Jaune stared up at the girl sat on his chest and wondered why he wasn't screaming. Trivia had let go of his mouth so he absolutely could, and no matter how skilled she was there were four people in the room who would respond like a bomb had gone off. Pyrrha was dangerous enough on her own, and Trivia didn't have her weapon drawn. He might even be able to wrestle her to the ground himself and keep her pinned there.

And yet he didn't.

It was something in her mismatched eyes that had him staying quiet.

Trivia looked like she was happy to see him. Like she'd missed him, in the short day and a half since Cinder had been run out of Beacon and Trivia had to flee with her. Her smile was less cocky and more hopeful, with a fragile quality to it as she made a few quick signs with her fingers.

As if he was in the right headspace to put their shaky sign language lessons to any use!

He couldn't decide who would have more reason to scream at him for sneaking out his room in the dead of the night with a wanted criminal. Pyrrha, Nora and Ren would be furious, but any of Team RWBY would have ripped his asshole open. Then there was Glynda, who might have scattered his body parts across the Emerald Forest for it. And yet there he was, slipping on some pants and sneaking out the dorm with the diminutive girl, despite the fact that her team leader had tried to murder him in much the same manner.

His aura was up this time, however, and he was ready for anything. The two of them padded silently to the common room, where Jaune eventually sat on one of the seats and Trivia, without hesitation, hopped onto his lap with her back to his chest. Then, she twisted, still in his lap, to wrap her arms around his neck and hug him.

A soft, surprised laugh escaped him as he returned it. "I missed you too," he said, running his hands up and down her back. Trivia felt cold, and he could tell she'd been outside all night. "You're freezing. Don't tell me you sat in the forest all afternoon waiting for a chance to slip in."

Trivia pulled one hand back and began to sign, but quickly realised she needed both. Their lessons hadn't progressed to a point where he could fully understand her, so she settled for signing with one hand and crudely pantomiming with the other. It took work, but he was slowly able to piece together some of what she was saying, especially when he mentioned Cinder by name, and she pointed to herself and wriggled two fingers like legs running.

"You've run away from me?"

The small girl nodded proudly, though whether she was proud of him for understanding it or herself for escaping Cinder, Jaune didn't know. Trivia's thoughts on Cinder were made clear when she rolled her eyes and pantomimed a mouth yapping.

"She tried to blame you for what happened? Or she was being too mouthy?"

A nod and two fingers to indicate the second, and then Trivia leaned into him and poked at his neck with a mournful expression. Jaune still had his hands around her, holding her in his lap, and was surprised to find he didn't feel threatened at all when her hands stroked his neck, close enough to strangle him.

"I'm okay," he said. "Cinder almost got me, but Blake managed to save me – and that's a miracle in itself. If she hadn't gotten curious..." He didn't want to think about how close he'd come. "What about you? Won't you be in danger now?"

Trivia scoffed and made a stabbing motion with one hand.

"Not that I doubt you but there are three of them." Trivia shook her head and pantomimed a mask. "True," he said, "There's the White Fang as well." She looked shocked. "Oh, we know about them," said Jaune, a little pleased to have surprised her so. "I accidentally ended up in Adam Taurus' dreams and got the plans for Beacon from him. Told General Ironwood and Ozpin. We're prepared for them."

There was a viciously pleased grin on Trivia's face, and if he'd needed further proof of her loyalties then that was more than enough. She didn't just hope they failed, but actively wanted them to run into a trap and be decimated.

But he hadn't needed the proof because, foolishly or not, he trusted her.

He'd seen her in her dreams.

They'd connected on a way few others had, at least knowingly.

"What about you, Trivia? Will you be safe? What about your sister? Is Neo safe?"

Trivia smiled and hugged him again, nuzzling her nose in his neck. He could feel her laughter from the vibrations through his skin. It was an almost intimate gesture, but he didn't get the feeling she had any sexual or romantic interest in him. It was something simpler than that. Purer. Trivia pulled back and smiled, eyes closed, head tilted, and hugged him again.

He supposed that was as good as sign as any that she and her sister were safe.

Hopefully, anyway.

