Despite being the headmaster, most students at Beacon didn't see Ozpin on the regular; he was presumably a very busy sort of person and delegated much of the discipline issues in the school to Miss Goodwitch, who both was a familiar sight to the student body and also a very threatening figure. Extreme moments called for extreme measures however, and the eight of them – both Team CRDL, and Jaune, Nora, Blake and Yang, were brought up to "explain themselves" in front of the headmaster of Beacon.

Team CRDL had done the usual thing everyone in school did which was deflect, deflect, deflect and hope the other party played along. In a way, they'd sorted their issues out with a fight, so there was some sense in the eight of them coming together to play it all down on a Friday night and not end up losing them the weekend. Of course, that was before it came to their turn and Yang opted to answer for them. Jaune saw the very moment Blake's eyes slowly closed, hope departing, as Yang not only signed their death warrants but dug them a set of graves as well.

"Yeah, Cardin was pulling shit with a faunus and hurting her so Jaune smacked him down like the bitch he is." Even as she said it, Yang shot him such a huge grin that he wished a hole would open up under his feet and swallow him. Miss Goodwitch's expression was much less wholesome.

Ozpin raised one eyebrow. "I was under the impression all four of you were involved."

"Eh. Couldn't let Jaune have all the fun."

"Thank you, Miss Xiao-Long, for that thorough explanation." He leaned back into his seat. "I realise that is a little ironic of me to say that we don't espouse violence here at a school teaching you how to be violent, but I will say instead that we don't encourage it against one another. You are all training to support one another against the Grimm. That includes you, Mr Winchester. Do not think I cannot see you smirking. Miss Scarlatina is a capable huntress who I dare say could run rings around your team if she wished. Do not mistake her reluctance to harm you as weakness." He paused and looked to Miss Goodwitch. "I think detention and a loss of rights to leave Beacon for this weekend seems a suitable punishment." There were groans all around. "Do you agree, Glynda?"

"I do. It is a first case for violence on this level so you will get off lightly. Rest assured I will know if you try and sneak off to Vale during the weekend. I will know, and I will not be pleased. And then you will not be pleased once I get a hold of you. Am I understood?"

"Yes Miss Goodwitch," chorused all eight of them.

"Good. You are dismissed."

The elevator ride down with the eight of them in the carriage was awkward as all hell. At the bottom, Cardin made sure to shoulder check Jaune into the door as he left, snarling some insult that might have been a whole lot more meaningful if he wasn't the one with a black eye.

"Fucker," swore Yang, catching Jaune by his shoulders. "You shouldn't take that from him."

"Take what?" asked Jaune, genuinely confused. "The only damage he's done is bruising my fist."

"Ha!" Yang righted him and slapped his back. "You know what, you're pretty cool sometimes, Jaune. I wouldn't have thought you'd go all crazy on Cardin like that after you put up with all his bullying. You surprised me."

"I think he surprised everyone," said Blake.

"Not me!" said Nora. "I've always known Jaune was secretly a beast."

All the attention had him blushing and rubbing his cheek, which probably wasn't the kickass persona Yang was talking about. "It's different when it's someone else," he said. "And Velvet didn't do anything. Ging after her like that. It... I guess it pissed me off." It pissed him off a lot. "Sorry for ruining your weekend."

"Eh." Yang shrugged. "Worth it."

"I get to avoid a shopping trip with Weiss," said Blake, smirking. "I'd say I came out on top."

"Weiss isn't going to see it that way," said Yang. "Ah hell. Guess we'd better go and get chewed out by her. See you around, Jaune. Nora. Give us a shout if Cardin tries to pull any shit; we'll see you tonight at detention."

"I guess we'll need to apologise to Pyrrha and Ren as well," said Jaune, when it was just him and Nora left.

"I'll do that," interrupted Nora. She looked to the side and grinned impishly. "Looks like you have some people who want to talk to you." She petted his cheek and backed off with a laugh, then made to run. "Good luck!"

Good luck with what? Jaune turned the way she'd pointed, only to freeze as four people were coming his way. They'd been waiting off to the side of the elevator, and only one of them was recognisable. Velvet. The girl he'd spent a night babysitting in her dreams looked simultaneously anxious and plain confused.

Oh crap, thought Jaune. She recognises me. Of course she does! Everyone else remembered I was in their dreams, but they knew me.

It must have felt odd to Yang and Blake to have him appear in their dreams, but it was at least explainable. He was someone they knew, and their dream must have just tossed him in. Not all dreams made sense. That wasn't the case for Velvet. She had never met him, and he hadn't met her, and yet he'd appeared in her dreams. There had to be a thousand questions running around in her head. He didn't have the answers.

Luckily, the other girl took his attention away. Her hands settled on his cheeks and she drew him down as if to kiss him, only to hold him a few inches away instead and look him over with expressive brown eyes visible over her sunglasses.

"Um." Jaune's voice wobbled. "C-Can I help you?"

"I think the question is the other way around, buster," said the girl with a grin. "I mean, you helped my teammate over there, so I'm wondering how we can help you. And committing your face to memory. The name's Coco. Coco Adel."

"Jaune," he said without thinking. "Jaune Arc."

