Chapter Two: The Will to Move Forward
"CRYAAA!"
Roman's eyes snapped open at the cry. At first he didn't know where he was. He didn't know what was happening. He looked around and it came back to him.
He was on the warship, the same one when he fought Red only he was alone. There was no one to accompany him aside from the flapping of wings, the cries of Nevermore and the roars of Griffon.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" Now that he thought about it, he couldn't see any Grimm despite their cries. Nothing but the airship itself was visible in the dark expanse of the void. Not even the moon. His grip on Melodic Cudgel tightened as he began to stalk forward, a sense of unease hitting him the longer he looked around.
Out of nowhere, Roman could hear metal scraping against metal. He looked around but he suddenly couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him, the darkness around the ship had closed in. "Who's there?! Show yourself!" He raised Melodic Cudgel, pointing it towards the noise in the darkness.
In the void, a dim red light lit up before suddenly the scraping of metal ceased. There was a tense silence, even the cries of the Grimm had stopped, before the red light brightened just enough to make out where the light was coming from. It was a blade of a weapon, shining in the darkness.
The metal sung as it flew towards Roman, cutting through the air. He twisted his cane into a block, just barely. The sound the blade made as it scraped against his cane and bounced back into the darkness was horrible. Roman wanted nothing more than to plug his ears but the blade sung again.
There was just enough time for Roman to turn and lean back, the blade just barely passed over him. He could see his wide eyed expression in the blades reflection.
Roman grit his teeth and fired in the direction he saw the weapon last disappear. A red dust flare screamed towards it's target. A large explosion sounded, the fire illuminating the area, but there was nothing there. He'd missed.
He expected it to come at him again but instead of the sound of a blade cutting towards him, he heard the crack of gun fire.
Rounds screamed towards him as Roman scrambled to raise his cane. The impact nearly made him stumble but he held his own. More rounds fired from the darkness and once again he raised his cane to block, twirling and angling in order to block and deflect.
As suddenly as the gunfire started, it stopped. Roman, not wanting to waste an opportunity, fired Melodic Cudgel into the air. The flare shot into the air like a firework, illuminating the surrounding area of the warship. He twisted and turned in the darkness to locate whoever was attacking him. After a few seconds, he did.
At first Roman didn't recognize the figure but as he looked them up and down, it started to fall into place. A black corset and leggings mixed in with a red skirt. The most recognizable piece of their attire was the red cloak that flowed from their back in the breeze, the hood completely obscuring their face.
"Red…!"
Red shot forward again with her scythe as the two began to battle. Her scythe nearly cleaved him through but Roman sidestepped and bashed his cane against her nose. Her head snapped back and he pressed his advantage.
He threw his left fist at her stomach. The hit connected and she folded over. He threw his knee into her face, the sound of bone crunching was clear as day. He heard her cough as she stumbled back, before falling into a roll. She jumped back up with her scythe behind her back. She ran forward, throwing her scythe left and right with deadly precision.
Roman couldn't dodge any of the blows in time and had to settle for deflecting them once more. He raised Melodic Cudgel and the scythe hit his cane, before sliding up and over his head along the barrel, sparks flying all the while.
Red kept her momentum going and twirled her scythe around, swinging at his legs. Roman jumped up, holding himself high with his cane which was knocked out from under him as Red's scythe hit but he fell to his feet.
Torchwick jumped back as the scythe came around again, dodging it and aiming Melodic Cudgel. He fired three flares which screamed through the air. Red swerved left and right while rushing him, dodging the flares as a trail of rose petals flew into the air behind her.
Roman shot a final flare at her feet as she neared, doing little to stop her but screening his movements for just enough time to counter attack. As Red barreled through the smoke and cinders, Roman's cane impacted her right cheek before doing the same with her left.
A kick shot into her stomach and Red fell back again but flipped herself to her feet, her scythe coming down onto him as she did so. Roman raised his cane, blocking the hit, the scythe's blade only inches from his face yet he wasn't focused on that.
He stared forward at Red, the previous unease and dread replace with pure fury, his eyes were wide and bloodshot as he threw all of his strength into their back and forth, neither giving more than a few inches.
