AN: Sorry this chapter took so long to put up, it was midterms last week and then some personal issue popped up but now I'm back and planning on continue my normal schedule of hopefully two a week. Thanks for your patience. PS. Did you see they announced Volume 2, I was so excited that I cheered so hard that my neighbors came to check up on me.
Alex walked down the hall towards his dorm with a huge headache, after an hour telling the teams about his life, his head has felt like it was splitting in half. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, all this talk about his past was causing him to feel like he was going to have a mental breakdown. He opened the door to his dorm, "Hey guys, do any of you have…"
Alex stopped dead in his tracks when he looked up, in front of him was Nate sitting in a chair, in front of him was Velvet, wearing nothing except a towel.
"Hey Boss" Nate said from his chair.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON" Alex yelled. He looked at Nate and rushed at him. Alex put his hands on Nate's throat, "What you tell her huh, did you tell her that you could get her into does Dust Dances. I know it's one of your best lines but why her" Alex growled at him.
Nate put his hands up "This isn't what it looks like boss"
"You sure, because I pretty sure that it is exactly what it looks like" Alex said tightening his grip.
"First of all, I am flattered that you think my dust dance line is one of my best that means a lot from you"
Velvet sighed behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, "Put him down, he wasn't doing anything"
"Not yet anyway" Nate whispered off to the side.
"What was that" Alex said lifting Nate up.
"Look I came here looking for you, when I knocked Nate and Lance were here. They offered to wait with me for you and have some drinks. While we were talking, I accidently spilled tea on me. Since I had nothing else to wear on me, Lance offered to take my outfit back to my room and get me another one. I couldn't wear just underwear and a bra so I put on a towel, we were talking about weapons when you came in, that's it" Velvet explained.
"Oh" Alex released Nate, "Sorry"
"No problem boss"
Alex walked over to his drawer and picked up one of his shirts. "Velvet you can't wearing a towel, here is one of my white shirts. It will be big on you but it's better than a towel" he said handing it to her. She quickly went to the bathroom and put it on. She came out and stood next to Nate, the shirt was big enough to reach her knees.
Alex looked at the two of them awkwardly, "Soooooo, you wanted to see me about something Velvet"
"Yeah, I wanted to tell you that I made reservation at a fancy restaurant tonight at 6:00, I was wondering if you were available to go on that second date" Velvet said getting next to him.
"Boss… you never told me you had a girlfriend you sly dog" Nate said elbowing Alex.
"Nate, we have only been on one date, it's not a big deal"
"No big deal, we have only been here for a day and you already have a girl, man you a playa" Nate said excited.
"First of all, never say playa in front of me again, second of all, we have only got coffee yesterday" Alex said.
"Sure, it starts off with coffee, before you know it you will be chasing her down her rabbit hole if you know what I mean"
"NATE"
Nate put his hands up, "Alright"
Alex shook his head and chuckled, "I don't believe I have anything else going on Velvet, so 6:00 sounds perfect"
"Great, I would say dress nice, but you always wear a suit, so I guess you're good" She said smiling.
The door opened and Lance walked in with Velvet's outfit in his hands, "Hey Alex, how did breakfast with Team RWBY go"
"I think it went well, we'll see how they respond in a couple days"
"You went to breakfast with them and you didn't invite me?" Velvet asked in mock disbelief.
"It was for business, I owed them an explanation, next time I will make sure to invite you"
Velvet smiled and gave him a hug; she grabbed the clothes from Lance's hands and went to go change.
Lance chuckled and gave Alex a look, "You're dating her already…. Nice"
"That's want I said" Nate added
"It not that big okay, we went on one date for coffee and that's it"
Velvet came out in her Magician outfit and did a quick pose when they looked at her. She snapped her fingers and her top hat appeared in her hands, she put it on and walked over to them.
"She even has the whole magic appearing hat thing that you do, you guys are perfect for each other" Nate pointed out.
Velvet chuckled and walked over to Alex, "I have to go, I'll see you at six, meet me at Main Square again" She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and left the room.
"Look at that, he almost got to first base, my boy is growing up" Lance teased.
"Whatever, where's Vincent, I need to talk to you guys" Alex asked.
"He said he was going to talk to some old schoolmates and he would be back" Nate answered.
"Well ok, tell him that our part is done until school started back up, Sun will deal with them until then. So just lay low for now and enjoy the break, once schools start there will be very little rest"
The both of them nodded in agreement, "Alright then, I'm going to wonder around for a little bit and try to get a layout of the place. If Vincent gets back before I do, just tell him what I told you" Alex said as he walked towards the door.
He left the room and walked down the hall, he examined the halls as he walked. All the halls were made to look the same but this hallway seemed different, it seemed like the air was heavier here, like there was chemicals in the air and one match would blow up the whole place up. A lot of pressure was on his shoulders, he worked hard to get here and now that he is, all he has to do is keep his end of the bargain.
