Roman I - Dead Man Walking

Battle of Beacon

Roman hated to admit it, but the fiery woman had an excellent plan. As he watched the Atlesian warships crash into each other and fall to the earth, he couldn't help but laugh. You would think that they would design their warships to be able to withstand a bit of friendly fire. Atlesian pride at its finest. His smile dropped as he moved to the window and stared down at the destruction below. Grimm were running through the streets as flocks of Griffons and Nevermores flew around his ship. Even without the battleships, the Atlesian Knights should be able to help push the Grimm back. Is this just a distraction or do you have something else planned, Cinder? His grip on Melodic Cudgel tightened as he imagined strangling the black-haired woman. He took a breath and turned to a concerned looking Neo. "I imagine my employer gave you an actual job besides rescuing my fine ass?" Neo kept his glance for a moment before looking away and offering her scroll. Roman slotted the scroll into the console, which began to glow red and flash.

Roman placed both his hands on the console. With the Knights and Paladins turned against Vale, would the hunters be able to push everything back? A spike of pain in the socket of his cybernetic forced him to wince. He couldn't tell if it was a phantom pain or not. He didn't regret losing the arm, he lost it protecting Neo, but sometimes it would seize up. Neo placed a hand on his real one, so Roman pushed his musings away. "Last job Neo, I promise. We play our parts a bit longer, then we go. Roman Torchwick will fall with Beacon."

Neo turned him around to look at her. This isn't all on you, Roman.

Roman smiled and crossed his arms, leaning back on the console. "We both know that's not true." As Neo went to sign, Roman grabbed her handd. "Don't try arguing with me. There will be plenty of time to do that when we are on our way home. For now, we just need to sit and wait for some fool to come and save the day"

Neo pulled her hands back. Fine! We will argue later.

Roman turned to regard the console. "We go down with the ship, scatter, and meet at sundown three days from now" He looked back at Neo. "Sound like a plan?" All he received was a scoff and a shake of the head. Good old Neo. Rolling with my nonsense and keeping me grounded. Roman smiled at his oldest friend who graced him with a small one of her own before something crashed onto the deck. "Showtime! Go see who our unlucky guest is, if you would." Neo all but skipped out, always eager for a good fight. His heart soared to see her happy even while it dropped as he wished she didn't follow him into this particular job.

Of course, it was Little Red. It couldn't have been anyone else, could it? He couldn't leave the fight to Neo. She would kill the girl if necessary, but he didn't want to put any more blood on his partner's hands then he already had. He tore out the wires of the console before moving out, disabling the automatons. If Little Red was lucky, she could take credit for this once he and Neo disappeared.

Of course, the thoughts of just knocking out the red-clad huntress-in-training flew from Roman's mind as he screamed after the falling Neo. Rage burned in his chest as Ruby charged at him. Roman was skilled, far more so then the rash, weaponless child charging him. He easily knocked her back and put a few rounds from Melodic Cudgel into her before he took a breath. As he looked down at the coughing girl, Roman forced his sarcastic mask back on his face. If he needed to play the bad guy, then he would play the part with style. His words were filled with all his pent-up aggression as he knocked Ruby down with another heavy swing. "You want to be a hero? Then play the part and die like every other huntsman in history!" He lifted his cane high. One more hit and I go find Neo.

He never got the chance to knock out Little Red. The next thing Roman knew he was surrounded by a crushing darkness. The air pushed forcefully out of his lungs as his chest compressed. Though as quickly as the pressure started, it ended. Roman tried not to inhale the particles around him as the pressure left his chest but he couldn't stop himself. Roman found himself coughing on the floor inside the airship, surrounded by flames and twisted metal. Roman kept himself low, taking a deep breath away from the smoke before standing up. He tried to find his bearings and a way out but was mildly distracted by a slight warmth on his right side. His right glove was on fire and almost burned away. Roman quickly ripped the glove off to find his hand unburned. What in the world? Roman felt his Aura pull toward the flames, but not in the way it would usually absorb damage. He pulled back and the flames moved toward him. He was so engrossed in the strange feeling he almost didn't notice his stomach drop out under him as the ship steepened its freefall. Oh, right. Crashing.

