A/N

Hey, guys. No XIV here. So, I came up with the idea of this story when I couldn't sleep one night and started to randomly think 'What if Ruby and Cinder switched places?' One thing led to another and ta-da, here's the 1'st chapter. Hope you guys like it. If you do, please leave a review. If you don't, please leave a review, as well. Constructive criticism is always appreciated

The civilians all stayed clear of the path of the group of men wearing red and black. There were quite a number of them and the one leading the pack was someone who was not unknown to the criminal underworld, with his dark blue eyes that showed just how much he's been through over the years and messy blonde hair, he wore a pure black armor with gold lining over a black hoodie with similarly-colored bracers in addition to also sporting a pair of black gloves. With a pair of blue pants on and his trusty weapon, Crocea Mors, sheathed and strapped to his side, he and the group of men walks into a simple small dust shop, Dust Till Dawn. The bystanders inside, sensing the danger that was about to come a mile away, quickly fled the scene, leaving the defenseless old man behind the counter to fend for himself.

"Honestly, buddy.. It sure is hard finding a dust shop that is still open at this hour" Jaune says, arms crossed as he stares at the old man "Oh, where are my manners? Jaune. Jaune Arc. Short, sweet. Rolls of the tongue. Ladies love it" At this point, one of the men then takes out a gun and points it at the old man.

"Please" The old man says, pleading for his life "Just take my lien and leave"

"Shhhh.. Calm down, old timer.. We're not here for the money. Grab the dust" Jaune orders the men, to which they then begin to fill empty containers full of dust. One of the men then places an empty box on the counter "Crystals. Now" The old man, scared for his life, complies. As one of the grunts were preparing to fill another empty container with dust, he notices a girl at the back of the store, reading a comic book. Glaring at the girl, he pulls out a sword.

"Hey! You! Hands in the air" The man shouted but to no avail. Seeing that the girl had headphones one, the man got closer to the girl and grabbed hold of her shoulder, turning her around so she could face him. Surprised, the girl took the headphones out to address the stranger.

"Hmm? Can I help you?" the girl asks, confusion evident in her eyes.

"I said put your hands in the air"

"Are you… robbing me?" The girl asks innocently.

"Yeah, what does it look like I'm doing?!" The man answered, getting more pissed off by the second

"Oh.. Okay"

Back at the front of the shop, Jaune was busy minding his own business and admiring the dust crystals when suddenly, one of his men was sent flying past him and hit the wall behind him, knocking him out. Unfazed by what just happened, he signals for another one of his men to see what was going on. Unfortunately, he met the same fate as his colleague before him, as the moment he pointed the gun at the girl, he was sent flying outside through the store window. Jaune along with the rest of the men, surprised by what just happened, poked their heads out to see who was responsible for all this.

And there, in the middle of the street, stood a girl with ashen-black hair with bright amber eyes wearing a dark-red, off-the-shoulders, v-neck dress with yellow designs while also sporting dark, high-heeled shoes. The girl has a blades in each hand, each the color of silver, broad and has multiple cutting edges. She then turns towards the dust shop with Jaune and the men still inside, confused as to what they're looking at. She then points her blade and them, gesturing them to bring it.

Jaune, looking at the men he had hired, simply sighs "You know, guys, I am literally paying you to deal with stuff like this so, you know, get her". At Jaune's orders, the three remaining grunts then charge at the girl, each one of them a red machete in hand. The girl, clearly not intimidated by this, dodges the first attack and then proceeds to leap at one of them, kicking him in the head and sending him flying to a nearby lamp post. The other two, now more cautious of the girl, then proceed to attack at the same time. The girl smirks at this as she dodges each of their attacks with ease before dispatching one of the men with the blunt edge of her swords before turning her attention to the last one by hitting him with a spinning roundhouse kick, which sends him flying to Jaune's feet, unconscious.

