The only thing that was guaranteed to be Jeanne's past was the life that she had before she was ever recorded in the Throne. The Throne itself was in a place that existed outside of time and so the concepts of past, present, and future, was a difficult thing to grasp, even for a being of knowledge. From what Jeanne could understand from Ozpin's explanations, Jinn's three questions were limited primarily on the past and the present, knowledge that had already been set in stone. But for her? The only thing that had ever been set was her mortal life before she had been immortalized.
Versions of herself in other times and places where she had been summoned all flashed in front of team JNPR. Were these her pasts and her vagueness of them were but memories? Were these her futures and she simply gotten a glimpse of them like a snippet? Were these actually happening at the same time and that she was receiving pieces of them at the same time? Were these other versions of herself receiving the memories that are being made of the her that is in Remnant? Nobody could ever know for certain; the only thing that is certain is that it is a certainty for Jeanne d'Arc. Much like how her receiving powers and abilities akin to the seasonal Maidens, this was simply more of them breaking those rules.
After those flashes, there came flashes of another individual: her brother, Jaune Arc. Through their kindred connection, it bridged the gap and gave a glimpse of alternate versions of Jaune. Some where she was never there and some where someone else had taken her place. She caught a glimpse of two in particular, one where Jaune's transcripts have been exposed and he had a different sword that Jeanne was familiar with. Another image had caused them, Jeanne included, to gasp: one where Pyrrha Nikos had perished at the top of Beacon's towers.
"You are a cheater," Jinn said. "This is something that should have been done by the Relic of Choice."
"But they are a certainty," Jeanne replied. "Vague or even small, a piece of myself that had been there was brought back, just as I now know for certain that this one would too."
"Jeanne," Jaune said. His eyes, along with everyone else's really, were glued to the possibilities that could have happened or have already happened depending on how one looks at it. "It's… it's…"
"Beautiful?" Jeanne guessed. "Scary?"
"Both," Pyrrha answered. "How are you…?"
"I don't remember all of them." Jeanne looked at them as well, her possibilities were still there but Jaune's own had begun to appear alongside them. "If I could, I'd probably go insane."
"Too much memories for anyone to bear." Was it Oscar or Ozpin that was speaking? It could either way really.
Eventually, a common theme started to appear. A golden chalice. A wish being made. A wish being granted. A wish being denied. The wish-maker being cursed. The wish-maker being blessed. This was the question that Jeanne was looking into: whether or not the Relic could be used as a Holy Grail. Soon, team JNPR will receive an answer.
The vision began to fade away. While the world of Remnant—the one that they're in—have begun to return, everything was still frozen in time. The blue mists have dispersed, giving way to more of that familiar variation of the Remnant that everyone had known. As it was doing so, Jinn's expression spoke of contemplation. Everything that they had seen, most of it have been missed by them, were evidently being processed by the being of knowledge.
Rather than prod further, team JNPR, the original four, along with Oscar, used that time to really contemplate in silence. As for Jeanne, already being a Heroic Spirit meant that this wouldn't be the first time nor would it be the last that such a thing would ever happen. As far as she knows of this world, things like these didn't exist in reality yet. Oh, there were definitely such concepts in works of fiction and while the revelation that this world's magic had existed, it was never to a point that alternate realties were feasible.
Time, for them anyway, felt slow to a crawl. It had more to do with the silence that filled the space that they were in. Occasionally, the noise was broken by Jinn's humming and thinking. There were simply too many realities to go through that it would be better to get a reasonable sample. Even JNPR and Oscar had come to terms with that sooner than the embodiment of Knowledge.
"And here I thought that Choice would be the one to do it." Ah, that is definitely Ozpin. No one in team JNPR knew the full names of the other Relics and that certainly sounded like one.
Nodding, Jinn appeared to have come to a conclusion. JNPR looked on in anticipation. Jinn looked at each of them, ending at Jeanne herself.
Leaning forward, Jinn gave a simple answer. "With what you have in mind, foreign one, I am not capable of doing so on my own, as I am now."
Mixed reactions were had by each member of team JNPR. Not enough? On one hand, that meant that it was possible that the powers contained with the Relics. On the other, Jinn's wording made it so that it would imply that it would have been possible if it were another time.
"The power contained in the Relic of Knowledge is by the number of questions." Ozpin guessed. It wasn't a question and more of a hasty conclusion. Jinn smiled knowingly but didn't confirm it. Ozpin wasn't the only one to have thought about it.
"Thank you, Jinn," Jeanne replied.
"Next time," Jinn said. "Or perhaps in another time, I would certainly like to see another sample of these versions. Not even the ones who made me and my brethren are aware of you. Consider it a—as they say it—a freebie."
