Looking Through Jaune Arc's Multiverse

A Generic Beginning Pt. 1

"You're both okay!" Qrow began tearing up, before starting to sob. "I thought I lost you both."

Blake and Weiss both rushed to join the group hug. Blake seeing Yang fall, and then failing to save Ruby or herself from falling had been terrifying. Meanwhile, Weiss had seen all of her teammates, the people she considered family disappear into the abyss. Another body had embraced Weiss from behind.

"Weiss!" Her sister Winter had rushed to hold Weiss. Willow and Whitley also joined the hug, happy to see their daughters/sisters alive.

After a moment, Ruby had asked the question that had come to her mind after hugging Yang. "Is this real?" Having a difficult time believing that her sister, team, uncle, and her friends were all together again. "Are we dead?"

Finally, everyone began to wonder how they got to Beacon.

"We asked Ambrosius to have the portals lead to Vacuo," Weiss said.

Oscar was next to throw in his thoughts, "They did. We were there."

Winter's eyes widened at the realization. "The people!"

"Wait!" Nora's voice interrupted. "Where is Jaune?"

Taking a minute to really look at everyone around, his friends saw that he in fact was not with them.

Winter was preparing herself to deliver the news to the boy's teammates, but instead, someone spoke up.

"What about Penny? Was my daughter with you?" Pietro's questions made Winter sharply inhale.

"Pietro... Penny..." Winter had a hard time making the words leave her lips. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Pietro was a smart man, he could make the connection on his own. "No..."

First, his breathing quickened, then his eyes began to water as he quickly lost his composure. His head dropped into his hands as he started crying.

"She..." Winter tried again. Finally gathering the resolve to say what she needed to. "She made a choice... to not let this power... this gift, get taken by the wrong people... for the wrong reasons..."

"Penny..." Ruby was quick to follow. She had already lost Penny once. She nearly lost her again before she opened the vault, and now she was hearing that her friend was gone. Forever this time. Now she was back in the place where she witnessed two people she cared for be taken from right in front of her. Yang just put an arm around her younger sister's shoulder and squeezed.

Winter then turned to Nora and Ren to deliver her unfortunate news.

"... Your friend," she looked down, not liking that she has to report the deaths of two people to their loved ones.

"Hey," Marrow spoke up. "This is the absolute last thing anyone wants to hear now, I know, but we need to focus. We're back in Vale, in Beacon. Which means outside those doors, is essentially Grimm territory."

"And Jaune?" Ren retorted, now growing concerned when Marrow brought up the Grimm infestation of Beacon.

"... The kid's resilient. If he's out there, he can hold his own for a while. But there are too many in Vale for him to survive long."

Nora began growling through her grit teeth.

"So," Marrow quickly added, "We need to be ready if you're set on going to find hi-"

"No," Winter cut in.

"What?" Marrow thought that Winter had started believing no one was left behind. "Winter, if he's-"