Guest-Oh yeah, you're right it is. Oops. My bad. That's on me.
Guest-Questioner-I'm pretty sure that I said at the end that the chapter was inspired by Force Unleashed II.
Luffy L. Deathwalker-I'll put that in consideration.
Now this chapter and some of the following is inspired by "Maul's New Empire" from Paco-El-Toro.
1 year before Team RWBY formed...
Roman Torchwick sighed comfortable in his seat, his legs resting on the top of his desk in a warehouse. Two guards were stationed outside his door while the rest of his men were loading crates, checking drug/weapon shipments and data and any other mandatory assignments assigned to them.
Roman reached up and poured himself a glass of wine as a personal reward for himself and his criminal enterprise. He honestly didn't think he would enjoy the position that he was put in but this was one of the rare times he was happy to be wrong. Why, you may ask? Because business has been booming both massively and successfully nearly the past two years. Every crime family and gang was under his control. Either they joined willingly or they were forced to join. Usually it was the latter. This made his influence expand across and outside the Kingdom of Vale with hardly any problem. The police weren't a problem as long as everyone stuck with the plan to not draw attention or personal from Atlas would get involved. But he made sure everyone was competent so the officials had no idea that every criminal in the Kingdom was part of a crime empire that actually stretched to the Kingdoms of Mistral and Mantle. Because of this, Roman had become more notorious than he once thought he would be. He was both feared and respected by his subordinates as the alpha force of the underworld empire in the public eye, which was something he had enjoyed.
He had it all. He had achieved what he had worked so hard to get. He paused and stared at the reflection in the wine.
Roman knew that was a lie.
True, Roman had a great deal of power in this great empire and was practically the face of it, he was not the real alpha force of it. He was rather the omega force of it. The real boss preferred it like that. He hid in the shadows. So much that only the high members of the empire knew of his existence while the low thugs thought it was another crime boss outside of Vale or a urban myth meant to scare them. Their theories weren't entirely inaccurate. Even after two years of service, Roman rarely saw the boss. He was recognizable though. Roman suspected that they weren't many people who wore a life support system and a black mask with a cape. Roman never saw his face but he always focus on the helmet. It looked so emotionless, blank, something that unnerved Roman from time to time. Despite that, the black lenses of the mask had a clear message when Roman and Neo first meet the boss: Join me or die.
As for the urban myth, many called the boss a Dark Lord like the one's you would read in a fairy tale children book. Which was probably meant for his powerful, intimidating presence. That or because he was dressed up like one. Not only that he would sometimes act like one. Unlike those in a book, the Dark Lord scared Roman.
And why would Roman be considered the omega of the empire? The boss had an apprentice. A young one. Younger than Junior's Malachite twins. Roman and the other crime bosses got to hang out with the kid more than once. It was mainly for the Apprentice to train. Despite the kid's age, he had the skill to match most professional Huntsmen and Huntresses and was both second-in command of the Empire and enforcer of the Dark Lord. Many believed that the Apprentice was the Dark Lord's son. Why? Because he had the same kind of Semblance as the Dark Lord and Semblances are only shared in the bloodlines of a family. This was proven wrong when Roman saw how the two interacted and the Apprentice's personality was different the Dark Lord's...well just a tad.
The Dark Lord was cold, heartless, ruthless and merciless. And a bit manipulative.
The Apprentice was cold with a hint of a warmth, heartless when it came to certain things, he did share the Dark Lord's ruthlessness, he did have some mercy but to a small degree. And was manipulative.
The differences aside, whenever group or gang did not submit to Roman's forces or they rebelled against the empire, the Dark Lord and his Apprentice would deal with them personally. Sometimes they would bring a small battalion of soldiers or they would go alone. Or even it was just the Dark Lord/Apprentice. The rebellion ended the same. The usurpers dead and the Dark Lord and his Apprentice still standing. If their success rate was to go by, their skills and powerful Semblances never failed to stop the gang that was rebelling. After that, the members of the short attempts to overthrow the Dark Lord either submitted (Chose life.) or stupidly decided to fight on. (Chose death.) Foolishly hoping they could kill the Dark Lord and his Apprentice.
Not a single one had succeeded. The Dark Lord had video recordings of the slaughters and would show them sometimes to Roman and the other crime bosses. For what reason? To show them that those people he had killed in the recordings could be them if they betrayed him.
The last one to try was the Spiders of Mistral. Lil' Miss Malachite thought that bringing in a couple of paid Huntsmen would change the tide in a futile ambush. Now the Kingdom of Mistral was home turf of the Branwen Tribe.