Velvet gasped. Crap. Crap, crap, crap, he'd gone and introduced himself with the same name he gave her in his head. She might have accepted that he was someone she'd just randomly seen one day and dreamed about, but now she'd be asking how she dreamed his name as well and got it right. He was such an idiot. Then again, he couldn't have pretended to be anyone else or they'd have found out he lied and that would be even more suspicious.

New rule: don't give my name out to people who don't know me in their dreams. It's hard to explain when they find out later. He wished he'd thought of that in advance, but here he was. Maybe I can pretend I didn't notice. Play dumb and leave her to wonder it on her own. It's not like she's going to bring up her dream to me, is it? Not when it was so embarrassing.

"Cool. This is my teammates Fox and Yatsuhashi. And Velvet, who I hear you saved from some asshole. Just to make it clear, Vel went ahead to the cafeteria. There's no way we'd have stood by and let that happen if we saw it."

That was fair. He believed it, too. Velvet looked much too relaxed around them to be on a bad team, and they'd obviously been together for a long time. He was fairly sure an older student could have beaten Team CRDL up like Ozpin said, but she must have wanted to avoid trouble, plus they'd likely gotten the drop on her. It wasn't like she could fight with her ears in someone's grasp.

"N-Nice to meet you all." He avoided Velvet's desperately curious eyes. It looked like she wanted to ask but didn't dare. A win in his books. "And don't worry about Cardin, he's kinda my bully as well. I just lost it when I saw what he was doing."

Coco smirked. "Jealous my teammate is taking your bully away from you?"

"Something like that. It's just what he was doing to Velvet's ears." That slipped out without him meaning to, and he realised it made him sound a little too close to her. He reached for an excuse. "I-I mean, it's not right what he did and all. It's wrong that faunus should feel the need to hide their ears because of people like that."

Coco's head tilted. "Velvet doesn't hide her ears."

"I meant..." Blake. Jaune clammed up. "I can't say."

"Oh." Coco gained a knowing look. Sympathetic, too. "One of your teammates or friends is hiding it, eh?"

"I can't say."

"It's cool. Velvet used to-"

"Coco." It was Velvet's first words. Soft, gentle and quiet, they commanded immediate attention all the same. "He doesn't want to break their trust. He shouldn't say if they don't want it known. Leave it be."

"Right. Yeah. Mouth closed." Coco mimed a zip over her lips, but absolutely did not stay quiet. "Sorry about that. You're doing the right thing sticking up for them and all. I was just..." She waved behind her. "Velvet used to hide her ears under a beret." She tapped her own. "I guess it surprised me others would as well. Always thought Vale was more accepting."

"It is," said Velvet.

"And to find out this counts as more accepting sucks." She drew a deep breath. "Anyway, we just wanted to say thanks and introduce ourselves. And Vel here wants to have a word with you in private." There was much wiggling of eyebrows at that, drawing an angry elbow to the side by Velvet. Jaune didn't take it seriously because he was fairly sure what Velvet wanted to say. He was sweating bricks. "Just remember, bucko, you treat her with respect. And you have her back before it's dark or I'll tan your-"

Coco was dragged back by Yatsuhashi, laughing merrily as she allowed herself to be pulled away. Velvet looked mortified, though not surprised about it. Jaune decided to break the ice. "I take it she does that on the regular."

"It's her life's work to embarrass us."

"She seems alright."

"Coco is a good leader and a better friend. And she's professional when she needs to be. It's just that she makes up for it by being terrible when she doesn't." Velvet smiled weakly, then trailed off as her eyes caught his. There was a moment of silence as she looked all over his face, no doubt comparing him to the man in her dreams.

They were identical, of course.

"Do I..." Velvet bit her lip. "Have we... met before...?"

PANIC. DEFLECT.

"I mean, we might have. Maybe. Beacon isn't that big of a place. We might have run into one another here or there, or maybe in Vale. Crazier things have happened, right? I think I've seen you once or twice when I'm taking the Bullheads in and out the school." A complete lie, though not an unbelievable one. Or so he hoped. "I tend to be pretty zoned out. And my team are super loud. Always shouting my name out."

"I... I see..." Velvet looked a little weirded out by his answer. "Um. That's not... Do you have an older sibling?"

"Lots. Lots of sisters."

"Any brothers?"

It'd be easy to lie and say yes, but what if she checked? It probably wouldn't be all that easy, but he'd already told his team and Ruby and Yang that he had seven sisters. If Velvet overheard that and caught him in the lie then she'd start asking why he felt the need to lie. Maybe it was better to just be honest and confuse her. Ideally, she'd believe she'd overheard his name somewhere in association with his face and dreamed it all up.

"No brothers I'm afraid. Though people say my dad and I look alike. Or that I look like he did at that age." He decided to throw the ball into her court for once. "Why?"

Velvet flinched. "No reason. I'm just... uh. I thought I'd seen you somewhere before is all, and I was trying to place it." Her eyes left his and roamed left and right, looking for aid. Her team were waiting nearby but weren't looking ready to intervene. "It's just... I..."

Jaune smiled and feigned confidence. "Yes?"

