/==/ Prologue /==/

Due to the nature of the situation, Peach was forced to leave her medical support staff in the main foyer while she went down to assess the situation. It took about half an hour before Peach made the return trip up from the basement, and with the assistance of Glynda was able to transfer the still unconscious Jaune and the severely physically spent Ozpin into the hands of her support staff.

With Jaune secured to a wheeled stretcher and Ozpin seated in a wheelchair, the trip was made back to Beacon's infirmary. No one said anything during the trip, with Peach and her staff more concerned with the medical status of their charges over chit-chat. Glynda closely followed the procession, wringing her hands during the entire journey.

Jaune had yet to wake up or make any voluntary movements during the trip and subsequent transfer from the stretcher to the bed, or during the entire process of her examination. Monitoring equipment was hooked up, and even though her respiratory and cardiovascular processes were within normal parameters, there was no outward indication that she was responsive to external stimuli.

During this time Ozpin himself was being examined, and while he was tight-lipped about the cause of his physical distress, he was more than open about his symptoms. Diagnosed with severe Aura Exhaustion and Acute Cardiac Distress. Both, of which, could be alleviated with extensive rest and some medications. So once stabilized, Ozpin, still in a wheelchair, was escorted to Jaune`s room, and waited outside in the hall for both Peach and Glynda to come out to speak to him. He sat there for about fifteen minutes before Peach and Glynda emerged.

"How is she?"

"Currently resting. We've made her as comfortable as possible, but there are no outward signs of conscious response to external stimulus." Peach offered, before adding, "How are you?"

"I'll be fine, nothing some rest won't help alleviate." Ozpin replied.

"So what happened? How did this go wrong?"

"I can't explain it, nor do I have a definite reason as to why the ritual did not work." Ozpin answered, "What I can say definitively is that as the ritual progressed, the magics in question began to resist, and twist back upon themselves. It was almost as if the reality of Jaune's current state was fighting for survival. It felt like it was actively resisting me."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Glynda asked.

"I don't know, and I don't understand." Ozpin replied, "The magic in Jaune started to for the lack of a better term push back. I tried to brute force it, but…"

"That started causing Jaune pain."

"It did, so I pulled back and tried to bleed off the growing forces by…" Ozpin took a slow breath, "I bled the growing energies off by directing them through me."

"So what's the next step? Jaune can not remain as she is. The emotional and physical pain is starting to overwhelm her." Peach informed the pair.

"I'll try again, but only after I rip the ritual apart. I am going to find the answer to what happened… and the solution to prevent it."

"You want to… to… put Jaune through that again?"

"Glynda… I will have to. I made a promise to reverse all of this… I failed, and I'm not going to rest until this mistake has been corrected."

"But…"

"I made a promise. To you. To Jaune. I am going to make this right, and if I can, I will try to make it as painless as possible, if it is possible."

Before the conversation could continue, hysterical screaming erupted from Jaune's room. Peach and Glynda were in motion instantly, leaving Ozpin alone in the corridor. The Headmaster knew he would be of no use inside that small room, so he waited, manoeuvring himself, so he was out of the way.

Glynda froze in the doorway, her heart ripped from her chest, and her breath caught in her throat. Peach however didn't pause, rushing forward… towards the trashing and screaming form of Jaune.

Blood speckled the white sheets, indicative of Jaune having ripped her IV free. Peach slapped the emergency call button as hard as she could, as she reached Jaune's side before she grabbed Jaune by the wrists, as the young woman trapped in a man's form was clawing at herself, with such ferocity that Jaune's aura was sparking.

"Let me out!" Jaune screamed, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "Let me out!"

"Jaune! Jaune calm down! Calm down!" Peach tried to speak in an even and neutral tone, as she struggled with Jaune's frantic strength, attempting to keep the severely distressed young woman from further hurting herself.

"This isn't me! This isn't me!" Jaune wailed as she trashed, writhed and twisted attempting to break herself from Doctor Peach's grasp. "This isn't me! I want out!"

Glynda was frozen in the doorway, her heart ripping inside her chest as she witnessed the absolute agony her little girl was suffering through. Her motherly instincts were at war within her against the hesitation and fear that had only festered inside her, ever since that day when she had attempted to commit the unthinkable.

It seemed as if a much longer period of time had elapsed for all those within the room, before several orderlies and nurses rushed in. Glynda was shouldered to the side as multiple hands and bodies moved into position. She watched as multiple individuals attempted to restrain Jaune as she screamed in utter anguish.

Jaune's arms and hands were grabbed and held down as two of the nurses quickly moved to apply restraints, while a third prepped an injection. Continually during the whole process, Peach and the other attending nurses and orderlies spoke in calm and reassuring tones for Jaune to "Calm Down" and "Relax". But Jaune wouldn't, or more specifically couldn't.

"This isn't me!" Jaune wailed, "Let me out!"

