watch as your precious friends die in front of you by my hand."

Jaune couldn't do anything. He didn't have the energy or the strength to fight her power. With a one strong push she broke his neck.

The blond Huntsman rose from his bed panting and sweating.

He touched his neck with a pale complexion.

"It really felt like I was being choked," Jaune sighed as he stood up and walked to his door.

Ruby wasn't the only one having bad dreams of the Fall Maiden. But this one, has to be the most realistic one he has ever had.

He opened the door and headed to the kitchen. Jaune then turned on the sink and stuck his head under the cool stream of water coming from the nozzle.

However, when he got back up and turned to his side, he saw something that shook him to the core.

Standing right in front of him was none other than Cinder Fall, crossed arms, wide stance, and her usual arrogant grin.

"Holy crap! It's impossible, she was here, right here in his room. This has to be another nightmare," Jaune thought before he looked over and saw Crocea Mors on the counter.

He reached out as quickly as he could, grasping for his weapon like his life depended on it, but her Grimm hand stretched out before grabbing his right arm, preventing him from reaching his sword.

"The hell, I can feel her touch, I can her breathe, and it's that same sickeningly sweet perfume, Cinder Fall really is here in this world.

"You...You can't be…."

With her human arm she hushed him before she got closer and whispered something in his ear.

"Reunion."

Jaune blinked before he frowned.

His expression turned to that of pure rage as Jaune's eyes started to glow white. His Aura erupted around his entire body, so thick that it was visible to the human eye. He didn't even have to touch himself to activate his Amplification Semblance anymore.

Then, with all his strength, Jaune tried to punch at Cinder. His fist cracked the air as put all his strength into the blow. However, by the time he swung, she was long gone.

All Jaune did was punch at the air.

"A traumatic induced hallucination, that has to be it," Jaune lied to himself.

"No, it wasn't. She was really here. You can't feel a hallucination, I think," Jaune said as he saw the marks from her grasp on his arm.

The bruise was quickly healed by his Aura, but he was still reeling from the experience.

"What a horrible feeling. I doubt I'll ever be able to sleep peacefully again," Jaune said to himself while tried to steady his breathing.

"A shower, yeah, that will do. I nice cold one," Jaune said before thinking that there was no way he was telling Ruby about this. He didn't want to scare her, especially if it really was something his mind cooked up to deal with the stress.

"God…I need to cool off and relax. Why would the Maiden be here? I doubt she got here the same way as both Ruby and I did. I don't exactly think the will of the Planet would bring that nut bag here. What was it she said?"

"Reunion?"


The next day Ruby and Jaune went straight to Aerith's house.

According to the florist, one of Shinra's Turks should be coming to visit her.

It was still unknown what the Arc's intentions were from just talking to him. Either way, she'll wait with the red cloak girl and enjoy watering the flowers outside of her home.

As for the blond knight, he decided to get some training done not that far from the place. The Huntsman was practicing all the moves Pyrrha taught him. Usually, Jaune would train his sword skills at Jules' place, and any other moment of the day it would be seen as perfectly normal for him, but something was amiss.

Aerith probably didn't see it, but Ruby did. She could see the strain in his swings, like he was hitting something that wasn't there.

The petite did her hardest to ignore her friend's behavior while helping the pink-themed florist.

"He's been really acting off lately, especially when we got up this morning," Ruby thought as she stopped for a second and took a peek at the blond knight.

In her eyes, it was nothing like the Arc she knows. His expression and body language gave it away.

"I guess that's what happens when you know someone for this long," Ruby thought to herself, unaware of the blush on her face.

"Jaune sure seems fired up," Aerith commented.

"Yeah…."

"What is it? It doesn't take a genius to know something was bothering you, Rubes," Aerith asked before she paused and gasped.

"Ooh no, was it too soon for nicknames?" Aerith asked as she looked a bit frightened at what Ruby thought of her calling her Rubes like Jaune does on occasion.

"No, that's fine Aerith. I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to call me by a nick name. It's just...He's not acting like himself."

"He must be nervous about his plan, which he still hasn't told me yet," Ruby frowned and puffed her cheeks up a little.

"He wants to talk business with the Turks. That's all he said to me," Aerith replied. The florist was confused as to what kind of 'business' Jaune would speak with one of Shinra's men.

"I'm worried," replied the reaper, "This morning he was so freaking out. No smile, no good morning, Ruby, or let's have another great day, Ruby. He was too quiet, I made him breakfast and he only smiled. He didn't say a word about the food, and that it was the first time I've ever cooked a meal."

"Did he like it?" Aerith couldn't help but ask.

