Jaune woke up. Sitting upright swiftly, he stared around.

Nora was tangled in her bed sheets, snuffling softly in her sleep, muttering occasionally about sweet treats and happy times. Ren was likewise peaceful, albeit far stiller and quieter. He lay on his back, with only his breathing indicating his being alive. He glanced at Pyrrha last, and relaxed briefly when he saw the faintest of smiles on her dozing face. He soon froze however, as thoughts came to his mind unbidden.

Was this... the next day? Was it the same repetition as before? Would they be going to Forever Fall again?

Did I... die?

He checked his scroll.

The date didn't matter much, since he tended not to pay much attention to those, but the day...

Today was Saturday. Forever fall took place on a Friday.

He'd done it. It was over, and he was free of that hellish looped episode. And it was almost entirely because of Pyrrha.

He smiled.

His partner. His friend.

He looked over to her sleeping visage, and realised he should have known it was a different day from her smile. Every time he'd woken up before, she'd worn a frown on her face.

But not today. Today, they were both free.

And he had a promise to keep.

"So... you wanna know how I got this scar?" Jaune spoke, breaking the brief silence. He and Pyrrha were on that same, storied rooftop. It seemed appropriate, considering the events of the past few days. From Pyrrha's perspective that is.

They sat with their backs to the walls, legs outstretched, overlooking the same, stunning view of Vale proper. Jaune doubted he would ever get tired of the beautiful sight. The sun shone down, and the distant buildings glittered. Small birds flew, catching insects and chasing each other, at one point forming something which Jaune thought could be seen as writing if he squinted.

Jaune had been unsure how to start, until he'd noticed Pyrrha's anxious, furtive glances at the mark on his neck. So he took a breath and began by spouting the first thing that came into his head.

"Among other things, yes, I suppose. But more..." At this, she paused, and took a breath. "Some of the other things you've said Jaune... they seem... I don't know. Scary, more than anything. You said you've gotten hurt, but then you said you had a semblance that stops you dying, and that honestly scares me even more." Jaune winced at that. Both at her fear for him, endearing as it was, and her wording.

"I didn't." He spoke.

"Didn't what?" Pyrrha's brows furrowed in her confusion. Jaune gave a wry smirk, tinged with regret.

"I didn't say I had a semblance that stops me from dying. I was going to say... that it doesn't." Jaune sighed as Pyrrha's eyes widened. Just before she could speak, he held out a hand gently to forestall her.

"I guess... let me explain what I mean when I say that. Death is this terminal, final thing right? The end? You die, it's over, no more second chances. That's what I thought, at least. But for me... that's not how it works. I've died already. A lot. I've been blown up, impaled, crushed, stabbed, mauled and one time Weiss set me on fire." He snorted. "Guess I deserved that one though, got in the way." He sighed, as Pyrrha looked on speechless. "But every time I've died, I just... woke up the same morning. It's like a bad film, except... real."

They were both quiet for a while longer, until Pyrrha broke it while staring into the distance.

"...that's..." She trailed off.

"Yep." Jaune replied, his eyes not leaving the horizon.

"You're... not kidding are you? You genuinely believe that."

"I wish I was. It kinda sucks sometimes." He paused, as he considered her words. "I didn't think it was even real at first. I mean, it's not like I'd believe it if someone told me that." He sighed. "I don't really have any proof for you, apart from my aura not really working. I can cut myself if you'd like..." Pyrrha gasped.

"No! Don't! I-" She stopped when she saw Jaune's shoulders shaking in mirth. Her eyes narrowed. "You're making fun of me." Jaune gave a wide smile.

"Yeah... sorry. I guess I've kinda developed a morbid sense of humo-" He froze, then gagged. "Eurgh, a bad one anyway. But honestly, I can't prove anything."

"Why not? If it's as you say... it should be easy right?" Pyrrha asked politely, not realising the internal conflict that simple request caused him.

