Jaune opens his eyes to a bright flash of light. The world blurs and folds in on itself before he can feel his bones buckling as if they were being compressed. Then, fresh air fills his lungs as everything returns to normal.

So, that's what it felt like to have your aura unlocked. To his surprise, Pyrrha's not in front of him, despite her just having been there. When he looks around he quickly comes to realize he doesn't know where he is.

He's standing in the middle of a garden on a large stone platform, large walls surrounding the beautiful site. In front of him just off the platform is a man and woman, each dressed fancifully. Not too far behind them is a large wooden door that leads into a massive castle, easily dwarfing the entirety of Beacon. Jaune's jaw drops at the sight. This looked like it from those comics from Mistral! Like some kind of fantasy castle from a video game!

A woman speaking to him catches his attention. He can't understand her, though she's obviously saying something. She's pretty, gorgeous even, her brown hair falling to her back. She motions for the well-dressed man standing beside her to do something.

The man moves forward, his green eyes piercing Jaune's soul. Placing his hand on Jaune's shoulder, the old man effortlessly guides Jaune off the platform. It's not hard, given how strong he is and how Jaune barely reaches his chest.

As soon as he's off the platform, a small screen pops up in front of his face, causing him to lurch backwards.

"Would you like a tutorial?"

Yes or No

A tutorial? The word makes Jaune frown. That implied this was some sort of game. Where was he? Had they discovered his transcripts, and this was some sort of elaborate prank as punishment?

He presses yes before the man or woman can do anything to stop him, not that they seemed to see it. The screen fades away only for another text box to pop up, glowing a faint yellow that pulses every few seconds.

"Greetings, (Insert Name Here)! I am (Insert Name Here), your guide to this new experience! You seem to have encountered a translation error; would you like to reboot to fix the issue(s) in the system?"

Yes or No

Not seeing a reason to refuse, Jaune clicks yes. He waits for a moment as a whirring sound fills his mind.

"Would you like to turn on voice commands?"

Yes or No

Jaune clicks yes again, the whirring noise continues.

"Please introduce yourself." The voice requested.

"Uh, hi. I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc. Can you tell me what's going on?" Best to be polite in such a situation, especially if this is some kind of prank. He'd rather not risk getting in even more trouble.

"Certainly. Apologies, Jaune Arc, but you appear to ERROR. Please wait one moment. Obtaining data."

Jaune takes this moment to look away from the screen and towards the people that had tried to talk with. He does a double take. From his perspective, they're absolutely still, frozen in place. The world has a strange hue and the distance between the things seem slightly off, as if he were staring through a window. He could tell the screen was there, but he could also see through it.

Jaune waves a hand in front of the man's face. No reaction. How creepy. He gulps as he tries to remember the advice his grandfather had given him for if he got lost. He was supposed to stay still as soon as he realized he was lost and wait for help. The issue was he had no idea where he was, or even how he got here. He doubted anyone else knew what had happened either.

The advice didn't seem suitable for this situation. It was unthinkable being suddenly transported to somewhere without having a clue that it's happening.

He was alone in this place with only the frozen world as comfort. Jaune looks around, staring at the world that was almost empty, silence echoing around him. The color change is strange, though not necessarily frightening.

The biggest thing he noticed is the sword the man has. It looks like a katana but it's far smaller than what he'd expected, barely the size of Crocea Mors. Maybe it's just Jaune being misinformed, but he'd always thought katanas were supposed to be longer.

The memory of his family's blade causes him to instinctively panic when he realizes he isn't holding it. He spins around, sighing in relief when he sees it on the platform. Walking up the platform allows him a much better view. The castle seems less intimidating from higher up.

"Reboot complete. System parameters set. Automatic Translation: Online. Skill Tree: Online. Inventory: Locked. Stats: Online. Unique Skills: ERROR." The voice spoke too quickly for Jaune to catch everything.

"I'm sorry, could you say that again?"

"Tutorial completed. Returning user to original location. ERROR. Soul is rooted to the body. Forced Respawn required."

"Huh?"

Jaune isn't given an option to react. His aura surges, forcing his back to arch, sending a sharp pain shooting up his spine shortly followed by a loud crack from his neck. Darkness coats his vision, and he is suddenly standing atop the platform again. He gasped in shock, feeling weightless before quickly regaining his balance.

"Forced respawn successful."

Jaune staggers backward. Crocea Mors drops from his hand.

"What was that?" he asked himself.

"Hello, Hero," The woman curtsies, not having heard him. "I am Princess Anastasia, heir to the Lindian throne. You have my thanks for answering the call."