"What are you going to do now? Do you want me to speak up for you? I'm sure we can convince people to forgive—" Trivia shook her head. "No? Why not? We could try and get you a spot in Beacon. You could—"

Trivia pointed outside the walls of Beacon and to herself, then twisted two fingers together and touched them to her heart.

"You have someone out there? Neo?" A shake of her head. "Someone else. Do I know them?" Another shake, then a so-so gesture with one hand. Trivia waved it after, telling him to not worry about trying to guess, but pointing at herself, the ground, and shaking her head.

Telling him she couldn't stay here even if he wanted her to.

And perhaps implying that she didn't think forgiveness would be so forthcoming from General Ironwood and Headmaster Ozpin. Or, perhaps, she didn't want it. Trivia was a criminal, and no matter his wishes she might not have any interest in changing that. Only in not being beholden to Cinder.

"I'll trust you," he said, watching as her eyes lit up again. "But promise me you'll look after yourself as well. Cinder is no joke and no matter how strong you are, all it takes is one moment of inattentiveness and it'll all be over. I don't want to stay awake at night wondering if you're saf—"

Trivia grasped his head and pulled his face in.

Not to kiss.

But for their foreheads to touch.

Her eyes were open still, pink, and brown staring into blue through her lashes as she smiled, for once, nor a cruel or sarcastic smile, but a soft and happy one. Her hand on the back of his neck kept him there, the two sharing a silly and inclusive little smile. Neo then tilted her head up and planted a kiss on his forehead. He mimicked her.

She was a strange one. He'd known that from the first dream, and it had been reinforced when she became the only person who wasn't a teacher that knew of his Semblance. The person he could trust with the secret of it.

Even stranger for being a criminal.

But he did trust her, foolish or not, and he didn't think he was wrong to.

"Be safe?" he asked.

Trivia nodded, then poked him in the chest.

"I'll do my best as well. Do you have your scroll?" A shake of her head. "Then take my number down on paper instead. I want you to stay in touch when you buy a new one—" Her grin told him she wouldn't be acquiring it legally. "Don't tell me," he groaned, already jotting down his number on a pen and paper carelessly left in the common room. "Let me live in a fantasy world where I believe you're a law-abiding citizen. Here. Please text me, if only so I know you're safe."

Trivia took it, slipped it into her outfit and nodded, then hugged him once more.

When they parted, she winked and shattered into glass.

Gone.

Which was when he heard a heavy sigh from the hallway.

Blake was stood there, leaning against the doorframe.

"You really are an absolute moron, aren't you?" she asked, arms crossed, ears flat, eyes narrowed.

"Blake!? How much of that did you hear?"

"None of it. I stayed back ready to intervene and save your damn life if I had to. Again," she added, with a dangerous glint in her eye. "Which I hope you realise isn't my primary job in Beacon, Jaune. I'm not paid enough to be your bodyguard, and you desperately need one if you're going to be stupid enough to leave your room with known criminals."

He winced. "Ah. Trivia is... well... it's complicated..."

"Hmhm. I can see that. I almost thought you were going to make out and believe me this conversation would be a lot angrier if that happened. I'm Yang's partner."

"I wouldn't cheat on her. And I'm surprised you followed me a second time."

"How could I not? I heard you get up and leave and fully planned to go back to bed, but then my mind started asking how bad things would have been if I did that the last time, and suddenly I was too paranoid to leave it be. I assumed you'd just walk around school a bit before going back to bed. I didn't actually think you'd be meeting with a wanted criminal."

"Please don't tell anyone."

Blake's eyebrows rose. "Give me one good reason not to."

"Because I'm asking from the bottom of my heart?"

"When I say good reason, what I mean is an intelligent reason."

That was fair.

But his team and Team RWBY would murder him if they found out he'd come out alone to meet Trivia. They'd drag him over hot coals to the headmaster's office, and then Trivia would be hunted down. He didn't want that.

"Trivia came to tell me she's abandoning Cinder and running away. She wants out." He licked his lips, and apologised in his head for what he was about to say. "She wants out in the same way you wanted out from the White Fang." Blake flinched. "You deserved a second chance, Blake. Trivia does as well."

"Tch." Blake looked away in annoyance. "You can be manipulative when you want to be."

"I know. It's just not often I want to be. Sorry."

