I had planned to get this out Wednesday before the Thanksgiving Holiday on Thursday, but things didn't work out as planned. Holidays delayed this chapter for a while. As I said, this chapter would be focused on Weiss, and I had a lot of fun doing it. The longest dream to date. Since there doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in the dream interpretation contest, I'll stop that. It was just a fun idea I had. I'm still interested in people's interpretation of dreams though. Sometimes, you come up with better ideas than I did writing this.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
"...not everything in a dream will mean the same to each individual." Jaune muttered, as he walked through the halls of Beacon. "An apple to one person could be just their favorite fruit, while another individual could associate apples with family or an important event in their past. A third individual could just have been hungry before going to sleep. Every connection is unique to the individual… What's the point of having books about dream interpretation then!"
Jaune slammed the book shut and stuffed it in his bag.
The book Blake had given him was full of useful knowledge. Dream interpretation was a very imprecise art and that made it problematic. In order to truly understand dreams, someone had to know the target. Personality, experiences, recent events, all affected the individual's subconscious. Interpreting your own dream was challenging enough. Figuring someone else's dream was extremely difficult. There would always be obvious signs and most of the time, just the subject discussing the dream allowed them to make conscious connections. Jaune, of course, couldn't talk to them about it.
So right now, there wasn't much information he could USE.
"It was worth a try." Jaune sighed to himself. "I'll have to thank Blake again. Even if it didn't answer all my questions. Though, she might not want to talk to me for a bit."
They had their first 'book club' meeting earlier that day. Naturally, they discussed Ninjas of Love. To Blake's credit, she didn't focus on the erotic scenes, but the plot and character development. It was something Jaune was more than happy to discuss. If she had talked about a certain scene, his mind would have been lost in thought. Blake and Yang's adult fun dream was ingrained permanently in his mind.
The thing was, like in most romantic novels with multiple possible pairings, their discussion devolved into which character would be best for the protagonist. Blake liked one particular ship, and she had some good points, but she refused to see the proper, one true pair. No matter how well Jaune laid out the reasons in a perfect, impeccable argument, her bias wouldn't allow her to see the truth. The first meeting ended with hurt feelings and irritation between both of them.
'Once she calms down, she'll realize I'm right.'
Jaune was walking past the entrance hall of Beacon, when he saw Weiss pushing the door open and bringing in two large bags. Jaune stopped to watch. A few people passed her, but she ignored them as she struggled to carry them. At this point, Jaune walked down the stairs toward her. She noticed him approaching and her eyes narrowed.
"Arc…" Her tone was not friendly.
"Hey, Weiss!" Jaune greeted. "Do you need any help?"
"No, I'm fine." Weiss huffed with both bags in her hands and began to make her way forward, only to stumble as Jaune reached forward to give her his arm to stabilize herself.
"Are you sure? I can help carry one to make it easier for you."
Weiss looked at him, looked at the bags, and then looked back at him. Her stern gaze was measuring him, trying to find any ulterior motive. Jaune was hardly someone people were on guard around. The boy liked to think he was a pretty honest guy, except for how he got into Beacon. That was really the only time he did something like that. He really was just trying to help Weiss.
"Fine, but be careful." The heiress relented. "It's full of Dust. My order just came in today and for some reason, they refused to deliver it to my room."
"I'm surprised the rest of your team isn't free." Jaune commented, picking up one of the dust filled bags. He was a little surprised at first how heavy it was. Nothing he couldn't handle but it was still surprising. A small girl like Weiss carrying these two bags would have trouble getting all the way to her room. "Yang could carry both of these without issue."
"Yang and Ruby rushed into Vale to pick up some new video game." Weiss huffed. "Blake's not answering her Scroll. See if I let them borrow any Dust for class and training anymore."
"I'm almost glad I don't use Dust with my weapons," Jaune commented, more to himself. "It's expensive and volatile."
"Only if you use it incorrectly." Weiss snapped.
"Ruby found that out the hard way when you two met." Jaune blurted out.
For a moment, Weiss almost cracked a smile.
"She did and now doesn't mess with my Dust cases anymore."
They exchanged a few more words before reaching Team RWBY's room. It wasn't a long trip, but there were stairs. Weiss opened the door and stepped inside, putting the suitcase down she was carrying. Holding out her hand, she looked at him expectantly. Understanding her meaning, Jaune handed the suitcase he had over. During the brief exchange, their fingers touched, generating a small spark. Weiss didn't notice as she was looking away.
Jaune however did.
It was faint and he almost missed it, but it was like with Blake in the library. Static electricity didn't usually make that bright of a spark. He didn't get a chance to think much about it as Weiss spoke up and his attention was drawn to her.
"Thank you for your help, Arc."
"Anytime, Weiss. I'll see you around."
"I suppose so."
The door closed on him softly. That was a big difference between all the times Weiss slammed the door in his face. Jaune noticed the difference and smiled. It seemed just being nice to her was changing her opinion on him. Maybe he should have asked her out then?
"No." The boy shook his head. "If I want to ask her out, I have to woo her somehow. But what should I do?"
Jaune pondered this question the rest of the day. Weiss didn't like flowers, songs, public displays, so what was left? Nora and Pyrrha didn't seem to have any other ideas except to be honest. He thought he had been though. The boy liked her and wanted to prove it, but she never gave him a chance. Ruby told him he probably should give up as Weiss didn't let people in easily, but she let Ruby in! Besides being able to build super cool weapons, he and Ruby were so much alike.