Roman kept a firm grasp on his weapon and moved as quickly as he could up toward the exit to the room. As the ship kept picking up speed, the going became more difficult. Roman pushed himself to get out of his soon-to-be coffin. He heard the wind whipping by and saw the rapidly approaching ground through the opening he was going for. The fearful face that Neo made as she fell away from him flashed through his mind and Roman leapt.

The next few moments were drowned out by a thundering crash as the ship crumpled on impact. Roman had the wind knocked out of him once again and could feel his Aura repairing his damaged ribs even through the excruciating pain shooting through his cybernetic. Roman was swinging from the outside of the ship from his cybernetic shoulder joint, the ship having crumpled around, mangled, and pinned his prosthetic. Of course, with Roman's usual luck, his arm was mangled and pinned just enough to be useless while also not triggering the safety shut-off to his nerve endings. Roman struggled to catch his breath for a moment, the pain bringing tears to his eyes. This somehow hurt more then losing the limb the first time. Neo will wait for you. If she is smart, then she will wait at the safehouse. You need to get yourself out of this.

Roman's father always told him to carry a knife on him. His usual ankle knife was taken when he was imprisoned, but he had grabbed one off one of the Atlas troopers that Neo had disabled on the way in out of pure habit. Roman focused his attention on the blade for a moment to steady himself. Can't fall here, right Neo? With a steadying breath, Roman placed his cane in his teeth, undid his jacket, slipped his free arm out of it, and dug the knife into the shoulder joint. Sparks flew and pain shot through the nerve connectors for a moment, before he severed them. Taking a few more steadying breaths through his nose, Roman twisted and pulled the knife to sever the limb completely. As he plummeted to the ground, he was quick enough to pull the cane from his mouth, but not quick enough to right himself or create a proper landing strategy. All his weight landed on his right ankle, snapping it sideways with a sickening crack. Roman bit back a scream and tried to keep himself calm. Focusing on the pain or screaming would do nothing but call the Grimm to him.

Roman pulled his scarf off, wrapping it into as close to a splint as he could with one hand and his teeth. His Aura could do nothing but set the bone twisted with the current situation. He grabbed a nearby broken branch and thought about Neo and the house he had to go home to. He placed his belt in his mouth, bit down, and twisted his ankle back into place before pulling his pre-made knot tight. It was a stop gap, but it would have to do for the moment. Roman grabbed his cane and used it to right himself, looking around for his hat. Once located he placed three green lien cards in the inside it and left it hanging from a low branch. If Neo was thinking clearly, she wouldn't come looking and just wait for him at their safehouse. If she did come looking, the color and number of the cards matched what they had agreed to before the crash. Now all he had to do was make it to the safe house through Grimm infested forest and streets within three days without being spotted. Time to see if I am as good as I say I am.

Roman found himself travelling down a familiar street with Neo running ahead as the snow fell softly around them. She looked as she had all those years ago, before the multicolored, dull-eyed Neo Politan persona was created. This was back when they were happy, when she had returned to visit following her first year at Atlas Academy.

One moment she was laughing at him and the next she was grabbed by a passerby and stabbed in the neck. The attack was swift and she didn't have her defenses up. Why would she? They were just walking down a semi-busy street in the middle of the day. Roman moved toward her but was staggered by the heavy blow of an axe digging into his back. Roman took a step to steady himself before tackling Neo and her attacker to separate them. Neo grasped her throat around the knife, panic shining in her eyes as she tried to let her Aura heal the severe wound. Roman pulled out his own knife from his ankle and started stabbing at Neo's attacker. Roman managed two good stabs into his target's face and neck before the second attacker swung the axe at him again. Thankfully, Roman's Aura was strong enough to leave him with just a deep cut instead of an axe blade sunk into his back. Roman turned to attack the axe-wielder with his knife.