Velvet's broke first. "It's nothing."

Asking him if he'd ever babysat her wouldn't make sense with their ages; asking him about her dreams was tantamount to a girl admitting she'd dreamed about you, and she obviously didn't want to say that to a complete stranger. It'd be weird. Velvet's decision to back off made sense, even if Jaune was fairly sure it wouldn't fix the issue. He obviously hadn't satisfied her curiosity.

"Thank you for helping me back there," she said. "It means a lot. I could have beat them on my own but I guess I panicked. My hands were full with a tray, I was going to eat and I just didn't expect it. I'm sorry you got in trouble."

"It's fine. I..." Moved without thinking. Couldn't stand the thought of you in trouble. Got pissed off that Cardin made you re-live what you saw of your mother. Jaune's mouth ran dry as the thoughts piled up. He glanced away as well. "It's fine. I'm glad I could help. I hope you don't have to face that again."

"Me too." Velvet smiled one last time and took a step back. "I'll see you around, Jaune."

"Yeah. See you around."

He waved to Velvet as she joined her team and left, only letting his hand fall once the four of them had gone. Once they had, he heaved a sigh of abject relief. That had been close. Too close. So much for Oobleck's hypothesis that he could only enter the dreams of friends or those he knew.

/-/

"It was only a hypothesis," said Oobleck, half an hour later in his office. "Those exist to be disproven. It made sense based on the limited sample size we have but now we know better. You can enter the dreams of anyone within a distance of you should be the next one. Let's hope you don't end up in the head of someone in Mistral."

"There's no way it can reach that far."

"Probably not. A far more reasonable assumption is that it's limited to a few hundred metres. You have dorms above yours and for several corridors down within that range. Also, I'd like to pose another hypothesis to you based on what we've scene so far. I believe you are entering the dreams of those who are suffering in said dreams one way or another."

Jaune winced. It wasn't a bad idea and it fit most of the dreams he'd been in, but he didn't like it. He'd prefer to be thrown into happy dreams, or weird dreams, or just dreams that he didn't need to try and get involved in, and where he didn't need to see people's worst fears made manifest. "What makes you say that? Blake's dream wasn't bad."

"Again, Mr Arc, no names. Please. And Miss Belladonna's was an anomaly because you were the only ones asleep at the time. You had no other dream to enter. As far as I can tell, every other dream has been negative in one way or another. Does that sound right?"

"Yeah..."

"It seems to me this could be related. The common factor might not be nightmare, however. It could be something to do with intensity, some kind of lowering of people's barriers that lets – or draws – you in."

"And bad dreams are normally more intense than good dreams?"

"Something like that. It could be related to hypnic jerks like we talked about before. Perhaps they, too, are unconsciously using their aura in said dreams and it's that which is drawing you. I really can't tell without empirical evidence, and that's difficult to get in a situation like this. The best thing we can do is continue to focus on how to handle yourself in dreams and try to learn to control it. The reasons why won't matter much in the long run."

"And the only way to learn is to experience..." complained Jaune.

"That's right. Don't use this weekend to try and sleep at unusual times and avoid this. You need to get better."

"I don't suppose you can get me out of detention, then?"

"No. And I do not want you to tell me why you earned it, either. I've heard the basics from Glynda and it's all too easy for me to guess whose dream you went into last night. Miss Scarlatina faces a lot of trouble because of her heritage, and that's something I abhor. So, while I will thank you for standing up for her, I'll also thank you not to reveal anything about her that I have no right knowing. Besides, I'd be a poor teacher if I got you out of trouble."

Eh. It had been worth a shot.

The rest of the day was spent with his team. Pyrrha and Ren weren't too upset about missing out on Vale. Ren had an "I'm used to Nora's shenanigans" look on his face, while Pyrrha was almost pleased with Jaune for standing up for himself. Not that he had – he'd stood up for Velvet – but it must have counted in her mind as close enough. They hung out, trained, played a few games and then he and Nora attended detention late at night where, against all odds, it was Blake who had chosen to play truant and not show up. Yang wouldn't, or couldn't, answer as to why, only saying that there had been an argument in the team and Blake had left to cool her head. Miss Goodwitch was less than amused and made it clear Blake would be facing a meeting with her on her return.

Outside and after, Yang was evasive. "It's just Blake and Weiss being at one another's throats," she said. "I get that you're concerned, but best leave this one to us. We'll go look for her tomorrow if she doesn't come back."

"Call me if you need help. We'll look as well."

"It's cool. But thanks." Yang gave his shoulder the lightest of punches. "I'm hoping she'll sneak back in or meet back with us for breakfast. It's... It's something we need to work out as a team. You know how it is."

"Yeah. I do. Goodnight, Yang."

/-/

He was in a classroom.

Honestly, he was surprised more dreams weren't taking place in classrooms on account of them all being students in a school. He'd read about typical dreams like being naked in class or having a surprise exam and not being prepared, and yet no one bothered to dream about it. Maybe they hadn't been in Beacon long enough. Still, this was a Beacon classroom by the looks of it and he could see Miss Goodwitch stood behind her desk.

I really hope it isn't her dream, thought Jaune. I'm not mentally prepared to see that.

