A/N: Inspired by the ending of Final Fantasy 15 as well as Dragonheart.

A Happy Ending in Paradise

Jaune laid on the floor within Salem's castle clutching at his stomach, where a great wound was bleeding, staining his clothes and armor. With his Aura fully depleted, there was no chance of healing the wound, but he did not care. He glanced over and saw the dead corpse of Cinder Fall nearby, her body cleaved in two by his blade. Already the Fall magic had passed on to someone else, but it does not matter now, now while his friends were hunting down Salem and the armies of the four Kingdoms were battling her legions of Grimm outside on the darkened plains. Jaune picked himself up and gathered his sword. "It is done…Pyrrha…" he wheezed out as he stumbled out of the room. The hallways were empty, save for the roaring battle outside that could be heard through the windows.

"I wonder if the others are alright…" Jaune wondered aloud as he made his way down the hall, his body leaning against the wall for support. "Can Ruby take out Salem with her eyes? No…I need to have faith in her…in all of them…" Jaune's vision began to blur as his body spiraled in place, sending him down to the floor. Losing too much blood… He checked his wound and confirmed it had opened open further. …Am I going to make it?… After picking himself up, he continued on, his head now buzzing with thoughts of grandeur.

I bet I'll get a medal for this. 'To Jaune Arc, the hero that avenged the Fall of Vale.' That would be sweet. The cities will be full of people cheering my name…I'll finally be the hero I dreamed of… Jaune fell again, this time not even trying to break his fall. He laid on the carpet, blood forming under him as he took repeated deep breaths. …If only you could've seen me, Pyrrha…

"Jaune!" came a familiar voice. His eyes peered over and he saw Ren rushing towards him. "Oh…" he moaned when he saw his friend's wounds. He quickly flipped him over and fished out a first aid kit from his pack, pressing a cloth to the wound. He went to work splashing rubbing alcohol over the wound, making Jaune wince in pain. "I know it hurts, but it'll help you feel better." He placed his pack under Jaune's head for support. "I take it Cinder is…?"

"Dead…" Jaune wheezed out.

Ren smiled. "Well done, buddy."

Jaune returned the smile. "…You think Pyrrha will be proud?"

"Without a doubt."

Jaune drew in a deep inhale as Ren bandaged his wounds. "I can't wait to see her…"

Ren froze for a moment. The blood loss must be making him dizzy. Or so Ren hoped. "Don't worry, Jaune, once this is done, we'll go home, we'll have a big celebration, and you'll get to see Pyrrha."

Jaune's head tilted towards him. "Really?"

"Yeah, she really misses you, you know?" Please hold on…

"Yeah, me too…Feels like it's been years…" A series of harsh coughs came, forcing Ren to hold Jaune down so his wounds would not tear open further. "…When we get back…we gotta have a mountain of your pancakes…to celebrate…"

Tears came to Ren's eyes, but his smile did not fade. "Yeah, I promise I'll make entire mountains worth of pancakes for all of us, Nora especially…"

"Yeah…but I can't wait to tell Pyrrha that I did it…I killed Cinder…she'll call me a hero for sure…" Another cough, but just a few this time.

"…You fool, she already thinks you're a hero. The best hero she's ever seen."

"Well, then I guess instead, I'll ask her to marry me…I'll get her a pretty ring…promise her the world, and make it a big celebration for the world to watch…Then we'll have more kids than my parents ever had!" Ren held him down to stop him from getting excited.

"That sounds fantastic, Jaune…" Ren wiped at his eyes. "Hey, you mind if I name one of my kids after you in some way? Maybe a name like yellow?"

"Of course, but why…?"

Ren teared up again, this time the tears rushed down her cheeks. "Because you're my brother…"

Jaune's hand reached out and Ren took it. "I'm glad to have you for a brother, Ren…" His head began to droop, and Ren snapped his fingers in front of his face.

"Hey, stay with me!"

"Ren…think the people will cheer for me? Cuz I avenged the fallen at Vale?"