"Excuse me?" Jaune asked.

His back and neck were snapped. There was no doubt in his mind. But he was here and still able to walk? Was he going crazy? But despite the panicked thoughts running his head, he felt calm. Unusually calm, as if an outside force were responsible. Had it just been some sort of hallucination?

At least he could actually understand the woman now, the words not sounding like complete gibberish. So, that screen actually let him understand another. That was interesting, extremely interesting. Something important to take note of.

"You appear confused. Did the summoning exhaust you? I apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused you."

Their eyes meet. Jaune can't help but notice how pretty her eyes are. A deep shade of blue that matches her dress. Not as pretty as Weiss', but close.

"Um, no it's fine. Would you mind telling me where I am?" Jaune asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Of course," She spreads her arms. "This is the royal castle of Linde, home of myself and my father."

Jaune pauses to take what she said into account. Remnant hadn't had a monarchy since the Great War as far as he was aware. While he wasn't the best at history, he knew that much. And the woman had said he was summoned. He'd read a comic like this once.

The main character had been summoned to another world to slay an evil wizard. In the end, he saved the day, got married, and lived happily ever after.

"You summoned me, miss…" Jaune trailed off. He still had no idea what her name was.

"How rude of me, not fully introducing myself," she bows. "My name is Anastasia Tresburrow, and this is my bodyguard, Vincent Ciluo."

The man nods his head in greeting. Yeah, he was super buff. Enough so that he could snap Jaune like a candy bar. So, Jaune was going to be smart and do his best to not make him angry.

"Well, it's great to know who you are, but I still don't know what's going on." Jaune said, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"You have been summoned to act as the savior of this world," Vincent spoke, his voice deep and gravelly.

Jaune couldn't deny feeling intimidated by the old man. The way he carried himself marked him as a powerful warrior. And he was very, very big. Jaune cleared his throat in an attempt to make himself sound more mature. It doesn't make much of a difference.

"I'd like to make sure I understand this situation correctly. You summoned me, a random guy without any huntsman training, to another world to save all of you?"

"Indeed, though I don't know what a huntsman is. Your soul is more powerful than anyone else's in our world. That power is needed to save us."

Jaune couldn't stop the smile coming from his face. He may not become a huntsman this way, but he would be able to make his dream of being a hero come true.

But his family, everyone he left behind… No, it wouldn't do any good to worry about that now. Not when there were people who needed him to become a hero. His dad did say all he needed was confidence. Time to use the Arc charm.

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc," Jaune grinned. "How do I help?"

Vincent was currently showing Jaune how to hold a sword properly. Well, that's what he said he was doing, but in reality he was just smacking Jaune around.

For every swing Jaune attempted, Vincent landed three blows against Jaune. If he ever saw Pyrrha again, he needed to thank her for telling him aura was a forcefield. He'd been able to figure out to use it from that bit of information. Jaune's aura was keeping him from being too injured, but it was painful. Vincent moved too fast for him to always raise it on time. There were definitely going to be bruises by the end of this.

After a few solid hours of losing to Vincent, the training is called off. Jaune lets himself crumple to the floor, exhausted and sore. After his aura ran out (which he should have realized there was a limit. Otherwise, the Grimm wouldn't be a problem), Vincent had made him keep sparring to increase his stamina. He hadn't used his shield in the training and focus purely on swordplay. To help him learn quicker he had to just focus on one. That's how that worked, right?

"You didn't hit me once," Vincent said. Something in his tone made Jaune shiver.

"I told you I'd never been taught how to use a sword," Jaune complained.

That was the whole point of the training, an attempt to see if Jaune had any hidden skill. He didn't. Though, he hadn't used his shield yet, for how little difference it would make.

"So, you did," Vincent mused, not caring of his attitude. "The way you were dressed confused me as to why you wore so little armor. Since your soul protects you, I guess it makes sense you wouldn't need any. I should've figured that from the stories."

The way everyone spoke about aura unsettled Jaune. They spoke of it as if it were some mystical power. Jaune had too, at first, until he realized every huntsman would have aura. The feats they performed required they did. So, it wasn't as special as he'd first thought. If only it would have given him a special power.

"The ritual will be ready soon. A few hours at most," Vincent muttered to himself.

"What ritual?" Jaune asked in concern.

Vincent freezes. "You're not strong enough. The ritual we have planned will make you stronger. Anyway, I'll take you to your room now."

He ends the conversation and begins walking inside the castle before Jaune can ask any questions. Jaune scrambles to his feet to follow. He ignores the feeling that he wasn't being told something, the thought bouncing aimlessly in the back of his mind.

