Jaune stood at his balcony, looking out at the Schnee family grounds. The gardens were very different compared to when he had first arrived; temporary tents and training grounds littered the open grass.

News of Jacques taking in huntsmen had spread fast, and many of Beacon's former students had followed JNR to Atlas. The number of trained warriors in the area had surpassed what could be considered mere security days ago, and more were coming in every hour. Jacques was building an army- not that many of Jaune's former classmates seemed to care. After the fall of Beacon people just wanted to get back to normal. They were more than happy to accept the stability (and Lien) that the Schnee family offered.

It bothered the blond that his team had been the catalyst for all this. He had tried to speak with Weiss about the situation, but any attempts to approach the heiress led to sharp words and a door in his face. Jaune tried not to take it personally, they were all coping in their own way after all. Wiess just happened to be the type to push people away when she was hurt.

He wondered if Pyrrha had been used to this sort of thing. Having to constantly navigate bargains with people who didn't give a damn about you as a person. Atlasian politics were exhausting. Without Ren, he doubted they would have made it past the front door. The dark-haired ninja had a way of choosing his words very carefully.

He walked off the balcony and back into his room. The size of what the Schnees considered a one person bedroom was frankly more than excessive. Jaune sighed as he sat on the massive bed, one hand tracing the large snowflake designs embroidered into the pillows.

He was tired. Tired and homesick, and he missed his family, he missed Pyrrha. He missed his sisters and the small town they'd grown up in.

A low buzzing rang in his ears. This again? The room spun and Jaune let himself fall back on the bed. The bouts of dizziness followed by a flaring aura had become more frequent these past few days. He still didn't know why it was happening, and with the CCT down it was difficult to research a cause. Combine that with his new duties, and the blond felt it was easier to just let whatever it was run its course. The bursts of aura didn't seem to be harmful at least.

Except this time it didn't stop. His aura erupted out of him in an uncontrollable wave, then surged back into his body. But when his own aura returned, the surge didn't stop. Torrents of new power filled every crevice of his being. He cried out, more in surprise than pain. And just when he thought it would never end, it ended.

He tentatively sat up and rubbed his head. While Jaune was no expert in aura manipulation, he knew that wasn't normal. His first thought was that it was a dream, but no, the blond felt more awake than ever. The world came into sudden clarity. His vision sharpened, he could hear people talking several rooms over. Some distant part of his mind acknowledged that he should be panicking, but he wasn't.

"Good evening, Mister Arc." The voice of Professor Ozpin rang clearly through his mind.

That at least warranted a reaction. Jaune jumped up with a gasp and spun around wildly. "Professor?!"

He heard a low chuckle coming from nowhere. "I am afraid that my... old body is long destroyed. You will not be able to see me because I am in fact," Jaune's hand moved without his input, reaching up to tap the side of his head. "here."

The blond forced his hand back down and stared at it, bewildered. "I must be going mad."

"Not at all, these are rather unique circumstances for the both of us." Ozpin sounded bitter. "In any case, I'm sure this must all come as quite a surprise to you. The fact that you knew me in my previous life certainly helps, but I'm sure you will still ask me a great many questions."

"So many questions." He paused. "You're.. here. In my head. Why? I was never any good at anything. There are trained huntsmen everywhere, why me of all people?"

"I'm afraid it was fate's decision, not mine, that brought me to you. But you should not discredit yourself, Mister Arc. Fate is far pickier than I am, and she would not have chosen you if you could not bear the burden."

The blond sat down. He certainly didn't feel like he could bear the burden - If he had stood any longer he might have collapsed.

"How is this even happening?"

"That is a question with a very, very long answer. Tell me boy, what's your favorite fairytale?"

A.N. This chapter is quite a bit shorter than the others, and if I'm going to be honest I definitely rushed it out. Regardless, this is quite an important plot point and I hope it's at least somewhat readable.

In other news, I've created a discord server! While I don't actually expect many people to join, doesn't allow images to be posted unless it's a pfp or cover. To that end, I'll mostly be using the server to display art of the various AGR characters and locations. Hope to see you there!

D iscord . gg (slash) v5HHnpS