Roman suddenly felt a nudge on his leg. He saw a parasol nudging his leg. The wielder of the parasol was Roman's second in-command. Neo Politan. She sat on the sofa next to his desk and eyed him curiously. To the average joe, they wouldn't understand what the mute was saying but Roman could understand her as if she was saying actual words. You alright old man?
"What? Of course I'm alright." Roman said before he gestured to the room and himself. "Business is booming like Beowolves in a full moon and I'm finally the top dog." He shook his hand in a so-so gesture. "Well not really the top dog but you know what I mean."
Neo squinted her brown and pink eyes in a skeptical look and tilted her head. Are you really alright?
Roman sighed, knowing full well that he couldn't lie to his right hand woman. He slumped in his chair before sipping his wine. "It's great to be high in power," he admitted. "But it feels like it's a hollow victory since it was handed to me on a silver platter."
Neo smiled at him. It wasn't sinister or evil like normal. It was sympathetic. A rare sight that Roman had only seen. She then waved her hands in multiple signs.
Neo- You did earn this spot. They wouldn't have chosen you over Branwen or Hill to care of the syndicate if you didn't have the skills, competence or the experience. The Boss prefers you over the others you know.
Roman smiled warmly. Also a warm sight that only Neo had seen. "Thanks Neo." He reached over and patted her on the head. Neo's smile brightened at the affectionate gesture. "You're right." I'm always right. "I did earn this." Yes you did. "Besides, why should I look inside a gift horse's mouth?" He sips his drink while Neo poured herself a drink. "Besides, even if I'm not the real boss I sure as hell feel like it most of the time."
That was mostly accurate. The Dark Lord was often gone for months sometimes and the Apprentice only came to Vale with his Master's permission. When they left, the Dark Lord left Roman in charge and gave him a heads-up when he returned/leaving Vale. He didn't say how long though. As far as Roman knew, none of the other crime bosses knew why the Dark Lord left nor where he was 45% of the time. Only the Apprentice knew and he never said. On their last leave, the Dark Lord told Roman to run his empire well. He always felt that there was a threat underneath, a message to not cross him. Even after all the years of working for him. Roman couldn't really blame him though.
The Dark Lord had also instructed Roman to contact him in case of an emergency. Which it usually was for the rebels that tried to take over while the Dark Lord and his Apprentice was away. They never got far, I'll tell you that.
Maybe this deal wasn't so bad after all, Neo signed. We're making more Lien than before and I'm getting all the ice cream I can want.
Roman shook head but his grin remained. "Yeah, it payed off." He groaned a bit and rubbed his jaw. "Though it didn't feel like it." The boss could punch, really hard. It was like being punched by a gorilla on steroids. Neo held a similar expression as she rubbed her stomach. Roman's breath became slightly ragged at the sight. Seeing Neo rubbed her stomach was a reminder of how they got this deal. And the consequences of betraying the Dark Lord. Roman's mind then drifted off to the first time he and Neo met the Dark Lord and his Apprentice.
It all happen so fast.
One minute Roman and Neo were eating ice cream, overseeing an operation in a warehouse when a explosion broke through a wall.
It looked like multiple Atlassian soldiers were storming the place. Only they had white armor and black visors. They began shooting down Roman's men. Roman and Neo joined the fight. Roman, refusing to leave warehouse he worked hard to fill and Neo, angry that her ice cream time was interrupted before the room suddenly became colder. Both Roman and Neo felt an Aura of emotions. Fear, anger and hatred. It was so intense Roman was surprised that the Grimm didn't come into the kingdom.
...Oh wait, they did...and not in the way Roman or anyone had been expecting.
The Dark Lord and his Apprentice entered surrounded by a pack of Beowolves. The Grimm however didn't attack until the Dark Lord said so.
The Dark Lord then confronted Neo and Roman. "Serve my empire or face your death." He had said. Roman and Neo laughed (Or silently laughed.) at the Dark Lord. They thought he was an arrogant fool. A fool that believed he could take them both down. So they attacked him with killer intent.
At first, they thought they had him on the ropes. His moves were slow and he only acted on the defensive. He was clearly an old timer relaying on technology to keep alive if his life support was anything to go by. Despite that it looked like the duo were going to win, neither of them had landed a single hit on him. As it turned out, the Dark Lord was testing their skills. He then held his hand out to his Apprentice and sheathed the katana he was using. Roman remembered seeing the Apprentice staring at them from under his hood. Roman couldn't see his face then but he could see his hazel eyes. He was briefly confused when the Apprentice gave them a look of pity. Now though, he understood why.
