Jaune had expected he'd be called to the headmaster's office the morning after the dream to continue the story – or for Ozpin to admit it was all a dream-ramble and none of it was real – but Ozpin had practically withdrawn from the public eye. Important meetings about the Vytal Festival, Miss Goodwitch had told the student body when she took over some of his duties. Given it only came around to Vale once every eight years, and how big a deal it was, it made sense he'd be up to his neck in work.

Team JNPR were mostly pleased he'd managed to go a night without upsetting anyone or getting himself arrested (or shot). He'd told them he had dreamed with Ozpin, but not what, and they thankfully accepted that as private matters between Ozpin and Jaune. It wasn't like they really wanted to know what went on in an old man's head anyway.

The stranger thing was that Weiss had come back and wasn't hatefully glaring at or avoiding him. Had Winter not told her after all? He'd been so sure she would. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he didn't bring it up and happily let life continue as it always had, bringing them unerringly closer to the Vytal Festival.

Which, as one might expect, took to casually infiltrating people's dreams.

/-/

"Whooooo!"

"Wahey!"

"Dance! Dance!"

Jaune closed his eyes and summoned a long coat, tossing it to a naked Velvet Scarlatina clutching herself in the middle of Amity Arena. The faunus didn't question why he was there toward the end of her fight when her clothes had been shredded off by an enemy's attack; she was much too grateful for the coat she wrapped around her body as she sank to her knees and whimpered.

"It'll be okay," said Jaune, creaking one eye open and then the other when he saw she was decent. This was the kind of thing he wanted to avoid seeing, even if a part of him would have disagreed with that notion. "These... uh... accidents happen during fights. I'm sure no one will remember it."

Because it wasn't real.

"I'm going to be all over the internet!" Velvet wailed. "My life is over!"

Jaune groaned as she began weeping over-dramatically. Well, it was overly dramatic from his point of view but probably less so from hers. This was the first "naked at Amity" dream he'd had tonight, but not the first dream related to Amity or the Vytal Festival. Cardin had seen his teammates killed due to his own weakness, a transfer from Vacuo had proposed to his teammate and girlfriend after winning their fight and been publicly rejected, and Ruby had shown up to the wrong Amity Colosseum and missed her team's fight!

There was only one Amity Colosseum, obviously, but it was still so very Ruby to imagine messing up that bad. He'd done his best to tweak the dreams here and there, but he wanted to be subtle, and his past interaction with Ironwood had made him leery of influencing people directly. Miss Goodwitch had spent all of today and the day before looking at him oddly as well. Was even she starting to think he was invading her dreams? It was all too much to want to expose himself to Velvet.

So, a little creativity was required.

With a flex of his aura, Jaune suddenly had a pink and yellow polka-dotted Goliath crashing through one of the stands and roaring, except that its voice came out shrill like a mouse. Velvet gasped and covered her mouth, somehow still afraid of the childish thing. Frowning, Jaune willed it to trip, stumbling on the grass and hitting the floor face first. Its tusks flew off and exploded into wrapped candy like it was a ten-metre tall pinata.

"W—What...?" Velvet stammered.

"I've got this!" shouted Coco, dashing forward as an illusion of sorts under his control. He had Coco slam a foot down and bring her minigun forward. "Eat this!"

A stream of pink soda flew out of Coco's minigun-turned-watergun and drenched the Goliath, which hissed and writhed as it shrank down to the size of a poodle. It lunged forward and began furiously attacking Velvet's knee, but its body was so cute and fluffy that it couldn't do anything more than aggressively cuddle.

Velvet picked it up and stared at it.

"Rawwww!" it squeaked.

Come on, thought Jaune. Come on, Velvet. Put that brain of yours to use.

It was a novel idea, and he'd based it on Pyrrha and Ren's requests for him to try and make them lucid dream. Obviously, they meant he should come up and reveal himself and remind them of his Semblance in the hopes they snapped out of it, but he couldn't do that with Velvet. Instead, he wanted to see if he could just make her dream so stupid that she figured it out on her own.

"What is all this...?"

Not good enough? He wanted to ask how and call her dumb but there were a lot of dreams he'd experienced that made no sense and that had him wondering how he hadn't possibly realised it was a dream come morning.

"Velvetttt. My darling, my sweet—" Maybe Cardin leaping down from the stands in a white suit with a rose clutched between his teeth would convince her. "I have come today not to pull your ears but to pull..." He winked. "You."