Jinn soon vanished and time began to move again all around them. Leaves that had been frozen in midair slowly resumed their descent. Waters have flowed again and the trees and branches swayed once more.
When everything had returned to normal, team JNPR turned to face Ozpin. Due to Oscar being the host of the current incarnation, Ozpin looked as though he had been given a gift that he never thought he would ever receive. Oscar's tears fell like rain as the knees that had carried many lifetimes fell to the ground, releasing a weight that had been carried for far too long.
"A chance…" Ozpin's voice was weak but full of joy. "There really is a chance. I… I never thought it would actually come. For so long…"
"I think it's best that we rest for the night," Jeanne said. To think that she and her team would have to be the grownups for now but considering what their former headmaster had gone through, they could only let him have his moment.
"Yeah." Jaune agreed. "I think we deserve a little bit of rest for that. It's… It's a lot to take in."
The two boys of team JNPR both had to assist an unmoving but joyous old wizard in a boy's body. As team JNPR returned to the main cities of upper Mistral, they were met with nothing new. Everything was as they had left it although for them, more time had passed. Here the people have begun to whisper and murmur amongst themselves. Word of what had happened in Haven Academy must have begun to spread among the populace. Those curious or were simply passing by must have noted the damages that have been caused, assuming that they haven't heard any conflict.
"Keep the Relic," Ozpin had said, regaining some of his usual composure. "I am not certain if I had told you this but I am unsure if it is something inherent in the Relic or Salem has specifically commanded them to, but the Relic can draw Grimm in. It is why I kept them near the Academies. Huntsmen and huntresses would always be there ready to protect them."
Jeanne nodded though the rest of team JNPR were initially frustrated at having been kept yet another secret. But after seeing everything and being told as much, they had time to calm themselves and avoided any hasty decisions.
"Still, not alone, Jinn says," Jeanne repeated. "That would mean that we would go through the other kingdoms."
"I hid Choice differently from the rest," Ozpin added. "It was a deliberate one since I wanted to make sure that Salem doesn't get one Relic. As for the others, Creation is in Atlas while Destruction is in Vacuo."
"Let's keep that for another time," Jaune said, stepping up as the leader that he should have been. Jeanne and Ozpin just had the years of experience over the rest of them. "If this Salem could be anywhere in the other kingdoms, then we'll act there."
"Agreed." Jeanne nodded.
Later that night, team JNPR could only celebrate in silence. While there is a chance now that even someone like Ozpin would be invigorated to fight again, that doesn't mean that they suddenly could turn the tide this instantly. For one, where would Salem be? Secondly, where are they to go next? They already have the Relic of Knowledge and through their travels, the different towns and settlements meant that the people of Mistral could at least defend themselves even with the loss of its huntsmen and huntresses.
No plans were being made for they do not know where to go next. No strategies were being formulated for they aren't certain when they would be using it. Instead, there was as much of a celebration as they could get, though it certainly didn't look that way from the outside. Their legs had been tired, not just from the fighting but also from that revelation. All of team JNPR had chosen to go to bed early. Their mattresses and blankets were a warm welcome for what felt like the longest day of their lives.
They all shared rooms, it was akin to that of being back at Beacon except now that they had an additional individual as well.
"I can give mine," Jeanne suggested. "It has been a long time since we did something like that haven't we, Jaune?"
For the first time in a long time, Jeanne d'Arc dematerialized.
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Jaune Arc stumbled and buried his head in his hands. It wasn't that it was the first time that Jeanne had dematerialized with her Maiden powers but it was certainly an unpleasant experience having that sudden surge of power go inside of one on top of their aura reserves. He needed some time to get used to that every time; he also needed to be careful since in doing so, he himself had full access to that now, a Bachelor to Jeanne's Maiden of sorts; the title was still subject to change.
His hand was on a nearby drawer for balance as the Maiden's powers fully settled in Jaune and he had adjusted to that again.
"I'm fine." He nodded. "I'm fine."
"It's been a long time hasn't it?" Jeanne said in his head. It really had been a long since he heard her voice in this manner.
Removing their armor and putting on their clothes for the night team JNPR laid in their respective beds with Oscar taking what had been originally Jeanne's. As sleep easily overtook the rest of the team, the same cannot be said for the two Arc siblings.
"Something bothering you Jaune?" Jeanne asked.
"Just…" Jaune wasn't sure how to form his words. He found it eventually. "These alternate realities. I—I couldn't imagine what those were like."
"What did you see?"
"There was this one where my transcripts were exposed, and I think I had a different weapon? I just can't imagine what that is really like. You weren't there either."
