Jay wasn't sure where he was, or why everything looked so strange again, but once he saw Ruby laying across the lap of another version of himself, he knew he was dreaming again.

No... wait, that's right.

Spending a bit of time with Miltia had been... oddly refreshing. The way she spoke to him was a lot different than he'd expected from the show, but really, she'd been like that since the... 'not so good' mission. Gritting his teeth, he involuntarily sucked in a sharp breath as he desperately tried to block out any and all memory of the things he'd seen.

Some horrors were best left forgotten.

Focusing back on the now, he noted how they weren't on a hill anymore, like his last dream had him. Hell, things were even in full color, so that was a plus too. Actually, now that he looked a little closer, his other self was playing with Ruby's hair. Kind of weird, sure, but nothing overly wild.

"rOse..."

And there it was again, just like last time. That voice... it sounded like nothing he'd ever heard before. In a way, Jay had trouble even claiming to have heard it; the tone alone was just so wrong. It was kind of like when you woke up after a fairly believable dream - he was well aware of the irony - where you seem to just meld from one scene to the next. During those moments he often had trouble telling if the information he recalled was from a real event or just the dream, and most of the time it took a solid second of consideration to straighten out.

But seeing as he was watching himself from across the road, Jay knew he'd have no trouble splitting the two apart.

This was obviously not real... but for some reason he felt this strange 'itch' in his chest, almost like a loose thread in his shirt. He never got time to think about it all that much, because his other self began to move his hand. Now, seeing another version of yourself providing the classic 'lap pillow' experience to another person was already a little questionable to begin with, and seeing as it was a fictional underage girl, it was made even worse.

As for why they were sitting on some steps before a random building... he honestly had no clue about that.

Jay made an attempt to approach, but while he was doing this his other self's hand came back into view. With the sidewalk being barren of all other witnesses, it left no other distractions to draw his focus away from what the copy seemed ready to do. Now, when lying peacefully with a girl in your lap, one might imagine certain clichés of romance and such to bloom like a fresh flower in mid spring.

The knife it pressed across Ruby's throat dashed those ideas away. And then it started sawing.

The young girl herself made no efforts to escape, just... lying there and looking at the clouds above as the guy kept cutting away. Where the hell had the knife come from? He had no idea, it was just his hand one moment, and the next, poof, a knife was in his grasp. Jay tried to run, on instinct, but his body never moved. As if he were fighting in a dream, which he was at this point; everything was gelatinous numb. A small, thin line of blood dribbled from the corners of the wound, and any excretions hence globed together in a flow down the sides of her neck, but he just kept on slicing.

It was only when the sparkle of silver left her eyes, and they quite literally dulled did Jay find himself able to move.

At best he fell over, tripping on air, and smacking hard into the pavement painlessly. It made no sense, none at all, but the question he so desperately wanted answered just continued to ring in his mind.

Why?!

Why did he do that? What the hell happened to make him dream this?! He liked this variation of Ruby, he genuinely did. The only versions of the characters he hated were those from the late volumes, with the final one being the worst offender. A team RWBY who were so excruciatingly ruined that even Rooster Teeth themselves couldn't spin up any excuses to make them the good guys, relying on that stupid twist ending where it was a "cautionary tale" all along. It pissed everyone off, even a good chunk of the hardcore defenders.

But this wasn't that Ruby though.

This Ruby Rose was the innocent, childish, and one-dimensional protagonist who they'd all come to love, back when RWBY was just a silly internet cartoon actively playing with anime tropes. It was never anything deep or more, and even when it tried, it still understood its origins. It was never perfect, but it didn't need to be, because at the end of the day it was still entertaining; and, in his humble opinion, that was all that mattered.

So why, the fuck, did his subconscious choose to torture him like this?

And like that, the cutting stopped, and his other self just looked towards him. Those eyes… they weren't hollow like he expected. In fact, they were kind of irritated. Would annoyed have been a better word to describe the way its brow twisted a bit, as a hand twisted, somewhat patting the side of Ruby's lifeless face? Considering he could move again, Jay made the questionable decision to approach.