Velvet leaned back. "Eh?"

"THROUGH THE POWER OF DANCE!"

Sky, Dove, and Russel hopped down and formed backing dancers behind Cardin as he started a routine Jaune had once seen a boyband on tv perform. It was ridiculous, with a lot of swaying and dashing across the floor, all playing to a beat and song that the other members of Team CRDL provided. Behind them, fireworks exploded into the sky and a hundred Grimm appeared to crowd and wave glowsticks in the air, growling and howling along to the music.

Velvet stared.

I have given you a literal chorus of Grimm here, Velvet! Come on! Think!

"Is..." Velvet looked down at the cute Goliath. "Is this a dream...?"

Yes!

"Am I dreaming?" Velvet looked around. "I must be. What... oh wow. Is this a lucid dream...?"

Finally. Finally. Jaune cut off the aura to Team CRDL and let them fade into the air. He stood still, like he himself was a figment of Velvet's imagination. The woman in question stood and looked down at her bare feet sticking out from under the coat he'd given her. With a hum, she made her school uniform appear under it, without any aura use on his part.

"It is a dream!" Velvet cheered. "Oh wow! I can't believe I'm awake in a dream!"

Success.

Of a kind.

While it was nice to know he could pull this off, Jaune was suddenly reminded of the fact it now meant he had to act like he was a figment of her imagination. He stood still, eyes ahead, not needing to breathe or move. Velvet was too distracted anyway, waving a hand and putting Coco in a bright mascot outfit for a thermos.

And then Coco began to sing. "I'm a little teacup short and stout—"

Well, that was one way to use limitless freedom in a dream, he supposed. Velvet giggled and looked around, quickly snapping the crowded stadium away so that they were back in what he assumed was Team CFVY's dorm. He froze when Velvet's face appeared in front of his.

"Why are you still here...?"

Crap.

"Hm. Maybe it's because I dreamed of you helping me." Velvet came up with her own excuse before he had to. He hid his relief. "Is it strange I'd dream of you saving me again? I still don't know why I dreamed of you babysitting me before. You're a nice guy and all, but isn't that a little weird?" Velvet sighed. "A good job it's just a dream."

Yes. A very good job.

"Is my subconscious trying to tell me something about you?"

Velvet leaned in so close her nose brushed against his. Jaune fought hard not to lean back. Velvet was normally a lot shyer than this, but if she was convinced none of this was real then of course her nerves would have taken a holiday. Her face tilted, lips pursing as she hummed. One finger came out and touched his forehead, then his nose.

"It's so weird that I can feel your skin when this is all my imagination. I feel real as well," she said, running her hands down her sides. "Does that mean a serial killer's knife would feel real? That's scary."

Subconsciously, several wooden barricades boarded themselves over the door to the room. Velvet jumped and turned around in fright, giving Jaune a chance to let out the breath he'd been holding. Velvet shivered, but quickly calmed down.

"O—Okay. That's me, isn't it? I wanted to feel safe, and the door got boarded over. I'll have to be careful not imagine anything scary. I'm in control here. I'm god!" The last felt like she was trying to convince herself of that. "Anything I say goes. Hmm."

Velvet concentrated and Team CFVY's dorm grew larger, the beds replacing with resplendent four-poster beds and a jacuzzi and hot tub appearing in the corner. With a giggle, she made a huge fridge appear as well, and then a big loveseat underneath her. Velvet's clothes turned to a bikini and the roof removed itself, letting tropical sunlight beat down on her.

"This is so amazing!" she gushed. "I want a drink. Ahem. Jaune, go fetch me a drink please!"

This is a dream, he thought. You can will one into your hand. You know that!

Of course, he didn't say that. Bowing low, he said, "As my lady wishes" and headed over to the minifridge. Maybe Velvet wanted to be doted on. With a roll of his eyes when she couldn't see him, he summed a bright cocktail that looked like it belonged on a beach and balanced it on a metal tray, then headed back. On the way he felt something overcome him and shivered as his clothing vanished in motes of light. Though, luckily, it was only his top. His hoodie had been vanished and he was wearing some white collar around his throat.

Velvet giggled. "Now you're playing the part!"

His left eye twitched. He could, with one word, reveal the reality of this and have Velvet so embarrassed she'd combust into flames. Maybe become a new star and birth a new universe. He could, but he wouldn't. Swallowing his embarrassment, he walked back and bowed low, offering her drink with an elaborate flourish.

