Greetings everyone, and here is the first chapter of The Knight & The Wizard. Now let me say it first, that I do enjoy Oscar's character but for some strange reason I always imagined what the relationship would be like if our resident blonde knight and the wizard of Beacon became one person and this story was the result. It will be taking place after the fall of Beacon, so sorry to those fans of "Arkos". But other than that nothing new to add, so...onward!

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Chapter One

It's been several weeks since the Fall of Beacon Academy and the Kingdom of Vale was plunged into chaos. Though the Grimm Dragon stood frozen atop Beacon's tower thanks to Ruby, the city itself was left in ruins and with it...the death of Pyrrha Nikos, my partner...my friend...my...my first love. All due to the actions of Cinder Fall and her allies, most of whom were alleged transfer students at Haven Academy in Mistral. And now Ruby Rose, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, and I were traversing our way through the continent of Anima on our way to find the answers we seek.

But for now we were setting up our camp for the night, Ren was put in charge of food, which was obvious, while Nora, Ruby, and I made a perimeter sweep to check for any signs of Grimm. Ruby mentioned killing a lone Beowolf but to be honest I was only paying half attention to her. I knew she and the others could tell I wasn't acting like myself but after witnessing the destruction of what I considered to be my home and losing someone I loved, I'd be surprised if I acted the same at all. But I couldn't let them know...I had to be strong for them...I had to be the team's strategist. And so, I put on a facade, a mask of optimism and foolishness, in order to hide my misery.

The misery would come out during training after everyone was asleep. I knew they would try to stop me if any of them found out I was staying late and driving myself to exhaustion during training, especially if they found out who was training me.

"Alright, Jaune, just like we practiced. Follow these instructions." said Pyrrha's voice, her beautiful, smiling, face shining through the pixelated screen of my personalized scroll.

I was thankful that Pyrrha went and pre-recorded some training videos for me. She would always that if there were ever a time she wasn't around during our usual training sessions then I could use the training videos in her place. They were often used whenever she'd be busy with a girl's night with Nora and Team RWBY or whenever she was called into Vale for an event or other celebrity thing...But now, all these videos were instead a constant reminder of what I lost.

It took me a minute to realize that I spaced out as the video, which I had placed on a loop, was repeating itself.

I needed to focus and so when Pyrrha said "Shield up." I lifted my left forearm, making sure it cover my upper body and lower face, leaving my eyes open. When she said "Keep your grip tight." I gripped my sword's handle as tight as I could, making sure to leave a little room for ease of maneuverability. And after so many times of repeating the same stance during our usual training sessions, I needn't worry when Pyrrha said "Don't forget to keep your front foot forward."

Silence came next just like always but I kept myself prepared, waiting for Pyrrha's signal.

"Ready? Go." she commanded and I followed suit, stepping forward and swinging my sword in an arc, the force of the slash creating a gust of wind and pushing the grass around me.

But it wasn't over...it never is.

"Again!" commanded Pyrrha.

I moved forward again, gripping my handle and swinging Crocea Mors in another wide arc. More wind pushing the tall green grass around myself.

"And again." she commanded, again.

So I used the leg and hip muscles to spin myself around, making sure to use all my might in this final arc. The force spreading the grass around as even more gust pushed at them. Though the final slash took all out of me, leaving me panting for air.

And what came next was both comforting...and saddening as Pyrrha smiled and let out a slight giggle, something that I never noticed but always found myself enjoying and wishing to hear her laugh and giggle all day long.

"Okay. Now assuming you aren't cheating, we can take a break." said Pyrrha.

And so I stood, letting my head fall and closing my eyes, just to listen to her voice.

"I know this can be frustrating..." Pyrrha started, 'causing me to open my eyes and watch her image. Her vibrante green eyes so full of life and happiness and her smile was enough to brighten an entire room, nay, an entire world. "...and it can feel like so much effort to progress such a small amount, but I want you to know that I'm proud of you..." "You shouldn't be proud of me...I failed you." "I've never met someone so determined to better themselves." "I'm not determined...I'm a coward...A fake." "You've grown so much since we started training." "All because of you...I can't do this without you." "And I know this is just the beginning...Jaune, I-I..." "Please...don't say it...Please...say you hate me...say I'm a failure...say anything else..." "I want you to know that I'm so happy to be a part of your life. I'll always be here for you, Jaune." finished Pyrrha, the video looping back to the beginning as my knees began to feel weak under the weight of myself and my guilt.

My body crumpled to the ground, my knees catching myself so that I didn't fall farther as my shield and sword fell to the ground and meeting them were a few stray tears that managed to escape my tear ducts.

"Why...why did you do this to me? How could you just leave me to fight her? She killed Ozpin, so what made you thing you could do a god damn thing?!" I finally shouted into the starry sky, my fists tightening.

But I knew my questions would never be answered...Pyrrha was gone and there was nothing I could do...except fall back into the grass and look up into the starry night sky. Pyrrha always said she wanted to go camping one day and see a shooting star so when one such star streaking across the sky, a saddening smile spread on my lips as I thought about what could've been.

