'Ello.

This is a contest entry I wrote for a writing server competition. We were given a prompt to choose from and had to make a short story based around it. The prompt I chose was "I realised all at once, my once chance to save the universe, lay inside this bottle." This is what I came up with. Enjoy

They had lost. They had actually lost.

It was funny in a sick way. Growing up, Jaune had never read a story where the good guys didn't win. Even when the going got tough, even when the situation seemed impossible, the heroes would pull something out of their sleeve and save the day. He was raised to believe that evil wasn't supposed to win. And while he wasn't as naive as he was back when he was a kid, a part of him still held dearly to that belief.

Good always triumphs. Evil always fails. Those were the rules.

No amount of training could have prepared them for what came. No fairy tale or song could have given them the hope they desperately needed in this age of darkness. If only he could slip back into those delusions of grandeur and heroics they all had when they were in Beacon. They were all so young back then. So naive. They all aspired to be brave defenders of humanity without truly comprehending the responsibility and horror that came with it.

The horror…

To say Salem's victory had been a bloody one would be an understatement. They had suffered loss after loss against her, to the point where their final battle consisted of a small pocket of resistance. Civilians with no combat training and poorly constructed weapons fought alongside them in a desperate attempt to save what little remained of their world. As for the rest of the living hunters… they knew what was coming. How it would all end.

There was no stirring speech of hope as they charged into the fray. The only hope they had was that the end would be quick. Jaune dared not think about the details. It was no battle - it was a slaughter. It had lasted around six minutes. Not quick enough.

And then it was all over. Jaune hadn't stuck around long enough to hear the last fighter take his final breath. It was hard to hear over the screams of humans and the sickening crunches of gore and bones as the Grimm devoured them. It was only thanks to his healing semblance that he managed to drag himself away from the battlefield and into hiding. He had managed to find himself a dilapidated building to hide in.

This was truly the end. His team was dead. Team RWBY was dead. His family were almost certainly dead. Everyone was dead. Salem's reign was realised, and in her warpath, she brought death and disease to Remnant. The world was a rotting carcass and she and the Grimm were the parasites festering inside it. Nothing was spared. He had nothing left in this world.

Except for a small bottle that he clutched in his hand…

The sky was dark outside. It wasn't night. This was simply how the world was now. Salem had wasted no time shaping the world in her image. Shadows shrouded every corner of the world. A sickening red haze accompanied the darkness, twisting the world into a hellish landscape. The countryside had withered away, the oceans dried up. The land was barren of all life, not just mankind. This was a dead world, wherein the centre of it lay the queen of the defiled.

Jaune turned his head to his only company in this wasteland - a corpse sitting in the corner of the building. The body had been a man with curly red hair and tanned skin. Decay had started to set in though, and his skin was deathly pale and his hair was withering of its scalp. It still maintained its peaceful expression though, ever since the day it had finally succumbed to death.

The man had been Professor Ozpin. Who the man had been before that, Jaune didn't know. When Oscar died, Ozpin's conscious immediately took over this one and made his personality the dominant one. And now this body was dead too. If Ozpin's conscious was still out there, he was gonna have a hard time finding a new host. Jaune doubted there were any humans left alive, and if there were, so what? Humanity was broken. He'd be fighting Salem by himself.

Jaune looked at the bottle in his hand again. He still remembered his last conversation with the professor. It had been the last conversation he had ever since.

[/]

Ozpin was going to die and they both knew it.

The two of them sat a good distance away from each other in the destroyed building that was their new home. Jaune couldn't look away from the blood leaking out of the wound in Ozpin's stomach. It was big and absolutely fatal. No doubt it was painful, though if he had any sense, Ozpin had better not scream. The last thing they needed was the Grimm to rip them to pieces. Luckily for them, he seemed to be keeping it together, although he did occasionally hiss in discomfort.

"I can't heal that," Jaune stated with no sympathy in his voice. His aura was spent, meaning there would be no healing semblance for Ozpin today. He wasn't saying that to taunt the older man, it was simply a fact. Still, there was no reason to try and sound comforting about it.

Ozpin had been around longer than any of them. He was supposed to be the guy with all the answers. He knew what Salem was capable of. He should've better prepared them. Instead, he just had to be all mysterious until it was too late. If there was anyone else to blame for humanity's downfall, it was him. Only reason Jaune wasn't kicking the shit out of him now was because he was honestly too tired to even care anymore.

The professor chuckled lightly and blood spilt from his lips. "I didn't expect you too," he said. "Though even if you could, I understand if you wouldn't want to."

