RWBY: LUCID

They cut across the campus grounds like a silent procession, with Jaune at the center. Every step towards their destination made him feel more like someone being marched toward an appointment he hadn't signed up for—like the world had shifted and he was still scrambling to catch up. It was certainly an odd feeling to say the least.

"So… where exactly are we going?" Jaune asked, glancing toward Ren, hoping for a straightforward answer.

But it was Yang who replied instead, a smirk curling at the corner of her mouth and her eyebrows waggling suggestively. "Somewhere private… where we won't be disturbed."

Jaune blinked in confusion then blushed slightly as the implication hit him.

"Wh-what?" he managed to choke out, face flushing red.

"Yang!" Ruby groaned, slapping her sister's arm with an audible smack.

"Ow!" Yang whined, rubbing the sore spot. "I was joking! Geez, take the fun out of everything, why don'cha"

Ren simply exhaled in a long, exhausted sigh, clearly, used to this sort of thing already.

As they entered Building D, the hallways grew progressively quieter with each flight of stairs they climbed. Like was as if the rest of the school had collectively agreed not to tread here. Jaune himself, had only been up to floor 3 having never yet explored the uppermost floor.

By the time they reached the top, he was slightly out of breath—and more than a little confused.

"This… is where we're going?" he asked, stepping into a vast open space.

The floor stretched wider than he'd expected. Soft overhead lights buzzed faintly above them. It was cleaner than most school spaces, but there was still a sterile air to the place, like a room scrubbed of identity. At the far end, large, velvet curtains hung from ceiling tracks, some of them pulled open to reveal the structure of a stage.

And what a stage it was.

The centerpiece of the floor was a large, elevated wooden platform. Risers had been bolted together and covered in black paneling, supported by a simple truss system. A grid of overhead lighting rigs hung above, some fully operational, others with their bulbs missing or tilted in odd directions. Maroon curtains pooled slightly on the sides, thick and heavy with age. Behind the main curtain, multiple stage props were stacked neatly—fake stone walls, painted trees, weapon replicas. It looked like someone had abandoned a production mid-run.

Rows of old auditorium-style seats faced the platform in slightly uneven lines. Some were newer plastic fold-ups, clearly brought in later, while others were original velvet-cushioned chairs, their armrests worn down by time and use. A few seats were missing altogether, replaced by mismatched office chairs or folding tables stacked with electrical gear and extension cords.

It was equal parts school theater and guerrilla operations base.

Jaune walked down the central aisle, gaze sweeping across the setup. "You said this place belonged to the Drama Club?"

"Yep," Ruby replied from behind him. "Drama owns this place. However, it also functions as a secret entrance spot for us."

"A secret entrance?" Jaune murmured confused, eyeing the old stage ahead of them. "This place doesn't really look like it would have a secret entrance...?"

"That's supposed to be the point, you know." Ren remarked.

They walked to the back of the room, past rows of black curtain dividers and prop crates, until they reached a wide corridor tucked behind the stage area. The transition from the creative clutter of the stage to this empty, controlled hallway was jarring. The walls here were freshly painted in a neutral off-gray, with sharp corners and not a scuff in sight. No cobwebs, peeling posters or graffiti.

It was... pristine.

Which only deepened Jaune's confusion.

"The drama club members don't come back here?" he asked.

Nora nodded. "Yep. They ignore this place. The excuse is that some important servo equipment is kept here as an alternate storage space."

Jaune nodded in understanding. As they walked further in, he happened to glance upward.

Security cameras.

Two of them.

High-tech ones, too. One pointed down the hallway and the other, toward the stage.

The little red LED was blinking.

Jaune frowned, slowing slightly. "There are cameras?"

"Yup," said Yang, spinning on her heel. "Don't worry. They're ours."

Jaune couldn't help but ask again. "You have cameras? Like, just casual monitoring on school property?"

"We're not the ones watching. They are. Besides, you can never be too careful with who pokes around this spot. Its for safety's sake, as well." Ruby explained.

"Safety huh... " Jaune echoed.

