Chapter two: Business opportunity

Torchwick thumbed the piece of paper that was attached to the knife, 'how'd that kid know my name? Neo told me he just arrived today. Kidnapping probably' Torchwick opened the note.

"𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘛𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳'𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘳 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯

-𝘈.𝘊."

"Tch, that kid has a lot of nerve to do this" he burned the note with his cigar, "Neo," Torchwick called out. A small girl with ice cream-coloured hair entered the room, "you're going to shadow me tomorrow. I don't expect something bad to happen but better safe than sorry" Neo smiled and saluted him.

After Alex was let out of the police station Ozpin got him a room at a Faunus-friendly hotel, a Scroll and some lien and Alex had his belated breakdown right before falling asleep

Alex is currently wandering through Vale, "excuse me" he stopped a passerby, "do you know where Junior's bar is?" The person looked at him with contempt, "no, I don't" the person walked away, "ugh, I'll be late for my meeting"

"HEY!" A man in a group with three others yelled at Alex, "you're the damn cat that stole my knife!" Alex looked at the man, "hey! You're that racist drunk that tried to rob me!" The group moved closer to Alex, "you owe me a knife and then some" Alex smirked, "sure, let's make a deal over there" he pointed to a nearby alleyway, "lead the way then" the group of supremacists smiled.

Alex led the group into the alley, "any of you merry bunch know Junior?" Alex asked them, "yea, we know Junior but you won't be able to meet him" one of the men pulled out a pistol.

Alex stared at the gun and pulled Sweet Solace out, "a little dangerous don't you think?" Alex shot the gun right out of the man's hand, breaking it, "that's better"

"Charge him!" The group of four ran at Alex. He dodged the first man's tackle and slammed Sweet Solace into the back of his skull and his body flickered red, 'they have aura'

Another member of the racists threw a rock at Alex's face. It hit its mark causing his bone-white aura to flicker ever so slightly. In retaliation, Alex shot the man in the knee making him fall.

The ex-drunk threw a haymaker at Alex which he blocked with his arm. He was about to pistol-whip him but got grabbed from behind. The group started beating Alex which caused him to drop his gun, 'shit!'

Alex threw his head back into his rear assailant, breaking his aura. Alex then elbowed the man in the nose and knocked him out, 'one down'

Alex looked at the three men in front of him, "that's all you got?" He laughed, "I'm not surprised, you barely have any aura"

He ran towards them. Alex planted a foot on the wall next to him and jumped. While he was coming down he kicked one of them on the side of the head and knocked him away.

Alex grabbed the beard of the original racist and brought him face down onto his knee, shattering both his aura and his nose, 'two'

Another man hit him on the back of the head with a flat piece of stone. Alex mule kicked the man's knee causing him to drop the stone and fall to one knee. Alex grabbed the stone and smashed it on the guy's head causing the stone to crumble and the man to drop, 'three'

"Don't move!" Alex turned and saw the last of the group pointing his gun at him, "what do you think will happen first? You break my aura or I reach you?" The man had a shaky hold on Sweet Solace then he pointed it to his friend's head, "I'll say you killed him!"

'Shit' Alex put his hands up, "no need to do something drastic, I just wanna know where I can find Junior"

"You think I'll believe you, you filthy Faunus?!" Suddenly a white-clad individual dropped behind him and knocked him out with a cane, "you're lucky I was passing by, Kitty" Alex put his hands down, "can you pass me my gun, Torchwick, please?" The ginger frowned but bent down and grabbed the weapon, "this is a nice shooter" he whistled.

He tossed the gun, "you're lucky I want answers. Let's go" Alex followed Torchwick through the alleyways and they eventually made it to Junior's bar.

"Torchwick!" Junior came barreling toward us, "you got a lot of nerve coming here after what you did" the henchmen raised their weapons.

"Calm down Junior, I'm friends with 'Sir'" Alex told him and he stepped back, "h-her?" Alex nodded. Junior looked torn, "put your weapons down. You two follow me"

Junior led us to a red and black private booth, "thanks Junior, I'll have whiskey. On the rocks" Alex and Torchwick took a seat across from each other on the black couches.

"Aren't you a little-" Torchwick cut him off, "and I'll have a rum and coke" Junior had a scowl on his face, "I'll be back" he said through grated teeth and he left.

"Gotta say, you're quite the actor," Torchwick said to Alex, "thanks, I was a drama kid" Torchwick deadpanned, "well that explains a lot" he leaned in, "Anyway, what do you want?"

Alex mirrored Torchwick, "I'd like to hire you. This would mean you would be double-crossing your current employer" Junior entered the booth, "here are your drinks. Now what-"

"Thank you, you may leave," Alex told him, "you little!" Alex looked him in the eyes, "do I need to call her?" Junior moved his hand near his crotch, "no, that isn't necessary" Junior turned and left.

