It's easy for little things to change. A decision there, an action here. Suddenly, you're left with an entirely different story. There's a different path, a new conclusion. How many lives has a single decision saved?
Look at this scenario; a young man and a young woman stand at the base of a slowly-crumbling tower. It's their school, the place they've called home for almost an entire year. It's where they met, became friends, formed a team. It's where they learned to fight against forces of great power and evil.
But now it's falling apart. The ground is scattered with debris. They've narrowly escaped being killed by a woman with indescribable power - a power that was once only considered a child's fairy tale.
The young man, their team's leader; a boy who wanted to be a hero. So he faked his way in. He's learned humility and bravery. He's also learned that sometimes, the ones who matter most are the ones you see every day.
The young woman; a lady in bronze. A natural fighter, a warrior. She's been shaken recently, so much; first, a man she respected as mentor and leader told her that her destiny was to be different, and that destiny may lead her away from all that she's known. All the friends she's made, all the memories they've shared, may fade away. But it would be for the greater good. She could defeat a great threat to peace. Then, she killed someone. It wasn't on purpose, but it also wasn't a mistake. What she still doesn't know is that someone forced her hand. Schrodinger's decision; her mistake, but someone else's intention.
Her destiny, the one she thought would change her? It's been ripped away, by that woman with power. Now the mentor and the thief fight. And we all know how that ends.
The warrior in bronze and the wannabe hero glance at each other. The thief rockets up an elevator shaft with the intention of bringing a great monster to heel.
This is the pivotal moment. This decision sets everything into motion. On one hand, a death; it brings someone else into their power, sends a team into a spiral of sadness, and leaves the fate of the world bleak. Past this, we cannot see. But it will likely be painful for all audiences.
On the other hand; perhaps no death. Perhaps no sadness. But we cannot be sure. Unfortunately for us, this future is most uncertain. It's never been set into stone. If one doesn't die, will another die in their place? But that's not to say it is bad future. Just... uncertain.
The young woman needs to make a decision, and fast. But how about we tweak that decision just a little bit? We all know what's supposed to happen. Let's see what happens otherwise.
So this time, the young woman doesn't kiss the young man, doesn't say goodbye in her head. She doesn't realize that the upcoming battle is one she can't win. She doesn't push him away, push away her friends and their memories for a destiny she can never have.
Instead, she seizes his hand, and they run together. This time, they do what their mentor told them to do. They act like the children they are, not the heroes they're not (yet).
Of course, this changes a lot of things. A girl, adorned in black and red, doesn't see a battle at the top of the tower, so she makes no move to make it there. Instead, she and a girl in white get distracted by the appearance of the girl in bronze and the boy, the people they went to search for in the first place. As they return to their friends, the girl in black and red glances up at the top of the tower thoughtfully. There will be no emergence of great power for her today.
At the top of that tower, the thief has brought a monster to heel. But this isn't a battle for children to fight, no matter how much the mentor thought the children would be able to.
Instead, the children all come together. They may not be safe, but this time, they're together. The adults prepare to fight. The children are sent away, all together. The girl in black and red and her sister in yellow. The girl in white and the cat-girl. This time, she doesn't run. The monkey-boy and his team. The girl in bronze and the hero wannabe, their team whole and unbroken. All their allies, the people who stood with them, helped them fight. All of them, safe. The next chapter of the story has been rewritten.
But most importantly, the girl in bronze doesn't die this time. She doesn't feel the piercing burn of an arrow through her heart, doesn't fade away into cinders. She's safe. She's alive. She's...
The worst part about stories like this is that they're made up. They're made to take you away from the truth, let you enjoy a world without reality. They're full of what-ifs, has-beens, and could-haves. They only exist in the mind of the imaginer.
Isn't that right, Jaune?
"Jaune? Jaune, wake up!"
A short story I wrote upon seeing the conclusion of RWBY Volume 3. Pyrrha's death was super upsetting, and jokes on Tumblr about who would be the first to write an "Everybody Lives AU" in regards to it sort of inspired me to write something poking fun at that. Please leave a review if you liked it. It's the first RWBY fic I've done, and I might post more in this style if people like it.