He was still debating what to do when he fell asleep that night.
Only to wake up in the middle of a courtyard outside a large white mansion, surrounded by snow.
"Am I really cold or is it just my imagination?" Jaune wondered, wrapping his arms around himself. He eyed the enormous mansion and saw a familiar family symbol. White marble pillars decorated the white and light blue palace. "Yes! It's Weiss' dream! It has to be! Who else would dream of a mansion with their symbols!"
Focusing so much on her finally paid off. Jaune rushed to the mansion to get out of the cold and explore the dreamscape. As he grabbed the handle, his feet suddenly came to a stop. A thought passed through his mind. The part of him that was rational and kind.
'Is this right?'
Those three words were enough to make the boy contemplate what he was about to do. It was one thing to randomly discover secrets, but to purposely look for them? That was a true invasion of privacy. True, his Semblance was doing that right now, though he couldn't control that part of him yet. What he could control was what he did in a dream. Deliberately looking for secrets wasn't something he should be doing.
No matter how much he really wanted to.
"I want to learn about Weiss so I can relate to her… but not like this…" The boy groaned, pulling the heavy door open. "I'll just find where she is and follow until I get booted out of the dream. Remember your promise. Anything you see here, stays here. You do not use it to trick people into doing things."
His word was something he would always keep.
"Weiss?" Jaune called awkwardly, as he entered the manor. A wide stairway with curved balconies on both sides allowed passage to the ground floor. At the top of this stairway was a paned triptych of arched windows, and on both sides of the stairway stood enormous white suits of armor. The floor at the bottom of the steps bore a large, blue, circular pattern decorated with the Schnee emblem. "You here?"
The entrance hall was deserted, dark, and cold. Even colder than the snowy courtyard outside. Jaune could see his breath as he walked in.
"I need to figure out how to change clothes here." Jaune muttered as he looked around. "And how to get people to notice me. A sign would be nice!"
A small light flickered to life to his right.
"Huh?" Did his question actually cause that? "Was that me? Couldn't be. Dreams don't acknowledge me."
Still, Jaune found himself walking toward the light. There was no other clue, so he might as well check it out. As he drew near, the light flickered and vanished. Confused, Jaune reached up to touch the dark lamp, only for another light to flicker into existence down the hallway. His feet began to move toward it before his mind fully registered doing so.
The hallway was bleak and boring. Like everywhere else, it was all pale blue and white. A vase set on a pedestal and a picture of Atlas in the sky hung on the wall. Weiss' family was supposed to be rich, so why was all the decoration so boring? Surely that wasn't how it was back at her actual house. Jaune approached the light and, just like before, it vanished into nothing while another light in the distance was born.
It was leading Jaune somewhere.
As he followed the lights, something occurred to him. The decorations he was passing were just repeating themselves. A vase on a pedestal and then a painting of Atlas. Slowing down and looking out the windows, every angle of the courtyard was exactly the same, no matter how far down the hallway he went. Things weren't changing no matter how many times the light changed.
"Come on!" Jaune yelled. "Don't tell me I'm stuck in a loop! Seriously? Do even Weiss' dreams hate me?"
Instantly, all the lights in the hallway went out, causing Jaune to stand in total darkness. Even the lights outside were gone, including the moon and stars.
"AHHH!" Jaune yelled in shock. "I'm sorry! What I meant is… Weiss' dream is incredibly fair and balanced. Anyone would be lucky to be in my position."
A slow creak was heard to his left as a door opened. Soft warm light shone out, indicating where the entrance was. Jaune was a little suspicious as this seemed like the start of a horror movie. After Glynda's nightmare and the almost unleashed monster in Blake's dream, the boy was naturally nervous. There were no other paths through the darkness though, so he approached cautiously and looked inside.
The room was brightly lit and full of children's toys all over the ground. Dolls, bouncy balls, wooden horses, swing sets, pretty much everything a child would love to have growing up. A rich family would be able to afford anything a kid could desire. As Jaune's eyes scanned the room, he saw a small figure in the middle, sitting on a chair. There was an empty radius of toys around five feet from the base. A white haired girl was sitting daintily on the chair, arms crossed in her lap. Her snow white dress was pristine, and her hair was tied in a side ponytail.
It was Weiss….
…but as a child.
Jaune finally found her, but the way that happened was suspicious. It was like the dream led him to her. None of the other dreams did that. He just wandered around until he found the dreamer. Though, the fog in Glynda's dream was sort of coincidental, wasn't it? Ruby's dream was a large open cookie world and he did somehow find the boat. Blake's dream was more condensed, with a road leading to the castle. Maybe subconsciously dreams consolidated everything, including his Semblance.
BANG!
Jaune jumped as the door behind him slammed shut. Slowly, Weiss turned her head toward the source of the disturbance. As with Blake's dream, opened doors were noticed by people. Jaune was looking around, trying to figure out what to do as the young Weiss was just sitting there.
"Are you the new butler daddy hired?"
That question nearly gave him a heart attack.
Weiss was the first person who EVER talked to him in a dream. The question was so out of the blue, Jaune didn't know how to react at first. The girl was just staring at him, her head tilted slightly in confusion. It wasn't a very hard question, but he wasn't sure what the correct answer should be.
"I… er…" Jaune started to say, when he realized something. His clothes were changed so suddenly, he almost hadn't noticed. His outfit now consisted of a white and blue suit with matching white pants and shoes. "I guess I am?"