"It's your fault! It's because of you! You're the reason Neo's dead!"
Suddenly, all the resistance pushing Roman's cane evaporated. Torchwick fell forward as Red's form disintegrated into black smoke. He hit the ground suddenly. It was painful but his aura protected him from the damage.
He picked himself up and looked around to find Red but she was nowhere to be seen. His flare had gone out right as Red disappeared, the void closing in even more as only the first few yards around him were even remotely visible.
"Displacing the blame Roman?" A sultry voice uttered.
"What?"
A sudden force crashed into him, throwing Roman off of the side of the warship. He didn't even realize he was near the edge. His gaze was locked onto it, the only bit of light in the darkness as he fell but it grew smaller and smaller as the distance between him and it increased, before finally disappearing, leaving him completely and utterly alone.
He hit the ground a few seconds later. He groaned as he picked himself up. He gazed into the darkness as he did so but the dark reformed and took shape. In a few seconds, Mercury Black was staring back at him.
"Look at you! The petty thief. And I thought my dad was a dead-beat but you're so much worse. In fact you make him seem like a saint. I almost pity the girl." His smug tone cut through Roman more than it should have. He hated that brat.
"RRAAAGH!" Roman charged forward and slammed Melodic Cudgel into him. His body disintegrated the same way Red had, his momentum causing him to stumble and nearly fall.
"Stop running! Get back here!"
He heard swirling noises behind him. Roman turned as quickly as his body allowed. The void shifted and warped, another individual rising from this mist. This time it was Emerald Sustrai staring at him, her eyes amused and her mouth in a smug smirk.
"She was devoted to you. You built up her hopes and dreams, you gained her trust… Then you crushed it under foot. How could you? How could you do that to her?"
"Shut- Shut UP!"
Roman fired a flare at the green haired girl. Her form would have incinerated as the dust crashed into her but just like before, she merely fell apart, losing her color and returning to the ever obscuring darkness around him.
Again the darkness swirled and morphed. This time someone else was staring at him. A red dress covered fine curves and pale skin, long black hair falling across the left side of her face, hiding her eye. Cinder Fall. The expression her face held showed just how much she was enjoying this.
"You can't fool anyone Roman." She stalked forward, placing a hand on his cheek. He wanted nothing more than to shove his knee into her gut but he suddenly found himself unable to move.
"You know what you did. You left her. You left her all alone. Such a bond and you threw her to the wolves like it was nothing. It was inspiring even. I didn't think you had it in you." She circled him, her hand trailing across his neck and back sending shivers down his spine.
"Why don't we experience what she felt? Why don't you see just how much betrayal can hurt." Cinder vanished before he could react and he felt the control of his body return to him. He gasped and fell to his knees, his arms thrown up to support his upper body before he could hit the floor.
He looked up and froze at what he saw. It was Neo. She was wearing her signature outfit. Her white jacket ruffled in the breeze as she held Hush over her shoulder. Her expression was full of pain and betrayal and it made his heart sink.
"Neo!" He reached a hand towards the girl and made to stand.
"CWWRRAAA!"
Before Roman could even move the cries of Nevermore returned. They were deafening and he could barely focus. The nevermore dived down as the floor opened up below both Neo and himself. As they fell, Hush opened up to slow Neo's fall but Melodic Cudgel was wrenched free from Roman's grasp.
He could only watch as they latched onto her mid fall and tore her apart. Her silent screams seemed to echo throughout the void and struck him like the most powerful of shock waves, accompanied by the tearing of flesh and the snapping of bones. He couldn't reach her. He couldn't even lift a finger to help.
Roman couldn't take it anymore. His lungs, devoid of air after forgetting to breath, took in a lung full of air before he let out the most heart wrenching cry he thought he would ever give.
"NEO!"
Roman shot up with a wild gasp, desperately trying to fill his deprived lungs with oxygen. He looked around wildly, his head snapping back and forth as his wide, wild eyes scanned the dimly lit room from top to bottom searching for a danger that wasn't there. After a few minutes of regaining his composure, Roman slumped, his head falling into his hands with a quiet whimper.