The inside of the castle is even more amazing than its outside. A lush red carpet covers the floor, chandeliers line the ceiling one after another. While it was beautiful, Jaune can't help but think it's a bit much. Nothing in Ansel had been this over the top, neither had Beacon.

Jaune follows Vincent until they arrive at a door. A symbol is at the center, not that Jaune has any idea what it means. Vincent opens the door, revealing a fanciful room. It's bigger than his kitchen back home!

The bed and windows are huge. Jaune had never been forced to share a room with his siblings, but no one in his family had a lot of space. This was an upgrade he could get behind.

"I suggest you go to sleep," Vincent said. "You'll be busy tomorrow."

It was still pretty early, but if tomorrow was going to anything like today, he'd need the extra sleep.

"Okay, see you-" Vincent left before Jaune could finish. "-Tomorrow."

He sighs and lays down for a few minutes. Maybe he should try and find out more about the weird tutorial he got early. His stomach grumbles to remind him of the fact that he hadn't eaten since he got here.

It would be rude since he was a guest, but maybe he could look for a kitchen. He hadn't seen any modern appliances, but maybe it had stoves and stuff. Whipping up a good meal would help him relax, too.

With his mind set, Jaune left the room. He walks through the extravagant halls, wandering in search of something to eat. If they got mad, he'd apologize. But they should be happy to have him taking care of himself.

He was a hero, after all.

There are several rooms he finds instead of the kitchen. Guest rooms, several bathrooms bigger than his room at home, a dining room that he's confident can fit well over a hundred people, a wine cellar, and even a ball room. The castle had looked big from the outside, but it wasn't until now that he realized how big it was.

Seriously, if all rich people lived like this it would make sense they would be jerks. It wasn't as if he'd know; Ansel was a place where everyone was relatively as wealthy to their neighbors. Despite Ansel being protected by retired huntsmen, there was always the risk of being overrun by Grimm. No point in caring for unnecessary valuables if they would be left behind in an emergency.

The world would probably be a better place if everyone thought like that.

Finally, after several long minutes of searching, Jaune finds the kitchen. Opening the door reveals several people in maid outfits. Mind going blank, all he can do is stare.

Maid outfits? Seriously? This world really was a fantasy. Unfortunately, he didn't have time for pretty girls right now. He had to save the world first… From whatever they summoned him to save them for.

Now that he thought about it, they hadn't told him what he was supposed to do to save them. Huh. They must have forgot.

"Hello," Jaune waved with the biggest grin he could muster. A hero needed to be polite and friendly. That's how they were in most comics.

"Who are you?" a maid stopped what she was doing, tensing at his appearance. Her grey hair was set into a bun, brown eyes staring through him. "How did you get in the castle?"

"Huh? My name's Jaune, I was sum-"

"He was invited by the princess!" a high-pitched voice said. "I saw it through the window."

The girl who spoke was a Faunus. Jaune's experience with them was limited, but even he was capable of recognizing what the cat ears meant. Her hair was a mousy brown, whatever wasn't messily tied into a bun with her bow flowing to the nape of her neck.

If Jaune had to guess, she was around ten years old. If she were any older she'd be very small for her age. The girl's eyes darted around nervously, her fiddling with her bow.

"Marilyn, are you sure? And what have I told you about taking care of your appearance?" the maid began fixing Marilyn's hair. The whole time, Jaune could feel her gaze drilling holes into him from the corner of her eye.

"My hair is fine, Mrs. Dyster," Marilyn complained cutely, reminding Jaune of his sisters. "And I really saw the princess invite him in. Sir Vincent was there too."

Since he didn't know what it looked like when he was summoned, he couldn't describe how it looked. But something about Marilyn's answer felt off. It was a lie of omission. She didn't seem to be malicious towards Jaune, if anything he sensed she was trying to help him. From what, he didn't know.

"If you say so, I'll believe you," Mrs. Dyster said, turning to Jaune and bowing. "I apologize. I never would've been so hostile had I known you weren't an intruder."

"No, it's alright," Jaune laughed awkwardly, only just noticing the fact that there had been bloodlust being directly towards him. How had he been dumb enough to not notice? "I would've been surprised too. I thought people knew I was here. My bad."

"They wouldn't have told us without a reason," she bowed again. "Please, call me Clara."

"Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."

"Now, what brought you here? You should've had someone to show you around."

"Vincent showed me to my room, but then he left. I was hungry, so I explored until I found here. Can I make something?"

"No!" Clara flushed slightly at her outburst and cleared her throat. "No, you're a guest. It wouldn't do for us to not take care of that. Marilyn, take him to his room and then come back. I'll have something made up by then."

