Chapter III
Emerald eyes slowly opened and began to focus, slowly taking in what was suppose to be the afterlife. No pearly gates, no clouds, no light, but most importantly no waiting family. In fact, it looked like he was still in his apartment. Roman groaned in annoyance. Had he survived? The drugs just simply putting him into a deep sleep and not actually killing him?Looking around, Roman found that his coffee table was cleared of the stuff it had been covered with. He bit his lip in thought. Maybe...he had dreamt it all? Perhaps he had fallen asleep while watching TV and had only dreamt he killed himself?
Roman sighed and rubbed his eyes, not knowing what to believe. All he knew was that he was still alive. Getting up from his couch, Roman was about to head to his bathroom to ready for bed when he noticed something about his front door. Or rather...the absence of his front door. He over looked the wall where the door was suppose to be. Upon further inspection he found that the door was still there, but it appeared to have some sort of coverage over it. He raised his hand to it...only to feel a warm soft and slimy surface.
It almost felt like...flesh.
Roman jerked his hand back, quickly wiping it on his pants. Looking around his apartment did he only now realizing how it had changed. The walls were covered in dirt and red...blood? All the wooden furniture was chipping and rotting away while the cloth parts were ripped and stained. More blood? The carpet was hard and crunchy with the same substance that was all over the walls. The TV was on showing nothing but static with no sound. The pictures that hung on the walls and displayed on shelves looked like they had water damage. The whole apartment looking like something out of a nightmare.
Or maybe...even Hell...
Roman covered his mouth before a sob could escape. So many questions ran through his mind. Had he done it? Killed himself and was now in Hell? Or was this some sort of nightmare? All his stress and anxiety finally taking a toll on him? He slowly slid down to the floor, emerald eyes staring off into nothing. His head started to pound, just now taking note of how heavy the air was. He ran his hands over his face and messaged his temples.
Whe...id...yu...g-
You...tu..rn..ed..the...lig...hts out
Sh..t...the door..n..yur...wn..fa..e
Roman's head snapped up. What the hell was that?
Oly..yu-knw-
Ater...minight...
Strs..re...crshig...into...plce...
Was that...music?
For-he fst..t-e, in a lg..ime
The...ngt..is...-tal...clr
Bt...-alls,...he...-alt,
...s...you...yr...trs...
It was music. Staticy and hardly understandable. But where was it coming from? Slowly getting to his feet, Roman walked around the hellish place to try and find where it was coming from. The static had got worse and he couldn't make out any of the words, but was still able to hear the piano music through it. It lead him down the hall and towards a new door just at the end. Rather than it being a traditional wooden door like the rest of the ones in the apartment, this one was an iron bar door with additional caging behind it. Rust covered the metal bars just like the rest of the apartment. But the music was much more audible. Peeking through the small holes, he could just make out a stair case that led downwards with a small platform before it. Sitting on a stool next to the staircase was a small handheld radio...the source of the music.
Roman tried the handle of the door, only to find it locked. Biting his lip, he looked around the nightmare apartment for any thing he could use to pry it open. His search didn't last too long, and he turned up with nothing to use. He growled in frustration and pain at the throbbing that continued in his head. He really needed to get out of this place! The air was so thick and heavy! He didn't know how much more he could take of it.
That's when his eyes landed back to the flesh covered exit. Only this time, there appeared to be something on the floor underneath it. Roman's eyes narrowed in confusion. Had that been there before? He quickly walked over and bent down to inspect the item. It was a red envelope. Hesitating only a second, he picked it up from the floor and looked it over. There wasn't anything written on it, but he could feel the outline of something inside. He flipped it open and pulled out a small key. His emerald eyes widen slightly. A small tag with two simple words was attached to it. He looked at the words.
Ever Downward
Roman looked back at the bar door and quickly walked to it, key in hand. He slipped it into the lock of the door without any trouble and turned it. He heard a soft click and turned the handle. The door swung open with a groan and a gust of cold air met him in the face. He sighed with relief as the throbbing caused by the thick room was chased away. He quickly walked through the doorway and towards the staircase. The radio was louder now and still trying to play its song. Not a fan of static, Roman bent down to the radio and began to fiddle with it. It didn't take him long before the radio was tuned to the proper station and was playing the song perfectly.
Cross my heart and hope to save a life
Let me in the shadows of your closing eyes
Visions getting stained
Clouded by the pain
Addicted to escape but she can't see that
Everyone's insane
I see it every day
Watch them wash away... their blood filled tears
The lyrics echoed through the stairwell along with the piano music playing with it. The song seemed sorrowful but oddly calming, so Roman picked up the radio before heading down the stairs. He wasn't too sure what was down there, but anything was better than staying in that nightmare room. As he walked the song added a base to it as it continued.
Can you hear it, come in closer
Press your ear against my heart
If you scream "will they hear you"!?
If you've written off their part
Undercover, darkness wanders
As you say your last goodbye
Without a whisper, "who could listen"?