"You guys are worth every cent. Truly, you were" Jaune then focuses his attention on the girl in front of him, her blades still at the ready with police sirens blaring in the background "You know, black, this has been a pleasure and I would stick around but I'm afraid that this is where we part ways" Jaune then proceeds to reach into one of his pockets and takes out a flashbang, a flashbang that explosed the instant Jaune threw it at the girls direction. Blinded by the attack, the girl quickly regains her sights and frantically searches for Jaune only to see him climbing a ladder on the side of a building. Not letting him escape, the girl then quickly rushes towards the building, climbing the ladder before cornering Jaune at the edge of the building.

"Hey!" shouts the girl

"Persistent little brat" Jaune mumbles to himself. At that moment, a Bullhead appears that hovers to a stop in front of the building. Jaune, seizing the opportunity, then jumps on the Bullhead but not before saying his farewells to the girl by throwing a red dust to the girls feet and shooting it, causing a small explosion to occur. "See ya later, you black brat!" However, his celebration was cut short as at the last moment, a Hunter came flying from above and saves the girl from the explosion. The Hunter then proceeds to lift a nearby water tower on the roof of the building and throw it at the escaping Bullhead, causing it a significant amount of damage.

"We got a Hunter out here!" Jaune shouts to the woman piloting the Bullhead, who, in a flash of rose petals, appears in front of the entrance of the Bullhead. As her silver eyes glow with every intent to kill, she takes out her weapon of choice, a scythe, before shooting a powerful Dust-infused round at the two people on the roof of the building. Seeing the attack coming, the Hunter immediately puts himself in harms way by shielding the girl, protecting her from any injuries. Seeing that the two of them were now distracted, Jaune then quickly pilots the Bullhead away from the building.

The girl, still shocked from what just happened, turns towards the Hunter beside her. The man was a large, muscular man with short brown hair, a beard and hazel eyes. He was sporting a two-tone olive green coat over a black sleeve shirt, and a large belt. His pants were black and his boots are brown with white fronts while his hairy arms appear to have some scars near the edges of his sleeves. "You're a Hunter" the girl exclaimed. A few moments of silence follows before the girl speaks again "The way you just swooped in to save me was so cool!"

An hour later

The girl was now sitting on a chair in front of a table in a dark room with the source of light coming from the lamp on the table in front of her, a sullen expression on her face.

"I hope you realize what you've done tonight, young lady, as they will not be taken lightly and will have their consequences" The Hunter says as he paces from one side of the room to another "Other people around you, not to mention yourself, were put in great danger because of your actions tonight."

"But sir, they started it" The girl said, trying to defend herself. Unfortunately for her, it was only met with a glare in return, which caused her to sink into her seat even lower.

"If it were up to me, you would be sent home… with a pat on the back" The last statement caused the girl to have a semblance of hope that everything was going to be okay before the Hunter slammed his hand on the table in front of her "and a slap on the wrist" and that final statement immediately crushed any hopes the girl had about this situation turning out alright. The Hunter then audibly sighs "But… there is someone here who would like to meet you."

Not a moment later, a woman enters. The woman had white skin, like the color of snow, had bright red eyes, her hair was tied up in a huge bun and probably the most distinguishing factor of all was that she had a black diamond-shaped marking in the center of her forehead. She wore a black robe that went down all the way to her feet, covering her footwear. On her right hand was a hot cup of tea, which she immediately set down on the table in front of her and took a seat opposite the girl

"Cinder Fall" The woman said, smiling at the girl in front of her "Hazel here tells me you're quite the skilled fighter. So, tell me, where did you learn to do all this?" The woman asked, pointing at the table Hazel was holding up which was currently replaying the fight Cinder had earlier.

"Um.. Signal.. Academy?" Cinder answered

"They taught you how to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed this effectively?" The woman asked Cinder, not breaking eye contact with her for even a second

"Well, yes.. The teachers there are really great but it was one particular teacher that taught me how to fight like that"

"Hmmm.. It's just that only one woman comes to mind when talking about swords.. A dusty old Raven"

"Mmhmm.. That's Aunt Raven" Cinder answered with a smile, more than familiar of who she was talking about "Well, I say 'Aunt' but really, she's just an old family friend who I've come to consider family. Truthfully speaking, I was complete garbage before she took me under her wing and now, after more than a decade of being her student, I've become quite the skilled fighter, if I do say so myself"

"I can see that.. And what is a young lady like yourself think she's doing at a school that was designed to train warriors?"