"Fine." Blake breathed out harshly, eyes closed and an annoyed expression taking over her face But annoyed in the sense that she thought him a pain in her ass, and not anything too angry. "Fine, I'll keep your, and her, secret. I hope you know her better than you think, Jaune, because not everyone is as honest as I was in wanting to turn my life around. But!" she stressed, glaring at him. "I have one condition for my secrecy."

"Name it."

"You. Stop. This. Shit!" Blake poked his chest with every word. "You stop wandering outside in the middle of the night. You stop waking me up. You stop dragging me into these crazy situations because I care enough to come and make sure you survive the night. I'm tired, I'm cranky, and I can't sleep if I'm worried you're going to go commit suicide by Cinder if I don't shadow your every step."

"Ahah." Jaune winced. "Yeah, that's fair. I promise I'll stick to my room from now on. And sorry for waking you up. And thank you for caring enough to follow me," he added. "You saved my life the other night."

"I know. Now stop making me think I need to save it every night. Sheesh." Blake turned away, throwing her hands up in the air. "Do you have any idea how worse the teasing is going to get if I'm found sneaking out with you for a second time? Weiss and Yang will never let me hear the end of it!"

Better that than him being ripped into by everyone for being an idiot.

He hoped Trivia would be okay.

/-/

Blake was as good as her word and no one realised he'd been awake come the following day. They went to lessons, ate lunch, checked the news and looked to see if Cinder and her team had been caught and arrested. They hadn't been.

While the others complained of no one taking things seriously, Jaune knew that General Ironwood and Ozpin were. It was just that finding four people in a city wasn't easy, especially when those people were doing their best to lay low and avoid being found. They also didn't want to cause a panic and motivate Cinder to start taking hostages. And Qrow was only one man. He couldn't be everywhere in the city at once.

With the benefit of some rest and time to calm his nerves, Jaune could also accept that they'd been right to turn down his offer of helping in the hunt. Leaving aside the ethical implications and the fact that Amber wouldn't have wanted him to, there was the logistical problems of getting him in the right area and not invading the dreams of innocent people. Vale was a big place and the exact limits of his Semblance weren't known in that much detail. He had Beacon-wide range, but how much further did it extend? It also wasn't like people didn't work night shifts and wouldn't be asleep during the day, either. The odds of stumbling into Cinder, Emerald or Mercury's dreams were low.

Still, it was amusing to listen to his team protest and argue that more should be done. It made him wonder if this was how Ozpin and Glynda felt when Team RWBY decided "more needed to be done" about the White Fang. It was so easy to sit on the side lines and criticise the city's approach to the White Fang, not knowing any one of a thousand plans and security measures the city had.

Beacon knew what was coming. It was fortifying itself for that moment.

Luckily, unlike Blake, his team were happy to complain but not act. If they did, it'd only be putting him in danger of being killed by Cinder, and none of them were reckless enough to try that. Team RWBY had enough recklessness for both teams combined.

And they showed it.

"I know a guy who specialises in information," said Yang. "We can drop by and hit him up. See if he doesn't know anything."

"Doesn't hate guy hate your guts?" asked Ruby.

"I mean, I smashed up his club once—"

"And threatened him a second time with Neptune," said Weiss, growling out the name. There was no love lost there, but Jaune felt bad for Sun. The guy was stuck between wanting to spend time with Blake and not wanting to be seen as betraying his best friend. "I don't think he'll be happy to see you a third time."

"Third time's the charm."

"Yes, and maybe he'll kill you this time."

"It'd be stupid for Jaune to leave Beacon anyway," said Blake, shooting him an irritated glare. As if he'd actually gone and offered to do so and she thought him a moron. He hadn't even suggested it!

Unfair.

"I know that," said Yang, leaning an elbow on the table. She toyed with her food. "But we could help you guys out. It could be me and Pyrrha going there. Or just Team RWBY. You can stay in Beacon and defend Jaune while we check the club out and see if he can find anything on Cinder."

"Ruby won't be able to go," Ren pointed out.

"Why not?" whined Ruby. "Do you think I'm scared of a nightclub?"

"I think you're underage, Ruby. They wouldn't let you in."