Silence was your loudest cry
The stairs weren't as long as they appeared, and Roman found himself at the end before long. A simple door was what greeted him. His eyes narrowed in thought. The door looked very familiar, but he couldn't figure out why. It looked like the door to a closet, and was a dark oak wood, with normal designs. With nothing else to do, he opened the door...
...and found himself in a kid's bedroom. A very familiar kids bedroom...
Roman's eye widen in surprise. This was his bedroom! Or well, was his bedroom. Back when his was a kid. He slowly stepped inside the room, mind reeling with a million more questions. Why was he here? What was going on? What was the point to this? Walking through the room, he took a moment to examine his old room before heading towards the exit. His old house was a large, two story house that was over a hundred years old, according to his father. Everything had been up kept well and anything that couldn't be maintained was renovated with the best materials and the best work. Roman smiled as he took in everything around him. But upon reaching a certain door, the smile vanished.
It was a door at the end of the hall. It had use to be a guest room but had been refurbished as something else...his mother's sick bedroom. The color slowly drained from Roman's face as he found himself walking towards the door without really wanting to. The song on the radio now sounding more sorrowful than before. The door opened on its own and showed Roman a sight that had long haunted his dreams ever since he was a kid.
His mother, his beautiful loving mother who was always so full of life, lay on the full bed. The cancer had changed her drastically and horrifically. Her long red hair was gone, her fair skin became a sickly pale, her muscular figure from years of sports gone within a few months. Leaving behind a skeleton like form. Dark circles hung under her closed eyes. She was barely breathing, the rising and falling of her chest slowing with each breath.
Tears filled Roman's eyes.
"Mom?" He called out softly. No answer came.
"M-m-momma?" Nothing.
He soon found himself before her form, sobbing fully and dropping himself over her.
"Momma! Please...please come back to me! Please come to me! I want to see you! Please! Please! PLEASE!"
Cross my heart and hope to save a life
Let me in the shadows of your closing eyes
Visions getting stained
Clouded by the pain
Addicted to escape but she can't see that
Everyone's insane
I see it every day
Watch them wash away... their blood filled tears
Now you've left me shattered on the ground,
Can't pick up the pieces if you're not around
Cross my heart and hope to save a life
Let me in the shadows of your closing eyes
Visions getting stained
Clouded by the pain
Addicted to escape but she can't see that
Everyone's insane
I see it every day
Watch them wash away... their blood filled tears
The song ended after that. The radio went silent after that. No new song or even static. Only the sound of Roman's sobbing could be heard. So when a voice suddenly called out his name, he jumped slightly.
"Roman," came a deep woman's voice.
Roman looked up from his mother and turned behind him. There standing in the doorway, was a beautiful woman. Long wavy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, dressed in a sheer white gown. She looked like an angel. Whipping his eyes, Roman slowly got up and walked towards her.
"Who are you?"
"Salem."
"Why are you here?"
"I am here to warn you, about the shadows of your past."
"What does that mean?"
"It is the fate of all who take their own lives. Ending your suffering only brings more suffering. You have only a taste of what awaits you." She nodded to his mother's form before continuing. "If you remain here you will relive your sorrows over again and again for all eternity. To avoid this, you must return to the land of the living."
"But..I don't have anything to live for!" Roman shouted. "I lost everything! My life isn't worth living, Salem!" Her eyes soften as she walked forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You are wrong, Roman Torchwick. You life is worth living. Everyone's is, you just have to make it worth living." Roman scoffed and shook his head, only to have Salem grab his face and make him look at her.
"You will have a happy life, Roman," she assured him with a serious expression. "And once it's fulfilled, you will see your deceased loved ones in enteral rest. Or you can remain here in sorrow, never crossing over to the other side."
Roman shivered at the thought of remaining here. He had loved this place, but it held too many painful memories. He could feel all the dread in the air. With a heavy sigh, he faced the woman once again.
"Ok," he said softly, "I'll go back. But I sure hope you're right." Salem only smiled. It was here that Roman noticed that the room was becoming brighter. So bright it wasn't long before he couldn't make it out. The white light engulfed the room, then Salem, until...
...He opened his eye...
Notes: So, I had debated the idea of putting this scene in here. I was honestly afraid it would be too much. But it one one of the first scenes I came up with when I came up with the story and also explains why it's called Ever Downward. A lot of inspiration comes from Silent Hill 4 and The Cat Lady. The song being the main theme from the game Lorelai.
Roman isn't in Hell, but is stuck in a limbo of reliving his painful memories. This was just a ploy by Salem (an angel of death or whatever you wanna call her) to convince him to live his full life.
Thanx to all those who fav and follow!
GrimmoftheQueen: So happy you love this so far!
Dragoness of the Moon: Glad to have peeked you curiousity and hope you like were this story goes!
Cipher111994: Same to you! As for why Qrow and Ruby...I honestly don't have an answer, other than I have a thing for crack ships. I looked this pairing up outta curiosity and just loved some of the stories I found. I do understand it's an uncomfortable ship for many as I have said, so if you wanna bail now, I'll understand.
I'll have the next chapter up whenever. Though this is going faster than I thought it would, so fingers crossed it stays that way!