Jaune had never been good with split-second decisions.

That was a flaw for a team leader who might have to make them, but he'd always been blessed to have a team so much stronger than he that they could pick up the slack of his poor leadership. Pyrrha could make up for any mistakes he made, and she often did. His failures were constantly masked by her successes.

Even after unlocking his Semblance, he'd relied on Oobleck and Ozpin to give him a lot of direction. His attempts to help Ruby had been so clumsy that they'd almost alienated her, and it took Yang sorting it out for him. What few unambiguously good things he'd done – Velvet, Trivia, Cinder – had all been through sheer luck. In the latter's case, it was less of a plan and more of a hail Mary that paid off.

There was no such luxury here.

Salem or the cat.

The cat wanted control over Salem's body so he – it? – could act freely in Remnant. It wanted her mind dead or, if that wasn't possible, locked away where it couldn't take control back. That kind of ability wasn't one he'd known he had but working with someone who had the same powers as he, it could probably be accomplished. The cat was convinced it could be and he knew this power better than Jaune did.

Salem wanted... well, she didn't want anything but for him to not do what the cat did. Ideally, she'd love the cat out her head but Jaune didn't think he could do that. Their powers were matched, literally, and he probably couldn't force the cat to do anything. Salem would still have to contend with the cat on her own end, but she'd been doing so unconsciously for thousands of years so it would probably be fine for her.

So, what would be fine for him...?

Jaune hesitated.

"He'll betray you," Salem said. "It's in his nature. Look at my fate as an example of the capricious nature of the gods, now consider he is a creature made directly by them! By his own words, the gods don't think in the long-term. That means he can't either."

"Is the long term truly your greatest danger?" asked the cat. "You both fell unconscious before one another. The Grimm – under her control – assail your ally, and your other friends lay nearby in vulnerable states. She would convince you that you can't trust the me of twenty years from now, but you can't trust her for the next twenty minutes! Deal with the immediate problem. If I become one later, deal with me then."

It was a good point. As much as he feared the consequences of an alien creature holding control over Salem's mind, it was exchanging the death of his friends for an uncertain future. That was a good trade by most metrics. Salem wanted to kill everyone. How much worse could the cat be? Even if it turned into some baby-eating monster, that was still better, in terms of tragedy, than having Salem in control.

His silence had the woman balking.

"You can't be considering this?" she snapped. "Ozpin would never allow it! Speak to him. He knows of the danger of trusting anything the gods say or do. He was innocent of any crime and yet they dragged his soul from eternal rest and cursed him to kill his wife! Where is the fairness in that?"

"I am made by the gods but I am not a god," the cat pointed out. "I'd also be sealed within her body as my vessel. I would only be capable of what she is capable of, so all this talk of how cruel the gods are hardly matters. I don't even disagree with it. Have I not said their shortsightedness in cursing me with curiosity is cruel? If this is a competition to see who can insult them the most then we will be tied."

"He's a monster!"

The cat chortled. "That's an ironic statement coming from you, my dear."

It really was. They were both monsters. Jaune considered for a moment whether it'd be possible to remove the both of them. Trap them both in a labyrinth of a dream from which they'd never awaken. Doubtful. The cat had his power, so it'd just burn the maze down. Not to mention the cat's body was still in its world. It'd wake up on its own and escape that way.

"I'm not sure I can trust either of you," Jaune said.

Salem looked gobsmacked.

The cat sat on its haunches and smiled. "A wise decision. You cannot, simply put. My nature – my curse – will force me to at least consider being untrustworthy. She may not be bound by nature as I am, but she is hateful and bitter. Spite drives her, and from what I've seen of your people through her eyes, spite is quite the powerful force."

It was.

"He's appealing to you," Salem spat. "Manipulating you. Listen how he compliments and butters you up. You're a fly and he's laying out a trap of honey. I can make deals as well." Salem held a hand to her chest. "I'm not above making an oath. Your friends? Spared. I already spared your lover and those who left with her to distract me."

Jaune's eyes widened.

Salem pounced on it.