"I... it's not that straightforward. I spoke with Ozpin last night. Sorry you weren't the first one I spoke to by the way. You should have been. You were gonna be I swear, but he just got to me first I guess. I was gonna tell you last night." Jaune paused. "A-anyway. When he spoke to me, he said some things that honestly scared me."

"Like what?"

"Well... he pointed out that I don't really have any proof that when I die, anything changes for anyone else. That I might as well really be dead for everyone except me. Which... scares me. I don't want anyone to go through that." He talked in a faraway voice, real concern bleeding into his speech. Pyrrha was slowly locking and unlocking her hands, before slowly responding.

"I... don't know what to think, Jaune. I want to believe you, but... I've never heard of anything like this. Without proof... it just seems unreasonable. I'm sorry." She spoke with a pinched look, like she really did wish it was the case. To her surprise, he smiled.

"Don't be. Like I said... I wouldn't believe it either." He leaned back against the wall, content somehow, like a weight had been removed. "For now... let's just treat it like my aura's the only problem. Professor Goodwitch is training me in aura control, but if you're still willing... I'd be honoured if you could train me as well." He looked at her hopefully. She smiled.

"Of course Jaune. But... what if you get hurt?"

"Uhhh..." Jaune considered this. "Maybe... we should wait until I've trained my aura a bit..."

Pyrrha let out a light laugh. It was a beautiful sound.

"I think that would be for the best. Now... perhaps some breakfast?"

"Yeah. Let's."

"Concentrate Mr Arc. You must focus your efforts more-so than others, so you must keep your mind on your task."

"Yes Ma'am." Jaune was inclined to agree with her. He knew he was at a disadvantage, hence their training together. That said, it was a lot harder than she implied though. A tornado of flying objects tended to be distracting.

Jaune had met Professor Goodwitch in the sparring room, as per her request. They were the only ones present, and she'd brought props.

Bean bags. He'd though that they couldn't possibly hurt at first.

He missed the naiveté he'd had then.

And his lack of bruises for that matter.

It had taken Jaune a long time to be able to control his aura. At first it was a glow of the hand, nothing more. Later, an entire limb, and finally his whole self. But it took a significant amount of concentration to keep it up. More than that, it took real effort to do so, and left him physically drained.

They'd quickly realised that for now - instead of trying to present an entire forcefield form, as it were - they would use it in a reactionary manner, in order to practise both finer control, and concentration under duress. Hence the flying bean bags, courtesy of Professor Goodwitch. Normally, they were shot out of a small device, for training dodging. With Goodwitch's assistance, the machine was unnecessary.

He was trying to use his aura as a small shield, to allow him to bat them away. It was useful for his reactions as well, since he would have to rely on them more than anything else. Every time he went to smack one out of the air, he would apply some aura to his hands, to prevent the impacts from being too painful. If they passed, he might desperately flare it across his torso, or if he was especially unlucky, his face.

He wasn't always successful.

"Aargh!" Jaune cried as a bean bag smashed into his cheek, sending him reeling. Professor Goodwitch looked unimpressed, but at least it was better than the disappointed look she'd worn in all of her combat classes.

"Hmm. Well, they do say that failure is the best teacher I suppose. So I would hope you might be learning something." She glanced at his bruises as she spoke, including the massive, ugly one forming on the side of his face.

"Then I'm probably learning a lot, right Professor?" Jaune replied deadpan, before wincing as he poked his cheek. He looked up just in time to see a creasing by the corner of her lips that on anyone else might signal the start of a smile. She soon schooled her face back into her normal, impassive features. Jaune smirked. It seemed she wasn't quite the emotionless task-master everyone assumed her to be. His face broadened into a wider smile at her. Her eyebrows raised slightly, before her eyes narrowed.

She observed her tablet for a moment, before quirking an eyebrow.

"I must say, Mr Arc, if there is one thing I do find impressive about your performance, it's your stamina, namely your aura" She glanced back up to him. "Despite all that I have thrown at it, your aura is still reading around fifty percent, which is quite remarkable."