"It happens," Jeanne replied. "Worlds full of possibilities and things that could have been had there been a different decision had been made. There might have been one where it was someone else who came here as well."
"I have a hard time seeing it." Jaune turned on his bed.
"You may not have to," Jeanne assured him. "It's not something you have to unless you end up like me."
"Like you?"
He could feel Jeanne nodding inside of him. "I told you before that I am just a copy of the original. If you ever end up like that, and maybe someday we'll see each other again when all this is over. When our lives are over."
Jaune turned once again on his bed. Heroes, huh? He always did say that he wanted to be a hero. But seeing just what the extent that may await him, Jaune wasn't so sure if he could ever live up to it.
"Don't worry about it," Jeanne assured him. "Heroes rarely ever go out to be one deliberately. Huntsmen and huntresses are not different in that regard. Most are probably just there doing their jobs. I most certainly didn't set out to be one."
"There's more than one way to be a hero, huh?"
He could feel her smile. "Yes. There is."
Eventually, sleep took over Jaune and he too slipped into the world of dreams.
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Jaune awoke to find inside some old-looking building. He was seated in a pew with the rest of team JNPR having been absent.
"A dream?" Jaune asked no one in particular. "Seems like everything that hasn't been happening since Jeanne and I have been separate are all coming back again, huh?"
Standing up from his pew, Jaune opted instead to see what this place was. With what he had seen earlier, it is likely that the place he was in was a location that Jeanne must have been in. If that were the case, then where was she?
The place was dark with only the light of the sun peaking in from the colorful stained-glass window. There was an age to this place as Jaune could see specks of dust floating about in this light. Taking a step into what appears to be the center area of the structure, Jaune's eyes could only widen and his jaw could only drop as he marveled the sight before him.
Marvelous stained-glass windows that contained a series of images that told of a grand tale. A bearded figure sitting on a throne of clouds. A man and a woman who appeared to be cautious towards a serpent that entangled a tree. Another man that split oceans too great. A man rising towards the skies with holes in his hands and feet.
Wherever Jaune looked, more of these images stared back at him. He never noticed it before with how soft they were, but he began to pick up a choir chanting hymns. It echoed in this building that he was in.
"Wait," Jaune said. "Is it getting bigger?"
He could have sworn that this building had been smaller. But wherever he turned, the pews and stone pillars only grew further away from him. The once cold stone and wood were slowly turning to gold and silver, as if returning to the majesty that it had long before.
Great winds began to blow inside as the lights grew brighter and more blinding. The choir's chanting began to deafen him as trumpets also began to sound throughout this building; it wasn't unpleasant music by any means. It had this otherworldly feeling to it that it was akin to having stepped into a time long past. The scent of candlewax burning filled his nose. Jaune felt tried to reach out to something. Anything. But he could not find it. He was too small. He felt himself too insignificant in the face of what this was.
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Jaune awoke with a gasp. Checking himself, he was back to the room that he and the rest of team JNPR were in. He was sweating and had to dry himself before he could return to bed. His throat felt dry and he made his way to the kitchens to remedy it.
"Jaune?" Jeanne asked in his head. "What happened?"
He then began to recount his tale. As much as he could. Then, he realized something and asked, "It's not one of yours?"
He could feel her shaking her head. "Not to that extent no."
"Jeanne…" Jaune could feel that it wasn't the complete truth. It had been hard for them to lie to another when they were separate. It was even more difficult now with them being literally one.
"It isn't me, Jaune," Jeanne answered. "But someone else."
"Who?"
"I'd rather not say. If He wants to show you something or if He has plans for you, He would reveal them to you in His time."
"He?"
Jaune felt the nod. "All I can say to you is this: His ways are not our ways. It was He who guided me in my life."
Leaving it at that, Jaune returned to bed. He didn't have another dream but he wasn't so certain. While he could still hear the chanting and the ambiance of hearing it inside that ancient structure. It was a calming and soothing experience that Jaune's sleep wasn't disturbed. Now that he managed to get a better ear for it, it was a melodious choir whose hymns and songs were in some language that he did not recognize. It felt ancient though, like one of those lost languages of civilizations that no longer exist in Remnant.
The next morning, Jaune awoke feeling himself rather refreshed. There was a tranquil feeling he had that was not felt even when Ren had used his semblance. Whatever it was that made his dreams the previous night, it was something that wasn't native to Remnant. It wasnt be the first time if it was.
AN: Unrelated to this fic but I have just recently made me an account in another platform (A O 3) and will be posting the fics there as well, minus these ANs for the most part primarily as a backup in case anything were to happen. Saying this in case anyone sees my fics posted there, granted same username as here but still.