"Wait, are you sure I can't make something myself? I wouldn't mind."

"No, as a guest it would be wrong for you to do so."

"Come on Mr. Jaune. Do you remember which room you were in?"

Jaune shrugged as they try to retrace Jaune's steps, but don't have much luck. So, while they search they make small talk.

"You're really a hero?"

"Well, I'm going to be. That's what they summoned me for. Actually, why did you say they invited me?"

"I wasn't sure what I saw. There was a flash of light, some smoke, then there you were. No one was fighting, so I knew you weren't a bad guy."

A child's logic, but not inaccurate. If it were Jaune in her position he would've said nothing. What did that say about himself?

"Well, I told you a bit about myself, so what about you?"

"Huh? There's nothing interesting about me. I'm just a maid that works here."

"How'd you start working here? The story behind that is probably interesting."

"My parents died, and I needed money. Princess Anastasia hired me from the slums."

Jaune cringed and mentally cursed himself. Of course, it was something like that. Why else would a kid be working? He should've thought about that. Stupid brain not working on picking up context.

After a few minutes of searching, Jaune manages to find his room. Marilyn is confused about the room he's in, claiming it's only used for temporary guests. What the difference is, Jaune doesn't have a clue. Not that it matters.

Once he's alone again, Jaune flops onto the bed. Exhaustion catches up with him, making him relish in the warm glow of his aura. It's comfortable and relaxing like a hug from his mom.

With nothing else to do, he closes his eyes and goes to sleep. When he wakes up, he'll try to find out about the weird power he'd used earlier.

Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

A knock on the door wakes him. The sun's gone down by now, nothing left but the faint glow of twilight. After he confirmed he was inside, Marilyn came in with food while Jaune rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes.

It was impressive, holding a plate in one hand that held a bowl of soup and a glass of water and carrying clothes on her other arm. Jaune would trip and drop everything if he tried to do that.

"Here's your food, Sir."

"Oh, thanks," Jaune walked over and took the plate from her. "Just call me Jaune by the way."

"That would be improper, Sir," she said. Odd, since she had no problems calling him by his name earlier. Someone must have reprimanded her for it. He'd ask about it later.

"So, what's in the soup? I haven't been here long, so I don't know the ingredients of things around here." Jaune grinned, trying to start up a conversation.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know, sir." Marilyn's response is curt, but it contains a hint of friendliness. It's counterbalanced by her eyes darting around the room, her discomfort obvious.

"That's alright," he takes a bite. "No idea what this taste is, but it's good."

Marilyn pauses, her mouth twisting as if she wanted to say something. Jaune quickly scarfs down the food.

"You don't have to do it, Jaune. You don't need to help the Princess." Marilyn said hesitantly.

Jaune swallows. "Sure, I do. People need help, don't they?"

Marilyn squints at him in confusion. "You don't' know what I'm talking about, do you?"

Jaune takes a drink of the water. He's starting to feel really tired, his muscles slackening as his exhaustion returns.

"No, not really. I just want to help people."

He goes to take another drink, only to drop it. The water spills on the floor. He tries to apologize, but all he can manage is blabbering incomprehensibly. He loses the strength to remain sitting and slumps to his side.

Marilyn panics and tries to help him up. Jaune's tongue feels thick in his mouth, as if it were swollen. Raspy breaths escape his mouth, no words able to be spoken by him.

"Jaune, you can get away if you get to the slums!" Marilyn is desperately trying to keep him awake.

"There's no need for that," Vincent's voice catches Jaune's attention as he enters. "Leave, Marilyn. Your job is done."

Vincent throws Jaune over his shoulder. He carries Jaune throughout the halls, going deeper and deeper underneath the castle. They are far beneath the castle before they stop. Jaune's vision is blurred, but he can make out people dressed in robes, a few knights, and Anastasia all surrounding a circle engraved with symbols.

It's dark here, barely illuminated by the torches. A dull panic courses through him, but it does nothing to help. What little effort he can muster barely makes him move.

"Is it ready?" Anastasia asked one of the people dressed robes.

"Yes, all we need now is the sacrifice."

Anastasia nods, and Vincent lays Jaune in the middle of the circle. He can't make out anything with his eyes, but he can here her voice.

"I'm sorry," Anastasia whispered. "Your sacrifice will be remembered."

The circle begins to glow, a vibrant purple that Jaune could only stare at in awe. His body begins to feel weightless as his body fades before his eyes. He wants to get up, to try to escape, but his body feels as if it's weighed down. And suddenly his vision goes black.

