MereC55: Oh, there's gonna be a big team alright. Especially with what occurred in this chapter.

Learning that magic had such deep roots in Remnant was certainly eye-opening. Sure, he'd known that Ozpin was a magician thanks to Zelretch's earlier warning, but hearing it from the man himself was something else. He was old, maybe as old as some of the Heroic Spirits inside the cards and he had been fighting a one-man war against an embodiment of darkness known as Salem. And according to the old Wizard, Zelretch had visited him in his previous incarnation and told him that one day, he'd throw his own champion into the fold. And as foretold, one Jaune Arc ended up being that champion.

"So as you see, Mr. Arc, no, Jaune. You are quite possibly one of our greatest allies. With the power you wield, we may finally be able to turn the tides."

Jaune leaned forward, his forearm resting on the Headmaster's desk. This was a lot to put on him all of a sudden. Being chosen by a Wizard to utilize Class Cards? That was crazy, but he could deal. Having the responsibility of leading a team? Stressful, but fulfilling.

Being told that the fate of the entire world may possibly reside on his shoulders? Well. That was almost too much. If it were not for what Ozpin said next.

"Ruby's destined to fight Salem?" he asked.

"That's correct. Her Silver Eyes are detrimental to Grimm. It's why-"

"No," Jaune said, eyes narrowing in resolution. "You said I was your greatest ally. Then rely on me. Don't you dare put the fate of the world on Ruby. She's talented, she's got courage and a dream to change the world. But such a responsibility. Well. If I didn't have centuries of combat experience residing in me right now, I might have cracked. I shudder to think what it'd do to her."

"I must agree with Jaune," Atalante said, speaking up for the first time. "Jaune has us Heroic Spirits on his side. He has the advantage of experience and great power. Ruby does not. Compared to us, she is a fledgling. Her time to shine will come, but it is not yet."

Jaune could tell that Atalante was uncomfortable with not only Ruby, but anyone in Beacon having to shoulder such a burden. He was, obviously, the exception.

Ozpin was quiet for a moment before finally speaking up. "I have made many mistakes, Jaune. More than you could possibly imagine."

Jaune gave him a wry smile. "I sincerely doubt that. Especially with my perspective as it is now."

Ozpin chuckled. "You may be right, but even so. Your words have given me pause. I once placed such a burden on someone similar . . . and it ended in a way that still haunts me to this day. And yet, I was about to repeat the same decision in hopes that it'd turn out better."

"Has anyone ever told you the definition of insanity, Professor?"

"Yes, yes. I know that I've fallen into bad habits. And that's why, before I proceed with another part of my plan, I'd like your opinion on it."

Jaune's eyebrow rose. "Oh?"

"I told you about the maidens, yes?"

"Yeah. The four you gave your power to."

"Well. There's something you need to see."

Jaune inhaled sharply as he beheld the hidden room beneath the school. To think that the Wizard had a Wizard Lair. Actually, no, that was par for the course. He shouldn't really be surprised. What was surprising, however, was the young woman sleeping in some kind of isolation pod. She had dark brown hair and light brown skin. On any other day, he might call her the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, but right now, his focus was on the fact that she was clearly in pain. She had strange markings criss-crossing her body and it was clear that her visage was paler than it should have been.

He placed a hand on the glass.

"Who is she?"

"That's the Fall Maiden, Amber," Ozpin said with a somber expression. "Shortly before the school year began, she was attacked. All I know is that three assailants managed to subdue her and rip part of her soul away."

Jaune rounded on him. "Her soul?!"

Ozpin nodded. "Yes. And with it, half her powers as a maiden. She was left a shell of her former self and is unable to awaken. That isn't even counting the taint that's coursing through. Not even I can remove it."

The knight in training grimaced, happy that he'd de-summoned Atalante for the time being. The last thing he wanted was her to go on the warpath for someone daring to attack a maiden in her vicinity. She must get that from Artemis.

Though he could certainly hear her cursing up a storm in his mind.

He turned back toward Amber and an idea struck him. "I . . . I'm going to help her."

Without waiting for Ozpin to respond, he ripped the door off the device, momentarily marveling at how easy that was and stood before the sleeping girl.

He could feel the malice from here. It almost made him sick to his stomach.

"Include - Saber."

With a flash of holy light, Joyeuse materialized in his right hand and he could instantly feel the taint within her recoil from its power. Thanks to Charlie's combat experience, he didn't need to risk the full install. Joyeuse was enough.

He pressed the blade to her chest and was rewarded as whatever it was inside her screeched audibly before vanishing with a loud hiss. The aura of darkness had receded and some color had returned to her face. All that remained were scars.

"Well" Ozpin said from behind him. "I was going to tell you that I had intended to forcefully transfer her powers to Pyrrha. But I do believe you've rendered that entire plan moot."

