One true change sparks others. Welcome to... Forever Fall. Going into the two-parter episode, there isn't too much there that isn't basically 'Cardin blackmailing Jaune'. Take that out and... well read to find out.

Disclaimer: RDF1 doesn't own RWBY, WATCH THE SHOW!

(Chapter Begin)

(Recap)

"Jaune... Pyrrha... Nora and I are orphans, from the continent of Anima. We only had each other for nearly ten years before applying to Beacon. We had no transcripts to fake. We were invited because we defended a nearby village helping out another Huntsman and he recommended us to Beacon personally. You're not alone in not having a Prep School background."

"Ren... Nora... I had no idea."

"That's kinda the point. There are parts of out past we're not proud of, but we want to make a difference, and the fact that we got a chance to come here meant more to us than anything," added Nora, "You can't abandon your dream just because you think you don't deserve us as a team. We're as stubborn as you when it comes to that."

The three of them turned to Pyrrha, who had stoically remained quiet during this exchange.

"Pyrrha, I..."

They heard a chuckle from the redhead. This confused them. Pyrrha then let loose a laugh, a full blown laugh that was just muffled enough by the walls that other teams didn't overhear.

"I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry," said Pyrrha in mirth, wiping a tear, "It's just... I'm honored by your trust and your honesty. I know I can't relate to any of you three, but I do know this, we are meant to be a team. If we weren't, why were we able to take down that Death Stalker during initiation. You do deserve to be here, Jaune. It was your plan that allowed us to defeat it, together. You and I became partners, got a relic, and returned to the school. So what if the papers don't back up your history, your actions and success have earned your place here. I suggest we take a leaf out of Ruby's book and train together as a Team."

The other three nodded.

"Besides, I need all the help I can get. I may be Mistral Champion, but I haven't had anyone I can trust like you three in battle. I need to learn how to fight as part of a team."

The other three smile, Pyrrha smiling in return. JNPR was made stronger this day, their trust forged in honesty and friendship.

(Recap End)

The next few weeks proved a great Boon to JNPR, taking up a page from RWBY's book and training together to work on their team moves, and to help Jaune improve his technique. Ruby could already tell a shift in Jaune's demeanor, he's no longer trying to pass off his failures with excuses, working harder than ever with renewed vigor to accomplish his dream of becoming a great Huntsman. Ruby, in a similar way, found herself even busier between RWBY training and Office Missions. Soon enough, Glynda, substituting for Professor Peach, took them to the Forever Fall Forest to replenish sap supplies. Ruby never did care too much about what the sap was used for, but since it's required for class, so she wasn't going to argue. Not long after gathering the required sap, Ruby got an ominous feeling, and sped off before her teammates could react.

"What was that about?" asked Weiss.

Yang was in a quandary, she knew Ruby's 'sixth' sense that came from being Reaper, but she couldn't tell Weiss and Blake that, not really.

"Must be something important," remarked Blake.

"If she feels like sharing, she will," replied Yang with a slight edge in her tone, "Don't push her."

Weiss and Blake were a bit bothered by that, but decided to respect it, especially since Blake could empathize with keeping a secret.

Ruby raced towards JNPR, who were unaware of CRDL's plan, though that wasn't why Ruby was racing over to them. She sensed a group of Grimm closing in on the location, and she wasn't gonna let them be blindsided. Ruby noticed CRDL preparing to throw something at JNPR and decided to deal with them first, tackling one of them to the ground, causing the container to burst harmlessly on the ground.

"The Shrimp?" spoke a surprised Cardin, "Looks like we get a two for one special."

Ruby was already off of Sky and had managed to trip up Dove with her speed before turning to face Cardin.

"Cardin, why do you have to do this? Is your ego so bruised you have to hurt others and bring them down to your level?" asked Ruby, glaring at him.

"Oh that is it, Shimp!" declared Cardin angrily, getting outhit mace, "You are going down!"

(ROAR!)