"Thank you, Jaune! Mm. This tastes real, too." Velvet leaned back in the recliner. "I wonder why I had a lucid dream tonight of all nights. I guess the nightmare about Vytal makes sense. Everyone is stressed. Cutting off my clothing, though. Ugh." Velvet smacked her hand into her own forehead. "That's not even possible. I need to stop watching those stupid romcoms with Coco. Ahhh." Velvet closed her eyes. "Mm. Jaune. Massage my ears please."

His face twitched again. "As my lady commands."

Moving behind her seat, he took her ears with a certain degree of uncertainty and began to rub them. He'd given his mom shoulder and head massages before for pocket money, and Saphron had teased a few out of him as well, but this was the first time he'd heard of a faunus massage. I made sense such a thing would exist since some faunus parts were large enough to have their own muscles.

Curiously, he wondered how people with horns managed. Did they feel the horns poking out their skin? If someone pulled on one, did it feel like something was pulling on your skull? Or was it just like a fingernail? He knew Velvet's ears hurt when people yanked on those, so he focused on pinching them gently between his fingers and thumbs and sort of rubbing them like he might an actual bunny rabbit's ears. He couldn't tell if he was doing a good job, but he couldn't have been doing a bad one or she'd have stopped him.

"You know, it's strange I've dreamed about you twice now," she said, eyes closed, luxuriating in the sun, mood, and massage. "I think I have a lot of dreams about Coco, Yats, and Fox, but that makes sense. Why you, though?"

Because he kept invading her dreams.

"Do I... Do I have feelings for you?"

Uh-oh. Several beads of sweat ran down Jaune's face. Not at the thought of Velvet liking him – he'd be flattered if anything – but at the fact that he knew the reason she dreamed about him wasn't attraction. If she mistook it as that, well, wouldn't that basically be him interfering and using her dreams to take advantage of her? Not if he didn't let her make that mistake, but it'd still feel awful to have to turn her down to protect her.

"No. That's not it." Velvet's dismissal was both painful and a huge relief. "You're cute and sweet but you're not really my type. Hmm. You're all soft and squishy. I'd love to hug you but you're not very handsome."

The worst she can say is no, he thought glumly.

"Plus, you're so young and shrimpy!"

I get the point, Velvet...

"I mean, you're not underage or anything but seventeen feels really young to a nineteen-year-old. You're still in that gangly stage. Hm. I bet you'll be handsome when you're older." Velvet giggled. "Maybe I should come back and check!"

It was a good job Velvet was talking with her eyes closed because otherwise she'd have seen how red his face was. He pushed a little harder on her ears, hoping to make her uncomfortable, but Velvet only sagged into him.

"Ahhh. You're a good masseur, though. Mmm. Maybe I should ask you to do this in real life." Velvet sighed. "Yeah, as if. I'd get tongue timed before I could start. Hahhh. This is nice, though. Hnnn. I need someone to do this for me more often. Mmm." Velvet giggled. "Jaune!" she said, with an imperious tone. "Massage my feet!"

Seriously...?

This was what he got for trying to give someone control in their own dream – and Velvet was such a nice girl, too. It reminded him of what his mom used to say about the quiet ones always being the biggest freaks. Not that there was anything untoward about a foot massage, but it was obvious Velvet was enjoying being this demanding when she'd never have the confidence to act this way in real life. Jaune sighed and knelt at the foot of her chair, accepting the dainty foot she pushed into his face.

Far from having a foot fetish, he'd say he had an anti-one, generally disliking feet despite owning a pair of his own. In his humble opinion, feet were best hidden away behind socks and shoes, but he obviously couldn't express that when he was meant to be a summoned figment of Velvet's imagination. So, he pushed his thumbs into the sole of her foot and began to knead.

"Ahhhh..." Velvet's moan was more relaxed than aroused, a drawn-out groan of pure relief that had her sinking into her seat. "This is so gooood," she whispered. "My feet have been killing me in training. Yes, Coco, I can kick good, but you're turning my feet into wooden blocks!"

Team CFVY were upping their training, then. Everyone was. With the festival close, just about every training ring in Beacon was booked up for the next two weeks, and most teams had been forced to train out in the grounds or even the forest – which wasn't ideal when you had people wanting to keep their tactics and Semblances a secret for the tournament. It wasn't a big deal for his team, but he knew Team RWBY were panicked about people figuring out their team combo moves.