"Erk—" The shorter girl flushed bright red while everyone laughed at her expense. "W—Well I didn't want to go anyway! Who even cares about stupid nightclubs and beer? It tastes horrible. And Yang just comes back with headaches when she does go."

"Sounding pretty jealous there, sis."

"Shut up!"

Jaune laughed along with then, but intervened before they could go ahead with any bad ideas. "I appreciate it, guys, but you really don't have to. It's dangerous to go out and I'm fine waiting in Beacon and seeing what the teachers can pull off."

"No. It's fine. We can do this." Yang grinned and winked at him, but that only worried him more.

"You really don't need to," he tried to say.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt if it's just to ask." Weiss interrupted him before he could finish. "If Cinder and her team really are criminals, then they might be laying low in some place other criminals would know of. It's a good lead."

"You don't need any leads!" said Jaune, trying to rein them back in. This idea of theirs had "disaster" written all over it. "He could be working with Cinder. They're birds of a feather. Why risk it when we can sit in Beacon and be perfectly safe?"

"We could ask about the White Fang while we're there," said Blake.

Jaune banged his head down on the table, rattling the plates. "Are you all ignoring me? Am I on mute or something? Hello. Jaune to Team RWBY. Do not go out and risk your lives for me. I repeat, do not do this."

"It's cool. It's cool." Yang gave him a thumbs up. "We got this! Though maybe one of you should come with and trade places with Ruby. She can help look after Jaune, and we can have a fourth member to come get information."

"I'll go." Pyrrha stepped in.

"You too, Pyrrha!?" Jaune groaned.

"I am listening to you," she replied, rubbing a hand over his back. Her smile was apologetic but firm. "I just happen to think this isn't a bad idea."

"You literally called Blake reckless for rushing off after the White Fang last time."

Pyrrha blushed, and then blushed even harder when Blake regarded her with a raised eyebrow. His partner fidgeted, laughing awkwardly, and trying to come up with a good answer for that one. "W—Well it's different when it's my partner who's in danger. And I happen to agree that not enough is being done to bring Cinder to justice."

"We're students! It's not our job!"

"Chill, Jaune." Yang rolled her eyes. "We're just going to a club to ask for information."

"The last time you did that, you ended up in a running battle with a huge mech on a freeway!"

"Heh. Yeah." Yang smiled fondly at the memory. "Yeah, we totally did."

"I'll make sure things stay sane," promised Pyrrha.

"You'll be infected by their stupidity too. I just know it."

/-/

There was no stopping them once they had their minds made up, so Jaune didn't try. He did the responsible thing instead and ratted them out to Oobleck via text, who passed the information on to Glynda and Ozpin. They couldn't stop Team RWBY going out since they weren't technically breaking the rules, but they promised to have Qrow shadow them and make sure they didn't get into any trouble. He was a professional huntsman, so Jaune assumed he could more than handle a few crooks in a bar. Roman Torchwick hadn't been seen for ages either, so it wasn't going to be like the docks incident.

Instead, Ruby brought her and her sister's game console over to their dorm and he, Ruby, Ren and Nora spend most of the night having their own little tournament. One that Ren won with obnoxious ease. He even had the gall to be fake-humble about it, which just made him seem smug. Ruby and Nora spent two hours trying to win games off him but he was too patient. Worse, he was the type of calculating player who would gladly run out the clock and win on health remaining than actually fight to a satisfying conclusion.

"You're worse than Weiss!" Ruby howled. "How are you worse than Weiss!?"

"I'm surprised Weiss even plays," said Jaune. He could just imagine her criticising games like this as still and unproductive. "How did you pull that one off?"

"Eh. Weiss is pretty easy to control once you get used to her. You just need to imply she might not be good at something and then she just has to prove you wrong." Ruby glowered. "But all she did was look up the meta pick online and learn their best move, and she just spams that and nothing else."

"Evil," agreed Nora. "As expected of our resident ice queen. And I thought Yang would be bad."

"Yang's a button-masher."

Jaune wasn't surprised at that. Not even remotely.

By now, they must have already met with Yang's information dealer, and he wondered why they weren't responding. Probably having fun at the club. It'd be Yang convincing the others to stay for a drink or two of course, and they were free to do so. He wouldn't have minded going himself if it wasn't just a really bad idea to go out there where Cinder might find him.