"Miss Rose," spoke the teacher. "Where is your teammate?"

Ruby winced. He noticed she was only a few seats down from him, on the other side of Pyrrha, Yang, and then Weiss. "B-Blake isn't here," said Ruby, stammering slightly. "T-There's been an issue. An argument. O-Only temporary."

Wasn't that what Yang had said? Was Ruby dreaming about whatever issue caused Blake to dodge detention? At least the Ruby in his mind was her normal age. That was a pleasant change. Blake's seat was indeed empty.

"I do not want any excuses," snapped Miss Goodwitch. "You are the leader of Team RWBY. You are responsible for your team. If Miss Belladonna had problems on the team then it is your responsibility to deal with that."

Ruby shrank back. "I... I'm sorry..."

"Does sorry fix the problem, Miss Rose? I do not think it does." The older woman brought her hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose, and sigh into the palm of her hand. "I told Ozpin he was being foolish in trusting such responsibility to a girl like you. I could tell you weren't ready the moment I saw you. If I had my way, you'd be sent home with a stern word and a slap on the wrist. Not brought into Beacon when you clearly aren't good enough."

"But-"

"No. Enough. It's clear Ozpin has made a mistake."

This was Ruby's dream, then. No doubt there. This kind of classroom hazing was the sort of thing no respectable teacher would say, but which you would absolutely imagine them doing in your head when you were feeling self-critical.

"Miss Goodwitch," said Weiss, raising her hand. "I think I would make a much better leader for the team. It's simply unreasonable that I was not given the opportunity in the first place."

"I do believe that is fair. Henceforth, Miss Rose is stripped of her position as the leader of Team RWBY. Miss Schnee, you will take her place."

"That's not fair!" cried Ruby.

"C'mon, sis," said Yang. "Why isn't it? You had your shot and you blew it. Blake's gone. That's your fault."

"It's only fair," agreed Pyrrha, unusually snide. "Don't you think so, Jaune?"

No. I think it's cruel. Ruby is doing her best. "I think it's deserved. Weiss will be a much better leader."

The words that left his mouth were not his own. Or they were but... He frowned and looked down at his hands, opening and closing them to make sure they were under his control. They were. When he opened his mouth to speak up again, however, the words were forced.

Ruby should be team leader. "Weiss should be team leader."

That wasn't what he meant to say! His words were being changed the second he spoke them. It was like the words left his mouth, but then transformed somewhere between that and reaching his ears. He clapped his hands over his mouth but the damage had already been done.

"Then it is agreed," said Miss Goodwitch. "Congratulations, Miss Schnee. Do try and do a better job than your predecessor."

"I will, Miss Goodwitch. On that note, I think my first decision will be to shake up the team. Blake has already abandoned us, so she's off, and if we're spring cleaning then we might as well get rid of Ruby as well." Weiss waved her hand dismissively, missing the absolutely betrayed look on Ruby's face. The small girl looked to her sister, who only shrugged as if to say the decision was out her hands. "I would like to formally request that Ruby Rose be stricken from the team and returned to Signal to finish the education she's so clearly lacking."

"W-Weiss, please. I... I can do better. Yang, stop her. I'm your sister!"

"What do you want me to do, Rubes?" asked Yang. "Maybe it's not a bad idea. You missed two years. You were never ready for this."

Don't listen to her. "You should listen to her." said Jaune.

Except he didn't say it. He slammed his fists down on the desk in frustration, and made to rise, but Ruby was already crying and the world melted away into dark, swirling patterns. The chair under him vanished along with the classroom, and then he was falling.

What had gone wrong? Why couldn't he speak? This was the first time someone's dream had dictated his actions for him. It was new and unwelcome. Jaune brought his feet under him as he fell, and as Ruby's subconscious reformatted the dream. At least that was what he assumed was happening. The world came into focus suddenly and he landed on his feet. More than that, a hand inserted its way into his and his fingers curled around it. He looked down to see he was walking side by side with Ruby. A full grown – or fifteen year old, anyway – Ruby Rose wearing an odd uniform and a rucksack.

There was another woman on the other side of Ruby. She was beautiful. Gorgeous, even. Not in the sense of a very attractive woman – though she was – but in the sense that her skin sparkled, her eyes shone, and the sun in the sky seemed to shine down exclusively onto her. It was like in a movie where the camera and visual effects would align to highlight the protagonist or some love interest in as flattering a light as possible. Her silver eyes met his and she smiled beautifully over Ruby's head.

"Are you excited, Ruby?" asked the beautiful woman. "It's your first day."

First day-? At fifteen? He doubted that. Still, Ruby was her normal size and everything else but there was no doubting this scene was... immature. In a sense. This must have been Ruby's mother, Summer, who he was sure had died a long time ago. A memory, perhaps? Was this Ruby's first day of school? Signal, he thought it was, but there was no telling if this wasn't even younger, primary school or the like.

"I'm scared," whispered Ruby.

Summer Rose cooed. "Why, darling?"

"What if no one likes me?"

"Don't be silly. They'll love you. It's not just your first day either. There will be a lot of other people starting school as well. You'll be in good company." Summer chuckled, and said, "Say something, Taiyang. Don't just stand there."