Neo tried to keep her original attacker busy while Roman fought off the faunus with the axe but she was thrown aside just long enough for the knife-wielder to sink his weapon into Roman's shin, shattering his weakened Aura. This distraction gave the axe-wielder the chance to strike, which Roman dodged just enough to lose his arm instead of his head. Roman fell screaming to the ground beside the knife-user just in time to see Neo rip the knife from her throat and dive toward the axe wielder.

City of Vale, After the Fall, Day 2, Early Morning

The image of Neo ripping the knife from her partially healed throat was what woke Roman up. He found himself in the destroyed home he had stumbled into the previous afternoon. Now, the broken moon shined through the holes in the roof. Roman hadn't run into any survivors by the time he made it into the city. The VPD likely set up a safe section of city for civilians to shelter. Roman just hoped they didn't center the shelter on where his safehouse was hidden. His worry increased as he dodged a few smaller patrols, but he soon found himself close to where the door was hidden. That was easier than I thought.

"Freeze! Hands in the air!" Roman bit back a curse only to turn around to find a VPD officer facing away from him and moving into an adjacent alley. Roman knew he should have used the distraction to keep moving, but he was nothing if not curious. Roman stumbled a few steps to see who the officer was closing on. It was Blake Belladonna, the faunus on Little Red's team and the daughter of the chief of Menagerie. She looked scared and confused, holding her hands up as the officer approached. The officer didn't go for his radio. He wasn't calling for backup and he was moving toward her with purpose. Roman hobbled to the alley and shot Melodic Cudgel at the officer, ricocheting it off the officer's head and back to him.

As the officer crumpled to the floor, Roman righted himself and put on his best smirk. "Fancy seeing you here Kitty Cat. It's such a beautiful night for a walk. Care to join me?" Blake's raised hands fell as she stared at him. Her expression was equal parts shock, fear, and horror. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

Blake limped forward as she reached for her weapon. "Why are you here?" She didn't draw her weapon but was still trying to look fierce. Her eyes kept shifting to his missing cybernetic.

"Didn't you hear me, sweetheart? I'm taking a midnight walk. You can join me if you want." Roman turned and started hobbling back toward his safehouse.

When she spoke, her voice was weaker than it was before. "Why did you help me, Torchwick?" Roman froze midstep.

Roman felt his smirk fall and fought the urge to turn around and look back at her. Why had he saved her? He was free and clear and the whole point of his plan was to be unseen and labeled as dead. He felt anger flare within him but pushed it back down. One more fool decision to toss on the pile, I suppose. Roman forced his smirk back on and turned back to Blake. She looked at him with her arms at her side. She flinched slightly when he looked her way and he noticed a slowly spreading red patch on her white shorts. "Unfortunately, I have someplace to be. So, if you really want to know, follow me." He turned around and hobbled a step before she responded.

"Why in the world would I follow you?"

Roman stopped and turned his head to look at her. Her eyes were hard and hate-filled like they were during their first conflict. "There's the Kitty I recognize. I was wondering where you were hiding her." He got a snarl and a drawn weapon as a response. He let the amused chuckle escape him despite the increased danger. "Despite our petty squabbles, Kitty Cat, I can guarantee that where I'm going will treat you better than murderous cops and cold alleys." Roman turned back around and hobbled away, his grin no longer fake. After walking a few blocks, he found the alley and moved in until he reached the wall at the end of it. Sure enough, he saw Blake standing at the entrance to the alley when he turned around. "Well, come on then. You followed me this far. So, you can't tell me you aren't curious."

Blake took a few steps into the alley before she locked her eyes with his. Her body was tense, but her voice was even. "You were right. A dead-end alley is so much better than a regular alley."

Roman smirked at the snarky young faunus. "You wound me, my dear. Would I lead you astray?"

