"Jaune died?" - Pyrrha and Ruby were shaken.
Ruby nodded. With a saddening voice. - "Yeah, this is where he fell."
"Come on." - Wiped her tears, she helped Jaune standing up. - "My base just over there."
Seeing she not ready, Jaune not pushed on and walked with her.
After some uncomfortable minutes of silence, Ruby finally had the strength to spoke again.
"This place may not like Beacon, but it like the second home to us." - She spoke softly. - "It's where we trained, where we hung out..." - She spun around, looked at him with a sad smile. - "Where we become an official huntsman."
"We held the ceremony in the Amity Colosseum, how cool is that." - Her voice cracked.
Summer and Tai proud of their daughter but can't be helped but disheartened by her voice.
"What with a long face. Come on! our favorite students have become a true huntsman." - Peter tried to cheer every up.
"Yes, yes we're quite proud." - Oobleck patted on his colleague back.
"It is." - Jaune gave her a warm hug.
"Here." - Ruby suddenly stopped in front of an old house.
Jaune went inside and saw many abandoned electronic parts. In the middle is a tent and Ruby's survival equipment.
"This is Penny's father's house." - She looked around finding some wood.
"How is he?" - Jaune helped her.
"He gave his life for his daughter much later." - Ruby said.
"Father..." - Penny broke down. Ruby hugged her, tried to share her pain.
"Oh... " - Jaune didn't know what to say.
After Ruby started a fire. She gave him a photo. - "It's our graduation ceremony."
Jaune can see how happy everyone was. All of them smiled cheerfully in front of the camera.
"Who are they?" - Jaune pointed at the 5 unknown adults.
"They're Ironwood' Ace-Ops. They helped training us during our stay."
"They seem nice." - Jaune could see how proud they are in the photo.
"We ended up had to fight them."
Not waiting for Jaune to ask. Ruby spoke. - "General Ironwood wasn't the same man after the fall of Beacon."
"Beacon fell?" - Glynda shocked.
"All we could see when we first met is a broken man, tired, crushed down by his responsibility."
"James..." - Ozpin looked at his friend worried.
"He was so happy when he saw us with the relic, a piece of good news he had for a long time. But all we saw then was an unstable man." - Ruby gripped her hand tight. - "We lied to him, held our secret just like Ozpin did to us."
"Ruby..." - Jaune could see how much it's eating Ruby inside.
Ozpin felt his chest tighten.
"Salem's faction did the same thing as what they had done at Beacon. They caused a mass panic, turned Mantle people against Atlas."
Jaune could imagine the people rioted take out their weapon and Altas guard have no choice but to violently gun them down.
"Oum..." - The audience vomited at the idea.
"I have never seen anything that horrible, the screaming, the crying, the gunshot sound echoed up reached Atlas." - Ruby's shaken.
"You and your team were sent down to calm the riot."
"Did... we?" - Jaune horrified.
"No." - Everyone horrified by the implication.
"We then heard the worst news of all: 'Salem her self is coming'." - Ruby took a deep breath. - "General Ironwood doesn't want her to get the Relic, he made a decision." - Ruby punched her sit - "Send back his army, abandon Mantle, use the Relic the fly Atlas as highest, as farthest possible, out of Salem reach."
"James!" - Glynda shouted angrily.
"I couldn't." - James's broken down.
"I understand why he did it." - Ruby refused to look at Jaune's eye. - "But I couldn't stand it."
"You and your team tried to stop him. In the most desperate time, you were fighting your self." - Jaune sadly said.
Ruby nodded. - "In my mind, if we just have Atlas's help, we could fend off Salem or at least save as many as we can."
"Since that time, I always wondered: 'If we had gone with Ironwood plan, would Atlas still stood, would we kept the Relic out of Salem reach?" - She sighed defeated. - "Or if Ironwood had not followed his decision, would we won the war?"
"We can't undo our mistake." - Ozpin said.
"Ironwood declared we're under arrest. While I and my team fought the Ace-Ops, you and your team..." - Ruby voice's cracked. - "had to fend off both Atlas army and the angry Mantle people."
"No." - Pyrrha broke down.
"That's how I died." - Jaune sighed.
"You saved many people including Ren and Nora." - Ruby looked down in shame.
"It's not fair... It's not..." - Ruby cried. Her team hugged her as tight as possible.
"Why! Why would you?" - Nora lashed out on to James. Ren was holding her back.
"Where was I? I should have saved him." - Pyrrha cried.
"You died in the fall of Beacon before it." - Author said.
"Then Salem came. She was riding the most massive Grimm we have ever seen. Atlas did not escape in time, fell from the sky. The army of Grimm she made slaughter millions. Many only escaped by chance."
Seeing Jaune lied down defeated, Ruby hugged him tightly.
"No all hope is lost though, or you gave us hope." - She whispered. - "The survivor all tell the tale of a young man, a blonde huntsman who saved them, who tried his best to fend off the Grimms, who protected them with his life even when they attacked him." - She held up his face, looked into his eyes. - "You inspired us to keep going, to us you are a hero."
"Jaune..." - Pyrrha lost her word.
"I just wish you didn't have to die to make us learn our mistake, wish you were with us when we won our first war, wish you were there when we defeated Salem." - She cried into his chest. Jaune patted her back, comforting her.
"She's asleep." - Ruby still hugged Jaune tight, afraid he would disappear.
Ruby's parents cried at their daughter's pain.
Ozpin and James held their head down in shame.
In the next morning, Ruby woke up only to see Jaune had disappeared.
"It's not like he can control it." - Sighed at the sight, she comforted herself. Looking around a bit, she noticed a piece of paper.
"Next time I'll bring you more cookie."
I still have some ideas for a few more chapters left, but please do PM me your suggestion, I love to hear it.