Wake Up As Ozpin

Ozpin sat at his desk, fingers laced, staring at the hourglass.

Step One Hundred and Forty-Two: Find Out Who Broke Time.

Someone activated the Relic.

Someone tampered with time itself.

And if he didn't figure out who, then everything—the loops, the changes, the instability—would only get worse.

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Step One Hundred and Forty-Three: Possible Suspects

Ozpin needed to be logical about this.

Who even knew about the Relic of Choice?

Glynda? No. Too responsible. If she had done it, it would have been intentional, and she would have told him by now.

Ironwood? No. He relied on brute force, not ancient artifacts.

Qrow? …No. Even drunk Qrow wouldn't mess with this.

Cinder? Salem? Possible. Very possible. But if they had the Relic, the timeline wouldn't just be unstable—it would be completely rewritten.

Which meant—

Step One Hundred and Forty-Four: The Culprit is in Beacon.

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Step One Hundred and Forty-Five: The Jaune Arc Problem

If there was one person stupid enough to mess with time itself, it was Jaune.

Ozpin had no evidence. No proof.

But also—

Jaune was Jaune.

And if reality was breaking, he had a feeling Jaune was at the center of it.

So, logically—

Step One Hundred and Forty-Six: Interrogate Jaune Arc.

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Step One Hundred and Forty-Seven: The Worst Interrogation Ever

Ozpin found Jaune in the cafeteria, shoveling pancakes into his mouth like a man unaware he might have broken reality.

"Ah, Mister Arc," Ozpin greeted smoothly.

Jaune choked. "Mmmhff?!"

Ozpin took a seat across from him. "No need to panic."

Jaune definitely panicked.

"Professor Ozpin! H-Hey! What's up?! I didn't do anything!"

Step One Hundred and Forty-Eight: Suspicious.

Ozpin adjusted his glasses. "Tell me, Mister Arc, have you noticed anything… strange lately?"

Jaune blinked. "Uh. What kind of strange?"

Ozpin watched him carefully. "Have you experienced any moments of déjà vu? Conversations repeating? Things happening twice?"

Jaune frowned. "Huh. Actually—yeah. I mean, kinda?"

Ozpin leaned forward slightly. "Explain."

Jaune scratched his head. "It's nothing big, but, like… I feel like I've had the same argument with Weiss about ten times. And I keep thinking Pyrrha's gonna say something before she actually does."

Step One Hundred and Forty-Nine: He's Affected Too.

Jaune shrugged. "I figured I was just tired or something. Or maybe Weiss just really likes yelling at me."

Fair assumption.

Ozpin studied him. If Jaune was experiencing the loops but didn't know why…

Then that meant—

Step One Hundred and Fifty: Jaune is not the culprit.

…Which was somehow worse.

Because if Jaune wasn't responsible—who was?

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Step One Hundred and Fifty-One: A More Dangerous Possibility

If it wasn't Jaune…

If it wasn't Salem, or Cinder, or anyone who actually knew what the Relic did…

Then there was one final, horrifying possibility.

One that made Ozpin's grip tighten on his cane.

Step One Hundred and Fifty-Two: The Relic is Doing This on Its Own.

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Step One Hundred and Fifty-Three: The Worst-Case Scenario

The Relic of Choice was supposed to respond to a wielder.

But what if—

What if it didn't need a wielder anymore?

What if it had been activated once—maybe long ago—And now it was stuck?

Resetting. Replaying.

Not by command, but by instinct.

Step One Hundred and Fifty-Four: Time Isn't Just Breaking. It's Trying to Fix Itself.

Ozpin exhaled slowly.

Alright. Fine.

He needed a plan.

Step One Hundred and Fifty-Five: Figure Out How to Stop the Loops Before the Timeline Collapses.