"Uh, I'll take that as a compliment, Professor." Jaune spoke, glad of some praise. Which immediately dissipated as she continued speaking.

"Don't. It isn't exactly something you have conscious control over. And much like I wouldn't compliment someone who inherited a fortune on their wealth, the abilities a person is born with aren't worthy of praise unless deliberately honed." Jaune visibly deflated. "On that note, I will say that your capacity to take punishment is impressive... particularly in the face, it seems. So if you have to take pride in something, I suppose that will suffice."

Jaune laughed nervously, visibly embarrassed. Being able to take a beating wasn't exactly what he wanted to be remembered for, after all. He rubbed his arm. While he contemplated this, Goodwitch was thoughtfully examining her notes. She looked up at him.

"Mr Arc, correct me if I am wrong, but it seems likely that minor, or even major injuries are quite likely to occur to you, even if you are careful."

"Uh, yeah, that... that sounds about right." She nodded.

"I see. So far, we have simply been focussing on finer aura control, which, while useful, is not going to be able to protect you while under pressure, as you will be far too distracted. Later, we will have to study maintaining a full body coverage, or else you will suffer serious injuries, whether during fights or when combatting the Grimm. It is something that will take practise, but eventually it should become second nature." Jaune nodded in agreement. It made sense after all. Goodwitch continued speaking

"But for now, it seems appropriate to demonstrate how to utilise aura to heal minor ailments, such as they are." With this, she gestured to the purple mess that was his cheek.

"Yes, Professor."

"Then let us begin. As before, I want you to focus on one area. But in this case, focus on the injuries you have taken. Allow your aura to flow over the affected area. Start with your cheek. It is rather eye-catching." Her eyes twinkled with mirth, though she gave no other visible sign. Jaune nodded, and closed his eyes.

A soft white glow quickly settled, highlighting the ugly mauve of his face. And then, much like in the Emerald Forest all that time ago, the bruise faded, leaving nothing behind to show he had suffered anything whatsoever. To Jaune, there was nothing but a minor tingling, and the sudden cessation of his pain. He opened his eyes to see Goodwitch nod approvingly.

"Very good Mr Arc. It seems you have an affinity for self-healing. I'm sure it will be very useful, given your inability to not get hit." He chuckled nervously at the barbed compliment. Regrettably, she was almost certainly correct. "Continue with the rest, and then we shall proceed."

One by one, the bruises faded in the same soft glow as before. At last, when he'd finished with the last of his injuries – in an unmentionable place that set a quirk in Goodwitch's eyebrow – he looked back to her expectantly. She checked her tablet once more, before speaking.

"Now that is out of the way... and since you still have quite the reserve remaining to you, I believe it would be best if we continued for a short while longer. Practise makes perfect, after all." She looked at him expectantly. He grimaced.

"Yes, Professor." He steeled himself, and forced aura into his hands, focussing on controlling its presence. "This is gonna suck," he mumbled under his breath.

To his pleasant surprise, he was finding it far easier to keep up, only missing a small number which even then barely glanced him. But then, after about ten minutes of dodging and punching the bags aside, he made a mistake.

A beanbag slammed into his chest after he missed it by the barest hair's width. It knocked him backwards, stumbling, and as he gasped for breath, he tripped over himself and fell backwards. As he did, the aura slipped from his mental grasp and dissipated, just as he flailed with a hand to catch himself. He fell onto his arm, his wrist taking the full brunt of his weight.

A muted crack sounded out, and Jaune led back, gasping in pain. Goodwitch strode over quickly, tapping at her tablet with haste.

"Mr Arc, that was foolish. This is exactly why you must retain control." She spoke bluntly, but not without some concern. Jaune sucked in breath as he sat up, cradling the injury.

"Yeah, it's broken," he spoke of his arm.