Ren stopped at the end of the hall in front of a plain gray steel door. There was no label on it—no sign or even a window. Just a single, matte black handprint scanner mounted next to it.

Jaune raised a brow. "That's… a bit much, isn't it?"

"It's for security," Ren explained patiently.

"Yeah, well, most people use padlocks or something. This is, what, biometric encryption?"

Ruby nodded.

"Why is that even here in a high school?"

Ren simply stared at Jaune like he was an idiot.

Jaune flushed, a little embarrassed but also inwardly frowned. Jaune wasn't stupid, the fact that all of the people he had seen so far within the Nightmare Realm showed up wearing weird cyberpunk-like futuristic armor meant that there was a significant force backing them all up. However, he was simply just confused. Why was this in a school? Wouldn't people be more suspicious or was Jaune simply reading too much into it?

Ren pressed his palm to the scanner. A soft chime sounded, and with a mechanical click, the door unlocked and opened inward.

What lay beyond wasn't another room, but a chamber.

A short hallway led to a widened atrium that held not one, not two, but five elevator shafts.

"…There are multiple elevators?"

It didn't make sense. There was no floor above this one. At least, not that he'd ever seen. And even if there were something below, why would a high school need more than one elevator to access it?

Yang stepped past him, whistling. "What, you thought the school's and the world's deepest secrets would be behind a broom closet or something?"

He didn't reply. He couldn't, really. His mind was too busy recalculating everything he thought he understood about Beacon.

This wasn't just a simple side room. It was a carefully constructed infrastructure.

"You'll understand soon," Ren said quietly, noticing the look on his face.

Jaune swallowed hard. Part of him wanted to ask more, push for answers, demand explanations.

But instead, he fell into step behind them.

He didn't know why, but a part of him understood: whatever waited below those elevators wasn't something he could guess his way through.

He just had to follow them down and find out.

The elevator began its descent with a soft hum, smooth and practically noiseless. The light overhead flickered once, then stabilized. Jaune shifted his weight from foot to foot. There was no floor counter to see, strangely enough.

Just two buttons that said G, and B. The last was the one that Ren had pressed.

"Uh," Jaune started, glancing around the mirrored walls. "Did Beacon always have a basement or something?"

Yang leaned lazily against the railing, arms crossed, an easy grin curling at her lips. "Basement? Ehh… not exactly. Bit bigger than that."

Jaune squinted at her. "What do you mean by—?"

Ding.

The elevator glided to a stop before he could finish his sentence, and the doors opened with a hydraulic hiss.

And suddenly, Jaune's brain short-circuited.

Beyond the elevator lay a massive underground facility, the kind that didn't belong beneath a school but inside a futuristic sci-fi action flick. The ceiling stretched stories high, reinforced with sleek white plating and exposed steel ribs glowing with faint electrical energy veins. Walkways, vertical shafts and mezzanines were sprawled across the area, suspended by magnetic braces. Multiple rows of monitors, terminals, and digital interfaces were arranged in stations, manned by personnel in fitted uniforms—dark navy with sharp trim and stitched shoulder insignias.

The hum of machinery mingled with bursts of static from comms. Holograms floated above terminals—animated blueprints, creature analysis, field mission maps. Down a long corridor to the left, Jaune spotted an entire row of training rooms, sealed behind transparent walls. Inside, he watched in awe as an operative blurred forward at an impossible speed, plunging a luminous spear through a simulated Beowolf's chest. Another wielded a massive hammer, flipping midair to crush a serpent-like creature made of data.

"This is…" Jaune took a few steps forward, turning on the spot to take it all in. "This is a lot bigger than just a little."

"Hey," Yang chimed in, elbowing him lightly. "Maybe you're not so little either, huh?"

Jaune groaned. "Seriously?"

His face twitched, caught somewhere between exasperation and acceptance.

"I knew you'd say something like that."

"Gotta keep tradition alive," Yang winked, hands behind her head.

"Ren. Nora. Help me," Ruby groaned from behind, flopping her head back dramatically. "This is what I have to deal with. Every day!"

