𝐈𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 (English)

Chapter 72

There had been no news of Salem or Cinder, which Ozpin quietly informed Jaune was a good thing after combat class. The lack of noticeable activity hopefully meant they were busy locked in their own little conflict, which would spare Beacon and Vale as a whole their wrath. Qrow was still out looking for them, but now it was scouting only, and he had orders not to interfere.

"Tempting as it may be, Salem is not someone who can be so easily dealt with," Ozpin told him, his younger body no longer seeming so strange to Jaune. "It is best to let her be if we can get away with it."

"Don't you have much of your power back? Enough to fight her?"

"Of course. And should she stand out in an open field and challenge me, I shall respond. She won't, though. Any battle between she and I would take place in the midst of Vale, with innocent people on every side. And do keep in mind her primary defence is Grimm. They might not be such a threat to me, but Grimm pouring down on Vale would lead to bloodshed the likes of which haven't been seen since Mountain Glenn."

All because of his impatience. Jaune grimaced. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Don't apologise for asking questions, Mr Arc. I'd much rather you seek wisdom from me than rush off on your own. Team RWBY tends to do that, and it gives Glynda and I constant headaches."

"In their defence, they've not done anything bad yet."

"No. But each and every time they have been at risk of dying." Ozpin tilted his head forward. "We don't punish them because they've inconvenienced us, nor because they've broken the rules. We punish them because we desperately hope to not have to tell their parents they have died when, one day, they take on a threat too great for them. It may not have happened yet, but Torchwick? Terrorists? What is next, Mr Arc? Cinder herself? Salem?"

"I hope not."

"As do I. As do I." Ozpin chuckled softly. "But they're good girls and we're glad to have them – we just don't want to lose them. If that is all? I have a meeting with Glynda, and I do believe you're meeting with Bartholomew to talk more about your Semblance."

"Yes, sir." Jaune stood, taking the dismissal for what it was. "Thank you for your time."

The meeting with Oobleck was more of what he was used to – the two of them discussing the small progress in being able to predict which dreams he might end up in, albeit with less than perfect accuracy.

"Even middling accuracy is better than none at all," Oobleck said. "But I'm more interested in this new application you've discovered. I'd love to have Miss Valkyrie visit with you next time so I can ask what she noticed as a passenger in the dream."

"I'll ask her if she wants to. I'm more worried about what would have happened to her if she died in the dream."

"That's harder to say. There's a good chance the answer would be nothing."

"Really? But my Semblance has caused permanent changes before."

"Only to the person who you are in the mind of. Semblances that alter reality are rare but not unheard of – even if they're less powerful than this. In all cases, the user needs to be pouring their aura into the victim. Or patient, as there have been limited healing Semblances. The point I'm making is that you were primarily using your Semblance on Miss Belladonna, with Miss Valkyrie's consciousness brought along for the ride. If she died, I expect she would snap back into her own body and likely wake up, jolted by the shock."

Jaune let out a breath. "That's a relief."

"It is if I'm correct. While I fully believe you won't be changing the bodies of people who come along, that doesn't mean there isn't some small risk. For one, people have died in dreams before – normally due to heart attacks, and in people who already have weak hearts."