"I hadn't noticed." Goodwitch spoke in a deadpan voice, while still typing into her tablet. "Come, Mr Arc, we are going to the infirmary. It is a simple fix, and you should be back on your usual form in a day."

"Wait."

"Hmm?" Goodwitch looked up, unimpressed at this interruption.

"This is probably going to happen a lot, right? This sort of... stuff." Jaune spoke slowly, carefully. Goodwitch nodded hesitantly.

"Yes. But I fail to see what that has to do with the infirmary, or you lack of presence therein, Mr Arc." She was almost glowering at him.

"Well, if this stuff happens a lot, or it happens when I can't get help from anyone else, I'm going to need to learn how to fix it myself. And, well... what better way to learn... to practise than with proper training, right?" He winced as he jarred his arm. "Plus if it's difficult now, it's gonna be ten times worse out there..."

Goodwitch eyed him with a glare, her mouth puckered. She closed her eyes, and sighed, before focussing back on him. "As much as I wish to disagree – and believe me Mr Arc, I severely disagree with your suggestion – your idea has some merit. I suppose learning how to set a bone is useful, and now would be the best time to learn. Sooner rather than later, it seems." She narrowed her eyes. "This is going to be extremely painful."

Jaune grimaced again. "It always is." Goodwitch quirked an eyebrow, before Jaune hastily continued. "Let's do it."

Jaune sucked in breath through his teeth, and followed her instructions as she guided him through the motions. As he gently pulled down on his wrist to manoeuvre the bones into place, his face paled, and he groaned through gritted teeth. When at last they were in position, he looked up at Professor Goodwitch, who examined his arm gently.

"Very good, it seems as well set as I could expect. Now, as before, let your aura flow through it." Jaune nodded, and closed his eyes.

As his aura surrounded the break, there was an uncomfortable feeling within his arm, like a cross between pins and needles, and insects crawling under his skin. But the pain lessened quickly, and when it was just a dull ache, Jaune opened his eyes to check his arm.

As the faint glow dissipated, his arm looked flawless. Gently, he pressed along the bone. He was glad to find that there was no more pain resonating out, and there didn't seem to be any trace of-

Wait.

He almost grinned at its simplicity.

Right there, on the top of his forearm in line with his thumb, there was a slight bump. He could only just feel it as he ran his fingertips along the bone, but it was there. A token memento as it were.

And a reminder that mistakes had consequences.

Goodwitch examined his arm carefully, before releasing him. She turned back to the room, and with a wave of her crop, the mess from their training began to clear itself. As she managed this, she spoke to him.

"It seems you managed better than I expected, Mr Arc. There would likely not have been much improvement if you had gone to the infirmary. That said, we are not repeating this little experiment." She turned and her eyes snapped back to his as she glowered. "Let this be a lesson to you to not lose concentration. Am I understood?"

Jaune stood to attention. "Y-yes Professor. Thank you."

She nodded sharply. "Indeed. We will continue our lessons at the same time next week. Until such time as I deem it reasonable, you will not be taking part in normal combat classes, as it could prove quite serious." Jaune choked slightly. Goodwitch raised an eyebrow, before continuing. "In the meantime, might I suggest conferring with Mr Ren on meditation? It may help improve your ability to maintain a constant aura. Practise frequently." Jaune nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Professor. That sounds like it could be a good idea. Good night." Jaune began to gather himself and his equipment to leave.

"One last thing, Mr Arc."

Jaune turned back to her.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Well done. And good luck." With that, she departed, leaving Jaune alone.

He could swear to having seen the faintest ghost of a smile on her lips. He grinned, and left to return to his team.

So here it is, fresh from the break. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and hope you enjoyed the sudden spike in drama from RWBY. It really threw a lot of people.

I'm not apologising.

Regarding this chapter... if last chapter was my favourite so far (and it was, I loved writing every bit of the dialogue), this was by far my least favourite. I don't know how you felt, but I didn't enjoy the dialogue at all, and most of it felt stilted. Honestly, I just wanted it out of the way, because there are better things to come.