All of which Team JNPR knew, of course, but the odds of their teams – first years and all – meeting up against one another were slim. Plus, the names of the moves were based on colours everyone on his team would recognise anyway. Team JNPR didn't have combo moves of their own, but they did have a few opening gambits. Little tricks they'd come up with to leverage Nora's grenades to create cover or split an enemy team up for uneven fights.

His thoughts were interrupted when Velvet switched her foot and decided that, as well as being her personal waiter, masseur, and eye-candy, he should also be her therapist.

"—and I could tell Coco wanted to get closer to me, but I had to pretend I didn't notice. Does that make me a bad person? It's not that I'm against that or even her, but she's my team leader and it felt... I don't know. Uneven? There was a part of me that worried if she asked me out, I'd have to say yes just because she could make my life difficult if I didn't."

"And I know now that she'd never do anything mean like that, but we were first years, and I didn't know her fully yet. All I knew was that she was super-confident, into girls, and kept stealing looks at me when she thought I wasn't looking. Now I know she wouldn't be mean, part of me feels like it was cruel to judge her, but is it a good idea to apologise if she's already over it? Coco thinks I never noticed, and finding out I was fully aware might make things super awkward for her! What do you think, Jaune?"

Well, if she was asking him to speak.

"I think both you and Coco have grown beyond that," he said. "It was over a year ago and nothing happened. Forget about it and move on."

"Mmm. You're probably right. It's not like Coco hasn't dated people since. I even helped set some up." Velvet sighs. "Though I messed up on Kelly. I can't believe the bitch cheated on her, and do you know what she said?" Velvet hissed, "She said being bi means she has needs that only men can satisfy too, so Coco should be willing to share her. Can you imagine!?" Velvet's foot almost caught his jaw. "Like being bisexual means you're promiscuous. It's a good job I broke— I mean, her arm broke— Oh, what's the point? None of this is real." Velvet giggled. "I broke her arm. Made it look like a training accident, but it totally wasn't. I even told her I was about to do it before I did. You should have seen how terrified she looked!"

Holy crap, Velvet. Jaune kept his eyes on her foot as he worked.

"And I remember her trying to tell Miss Goodwitch I did it on purpose, but who would think I could do something like that? I was so tearful and upset and it's me – it's Velvet Scarlatina! She couldn't hurt a fly! Ehehehehe. That's what the bitch gets. If someone makes Coco cry, we make them cry. Yats could tell it was me. Gave me a little talk about restraint after, but I don't think he was all that upset."

Okay, good to know. Don't upset Coco. It really was the quiet ones you had to look out for. He'd always assumed Nora meant the promise of leg-breaking as a joke, and she probably did, but it turned out Velvet was much more literal.

"Mmm. Massage my back," she said, pulling her feet away and rolling onto her front. "Come on," she urged, kicking her legs languidly above her body. "And be firm. I'm feeling super stressed about the tournament."

I should have let your dream play out, Jaune thought. This is what I get for trying to be nice.

"Yes Velvet."

"Mmm. And call me mistress."

"Yes mistress."

"Ew no. That sounds weird. Call me... Call me ma'am."

"Yes ma'am."

"Mmmm. That's better."

Velvet purred as he knelt over her and placed his hands on her back. There were almost certainly people in Beacon who'd look at his situation and feel jealous. More fool them. They didn't realise how much of a slavedriver Velvet was!

/-/

"Helllooo team midgets!" Coco merrily greeted them at breakfast. "Room for four more? Well, three and one rabbit skin rug."

The reason for the latter quickly became apparent when Coco sat Velvet down and the girl just sort of melted on the table, smiling dumbly with her eyes closed. "Mmmmm," she moaned.

"Uh. What's with her?" asked Yang.

"Apparently, she had a sweet dream where she got to stay at some holiday resort and get pampered with a full spa and massage package, and somehow that has her feeling like she's actually been through it." Coco rolled her eyes. "Talk about a vivid imagination, eh?"

Pyrrha, Nora and Ren all looked at him.

Jaune only had eyes for breakfast, however.

"It was a lucid dream," Velvet mumbled. "Eheh. I got to pick everything. I want to go back to sleep and dream more." Her words trailed off into muffled giggles.

He didn't doubt she wanted more, given that the dream had lasted hours, and he'd been forced to pamper her hand and foot. Literally. He'd done countless massages, served her drinks, cooked her food, washed her hair, given her a manicure, and even pushed her around the swimming pool on an inflatable bed while she snoozed in the sun's rays.