"I didn't! It tasted…bad. I will never get the hang of cooking. My dad try to teach me but I failed, just like my sister. But I did get all the baking skills in the family."

"But he still ate it?" Asked the worried florist.

"He did, and I can't believe he wasn't grossed out by it. Anyone would after eating that abomination!" Ruby's cheeked puffed up again before she stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"Come on, it couldn't that bad," Aerith said with an awkward expression.

"Aerith, it was 'THAT' bad. Something that grotesque should never be made. I hope he doesn't get a stomachache or worse."

"You said he started acting weird when he woke up?"

"Bad dream, that has to be it. I've been having them a lot lately as well. With everything that happened, I don't blame him. His dream must have been worse, much worse. I really want to ask him about what he's going through, but I know he will just shrug it off like it was nothing."

"Then you should knock some sense into him. A nice smack to the face will do the trick," Aerith said while waving her hand.

"What?" Ruby turned to the green-eyed florist, "No, I'm not going to do that. I don't like the idea of hitting him, he will only get angry at me. I don't want that."

"Ask him. Make him tell you if necessary. Isn't he your friend? You do care for him, right?" Aerith asked.

"I do...A lot" Ruby whispered the last part.

"If it's a bad dream, then who better to understand than you? You two have been through so much together. He can't ignore or shut you down forever. He will open up to you, but you have to make the first move."

The silver eyed girl gave a nod and thought, "It's true. There's no harm in talking things out, we're friends after all."

"Guys!"

Jaune caught the attention of the two ladies as they saw people arriving.

Three men wearing the same uniform with machine guns, guards, and helmets.

The third man stood in the middle of the Shinra Grunts. The Turk was wearing a black suit, had spiky red hair on opposite sides instead of straight up, and clear blue eyes.

He was holding a metal rod and tapping it on his shoulder as his eyes glanced across the three. However, the red head mainly looked at the florist.

"Lovely day we're having today" the red head's tone sounded cocky.

"Hello Reno," said Aerith with a wave of her hand.

"I was in town...thought I'd drop in and give you a visit."

"As you can see, I'm doing great," Aerith smiled gently.

"I can see that and these two are still with you," the Turk stated as he stared at the teenagers.

"We're her friends, of course we'd be with her," Ruby said before sticking out her tongue.

"How corny. Oh well, time to head back. Just checking in, take care. Remember our doors will always remain open for you," Reno said while turning around and waving his hand behind his head.

"Wait," Jaune stopped him from leaving" You work for Shinra right?"

"Should be obvious if Aerith has told you anything about us. Oh, don't tell me she hasn't?" Reno looked over his shoulder.

"She did. We would like to talk to you. We have a business proposition for you," he pointed to the red cloak girl.

"Whatever it is blondie, not interested. Let's go."

"Jaune and Ruby have been doing a lot for Sector 5 for the last three months they've been here," spoke the florist.

"Is that so?" Reno gave a grin.

"I can say they've done more than Shinra. They've been solving the peoples' everyday problems, and their pretty good at. As long as you can pay them, they can do any job. Sometimes they're even willing to do it for free, if it comes down to it" smiled the green eyed woman.

"They're mercenaries, big deal. Why should I care?"

"We want you to hire us. We would like to work for the Shinra Company," the Arc went straight to the point.

This really surprise the silver eyed petite, but not Aerith, she had a strong feeling that this was the blond knight's plan all along.

Her guess was that both Jaune and Ruby would get a job working in one of the Mako reactors, possibly as security. Well, Aerith had a good noggin on her shoulders, because she was completely right.

Reno stood in thought while gazing at them seconds before he ended up laughing at them…loudly.

"You two? That's rich. What kind of job, babysitting our men?" Reno slapped his knee while he laughed again.

"You need a pair of extra hands for security we will take it. I'm sure you must know we can look after ourselves. Payment isn't an issue. You can take our services for free we don't mind."

"Free mercenary services. And here I thought you were kidding Aerith," Reno wiped a tear away from laughing so hard.

"They do what's right, and that doesn't need price," The pink-themed florist announced with a proud expression on her face.

"Sorry but I will have to decline. Shinra doesn't need children fighting their battles for them. Stick to the slums kiddies, you're safe down here."

Ruby immediately acted using her semblance beating up the three guards that were accompanying the red headed Turk.

"We're safe down here, huh? Well…too bad we can't say the same about you," Ruby said as she placed Crescent Rose upright and stamped the end of the pole on the ground.

Jaune and Aerith were shocked. They couldn't believe Ruby just assaulted Shinra operatives.

