Okay! Right down to business. I hope you enjoy the story. As a heads up, No O.C's will appear in this story. I highly doubt I will ever use O.C's in any context other than cannon fodder.

|(/\)|

Jaune felt a strange sense of… comfort, as he lay down, broken and bleeding. Beside him lay Pyrrha, long since dead, having taken a direct hit from a Deathstalker that had been meant for him. Far away, Ren was still fighting, trying to protect the fatally wounded Nora. It was a miracle, really, that she was still breathing.

Yang and Blake had died almost immediately in the ambush, and Ruby – bless her soul - had bought enough time for everyone else to escape by overcharging her Semblance. She had taken down hundreds… no, probably nearly a thousand Grimm, in a single second, but in return she had consumed all of her aura… all of her soul.

Weiss had cared more for her leader far more than she had let on, stupidly running out to try and save her, despite the fact Ruby was already dead. Before she had made it two steps, however, a Paladin had landed on her, having dropped from a ship hovering above them.

The White Fang… in a way, Jaune had a lot of respect for what they had done, as much as he hated them for it. Their plan had been brilliantly executed. Even when it seemed the Hunters were stopping their plan, they were in fact just helping it, spreading seeds of doubt and chaos, which gradually grew stronger.

That didn't mean he regretted his time spent at Beacon – far from it. Those two years had been the best in his life. It was a shame they had been cut short. He growled in annoyance as he thought of that traitor Ironwood, Cinder's father. Apparently hatred for mankind ran in the family, as well as the destructive urge to tear it town. No one had seen what he did coming.

Ren was sent flying by his enemies, and hit the ground hard, kicking up dirt everywhere. Jaune instinctively knew he was dead. Pyrrha had taught him to trust his instincts like that, and now it was almost… instinct. Jaune laughed at his own joke. He regretted it, however, as he coughed up blood.

His satisfaction wasn't to say he didn't have any regrets – far from it. He had two. Just two simple regrets. He wished he had been strong enough to save his team… smart enough to see through the disguises to the plan that seemed so obvious now. And he wished he had found out what his Semblance was. He laughed at that, mentally this time. It was such a petty desire considering it was thought during the Apocalypse.

He heard shouts, and he turned to his right, seeing Cardin running to save him. Jaune smiled. Cardin had become such a good person, such a good man, and such a good friend. There's no better place to bond with your peers than when you're fighting for your lives. When his teammates died, Cardin had realised how… pointless his bullying was, and had learned to treasure those around him.

Jaune saw a White Fang soldier, with a familiar streak of red hair, approaching Cardin from behind. He tried to call out, but his voice wasn't working, so he watched as Cardin fell in half, a line of red marking a blow that had been faster than Jaune could follow. The soldier, Adam turned to him and walked over, nodding to him before continuing on his way.

Heh, who would've thought that his childhood friend would still recognise him? They hadn't seen each other since Adam's parents had been alive. It was strange, in a way, that despite being on opposite sides of a war, neither bore the other any hostility or ill intent. They both understood why the other had done what they had done, even if they didn't agree with it. They both respected each other.

Jaune knew it had been silly of him to have saved Adam's life, especially so early in the war, when killing a high ranking enemy officer would be a great victory. But he had long since decided to live without regretting following his heart. Adam hadn't wanted to join the White Fang, not really. He probably still didn't want to be a part of it.

Jaune sighed mentally. He usually wasn't so reflective… he supposed this was just part of dying. He was glad the pain had stopped, at least. He was also glad that he was the last of his friends to die, so none of them had to grieve him. Over the years he had caused enough pain for them, albeit unintentionally. They deserved to rest in peace.

It was lucky that Ren and Nora had been the last two standing. Team RWBY and Pyrrha had all died thinking their efforts had turned the war around, thinking they had saved their loved ones... and made a difference. Nora and Ren, he knew, would be happy just dying next to each other.

As for him, well… he saw no better place to die, than one surrounded by the dead bodies of those he most cherished. He did not fear death… he had long since given up that luxury, when his family had been caught up in a crossfire. He had vowed to himself to be stronger, but a long way that had gotten him. Ren could, and had once before, beaten him in a sparring match while asleep. Good times.

He just wished he could have a second chance…

Again.

A voice in his head replied. Jaune frowned, or would have if it wasn't so painful. Where had that come from?

You have done that before, although last time you asked to forget.