Might as well go along with the dream. For the first time, he was actively taking part in it. Part of him was worried how little power he had to defy the dream's wishes. It wasn't his after all.
"Don't worry," Weiss told him. "I'm fine and following daddy's orders. I'm a good, well-behaved girl." The younger Weiss smiled at him.
Jaune flinched at the sight of it.
The smile was forced. There was no hiding that fact. The sadness and loneliness was oozing from her eyes. Weiss, this Weiss… was being forced to sit in a room surrounded by toys, but not allowed to play at all. A kind of mental torture. What did this mean? Why was Weiss dreaming of this? Was her home life that bad? The Schnee family was rich, Jaune learned that after meeting her, so they should be able to give their children anything they wanted, right?
"Are you okay, Weiss?" Jaune asked.
"Daddy says the help should be calling me Miss Schnee." Weiss scolded.
Of course. A rich family would make sure the staff knew their place. Jaune had seen enough movies and played video games with these settings. Weiss was a very haughty person when they first met and mellowed out as she spent more time with her team. Ruby just had that effect on people. At the same time, this was a dream. Weiss' dad wasn't here. So he might be able to work with her since for some reason she could see him.
'Is my Semblance getting stronger?'
Jaune didn't know much about Semblances compared to others, but he knew kids. Half of his sisters were younger than him after all. Whatever Weiss was going through, he would try to help.
Especially since this dream felt… off.
"Your dad left me in charge," Jaune lied, kneeling down in front of her. "My name is Jaune. He asked me to help you since you've been such a good girl lately."
"Really?" Weiss blinked and she smiled for real. "Is he going to visit soon?"
"He's planning to, and wanted me to keep you company until he's here." Jaune continued.
"Oh…" Weiss' face drooped. "He always says that. That means he won't be back."
Seeing the sadness on that young girl's face made it feel like a knife was jabbed into Jaune's heart.
"I'm sure he wants to…" Jaune realized this wasn't going to work. Just being sympathetic to a kid wouldn't cheer them up. He had to distract her. "I was asked to help keep you company and play with you." He gestured to all the toys on the ground. "Do you want to play a game?"
"Daddy says a good girl needs to avoid useless distraction." Weiss recited. "They will not help me when I take over the SDC."
"I see…" Jaune thought about this for a moment. If this Weiss was mentally a young child, he knew how to convince her. "But Weiss… I'm also in charge of your education. It's important for a growing girl like yourself to take breaks and have fun."
"Really?" Weiss blinked and tilted her head in confusion. "Why is that?"
"Spending some time to relax and have fun helps both the body and mind." Jaune made up on the spot, not sure how true this was. "You want to be at your best for your dad, right?"
"Yes!" Weiss nodded excitedly. "I want to help daddy however I can!"
"Then let's play." Jaune stood up and walked over to the wall where a blue ball rested. He picked it up and tossed it lightly to Weiss, who hopped off the chair and caught it. "Good job!"
"Hehe!"
Weiss threw the ball back to Jaune, who caught it easily, before passing it over. The two of them continued to play catch, with Jaune doing a few backhand tosses or under the leg tosses. His younger sisters loved when he did this and Weiss seemed to enjoy it too. Laughing and running around, Jaune couldn't remember seeing her that happy ever at Beacon. Sure, she smiled and occasionally laughed, but never like this. Her eyes were so bright.
Suddenly, Jaune found himself sitting at a round table, with Weiss across from him. Multiple dolls were sitting on chairs to his right and left. They were sitting up straight and moving on their own. Luckily they were simple stuffed female and animal dolls. Scary horror movie dolls would have been too much. A white teapot was in the center of the table and Weiss began to pour tea for everyone. Unlike a normal child's tea party, there was actually hot tea, minus the fact the dolls were alive and taking their cups too.
"More tea, Jaune?" Weiss asked.
"Shouldn't I be pouring the tea for you, Weiss?" Jaune asked with a grin, passing the cup over.
"I want to thank you for spending time with me." Weiss pouted before sliding the full cup back.
"It was my pleasure." Jaune assured her, sipping the tea. It tasted like fruit juice. "How are you feeling?"
"Great!" Weiss sipped her own drink. "I really enjoy your presence, Jaune."
"I'm enjoying this too." Jaune assured her. "Anything else you want to do?"
"I know, let's play dress up!"
Warning sirens went off in Jaune's mind, but there was nothing he could do about this. While this time he could interact with the dreamer, there was nothing he could do to control the dream. The most he seemed to be able to do was help push the dream in a certain direction. This time, Weiss had a specific idea in mind. The world shimmered and Jaune found himself sitting in a chair. This wouldn't have been an issue in itself, but he also could feel a drastic change in his outfit. Looking down, the boy couldn't hold back a sigh.
'How long has it been since I've worn a dress?'
"You look so pretty!" Weiss laughed, moving into sight from behind him. She had a bunch of makeup stuff with her and her face was heavily dolled up already. Almost clownish, like kids tend to do. "See!" She pointed to a mirror.
One look was all it took for the boy to burst out laughing.
"You… don't like it…?" Weiss' smile faltered.
"N-No!" Jaune stammered as he shook his head. "I'm just… surprised how pretty I am."
He was wearing a long white and blue ball gown to match the Schnee colors. It did NOT suit him with his tall frame and wide shoulders. Plus, he was showing a lot of cleavage as it was a low cut. His face was covered in blush, lipstick and eyeliner. It looked ridiculous. Yet this wasn't something new to him. His younger sisters had already done this to him.