Roman clenched his fists after a few seconds, his eye's peeking over the top of his hands. "AAAGH!" With a shout of fury and despair, Roman shot to his feet before kicking the coffee table next to him with all the strength his exhausted body could muster.
His foot impacted the wooden table, causing it to break at the area of impact before it flew across the room, flipping through the air as it did so. It slammed into the opposite wall with an audible *CRACK* as the table snapped in half from the force, before crumbling to the ground in splinters.
Roman stumbled backwards as his ragged breathing somewhat slowed, before he fell back onto the couch roughly, his head hitting the cushion audibly, sending even more dust floating throughout the room. He looked up to the ceiling, raising his arm and wiping the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt.
Over the past four days, Roman had done very little other than come to terms with his current predicament and even then it still bothered him severely. He could barely believe it, let alone accept it no matter how hard he tried.
He was supposed to be dead. The full weight of it didn't even hit him until the night he first saw the moon. He knew, even before then that he should have died when he first awoke in that alley but he guessed he didn't want to believe it. Or maybe he just didn't fully understand.
And the nightmares. Those damn nightmares. They've been plaguing him every night ever since day one. While they weren't always the same, and usually had key differences They always ended in the same way. Roman seeing Neo's face, full of betrayal before she was torn apart by nevermore. Each time Roman couldn't do a god damn thing.
The first time he awoke from one, he cackled at the absurdity. He'd never had trouble sleeping ever since when he was just a boy. He didn't have a reason to have nightmares. There had never been any fuel. Everything he had ever done, some horrible enough to haunt a lesser man, he had done for his own survival. What was there to feel guilty about?
It was different with Neo. She was the only thing he had ever truly cared about in his life for a long time. They've been together through thick and thin for over a decade. They were friends. They were partners. They were family…
But now she was gone.
And Roman just couldn't accept it.
Even if Neo was still alive, the thought of both of them being lost without one another, the thought of Neo believing he himself was dead. The thought of himself being responsible for the death of the only person he'd ever truly cared about, regardless if it was true or not. It hurt more than he would care to admit.
Roman stood up and glanced over to the window, the sun was just barely peaking over the horizon and through the window, the rays of sunlight shining right into his face. He turned away before his already considerable shitty mood could get worse.
Roman left the room, walking over to a half working bathroom he had found on the second day after he woke up in one of the back ended alley's of Musutafu. Even in his entire stock of bad luck and misery, there were some small mercies.
He stood himself in front of the mirror and splashed water from the sink into his face. He took a small drink before swirling the water inside of his mouth and spitting it out. He splashed water onto his face one last time and looked up into his reflection, leaning himself against the sink. He was not surprised, nor disappointed. He looked like shit and he knew it.
His hair was an accurate representation of a bird nest. He'd given up on styling it and opted to hide it under his hat whenever he went out. His eyes were horribly bloodshot form both restless sleep and lack of it. Some stubble had even begun to grow on his chin, tiny pricks of red hair just starting to show themselves.
Torchwick scowled at his appearance. He was pathetic. He was Roman Torchwick! Criminal Mastermind and the most successful Thief in Vale's history!
It really didn't feel that way…
Roman abruptly balled his hand into a fist and threw his hand forward. It impacted the mirror right where his reflection was. The glass shattered and cracked, a spiderweb pattern around the area where he hit the mirror while some shards cut into his hand. Roman didn't bother activating his aura. He needed to feel the pain right now.
He removed his hand slowly after a minute and looked at his hand. It was cut pretty badly but no shards were stuck inside the skin. He brought his aura up after another minute before the cuts disappeared, as if they were never there in the first place.
He breathed in deeply to calm his nerves, before leaving the bathroom. He walked back into the break room. He put on his coat, gloves and scarf before heading towards the door. He grabbed his bowler hat from the floor. It fell from the coffee table when he kicked it across the room. Finally, he gripped Melodic Cudgel and left the warehouse, looking up into the sky and breathing in the fresh yet salt scented air of the sea.
