Their faces were screaming at her.
All around her they howled and roared and screamed.
She wanted them to be quiet. She wanted them to all be silent and still, and stop screaming.
They twisted and snarled as she backed into the corner, hugging herself. Most walked by her as nothing more than pale phantoms of monstrous, twisted, gargoylish faces lit up by the cracking flashes of lightning in the sky. In the dark brick alley, she thought she would have been alone and safe, but they saw her. The demons. The men with screaming faces.
She whimpered as two came up to her. Their faces shifted and warped as they approached, eyes laughing and mouths twisting into horrific, toothless grins. Like those of skulls. Like all their flesh was melting away and leaving behind blackened, charred ruins of what they once were.
She wanted it to stop.
She needed it to stop.
She needed the quiet.
She needed the calm of the night.
She needed for their faces to stop screaming at her.
She had to silence them.
They weren't screaming anymore.
Crimson masks covered the now still, silent faces. Their eyes were dim, no longer laughing. They were all still. The night was still. The masks kept them quiet.
The only thing that moved was the ice cold rain that ran down her soaked body now that her umbrella had been discarded, its two halves separated and laying next to the monsters. She hugged her knees to her chest, enjoying the silence. She liked the red masks. She had given others those masks before, and everytime it stilled the racing of her heart and made her feel safe again.
But even as she watched, the crimson began to dissolve, small rivulets running down the masks and exposing the pale, pale skin underneath that would start to writhe and twist and scream.
She shivered.
"Oh Neo…" The voice was quiet and almost sad. She looked back up, hopeful. He was back. They could go now, and they could get away from the screaming faces. She stood shakily, wobbled, and stumbled over to him, hugging the white coat tightly, wrapping the silk in her small fists and burying her face next to the red pocket square. A strong arm wrapped around her and hugged her close. She looked up to meet his eye, the one not covered by the flaming orange hair. His face didn't scream. It didn't twist and melt. It just made her feel warm despite the rain.
"Come on, let's get you back home." He murmured, leaving her alone in the icy cold to pick up her umbrella. She reached for it happily with her crimson gloves as he returned, clicking the hidden blade back into its place. She unfurled it and held it above her and him, letting the rain cascade off of its edges around them.
She looked back at the men with masks, but Roman turned her away when she stilled at their half red faces. "You're alright, let's go." He soothed, rubbing small circles in her back and leading her further into the shadows of the alleys.
They hurried as slowly as they could through the twisting labyrinth of Vale's alleys and back roads. They passed a man, and she stopped when he looked at her. His lips split and peeled back to reveal a skeletal grin his eyes started the telltale whispers that would soon grow in volume and pitch to fevered howls and vicious screams. Neo trembled and Roman looked up to see the approaching man.
He blocked her view, and they moved on quickly, Neo grabbing him tightly.
They got back soon to the small, dimly lit house far in the suburb, away from the urban crowd. Roman cursed as he fumbled with the keys, struggling to get inside. He threw open the dilapidated pink door and moved quickly inside.
He pulled Neo after himself into the bright bathroom covered with brown and amber tiles. She looked at herself, seeing the crimson gloves tinting her milky skin and her normally pink hair dyed a darker, deeper, richer color. Some of her face was covered with the splotches and splatters of the masks she had given to the demons.
Roman slid her long coat down her slender shoulders and Neo sighed as she felt his cool touch against her fevered skin. Goosebumps rose in her flesh and she tried to turn into him, make the distance between them disappear, make her feel like the demons would never come back and it would just be them for always and forever.
"Not now, Neo. Look at you, you're covered in blood, we need to get you cleaned up." His voice was high and thinner than normal, and she could see a strange crystalline fluid welling up in his emerald eye. She reached up to brush it away, but left behind a red streak. He squeezed his eyes shut.
He let out a shaky breath and she tried to reach to him to comfort him, but he knocked her hand away. She looked at the stricken red glove, hurt welling in her. "No, no, I'm sorry Neo." He muttered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."
She didn't believe it. He didn't want to touch her right now. And he hit her.
She felt the hot tears in her eyes, and then she was pulled into his tight grasp. She looked up to him, and touched his lips, dyeing them scarlet. He closed his eyes.
"You know I love you…" His voice trailed off and he looked away, and she tried to pull away from him. He sighed and turned back, pressing his lips against hers. Her heart settled with the coppery tang, and she felt better.