And his older sisters.
Sometimes it was tough being the only boy with seven sisters.
"We're like sisters!" Weiss hugged him tightly.
"Don't you have a sister?" Jaune asked.
"Winter… doesn't live here anymore." Weiss admitted sadly. "It's lonely here."
"Hey…" Jaune squatted down so he was closer to eye level. "I'm sure your sister loves you and wants to visit when she can. She's grown up and busy, but I know she still sees you as an important younger sister."
"How do you know?" Weiss asked, as her pale blue eyes stared into his.
"I have a lot of siblings myself." Jaune puffed out his chest with pride.
"You do?!" Weiss gasped in excitement.
"Yep, older and younger," Jaune laughed. "I understand missing them when they grow up and leave. When I left, my younger sisters were really sad and one didn't want to let go of my leg. I do miss them too. It's part of growing up, but that doesn't mean I stopped loving them. That's how I know your sister still loves you. It's part of being an older sibling."
"I see…" Weiss looked thoughtful and smiled. "Thank you, Jaune. I feel so much better knowing that." She wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
"Anytime, I'm here to help." Jaune returned the gesture and held her tightly. To him right now, this wasn't the Weiss he had a crush on, but a child who needed someone to listen. So the warmth he had was simply used to soothe her loneliness.
"You're not like the others." Weiss whispered as she refused to let go.
"What do you mean?" Jaune asked, Only then did Weiss push him off.
"The people who are friends with daddy." Weiss explained. "They aren't as nice to me. Not like you. They aren't my friends."
"Am I your friend?" Jaune asked.
"Yep!" Weiss beamed at him. "You're the best! Will you stay as my friend forever?'
"Sure, pinkie promise." Jaune held out his hand with the pinkie out. Weiss stared at him. "You… don't know what a pinkie promise is?" The girl shook her head. "It's a promise between friends that's super important. We never break it because now we're linked."
"Oh!" Weiss giggled and held out her hand and linked pinkies. "Hehe, this is so silly, but I like it."
Jaune laughed too as he continued to spend time with the kid version of Weiss. He wasn't sure why Weiss was dreaming about herself being a child. Maybe she was thinking back to being lonely at home? If her dad was a big shot at the SDC, he probably didn't have a lot of time for her. That wouldn't have made for a good childhood. No matter how many toys she had.
"Jaune… since we're friends, can I ask you for something?" Weiss looked up at him seriously.
"Anything," Jaune replied, smiling. "Just tell me what you want."
"I want you… to rescue me…"
"Huh?"
Weiss pointed behind him and Jaune turned around automatically. A door had appeared out of nowhere and was currently slowly opening. It led to another hallway, this one larger than the previous one. Suits of armor decorated this one on both sides. The hallway was long and Jaune didn't see an end to it. While it had the same white and blue decorations, it didn't seem welcoming. If anything, they felt cold and distant.
Jaune's clothes changed from the dress back to the employee uniform.
"You want me to get you out of the mansion?" Jaune asked, a little confused.
"Yes, but not me, the other me." Little Weiss answered, almost pleadingly. "I'm down there and trapped. Please help me."
It took a moment for Jaune to process what she was saying. This was a dream the boy had to remind himself. Having two Weiss' here wouldn't be that hard or unusual. The younger Weiss seemed to represent her loneliness in her past, if he was reading things right, but who was the Weiss that was trapped?
"Okay," Jaune agreed at last, once he thought this through. "I'll go check it out and do everything I can to save her… you. Can you wait here for me?"
Weiss shook her head vigorously.
"No, I'll come with you! I want to save myself too! You'll need help navigating."
Her words rang true. A normal mansion was probably already big enough to get lost in. A dream mansion with infinitely long hallways? Having the dreamer guide him would be preferable. Maybe mini Weiss was the subconscious or something? Could someone dream about two different things at once? This Weiss trapped in a room and another Weiss trapped somewhere else?
If he was majoring in psychology, this would be a fascinating paper to write.
Not that he would ever tell anyone about this.
"Okay, but stay close." Jaune took her hand in his. "We don't want to get separated."
The small hand tightened on his as they began to walk down the new silent hallway. Jaune wasn't sure what to expect or if this was the right decision. He kind of influenced this younger version of Weiss by playing with her and talking about things he didn't know. Her older sister had to care about her, right? Part of being an older sibling was looking out for your younger ones. Either way, unless he knew how to wake himself up, all he could do was continue to follow the dream.
Their footsteps echoed with every drop of their feet as they continued down the corridor. Just like the previous one, the armor and windows were exactly the same. Everything was constantly repeating, like a low budget video game reusing environments. It felt like they had been walking forever, even if realistically Jaune could tell it was only a few minutes. Dream time may operate differently too.
"Oh no!" Weiss gasped suddenly, tugging at Jaune's arm. "We have to hide!"
"Why?" Jaune looked around for some kind of danger.
"Someone's coming!"
Weiss tugged at him with inhuman strength. Being a dream manifestation, normal logic didn't apply. Jaune had no power here so Weiss could do whatever she wanted. There wasn't anywhere to hide either. Realistically at least. No closets or rooms nearby for them to duck in. Weiss had her own idea and pulled Jaune behind one of the suits of armor. This shouldn't have worked, as anyone walking by could spot them easily. Still, Jaune trusted the dreamer and held his arms around Weiss' shoulders, keeping her close and still.