Getting closer didn't exactly fill him with dread, at least, not as he expected it would. Honestly, he couldn't really tell what he was feeling, stopping right in front of the man and the corpse. But, from his current angle looking downward, the whole scene seemed more like a kid and his doll. Looking at the woman like she was a toy was probably a bad sign, but this was a dream, so he didn't care. Rather, he was more invested in the replica, which appeared to just look up.

Jay went to touch it, but felt nothing.

No wait, that was a lie, he felt refreshed. Not exactly good, again, but things had changed too. Pulling his hand back, he noted the unusual darkness surrounding him, only to then catch on that he wasn't standing anymore. The soft covers cocooning him revealed he was in a bed, and with the previous experience being a dream, it made sense to assume he'd woken up.

No fear or panic flooded his mind, like it should have. There was merely an odd aura of peace, like he'd somehow gotten a perfect night's rest. Shifting a little under the covers, Jay more or less debated inside about waking up. But no, he couldn't just hand wave that previous dream away like it was nothing, and so instead settled on trying to piece the meaning and cause together. Sure, it was weird, but it was oddly familiar. Actually, this wasn't the first time he'd had such a dream pertaining to Ruby...

Didn't I rip her heart out in the last one?

.

.

"Look, I've got places to be."

"So you're satisfied?" Junior was really pushing it, but with how uncomfortable the past few minutes had been, Roman was both willing and able to say whatever if it meant getting his ass out of the current scene.

"Can't ask for much more than a perfect breakdown." Complete lie: he could demand money and cigarettes, but he was in neither the right mindset or standing for either.

"No, you can't." Junior crossed his arms like the prick he was. "Especially when it's free."

"Beggars can't be choosers, yeah yeah, I got it." Roman turned away, silently and invisibly scowling just out of sight from the man's eyes. "I'll hit you up again if I need to, but please: next time at least try to keep things sensible."

"Request something I can actually sell, and you'll have yourself a deal."

Roman wasted no more time at that, starting off ahead and towards the end of the club, directly on a straight shot path to the front exit. With a sigh, he did his utmost to keep from stomping as he slowly and arduously strode along, helped only by an invisible Neo's equally sour air. She was just as lost as he was, and it was in that shared mindset he found peace.

Until she drew close to him, for some odd reason deliberately keeping her gaze from a certain direction.

This certainly sparked a bit of a kick to his liquor, and so, with a newborn drunken wonder, he let his sights trail along the 'forbidden direction' Neo had suddenly taken issue with. Nothing all that special picked at his eye; only a few seats and some early night goers. At best, he'd seen another of Junior's girls...

And the other invisible man.

Huh...

Roman hadn't thought back to the other incognito guy after getting a look at mister pervert - you did not dress yourself perfectly up like a 'famous' little girl without being some sort of creep.

They were done with Junior for the day, so it couldn't hurt to investigate the man a little. Hell, with any luck, they might be able to get something useful out of him; they just had to play things smart. Although, there appeared to be a bit of an issue with this plan, as the very moment he turned his attention and tried to walk over, Neo tugged on his sleeve.

Rapidly she shook her head 'no', which was a very not Neo thing to do.

"Relax." Roman figured she just wanted to get out and grab some ice-cream, and they would... right after a quick detour. "I'm just gonna pop over and say hi; it'll be nice and quick."

He tried again, and Neo once more pulled his arm, only more forceful this time.

"What's gotten into you?" He didn't know what to make of it. Why was she so desperate - in her own way - to keep from going over to the pair. "It'll be quick, I promise." He himself pulled his arm free, and turned, starting off again. "Just keep yourself hidden and everything will be fine."

This time she got right up in his face, and it was here Roman began to feel more than just irritated. Reeling back any and all desires to sound even the slightest bit aggressive - Neo never responded to that very well, especially when trying to get her to do something - he caved. Coming to a standstill along with her. He noted her particular attempt at signing him to turn around.

Well he wasn't having it, not without some answers.

"Okay, what's wrong, really?" Setting his cane down, he leaned on it with a casual flair. He was certain she had them covered, otherwise the dancers and prancers around them would probably stop to watch the show. "Spit it out, come on."

He had to restrain an eye roll as she just motioned towards the door.