Jaune had nothing to say to that. This time he was able to look away from the wound and stared off into space. Why did it have to be him? He'd rather anyone else to talk to. Ren, Nora, Ruby, hell even Qrow! He'd take Qrow over the immortal manipulator any day. It was just his luck he was gonna spend his final days with Ozpin for company.

Another cough came from Ozpin. This one sounded more violent than the last. "I fear I don't have much time left," the man wheezed.

"Guess not," Jaune grunted. "Maybe you should save your energy."

"I can't imagine what I'd be saving it for. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

"Yeah…"

They were silent again. Without conversation, there was nothing to hear except the occasional growls of Grimm and rubble collapsing to the ground. It was almost peaceful in a nightmarish way.

Ozpin was the one to break the silence. The old man always found a way to say something, even with a hole in him. "Tell me, Mr Arc," he said softly. "Do you still believe humanity has a chance?"

Jaune said nothing. His expression hardened as he looked out over the horizon.

"Hmm, I didn't think so," Ozpin muttered. He sounded disappointed. Too bad for him. "Well, I do. I have always believed we've stood a chance, even after thousands of years. That hasn't changed now."

"That's just your injury talking," Jaune sniffed. "Take a nap or something. You're getting delirious."

He saw Ozpin shudder out of the corner of his eye. "I don't want to close my eyes just yet," he whispered. "If I do, I don't think I'll open them again."

"Then stay awake. Just stop talking."

Jaune had had enough. He didn't want anymore talks about hope. Hope was a dangerous thing. It made them all do stupid things, like believe they could take on someone like Salem when they should've run for the stars, or wherever she couldn't reach them. People like Ozpin spewed out words of inspiration, and it brought them nothing but ruin.

God, he was so tired. If the Grimm didn't get to him first, starvation and dehydration would. Every day he debated which would be a less painful way to go. Survival was out of the question. He had mere days left to live. Ozpin had minutes.

"I don't want to be your enemy, Mr Arc," Ozpin said. "I'd rather my final moments be with an ally. Like it or not, we're all we have left."

A pause rang in the air. "You're not my enemy," Jaune eventually said. "I just don't like you."

Ozpin chuckled again," I can handle that." His laughter stopped when he had to hack up another bile of blood. It wouldn't be long now. "As your ally then," Ozpin breathed when he stopped coughing, "might you lend me your ear one last time?"

Jaune would rather keep it to himself if he was being honest. He cast a look at the dying man. How could someone so ancient and powerful look so weak? If Ozpin was down for the count, there really was no hope left. It was curious - what final words did a dying god have to say?

"I'm listening," Jaune muttered.

"Thank you," Ozpin said sincerely. "As I said, I have always believed we have a chance to stop this, even now. Believe it or not, I had planned for something like this. A plan b, if you will. I never thought I'd have to use it though."

"Please don't use your last breath to waste my time," Jaune groaned. Whatever plan Ozpin had up his sleeve would be useless now. The damage was already done. Plans were pointless.

"Let me cut to the chase then." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle with a colourless, yet sparkly liquid inside of it. Ozpin stared at the bottle fondly with a sad smile on his face. "It was a long time ago," he whispered. "If things were to ever get this bad, I realised all at once, my one chance to save the universe, lay inside this bottle."

The liquid was like nothing Jaune had ever seen before. It certainly wasn't anything normal. It carried a strange presence about it that had Jaune on edge. Was this to be their final drink? If it was, there was gonna be trouble. From the size of the bottle, there was barely enough for one person. Even then, the thing didn't look safe for human consumption.

"What is that?" Jaune asked.

"My failsafe. My last trick," Ozpin answered. "If humanity was ever to find itself on the brink of destruction, I knew I had to find a way to overcome it. So I poured out the last of my magic into this bottle here. It is easily the riskiest thing I have ever done with my power, but it is our last hope."

"Why? What does it do?"

In the shadows, Jaune saw Ozpin's hazy eyes twinkle for just a moment. "Whoever drinks this shall be taken back in time. I don't know by how many years, but it'll be long before this. It will give humanity another chance to survive! To overcome this apocalypse!"

Jaune's eyes narrowed at the bottle. For a moment, his heart threatened to quicken in astonishment before he brought it back down to reasonable levels again. He kept his breathing slow and steady as he processed what Ozpin has said.

"Time travel?" he said slowly. "That thing will make someone time travel?"

Ozpin nodded. "I kept this a secret from everyone, even my closest allies. No one could know about it in case there was a spy among us. Make no mistake, Mr Arc, this is intended to be used as a last resort. This is the last of the Wizard's power - my power. I would not bring this up if our situation wasn't so dire."