A couple shadows suddenly shifted on the walls. They wiggled out slowly into three dimensional figures that started walking down the hallway. They didn't have faces or distinguished bodies, just black outlines in the shape of humans. When they 'spoke,' though they didn't have mouths, they sounded male.
"I need to get my hands on the SDC fortune."
"There's only one way. Marry in."
"I have a son and the daughters are puppets to their father."
"It's a shame we have to pretend those brats are important."
Weiss was shivering under Jaune's touch and he tightened his grip on her reassuringly. The girl leaned back against him and closed her eyes as the shadow men continued down the hall, before vanishing into nothingness. Weiss didn't immediately step out as she shivered against Jaune. Eventually, she did open her eyes and peek out around the armor.
"Okay, it's safe now." The girl informed Jaune.
"Are you okay?" Jaune asked. "Who were they?"
"Bad men who pretend to like me for my daddy's money." Weiss pouted. "They are mean. I don't like them."
"It must have been tough for you." Jaune comforted as they continued down toward wherever the other Weiss was.
"Daddy told me I had to be nice to them, and they were nice to me I guess?" Weiss admitted. "But they didn't like me for me. I was just a Schnee to them."
"I can guarantee one day you'll make true friends who will accept you for who you are," Jaune assured her, thinking of Ruby and how much that girl liked Weiss. Their first meeting might have been a mess, but they worked through it.
"Like you?" Weiss asked, looking up with big hopeful eyes.
"Like me." Jaune agreed with a laugh. "Anytime you need help, I'll be there."
Weiss came to a stop out of nowhere, causing Jaune to almost trip over her. The hallway in front of them warped into two large ornate doors. The sound of music was leaking through them. What exactly laid behind them, only Weiss knew. Jaune expected Weiss to open the door, but the young girl didn't move. She only stared at them.
"...Weiss?"
"I can't go with you." Weiss looked over at him apologetically. "I just can't. Please, Jaune. Save me."
"Why can't-...?" Jaune started to ask when the younger Weiss just faded out of existence. Spinning around and hoping to find any sign of the girl, nothing but silence and an empty hallway greeted him. "Okay…" Taking a deep breath, Jaune put his hand on a door. "You asked for help and I promised to help you. So here I go!"
The door creaked open and light flooded over him, along with a beautiful song.
Jaune found himself in a gigantic concert hall. Rows and rows of seats descended to a brightly lit stage. The people in the stands were all wearing fancy suits and dresses, but their faces were blurred. Jaune was getting used to this by now. Unless the individual was important to the dreamer, they were merely background characters without presence. Like some animated shows did when they were low budget or lacked personnel. It was the heavily lit up stage that was important. He didn't have to be an expert psychologist to know how important it was.
As expected, Weiss was right in the middle of the stage. The singing was also obviously coming from her. What Jaune didn't expect was a giant birdcage placed around her. The girl was standing there in a beautiful silver and white dress as she continued to sing. For a moment, Jaune was captivated by the music. He never heard Weiss sing before. Was she this good or was the dream just helping her.
"Weiss!" Jaune shouted, finding his voice at last. He started making his way down the stairs to the stage. "Hey, Weiss!"
Thinking back, yelling into a crowded theater wasn't the smartest move he ever made. Since this was a dream, anything could have happened. The audience could have all jumped up and turned into enemies, the entire scene could have changed, or maybe he could have been thrown out by invisible forces. Nothing was off the table when imaginations were concerned. After the younger Weiss actually talked with him, Jaune was no longer invisible in the dream.
His footsteps faltered as he remembered this and he put up his guard.
Nothing happened though. Weiss kept singing and the crowd was listening silently. Frowning, Jaune continued forward, waving his hand in front of a few of the shadow people. None of them paid any attention to him and he passed right through one.
"Okay… I'm back to the usual situation," Jaune muttered, as he made a beeline to the stage. "I'll worry why Weiss could see me later. Right now I need to rescue Weiss. I hope Weiss won't be mad. I'm interrupting her concert. Weiss told me to." A small grin tugged at his lips as he said that.
Jaune was a little bit self conscious as he climbed up on the stage. The audience may not have been paying him any attention, but their 'eyes' were all focused on the stage. Weiss didn't show any sign of recognition either. Even when Jaune stood in front of her and waved, the girl just kept singing.
"Weiss!" Jaune yelled again. "Come on! It's me! Can't you see me anymore!"
The girl stopped singing and for a brief moment, Jaune thought his words finally reached her.
Then the clapping began.
The audience stood up and was enthusiastically giving Weiss a round of applause. The thundering sound of thousands of people showing their admiration rained down upon the stage. Jaune became a deer in headlights as he saw it. Weiss curtsied in response, holding the hems of her dress up. Jaune glanced back at her and saw her face was passive. After such a permanence, not even a smile graced her lips. Her eyes looked dull and lifeless. The clapping died down and then suddenly a bright light illuminated another section of the theater.
Up above on the walls, were those boxes with nicer seats than the rows of seats on the ground floor. The extremely wealthy sat there to not only get a better view on more comfortable seats, but avoid being squeezed next to others. A spotlight had appeared above one of the highest ones with a balcony. A single man was sitting there. He wore a pure white double-breasted blazer with a red handkerchief in the breast pocket. Underneath, he wore a light-blue dress shirt, vest and a white tie. He had snow white hair slicked back and a thick white mustache.
"Bravo, Weiss." The man said. "Excellent as always. Truly worthy of the Schnee name."