Reno even more shocked as he thought, "What was that? Did she cast some sort of magic spell?"

Whatever it was, the Turk had never seen anything like it before.

The silver eyed girl kept holding her scythe with a smirk before she said, "If you're people are that weak, then you really do need our help."

"You just made a big mistake kid. You can't expect to get away with this after attacking Shinra personnel."

"It's Ruby Rose, I'm seventeen and I'll be turning Eighteen in a few months. So…I'm not a kid."

"You have guts. I like that. Maybe I'll go easy on you," Reno said as he readied his electro-magnetic rod.

"Here's the deal," Jaune smirked, glad the petite did what she did, because now, they could show off their skills.

"If she wins, you will hire us no questions asked," Jaune propositioned.

"You both have guts. I'll accept the challenge but won't say anything about your terms. Because your little girlfriend here is going to lose!"

"Sh-She's not my girlfriend!" Jaune shouted blushing hard.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Ruby shouted while blushing just as bad.

"You lose, I'll take you both in to face some jail time. Maybe that will teach you punks a lesson."

"Kick his a…butt, Ruby!" Jaune shouted out. He had to watch himself, almost cursed. He didn't want to donate another Gil to that accursed swear jar.

Reno moved so fast that it almost shocked Ruby. Using his rod to swing at her shoulder, the petite reaper dodged it with her semblance and slashed back.

The weapons of the two combatants began clashing rapidly. The sounds of metal slamming against metal echoed throughout the room as Ruby continued to swing around the 175-pound weapon with ease.

Ruby was sort of having fun, it really surprised her how fast Reno was.

The red head young man released lightning from his rod while the red cloak girl dodged just in time.

"Turks are no joke, stop playing," Reno grunted.

Before Ruby knew it, Reno unleashed several lightning bolts towards Ruby with a single wave of his rod.

The Huntress fired a couple of shots of the same element, neutralizing Reno's lightning as they stood across from each other from a distance.

Reno's eyes widened as Ruby's smile grew.

"Oh, shit!" Reno jumped behind a pillar seconds before another shot went off, taking out a portion of the stony part next to his head.

"Damn, what kind of weapon was that?" Reno said as he searched his pockets and sighed.

However, he spotted his unconscious grunt on the ground and grinned.

Ruby shot a few mor rounds into the pillar. The bullets sprayed off part of the concrete pillar when Reno call out, "You missed!"

"No, I didn't," Ruby thought as she saw him trying to peak out the from behind cover to ascertain her position.

She fired another shot that made his eyes grow wide. Moving as quickly as he could, he pulled his head back and heard something metal falling to the floor.

"Give up?" Ruby said as she pulled back the hammer on her Sniper Rifle.

"You wish. I'm just waiting for you to reload," Reno called back from behind the cover of the pillar.

Seeing that she had turned her weapon into Sniper Rifle still completely surprised Reno. However, it wasn't going to be enough. Reno kicked up a flash grenade he took from the Shinra Grunt's belt and shocked it while covering his eyes.

Ruby winced as the flash grenade exploded. During that chance, Reno charged in again, releasing more lightning bolts with every swing of his electrified rod.

"If she gets hit by that attack it was going to hurt even with her aura healing her. Also, she's been using her semblance a lot which certainly reduces her aura levels. But it shouldn't be that bad, her Aura capacity has increased by almost half her original amount from constant Amping I've been doing to her during training," Jaune furrowed his brow.

Clashing weapons, the bolts lightning scuffed Crescent Rose, making her gasp as she thought, "How dare he harm my baby!"

"Hey! Watch the flowers!" said Aerith.

"Come on Ruby, I know you can out-speed, power, and outsmart this guy. What's you game?"Jaune wondered, keeping his faith in the silver eyed girl.

"Where do you think you're going? We're just getting started!"

Ruby fired a couple of shots, but they were blocked again by the Turk's swift movements.

Not wanting to show every card in her deck, Ruby sighed before casting fire.

Reno dodged it. He wasn't surprised at all that she could cast magic. Both of them are using Materia, so it was fairly obvious. But Ruby had a plan, she knew what she needed to do, and poor Reno is going to suffer for it.

Still, the red reaper couldn't help but admit that he's pretty good, and the fight was fun. Besides Jaune, she hadn't fought a human that could challenge her in a while, and she was using Reno to get back into the groove.

Using an electric weapon and his attacks are lightning based so the obvious spell to use is pretty clear.

She readied her weapon in rifle mode as she cast Watera.

Eyes widened as the Turk dodged the spell. The bullet of water exploded as he rolled behind a bench and thought, "Damn! She can use water too. That's not good, if I get hit with that it's game over. Ugh, what are the odds of her having a Water Materia?"

