Roman tenderly touched her cheek, turning away into the darkness of the ashen desert. She felt him touching her despite his exit. She could feel everything now. Desperation. She dropped to her knees. She could still see his eyes in the storm. Neo and Chains brought him to his knees. All at once, he was visible again.
Bet.
Chains slammed his saw through Roman's sternum, and he bled. Countless specks of blood dripped from him. But only specks. Nothing worse. He felt himself grinning despite the saw slashing right through him. It perpetually ebbed him to death. But he didn't care. He was ready to get up and walk away.
On.
Then he saw them. The faces. Through the ash, they looked at him. Cinder. Weiss. Emerald. Neo. He saw them, begging. He rose. He tore the saw straight out of his chest, and ignored Chains behind him. He walked further into the ash, and saw the faces directing him at Red. She was back. He didn't care. He walked to her, and he sat down. No more trying to kill her. No more bloodshed today.
That.
He spoke. Gently. No longer with any malice.
"What do you have to gain?"
"What?"
"Why are you fighting me? What do you get out of it?"
"Nothing."
"Then why are you doing it?"
"Because it's the right thing to do."
"...I see. Because it's the right thing."
"What?"
"I just don't understand. I don't get it."
"What don't you understand?"
"I just don't. It's bizarre. I only have one right thing to defend. The only thing to defend is my daughter, it's Emerald. I… hell, I don't know. I just want to keep myself safe. I'm afraid for them. I'm so scared."
He broke. He started to cry. He felt his eyes practically melting with the sting of his tears. He could feel his survival instincts kick in. Telling him to run. Not to cry. To keep up the image. To continue risking everything to keep seeming like a genuinely competent man. But the truth is, he wasn't. The small victories were worthless. He had to face it. He couldn't even defend them. He had failed.
He'd lost everything. And then he'd gained it back. And now they were probably dead in the forest. He had thought he'd won. But he'd lost. Karma had finally caught up to him. So many victims, so many people. He'd killed so many. He finally regretted it. He was broken. He snapped. He cried. He was angry, scared, and sad all at once. Was this what it felt like to die? Feeling so helpless, so completely incapable. He was just so… worthless.
He slammed his fists into the ground, his knuckles bleeding with every strike. He grabbed the ash, the bodies of his victims buried in the ground. He smeared them all over each other, beating the ground brutally. He could feel eyes watching him all over. Grimm. He turned his back to Ruby, and stood between them.
Ruby launched past him, and effortlessly slashed through them. She twirled her scythe in a beautiful dance as a black mist rose everywhere around her. She sliced and diced, swinging the blade and firing the rifle, grinning. Black and red speed, killing the Grimm. And that was when he understood. That was when he realized it.
"I'm not any use."
"Nope!"
"What?"
"So far as I can tell, you mean everything to them."
"Bullsh-"
Emerald woke up in her bed, Neo next to her, staring down at her. She was gentle in holding Emerald's hand. She was silent, and looked at her, staring her in the eyes. Emerald silently hugged Neo, and the two walked to the meeting table. Neo held his hat tightly against herself, clinging to the last remnant of her father. She was increasingly emotional.
Chains, meanwhile, was watching a video he had taken of Roman's fall. It cut just when he hit the tree level, blocking view. Nothing he could see suggested Roman was alive. He slammed his wall in rage. He continually cursed the name of Cinder, and finally, he simply laid back in his bed. Not only had he not gotten to kill the young Schnee, he had lost his boss.
Emerald took Roman's seat. Tyrian and Cinder were nowhere to be found. Watts was snickering. Hazel, however, seemed contemplative. Salem was sitting down. She picked up a candle off the ground, and gently crushed it.
"I can sense something. Something has happened to Roman, hasn't it?"
"He's dead!" Emerald said in exasperation.
Salem looked down at her palms. This was unfortunate. The chaos he was creating was making an excellent distraction. He had kept everyone off their scent. But now, he was gone. This was very unlucky. She should not have sent him on such a dangerous mission.
"Talk to his followers. Talk to the Fangwicks. Tell them that their leader is gone. You are their new leader. Tell them to create chaos and death in his name. Additionally, I'm going to be supplying you your own mission. You are going to kill Ruby Rose."
"Me?"
"It was Roman's goal. Now it is yours. Perform your task. Roman's defeated her before."
"Where's Cinder?"
"Cinder and Tyrian disappeared. They left me a note stating that they had decided that they were going to clean up some loose ends from the failed operation. They are very proactive."
"She's going to make sure he's dead."
"What?"
"Cinder sent out a tip to the police. Roman's death is on her."
"I see. That said, I will not be dealing with her. She is too crucial an asset as she is."
"What?"
"I found a lead to Ms. Rose's location. You will be heading to a bar in Vale tomorrow. Sleep well. Junior will not be easy to interview."
Emerald nodded submissively, and sighed. Now she was right back under the thumb of a queen figure. How she had started all this. Roman was gone. She was still trying to process that fact. She had never even gotten to hold his hand. She had never gotten to hear him say he loved her. She had never gotten to hear him praise her. Likewise, she knew he wanted more too.
She drifted away in thought. Roman Torchwick's book had just closed. Hers had opened. What was she going to do now? She scrambled, and fidgeted. She began to reload her guns, and finally managed to just as Neo walked into the room. She tossed Roman's hat down to Emerald, and motioned for her to pick it up.
"My turn to give the big speech?"
She nodded.
Emerald walked out onto the stage before a crowd, Chains behind her. A bead of sweat ran down her neck. She donned his hat. She heard jeering in the crowd. Neo stood by her side. Chains, Neo, and Emerald served as a trio. Emerald finally spoke into the microphone in front of her.
"He's gone."
She heard boos from the entire crowd, and nearly shied away from the mic. Chains patted her on the shoulder, however, and told her to go on.
"Roman Torchwick is dead. The rumors were true. But don't leave. I'm not done."
She heard them yelling.
"What is this bitch doing?"
"Roman can't be dead!"
"He was so beautiful…"
"He was one of us!"
She finally got enraged.
"Enough! I'm not allowing his memory to be disrespected. I'm taking control. You want to leave, go ahead."
A pair of glowing eyes watched over as she gave a speech. It was oddly similar to Roman's speech. She started with boos. Jeers. People yelling aggressive things at her. Wanting Roman back. But as she went on, more continued to silently cheer her on. By the end, hundreds of fists pumped for her. It was a satisfying sight. She was his successor, truly.
Dark nails and wings retreated back into the shadows, smiling. This had been the goal. Now that she had a chance to be in control, she would finally learn victory. He clenched his fist in success. He longed to see her. But this wasn't about him. It was about her. He exited in silence, never noticed.
As the Fangwicks cheered her on, Neo smirked in a psychotic manner. Like father, like daughter. Chains kept ready for anything. But for now, they all knew it was the beginning of their victory. First was the rallying. Now for the fun part. The takeover.
"Finally."