I had planned on telling Pyrrha about my feelings for her after the Vytal Festival...I had it all planned out, I was going to take her on a picnic to the park and take a walk by a nearby lake where I would ask her to go out with me...call it over the top or call it old fashioned but I knew it would be amazing...But now all it will ever be is a pipe dream...another reminder.

Seeing nothing more in the night sky, I lifted myself up and picked up my weapon and shield, sheathing one and collapsing the other before hooking it onto my belt and walking over to the scroll which was paused on Pyrrha's smiling face.

"Why did you leave me, Pyrrha?" I asked once again and once more I recieved no answer in return.

So why was it that a minute later a voice answered back?

"Ms. Nikos did, what she did, to protect you, Mr. Arc." said a disembodied voice, shocking and confusing me enough to drop my scroll and unleash my weapons, keeping my shield trained on my upper body and gripping my sword in my hand, making sure to get back into my fighting stance as I surveyed my surroundings. And call me crazy but I could've sworn that that voice sounded like Professor Ozpin.

"Mr. Arc, I need you to remain calm." said the supposed Prof. Ozpin voice.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" I shouted, twisting and watching the shadows of the forest for any sign of an enemy but seeing nothing.

"Mr. Arc, you must calm yourself and I promise to explain this...strange situation. Please, Mr. Arc." pleaded Prof. Ozpin's voice.

For some unknown reason I didn't feel as if the voice was lying or that there was an unknown figure waiting for me to let down my guard, so I complied and lowered my weapons a bit, just enough to show that I was still prepared to defend myself.

"Thank you. Now I know that this is not the most ideal moment to be revealing myself but I thought it best do so before anything...dire began to happen." said the voice, sounding more and more like Professor Ozpin.

"Who are you? What's going on?" I asked aloud.

"As for who I am, I believe you already know that answer. And as for what is going on, well to put it simply, Mr. Arc, our souls have merged to become one." said the voice.

"Professor Ozpin? B-But how? I thought you died...I...we saw Cinder fly up the tower. What's the hell is happening?" I asked again.

"Believe me, Mr. Arc, it was strange my first time as well but the important thing to do now is to remain calm and listen. I will explain everything. Yes, it is true that I was sadly killed by Ms. Fall. The power of a maiden is not one to trifled with and I paid the price. And what is happening is...unimaginable, to say the least, but like I said before our souls have merged together." said Prof. Ozpin.

"Souls? Merged? Who...What are you?" I asked.

"I am a man punished by the gods for failing to fix a mistake I made. I once told Ms. Rose that I had made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet, and unfortunately, I wasn't exaggerating. I'm...cursed and for thousands of years, I've walked the surface of Remnant, living, dying, and reincarnating in the body of a like-minded individual. The Professor Ozpin you and the other students met was not my first form, and clearly wasn't my last, given our current situation. It's...an extraordinarily strenuous process on everyone involved." said Prof. Ozpin.

"I am the combination of countless men who've spent their lives to protect the people of Remnant. With every rebirth, my soul is eventually merged with another and I am changed, but my memories stay with me, a fact that you shall experience soon enough. This curse was bestowed upon me by the gods because I failed to stop her in the past. Which is why we need to stop her now." said Prof. Ozpin.

"Her? Who's her?" I asked.

"Salem. A being with untold power and control over the creatures of Grimm. She seeks to end the era of man and send all of Remnant back into the darkness. And I need your help Mr. Arc." pleaded Prof. Ozpin.

"My help? What makes you think I can do this? I'm liar...I faked my way into Beacon with forgery...I didn't even have my own damn Aura unlocked on the day of initiation." I said.

"I am well aware of this fact, Mr. Arc." said Prof. Ozpin.

"What?! How?!" I asked aloud and I swear I could see the smirk on his face as Prof. Ozpin chuckled at me.

"Why, Mr. Arc, did you honestly believe that a prestigious school designed to train warriors wouldn't be able to see through such a poor attempt at forgery?" asked Prof. Ozpin.

"Whether dead or alive, this guy still pissed me off to know end." I thought to myself, grumbling.

"A side effect of our souls merging is that your thoughts are my thought, Mr. Arc." said Prof. Ozpin, smirking once again.

"Great." I thought, once again.

"So, what now? What do we do? Do I tell the others?" I asked.

"No, for now remain quiet on our...situation until we reach Haven Academy. There we will relay our problem with the others as soon as my associate arrives." said Prof. Ozpin.

It was strange to say but I understood where Prof. Ozpin was coming from. Was this what he meant by "like-minded individuals"? Either way it was safe to call it a night and get back to camp before anyone noticed.

After grabbing my scroll, the screen still on Pyrrha's smiling face, a soft smile spread on my lips before sliding it into my pant's pocket and walking back to camp.

A part of me knew that this was only the beginning of what would eventually be the strangest month of my life.

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And so ends the first chapter of my new story. What did you guys think of it? Was there any part of it you enjoyed the most or do you want to tell me some of your own ideas of where this story might lead to? Either way, make sure to leave a review, favorite and follow and I'll keep on writing.

Till next time!