I may have to have breaks between chapters, but there should only be two or three left, and I have planned most of that out, if not written it entirely.

After that, if I continue, I will almost certainly be skipping the vast majority of Volume 2, since Jaune doesn't really have much meaningful growth, aside from not stalking Weiss, and becoming Lord of the Dance.

In the meantime though... Nora's reaction to Jaune's "Superpower" should be explored.

OMAKE

"...so yeah. That's... basically it." Jaune sighed as he explained himself to the remainder of his team. "I just... die and wake up. I know it's not easy to bel-"

He was cut off.

"Pfffffffffft. Is that all? I thought it was something waaaayyy weirder, like you were running off to have an affair with Goodwitch, or were secretly a Grimm!" Nora rolled her eyes as she fell back onto her bed. Jaune's face contorted the most confused expression he could remember having.

"...what?" He glanced at Pyrrha, who looked equally offput. Ren, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. Nora spoke up from where she lay, arms gesticulating wildly.

"Yeah, like that's not even that weird." Jaune's eyebrows did a strange, rapid dance before resting in a quirk.

"It's... not?"

"Nah, I mean, I'm literally a demi-god, and Ren isn't called the Dragon of the East for no reason."

"He's called the Dragon of the East?" Jaune latched on to the only thing that he could understand. Pyrrha just sat there, smile politely frozen on her face.

"I mean yeah, what else would you call someone from the East who could turn into a dragon?"

Jaune just shut down at that point. He had absolutely no idea how to proceed, but his brain seemed to be on autopilot.

"Does he?"

"Well obviously, or he wouldn't be called the Dragon of the East."

"Oh. That makes sense..." Jaune spoke in a daze, not really taking in what she was actually saying. Ren sighed.

"Tautology aside, she is in fact telling the truth. It is a... family trait, that... skipped a generation." Ren looked almost wistful for a moment. Sad, even. Jaune snapped back to reality.

"Wait, you're literally a dragon?"

Later, when Jaune found himself in the Emerald Forest face to face with a colossal, green dragon with pink features, Jaune had but one thing to say.

"Oh my god, you're literally a dragon."

It shuddered, before its form promptly morphed back into one Lie Ren, who took a deep breath, before opening his eyes.

"Yes. Thank you for allowing me to share this with you both. I felt that since you shared your difficulties, the least I could do was share mine."

"Uh... no problem?" Jaune replied, as Pyrrha nodded emphatically.

"Yes, thank you for trusting us!" She spoke, quickly and not without a touch of mild panic.

Jaune nodded as well, before frowning and turning to Nora.

"Wait... didn't you say you were a demi-god?" Nora flashed a grin, and began cackling, slowly drawing out Magnhild.

As this shifted into maniacal laughter, Jaune noticed a storm cloud beginning to form above, where previously there had been nothing but a clear blue sky. Ren gently pulled both Jaune and Pyrrha a few paces backward.

He was just in time, as a bolt of lightning lanced through the air towards her. The flash was blinding, and as the afterimage began to fade from Jaune's eyes, he could see a ring of burnt grass around Nora.

But the biggest change was to Nora herself. As her laughter began to trail off, Jaune could see her outfit had changed, into a sturdy armour of bright silver overlapping scales on her arms, and gleaming steel plate on her body, while thick leather flaps formed a skirt.

There was a scary gleam to her eyes, but Jaune's were drawn to Nora's hammer. It shone, catching a sun that wasn't visible through the thick cloud above. Flickers of electricity danced across its surface. Nora rested it gently on the ground, but there was still a loud thud, belying its hugely increased weight. She spoke.

"Now... let's go kill some Grimm."

Pyrrha whimpered, and the only thing stopping Jaune from fleeing was his acceptance of death a long time ago. He sighed.

This was going to be a long day.