"Thank you, father." Weiss acknowledged.
"But it was FAR from perfect!" Her father declared. "We will keep doing this until it is. Begin again!"
"Yes, father." Weiss lowered her head. "I understand."
The music began to start up again, the same song as Weiss stood up straight. Jaune wasn't sure what to make of this until he saw her eyes. There was emotion in them now. No longer dull, but full of sadness, loneliness, and more. There were even the signs of tears beginning to form. This wasn't a concert. Torture show would be more like it. Weiss was being forced to sing forever. Dream or not, this wasn't right.
'No wonder her younger self asked for help.'
"WEISS!" Jaune grabbed the handles. "Wake up! You're not the type of person to just obediently do what others say! You're stronger than this!"
Jaune tried to pull at the cage bars. Maybe if he opened them up, Weiss would notice and leave. Younger Weiss made him promise to help and he was going to do that. The bars didn't move. They were metal of course and the dream probably didn't want them to break. Weiss was locking herself up in this nightmare.
"Damn it, Weiss!" Jaune shouted. "Where's the ice cold girl that shoved me away every time I tried to get close! You don't just do what other people tell you!" He kept tugging as Weiss began to sing. "Come on! I'm not letting a stupid dream stop me!"
The bars refused to budge.
"ARGH!" Jaune strained his muscles and focused, trying to will his Aura into them to pull. "What was all this training for if I can't even help one person!"
At this point, it didn't matter if this was a dream. Someone was hurting in front of him and he wasn't able to help because he was weak. It's why he was going through all that training. Combat with Pyrrha, morning runs for stamina with his team, Aura training with Ren. He wasn't even thinking about trying to get Weiss to owe him anything. His entire being was focused on helping his friend.
A warm white glow overtook his hands.
SCHREEEEEE!
The bars began to pull apart ever so slightly.
"YES!" Jaune cheered in triumph. He was doing it! The glowing hands were not lost on him. Though the boy wasn't sure if it was just Aura or maybe his Semblance triggering. If his Semblance could take him into dreams, maybe it could affect them too. He'll worry about that later. First things first. "Weiss! Can you see the opening! Hurry up and get out!"
Weiss kept singing as the crowd listened and her father sat back down, smiling smugly.
"Why won't you pay attention!" Jaune demanded. "Do you hate me that much? You're younger self ask me to help you! Maybe I should have pretended to be Ruby."
"Ru…by…?"
Weiss had stopped singing and looked at Jaune curiously, or maybe it was the bent bars. Jaune didn't stop to consider which was which. There was something for him to latch onto.
"Yes, Ruby!" Jaune shouted. "Remember your best friend? The person who thinks you're amazing! You don't need to stay here."
"WEISS!" Her father thundered as he stood up. "What is the meaning of this?! I did not tell you to stop."
"S-Sorry, father." Weiss stammered.
"Don't be sorry!" Jaune told her. "Never apologize to someone locking you up like this. Ruby would hate him. Yang would punch him in his face!'
"Yang… would… heh…" Weiss let out a weak choice. "Ruby would not be happy…"
Her voice was getting stronger.
"You have a team!" Jaune told her. "Friends you can count on. They know you the best. You're Weiss Schnee, not a bird in a cage."
"I am Weiss Schnee!" Weiss declared, rubbing her head.
"Remember your friends!" Jaune felt relief wash over him.
"They wouldn't want me to stay here." Weiss agreed, her expression darkened as she looked up at her father. "You don't control me anymore! I make my own decisions!"
"How dare you backtalk!" Her father roared at her. "It seems I was too lenient on you…"
Jaune stepped back as the shadow audience began to morph and merge with one another. The masses of darkness began to grow, twisting into non humanoid shapes. Low guttural growls began to emerge as the dark shapes took their true form. Grimm of all shapes and sizes now took the place of the crowd. Beowolves, Ursa, Death Stalkers, and even King Taijitus. At least the monsters in Weiss' dream finally revealed their true selves.
"...Now why don't you be a good daughter Weiss and get back to singing!"
"NO!" Weiss raised her hand and a glyph appeared. A shockwave exploded outwards from it, shattering the cage like it was made of glass. Jaune fell on his ass, but otherwise was unhurt. The blast didn't really hurt him since he wasn't the target. "I've had enough of you and your demands! I'm choosing my own path… with my friends!"
"That's telling him, Weiss!" A familiar voice shouted.
The curtain behind Weiss began to tear apart as a long curved blade sliced vertically down it. The fabric fell into piles as a young girl in a red cloak landed on the ground. Jaune gaped at her because while Ruby was their best friend at Beacon, the scythe she was currently wielding was much, much larger than it realistically was, dwarfing her. Looking closer, it was larger than normal, but Ruby was also much smaller than she normally was. Not that she was a big girl in the first place, but she was about a quarter shorter.
"About time you showed up." Weiss crossed her arms and sniffed, but for the first time, she was smiling.
"I brought the rest of the team too!" Ruby said proudly.
An explosion erupted from the floor as Yang's familiar blonde hair came into view. The girl came up from under the stage. Her gauntlets whirled and clicked into place as she raised her fists next to Weiss and Ruby. She towered over the others, even Jaune. Standing at nearly ten feet tall, the brawler was even more intimidating than before.