Blake placed a hand on her weapon again and moved toward him. "I am not your anything, Torchwick"

Roman moved to meet Blake. He stopped within a foot of her and smirking down at the shorter girl. "Don't be so sensitive, Kitty Cat." Keeping his eyes locked on hers, Roman pressed a seemingly normal bit of wall, which sunk in and clicked softly. Blake looked toward the wall as a hidden door swung out. Roman leaned in, forcing Blake to look back at him. He pulled the door open and gave her his widest grin. "Please, step into my parlor." Blake's yellow eyes bored into his for a moment. She was searching for something, likely his intentions. Good luck Sweetheart. I don't even know why I'm doing this. After a solid minute, she drew her weapon and started moving down the stairs hidden by the door.

At the bottom of the stairs, she stopped in front of the open doorway to a dark room, the only illumination coming from the fractured moon outside, not that it mattered for her. Roman shut the door behind him and the staircase and room beyond filled with light. Blake stepped into the room with her weapon ready, but Roman hobbled his way past her toward his desk. On the desk was the hat he left behind at the crash site. Under the hat was a note written in Neo's flowing script pinned to the table with a dagger. We. Are. Going. Home.

Roman ripped the dagger out, picked up the note, and sat himself behind the desk. He activated the console in front of him and started searching through his backdoor into the VPD systems. After a few moments, he looked up to see Blake nervously looking around the empty safehouse. "If you are waiting for Neo to appear behind you Kitty Cat, then you're going to be waiting a while. I told her to meet me here three days after the fight." He waves the note in her direction. "See this? It means she is prepping to go home so I don't expect her here for at least another day."

Blake didn't become any less tense. "Why are you helping me?"

Roman sighed and tossed Melodic Cudgel on the couch. "Look Kitty Cat, I am the bad guy here. I can understand the cops coming for MY head, but yours? Doesn't make much sense to me. What did you do?" Blake looked really uncomfortable, her bow bending forward. Roman gave her a warm, genuine smile. "Have a seat. You obviously have been running yourself ragged." She does sit down but doesn't say anything, staring down at her feet. "You don't know why, do you?" She shook her head slowly. "Do you want to find out?"

Blake's head shot up and turned to look at him. "What do you mean?"

Roman smirked at her. "I'm a master criminal, Kitty Cat. Do you think I don't have a backchannel into the VPD system? I only let myself get caught the first time to get a hard line into their systems."

Blake scoffed and glared at him, but he noticed a bit of curiosity there. "So, you already know what they are after me for."

Roman activated his console again, typing away with his remaining hand. "Actually, I don't. You aren't on the list of warrants for arrest which seems to me that they found some new information that they haven't had time to input into the database yet. Probably has something to do with the battle." Roman locked his eyes with hers again. "What happened on your end of the fight, Kitty Cat?"

Blake stared at him for a moment before looking back at her feet. "My team was separated when the fighting started. Ruby was at the stadium and Yang was under house arrest. When the Grimm started their attack, Weiss and I moved to protect the city. We were managing until the White Fang arrived to join the fight."

"Hold on." Blake blinking a looked up at him. She looked so vulnerable in that moment that Roman wanted to go over and embrace her, but he fought that down. He leaned his chin on his propped-up hand and gave her a serious look. "The White Fang joined the fight against Beacon? After the train debacle? Why?"

Blake winced at the mention of the train. She couldn't meet his eyes "A lot of faunus didn't make it out of those tunnels. I ki-"

"I was the one that sent the train rolling, Kitty Cat. Don't blame yourself for others' mistakes. They allowed their pain to rule them to the point that they joined up with the White Fang in the first place."

Blake scowled at him. "What would it matter if it was entirely my fault? A faunus' life isn't worth anything anyway, right Torchwick?"

Roman's brow furrowed in confusion. "You still think I hate the faunus?" He couldn't stop his laughter. Her glare softened slightly in her confusion. "My hate is very limited, Kitty Cat. I hate individuals, not groups of people. I dislike the White Fang because of how militant they have become, but I have no problem with faunus in general."