"Sorry, but not until you tell me what's up." Neo very clearly had some issue with the pair sitting there, and as he sent a quick look towards them, he noticed something... odd. That buddy back there, his eyes had grazed across them, and a smile slipped onto his face. Peculiarly, he waved, and while Roman at first thought it was because he spotted someone next to them, the way he called out eradicated that notion.

"Hey, over here!" It was here Roman began to see, as Neo had frozen up. Rather than immediately turn around, she merely looked up at Roman, and it was at this precise moment he realized something was off. The guy yelled louder, assumedly due to whoever he was calling out to not hearing him. "Pink and brown; uh, white coat!"

Pink girl...

Roman saw Neo jitter a little bit.

White coat...

Roman himself slapped a hand over his face.

Oh boy...

And now he could see why Neo wanted to stay clear of that space. Words could not describe how muted his disappointment was; nearly non-existent, and yet it still pulsed. Roman curled a brow, crossing his arms as he looked down upon his shorter companion, and saw her fiddling fingers clasp before her in a pseudo look of shame.

"C'mon... You're better than this." He sighed after, realizing not only that she'd foregone her semblance for a bit earlier - the guy wouldn't have seen her otherwise - but also that she hadn't covered them now either. "I know this is a club, but discretion-"

A piercing glare met his eyes, and she signed something. Roman had been speaking - well, listening actually - her language long enough that he believed he had a pretty good grasp on it. Usually, she'd use her scroll to just type what she wanted to say, but this time she actually signed her response, right before him and hidden away from the man calling out from behind. It was clear, and fairly easy to read. Two simple words that threw him for a loop, that was all the message was: two words.

"I did."

Like a bolt of lightning right down the pecker of a idiotic teen rubbing one out under a lightning storm - don't ask where he'd heard of that - Roman felt a shock ripple through his very core. He whispered his next word, all the while pointing to himself and Neo with his hands, to which buddy across the dance floor nodded vigorously.

"What do you mean you did?"

"I've still got it up."

"Are you sure? Because he's calling us over right now." Roman made sure to smile and nod, as if just now understanding the guy was calling for them. His eyes shot quickly back to Neo, who bashed in his sensibilities again.

"He can see through it."

For a second he was about to call her bluff, but Neo wouldn't lie about something stupid like this.

"How?" He spat through the clenched teeth of a forced smile.

"I don't know."

Well that was bloody perfect, and now here he was, the infamous Roman Torchwick, subtly turning Neo around and attempting to get her to walk. Like it or not they now had to make contact with the guy; they needed to meet with him. Sure, they probably looked a bit weird from here, but with the few patrons present there was enough movement on the dance floor to obscure them enough to not make it weird.

Well well well… You really are something, aren't you?

As they walked over, a small group of people passed in front of them. This was not random, Roman made sure to time their walk with the sway of the small crowd, and it was behind this cloak he urged the smaller assassin with a covert signal to drop her semblance. Reluctant or not, Neo knew better than to ignore orders in a play like this, and once Roman saw the slight perk on the face of the lady sitting next to their 'friend' he knew they were visible again.

"Good to see you again." He smiled, he actually had the gall to smile at them, and while Neo just waved awkwardly, the woman beside him - Roman believed her name was Melanie - put on a face that could only be described as 'huh'."

The guy twisted his head towards her, all the while waving frantically at Neo.

"See, she's right there!"

"You saw her?" Skepticism, that's what Roman heard tumble from Melanie's mouth as her already questioning look became even more rigid: pure skepticism.

Okay... so based on that reaction, Roman was 100% certain Neo hadn't been lying when she told him she hadn't dropped her semblance. This was... interesting, to say the least, and Roman suddenly had a new spring of wonder swell up towards their second mystery man. This guy was turning out to be a real piece of work, and not in the 'idiots I can stomp in under an hour' type of way.

"I told you I wasn't seeing things." The guy sounded more relieved than anything; at least they had that over him, Roman supposed.

"No... you very much were." Junior's gal rolled her eyes. "You're just bringing her up now because you want to seem competent."

"Oh come on!" Again, this guy wasn't seeing any issues with Neo not being visible to anyone else at the time of the initial sighting; they could work with that. "Seriously? That's the excuse you're working with?"