Jaune's scroll buzzed and he went to answer, only to see it was a text – and not from Pyrrha.

"It's Miss Goodwitch."

"Uh-oh," teased Nora. "What have you done this time, fearless leader?"

"Nothing. I think." It might have been about his Semblance, so he opened it up and read it before letting out a long groan. Nora, Ren and Ruby were instantly curious, so he read it out loud. "Mr Arc. Please ensure that Pyrrha Nikos is made aware of her detention starting at 0800 tomorrow morning and lasting until 1400 hours. She should report directly to my office."

"Pyrrha is in trouble?" Nora was amazed. "Wow."

"I've got a feeling you might want to check yours as well, Ruby," said Ren.

"Ugh." Ruby did so. "Miss Rose. Please ensure that Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna and Weiss Schnee are made aware of their detention starting at 0800 tomorrow morning and lasting until 1400 hours. They are to report directly to my office." Ruby slapped her hand into her forehead. "Guys, noooo. We had plans! You can't go one hour without getting in trouble?"

"What do you think they did?" asked Ren.

"Something embarrassing and reckless, I'm sure," said Jaune. "I am so going to hold this over Pyrrha's head. I told her. I told her they'd corrupt her."

"Hey," Ruby whined. "You don't know that it was my team that did this..."

Ren, Nora and Jaune all stared flatly at her.

"Y—Yeah, okay. It was my team..."

"If you've turned my partner into a Blake then I will never forgive you."

"They're not even back yet. What state are they going to be in?"

Pyrrha returned two hours later, covered in soot and motor oil, with her hair singed and her outfit torn to shreds, sporting a cut down her face, a black eye and a limp. "Don't ask," she snarled, pushing past them and walking straight into the bathroom. "And don't ever ask me to go out information gathering with that team again."

"No one asked you to," Nora called. "You volunteered!"

Pyrrha didn't respond.

"Man, Team RWBY are just, like, magnets for trouble. Do you think she ran into Cinder?" asked Nora.

"I doubt they would have just come back to us without speaking to the headmaster first if that was the case," said Ren. "I have a feeling we'll find out with the morning's news. You'd better head back to your team, Ruby. They need to know about their detentions."

"Can't I just stay here?" asked Ruby, forlornly. "Or join your team officially?"

"And infect us with whatever nonsense your team has?" said Jaune. "I think not."

"I'm not tainted, I swear. I can be normal. I really can be."

Yang knocked on the door. "Is my sister in here? We have, like, so many things to cover. Turns out the White Fang is in Vale and working with Cinder. Ah, there you are." Yang picked the struggling girl up. "Talk to you all in the morning!"

"Afternoon," said Ren.

"Huh? Why?"

"You all have detention."

"Whaaa—? But we busted a White Fang dust-smuggling operation."

"How!?" Jaune cried, arms in the air. "You went out to get info from a club. How did that transition to anything related to a bunch of terrorists!?"

"Well, it started when Blake—"

"That's all the answer we needed," said Nora, cheerfully. "Goodnight."

Yang snorted and carried Ruby away, the shorter girl crying for them to save her and let her join a real team that did normal team stuff and didn't constantly get into trouble. Jaune felt for her, he really did, but that didn't stop him closing the door on her pleas.

"Don't ask," Pyrrha repeated, stomping out the bathroom in her pyjamas.

"You have detention tomorrow," said Ren. "Eight through two."

"Don't care. Skipping. Sleeping now. Wake me and die."

Pyrrha's head touched down and then she was gone.

"Wow." Nora shook her head, amazed. "One night out with Team RWBY and they already broke her. They really are something."

They really were.

He just hoped their explanations for this would be good. In the meantime, Jaune climbed into bed and hoped for a dream that would be a little less invasive than Cardin's the night before. He still didn't know what to do about that since, good reasons or not, Cardin was still a racist bully. He was just a racist bully with a slightly more sympathetic story behind it.

It wasn't like he could fix that by walking up to the guy, hugging him, and telling him everything would be okay. Sometimes all he got from his Semblance was an uncomfortable level of information on someone.

And then sometimes he got grand conspiracies that ended up with someone trying to kill him.

He'd kill for a simple wet dream.