Movement out of Jaune's eye made him swivel his head. From his shadow, Blake stepped forward out of nowhere except for right behind him. Her outfit was pretty much the same as what Jaune knew, but there was one major difference. A White Fang mask covered her eyes as she drew her sword from her hip. Why Weiss was imagining Blake with that mask was lost on Jaune.
"Good to see you two." Weiss told them, as her own dust rapier appeared in her hand.
"Wouldn't miss a party like this for the world." Yang laughed.
"Your father didn't invite us." Blake accused.
"Yeah, but I did." Weiss replied.
"Teach my rebellious daughter a lesson!" Weiss' father shouted.
The Grimm charged forward.
"Let's do this, Weiss!" Ruby raised her massive scythe. Jaune had to stifle a laugh at it and Weiss nodded.
"Try not to hold me back."
Ruby darted forward as Weiss summoned multiple white glyphs all over the concert hall. In a flash of rose petals, Ruby jumped from glyph to glyph, swinging the scythe effortlessly as if it weighed nothing. Grimm were being sliced in half with no resistances. Jaune knew this was going a lot smoother than fighting Grimm in real life. It was like an action movie to him. With dream boosted powers, all that mattered was the entertainment.
Blake was skipping from Grimm to Grimm, like she was teleporting from shadow to shadow, as she struck each one down. The Beowolves and Ursa were decapitated in an instant. Blake always had fluid and agile strikes. Weiss' dream was just emphasizing them. Yang however, was the most interesting.
BOOM!
Yang delivered a bunch and sent massive shockwaves, sending multiple larger Grimm like Death Stalkers and King Taijitus flying in every direction. She didn't even use a weapon. It was literally just her delivering a punch. Jaune could feel the wind from her attack back where he was standing. However, while he was distracted with the show before him, he didn't notice the Beowolf approaching him from the side. It was too late when the movement caught his eye. His hand reached from his sword, only to remember he didn't have any of his gear here.
The Beowolf leaped at him, claws outstretched!
"AHHHH!" Jaune yelled, raising his arms as a shield.
CRASH!
The Grimm collided in midair against a glyph, before being blown back.
"Careful, you dunce!" Weiss shouted at him. "You're unarmed!"
"Thanks for the sa-... wait, you can see me?!" Jaune gaped.
"Of course I can see you," Weiss scoffed. "Thanks to your distraction, my team was able to get here."
'Huh, the dream changed the order of events?'
On the plus side, Weiss finally noticed him.
"Glad I could be of help." Jaune grinned. "Looks like you all got this."
"Of course, we are the number one team at Beacon." Weiss brushed her hair back. It wasn't even a challenge as Team RWBY quickly finished off the Grimm. Ruby swinging the scythe large enough to cut an elephant in half, Weiss' Glyphs causing explosions and walls, Yang's punches that could send Grimm to the moon, and Blake's shadow dancing. Jaune kind of wished he had popcorn. "Now it's time to deal with my father."
"You dare to disobey me?" Her father yelled. "I've given you everything and this is how you repay me?"
"You never wanted a daughter, you just wanted a pawn!" Weiss shouted back. "I'm done with you! This is it! I'm going to be a Huntress and then take over the SDC and fix all the trouble you've caused."
Jaune noticed the rest of Team RWBY was just standing there, listening. Since this was Weiss' dream, her focus was on the image of her dad. There seemed to be some issues between them. Remaining quiet was the best decision right now. Was this some subconscious desire to rebel against her father?
"You are a disgrace!" Jaune flinched at the man's words. No parent should ever say that to their child. If he was a real person, Jaune probably would have punched him. "You even allied with animals!" The man pointed a shaking finger at Blake.
"She's more of a person than you'll ever be!" Weiss raised her rapier. "Don't ever talk about my friend again!" The gears clicked into place as she pointed the weapon at her father. A wave of ice shot forward and engulfed the man as he yelled in horror.
"YOU FOOL!"
"Cool off for a bit." Weiss huffed, lowering her blade.
"Thanks, Weiss." Blake smiled at her even if her eyes were hidden by the mask. "It's obvious you're not like your father."
"I appreciate that, Blake." Weiss replied. "Maybe the White Fang had some good points, even if they blurred the message with their actions. When I take over the SDC, I'll do something about it."
"Heh, now kiss!" Jaune called out as a joke, chuckling at the scene. It was all Weiss talking to herself after all.
Weiss glared at him, but Blake stepped forward. Before Weiss could react, arms wrapped around her as her teammate planted a big kiss on Weiss' cheek.
"Wooo, go Blake!" Yang cheered.
"Filthy!" Ruby yelled.
Weiss' face was red as she spun around in a rage at Jaune.
"You stupid clown!" The embarrassed heiress yelled. The next moment, Jaune was wearing baggy pants held up by suspenders, a polka dotted baggy shirt, a big red fake nose, white powder on his face, and a fizzy rainbow wig. "There, now you're dressed the part."
"Worth it!" Jaune laughed.
In the distance, some movement caught his eye. A familiar little girl was peeking up from behind a chair. Young Weiss made eye contact with Jaune and gave him a huge smile. Jaune returned the gesture and held up his hand. He only held the pinkie up and wiggled it. The girl giggled and held up her own to return the same motion. The promise had been kept.
"What are you doing?" Weiss asked.
"Just keeping a promise." Jaune replied.
"You're so weird."
"You're one to talk with this dream." Jaun countered amused.
"Huh-...?"
What happened Jaune didn't expect at all.