The voice continued. Forget? Forget what?

What your Semblance is, you idiot.

The voice said, annoyed. It was a weird thought that what he assumed was a part of him was getting annoyed at his stupidity.

Well? You're running out of time. Would you like to use it or what? I thought you valued your friends more than that.

My friends? They're dead though.

Indeed.

Jaune wondered if he was going crazy. It wasn't usually to have a conversation with yourself, was it?

I am not you. I am a past you.

Well… that made no sense, Jaune thought. The voice growled in annoyance.

I am the first you, and when I discovered and used my Semblance, I got a catch worse than the rest of you.

Uh… didn't you just say we are the same person though? Jaune replied.

Touché. But that is beside the point. Every time we near death, we have a dying wish… a reason to do it all over. For the last five hundred years, I have had to guide the various iterations in their last moments. It is very annoying.

Umm… this isn't making much sense.

That is because of what the last you wished to be. Now, let us be quick, before you fade from this world. What are your regrets?

That I didn't save my friends. That I was too weak and stupid.

Okay, you would like to be strong and smart. How original. None of the previous iterations of us have wished for that. It is not like the only one who asked to be weak was the one before you.

The voice said, dripping with sarcasm so heavy he could almost feel it.

But I should not take my annoyance out on me. Well, good luck with that. I suppose I will see you the next time you die. Hopefully you will m-

The voice cut off as Jaune's vision started to fade. Everything was turning white, almost like it was beginning to snow, and he felt a chill as the snow touched him. His body went numb, and his vision went blank.

Well… that was interesting, was his last thought before his mind went blank.

|(/\)|

Jaune was tired, sooooo utterly tired, but his body insisted on waking up without his permission, and had no intention of changing its mind on the matter. He opened his eyes slightly, finding himself staring right up at a familiar ceiling. He closed his eyes again, rolling over with a sigh, only to find his body stopped by an unfamiliar weight around the chest.

Still, he had at least rolled onto his side. He yawned silently, stretching his arms and legs while his mind attempted to gather its thoughts.

Well, time to get up, my 'hero'.

He thought, even though the thought process didn't make much sense.

What, no thank you? I even nailed the timing! Geez, people these days.

Jaune decided he wanted to find his subconscious and punch it.

Hey, I heard that!

Jaune sighed again, standing up wearily. He walked over to his closet, eyes still shut, and pulled out a set of clothing without thinking, walking to the bathroom. His legs seemed to guide him without thought, even though he didn't really have any knowledge of where he was.

He locked the door behind him, tossing his clothing by his towel and quickly taking off his shirt and shorts. Hmm… that wasn't right. Didn't he usually sleep in a onesie? Oh well, Jaune shrugged. He bundled up his clothes and tossed them into the washing pile, instinctively fist pumping, knowing he nailed the shot.

He opened his eyes in front of the mirror, and nearly shrieked in alarm.

The person in the mirror was not him… it couldn't be, that was for sure, but as he moved various parts of his body, and the mirror did the same, he had no choice but to accept it. But still. What. The. Hell. Was. This.

Surprised? You actually picked your own appearance for once, even if it was subconscious. For once I… you… didn't have to do it for you… me. Man, this is confusing.

Aaand she was talking to herself as if she was a different person. Yep, she was crazy, Soon enough she would wake up, finding this had all been a terrible dr-

Wait, she?

Of course! You do eventually have to get used to it, so I'm here to help you along the way. This is what I meant by I have a worse catch with oversight, all you need to do is adjust do being the other gender. Something about timelines, and paradoxes, I really don't know or care how or why. And you're not talking to yourself… your talking to… yourself.

Glad we cleared that up, Jaune thought, rolling her eyes

Shut up.

So you're me?

Yep.

Jaune hit himself in the face. Worth it.

You realise I can't feel your pain, right?

Damn it, she thought to herself. Okay, seriously, why the hell am I female? Jaune demanded mentally.

Like I said, you subconsciously chose this. All the strongest and smartest people you knew were female, so when you were mentally designing a stronger, smarter you…

Jaune sighed. Please tell me you are joking.

Nope. Now enough of this, I've done my job, I'm off.

With that, Jaune felt the presence in her mind fade. She hadn't even been aware of it until it was gone. She bit her lip, slowly looking back at the mirror as if hoping what was there would change, even though she instinctively knew the other her had been telling the truth.