She didn't stop him when he reached for the button on her pants. As he undid it, she slid out of her corset. He pulled the thin fabric covering her legs down and she stepped out eagerly, reaching for his belt. He stopped her hand and shook his head. "No, you need to get clean." He muttered, almost half to himself and half to her. He took her hand and lead her into the shower, turning it on and checking the temperature as she waited, then gently pulled her forward into the spray. It was lukewarm, and felt good. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her, grabbing one of her wrists and pulling it up into the water.
The crimson gloves began to wash away as he scrubbed her hands roughly. She frowned when he turned her around, but not to kiss her. He tilted her chin up with a finger and pulled her hair back into the water, running his hands through the soft locks repeatedly. He reached for the shampoo and soaped the pink and brown strands up. She let herself enjoy the feeling. Especially when he turned his attention to her neck and face, slowly massaging her as rivulets of red ran from their bodies, and dripped down to smash against the rusty drain.
After a while, his hands left her despite her protesting grab at his arm, and the water was shut off. Roman led her out of the shower and grabbed a towel, then ran the soft material over her body, wicking away the last of the scarlet dye and water.
He picked her up in his arms and led her out of the bathroom, through the still dark hallway, and pushed open the creaky door of the bedroom. He walked in and set her down on their large puffy bed, covered in dark sheets. He drew them out from under her, and then slid them back over her. She snuggled into them, smiling. He went to leave, but she grabbed his hand and he paused.
He ran his thumb over the back of her hand absently as he turned back to her and leaned over, kissing her forehead. "I'll be back in a minute angel, there's just a few things I have to do."
She nodded, understanding, and buried herself under the mountain of sheets and pillows. He walked to the door and she heard it creak as it slid closed, but she was already drifting closer to unconsciousness, red masks and screaming faces forgotten.
Water dripped from his suit to join the growing puddle underneath Torchwick's chair. He sat there, scotch glass gripped tightly between white knuckles. A tear slid down his cheek and slipped off his nose to join the rest of the water quickly pooling at his feet. He hadn't bothered to towel off or dry himself. He had been too concerned for Neo.
It was getting worse.
The episodes were happening more frequently now. The growth inside her skull that was too close to her spinal cord to be cut out was getting larger, and taking more of the woman he loved away from him each day.
It had started with lapses in speech. He had been concerned when she would pause mid-sentence, and then look confused. Eventually it had progressed further and further, despite the best medicine and technology that money could buy, and soon it was rarer for Neo to speak than to not. No more did they whisper their dreams of a life away from the city, away from crime, to each other as the moon rose high above. No more did she answer when he said "I love you." She would just smile sadly.
It had been years since she had spoken.
He thought, hoped - like a fool, that that would be it. That she would lose her speech and then it would stop and at least he would have her.
And then the episodes started.
And now it was happening more and more. He didn't know how long he had left with her. The doctors said it could be any day now. Each hour was the hand of a clock ticking down to when she was gone forever.
Even that, maybe he could handle. Maybe he could come to terms with losing Neo, even though she was all that made his bitter old heart stir.
But losing her slowly as her mind unraveled…
Someday, the episodes would become the norm, and he would only get fleeting glimpses of Neo.
He crushed his eyes together, trying to push the thoughts from his mind. It didn't help, so he raised the glass to his lips and threw back the double shot. It burned on its way down.
Neo was going to die.
It wasn't fair. After everything they had been through, this is how life made up for it? To take away all that was left in this world for him?
Roman flung the glass and it smashed against the wall. He found himself standing, the water running down his jacket and soaking the floor.
He was shaking, and then a sob broke from his lips and he crumpled back to the ground, pressing his palms against his eyes and sobbing, because there was nothing left that he could do.
A/N:
This started with the line 'their faces were screaming at her' jumping into my head.
I thought I would use it in my independent work, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to give it to Neo. I wanted her to be a little mad.
And then as I wrote, I knew I needed Roman to be the one to find her after she killed those people. I couldn't figure out why, but I kept envisioning him being sad. Everytime that I wrote the line where he says 'oh Neo' I would write it in a slow, sad, quiet voice. A broken voice.
When it was all said and done, this is what ended up on the paper.
Sorry it went in a weird direction.
Hope you enjoyed.
Cheers,
-Unjax