Two pairs of silver eyes were suddenly on him. He didn't think he looked like Ruby's father, not that he knew what said man looked like, but it was obvious Ruby's dream was making her believe he was. All of a sudden, he was a father. Jaune wasn't sure what to make of that. Especially not that his daughter was two years younger than him.

"You'll do fine, Ruby." The words were his for once. He breathed out, relieved.

"Exactly," said Summer. "And you always have Yang if you need anything. She's only one class above yours. You know your big sister won't leave you in any trouble. And she's popular as well – she's the fastest runner, the strongest lifter, and top of her class."

Ruby looked down. "I know..."

Primary schools cared about lifting now? He hadn't had that experience in Ansel. The world shifted suddenly, before he could react, and he was sat on a rickety chair in an obnoxiously bright and cheerful classroom. It had a playpen in the back, one of those weird plastic houses you could fit inside, and a string of garlands across the top of a blackboard spelling out the alphabet. Definitely a primary school. This was for people aged five to ten, which made him feel a little weird since he was sat at one of the desks as the lone seventeen year old among a sea of baby-ish faces.

"Good morning, class!" said a very soft-looking woman with brown hair and big glasses.

"Good morning, Mrs Robinson," droned the class. Jaune was aghast to find himself going along with it. "Good morning everyone."

"Thank you. Thank you. We have a new student today. Ruby Rose." The teacher wrote the name on the board. "Come up, dear. Why don't you introduce yourself?" Ruby stepped up nervously – and thank goodness she was still fifteen. "Tell us a little about yourself. Your hobbies, your interests and what you want to be when you grow up."

"Um. Hi." Ruby waved timidly. "I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose. I like guns and machines and my sister and running in the forest. I don't like carrots." She stuck her tongue out. "A-And I want to be a huntress when I'm older. Like my mom."

"That's wonderful, Ruby." Mrs Robinson clapped her hands together patronisingly, though he suspected it wouldn't have seemed that way to a bunch of little children. "Now, does anyone have any questions for Ruby? Don't be shy. Speak up."

"Why are your eyes all weird?" asked a boy.

Ruby flinched. "W... What...?"

"Your eyes," said the boy. "They're weird and ugly. Why?"

"That's a good question," said the teacher, speaking in a way Jaune was sure no teacher ever would – or ever had. Not and kept their job. "Why are your eyes so weird and ugly, Ruby?"

"I... I... I don't know..." Ruby fidgeted on the spot, nudging her heels together. "Mommy says they're pretty."

"Yes, but your mommy would. I'm your teacher and I say they're ugly. Oh well, it doesn't look like Ruby knows the answer to that one. Any other questions?"

"Yeah," said Jaune. "Why are you being such a-"

"Who is your sister?" shouted a small girl.

"Very good question!" said the teacher, pointing away from Jaune. "You said you liked your sister. Why don't you tell us a little about her, Ruby?"

"Oh? Yang?" Ruby smiled timidly. "Yang is my big sister and she's super cool. She-"

"Yang!?" shouted a girl. "Yang Xiao-Long? In the big girl's class?"

"Y-Yes."

"She's so pretty!"

"And cool!" said a boy.

"How are you her sister?" asked another.

"Can you ask her to be my friend?"

Ignore them, Ruby. "Yang is better."

"You know what," said Mrs Robinson, standing up and hurrying over to the board. She wiped it clean and then took her chalk and wrote a new name instead. Yang's name. "Why don't we talk about Yang instead? You can tell us all about Yang and how great she is at home. I'm sure everyone wants to know."

"But... But this is my introduction," said Ruby.

"Don't be jealous, Yang's sister. No one likes that."

The world swirled again. Jaune barely had the time to gather himself before he was once again walking hand in hand with Ruby, with Summer on her other side. It was late now, dark, and they were approaching a room lit with gentle light. Why was Ruby's dream hopping around so much? It was neurotic, like she was suffering from ADHD. Was she-?

He'd never put thought into that before, but this kind of hyperactivity in a dream felt telling. Then again, it might just be because she went to bed stressed out over Blake. It was odd, though. Yang's dream had transitioned once, and Velvet's hadn't at all. He didn't think Nora or Blake's had either. Ruby's dream – or nightmare - had transitioned three times now. Maybe it was just the product of an over-active imagination.

Jaune's feet walked him into a school hall of some kind, where numerous tables had been set up with teachers on one side and empty seats on the other. Ruby pointed, and Jaune found himself walking with her to take a seat opposite an older gentleman. Ruby sat between Jaune and Summer and crossed her legs in her lap.

"Ah yes. Miss Ruby Rose. You must be her parents."

"That's right," said Summer.

I guess. "I am." said Jaune.

Oh, come on. That one didn't even need to be changed.

"Very well," said the man. "I teach both your children actually, so I don't mind delivering both reports at once. It'll save you all a lot of time. Ruby is a very attentive and studious young girl, with an inquisitive and curious mind. I'd say too curious at times, but that's by no means a bad thing in a school!" He chuckled. "Why, I haven't heard a single complaint about her behaviour so far."