He should have done his homework before picking a fight. Rude hated to lose because he had bad intel.

"Well, too late now," Reno thought as he prepped his weapons.

The petite wasn't planning on using Crescent Rose or going all out because she didn't want to hurt or cripple the poor guy, much less kill him.

That's why she was looking for a way to win without too much effort. All she needs is the perfect chance.

"Damn, the kid is tough. Her boyfriend must be the same," Reno thought as he got ready to cast Thudara.

The room lit up as Reno spell went straight for her weapon.

Ruby gasped as she thought, "Stop aiming for Crescent Rose!"

With a burst of intense speed, she kicked up the piece of rebar she shot out of the pillar earlier and tossed it into the air, attracting the lightning bolt as it fell into the ground.

In that moment, Ruby quickly used her semblance to appear behind him. He reacted with incredible reflexes, turning to face her, but it was too late.

Ruby cast water on his rod and made the thing flash and smoke as it started malfunctioning.

The Turk dropped his weapon as he gave a quick hiss of pain, and before he knew it, he was facing the reaper while the petite's scythe rested against his shoulder.

The blade was inches from the back of Reno's neck his neck when she looked him in the eye, smiled, and said, "I win!"

Both Jaune and Aerith were all proud of her. After all, she managed to beat one of Shinra's Turks and didn't even look winded.

"Okay, so maybe you ain't that bad. Though, I'm pissed you damaged my favorite weapon. It's going to take me a while to fix it up."

"If you want to, I can fix it for you," Ruby said as she held out her hand.

"You can do that too?" Reno gave a surprised expression.

"Ruby is very good with weaponry. I'm sure if you let her check out your thunder stick thingy, she'll be able to fix it in no time," Jaune smiled. He should know firsthand, after all, Ruby was teaching him more and more about weapons every day.

"Well, don't you have something to say?" followed Aerith.

"Fine I admit defeat, guess we can talk about your proposition. Hey, wake the hell up already!" Reno kicked the two guards, before shouting, "How long are you idiots planning to sleep?"

The three guards were starting to regain conscious as the red cloak reaper took the Turk's weapon. Of course it's equipped with Thunder Materia, along with another that colored purple. It was hard to tell which one it was because there are so many different types of independent Materia.

"I'll fix it for free," Ruby eyes sparkled as she inspected the inner workings of the stun rod.

"You're too kind for your own good. It can get you into trouble," Reno commented.

"It's just who I am. We're trying to do the right thing and help anyone we can," Ruby smiled softly.

The red head man shook his head and snickered before he said, "I'm feeling hungry. Meet me at the nearest restaurant and we'll talk about your proposition. And you…" Reno pointed at Ruby before continuing to speak, "I want my weapon back and it better be in perfect shape. Or else."

"Sure, sure, sure, I might even give it a few upgrades," Ruby ignored his obvious threat.

"Great job, Ruby. Well then, I better get going and meet up with him before he changes his mind. I'll buy you enough time to fix his weapon," Jaune said as he patted her shoulder.

"Thanks," Ruby smiled, not noticing the blush on her cheeks.

"Wait you two" Aerith stopped them before saying, "If Reno does accept your proposition, you'll be entering a den of monsters."

"We already know. We want to have a look at the enemy's place. We're not doing anything unless we get enough information to make our move," Jaune informed.

"Any idea, where they might send us?" asked the petite reaper.

"I doubt it will be the main Shinra building. That place has enough security make a King envious. Most likely, they might send you to one of the Mako reactors," Aerith said while putting her finger on her chin.

"Good, that's exactly where we want to go. Of course, we'll be taking the maps along,"

"Please you two be careful. The Shinra Power Company shouldn't be taken lightly, and if you do go, I might not see you two again for a while. Soo…" Aerith paused before she hugged Ruby and Jaune.

"Someone is going to miss us," the red cloak girl giggled.

"Of course, I'm going to miss you guys," the florist squeezed them a little tighter, "What's life in Sector 5 without my best friends?"

"No need to get too emotional, we'll return before you even know it," Jaune said as they parted from the hug.

"Guess our arm-wrestling match will have to wait. We'll be back in no time flat!" Ruby smiled and waved before leaving.

"Somehow, I doubt it,"Aerith had a strong feeling that was the case.


To be continued

[Author Note: About Crescent Rose's weight. I Did the research and math myself, that weapon when low balling it is roughly 150 pounds. But that's only if it's made from light alloys like aluminum. So, I rounded it up a bit. Ruby's a beast!]