"Yes." Melanie smirked, and this piqued Roman's interest; that woman almost never smiled, smirked, grinned, and any other some such shows of positivity. Usually she was sour with everybody, but it appeared the sweet taste of sass had wetted her tongue just enough for a miracle to occur. "You spotted her some time earlier on your own, and when you were nuts from whoever spiked your drink, you hallucinated her."

"That..." And here the guy was, his face now drooped in a manner that had Roman questioning whether the man had suddenly grown some smarts. "Is the stupidest excuse I've ever heard; the amount of hoops you've jumped through to get to that conclusion honestly astounds me."

"It really isn't." Roman was comfortable with the conversation so far, mainly because it wasn't centered on him, but when Melanie twisted her eyes to him, he immediately started sweating. Sure, the idiot wasn't all that bright, but given a minute or so, Melanie could ring the answers from most men herself: she was the real danger here. "Roman, has Neo ever been missing from one of your meetings with Junior?"

"Not one." He spat, almost as if by script, seeing her eyes turn back to the guy.

"See?" She crossed her arms. "Neo was with Roman the entire time."

Shit...

Roman was a master of chatter when it came to most things, but that question alone brought with it some issues. First of all, the way she spat it up told him that she assumed Neo was with him during those meetings... which wasn't all that far off, but meant they were probably in some sort of shit. In essence, while the twins never really saw those deals go down, the fact she guessed Neo was there implied that perhaps her sister, and more importantly Junior himself, held similar assumptions as well.

Nobody knew Neo's true semblance besides him, but if they couldn't see the little minx when those meetings went down, then they might have assumed her semblance was invisibility. This meant they, logically, would always be speaking as if there were an intruder present. Sure, Neo was with him, but if they guessed she was present even when they couldn't see her, they'd naturally wonder why she always went unseen.

Those questions didn't exactly imply a lot of trust, and the worst you can do in an underground business transaction was betray the other person's trust.

"I... uh..." At the very least, the man seemed to give up. "Whatever." His eyes then shot to Neo. "Do you remember me?"

Neo wisely shook her own head no, and he deflated.

"Sorry then, my bad I guess." He straightened himself a bit. "Name's Josh, nice to meet you."

His smile was kind enough, even if a little tired, and Neo just nodded as positively as she could. Pure chance was the only reason they lucked out of the problem Neo's discovery created, but that empty space was filled in with the other issues Roman now needed to consider. This oddity, Josh, he was a vastly unpredicted puzzle that, honestly, Roman was already tired of dealing with. He could solve the guy later, but right now after what Melanie just dropped and the man's strange immunity to Neo's semblance, he just wanted out.

"Ahem." Roman coughed into his clenched fist, which drew everyone's eyes towards him. "Pardon me, but if we're done here, Neo and I have places to be."

"Oh, yeah... sorry about that." The guy was looking genuine with his apology; this was good. Apologies implied a sense of wrongdoing on the sorry one's part, meaning any suspicions of why he'd seemingly seen Neo earlier were far from his mind.

"Don't worry about it." Roman waved him off, almost playfully. "Could have happened to anyone. Say..." Only to go in for the kill. "Why don't we catch up another time? I could buy us a round or so, and we could get to know each other better."

Melanie looked ready to decline, but fortune smiled on him as Josh beat her to it.

"Sure, sounds good." His smile implied success, and that alone eased Roman's worries.

"Great!" He smiled, taking Neo by the shoulders and physically redirecting her towards the door, giving her a little push after to start the walking. "But that'll be later, toodles."

He himself started off too, only to hear the man call out.

"Wait! How will I contact you?" Josh's call wasn't too far away, and Roman called back without even turning.

"Don't worry, I'll contact your lady there!"

Internally, Roman smiled, knowing the hard-ass at mister question mark's side was probably fuming from that one.

I've still got it~

Author's note

…

Okay, so here we are again.

We've got a little scene with Jay, one which is both familiar to the last, and completely different as well. Not only that, but both Josh and Roman get a good scene together, so that's fun hopefully.

To tell the truth, this chapter was a bit easier to write, which I hope is a good sign of things to come. Not exactly feeling it still, but these are coming along better… I think. Anyway, that's it for now.

Until next time.