"I fell for the trick. It was well played, though Watts was the one to tell me which way to go. I caught up with them, but let them escape—"

"Ah, ah, ah. That's somewhat of a mistruth," the cat teased. "Shall we view the scene?"

The world blurred. It wasn't seamless, however.

It stuttered.

"Ah." The cat cleared its throat. "You'll need to hold back your power. It's interfering with mine. I only aim to show you what happened from her eyes. A little trust, my human counterpart. It would be unwise for me to betray you now and seal your choice."

Jaune hadn't realised he was interfering at all. Maybe it was his eyes taking in the blasted landscape of the Grimmlands. Even by acknowledging its existence, he made it real in the dream. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and let go.

When he opened his eyes, they were in the Emerald Forest.

Ahead of them, Yang and his team backed away, Yang shucking off his hoodie and armour to show who she truly was. His teammates looked worried, tired. Jaune held his breath as the dream Salem advanced on them, then let it out in a rush when he jumped off a Bullhead to distract her.

Given it wasn't him and he could see Torchwick in the Bullhead, Jaune could hazard a guess that Trivia had come to Yang's aid. More likely, she'd also thought it was him and come to his aid, but it all worked out. He'd have to thank her later. The forest remained even as Yang and his team vanished. Salem hadn't seen their fate but Jaune could assume the Bullhead landed to pick them up.

"She did not catch the other you," the cat said. "Though she tried. As you see, her claims of sparing your mate and your companions is more than a little opportunistic. There was no such design on her end. If anything, she would have killed your companions and taken your mate hostage for your surrender."

"Whereas he would have tortured and killed them in inventive ways to satiate his curiosity," Salem argued back. It looked like she was done pretending she spared Yang and his team. "If you want to say it then fine, I was tricked. Your allies bested me. But isn't that proof you shouldn't put him in charge of my body? I can be led astray. I can be held back. Ozma has been pushing me back for centuries." Her teeth were grinding as she admitted it. "Better the enemy you know. The enemy you have a track record of beating!"

"The enemy who at this very moment is winning and has you and your friends at her mercy. He enemy who has attacked your school and likely caused the deaths of innocent people. An enemy who relentlessly wants your power for her own. I don't," the cat added, smiling. "Because I don't need the power to influence dreams when they cross into my world. I already have it. I'm curious, yes, but you're the one human on Remnant I wouldn't feel any curiosity towards."

It was more of the same.

The arguments didn't differ. The cat couldn't be trusted; Salem couldn't be trusted. It was tempting to just let them at one another, but he really should side with one – if only to gain the benefit of their favour. If he abandoned them both, then whomever won would probably target him out of spite.

In that case, is the best bet to side with the one most likely to win? If both options are terrible, picking the winning side might be my best bet.

Then who was the winning side...?

The cat was more powerful since it could target her dreams and was beyond retribution, but it had also been trying to take her over since she first fell in the pools. Its record for success wasn't exactly impressive.

I have to make a decision one way or the other. If Salem wakes up and the dream ends, I'll be captured and most of Team RWBY will be killed. Cinder, too.

There was only one choice.

Though even Jaune couldn't say whether it was a sensible one.

"I side with Salem."

The Grimm woman's face showed complete surprise. Absolute shock. He didn't blame her. There was no good reason for him to pick her, but there was even less reason to pick a cat from another world who might do anything.

Besides, he had other reasons.

"I pick Salem because she knows I'm the only barrier between you and her." He glanced to the woman, who took a step behind him. "Which means she also knows that if my mind changes for whatever reason, she'll be consumed by you on the spot. Right now, I'm the only thing standing between you and her. Best she remember it."

Salem tensed. She hadn't thought it, but now she knew the real reason he picked her. Blackmail. If Salem killed him, she'd lose his protection. If she kept him alive but angered him, she'd not only lose his protection but he would forcefully enter her dream, summon the cat, and feed her to it.

"An unwise choice," the cat remarked.

"You can't kill me here. Our powers are matched."