Before her stood a naked woman, who looked kind of what Jaune would imagine himself as, if she were female. Jaune was very glad to find that, as she was staring at her body, she felt no sexual attraction at all, and it actually felt somewhat normal.

Wait… if she wasn't attracted to girls… did that mean she was attracted to guys? Jaune started having a panic attack. What if she was attracted to someone like Cardin? Suddenly, Jaune calmed down, repulsed by the thought. If she was repulsed by the thought of men, that meant she wasn't attracted to them, right? She thought of women in a similar context, and was once again repulsed by the idea.

Did this mean she was… what was the word, asexual? That was it. Seemed like it. She sighed in relief, and took a few seconds to study his… her… new features. Her eyes were blue, like his had been, however a lot brighter, and with weird flecks of black. They captured a LOT of attention, even just looking in the mirror, and even though they were her eyes, she felt like she could stare in to them all day.

Her face was just as pale as before, only a lot smoother. She no longer had a strong jaw, and her face was actually quite feminine. Although come to think of it, it had been feminine to start with, she thought in embarrassment. Her hair was another attention catching detail. The right side reached past her shoulders, while the left barely reached her cheek, and both sides had spiked ends. Upon closer inspection, she noticed the length varied, bits of her hair reaching a few inches shorter, and alternating with the original length.

Her shoulders and arms were clearly strong, although the muscles were nowhere near as prominent as they had been before, after Pyrrha's intensive training. She was… well endowed, she thought, and was surprised that she wasn't embarrassed by the thought. The more she looked at it, the more… normal and familiar her body seemed. Her eyes gazed down further. She had a nice figure, good legs, and Jaune got bored, deciding it didn't really matter as long as she had a general idea of her appearance. For some reason, this whole thing was no longer nearly as interesting as she had first thought.

She sighed and got in the shower, deciding she may as well get ready for the day.

While showering, the thought back, wondering where she even was. Immediately, dozens of memories sprung to mind. Her father was flying her in from Atlas on their private airship because she got invited to attend Be-

Wait, private airship? Her father didn't have one of those… and INVITED to Beacon? The only person in HISTORY she knew had been invited had been Ruby. And why was she in Atlas anyways?

Jaune shook her head. None of this was right, but even so they were her memories. They just happened to conflict with other memories.

Right, so what else could she remember? She had never been to a combat school. Okay, no change there. She was a natural prodigy with her sword, and had entered a few tournaments, only to stop because of how boringly easy they had been. Okay… so she was a really good fighter. That was good, at least.

Hmm… Invited to Beacon, rather than having to apply, meaning she must've caught their attention somehow.

Before she knew it, she was snapped out of her thoughts as she looked back in the mirror, fully dressed for the day, and wearing light makeup she had no idea how she put on. Wow… it seemed she was REALLY good at multi-tasking… she hadn't even been aware she was out of the shower.

She walked back into her room, which was really bland, with grey walls, and nothing but a bed and a closet. She was always one for simplicity.

Once again, Jaune knew this wasn't true, but at the same time knew it was, and it was giving her a serious headache, so she ignored that for now, deciding to just roll with it. She walked to her closet, which was completely empty apart from a single suitcase, which she picked up effortlessly. Wow, this thing was light, despite its enormous size. Jaune chuckled, knowing she could easily fit in the suitcase. That was how big it was.

She stepped out of her room, instinctively walking down a path through the twisting and turning halls, finding herself at the airship exit. Before her lay Beacon academy, she could see through the window, and the ship was currently docking. She felt a hand descend upon her shoulder, and turned to the source. It was her father, still looking the same as ever.

"Well, Jeanne. Here it is." Her father said awkwardly, and she chuckled slightly. He was never very socially adept.

"Indeed, it would appear so. I suppose I shall soon depart." Jaune replied, the words feeling strange out of her mouth. Why was she talking so formally?

"Good luck. Always remember, your family is proud of you."

Jaune bowed, stepping outside as soon as the ramp descended. The airship took off almost immediately. She stood, looking around the crowd. She immediately saw Ruby being harassed by Weiss in their own little private sector. Most of the other students had already entered the school. There was an explosion and some more chatter, with Blake interjecting, only for Blake and Weiss to both leave. Just like last time.

Jaune started making her way over, smiling lightly. Some things never change, but perhaps this time… She would be strong enough to save them.

|(/\)|

Thank you for reading!