No, that wasn't right. Everything around him has turned black, as if he were underwater. And his body was in pain. It was as if his brain were being squeezed out of his skull. His nerves are on fire and are being shredded as his bones snapped and twisted.

Pain is all he can conceive. Pain and darkness. Darkness so black that it's tangible, a visceral fear making him want to flee. But he can't. He's trapped here, with only pain to remind him that he exists.

How long has he been here? Minutes? Hours? Days?

Eventually time begins to not matter. All he can think about is the pain. Through the pain he manages to remember who he is. His mind begins to snap, and he begins begging for death. All of who he is begins to fade along with his soul. He just wants to die.

"An anomaly has been detected. Player is in (Unknown Location). Attempting Respawn."

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Jaune Arc's soul is ripped from his body and the memories torn away.

Jaune jolts up from the bed, eyes darting around the room as memories that aren't his flood his mind. He was back in the castle and not that place. There was something wrong with that place, that pool of darkness.

It haunts him, the darkness lurking in his mind. Nothing was meant to experience that. Despite how terrified he was of it; his body was calm while his mind was not. The two were experiencing very different feelings right now, as if someone were forcing his body to remain unbothered by the fear his brain was feeling.

He brings his knees to his chest, thankful that his lurching stomach was empty. He'd never left this room. He'd just laid down, nothing had happened. Everything had been imagined by him. He was fine.

He doesn't know how long he lays there, but eventually a knock comes from the door dread coursing through his veins at the noise. Marilyn walks in holding the food and clothes just as he remembers. Jaune jumps out of bed when he sees her eyes, not flashing with recognition at seeing him.

"Marilyn?" he croaks.

"That is my name, Sir," she shoots a glance at the door. "How do you know that?"

"What happened? Why did Vincent take me? What did I do wrong?"

"Sir, what are you talking about? You must be tired; you should eat and go to sleep." Marilyn keeps looking at the door, afraid of Jaune's rambling.

Jaune sits on the bed, holding his face in his hands. That vision… Was it of the future? Or was the stress just getting to him? It wouldn't be that strange, he'd just been torn away from his home, his family, his dreams, and was now expected to be a hero. Anyone would be stressed by that.

He needed to find out what just happened. He had to know if that vision, that memory, was real. Then, he could do something, make a plan to find out why they'd done that.

"Marilyn," Jaune grabbed Crocea Mors. "Is Vincent outside the room?"

Marilyn's eyes widen. She takes a step back.

"Sir, you can get away if you go to the slums," she whispered, understanding that he knew something. "They won't be able to find you if you run through camps there. They aren't well-liked."

Jaune ignores her. She was being vague, too vague for his liking. He goes to the door and throws it open. Nothing but silence for a moment, until Jaune steps out.

Vincent is standing beside the door, wearing a forced smile. "Hello, Jaune. Weren't you going to sleep?"

"What's below the castle?" Jaune points his sword at him.

"So, you know about that. I wonder how. Perhaps an ability of your soul? No matter," Vincent draws his sword. "You should have eaten. It would have been simpler that way for both of us."

He swings his sword for Jaune's head, who barely raises his aura in time.

Crack! Jaune turns and runs down the hallway. He has no time to plan an escape route. He can only run and hope to escape. To find an exit. Everything blurs together as his heartbeat fills his ears.

Vaguely remembering the layout of the castle, he runs away intending to put as much distance between them as possible. He needed to find an exit. The next time he throws a door open reveals Clara cleaning a room.

"Clara, I need help-"

His breath is knocked from his lungs by a powerful blow, Clara's fist burying itself in his gut. He feels something snap and give way, red hot pain shooting through his ribs.

She'd attacked him. Why had she attacked him? He was supposed to be their hero! Even if she didn't know, there wasn't a reason for her to hurt him. There wasn't a reason for any of what they'd done.

Slamming into a wall, Jaune is wracked with pain. Jaune coughs up blood as he pulls himself out the hole, staggering away with a pained grunt. He runs away with his aura flaring behind him.

Tearing through the hallways, Jaune reaches a staircase. One that goes up. He curses his luck and barrels up the stairs. He reaches the fourth floor when something slams into his back. Whatever hit him is small but has enough force that it knocks him forward.

Jaune crashes through a window, falling four stories. Panic overtakes him and he reaches out, desperately grabbing for something to hold on to. The last thing he hears is a loud crunch as he lands on his neck.

"Player's HP has reached zero. Would you like to try again?"

Yes or No

Thanks for reading! Please review if you have any questions.

Question of the day: How many floors does Beacon have?

Rewritten 7/24/22