"Well, I wish to be a Huntress"

"Is that so?"

"Yes, of course. I've already graduated from Signal and I've already been accepted into Beacon. It's not just me, either. Two of my friends are also going to Beacon this year and with them, I hope to graduate and go out into the world, be a Huntress, and slay monsters. After all, Aunt Raven always did say to help people who are in need and so, I thought, 'Might as well make a career out of it' and so, here I am" Hazel only stared at the girl, perplexed by what she just said while the woman only smiled at Cinder, amused by what she just said

"Do you know who I am?" she asked Cinder

"You're Professor Salem. You're the Headmistress at Beacon. It is very nice to meet you" Cinder answered with a beaming smile

"Hello" Salem replied back with a smile of her own "You wish to study at my school?"

"Yes. That has been a longtime dream of mine" At that answer, Salem then looks at Hazel, who could only let out a long sigh as what the Headmistress was thinking

"Wonderful. Then, I suppose Mr Rainart and I will overlook what happened tonight and allow you to enroll into Beacon"

/

The Next Day, on the Bullhead ride to Beacon

"-cury! Mercury!" the green-haired girl shouted at her friend. The girl had medium-brown skin and dark-red eyes with her hair styled with a straight fringe and bangs, as well as two long locks on each side. She wore an intricate white top and a cropped olive-colored undershirt. She also sports white pants and brown chaps that end at her calves and an overlong belt where her twin pistols are kept in a single pouch "Are you listening to me?!"

The boy she was yelling to, Mercury Black, only sighed and took out his headphones to find out what it was his friend was talking about. Mercury was well-built with gray eyes and hair, which was partially slicked back while unkempt at the front, and he had a slate gray and black two-tone partial-zip jacket that covers his upper body. He also has a sash draped over sing single notched belt and a set of braces protecting his arms. On his legs were black pants and a set of boots that is also his main weapon, being equipped with a firing mechanism built into them.

"What do you want, Em?" Mercury asks, sighing audibly at the girl "Can't you leave me alone for at least a day?"

"I said Cinder's already at Beacon, seeing as she texted me earlier that she had a run in with some criminal last night and Professor Salem, Beacon's Headmistress"

"Yeah, I know that, Em" Mercury answered, picking up his scroll "She texted us both, remember?"

"That's not the point, Mercury. What is she had gotten hurt? I'll never forgive that Jaune Arc for laying a hand on Cinder"

Meanwhile, a monitor across the Bullhead was just relaying the news regarding the incident that Emerald and Mercury were just discussing "The robbery was led by famous criminal, Jaune Arc, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information regarding his whereabouts, please contact the VPD" The screen showed a mugshot of Jaune smiling smugly at the camera. Suddenly, the screen changed to show a hologram of Professor Hazel Rainart.

"Who the heck is this chick?" Mercury asked Emerald

"My name is Hazel Rainart"

"Oh"

"Being here, right now, all of you are among the privileged few who have been selected to received the honor of attending this prestigious academy that is Beacon. Currently, our world is in an unprecedented time of peace and it is your duty as future Hunstmen and Huntresses to maintain that peace. Each and every one of you here has demonstrated the courage needed to perform such a task and therefore, it is now our turn to guide and to nurture you with the knowledge that you require so that you may protect our world"

Emerald, excitement welling up inside her, walked towards the edge of the Bullhead, taking in the magnificent view of Beacon Academy. Mercury also decided to join her and, after seeing the academy up close, was impressed with the view as well.

"Gotta admit, this sight is pretty impressive" Mercury said

"Tell me about it. Not even you can take away this excitement of mine" Emerald replied, still amazed at how huge Beacon is.