Suddenly, five Ursa broke through the trees, one of them being an Major. Ruby turned her attention to them and started moving quickly.

'This Major must be old,' thought Ruby, who was having to focus more on it than the others, 'It's able to dodge some of my strikes.'

For CRDL, Dove, Sky, and Russel were out of there, while Cardin had received a lucky hit by an Ursa and on the back foot. Suddenly, a cry came from behind Cardin, who ducked as Jaune of all people appeared and blocked the next Ursa strike.

"We've got your back, Ruby!" called out Jaune, who switched from defense to offense and struck back at the Ursa.

"I was handling them!" quipped back Ruby as Nora appeared, swinging her hammer and catching another Ursa in the knees, effectively 'breaking its legs'.

"NORA SMASH!" Nora cried when doing so.

Ren and Pyrrha double-teamed another Ursa with quick slashes and tagging in Pyrrha's Shield to block. Jaune ducked under one of the Ursa's strikes and countered on its back before addressing Ruby.

"Sure you do, but we couldn't help but join in when hearing the commotion," smirked Jaune, his confidence being real this time instead of bravado.

Cardin couldn't believe it. Jaune 'wimpy' Arc had not only saved his life, but was fighting far better than ever did against him. True, he was much smarter than an Ursa, but Jaune was fluid in his movements, not the clunky battle that brought Cardin's aura down to Yellow.

Ruby, for her part, was proud. JNPR had really come into their own, working together like a team. Ruby, focusing again on the Major, flashed her Silver Eyes, catching it off guard before blasting it a few times then cleaving it diagonally in two, effectively 'reaping' it.

"Dang, remind me never to get on Ruby's bad side," commented Jaune, having decapitated his own Ursa.

"I think that goes for all of us," remarked Pyrrha, having defeated her Ursa with Ren, who had nodded alongside Nora.

Ruby turned to Cardin, who was staring at them... she couldn't read his face, but she'd like to think it was awe. Though that might be egotistical of her, since she's well... actually awesome.

"You okay Cardin?" asked Jaune, walking over and offering an hand.

Cardin took a moment to look at the offered hand and back to Jaune. A subtle, but significant, shift in Cardin's eyes told Ruby everything she needed to know as he took Jaune's hand, shook it, and gave a meaningful nod. Cardin let go and walked over to Ruby. Closing his eyes, he nodded an apology, before walking off to find his team. They still needed to make sure to get the assignment done after all.

Ruby smiled. Cardin may be a jerk, but that never meant that he was actually stupid. Ruby couldn't help but wonder what this would mean for the bully in the future.

"Thanks for the assist, JNPR," grinned Ruby, "I better get back to my team now."

"Any time, Ruby," smiled Pyrrha.

"Yeah, we'll break legs together sometime," laughed Nora.

"It was an honor to fight alongside you," added Ren.

"What are friends for?" chuckled Jaune, getting a return chuckle out of Ruby before she headed off to find her team.

(Chapter End)

Here's the thing. I couldn't develop Jaune's character without a bit of payoff. Just because this is Ruby's story, doesn't mean other characters can't be badasses. And instead of Pyrrha just casually remarking her semblance to Ruby and Weiss, she's actually using it in battle, supporting Ren and her's teamwork, since she actually shared her Semblance with them... privately.

Sorry it's so short... I don't think I have any Author notes this time. Weird. I don't think that's happened for stories with this many chapters before. That's so weird. I guess If I did add an Author's Note, you'd know where it'd be. And you'd know what it was for. For those that don't... Ruby being more involved in the fight, since it's Ruby's story, while having a stronger, more together JNPR join in. Cardin also gets development. What that means... well, we'll see.

Again, no pairings, so don't expect a Cardin redemption into Cardin/Ruby pairing. Hopefully that vibe isn't felt. (LOLZ!)

Next time... a secret is revealed, leading to a chain of events that will change RWBY for better or worse...

Until then...

Later,

RDF1