He needed to do something but the question was what? What should he do? Should he go back to a life of crime? Should he just find some random job and live a peaceful and boring life? Maybe become a Huntsman, or Hero in this world and be the very thing that spends their lives hunting people like him? Or should he just do nothing?
He took his scroll from his pocket and opened it up. He opened up the pictures app and began to scroll through them. Some of the pictures were just business: potential targets that were robbed long ago, the faces of dangerous individuals that at one point posed a threat to him, his and rival gang plans, etc.
Although some of the pictures were what he was looking for. Pictures of himself and Neo, pictures of good memories the duo had made. One picture was of the duo, both still relatively young, at an Ice cream stand. They were both smiling, ice cream cones in hand.
Neo's ice cream actually slipped off of her cone soon after the picture was taken and Roman was forced to give her his own. The girl could be incredibly persuasive if she wanted to be. The picture brought a forlorn smile to his face. Roman scrolled a bit further.
He found another picture, this time Neo was holding a large bag of money as she ran through the streets, outpacing the police that chased her. It was hard to see from the distance Roman had taken it from but he could see Neo had her tongue stuck out at the cops as she ran, giving them a mocking raspberry.
It was his first robbery with Neo, nothing too challenging. They had gotten in and out relatively easily but Neo accidentally tripped the alarm on the way out. She had the audacity to shoo him away in order to lead the cops off on a wild goose chase in order to make up for her mistake, leading to the resulting picture. A longing chuckle spilled from his lips.
The last picture he found was his favorite, most precious memory. It was the day Neo joined him in his criminal escapades. Neo was still young at the time of the picture. She was holding up a paper, where there was a childish yet well done drawing of him and Neo in it.
The two of them were frolicking through a field of grass as cards of Lien rained down and spilled across the ground around them. Neo was holding another ice cream cone in the drawing. The first time he couldn't help but laugh, earning a pout from the girl. He was able to snap a picture just in time, saving the moment in his scroll. This time, he did something other than laugh without even realizing it. He didn't realize until a small drop splashed onto his scroll.
Roman looked up and brought a gloved hand to his cheek. He wiped his hand across it and pulled back in order to get a look. He was crying. He wiped his eyes completely this time, drying the tears that dripped from them.
He looked back down to the picture and stared at it. It felt like it was telling him something, like it was the answer to his problem. With a sigh and a genuine chuckle, Roman closed the scroll before pocketing it. Roman had his answer.
Roman looked into the sky again, gazing at some seagulls that flew overhead. He turned his head back down to the ground and with steps signaling purpose, Roman began to make his way back into the city.
Roman walked his way out of a barber shop after getting his hair done. The birds nest impersonation was gone, replaced with his usual style: Finely combed red hair which fell over his right eye. The stubble on his chin had also been shaved, leaving nothing but smooth skin in it's place. He felt much cleaner compared to a few days ago and especially compared to this morning.
Now only one question was on his mind: What next?
It was clear what his goal was. He had no money and basically no place to go. The warehouse he'd slept in for the past half week barely qualified as a place to stay temporarily, let alone permanently. So step one was for him to get a lot of money in a short amount of time.
To do that, he needed info. Torchwick was aware how difficult it could be to find a criminal hub. The powerful and useful ones were always well hidden from law enforcement but that meant those were exactly the ones he needed to find.
There were a few tips one could use to help locate one and Roman new them well. It was best to look in one of two places. Either in run down places like slums, maybe a red lights district where law enforcement ventured infrequently or the exact opposite, a civilized and protected part of town.
The slums were an obvious pick due to the location. It was dangerous and the people there were usually forced into crime out of circumstance, causing them to band together and form organizations. Spider was a good example of such a criminal organization but there was also a flaw.
The slums were obvious, meaning the police often knew where to look if a criminal group got too problematic and a crack down became necessary. The only reason Spider survived for as long as it has was due to just how ruthless and powerful Lil' Miss Malachite was. You could never truly get rid of crime but pulling out a weed before it got too big was ideal and happened often.