"What do you mean 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘳? I don't work for anyone" Alex took a sip of his drink, "does a Cinder Fall ring any bells?" Torchwick jumped back, "how do you know that name?"

Alex put his drink down and crossed his legs, "I know many things. I know the only reason you work for her is that you think there is no hope to beat her" Torchwick got angry, "I could kill Cinder if I wanted!"

"I'm not talking about Cinder" Alex took another sip. Torchwick calmed down, "then who?"

"You have suspicions that Cinder isn't the mastermind, correct?" Alex asked him rhetorically, "of course" Torchwick took a big sip of his drink, the ice clanging against the glass, "when I said 𝘩𝘦𝘳 I meant Cinder's boss. Well, Cinder as well, I know you can't beat her" Torchwick got angry again, "what do you know brat?" Alex put his hand up, "could you really try anything against them with the chance of Neo getting hurt?"

"STOP" Torchwick yelled

A needle was poking the side of Alex's neck, "afternoon Miss Neo or is it Mrs?" Neo gave Alex a scary look and took her parasol weapon away from him and he took a sip of his whiskey, 'shit, I'm barely keeping myself composed. That was terrifying'

"How do you know about Neo? It's not often she's in the spotlight" Torchwick probed Alex, "call it my Semblance" his scowl grew, "fine, what is your magical solution to Cinder and her boss?" Alex raised his finger and pointed toward his eye.

"Eyes? That doesn't make sense, even for you" Alex smiled, "have you ever heard of the power silver eyes hold?" Neo tilted her head and put her finger on her cheek, "how can eyes have power?" Torchwick asked.

"The Silver-eyes warriors are a lineage group that predates both Huntsmen and kingdoms" Torchwick and Neo looked at each other, "legends say people born with silver eyes were destined to live the life of a great warrior. Legend also states that Silver-eyed warriors could destroy Grimm with a single glance"

"Okay?" Torchwick drawled, "what do they have to do with any-" he stopped, "Little Red" Alex nodded, "Cinder and her group have been hunting them down for a very long time" Alex put his hand out, "do I have your cooperation?" Torchwick stared at his hand for a minute before slamming back his drink, "you're a smoother talker than me Kitty" Torchwick grabbed his hand, "what do I have to do?" Alex smiled, "just keep doing what you are right now, it's too early to do anything" Alex also slammed his drink back and coughed, "sorry, not used to drinking too much"

Alex got up and walked toward the door, "oh, and Neo" she looked at him, "if you want to get anywhere in your relationship you'll have to be pushier" Neo stuck her tongue out at him and he left the bar.

Neo looked at Torchwick, "I don't know Neo, but I think we should listen to him for now. If shit stops going our way we jump ship"

Alex walked back to his hotel room, 'I'm taking a big chance telling Torchwick all of that. I hope it pays off. And Neo is scary as hell' Alex rubbed his neck as he walked by a store, 'I should probably pick something up for him' Alex entered the store and bought a few things.

He still had many hours till he would sleep but Alex decided to retire after the eventful day.

Alex woke up early and when to the dining hall of the hotel, 'don't want to fight Grimm on an empty stomach' Alex ate several pieces of bacon, egg and toast before leaving for the Vale aircraft.

"Damn" he whistled, "looks cooler up close" Alex followed a tall, blonde knight onto the ship, "cool armour, man," he said to the knight, "huh? Oh, thanks. I'm Jaune Arc" Alex hissed, "cool name, it's short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. I bet ladies love it" Jaune's face lit up, "you think so?!" Alex laughed, "totally, the name's Alexander Crest. Please, call me Alex"

"Sounds like the name of a hero" Jaune commented, "ha, not as much as Arc. That sounds like a hero" Jaune puffed his chest out, "I'll have you know, the Arc's come from a long line of heroes" Alex nodded, "trying to carry on the tradition?" Jaune smiled, "you bet!"

The aircraft was flying high in the sky, "wow, that's a sight for sore eyes. Eh Jaune?" Jaune didn't say anything, "Jaune?" Alex looked over and saw Jaune holding his gut and his mouth, 'heh'

"Here, take these" Alex held out two pills and a big plastic bag, "the pills will help with motion sickness and the bag is for the worst-case" Jaune quickly grabbed the pills and dry swallowed them, "ugh, thank you" Jaune kept his arms around his stomach, "they'll take a while before they kick in" Alex grabbed Jaune's Scroll, "and now we have each others contact info. See you around, Jaune" Alex walked away from Jaune who hopefully won't be called Vomit boy anymore.