"I heard the things you said to the 'animals', Torchwick"

Roman smirked at her. "Have you not figured out that I am an asshole to everyone, Kitty Cat? That bow might do you more harm than just hiding one of your best features." She growled at him and he laughed in return. "So, who was leading them. The only one with any charisma that I met was Cyan Rime and he got pinched when I did. Last I heard he was in VPD custody."

Blake looked at him skeptically for a moment before looking away, face twisted in pain. "A goat-faunus named Ether Nightshade. She's fro-"

Roman slammed his fist down on the desk, his console flashing on and off. Blake stared at him with some fear in her eyes, reaching for the weapon she left on the end table. Roman took a deep breath before he smiled at her, causing her to flinch. "Nightshade, you say? Where might she be, Ms. Belladonna?"

Blake looked terrified, scooting back on the couch and holding her weapon toward him. "She's dead. She died in the battle."

Roman blinked at her stupidly for a few seconds before replying. "She's dead?" He sighed heavily. So, I don't get to finish this myself then. "How did she die?"

"How do you even know about her?"

Roman relaxed slightly. He was obviously making her uncomfortable. "I grew up in Atlas, Kitty Cat. I knew her back before she joined the White Fang. From what I have heard, she only got worse." Blake gave him a slight nod. "Now, are you going to answer my previous question?

Blake kept her gaze firmly on Roman as she spoke. "After the Atlesian Knights turned on us, Weiss and I separated to help who we could. I encountered Nightshade in an abandoned building. I fought against her, but I didn't stand a chance. She was going to kill me, until Adam appeared." She flinched as she said his name. Clearly something hard happened after the bull-faunus joined the fight. She paused and stared at him for a moment before asking. "You know Adam too?"

Roman blinked. Do I tell her? No, probably wouldn't go over too well. "Yes, I know of a lot of criminals and White Fang members from back in my Atlas days. I moved here almost five years ago, but I still have some contacts back in the frozen north."

Blake looked down. "Adam killed Ether in front of me. I thought he was coming for me next, but then Yang showed up."

Roman raised an eyebrow. "The Firecracker tried to fight Adam Taurus?" I don't see that going well for her.

Blake grasped her knees and started shaking. "Yes, she –"

"Blake?" She looked up and stared at him with confused but watery eyes. It was the first time he called her by name, so her confusion was warranted. "You are mentally and physically exhausted and clearly reciting the events of the battle isn't helping. Why don't we get some sleep and sort everything tomorrow?"

Blake looked flabbergasted. "If you think I am going to slee-"

Roman started to laugh. "Oh, as much as the thought tickles me, we are both still recovering. Or have you not noticed that pain in your side getting worse." Blake looked down at her clothes and winced at what she saw. Roman staggered as he stood up, using the desk as a crutch as he moved toward the leather chair in the corner. "Mind handing the crippled old man his cane, Kitty Cat." He gave her a winning grin that was rewarded with an eye roll. He was a little surprised when she tossed him Melodic Cudgel without even unloading it. I haven't attacked her yet. Why would I do it now, I suppose. He sat on the desk to mime tipping his missing hat to her before using the cane to make it to his chair and sitting down. "Try to get some sleep. You won't do anyone any good dead on your feet, Kitty Cat." Blake gave him a very skeptical look, so he shrugged and gestured at the bookshelves. "Or read a book, but you have to sleep sometime." Roman closed his eyes and relaxed.

After a few minutes he heard a low voice. "Okay." Blake laid on the couch, keeping her weapon within reach. Roman saw her bow laying on the nightstand when he cracked his eyes open to peak.

Roman's dreams were of watching Neo fall without her umbrella, scattering to bloody bits when she hit the ground. He was conscious enough to know that she was fine. She had left him his hat as proof she was okay, but that didn't stop the dreams from showing him what could have been in explicit and gory detail.

He would have thanked Blake for waking him if she hadn't done it by tossing Melodic Cudgel aside, pressing her foot into his chest to hold him to the chair, and pointing her weapon at his throat. Her face was contorted in fear, her hands and voice shaking. "Who are you! Who are you to Adam!"