It had been a full-blown holiday for her.

Pyrrha leaned in and whispered, "I'd like to request a chance to if you're in my dream."

"Noted," he grunted. Though if she thought he was going to do all this for her, she had another thing coming. They could both be lucid in her head, so he'd be damned if he didn't get to lounge around and enjoy himself as well.

Ren tugged on his other sleeve.

"I can do the same for you as well," Jaune answered automatically.

"Not that," he hissed, leaning in. "Look at her neck, by the juncture of her shoulder."

Jaune looked but didn't see much. "What am I meant to be looking at?"

"Jaune," he hissed. "She has a tan line on her shoulder!"

It was faint. Velvet wasn't tanned from a couple of hours in the sun but there was a subtle discolouration that marked the beginnings of one. Jaune didn't see the big deal and went back to eating with a shrug, only for Ren to kick him under the table. He yanked Jaune's head down and spoke directly into her ear.

"How does someone tan in their dorm room, in bed, in the dark!?"

How...?

Jaune's eyes widened. Oh.

Oh, indeed.

"Uh. I think I need to speak with Doctor Oobleck—"

"Mr Arc." Glynda Goodwitch appeared behind them. "Good timing, then. The headmaster would like to have a quick word with you. Doctor Oobleck is there as well."

"Uh. O—Okay?"

"It's nothing bad," said the teacher, rolling her eyes. "Why does everyone assume it's a punishment when I talk to them?"

"Because it is?" said Yang.

"That may be your experience, Miss Xiao-Long, but you've also caused untold damage in your short time here. Not everyone in Beacon has your impressive credentials for troublemaking!"

Yang snickered.

"Is Mr Ozpin okay?" asked Ruby. "He hasn't been seen for a few days. Is he sick?"

Glynda looked aside awkwardly. "Ozpin is not sick. In fact, he is in good health. Remarkably good health." There was an odd note to her voice as she said that. "But I think it's best Mr Arc come and speak with him. I can assure you your team leader will be returned to you before class." Glynda eyed Velvet. "Miss Scarlatina. You're looking... well..."

"Hey." Velvet smiled lazily back. "I feel amazing."

Glynda looked to Coco. "Is she drunk...?"

"If she is, she hasn't been sharing them with us, and that's unforgivable." Glynda's eyebrows rose. "The having booze before class part, I mean. Downright awful. You'd never catch us turning up to class drunk."

Something in Jaune's head clicked.

He'd served Velvet alcoholic cocktails, hadn't he? Had his Semblance not only given Velvet the massage treatment of a lifetime, but also left her tipsy from the many drinks? He looked down as Velvet giggled, hiccupped, and slid off the table to land under it with a dull thump.

Then, she began to snore.

Whoops.

Glynda sighed. "Take Miss Scarlatina to the infirmary and tell Miss Tsune she's to deal with the hangover without painkillers. Mr Arc, you're with me. Team RWBY, I am watching your every move. Team JNPR." Glynda paused, then nodded. "Have a good day."

"Oh, come on!" said Yang. "Favouritism!"

Glynda touched her fingers to her glasses and then pointed them at Yang warningly.

"Sheesh. You nearly collapse the entire cafeteria in a food fight once and no one lets you forget it."

When Jaune was brought to the elevator and up, his panic had begun to mount even further. He hadn't done anything too bad to Velvet, and he was sure she'd be fine, but the simple fact he was able to leave those kinds of marks on her body was shocking enough. What if he had been the kind of creep to try and use his Semblance to engage in wet dreams? There might be women waking up pregnant in Beacon right now. That he'd only healed one man's arm and left a girl tipsy and blissed out from a massage was a miracle.

When the elevator opened, Jaune rushed out. Doctor Oobleck was already beside Ozpin's desk, but the headmaster was facing the other way, hidden by his chair.

"Sirs, we have a problem!" Jaune blurted out. "My Semblance is letting me change things!"

The chair turned.

A twenty-five-year-old Ozpin from, apparently, several thousand years ago faced him, with spry features, sharp eyes, and a handsome smile. The black hair was a big enough change to look suspicious but could have been explained away as hair dye. The fact he was half his previous age or less, and a completely different ethnicity to boot, was a little harder to explain.

"Yes," said Ozpin, in a lilting voice filled with wry amusement. "Funnily enough, we had noticed."

Jaune hit the flood in a dead faint.