"Mr. Caponen, come here for a moment" A women said behind him.
He turned around to see Professor Goodwitch walking towards him.
"Hello Professor, How can I help on this fine day?" He asked.
"I notice that you have taken an interest in Miss Scarlatina, is this correct?"
"Yeah it's true, why?"
She sized him up for a moment, "It's just that Miss Scarlatina is a student of magic, she is very skilled in these arts and one of the finest mages I have seen since myself"
"Why that's nice of you to say about Velvet but what does this have to do with me" Alex asked.
"As I myself is a magic user, I take it upon myself to take care of all other mages including Miss Scarlatina. But she is a shy girl, withdrawn from other social endeavors, and barely speaks except when necessary"
"Ok, so she doesn't talk a lot, tons of people do that at school"
"You don't get it, Out of all the time I have had her in my classes through this whole semester, I had only heard her say two words, and that was only when she was being picked on. For some reason, she feels more open to you. She acts and talks to you like a normal person, when you're around, she is responds more freely, and is willing to act the same around others as long as you are around. She has turned into a different person" Goodwitch explained.
"So want do you want me to do?"
"Nothing, if you make her happy that's great, she is more open and it will help greatly in her training to be a huntress. But if you hurt her, if you make her cry, I will make sure that your stay here will be very unpleasant in ways that you can't imagine" She warned.
"Get in line" He said off to the side.
"What was that Mr. Caponen" She asked harshly.
"Nothing Professor, I promise that I will only do good for Velvet and refuse to do anything that will cause harm to her in any way, shape or form" He promised.
"Good, I will be watching you Mr. Caponen" And she walked away.
"Man, I can't do anything without ticking someone off can I" He said to himself.
He walked the halls of Beacon and through its various buildings creating a mental map. A useful skill his father taught him when he was young. Using this map, he created escape routes, places where he could hide and kill zones without even realizing it. This storage room would be a perfect torture room, soundproof walls, small and confined but still has plenty of area for tools… wait what am I doing, am I really creating a torture room. Have I really got myself into this mindset again? Alex shook his head, No, I refuse to go back to that, this is a new start for me and I will not be creating escape plans in case this fall apart, I will stick it out.
He walked around till he was at the main courtyard of Beacon; it was bustling with students enjoying their break, talking to friends and having skirmishes. He sat down at a bench and watched the fights. It reminded him of the illegal fights he created and managed at Hearse. He missed it; there was never a dull moment during those. No, that was your old life; you're going to take it easy now, no more fights.
He continued to watch the fights, as he did he strummed his fingers on his leg where he kept a spare pistol on him at all times. He sighed, he can't keep this up, he has to be doing something, planning, fighting, sleeping, talking, anything. He can't just be still and do nothing, it isn't in his nature. Just one fight, what could happen?
Alex got up from the bench and walked over to the area where the fights were happening. There was crowds watching the multiple fights going on, he went to the one with the biggest crowd. He made his way to the front and watched the battle. There was a boy and girl fighting two boys, the boys rushed the girl and boy with what looked like fire and ice swords, but the boy and girl jumped up and landed on the boys knocking them out.
"Geez, that has to be are easiest match yet Boon" The girl said.
"I know Claudia; it's like they knock themselves out for us" The boy Boon said.
The crowd roared with cheering, "The winner of this match is once of again Boon and Claudia, is there anyone who has the guts to face this unstoppable duo" a kid acting like a referee.
Alex raised his hand in the air, "I'll take them on"
"You're kidding right; you want to fight these two by yourself. Do you at least have a weapon on you?"
Alex put his right hand behind his back expecting his case to be there but it was just air. Right, I left Tom in my locker, "Only my spare pistol and knife" he answered.
"This is a suicide battle you do realize that right" the referee said.
The crowd murmured with agreement, Maybe they're right, maybe I am over my head. Then someone shouted from the crowd, "Yeah, you should just go back to your mommy"
When Alex heard this, his eyes started to burn with rage; if there one thing that he hates people making fun of, it's his family. "This maybe a suicide mission, but I got some hatred I need to blow off" He stepped into the middle of the crowd and sized up his opponents.
The boy Boon was about 6 feet tall with pale skin; red buzz cut hair, hazel eyes, and was built like a football player. He was wearing a tan button up shirt with rolled up sleeves with overalls on. He had a paperboy hat on and was wearing a confident smirk on his face; he looked like an old school working man. He was holding in both his hands, he was holding 3 throwing knives, one between each finger that had a green tip on each of them.
The girl Claudia was shorter than Boon with tan skin. She had brown hair tied back, brown eyes and was built like a cheerleader. She had on a short Brown jacket cut off before the waist with a black tank top under it, jeans with white sneakers. She had a look on her face like she was analyzing him. She was carrying two grenades with a knife on top of them.