Wait, really? An actual good parent-teacher conference? Jaune couldn't understate his relief, and a quick look down showed Ruby smiling with clear embarrassment at her feet, kicking her legs under the chair. He'd honestly expected a litany of complaints.

"That's our little rose," said Summer cheerfully.

Even if he wasn't her father, and even if it was unfair to play as if he was, Jaune ruffled Ruby's hair. He felt she deserved it after the absolute tragedy that was her nightmarish class introduction. Plus, it was safer than speaking. The dream hadn't forced his actions yet, only his words. Ruby hunched her shoulders up a little, but it was obviously out of happy embarrassment rather than fear. She wasn't the kind of person who was good at hiding her emotions.

"What about Yang?" asked Summer. "She hasn't been causing any trouble, has she?"

"Oh, a little here and there," said the teacher. "Nothing out the ordinary. In truth, Miss Rose. I wanted to talk to you about Yang – quite simply, she's astounding! Incredibly athletic, sporty, and brimming with confidence. To say nothing of the fact she picks things up quickly, does well in class, and is absolutely beloved by the other students. Why, I don't think there's a single person in school she hasn't befriended."

Ruby had stopped kicking her feet. Ruby had stopped being giddy.

Can we move back onto Ruby? "Tell us more about Yang."

"Certainly, Mr Xiao-Long. Your daughter is one of those students who comes around once every generation. She's outgoing and expressive and I dare say she could do well in any career in her future. Why, it wouldn't surprise me if she pursued a career in entertainment or acting. She'd be a natural on the stage, not at all bothered by all the attention." He laughed good-naturedly. "I just wish a little of that confidence had rubbed off on Ruby. It feels like Yang inherited all of it and didn't leave any for her."

"That is something I wanted to address," said the teacher. "While Ruby is doing well in lesson she is... I don't want to say she's a loner, but she's somewhat challenged in the social department. Not at all confident in approaching people, and she tends to clam up when confronted by more than a few people at once. Not at all like her sister."

I'm proud of you, Ruby. "Why can't you be more like your sister?"

Ruby shrank into her cloak.

"Also," said the teacher, "Her leadership skills are terrible. Truly awful. I would advise you to never put her in a position of responsibility in the future, as she's sure to let everyone down and lead them to ruin."

Jaune frowned. "What primary school teaches leadership?" His eyes widened. "Wait, I can speak-"

The world transitioned in a swirl of black ink.

"Oh, come on! Again!? Focus, Ruby! Focus!"

He landed on grass and loam in a dark forest. He was stood among the trees, garbed as he always was with Crocea Mors at his side. It was dark out, the shattered moon high in the sky, and it looked like it was cold, even if he didn't feel any temperature at all. The trees rustled but no wind touched his skin.

The creak of a wagon nearby drew his ears and attention. He peered through the trees to see Yang pulling a red cart – a cart he remembered from her nightmare – with Ruby in the back. Yang was her usual age and size, and Ruby as well, which made her look more than a little odd sat cross-legged in the back of a cart far too small for her.

Now what? Cart in a lonely forest at night. Yeah, I can take a guess where this is going.

Given his words had constantly been stolen away from him, he didn't think approaching them to talk was worth the effort. He roamed ahead of them instead, looking for the inevitable ambush such a vulnerable moment evoked in his head. Sure enough, he came across a few over-sized Grimm hiding in the trees, none of which reacted to him since he wasn't the target of the nightmare. Killing them wasn't even a challenge; he walked up behind them, braced Crocea Mors' tip against their backs, and pushed it in. They sagged and vanished in wisps of smoke each time, and he'd move onto the next, walking right in front of their snouts without them once reacting.

Ruby and Yang would have been ambushed ten times by now without him. In real life – and as they were – he knew they'd crush each and every attack. This was a nightmare, though, so they were sure to be weak and pathetic, and had she Crescent Rose then it would have surely broken on the first swing or something stupid like that. Yang's punches would be slow as well, like she was swinging while underwater. Typical dream nonsense. It was better that he clear the path to... wherever it was they were going. He wasn't sure if they weren't just going to walk until Ruby woke up.

It turned out that they weren't. They came to a small wooden shack that looked like it had seen better days. Yang brought the cart to a halt outside, then helped Ruby out. They both huddled and looked at something Yang brought out her pocket before they approached the building and pushed the door open with an ominous creak. Jaune stood nearby, sword at the ready, body rigid as he wished he could have checked it out first.

There was no attack. Instead, Yang called out, "M-Mom?"

The two hurried inside and Jaune followed. He slipped in the door before it could shut and was surprised to see the interior was light enough to make out everything. There was a woman inside, but she wasn't Summer. He knew that now, as Ruby's memories of her mother were crystal clear. Instead, this woman looked closer to Yang, except with black hair and red eyes. She was dressed in red and black with a huge and oddly shaped weapon on her left hip.

"So," said the woman. "You found me after all, Yang. I wasn't sure if you would." The woman smiled. It was an odd smile, halfway between vicious and proud. "Perhaps you take after me more than I realised. You must have been strong to make it through the woods alone."