Jaune snorted. "Good. That's a stupid plan anyways" he said as he gazed at the girl and then frowned. "She's still asleep."

"And therein lies the main issue," the Headmaster said as he walked up beside him. "While you have definitely made it so her life is no longer in danger, it is rather difficult to wake up when you only have half a soul. And as far as I know, apart from returning the other half of her soul back to her, there's no real way to fix that."

"Oh, there is. But it comes with a risk," came the voice of one Zelretch. Jaune had gotten so used to his constant appearances that he wasn't even shocked. He just turned around to face him. And evidently, Ozpin was used to him as well, as he didn't react either.

"How do we do?" Jaune asked, mind already made up.

Zelretch grinned. "That's why I like you kid. When it comes to saving others, you never hesitate. You're like a more functional Shirou."

Jaune chose to file that name away for later. "It's never a wrong thing to do. I may not have set out to be a hero. I may not even know who I am yet. But if I were to turn a blind eye, I'd never be able to forgive myself. So please, tell me."

The dimensional traveler smirked. "All you need to do is supplement her soul with another. And I happen to know a way to do that with one of those Class Cards you have. It's essentially a permanent install and if done right, it'd transform her into a Demi-Servant. Basically, a human with the abilities of a Servant."

That was news to Jaune. He didn't even know such a thing was possible. "What's the risk then?"

"If Amber's will isn't strong enough, there's a chance that the Servant within may overwhelm her and incarnate using her body instead. Alternatively, they may be compatible and choose to use her as a vessel, becoming a Pseudo-Servant. Demi-Servants and Pseudo-Servants may sound similar, but they're very different. Demi-Servants are humans who use the powers of Servants. Pseudo-Servants are Servants who use compatible humans as vessels. Try not to get them confused. Fortunately, in the case of Pseudo-Servants, Amber herself wouldn't die. She'd merely be put into stasis, with the Servant in the pilot seat, so to speak. Though there have been exceptions where a Pseudo-Servant does indeed resemble a Demi-Servant more in practice. But I digress."

"So in short," Jaune said as he glanced at the slumbering girl. "All we gotta do is believe in her, right?"

"That's the short of it, yeah. Whichever card you use is up to your discretion. I'd recommend Caster though, given that she's already adept at using Magic."

"Alright, so how do I do it?"

"Just place the card on her chest and say 'True Install' and the card will do the work from there."

Jaune nodded and went to thank Zelretch, only to notice he was already gone. That man, he could be so whimsical. Speaking of whimsical though, Ozpin hadn't said anything during that whole conversation.

He glanced to the side and found the Headmaster on his scroll in the corner of the room, he was talking to someone. Pretty sure he caught the name 'Qrow' once or twice. Probably updating someone else on the situation.

Either way, he could worry about 'Qrow' later, right now. He had a theory to test. He fished out one of his Caster Cards - he swore his deck never got any smaller - and placed it on Amber's chest.

"True Install" he intoned.

And now all he could do was wait. And probably dismiss Joyeuse so it didn't zap all his energy and leave him useless on the ground.

After what felt like an eternity, Jaune was roused from his nap in a nearby chair by a scream. He jumped to his feet and instinctively drew Crocea Mors. But he was utterly floored by what he saw. Amber, she was awake. No, she was more than awake. She was overflowing with power. Like, the kind of power that Charlie would put out if he was installed. It was kind of intimidating. There was also the fact that her appearance had changed. While her skin was still brown and scarred, her hair, once a dark brown, was now a bright white. Her eyes had changed as well, or at least, he didn't think they used to be such a bright pink. She had a white cloak that concealed a white blouse and skirt. She also had some black leggings on. In her right hand was a white and blue staff.

He swallowed hard. Was this Amber or a Servant?

"I swear," she said suddenly as she rubbed the back of her head with her left hand. "Always with the Wizards. Can't my life be simple for once?"

And he already related to her. Wow, record timing.

"Amber?" he ventured.

She snapped her eyes in his direction. "That's me. Though I'm also someone else right now. Kind of. They were really vague. Just called themselves Lady Avalon or whatever. But man. My head is killing me. Last thing I remember was . . . oh god, I'm going to be sick."

Jaune, not knowing what to do, quickly snatched a nearby waste bin and ran it to her.

After about five minutes of Amber hurling, she seemed to be done as she sat up and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Those assholes ripped my soul from me! And that thing, it violated me and ugh! I'm going to have nightmares for months!"

"I can only imagine. So. Uh. This is awkward. But I'm Jaune. I was brought here by Professor Ozpin and, well. You see."

He was having a hard time talking. Because now that Amber was actually looking at him, it was starting to sink in how pretty she actually was. And he didn't know if it was the servant she had merged with, but there was some kind of ethereal beauty there that definitely didn't exist before. She looked like an angel.