Peach knew, as did Glynda and Ozpin, what Jaune was referring to, while the rest of the staff just assumed it was about Jaune's current situation of being put in restraints. After about five minutes, Jaune was secured, and even though she continued to thrash and twist, she was incapable of harming herself further. Taking the offered syringe, Peach wiped a place on Jaune's exposed hip and carefully inserted the needle.

Slowly over the span of about twenty minutes, Jaune settled, her violent movements ceasing, until they stopped entirely. Peach remained at Jaune's side as the other staff exited the room. Gently brushing Jaune's hair from her forehead, as the injection slowly took full effect, and after about thirty minutes, Jaune drifted off to sleep.

"How…" Glynda hesitantly spoke up, while wringing her hands before her.

"She's resting, and will be for several hours. For her safety, we're going to keep her restrained, are you okay with that?" Peach asked Glynda directly.

"Why are you…"

"You're her listed guardian." Peach replied as she prepared to reapply Jaune's IV and the various monitoring leads she had torn out., "So do have any objections?"

"No… no. Do what you have to, so long as she's safe and comfortable."

Ozpin had wheeled himself backwards out of the flow of traffic. He bit his lip, and clenched his hands into fists. The utter agony as Jaune had screamed, making him rake himself over the coals as he second guessed every action he had made in regard to Jaune. He needed to make this right, as he could clearly hear the desperation in Jaune's voice.

He looked up at Glynda and Peach as they exited Jaune's room. Ozpin swallowed, his throat uncharacteristically dry for some reason. Reaching down, grasped the hand rims of the wheelchair and rolled forward. Glynda and Peach looked up as he cleared his throat.

"I won't stop, I won't rest until I make this right, and Jaune can be her true self once again."

Ozpin reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, before returning his gaze to the pair of women. "I've made so many mistakes… I… I… I can't let this be one of them."

"Can you?" Glynda asked, her voice hollow and eyes almost glazed. Ozpin was pretty sure if it wasn't for Peach, Glynda would be in a heap on the floor.

"There is no can… I WILL correct this error… I will…"

"How? You just failed. How will your next attempt be any better?" Peach asked, a clear look of disdain etched on her childlike face.

"You worry about keeping Jaune comfortable, and safe. Do whatever you need to. You too Glynda. If you need to stay here for her, then we will bring in an extra bed for you. If either of you need to step away from classes at any time, do it. No questions asked." Ozpin took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I'm going to rip the ritual apart… I will find the answer… I will make this right."

/==/

The waves of emotion that rolled and broke inside Jaune slowly ebbed. Growing calmer as the sedatives and other mood stabilizing medications took effect. Jaune found herself surrounded in an oppressive darkness. She stood there alone in silence, not understanding what was going on.

"Hello?" Not confident enough to take a step, and hearing no response, she called out again. "Hello? Is anyone there? Hello?"

Jaune couldn't figure out what was going on, or where she was. So she bit her bottom lip and took a shaking step forward, only to wince as suddenly the darkness was filled with light. Laughter, clapping and soft music filled the space about her. Blinking, she gazed about herself. She was in a banquet hall, surrounded by friends and family standing and seated at tables.

Everyone was in formal attire. Her head snapped to the side when she felt a light touch upon her wrist. Her azure eyes grew wide when she saw Coco standing beside her, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit. It was then Jaune realized she herself was in a flowing white gown.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, as they take the floor for their first dance, may I introduce to you Mrs and Mrs Adel."

"What?" Jaune stammered as she felt Coco take her hand, while also placing her other hand upon her waist.

"I love you." Coco whispered as the music grew in volume, before leaning in and lovingly pressing her lips against Jaune's.

A tidal wave of cheers, clapping and whistling surrounded Jaune and Coco. As Jaune blushed, Coco moved and with effortless grace the pair glided about the dance floor. Jaune knew this was all a dream… but it was a dream she never wanted to wake from.

.

/==/ Author's Note /==/

I know I've been gone for a while... sorry about that. I have a lot going on in RL that is distracting me... BUT I have been working. Secrets - Volume Two is in the works. I'm about 5 chapters in out of a planned 17 (including this prologue)...

PLUS

I'm working on a couple of other larger projects as well...

1- Rewrite of "Monster", I want to give it a treatment similar to Secrets and break it up into volumes, as well as clean it up and add a few scenes while removing garbage (like the Watts plot)... currently I am trying to plan out how I want things to flow as well as build an "Aura Control Statutes" document that I can use to support the work.

2- "Amalgam" - This is outlines and a prologue has been started. This is going to be a Tokyo Ghoul/RWBY crossover...

3- "The Doctor is In" - Have a starting chapter, need to outline it, as it is hopefully going to be more comedic... mainly Monster Girl Doctor/RWBY with some gags inspirations from Everyday Life with Monster Girls (This will NOT be a Harem fic)

Plus, I'm revisiting some of my other larger stories to see where I can improve them. With the focus to be actually planning them out or just writing when I get a "hair-brained" idea.

SO I might be quite for a little bit as I try to get things on the go... but I am working on projects... That I promise.