"I'm not alone," said Yang.

"Yes. You carried a burden with you and managed to get here even with her pulling you down. Why is it you came here? Tell me."

"Mom is gone."

"I'm here."

"Summer is gone," said Yang. "She... I... We're all alone. And dad isn't... Dad is different." Yang rubbed her arm and looked away. "I thought – we thought – that maybe if you came back, things could go back to how they were. We could be a family again."

"You want me to be your mother?"

Yang looked agonised. "We want a mother. Summer will always be ours but... it's not fair being on our own."

"You think that I can slot back in and we'll be a happy family again?" asked the woman. Jaune sort of agreed with her scornful response, though her next words shocked him even more. "You're right. We can. I'll go home with you and we'll be a family again."

Well, that was unexpected.

"It'll be me, Taiyang and you once more. Just the three of us."

Ruby trembled.

Yang looked back. "You mean the four of us."

Ruby met her sister's eyes with naked relief.

"No," said the woman. "I mean three. That thing is not my child and I won't accept her. Look at her, Yang. She's weak and pathetic; you had to drag her all the way here because she couldn't come on her own. Do you really think she's worth it?"

"She's my sister. I love her."

"And I am your mother." The woman opened her arms wide. "Don't you love me? You have to choose, Yang. Me or her. Your sister and your hopeless father alone and cold as a broken family. Or me, you and your father returning to the warm and loving place it's supposed to be. We can be a family again. I'll cook for you, clean your room, hold you and stroke your hair. The house will be filled with laughter."

Yang looked agonised. Her eyes kept flicking between Ruby, hopeful and desperate, and her birth mother, who looked in that moment so warm and loving. A promise of better things. A promise of a return to happier times.

If only without Ruby.

"That's... Can't we try with Ruby?" asked Yang. "It's not fair to have to pick."

"It wasn't fair that Summer took what was mine and inserted a child into my nest like a cuckoo bird. Don't you realise, Yang? That is what a cuckoo does. Its young pushes the others out the nest and kills them. Summer's child is weak and pathetic, and she demands more attention than you. You're strong, confident, outgoing and perfect. You never needed their help, and Ruby took all of it. Even now, with Summer gone, it's you who has to pick up the slack. You who has to cook and clean and wash her, and even drag her through a forest on your own." Raven stepped toward her daughter, and the space between Yang and Ruby seemed to grow. "Don't you realise, my darling child? She has been dragging you down all this time. She has reduced you to a servant."

"But I... I chose to do those things. S-Someone had to..."

"Yes." The woman stroked Yang's hair, and Yang closed her eyes. "But I'm back now. Mommy is back. You don't need to be a slave to Summer's child anymore. You can be my special girl. Our special girl," she said, looking directly at Jaune. "Isn't that right, Taiyang?"

Yang and Ruby locked eyes with him.

This isn't right. He tried to say it, but yet again his words came out as, "You know what to pick, Yang." He clenched his eyes shut as Ruby's eyes watered. Yang would never leave you, Ruby. "Things can go back to normal if you leave Ruby." His lip bled. Stop putting words in my mouth! "It'll be just the three of us."

"Yang," cried Ruby. "Please. Please don't leave me."

"Ruby. I..." Yang sighed and pressed her face into her mother's chest. "How is that fair, Ruby? Why do I always have to be the one who sacrifices? I gave up so many things to look after you. I gave up my after-school clubs; I gave up friendships; I gave up my first boyfriend. Why is it always you who gets your way? Why can't I be happy?"

Yang would have gladly given all those up! "Yang shouldn't have had to give those up!"

"I want... I want to be a family again," said Yang.

Yang loves you! "Yang doesn't love you!"

"Yang!" shrieked Ruby. "Yang, no. Please. I can do better!"

"You even cost me my new friend at Beacon," said Yang, speaking her age. "If you'd been a better team leader then Blake wouldn't have gone. And I'm just supposed to accept that? It's not fair."

"Yang-"

"Mom is right. I pick mom. I pick family." Yang buried her face in the strange woman's bosom. "leave us alone, Ruby. Leave me alone. Nobody wants you."

Enough! "Good choice, Yang." Jaune howled and drew deep inside himself, drawing on what he knew to be there. Aura. Oobleck had told him to try and keep a low profile, avoid making changes, and conserve his aura. Stop it draining and leaving him waking up spent. That was only to learn control, however. That wasn't a hard rule. Semblances existed to be used. That was the whole point of them.

He was sick of this dream, he was sick of Ruby's tears, and he was sick of not being able to speak his fucking mind! Jaune brought his hands up and gripped the edges of Ruby's dream between his fingers, pulled on it and felt his aura spear out in every direction like strings of white light. The edges of the dream cracked like glass, and blinding light shone through.

You can't stop me, he shouted. Or he tried. The words didn't come out, only a blast of static, but at least that was distorted. It wasn't the hateful words of before. "I'm the one who's in control now!" He pulled with all his might, and this time his voice cracked. The words were his. "Rarghhh!"

The world shattered.

He was in a classroom.