Ozpin was a lot of things, but crazy wasn't one of them. That didn't sound like bloodloss talking either. He would've doubted the man if he hadn't seen examples of his magic before. He didn't know what he was capable of, but he kept his mind open to pretty much everything. Still, time travel… it was like something out of a sci-fi film.

"So what's the holdup?" Jaune shrugged. "If that thing does what it does, why not just drink it now? Hell, why didn't you do that months before all of this?" He waved his hands to the destruction around him.

"I was waiting for the right opportunity," Ozpin sighed. "As I said, it's supposed to be a last resort. And all magic has a price." He shook the bottle gently and watched the liquid inside swirl. "This will indeed send someone back in time, but a cost. Whoever drinks this will also forget something in the process. That's the price of such powerful magic."

Of course it was. Why should things start being simple now?

"Forget what?"

"I don't know," Ozpin admitted. "It could be something simple, like your hair colour for instance. All I know is that the user will forget something. Understand, I've never performed a spell of this magnitude before. I've never had to. Its side effects are unknown to me."

His fingers started to loosen and he nearly dropped his grip on the bottle. Jaune quickly rushed in to snatch it up before it hit the ground. Meanwhile, Ozpin leaned closer into the wall trying to get his body under control. His breathing came out as ragged gasps. Jaune let him recover as he inspected the bottle.

It was even smaller than he realised. Definitely only enough for one person. He could feel a strange pulsing sensation in his hand as the bottle throbbed with power. A feeling of awe filled him as he looked at it. This was the Wizard's power? It was so small, and yet it felt like he was holding the entire universe in his hand. It almost made him forget about the carnage around him.

"Are you sure this will work?" Jaune murmured.

"I know it will," Ozpin muttered. "The Wizard's power… is… unquestionable…"

"So how do you want this to work? You want me to feed it to you? Think you can hold it in your own hand?"

For once, Ozpin didn't say anything. That was his first sign that something was wrong.

"Ozpin?"

Jaune turned around and saw the man slumped in the corner. The light in his eyes was gone. He couldn't hear him breathe anymore, nor see his chest rising.

"Damn it…"

[/]

In a way, it was fitting. Ozpin always did like to dump responsibility onto other people. He forced Pyrrha to become the Fall Maiden, he forced Oscar to carry him to Mistral. The old bastard probably timed his death so that Jaune would get the potion. A meddler to the end.

Jaune walked through the desolate streets. Everything ached. Starvation and dehydration did that to a person. He hadn't had a chance to see his reflection, but he guessed he probably looked like a corpse. His strength was waning. He had to abandon his armour and weapon because they were getting too heavy to handle. He was left with nothing but the shirt on his back and the bottle.

The Grimm would find him if he remained exposed like this. When they did, he would accept what would happen next. It's not like he could fight them off. He wasn't a hunter anymore. Just a boy trying to survive in a world that had no room for humans anymore. The clock was ticking for him though. Soon he'd be joining Ozpin along with the rest of humanity.

Was there something waiting for him on the other side? Would he get to see everyone again? His friends? His team? His family?

Pyrrha…?

His legs felt weak all of a sudden. He must have been walking for miles without realising. They gave way under him and he collapsed onto the ruined road. The hard, broken tarmac felt so comfy under his head. He could go to sleep right now. His eyelids were so heavy. Maybe he'd get lucky and the Grimm would eat him in his slumber. And then, he'd finally have peace…

Somehow, his hand found the bottle again.

His eyes drifted towards it. Ozpin's failsafe and he had entrusted it with him. He couldn't have picked a worse guy for the job. This was apparently the thing that could rewrite the wrongs of the future, but at the cost of forgetting something - whatever that might be.

He had been excited the first time he saw it. The first glimmer of hope in a world without any. Now though, a few days after Ozpin's death, he wondered what to do with it. He was hoping Ozpin would drink it. It was his plan, his magic. Even if it was a risky spell, he understood it better than Jaune. Plus, he had the resolve to carry on fighting and believe in the future of humanity.

Jaune… Jaune was tired. Even if he did go back, did he really want to keep fighting? He had seen too much. His spirits had been crushed a long time ago. Did he really have the strength to go back and be the one to fix everything knowing what he knew? He didn't think so. He hadn't been alive for nearly as long as Ozpin to deal with this kind of trauma.

He craned his head up slightly. He recognised this street. He and his team always walked down it to go to their favourite ice cream store. He would order chocolate, Ren would order mint, Pyrrha got some fancy Mistralian version of strawberry, and Nora would always insist on pancake flavour before settling for mint too. They went there too often to count.