The Apprentice gave the Dark Lord his real weapon and he ignited it. It was something neither Roman and Neo had seen. One that cut through a man's Aura in a couple of hits and slice through soli steel like butter. Suddenly the Dark Lord's skills, speed and attacks became more faster and aggressive. No matter how skilled or synchronized Roman and Neo were, they were no match at all.
The most dangerous part of the Dark Lord was his Semblance. It was something that the Apprentice shared. Roman doesn't it's full capabilities but he knew first hand that it was broad and powerful. The boss was very strong in using telekinesis to the point where he could throw objects or people without lifting a finger. Which was Roman and Neo at the moment. Roman had a hunch that there was more to the Dark Lord's Semblance than it was seen, how else would he know of Neo's true importance to him?
After a short, embarrassing fight the Dark Lord's soldiers and Grimm defeated Roman's men and Roman himself and Neo's Aura were shattered and their weapons were sliced in half by the Dark Lord's weapon.
The Dark Lord pinned Roman down with his black boot and it felt like being stepped on by a Goliath Grimm. He seemed to glare at Roman as he held his plasma sword to the criminal's throat. "Bow before me or your daughter pays the price."
Despite the blade being like two centimeters from his throat, Roman held a decent poker face. He held his hands in a false surrender. "Okay, I'll join your empire." The plan was for him to distract the enemy while Neo would escape and attack later. Then he paused and replayed the words in his mind. "Wait...what did you just say?"
The Dark Lord must have been sinisterly smiling under the mask as he stepped away from Roman. He knew. Somehow he knew about Neo, about how dearly Roman held her. He didn't see it coming. How could he?
The Dark Lord held his free hand up and Neo into his palm. Roman's poker face cracked. "Bow before me or your daughter pays the price Torchwick."
Before a fear filled Roman could reach for Neo, the Apprentice held him down despite his struggling. He tried to appease the emotionless masked demon. He frantically told him that he would work willingly and wouldn't put up a fight while Neo squirmed and tried to pull the black gloved fingers that held her throat in a iron grip.
"Betray me, she dies. Run and hide, she dies."
Roman became more terrified as the red blade was pointing to Neo's abdomen. By that point, Roman was shouting-no begging the him to let Neo go. He would have done anything. Especially to wipe the look of terror off Neo's face.
"Consider this a demonstration for the consequences of betrayal."
Without much of a warning, the Dark Lord stabbed Neo in the stomach. Roman struggled more, reaching for Neo.
"Swear your allegiance and my Apprentice will heal your daughter."
Roman was too frantic to listen but he did swear his allegiance. The Dark Lord remained silent before he dropped Neo and Roman no longer felt held down. He ran over to Neo while the Apprentice walked over to them. He knelt down and took his hood off. It was the first time Roman and Neo had seen him.
He held his hand over Neo's wound and closed his eyes. Slowly the wound began healing to the point it wasn't bleeding, but a scar remained.
"Let the scar remind you of our...deal Torchwick."
Roman shook his head. It didn't matter now. What mattered was that Neo was with him.
A guard entered the room. "Excuse me sir," he said in a professional voice. "Yeah, what is it?" Roman asked, placing his drink down.
"You're to fill a status report and receive a message from the boss," he spoke the Dark Lord's name.
Roman's eyes widened a bit. Neo looked at him with a shrug and a sympathetic gaze. Looks like you're up. Roman sighed and got up to walk to his personal office. He was slightly nervous. He wasn't stealing nor conspiring against the Dark Lord, thief's honor. But talking to the boss unnerved him a bit. He probably wasn't the only one who felt so.
He closed the window shades, locked the door as well as turning off the lights. He picked up the communication given from the boss and placed it on his desk. Two holograms appeared. One of them was the Leader of the Branwen Tribe, Raven Branwen, the other was a member of the Atlas Council, Robyn Hill. Under different circumstances, Roman would have used his charm on them but this was a business call. A third hologram appeared.
Khooohh-Pruuhh.
Loud mechanical breathing was heard from the third hologram. Black eye lenses stared at them all. "Torchwick." He greeted in a mechanical, booming voice. "Branwen, Hill." The two women nodded back. "My empire is becoming more successful as the weeks progress. I want to know how exactly how well it is becoming."
Roman and the two women bowed their heads in both submission and respect to their superior. "Yes Lord Vader." They said in unison.