Sleeping Without Dreaming

What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark?
It would be like sleep without dreams. —Werner Herzog

AN: The main characters here are Ruby Rose and Roman Torchwick. This is not a romance. It starts on the premise that Torchwick didn't die at the end of Season 3 and carries on from there. Originally it was planned to be part of a much longer series of works following all of the four main ladies' separate adventures after Season 3, but let's just see if we can get this one done for starters.

There's some mildly graphic description of murder in this fiction.

The chapter titles and snippets of quotes at the start of every chapter are all songs by Björk. (The quotes have been cut from the Fanfiction . net version of this story.)

I want to extend a special thank you to my betas Kaleidophoenix (2016) and the folks at the Small Fandom FF Authors Discord channel and Spacebattles (2018), who helped make this work into less of a trainwreck than it really should be.

The Legal Disclaimer: This is a fan fiction using characters from world of RWBY, which was created by and is trademarked to Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. I make no profit from my work except in the form of reader reviews. My deepest gratitude to Monty Oum, and my condolences to his surviving friends and family. I hope my story will do his creation the justice it deserves.

Prologue: Notget

"You got spirit, Red, but this is the real world!"

Ruby cried out in pain and curled into a protective ball as Torchwick struck her stomach.

"The real world is cold!" He raised the cane again, this time trying to hit her side. Curling tighter around herself, she lifted a leg to block the strike.

Undeterred, he kept beating her. "The real world doesn't care about spirit!"

No more, Ruby thought, gritting her teeth. No more wasting time when Beacon is falling! She slammed her foot into his leg, and was rewarded with a grunt as he was forced to his knees. Get up, she told herself, but Torchwick was just as driven as she.

"You want to be a hero?" He'd finally lost his mocking lilt and something akin to real rage colored his words. "Then play the part and die like every other Huntsman in history!" He was already on his feet; he swung his cane out like a bat, sending her flying.

"As for me," he said, calming down as he approached, "I'll do what I do best. Lie, steal, cheat, and survive!" Torchwick looked self-assured, as though he was confident the battle was won. He's really going to kill me this time! She cringed as his arm rose.

Salvation came from the most unexpected of sources. Ruby stared in wordless shock as the Griffon landed out of nowhere and swallowed Torchwick whole. She didn't even have the time to register his expression; one moment he was there, and the next there was a nauseating human-shaped lump moving down the Grimm's gullet.

The Griffon lowered its head and roared, blasting her backwards.

Ruby stood, shaky on her feet; her aura was severely depleted, no thanks to the battle with Torchwick and his smug sidekick. In a move borne more of desperation than heroic resolve, she gathered her energy and used her Semblance to skid past the Griffon, aiming for her weapon.

The Grimm roared, hot on her heels. No way, that thing still wants dessert? Her hand closed around the handle of Crescent Rose seconds before she was knocked off balance by a blast; the airship fell into a steep nosedive, pitching both Ruby and her pursuer off of the ship.

Twisting around, the Griffon spread its wings. Ruby clenched her teeth and dove after it. "Not so fast!" she yelled, swinging her scythe and hooking the blade around its neck. The Griffon jackknifed, and Ruby threw her weight to the side to keep herself from decapitating the creature. Instead, she wedged the shaft of Crescent Rose over its neck and clamped her knees around its body, locking it into a chokehold. "Be a good birdie and get me out of here in one piece!"

Trying to coast to the ground on the back of a bucking Grimm was hair-raising. It twisted and jerked through the air to throw her off; it even felt like the black skin she'd wrapped her legs around was prodding her.

Wait. Ruby nearly lost her grip as she looked down. Something moved inside of the Griffon again – Torchwick? He's still alive?

Her stomach churned as she felt another poke. Why am I worrying about him? He wanted to kill me! She tried to push Torchwick from her mind; there'd be no saving anyone if she couldn't even save herself. Another poke – his struggles were growing weaker, and the niggling of her conscience was becoming exponentially louder.