A few blocks down was the arcade where they and Team RWBY went to. He always played the fighting games with Ruby, and even won a few games against her on rare occasions. That was the only time he had ever beaten her in a fight. It was a great way to kill some time after classes. Even Weiss swallowed her pride and played a few of them.

So many memories of happier times. There were too many to remember them all, but he never forgot the feeling of joy he felt when being with his friends. They were more like family, really. But they were gone now. Everyone was gone. It was only a matter of time until he followed them.

His eyes drifted back to the bottle clutched idly in his hand…

He missed them. A part of him died every time he saw one of them meet their end. They had all gone down like warriors, as expected of being a hunter. The world was shrouded in darkness, but to him, it only started getting dark when they were getting picked off one by one. He'd trade anything in the world to see them one last time.

One last time…

The liquid sparkled enticingly inside the bottle. It was very tempting. He didn't want to live in a world without them. He was quite ready to die on this broken road. But to be able to go back and see them again… perhaps even save them…

His fingers undid the cork on the bottle. There it was, the key to his salvation in his hand. Jaune wasn't a fighter. Not anymore. But if it meant protecting all that he cared about, all those he loved, he would risk it all. And this time he would get it right. No one else was going to die. He was gonna make things right!

And then he remembered Ozpin's warning. If he drank this, he would forget something. The price of magic or some other garbage like that. That was a risk. What if he forgot something important, like how to breathe? He'd show up and be dead before he made any progress. Damn that old fart. Thousands of years hadn't been enough for him to understand his power. What a load of crap.

He heard the sound of growls and bounding footsteps in the distance. The Grimm were coming.

He was running out of time. The idea of forgetting something was unpleasant, but it was a risk he was gonna have to take. If he thought about it any longer, the Grimm would tear him apart. Then he'd truly lose his chance of seeing them again. He couldn't allow that. It was time for him to remember what brought him here in the first place - the dream of being a hero.

"Bottoms up," he muttered, bringing the bottle to his lips and drinking the magical liquid. His last thought before the world went hazy was the hope that it wouldn't send him back by too long.

[/]

"Bwhuh?"

Jaune awoke with a sudden lurch and nearly fell off his bed. He blinked away his sleepiness and everything became clear again. He was in his team's dorm room. No surprise there, though for some reason it felt strange to be there.

Pyrrha was already awake as always and looked guilty upon seeing him. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry, Jaune," she winced. "I hope I didn't wake you."

"No, no, it's fine," he groaned, still a little groggy. He was never a morning person. Even still, there was something weird going on. It felt like there was something nagging at him in the back of his mind. Normally, the only nagging in the mornings he got was from his mom telling him to wake up.

This was different though, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

"Are you okay, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked. "You look confused."

"Hmm, yeah, I'm alright," he muttered. "I dunno, I just feel a bit weird."

"Weird? You're not feeling ill are you?"

Classic Pyrrha. Always so quick to worry. "No, nothing like that," he chuckled. "I just feel weird. Like… like I'm missing something."

"Missing something?"

"Yeah… I dunno, it's weird."

"You probably didn't sleep well last night," Pyrrha said. "Did you have a bad dream?"

A bad dream? No, he didn't think so. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember what he dreamed of last night. His mind was always sending him into weird dreamlands every time he went to bed. It was probably a result of watching too much TV as a kid. For once, he felt like he had gone to bed completely blank.

"If I did, I don't remember it," he murmured. He stretched his arms and yawned. "Well whatever it is, it doesn't matter now. I'm sure it'll come to me eventually. Just feels really weird is all."

"I understand," Pyrrha smiled. "I sometimes get mornings like that. Usually during a day when we've got a test and I feel like I'm unprepared for it. I wouldn't worry about it."

"I guess," he shrugged. He looked over to the rest of his sleeping teammates. "Anyway, do you wanna be the one to try and wake Ren or am I gonna do it?"

Pyrrha smirked. "I won the coin toss. You're waking him up this time."

"Sure, give me all the hard work," he groaned, earning a laugh from Pyrrha. Eventually, they all woke up and got ready for another day of classes. They'd probably end it with a trip to the ice cream store. It was practically routine for them at this point.

Throughout the day, he still couldn't shake that annoying feeling that he was forgetting something. It nagged and nagged him, even when he was eating! That was, like, his favourite moment to turn off his brain, and it still wouldn't leave him alone! It wasn't the worst thing he had ever felt in his life, but it was one of the most frustrating, especially because he couldn't think of what it could be.

Ah well, he would probably feel fine the next day. After all, if he couldn't remember it, then it probably wasn't important.

October is upon us. Let's spook things up a little.