It was a sunny day at Beacon. New graduates were coming in and Belfry was sent along with Samuel to check for any potential threats on the long run for the Commonwealth
"Well. I think I see one that may go on our list"
"Which one?"
"Red Hair, wears armor"
"Hmm. She looks familiar"
"She does. She appears on those cereal boxes"
"And what? We should worry for a mascot"
"Well, in this case, the "mascot" is a star student from Sanctum"
"Alright. Into the list. Who follows"
Belfry joted down some notes then kept on eyeing the new graduates
"Hmm. Atlesian. White hair, expensive clothing"
"One of the Schnees is picking Beacon over Atlas?"
"Well, something like that has reportedly happened earlier. Isn't their chief of staff also a runaway from the Schnees?"
"She indeed is. Into the list"
Belfry joted down some notes
"Hmm. I don't see anybody"
"Wait. Look at that one. Blondie. Next to the red girl"
"What about her?"
"Her gauntlets"
"Are you serious?"
"Well, she must have them for a reason"
"I'm putting her and her sister on the list"
"Wait what? No, just the blondie"
Belfry jots some additional notes down into the notebook then closes it
"You clearly have stuff to learn. First, its not only the gauntlets. That way of dressing, the marks and scars on the knuckles. She's clearly one hell of a brawler. Sure, her gauntlets are one thing, but everyone here has something similar. The red girl, first, is clearly younger than everyone here and second, did you see what she was carrying on the back of her waist?"
"Umm...A sniper"
"Not just any sniper. A heavy caliber custom sniper. That thing is hard to carry even for someone like me. Where did you train again, Samuel?"
"Jörmundgander"
"Well, you maybe should go train some more maybe at Niflheim. Let's go, we have an informant to talk with"
Belfry and Samuel would board the same ship that arrived to Beacon to get back to Vale. Once there, they made their way to a warehouse by the ends of the city. They were greeted by someone wearing a very particular outfit
"Oh welcome to Torchwick and Associates, appreciated strangers. If you could give me just...one moment I'm sure I can find you something of your liking"
"We actually aren't here to buy counterfeit Dust" said Belfry
After that, Roman Torchwick would come forth
"Then, what exactly is that you're doing here?"
"We are here to...purchase other services"
"Well. What other services could those be?"
"Compiling some information on somebody"
"Well that somebody sure must be worth coming to a professional"
"Not precisely..."
Belfry handed Torchwick a notebook, which then Torchwick started to read
"These are...Beacon Initiates...oh wait. I know this one. Fine, I'm taking it"
"Good. Compile as much information as you can and we will pay you a fixed price. What amount that is depends on you"
"Well, I'm sure we can reach an agreement"
A woman would interrupt from inside the Warehouse
"TORCHWICK!" said the woman
"Umm...leave it at 50000 Lien" replied Torchwick with haste
"Sounds good"
Both sides would leave. But Samuel had a slight doubt
"Umm. Belfry wasn't that..."
"Shut up"
A couple years later, Balisong would be next to Tellerium on the rooftops on Vale as the Grimm invaded the city
"Well, the Atlesian Fleet is taking one hell of a beating" said Tellerium
"Yeah. That Nevermore is putting up quite the fight for such a large target" replied Balisong, looking at the fight with a spy glass
"Aaaand someone got flung off the ship. If not for that umbrella it sure would be an ugly fall"
After some more time, The Nevermore would take flight
"Hmm. It left. Wasn't our informant captive in one of those ships"
"Indeed he is...or was...Wait"
Balisong spots a hat floating off the Atlesian ship
"Definitely was our informant. We have to follow that Nevermore"
Balisong and Tellerium would get on sprinting over the rooftops of the city, as people beneath them ran for their lives
They would follow the Nevermore, catching the hat that fell off along the way, until they managed to kill it in a dark alleyway, but even then it was too late
Torchwick's flesh and bones had been melted by the Grimm's insides. Whatever fate followed after being eaten, it must have been nothing short of a horrible death
Balisong began to search Torchwick's remains but was interrupted by an unexpected visitor
"Hmm. Hey, girl. You maybe shouldn't be here" said Telerium
"Wait. She's Torchwick's pupil."
"Oh...Well...What's your..." he was saying to the girl, but Balisong interrupted him again
"She's mute, Telerium. Just give her the damn top hat and keep on watching. She doesn't have to join him"
"Fine"
Telerium would walk up to the girl, who looked at both of them with equal parts of doubt and familiarity
"I'm sorry. He got...eaten by a Nevermore and fell here"
Telerium would go back after giving the top hat to the girl, who left, devastated by the news
Balisong would pull a data key from Torchwick's body
"What do you think?"
"Hmm. Maybe we can pull a favor on Cipher and get this reconstructed"
"Well for now. Let's just get out of here"
Balisong, in an act of slight pity for Torchwick, broke a Fire Dust Crystal and threw it on the corpse, setting it on fire as both caped figures got lost in the crowds, eventually leaving the city before the Huntsmen could organize properly, getting lost in the chaos of the night
Qrow and Glynda were searching around the city when they found a scorched alleyway
"Well. Whoever that was...it must have been an unfortunate ending"