A loud explosion ripped through the air. The Atlesian airship was going down with a bang, and Ruby forced her mount to turn away from the flaming debris. The Griffon wasn't on board with her brilliant plan; it turned her nudge into a dive nearly as steep as the crashing airship's.

"Ahh!" Tears streamed out of Ruby's eyes as the ground rushed to meet them. Panicking, she released her grip and slid off. The Griffon's mad charge brought her close enough to land with a roll that didn't break her neck; the same couldn't be said for the unfortunate steed, beheaded by her violent dismount. Its lifeless body plowed into the ground, ripping up chunks of pavement before skidding to a stop. Moments later, wisps of black mist rose into the air.

Ruby rolled to her feet, gripping her weapon and eyeing the figure that the Griffon's dissolving corpse revealed. He's like a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe – nothing gets rid of him!

Torchwick stood much more slowly, looking worse for the wear. His brief look of surprise was quickly replaced by one of disgust, taking in his own appearance. "Great. My suit is ruined!" He froze when he caught sight of her, his arms still outstretched. "You!" His eyes darted to the ground; Ruby guessed his cane also made it out of the Griffon in one piece.

She hefted Crescent Rose. "Don't move!" she shouted, hoping her voice sounded more threatening than she felt. "I – I'm faster than you!"

Lifting his hands in mock surrender, Torchwick shrugged at her. "Fine by me. I'm not exactly on top of my game right now." He looked over his shoulder as the airship finally hit the ground in a deafening fireball and winced.

"How'd we get down – no. You know what? Never mind. Let's just call it a day and part ways here. You go do your hero thing, I'll go do my villain thing, and we'll all leave happy." His jaw twitched, and Ruby remembered the way he'd shouted his partner's name on the airship. "Or at least in one piece."

Making a decision, she lunged forward. Rose petals flew as she swooped low, grabbing his cane and skittering out of reach before he could blink. "I'm going to let you go," she said, "but I need you to listen to me first. Please!"

Torchwick rolled his eyes, but kept his hands up. "Whatever makes you happy, Red. You're the one holding the gun."

"I'm not trying to be the hero of Vale!" She frowned at the incredulous look on his face. "Huntsmen die because they willingly give their lives to protect people from the Grimm! Even people like you."

"How sweet. You do realize that confiscating my weapon means you're dooming me to die a horrible death out here? Maybe I'll be swallowed up by another Grimm." He smirked. "Think you can live with that on your conscience, Red?"

"I can't," Ruby answered without hesitation, surprising him. "That's why I saved you in the first place. That's what being a Huntsman means. It's not about looking like a hero, Torchwick. It's about acting like one." She looked overhead at the Grimm swirling around them, tearing apart the city, and felt a sense of calm purpose settle within her. "You can kill a Grimm by fighting it, but there's only one way to really defeat them – by letting go of your insecurities and selfishness." She returned his smirk with a tight smile. "I hope someday you'll learn that."

Dropping the cane at her feet, Ruby sheathed her scythe. "Get out of Vale if you can. I didn't have to kill that Griffon, you know. I could've let it die and take you out with it. But... I wanted you to live." Her voice hitched as she looked at him: green eyes, red hair, all close – much too close – to Penny's own artificial coloring. "I don't want anyone else to die." Blinking her tears away, she scowled at Torchwick, whose face was impassive. "I'm giving you a second chance. I really hope you won't waste it."

He didn't respond, and Ruby cringed inwardly, wondering why she was wasting her time. There are better people who need saving. My job's done here. Steeling herself, she turned and sprinted away, intent on finding the rest of her team.

Torchwick lowered his hands, watching her go. Then he clicked his tongue, strolling over and picking up Melodic Cudgel. He stood there, looking at his weapon for a long moment, eyes squinted in thought. Whatever he'd been thinking was interrupted by the crash of a Grimm lumbering towards him.

"Welcome back to the real world," he muttered to himself, running in the opposite direction.