And then she laughed. "Oh man. Look at your face! You're really bad at being put on the spot, aren't ya?"

"Yeah. Something like that. Usually I have a bit of time to prepare. And I just learned about all this myself, so I'm kinda new. Hey, Professor. Need a hand over here!"

And to his immense relief, Ozpin did indeed come to his rescue.

"It's good to see you back on your feet, Amber," Ozpin said with a smile.

"It's good to be back. In fact, I feel better than ever."

"I'm glad. Still. We have much to discuss. Allow me to tell you about a Wizard named Zelretch."

"I kinda figured out the Servant part on my own, what with having one in my head and all" Amber said as they all sat around a table drinking coffee. "But to think that a Wizard from a different universe is the reason I'm not dead. That's wild."

"Zelretch tends to get that reaction," Jaune said as he took a sip of his coffee. Full of sugar. Perfect. "Still, you seem to be adjusting nicely. It's the combat experience and memories that's helping, isn't it?"

Amber gave him a so-so hand motion. "That and unlike you, I've already seen my fair share of weird stuff. So it's easier to cope with. Though I'll admit, I may get very drunk tonight. Because one thing that is hard to cope with is the fact that I got soul sucked and violated by a creepy Grimm. It's a miracle I can even stomach this coffee right now."

Jaune nodded. He could only imagine how awful that kind of thing would be.

"Still. Though Zelretch kickstarted it all, you're the one who actively chose to save me. So thanks for that."

The smile she gave him damn near had him choking on his drink. Why the fuck was she so damn pretty?!

'The Magus of Flowers is a terrifying individual indeed' Charlie mused from within his mind, speaking up for the first time in a long time.

I don't know who that is, but they're bad for my health.

"Moving onto more pressing topics," Ozpin cut in, saving Jaune from the awkwardness once more. "The identities of those who attacked you. Do you know them?"

Amber frowned. "Nah. One of them had a crappy illusion semblance. Their faces were obscured. But I bet if I ever saw them fight, I'd recognize them in an instant."

Ozpin leaned back in his chair. "Then the Vytal Festival might be the perfect lure. If we assume they're after the Maiden Powers, they may come in search of you to get the other half. So to do that, they'd need to infiltrate the school. And the best time to do that would be during the Festival."

Amber let out a chuckle that sent chills down Jaune's spine. "Oh, I can't wait. They're going to sorely regret coming back for round two."

"I would assume so," Ozpin said. "After all, you now possess more raw magical power than even I. Truly, servants are frightening individuals indeed."

"Yeah. That's the wild part. My servant isn't even dead. She's still alive, supposedly. So I have no idea how this is working right now" Amber mused. "But I ain't complaining either. Now the main question is whether to set them on fire or whack them with Caliburn . . . "

As Amber devolved into a series of mumblings that revolved around brutal revenge, Jaune fell deep into thought. Life had certainly taken a strange turn. Not even a few days ago, he was just some bumbling kid with a stolen blade and a dream to find himself.

Now, he had literal legends supporting him and had the lofty objective of saving the entire world.

And if he had the chance to go back?

He'd do it all again. Because no matter how crazy the road ahead looked, he wouldn't trade this life for the world.

Though he had to wonder. Just how would life have turned out had he never taken that bus?

Omake: KD!Jaune meets Canon!Jaune

Jaune was going to stab Zelretch. Repeatedly. The damn Wizard apparently thought of a fun experiment. That being, 'What if he met himself from a different timeline' and the result was him currently standing at the edge of an arena, watching himself, or rather, another version of himself, get wailed on by Cardin of all people.

No one had seemed to notice him yet, but watching the other Jaune get beat up caused his blood to boil. "Oi, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

And immediately all eyes were on him.

"Is that Jaune?!"

"No, Jaune is fighting Cardin. Maybe it's his twin brother?"

"Yeah. It can't be Jaune. He looks way too put together."

The aforementioned Jaune rolled his eyes. Looks like he was in the loser universe. Then the thought struck him that this might be the main universe and he was the alternate one. Wouldn't that be a frightening thought?

He stomped over to his alternate, ignoring Glynda's stern warnings to stand back. He stared down at himself.

"Get up."

"Huh, what-"

"Are you going to just lay there or are you going to stand up and show him what an Arc can do? Listen. I know it might seem scary. But that guy? He's trash."

"But I-"

He scowled. "If you lose to Cardin, he'll think he can walk over you. He'll think he can take advantage of you. And most importantly, he'll think he can do what he wants to your friends because you won't be strong enough to stop him. Is that what you want? Do you want to endanger your friends?"

He could see the flickers of an inferno building in his other's eyes. "No. I don't want that."

"Then wake the fuck up, Samurai. You have a plebeian to burn."

And with that, he was whisked away back to his world.

Meanwhile, the Jaune of the main universe blinked.

"Was that a Cyberpunk 2077 reference?"