RWBY: LUCID

Dinner was quiet.

Perhaps a little too quiet for Jaune's liking.

Jaune and his dad sat at opposite ends of the dining table, both eating from their respective plates of spicy lemon-baked salmon and stir-fried vegetables. The food was good—really good, actually—but the atmosphere was poisoned by the lingering memory of that page in the notebook.

Jaune avoided eye contact like it might summon a bolt of judgment from above. His dad, meanwhile, kept glancing between the food and his son like he was trying to decide whether to keep eating or stage an intervention.

"So…" his dad finally began, carefully swallowing a piece of salmon, "this… 'friend' of yours. The one who gave you the notebook. What's her name?"

"Mocha," Jaune muttered.

"Mocha," his dad repeated, trying the name out like it might be an alias. "And she's into runes and ancient magic."

"Something like that..."

"Right. And she also included a hyper-detailed drawing of a half-fox… person… in the nude… on the last page?"

Jaune groaned, slumping forward into his hands. "I don't think she put that there, okay?! I didn't even know it was there until later on. That wasn't part of the research, it was just—just Mocha being weird, I guess"

His dad gave a skeptical hum and took another bite of rice.

"You sure you're not joining a cult?"

"No!" Jaune snapped, then winced at his own volume. He took a deep breath and sighed, then continued. "It's not a cult. It's just a club. And I'm not even a full member. I just... asked for help. That's all."

His dad raised a brow. "Didn't you say that this occult club thing was weird? And weren't you thinking of joining the sword-arts club? What ever happened to that?"

Jaune hesitated, then said, "Im not really a member of the occult club, just... unofficial or whatever, I guess. And yes, I did actually join the sword arts club, today. Officially, that is. Beacon allows its students to join multiple clubs."

"Right... and you trust this... Mocha, girl?"

"More than I trust the guy who put the fox art in the back of a research book."

"That's not a no."

"Dad."

"Alright, alright," his father relented, waving his chopsticks in surrender. "I'll stay out of it. You're a big boy. Just... maybe don't leave sketchy porn out on the living room table."

"It's not porn!" Jaune groaned again. "It's mostly runes. That was just... a stupid gag. I think, at least."

His dad gave a long, theatrical sigh and leaned back in his chair. "Well, you're lucky. Dinner's good enough to distract me. You might survive this one, chef."

That at least earned a weak smile from Jaune.

The rest of dinner passed in relative peace. By the time the plates were clean and the kitchen was wiped down, the conversation had drifted to safer topics—school schedules, how Jade was doing, and whether or not they were out of dish soap again.

Eventually, Jaune retreated upstairs to his room.

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9:23 PM – Group Chat: Supreme Pancake Warriors"

[Nora 💥]U GUYS. WE FOUND A DOG! A WHOLE DOG. A BABY!

[Ren 🌿]We found a stray puppy behind the station near campus. Looked like someone abandoned it.

[Yang 💛🔥]WHAAAAT??? What kind of dog?

[Ruby 🌩️]WAIT SEND PICS

[Nora 💥]ALREADY ON IT📸 [image attachment: tiny, dirt-smudged puppy with floppy ears and huge eyes]

[Jaune 🛡️]Wow. Ok that thing is too cute. R u keeping it?

[Ren 🌿]We debated it. But we took it to the animal shelter just in case someone was looking for it.

[Yang 💛🔥]You two are gonna adopt a dog together. I'm calling it.

[Ruby 🌩️]They're totally gonna adopt a dog together 😌

[Nora 💥]UHHH WE ARE NOT READY FOR THAT LEVEL OF COMMITMENT(jk we might go back tomorrow)

[Jaune 🛡️]If you do, name it "Sir Woofalot" or I riot.

[Yang 💛🔥]What about Bark Vader?

[Ruby 🌩️]Stop I can't breathe

[Ren 🌿]Please… let us name it in peace…

[Nora 💥]REN WANTS TO CALL HIM "TOFU"

[Jaune 🛡️]He would.

[Ruby 🌩️]Tell tofu I love him

[Jaune 🛡️]Anyway, glad you guys helped it out. You two are awesome.

[Nora 💥]Awwww 🥹 thanks Juane

[Yang 💛🔥] "Juane" 💀💀💀

[Jaune 🛡️]Nooo don't start that again

[Ruby 🌩️]Too late Juane's canon now

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Jaune chuckled softly as he tossed his phone on the bed. Despite everything—despite the cult club, the cursed page, and the looming weight of dreamworld madness—his friends always managed to pull him back to Earth. Their energy made things feel just a bit more normal.

But now… it was time.

He rose, closing his curtains, dimming the lights, and walking over to his closet. He pulled out the clothes he'd quietly designated as his dream battle gear—dark, durable layers that moved well with his body. Jaune supposed that it didn't technically matter what he wore into the dream now. His body stat was very high that small scrapes and bruises didn't even register anymore, whenever he rolled across hard or sharp things. But somehow, changing clothes helped him transition mentally. Grounded him in that other world.

Jaune tightened the gloves on his hands, flexing his fingers.

Tonight, he wasn't going to explore. He was farming.

He had found that strange pocket area in the dream realm's version of the train station—a mist thing that was apparently called a "Nightmare." Jaune still wasn't sure what exactly that meant but what he did know was that it was a place where low-level creatures spawned regularly. They contributed heavily to his strength.

He was getting stronger. And it was working.

His Body stat had risen incrementally each night. Last time, it had hit 6.

Tonight, he was going to push it to 7 or 8 if he could. He had debated adding his runes into the other stats but... considering that he still didn't have a Rune Skill, which was clearly what Raymond and the Masked man were using, he wasn't sure if adding them into the stat would bring him any benefit.

With every creature he defeated, he could feel himself growing more capable. It wasn't just in the dream anymore. His coordination during Grise's sparring sessions, his reaction time—it was carrying over. Very slightly.

Or perhaps it was all in his head?

In any case, it thrilled him.

Jaune climbed into bed, drawing the covers over himself. He exhaled slowly, letting the rhythm of his breath slow and deepen, focusing on falling asleep.

Soon, the colors of his room bled away into sleep and the next time he opened his eyes, the red rotten world of the nightmare realm greeted his sight.

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AN: Short chapter today. Next few chapters are going to be a lot longer. Patreon support gets you +10 extra chapters!