"Um... you want my special pancake recipe?" Nora offered to which Ruby on groaned in response.

"I keep her sharp," Yang added smugly.

"One day I'm going to stick something sharp up your—"

Yang quickly covered Ruby's mouth before she could spew something filthy from her mouth. Jaune was amused.

They continued their walk, deeper into the complex, footsteps echoing along the metal flooring. Everywhere Jaune looked, he saw people at work. Technicians fiddling with data, researchers comparing notes on holo-monitors and others dressed in the same advanced suits that Ren and Nora wore in the dream—sleek armor laced with light accents and subtle exoskeletal reinforcements.

Jaune paused for a second at the glass of another training chamber. This time, a pair of twin-wielding sword fighters danced against a digital Manticore-like dream creature. It roared in silence, swiping massive claws—only for one fighter to phase behind it in a streak of neon light, blades humming as he landed a devastating slash.

He was so transfixed by the scene that he didn't realize the others had kept walking.

"Hey—come on," Ruby called back to him. "You'll have time to gawk later."

Jaune jogged to catch up. "Sorry! That was just—insane. They were moving like—like blur speed. How are they even—"

"You'll get used to it," Ren said mildly, leading the way around a central command hub shaped like a control tower. "Eventually, you'll even match them."

Jaune didn't respond. He was too busy staring again.

This time, it was a lab—part of the facility's science division, from the looks of it. Inside the glass enclosure, scientists in sleek white lab coats were examining several glowing things that looked like.. runes or some other type of material. Others were reviewing floating graphs and matrices, while a third group worked on a suit of armor suspended in magnetic fields. Tubes and cables connected to it from the ceiling and floor, pulsing softly with power.

Everywhere Jaune looked, the world got stranger and more advanced.

He almost missed when the group stopped—until he walked directly into Nora's back.

"Ah—sorry!"

"Eyes forward, Jauney," Nora teased.

When Jaune straightened up, he saw someone standing before them—a figure he immediately recognized.

Wheat-blonde hair coiled into a tight, elegant bun. A sharp, tailored outfit of black and white hugged her voluptuously curvy figure—more secretary-chic than military, but with an edge of sexy authority that seemingly silenced anyone who met her gaze. Glasses rested on the bridge of her nose, accentuating her eyes rather than hiding them. Every movement she made looked crisp and efficient. Like a woman who demanded excellence—and got it.

"G-Glynda Goodwitch?" Jaune said aloud, before realizing he'd spoken.

The Assistant Headmistress of Beacon turned to them, lips pressed in a thin line, expression unreadable.

"Yes," she said, tone clipped and proper. "Welcome, Mr. Arc. I trust your… escort was sufficiently informative?"

Jaune scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, kind of? I've had more questions than answers so far."

"Good," she said crisply, tapping a tablet in her hand. "If you had too many answers already, that would be far more concerning."

Yang leaned closer to Jaune and whispered, "She's scarier than anything in the dream world, right?"

"She heard that," Glynda said without looking up.

Yang straightened instantly. "Eep."

Glynda's gaze settled on Jaune, and although her eyes were not unkind, there was a weight behind them—a knowledge and an expectation, that made Jaune feel like he was suddenly very small standing in a very large and very dangerous machine.

"We'll begin your orientation and tour shortly," she continued. "Until then, stay close, observe, and do not touch anything."

"Uh... yes ma'am," Jaune said quickly.

The others fell into a more formal silence, following behind her as she began to lead them further into the facility's heart.

The group continued through a branching corridor, this one quieter than the rest. The noise of machines and conversation faded into a muted hum, replaced by the soft echo of their footsteps and the subtle buzz of distant lighting overhead.

Eventually, Glynda came to a halt before a wide, double-paneled office door. A sleek bronze nameplate was affixed at eye level, polished and discreet.

Ozpin

Jaune blinked at the name. It sounded familiar, but Jaune wasn't sure where he had heard it before. It clicked in his mind, a moment later, that this was the headmaster of beacon academy. It seemed he was meeting the big brass already?