Honestly, he was surprised more dreams weren't taking place in classrooms on account of them all being students in a school. He'd read about typical dreams like being naked in class or having a surprise exam and not being prepared, and yet no one bothered to dream about it. Maybe they hadn't been in Beacon long enough. Still, this was a Beacon classroom by the looks of it and he could see Miss Goodwitch stood behind her-

Focus.

Jaune's chair scraped back and he stood, walking past Pyrrha and Yang to where Ruby was seated. She looked up, tears in her eyes, and saw him standing before her with his chest rising and falling. He felt exhausted.

"Jaune...?"

Pulling her up, he wrapped his hands around her and brought her crashing against his chest.

"JAUNE!?" cried Ruby.

"You're not a bad leader, Ruby. You're a great team leader."

Her embarrassment faded. It was replaced with an ugly sound as she drew breath and stumbled over it. "I'm not. Weiss would be better. Yang would be better – Yang's always been better."

"That's not true. You're better than me."

"Then why is my team the one that always has issues?" asked Ruby. "How can you say I'm better than you when your team runs like well-oiled mechashift? There are never any arguments. Nora and Pyrrha never argue. No one ever blames anyone else." Ruby tried to push him away, but he wouldn't let her. She gave up and pounded a tiny fist on his chest instead. "Your team is perfect because of you. Your team doesn't fight because of you!"

Was that true-? He didn't know. Jaune knew he was lucky to have Pyrrha, Ren and Nora, not only because they were great people and great friends, but because they were so easy to work with. Ruby was right to say there were never nay fights, but he didn't think it was because of anything he'd done. Of course, Ruby couldn't know that. He squeezed her tighter.

"I admire you, Ruby."

The girl froze. "What...?"

"I look up to you. Not physically, obviously. I'm six feet tall." He paused and was rewarded with a snort despite her sorrow. "But I look at you, two years younger than me, and I can't believe how strong you are. Not just in combat class, but also to put up with and deal with Weiss and Blake and your sister. They're all so much more demanding than my team, and you bring them together despite being younger than all of us."

"That's not true..."

"It is true." He squeezed her harder and felt Ruby's hands creep around his back. "The worst part is there are times I've hated you for it as well."

"What...?"

"I always thought you had it easy." He meant every damn word, though he didn't half feel stupid for them now. "It always felt like you were such a natural leader. You were always happy and cheerful, and I would look at you and wish I could be the same way. I was jealous."

Ruby looked up at him with puffy eyes. "Of me...?"

"Yeah. I really do look up to you, Ruby. You're amazing."

"An amazing team leader wouldn't lose one of their members."

"Maybe not. But an amazing team leader would definitely go and win them back. I think you can. No, I know you can." He felt her draw a shuddering breath and then press her face against his chest. "And I know that Yang will be there with you. She's not as strong and perfect as she acts, you know? She has her own doubts. There's a reason Ozpin made you team leader."

He felt the dream cracking on the edges, and the light streaming in again. It was time to wake up. There was pain at the edge of that, creeping in on his body, and he just knew he'd be waking up with next to no aura. It was going to be another day in the infirmary. At least this time he'd be there by choice, and he couldn't say he regretted it.

"Go get Blake back," he whispered into her ear. "You can do it, Ruby."

"You think I can?"

"I know you can. You just need to prove it to yourself as well."

/-/

Ruby's eyes snapped open. Her body snapped up a moment later, chest heaving, face wet, skin clammy. Her shaking hand came up to her face and came away damp with tears. The room was dark, but early morning light streamed through the window. Desperately, she looked to the bed across the room and down on the ground, hoping against hope there would be someone there.

There wasn't. Blake hadn't come back.

My team is falling apart...

No.

Focus.

A shudder ran through her and she closed her eyes, drawing a deep breath before moving to the edge of the bed. Her feet hit the ground hard and she snatched the one thing she'd promised she would never again use. Yang and Weiss would never forgive her it.

Ruby didn't care. The whistle came to her lips and she blew.

Fweeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Weiss kicked up into the air and hit Ruby's bunk above her, while Yang tried to roll into a fight and rolled off her top bunk, fell and impacted the floor like that weird-ass bird that kept flying into dad's window every few weeks.

"Team RWBY!" shouted Ruby, hands on her hips. "Team meeting right now!"

"W-What?" asked Yang, looking up at her blearily. "B-But... what? Ruby, I'm..." A yawn. "I'm so tired."

"You dolt!" howled Weiss. "I thought I'd gotten rid of that thing!"

"You didn't." She had, but Ruby rescued it. "But that doesn't matter. Blake hasn't come back."

"I'm sure she-"

"Nope." Ruby shook her head. "Team RWBY is going down into Vale now and we're going to find her. I've decided. And I'm your team leader, Weiss, so what I say goes. This is an order. Get up, have a shower and get dressed. We're going to turn Vale upside down if we have to."

Yang looked up at her, and for a moment Ruby's resolve wavered.

Only a moment.

Yang smiled hopefully. "You think we'll find her?"

"We won't be coming back until we do." That was what a good team leader would say, or at least she hoped so. "We need to find her and sort this out, and that's not going to happen if she refuses to come home. That means we'll have to go get her."

Poor Rubaby in this chapter drew the short straw.