"You bet they will, but you got to be there for it, okay?" Jaune's eyes began to close. "Don't fall asleep, otherwise Pyrrha will have to wait longer for you to wake up all rested, got it?" Jaune's eyes fell and his breathing slowed. "Jaune?!"

Jaune did not answer nor moved. Ren's tears did not stop as he cradled his friend in his arms, weeping for his fallen brother. "Go to her, Jaune…Find her in Paradise…"

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Salem was defeated at last, and with the power of the Gods, the Grimm were vanquished forever. Celebrations were held all across Remnant for the heroes that lasted for weeks, but when the celebrations finally died down, Ren and Nora orchestrated a plan with Oscar to pay tribute to Jaune. In due time, a statue of Jaune was built in Vale's famous park that rested in the center of the city. A stone replica of Jaune stood with his shield resting at his feet in his hands, much similar to Pyrrha's statue in Argus. With it, a plaque read "In memory of Jaune Arc, who avenged those that died in the Fall of Vale. May he live eternally."

Everyone came to pay tribute to Jaune's memorial, leaving flowers, cards, personal gifts, their tears and prayers. His family came, as did his friends, allies, but most of all, the people who lost loved ones because of Cinder Fall came to give their thanks to him.

Eventually, the only one left would be Oscar, who remained transfixed upon the plaque for so long. Thought Salem was defeated, Ozpin remained with Oscar with the task of guiding humanity down the right path for the future.

"He was a good man, better than myself," said the voice of Ozpin in the boy's head.

"He was a good friend too…" Oscar replied. "…is he happy, wherever he is? Is there a Paradise for us when we die?"

"Yes, indeed. I still remember it for the brief moment I was there as Ozma when I died. He should be there now."

Oscar took his leave, strolling down the nighttime streets of Vale with his cane in hand. Though there was still people in the streets, the echoes of his cane were louder than their murmurs. Before he could get too far from the memorial statue, a gust of wind blows at his back, sending a cluster of maple leaves into the air. Maple leaves? Oscar wondered, but he suddenly froze, the strange feeling that he was being watched. The young wizard spun in place, but aside from the random citizens on the street, no one was watching him, yet he still felt as though he was being watched from somewhere.

It was not until he looked upwards at the night sky that his suspicion was answered. High up in the sky amidst all the little stars was two large, gleaming stars side by side. One was golden in color while the other was red, both were shining so bright even the lights of Vale could not extinguish their light, yet the two stood out apart enough from each other that their light did not consume each other. A smile spread across Oscar's lips. "So that's how it'll be. You two will watch over us from here on, and should times ever grow most difficult for us, the Arkos Stars will shine brightly for the whole world to see." Oscar continued on to return home to Ruby.

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Far above in Paradise, Jaune stood before an ornate throne that was littered with maple leaves upon the floor, his body dressed in clothes fit for a lord. By the throne's side was his sword Crocea Mors resting up against it, the shield deployed to show off the Arc insignia, but a new symbol was upon it; intertwined with the golden crescent moons was the reddened Nikos shield and spear. Jaune turned and seated himself down upon it, leaning back against its backside. The sound of trumpets echoed around him, yet their source was unknown. A new person soon appeared from behind the throne. Dressed in an elegant red dress fit for a queen, Pyrrha silently smiled at Jaune before she seated herself down upon his lap. She leaned sideways against the back, her face inches from Jaune. Her head was adorned with a bronze circlet in the shape of vines and her hair hung loosely around her. Her hands reached up to caress Jaune's face, making him close his eyes and hum at her touch. He in turn removed his white gloves from his hands and allowed his fingertips to caress her cheeks. He let slip a smile before the two closed the gap in a passionate and heartwarming kiss, a kiss that both of them missed dearly in the years that they spent apart. When they separated, Pyrrha nestled her head against his shoulder while Jaune's left hand reached down and procured a single maple leaf from the arm rest. The two gazed upon the leaf for a moment before Jaune let it go, where a gust of wind swept it away, where it would eventually descent down onto Remnant. A number of church bells began to ring while Jaune's arm curled around his beloved's backside and his other hand intertwined with hers, and the two fell into a blissful sleep in each other's comforting embrace. They were together again, now and forevermore.