Glynda turned to the group and gestured to a row of black faux-leather benches that lined the wall across from the office.

"You'll wait here," she said, firm but not unkind.

The others gave nods. Yang flopped onto a bench with a dramatic sigh and shot Jaune a thumbs-up. "You'll do fine. Just don't pass out or throw up."

"That's comforting," Jaune muttered.

Ruby offered a small smile, hands behind her back. "Dont worry, he's not scary. Just... really smart."

"I'll be waiting for you, Jauney!" Nora added with a wink, swinging her legs under the bench like a child and Ren, calm as ever, gave Jaune a simple but reassuring smile.

Something about the group's quiet confidence eased the nervous twist in Jaune's stomach. He took a breath, then turned to follow Glynda as she knocked once on the door.

A muffled voice replied, smooth and composed: "Come in."

The door unlocked with a soft click, and Glynda pushed it open.

Jaune stepped inside, following her.

The room was a wide, modern office—spartan, yet sleek. The walls were white and lined with minimalist shelves that contained a few tastefully abstract art pieces and books which decorated the far corners. Dominating the far end of the space was a wide glass window, which offered a commanding view into what looked like a vast hangar bay.

Jaune's eyes widened.

Below, separated by glass and distance, was a facility unlike anything he'd ever imagined. Towering mechanical suits—mechas, he realized with a stunned breath—were being assembled and repaired by teams of engineers. Technicians darted around on raised scaffolding, sparks flew from welding torches, and orange warning lights blinked on nearby consoles. He could just barely make out the shimmering distortion of active shielding fields being calibrated around the machines.

It was like something out of a science fiction epic. The office door hissed shut behind him.

Jaune turned back toward the desk, where a tall-backed leather chair sat facing the window. For a moment, there was only silence.

Then the voice spoke again.

"Your case… is certainly an interesting one, to say the least, Jaune Arc."

The chair turned slowly.

The man revealed, was striking in every sense of the word. He wore a fitted black suit with tasteful green accents running along the lapels and cuffs—regal, but modern. A pair of perfectly circular, dark-lensed sunglasses rested on the bridge of his nose, doing nothing to obscure his eagle-like eyes that somehow amplified the intensity of his presence.

His short and silver-gray hair, was parted neatly. His expression unreadable.

Jaune couldn't explain it, but the man had an odd presence in a way that wasn't exactly... negative. It almost felt as if physics agreed to bend for him, like gravity didn't dictate his weight and he, and he alone, chose when and how to move.

The man stood with the faintest motion, tapping a sleek cane to the floor as he did. It made a soft, deliberate clack. He walked around the desk in no rush, setting the cane aside and resting casually against the edge of the polished surface, arms crossed.

"I have many questions I'd like to ask you," he said, tone even but heavy with implication.

He didn't blink or even shift. Yet, Jaune felt a single bead of sweat roll down the back of his neck as the silence stretched.

Then—abruptly—the man smiled.

It was neither cruel nor mocking. Just amused, like he was sharing a private joke with himself.

"But first," he continue gently, "I should welcome you to this place."

Jaune's eyes spun in confusion. "This place? I'm sorry, sir... I'm still quite confused about everything here. What exactly is this place?"

"Understandable, given your circumstance."

The man lifted a hand and gestured toward the vast world beneath the glass—the dream warriors, the labs, the mechs, the operatives in advanced armor all moving like parts of a hidden machine that operated far beneath the surface of reality.

"This is a place that is quite unlike the world above, the school and even the dream realm. It's a bridge that has been built to prepare those who find themselves lost and confused. A place to train, a place to understand and a place to grow."

Then, with quiet finality, the man gave a slight incline of his head, as though offering knighthood or an oath.

"Jaune Arc, I welcome you, to LUCID."

.

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AN: What a ride. This is the end of the first volume of this story. Next, more stuff will start to pick up and more plot will start to unfold. My patreon followers will be able to read the second volume ahead of time. I'm going to take a small break from writing here, so no more daily uploads for a short time. Do leave some comments and reviews. I enjoy reading them, very much.