Chapter 1: Can She Be Saved?
"Mr Arc… you seem distressed." The voice of Headmaster Ozpin, a man who had died, coming from the body of a young boy, disturbed Jaune Arc to no end, but he grit his teeth and clenched his fists.
"Ozpin… Your 'magic'... you made Ruby's uncle able to turn into a bird…" That was of course, as far as Ozpin had told them, but the blonde, unlike many of his compatriots, was more than willing to believe that wasn't simply it. There was more, so much more.
"Yes? As of late it has been fading, but my powers have done some fascinating things. Do you have a question Mr Arc?"
"Yeah, yeah I do…" Shaking like a leaf, he finally decided to ask it. "What about… Death?"
"...This is about Miss Nikos, is it not?" Ozpin asked, which finally made him lash out quite a bit.
"You think? Of COURSE it's about Pyrrha! There… there has to be a way to bring her back, right? Somehow?" The blonde struggled to keep his tears suppressed. His mourning over Pyrrha still so powerful that Jaune had nearly been killed by the Fall Maiden Cinder during the Battle of Haven just a few days ago.
"Mr Arc. Even if I could somehow manipulate the world in such a way… truly the dead should be left to rest. Don't you agree? The desperate act of necromancy, of bringing back the dead, can only lead to further pain and loss." Something about that concept seemed to disturb Ozpin, but Jaune pressed on.
"Then help me go back so I can save her!" He all but yelled, unable to stop the flow of tears now. "She died fighting someone that had killed YOU, but here you are!"
"Jaune? What's… going on?" Ruby asked, having been torn away from the reunion of Team RWBY by the sounds of her distressed friend, and partner in Team RNJR. "Why are you yelling at Oscar?"
"Ozpin." Jaune corrected, unable to help the spite in his voice before his gaze softened on Ruby. "I'm… sorry Ruby, but he needs to answer for… for…" His arm went to the long red sash around his waist. Like his armor, like Crocea Mors… something to selfishly keep Pyrrha with him even after she's been gone.
"I know, but…" Ruby reached out to place a hand on his shoulder, but Jaune just shook his head and gave his counterpart team leader a shaky grin, clearly fake like the ones he had given when Cardin was bullying him.
"No… there's no defending him…" Now he turned back to Oscar's body, eyes twinkling with millenia of experience. "I don't know how long you were in Ozpin's body… but I highly doubt this is your first time doing something like this… Why do you get to cheat Death? Why not Her?"
"I believe that to be my curse Mr Arc… rather than a situation simply anyone can get into... And to answer your previous question, while my power's are great, sending someone back in time is beyond me. Even then, the consequences would be severe."
"It's not beyond you though… especially with my help… With my Semblance… I could make you stronger right? Strong enough to… do this?"
"Jaune… you want to be… sent back in time? But… if that even works… what'll happen?" Ruby asked, blinking as she tried to process whatever was going on.
"Mr Arc, Ms Rose… Even if I were to try such a thing, this is not something one should do without thought. I am not sure what the consequences of such a thing would be. Would our timeline cease? Would you be lost through time? Would we split into different worlds?"
"Every day since the Fall I've thought about something like this Ozpin… every day without Pyrrha… don't give me those damn lies…" He took a deep breath. "The moment my Semblance unlocked, that I saved Weiss… I knew I could have saved Pyrrha if she had let me come with her to fight Cinder, I could have helped her beat Cinder!" His shoulders quaked, and this time he didn't push Ruby aside as she pat his arm comfortingly.
"Jaune… you don't know that…"
"No, I do… Cinder wouldn't have even thought twice of me being there, just knocking me back if I get close and focusing on fighting Pyrrha… I could have made her stronger… I could have saved her life…"
"Mr Arc, do not obsess over the things that could have been." Ozpin again tried to explain, but it was clear to him that Jaune refused to accept his words. Understandable, given the many half-truths that he'd kept from teams RWBY and JN-R. "Ms Nikos made her choice, just as she did within the Vault. You were there."
"Don't tell me she had a choice!" Jaune scowled even more with venom at the Old Man of myth and legend, reincarnated from a shady headmaster to possess an innocent enough farmboy. "You knew what she'd say… From the moment you told her about the Maidens and that Aura… Transfer thing you knew she'd agree… you just wanted to cover your ass with plausible deniability!"
"Mr Arc… I know her death haunts you, but there is nothing that can be done."
"But how do you know that? Have you actually tried to go back in time? Or bring someone back? Especially so few months ago?" He shook in place and Jaune saw Ozpin look down as if recalling something awful in his past.
"Don't… Mr Arc… I have more than enough regrets to last hundreds of lifetimes, if I could erase them, even some, I certainly would… but it is beyond even my powers."
"A Semblance like mine… have you ever seen anything like it? Have you ever seen if it would boost your own Magic as well as Oscar's Aura?"
The distinction between Oscar and Ozpin was something that Jaune emphasized, despite his severe case of distrust towards Ozpin, he tried his best not to blame the younger man.
"I don't believe I've ever attempted such… but the risk that it opens you up to, messing with time…"
"I don't care. I… don't care…" Jaune looked down again. "If I can do this… I could try and save her, maybe stop the Fall of Beacon…" He wiped a tear from his eye. "Please… let me try Ozpin… I refuse to let this go…"
He sighed deeply, and felt a strong craving for his favorite blend of coffee from Beacon. "Mr. Arc… I cannot recommend this path to you, nor can I guarantee the success. If this is even possible… I am not sure what would occur."
"Ozpin… I can't live knowing that I could try something, use all my power… that I could try and save her, everyone that died during the Fall." Jaune wasn't going to deny this, he was totally biased towards saving Pyrrha over all others, some White Knight he was, but somehow he didn't care. "My Semblance… if I had it unlocked sooner, I could have helped Pyrrha beat Cinder… She could have killed her."
Ozpin closed his eyes and breathed in. "With the power of your Semblance… It may allow me to try this… unprecedented situation."
"Don't lie to my face." Jaune shook his head but held out his hands to start using his Aura to fuel Oscar's Aura and hopefully Ozpin's magic. "If people knew what you could do… I wouldn't be the only one to ask."
"If this works at all Mr Arc…" Ozpin warned as power began to build, Ruby letting out a startled gasp as she realized it was already happening. "I cannot guarantee where you would end up, if you would take over your original body… anything of the sort…"
"I know…" Jaune looked over to Ruby as light filled his eyes, a tearful smile as he realized he would be joining Pyrrha soon, either in death or back in Beacon. "Take care of Ren and Nora, no matter what happens?"
"I-I will Jaune…"
And then, the world faded away into a blinding aura of light...