"I cannot. But you will not always be here and she – and I – are eternal. Our paths will cross once more in her dreams eventually. Her consciousness will stray into the ever after and I shall feast upon it and take over her. If you are still alive at that time, Jaune Arc, then I shall come show you the error of your ways. If you are not, I will make sure your descendants suffer."

"I wouldn't make threats if I were you, cat. You forget that my Semblance grants me power in the ever after as well. Our dreams cross over – and so do yours. You'd best hope I don't run into your real body when I'm accompanying someone in their dreams through your world."

The cat launched itself at Salem.

Jaune snapped his fingers and banished her to the furthest reaches of her own mind. Far, far away from the both of them.

The dream exploded with white light.

/-/

Cinder Fall heaved for breath, her arms shaking as the Grimm fell back around her. She'd normally have never struggled against the Grimm, but their numbers were in the thousands. Salem had kept a veritable army around her, and they were relentless. It was no exaggeration to say she'd killed hundreds of Grimm. Aura or not, skill or not, power or not...

No one could swing their arms so much and not feel the burn.

A groan behind her drew her attention to Arc – her father. Cinder still found that awkward and clumsy, and even thinking it made her cringe, and yet there was also no denying the raw happiness she felt inside at seeing him wake up.

In the end, she was willing to throw away her ego for happiness.

Why not? She'd thrown away Emerald for it. Cinder had made a life out of getting rid of anything in the way of what she wanted. She had always been a terribly selfish person, and that hadn't changed one bit. Cinder forced her maiden powers down lest he see them and backed toward him.

"Daddy? Are you okay?"

"Cinder...? You're alive. That's good. I was worried."

He probably was lying a little bit, but it still made her feel warm. He wouldn't have grieved her half as much as he would have the members of Team RWBY, but he would have felt a little bad. That was more than anyone else would have cared. These feelings make me weak emotionally, but I'm still physically as strong as ever. It's a sacrifice worth making.

"I'm fine. The Grimm are relentless, though. Is Sa— Is that woman dealt with?"

"That remains to be seen."

Across the clearing, behind a wall of Grimm, Salem began to stir. Cinder had shot the odd arrow at her but the Grimm blocked it with their bodies. They wouldn't leave her, and she couldn't leave Jaune, so she hadn't been able to do much to harm her. The woman pushed herself up, staggering before a Grimm caught and supported her.

Salem's eyes met theirs and narrowed.

I was really hoping you'd have put her down for good, father. It doesn't look like you achieved much of anything!

The Grimm backed away, controlled by her will. They moved to form a wide circle around them, preventing any escape. Cinder took the moment's respite to catch her breath. With any luck, that old fool Ozpin would be on his way. That was about the only rescue they could hope for right now.

"Salem!" Jaune shouted. "Remember my warning. Kill me and you lose your protection. Abduct me and I'll ensure your body is taken over."

Hm? This was new. Something must have happened in the dream after all. Cinder held back a smirk, watching Salem struggle with some internal battle. Cinder hoped it worked, but the woman looked like she might attack anyway and throw caution to the wind.

"You can try and win my Semblance another way," Jaune said. "Win me over to your side, convince me to join you. You're immortal. You have time. Forcing this now will just ensure the cat takes over."

"I could kill you..."

"You could. But the cat is my enemy as well now. I'm concerned he'll be a future problem, so I'll be using my Semblance to try and find him. Kill him. That benefits you, doesn't it? One less threat you have to worry about." Jaune stared her directly in the eyes. "Walk away, Salem. I chose to side with you. Don't make me reconsider my choice."

To her shock, Salem turned away.

Snarling threats the whole time, promising to return, swearing vengeance on Cinder especially, but she drew the Grimm back.

He actually did it. This brilliant fool. Hmhmhm. As expected of my father.

"We should check on the others," she told him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Ruby, Weiss and Blake. We should make sure they're safe before contacting Beacon."

"Yes." Jaune stepped forward, paused, and turned. "Cinder. You held the Grimm off and protected me."

"Of course."

He smiled. "Good job. I'm proud of you."

Fake or not, lies or not, Cinder blushed. "T—Thank you..."