Then there was the opposite of the slums. High and middle class districts. You wouldn't think to find criminal groups here and that was why some of the more crafty of the underworld made their base of operations in places like that. Assuming you played your cards right you would essentially be right under societies nose and people would be none the wiser.
It was exactly what he had done in Vale. While he did have bases all around the city, including the slums, the ones in unorthodox locations such as the High Class residential district, were never found or raided. Then again, he couldn't have too many in places like that since it was incredibly difficult to pull it off.
Then Roman thought back to Liquid Shit a few nights ago and scowled. If that was the representation of criminals and villains here in Musutafu, there was a very low chance of him finding anything even closely resembling organized crime outside of the Slums. With his decision made up, Roman started his trek through the city, picking the pockets of anyone he could get away with, which was quite a few people.
As he walked Roman considered his options further. With the general location decided upon, now he needed a way to pinpoint it. The simplest way to find anything was to look the part, say the right things to the right people and have a lot of cash on hand. If all else failed, a little brute force never hurt anybody but too much was dangerous.
That said, he needed to find a broker. Back in Vale, while Hei 'Junior' Xiong wasn't exactly a notorious criminal, he was well respected as an information broker and he pulled through often. It was why Roman frequented his night club, aside from the atmosphere and good drink that is. Not to mention it was fun to mess with Brat #1 and Brat #2.
Looking around however, Roman realized it won't be as simple as walking into a night club and asking the bartender a couple of questions. He needed to be careful who he talked to. One wrong word to the wrong person and he could end up arrested for trying to associate with criminals. The sentence he would be given wouldn't be long but he'd rather not get arrested for something so stupid.
And if he couldn't risk finding a broker on his own, he would just need some help. Someone to point him in the right direction. Back alleys and run down bars were often good places to find people like that and if it turned out he picked out the wrong person to speak to, Melodic Cudgel could fix that problem real quick.
As the sun reached the peak of its arc in the sky Roman found himself in the Slums of Musutafu. Compared to the Slums in Vale or Mistral where most of the faunus lived, it wasn't really that bad but the lack of funds was still noticeable. Many of the buildings were of low quality and the rest were abandoned and in disrepair.
'It's high noon.' He thought with a chuckle
Roman sauntered down the street with a small grin, subtly gazing around as people eyed him. He did look a little too well dressed for this part of town. It wasn't like the people were dressed in rags or something but no one had something better than jeans and a shirt or hoodie.
That could be used to his advantage. Wealthy people were always targets for muggings so if he played the unsuspecting rich man, those who he needed to find would come right to him.
Roman dropped his grin and set himself into a tight, nervous frown. He needed to seem weak and small for someone to come out and get him. There were a few small shops in the area and Roman made a habit of window shopping for a bit. He even found the opportunity to buy some seemingly decent cigars and a red and black stylized lighter that looked nearly identical to his old one.
It took a small amount of time but a little after 1 o'clock, thanks to his aura, Roman felt someone watching him. He turned slightly and caught someone behind him out of the corner of his eye. They were dressed appropriately for the setting. Torn blue jeans, a black tank top and, somewhat stereotypical, a small thin chain that was hooked to his belt fell down his left leg. In other words, he was your average small time criminal looking for an easy target.
Roman smirked, 'Just what I need.'
Torchwick led them a bit further, hoping to get them to approach him somewhere they would be safe from prying eyes. A double edged sword. If he screwed up, it could be just as bad for him as it could be for them.
As Roman turned into a side alley, he noticed a few more joined up with the first thug, all dressed somewhat similarly with little to nothing setting them apart as far as he knew. One had a jacket, another was in some sort of cheap body armor. They all looked like idiots. Still, that was no excuse to let one's guard down.
The former kingpin scowled as a memory with a certain black haired and amber eyed cat faunus came into mind. The two had fought twice, the second time on board the train he was using to blow a hole into Vale. He thought it would be an easy victory again. Instead, he ended up with his ass handed to him.
He most certainly could have kept fighting her and most likely win the fight but it's not a good idea to expend all your aura when you're on a train packed with explosives heading for a dead end while dozens if not hundreds of Grimm are on your tail. Regardless he was still bitter about the outcome of that engagement.