"Man Claudia, these freshmen are getting dumber every year. Before you know it a dog will be more of a challenge than them" Boon said.
"I know Boon, aren't you a little young to be here?" Claudia asked Alex.
"Aren't you a little cocky to be a woman" Alex replied.
The crowd oohed at this remark, "Looks like we might actually have an interesting fight. Fighters, approach and introduce each other" The referee said.
The duo walked to the middle of the area and did a quick pose, "We are Boon and Claudia, the ultimate fighting duo" They said in unison.
"Name's Alex, the ultimate duo destroyer" He answered smiling. He took off his hat and threw it to the crowd.
He took out his pistol from his holster and the knife from his pocket, Pistol on the right, knife on the left, Boon on the left, Claudia on the right. Alright, let's do this.
"FIGHT"
Alex crossed his arms and put them in front of him so the knife was on his right and the pistol was on his left and waited. Boon quickly cracked his neck and charged him, when he was about 30 yards from Alex. Alex quickly threw his knife at him and immediately started shooting Claudia. Claudia, surprised, was hit by one bullet in the arm before she dodged. Boon swiftly dodged the knife and threw three back at him. Alex stepped to the side to avoid them but one skimmed his right leg. It stung for moment but then he couldn't feel it. Alex took a step forward but found he couldn't move his right leg. Crap, it's laced with a paralyzing agent.
Alex knew that if he didn't think of something quick, it would only be a matter of seconds before he would be surrounded. Claudia walked casually towards him. "What's wrong, feeling a bit stuck"
Alex gave her a snooty face and watched her as she came closer. When she was 15 yards away from Alex, she took one of her grenades and threw it in front of him. It stuck to the ground and started to smoke a green gas, knock out gas. He felt his eyes get heavy and his heart slow down, he stumbled back. He waited for himself to fall down cold but he didn't. All of a sudden, the surroundings broke off into darkness and all that was left was the little area where they were fighting and his opponents. It's not knock out gas, its fear gas. Alex moved his left foot and found that he could move his right foot again; the paralyzing agent must have worn off. He took his pistol and aimed at Boon and fired, but the bullets went right through him.
Then the duo started to disappear, they faded and were replaced by his mom and dad.
"Mom… Dad?" He asked unsure to them.
"You were never my favorite, you will never be as good as your older brother" his dad snapped at him.
"You never had the guts to what was necessary, you are weak" His Mom added.
"But I tried, I tried to be the son you always wanted" Alex said hoping they wouldn't be mad at them.
They gave him scornful looks, and then disappeared and were replaced with his team.
"You could never be a leader, you're always too caught up in past, you let everyone down" Lance told him.
"You're always uptight, never willing to look at the beauty of the world, only at the destruction" Nate said.
"This is why you will fail to save them, why you failed to save your brother, your friends, anyone who you care about will leave you scared and alone" Vincent added.
Alex took a deep breath, could they be right, can I not let go of my past, He thought about this for moment and then realized that he wasn't scared, he was sad that the people he held dear were bashing him but he didn't want to cry or scream, all he wanted to do was try and make them happy again. He stretched out his right hand and thrust it to the right; he felt his hand on skin and closed his grip. He immediately raised his pistol in his left and aimed it to the left.
"How… How did you do it" Claudia said.
Alex looked around real quick to find himself in the real world, with his right hand on Claudia's neck and his pistol aimed at Boon.
"Because what I fear the most is something that no simulation, serum, or gas will ever be able to recreate"
The crowd was dead silent, waiting to see what will happen, Alex wanted to pull the trigger and throw Claudia to the ground, it's what they would do if the roles were reversed. But he's not them, he doesn't use fear gas or chemical agents, he doesn't kick a man while they are down.
"I suppose I must thank you guys for pointing out a couple of my flaws, for that we will call this match a draw, call it Ref" He said still looking at Claudia.
"Umm… The match is a tie" The Referee said unsure.
The crowd groaned with disappointment and they started to leave. Alex let go of Claudia and put away his pistol, he snapped his fingers for his hat and he put it on.
"You're a wimp you know, a true warrior never gives up till his opponent is defeated" Boon said to his side.
"That's because I'm not a true warrior, I am a fighter and a huntsman in training. But neither are you guys, true warriors don't play off peoples fear. Now if you will excuse me, I have a date to attend" He snapped back.
Alex walked away from the battle feeling pretty good, he wanted to blow off some steam and he did. He started walking towards the airport when his phone went off.
"Hello" he answered.
"Hey it's Sun; there's been a slight problem"
Sun quickly explained on the phone, when he was done, Alex closed the phone and squeezed it as hard as he could.
"Torchwick" he said angrily, and he threw his phone as hard as he could to the ground.