"Yesterday four men were found unconscious inside an alleyway near the residential district. They claimed a tiger Faunus attacked them while trying to rob them but a video from the rooftops, sent in by an anonymous source, shows that the four men instigated the fight and even pulled out a gun. The video cuts off right as one of the men is pointing a gun at the victim but somehow the man was dealt with"

Alex listened to the news anchor talk, 'guess I should thank Torchwick next time I see him'

The newscast turned off and Glynda Goodwitch appeared as a hologram, "Hello and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honour of being selected to attend this prestigious academy" she paused, "our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, and it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now, it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world" the hologram faded away.

"That was you in the video, right?" A voice from behind Alex spoke, "yeah, it was me. Not a lot of white tigers around here?" Alex looked at the black-haired woman with a bow on her head, "why do you ask?" The girl put her book down, "I'm just glad to see racists put in their place is all. I'm Blake"

"Alex, nice to meet you" Blake nodded, "likewise" Blake went back to her book and Alex continued walking around.

Eventually, the ship docked at Beacon. Alex walked out and looked around, "wow, it's beautiful here"

"Alex!" He turned around and saw Jaune coming toward him, "I have to thank you for those pills" Alex waved him off, "it's no problem. That's why I got them"

"You got them for me?" Jaune asked, "no, I got them for people who needed them. Though it would be fun watching you run around looking for a trash can" as Alex and Jaune were walking they heard a loud explosion. They looked over and saw a white-haired girl yelling at Ruby, "wow, she's pretty" Jaune mumbled.

"Trust me, you don't want to go after her. She's a Schnee. You know what they do to Faunus, right?" Alex had venom in his voice, "I thought the mistreatment of Faunus was just rumours" Jaune said, "they're not rumours" Alex hissed.

Weiss and Blake walked away from Ruby and she slumped to the smooth stone ground, "welcome to Beacon" she mumbled to herself. Two shadows hovered over her, "hey" Jaune held out his gloved hand, "I'm Jaune" Ruby grabbed his hand, "Ruby" she looked at Alex, "it's you! From the Dust store!" They started walking.

"You two know each other?" Jaune asked, "I met her at a Dust shop before Torchwick robbed it" Ruby nodded, "yeah! You were so cool when you shot him then acted like you didn't notice" Alex scratched the back of his head, "it was the first thing that came to mind. I was terrified honestly" Jaune cut in, "you two fought Roman Torchwick? How come I didn't hear about it on the news?"

"Don't know, the robbery was on the news but we weren't. Well, I was on the news today but for different reasons" Jaune and Ruby gaped, "that was you who fought those four guys?!" They both yelled, "I would have never have been able to fight them off with Crescent Rose in that tight alleyway" Jaune looked at her, "Crescent Rose?"

Ruby unfurled her weapon, "this" Jaune jumped back, "whoa! Is that a scythe?"

Ruby lifted Crescent Rose, "it's also a customisable high-impact sniper rifle" Jaune went blank, "a wha?" Alex put his hand on Jaune's armoured shoulder, "it's also a gun"

"Oh, that's cool" Ruby nodded, "so what do you two have?" Jaune got flustered, "Oh, uh, I-I got this sword" he pulled out Crocea Mors, "oooooh" Ruby stared at it, "yeah, I've got this shield too" Jaune put his retractable shield on his forearm.

"So what do they do?" Ruby touched the white and gold shield and it sprang off Jaune's arm. It kept retracting and opening as he tried to grab it, "uh-the shield gets smaller heh, so when I get tired of carrying it I can just, put it away" Ruby looked at him, "but, wouldn't it just weight the same?" Jaune slumped his shoulders, "Yeah, it does"

Jaune got back up, "wh-what about you?" Jaune asked him, "me? I've just got this" Alex snatched Sweet Solace out of its holster.

Ruby and Jaune stared at it in awe, "whoa, it looks cool" Jaune said, "wow, did you make that?" Alex shook his head, "no, it was...given to me. Did you make yours, Ruby?"

"Yeah, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons. I guess I did go a little overboard in designing it" Jaune stopped, "wait, you made that?" Ruby nodded, "of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons. Didn't you make yours?" Jaune looked at his sword, "it's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war" Alex swung his arm around Jaune, "don't downplay it like that, that sword was used by heroes throughout the ages"

"Sound more like a family heirloom to me heh" Jaune had a sunken expression, "well I like it. Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days" Jaune sheathed his weapon, "yea, the classics" the trio continued walking, "so why'd you help me back there, in the courtyard?"

"Why not" Alex responded, "yea, my mom always says 'strangers are just friends you haven't met yet" Jaune added.

"Hey, where are we going?" Ruby asked, "oh, I don't know. I was following Alex" they looked at each other then at Alex and he shook his head, "I was following some people. We're near the auditorium"