Finally, Roman came into an opening between the buildings. The space was wide enough to maneuver but enclosed enough that he had to watch where he was standing if a fight breaks out. He heard the steps of the thugs get louder as they closed in on the alleys entrance. When they were in sight again, his aura flared as he prepared for the confrontation.
Roman pulled out a cigar and lighter. As the flame met the cigar, it lit, causing smoke to rise into the air. He placed it in between his lips and inhaled, pleasantly surprised by the taste. It wasn't bad, not at all.
"Hey! You there."
With that, Roman turned around, Melodic cudgel in his right hand and cigar between his teeth. He gave a friendly smile as he eyed the men and women around him. There were five of them, their leader a big bastard. He reminded Roman of the White Fang Lieutenant he had to work with before the Vytal festival.
"Something I can do for you?" Roman asked with a smirk.
The man approached as the other four spread out around him. Roman wasn't at all concerned but he kept on edge. When the big guy stood in front of him, both of them standing at the same height, they stared at each other right in the eyes. One was calm and amused, the other was angry and impatient. As the two stood against each other, Roman thought back to earlier that day.
Neo may have been out of his life, but it was far from over. He was a Criminal Mastermind. He was a thief and a killer if need be. He was Roman Torchwick and he'd use this whole situation to his advantage. He may have made a mistake working for Cinder and he may have lost everything he had: Influence, money, power and family alike but he would start over.
He'd live for Neo as he was sure Neo would live for him, no matter where she was in this fucked up world. No matter how many times he would be knocked down, he'd stand back up and take on everything the world had to throw at him again and again and again.
'And this time, I'm not just going to survive… I'm going to succeed. I'll make Neo proud.'
.
.
.
'And I'll start right here.'
A/N: Aaaand that's another chapter down. I hope everyone enjoyed this one just like the last two. So far I'm getting positive feedback and I'm getting really excited to move this forward and at the same time I'm getting really nervous that I'm gonna fuck something up and it'll all go down hill. (Picture Squidward tumbling down a hill before exploding.)
Some people have thrown in a few ideas that I can't say I dislike at all so thank you for that. I still don't know 100% what I want Roman to do other than be a criminal, that is a must have but what happens after that? Does he have a change of heart? Does he learn from his past mistakes or does he double down?
I am leaning in a certain direction for that but who knows if that'll change. Another thing I'm contemplating however, is: How strong do I make Torchwick? Aura users are absolute beasts and some (Qrow, Winter, Tyrian, a few more) can do some really cool shit with aura that is comparable to severe super speed and incredible super strength even without semblances but then again those three are some of the stronger characters in RWBY. (Especially Qrow and Tyrian.)
While Roman is no slouch, he doesn't exactly have proper Huntsman training. His reflexes and combat abilities are seen clearly in the show but we only see him actually fight like 3 times and in one of those (Blake's fight during "No Brakes") he's taken out in like 20-30 seconds so I don't really know the full extent of his physical abilities.
I'm pretty damn sure he can't turn the ground into a crater like Qrow or Winter did in "It's Brawl in the Family" but I think I'd like him to be able to somewhat move around a battlefield properly and be able to hold his own with some stronger characters with sheer physical capabilities at some point (I'ma throw Rappa as an example),which is something we don't really see in RWBY proper.
His cane is another thing. You see, my dumbass forgot one thing when writing the prologue when I gave him quite a bit of Dust. It's that Dust stops working out of remnants atmosphere. That being said, what do I do with that? Do I have him drop the dust and substitute it? Bullshit some way into making it work somehow? Ignore it completely as if that piece of info doesn't exist? Even then he'll run out of Dust eventually but I just don't know. If any of you have any ideas, or some info I'm missing where somehow I can make it work, then I would love to hear it.
Anyways, if you liked or disliked something in this chapter, let me know what it was. No matter if it's good or bad, I love any and all feedback you give me. If there are any questions about the fic or something else, ask em and I'll answer em in the next chapter. With that said, I hope all of you have a nice day and I'll see you when the next chapter is ready.