Instantly, all the lights went out and Jaune was suspended in darkness. Everything vanished without warning. Spinning around, Jaune tried to see something. Anything at all. There wasn't even sound. He was merely suspended in a void. Weight was pressing in around the boy and then gravity finally decided to start back up.
Jaune began to fall.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
It was then Jaune woke up back in his bed. Blinking the sleep away, he shook his head and looked around. It was almost time to get up. The sky outside the window was just beginning to lighten up. The abrupt end of the dream surprised Jaune. Sure, every other time he left the dream, it was out of nowhere. This was the first time the dream seemed to shut down before he exited. What was the difference?
'Maybe Weiss woke up? Yeah, that would make sense. If she was up, the dream would shut off. Huh, wonder what made her wake up so quickly? Hehe, probably Ruby getting up early.'
Jaune rolled over on the bed. He was glad he could help make Weiss' dream better, but he was mulling over everything that he learned. Weiss had some problems back home if what he saw was an indication. People wanted to befriend her just because of her last name. That must have sucked growing up. Not being sure who your real friends were.
A daunting realization weighed down on Jaune.
'She thinks I did that too when we first met, doesn't she? I asked her out without knowing anything about her.'
Jaune knew what he had to do.
The day passed like normal. Nora woke them up early to run, they had breakfast, then went to class for the day. It wasn't until the afternoon, Jaune finally had some freetime. There was some team training planned for that evening after dinner, but Jaune was able to find some free time beforehand. Making his way back to the dorms, he stopped outside Team RWBY's dorm and knocked.
"Hey, Jaune!" Ruby beamed, as she answered the door. "What's up?"
"Is Weiss here?" Jaune asked. Instantly, Ruby's smile dropped.
"Tell Arc I'm not here!" Came Weiss' voice.
"I'm not trying to ask her out!" Jaune held up his hands in a surrender gesture. "I just need to talk to her for a moment. I swear!"
"Weiss?" Ruby turned and looked around the door.
"Fine, but if he asks me out…" Weiss came over and Ruby darted away. "What do you want, Arc?"
"I wanted to apologize to you."
Saying those words and seeing the stunned reaction of Weiss was almost worth the awkwardness. She had been expecting some kind of flirtatious attempt. Maybe a request to work on homework together so she could do it for him. An apology? That wasn't on her list.
"For what?" Weiss' confusion was evident.
"For constantly asking you out all the time." Jaune elaborated. "You told me no and I was stubborn about it. I should have accepted that you didn't feel that way about me. I also embarrassed you with some of my public confessions."
"Er… Y-Yes!" Weiss nodded. "You should have!"
"I promise I'll stop," Jaune swore to her.
"Good…" Weiss blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Not that I really care… but what brought this on?"
"Ruby and I are best friends, and we hang out a lot," Jaune explained simply. "While Blake and I are planning to meet up now too. I figured I'll be around a lot and I want to avoid any hostilities or awkwardness. If possible, I would like us to be friends."
Weiss seemed to be pondering this and her expression softened for a moment.
"I think that can be arranged." Weiss admitted.
"She's been in a good mood all day!" Ruby called out.
"Shush, you dolt!" Weiss snapped back and then turned her attention back to Jaune. "I appreciate the apology, Arc… Jaune. It might be possible to be friends… I'm friends with Ruby after all."
"HEY!"
"Haha, thanks Weiss." Jaune grinned. "I got to go. We got team practice soon."
Weiss closed the door and went back to her desk.
"What brought that on?" Yang asked, looking up from her Scroll as she laid on the bed.
"He promised not to ask me out all the time with those ridiculous displays, so I decided I'll give him a chance at being a friend of mine." Weiss huffed.
"Damn, Ice Queen has been thawed out today." Yang whistled.
"She must have woken up on the right side of the bed!" Ruby giggled.
"Maybe…" Weiss didn't tell them about the nice dream she had. She finally got revenge on her dad. That was the best night she could remember having for a long time. Her team even helped. Then Jaune decided to apologize today? Everything was turning up Weiss. "But now I don't have to worry about him."
There were some weird moments in her dream though. Jaune was there and Weiss normally didn't dream about him. Mostly he was an annoying idiot who chased her around the few times she could recall them. Then there was the moment Blake kissed her. She didn't have feelings for her! Why would she dream that? The weirdest thing was when she recalled Jaune in her dream, she felt oddly happy. Like he did something for her. What that was, she couldn't think of a reason.
"Wonder why Jaune decided to give up now?' Ruby wondered. "He never gave up before."
"Not understanding no can be annoying," Yang admitted. "The only thing I could hand to him was he didn't suddenly act like a jerk after being rejected. He wasn't a 'nice guy' but an actual nice guy. He really liked you, Weiss."
"He barely knows me." Weiss scoffed. "At least he realizes that now." Something he said resonated in her mind. He and Blake were planning to meet up more. Did that mean what she thought it did? "I don't think he'll be asking me out anytime soon."
"Think so?" Yang raised an eyebrow.
"Sounds like he and Blake are dating." Weiss hypothesized.
"WHAT?!" The two sisters gasped.
It was probably a good thing Blake wasn't in the room.
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.
Jaune can now interact with dreams. His Semblance is growing stronger. The build up is now complete too for Pyrrha's dream next chapter.
UrsaMJR: "Jaune serving Weiss as a Butler played out VERY differently in my head when I first heard it. I need to calm my hedonistic self. What else can I do but wish for pleasure when Dark keeps feeding me nothing but burnt cigarette ends in this basement?"