Chapter 6: Like a Grimm.

All rights go to their owners.

Cover art by Ars Goetia Games on Twitter. Their commissions are open, so go ahead check 'em out, or even their games: Hellslave or Blind Prophet.

Talking: "Feel the rhythm of the streets."

Thinking: 'Neon lights and neon dreams.'

"You know my sister works at the hospital, she told me all the dead people were mauled by some sort of a new Grimm.- no it's true!"-Gossiping office worker on the recent murders.

{Iron Crown members dead! Possible gang war in the future?}

{White Fang murder Iron Crown in gang-retaliation?}

{The Midnight Grimm!}

Ozpin lets out a sigh. This was a mess, dead Iron Crown outlaws right here in Vale, and most of them didn't die in a gentle manner. He didn't believe it was White Fang for even a single moment, and reading the police report made the belief it wasn't White Fang even stronger. The details within the report and surrounding the situation just didn't make sense for it to be them.

The manner they were killed for one. Five out of the seven were horrifically tortured, the reports indicated that it was brutal, so grizzly that whoever perpetrated the act had to be severely mentally disturbed. White Fang did have a grudge against Iron Crown, but they wouldn't butcher Iron Crown like this, too barbaric, too bloody. They would make it quick, a sliced throat, a bullet through the head or a knife to the heart. Anything other then what happened to them.

Secondly; White Fang would never kill in the city. It causes the wrong kind of attention to be forced on them. The wrong attention was already on them, with the news stations already reporting on the murder, assuming that White Fang was responsible for the execution, which is something most people would come to the conclusion of with the recent Dust shipment destroyed by Iron Crown. This in turn would force the government of Vale to crack down on possible White Fang members, the public wouldn't allow the government to sit around idly while a group of possible insurgents were running around the city slaughtering people.

Third and finally; it made no sense. Ozpin had no doubt that the White Fang were planning retaliation against Iron Crown, but that retaliation was most definitely going to be on the outside of the city. Why risk the aforementioned spotlight when the revenge can be done in the frontiers, a place no one in the city really cares about. Add in the fact that their was only seven dead Iron Crown members, some of them not even proper members, in comparison to the dozens dead, the death of a White Fang Hunter and a whole Dust shipment destroyed, this supposed retaliation seems rather pathetic.

'Not the White Fang, that's obvious enough.' Ozpin thought. 'Someone else is responsible for this. A person with either a vendetta against Iron Crown or a person who wants to frame White Fang, perhaps both.' Ozpin knew that this was targetted, despite the horrific torture performed upon the Iron Crown, two were given quick deaths which would make no sense if the goal was to make all Iron Crown members suffer.

Someone wanted information. The leader of the Iron Crown unit was noticeably detached from the scene. Close enough to hear the torture directly behind him, but not in any position to look back. An experienced torturer. One that knew that the most effective kind of torture was mental. The wails of the damned directly behind him most likely made the leader crack and spill any info he had to the torturer. Then afterwards he was promptly killed, along with the other last remaining person but in a quick and relatively painless death, especially in comparison to the ones that were tortured.

Ozpin grumbles. This had to be dealt with quickly, the Mount Glenn expansion project was already beginning to strain Vale. A serial killer running around and slaughtering indiscriminately would cause serious panic. Panic that cannot happen, especially now of all times. It was thankfully contained at the moment, as the only ones dead were criminals, they'll be forgotten about relatively quickly by the public, so long as no more murders occur and especially if no civilians are killed in the crossfire.

Ozpin needed info. He would normally ask Qrow to dig into it but with Qrow away on his bounties, he would look into himself.

He'll start with Junior, he knew the club owner had a finger in the criminal underworld, and knew more then most. What better place to start in Ozpin's mind. Ozpin didn't realise how fortunate he was on his start of his investigation.

Ozpin went ahead and changed his outfit to be a bit less conspicuous. A dark long trench coat along with a black newsboy cap. Ozpin huffs in a nostalgic manner. 'Been a while since I've done a stealth mission.' He buttons up the trench coat. He presses the button on the side of the elevator. A few minutes go by, Ozpin presses the button once more, another minute and still nothing. Ozpin lets out a deep sigh. He heads over to the staircase.

He proceeds down the stairs, his every step echoes out into the empty staircase. Truthfully he always disliked this staircase. It seemed to go on and on. With the only thing designating his progress down was a number on the back wall. He could hear the sound of sloshing from the bottom of the staircase. 'Ah, Victor is here. I'll pass along the elevator is broken.' Ozpin reaches the bottom of the stairs, finding the janitor/handyman of Beacon Academy. "Hello, Victor."

"Mhm." The janitor returns a gruff grunt in acknowledgement. He was a large man, around six foot nine, well-built. The janitor has severe acid scars on the left side of his face. An eyepatch sat where his left eye would be. He was in a standard dark-green boiler suit. A dark grey cap on his head that read world's best dad stitched across the crown of it.

"Victor, is there any chance you could take a look at the elevator? It seems to be on the fritz once again."

Victor nods. "I'll take a look. I'm leaving early today, Maria has a recital."

Ozpin smiles in response. "Ah! Well, perhaps just take a look at the elevator tomorrow then. Wouldn't want you to miss such an important event."

Victor gives an apperceptive grunt. "Thank you, I'll take care of the elevator tomorrow."

"Beacon would fall apart without you, my friend. Take care." Ozpin said. The quiet janitor hums in response. Ozpin leaves the staircase out into the hallway. To the left was the elevator that went right up to his office. He went ahead, moving forward to leave. He spotted a few students speaking to each other, some even give a wave to Ozpin to which he gives a curt nod back in response. There were some that choose to stay behind in the academy, whether because they have nowhere else to go, or prefer living at the academy instead of their homes for whatever reason.

It makes no difference, they were all welcome at the academy.

Ozpin catches a bullhead to the city before taking a bus to midtown. He kept his head low, his stance completely ordinary. Just a well dressed man walking around, nothing wrong with that. He moves through crowds, snaking his way through.

He keeps on moving, heading into an alleyway when he reached Lotus Lane. He was right behind Junior's club. Surrounded by dumpsters and stale vomit. He looks up to the building to find a fire escape staircase attached to a window. The bottom of the stairs was fenced off, barbed wire rests at the top of the fences. Ozpin moves over to the locked door. He taps a part of the door where the lock would be located repeatedly with a bit of force and Aura. He does this for about 10 seconds before finishing it off with a flick, the internal lock crumbles from the surprising amount of force from the finger flick. With the lock broken, the door was free to open.

He straightens his trench coat as he looks to his side, checking his surroundings. With no one around he opens the door and proceeds up the fire escape staircase. A smirk on his face as he casually saunters up the staircase. He reaches the top of the stairs, the window closed. Unsurprising. The air was almost freezing, if Ozpin wasn't wearing his thick trench coat, he would most likely feel the cold in his old bones.

A huff of icy wind made him feel it regardless. Ozpin lets out a shiver. He digs his fingers into the bottom of the window, he pours Aura into his arm to pull it open with ease. He slinks into the building, right into a fancy hallway. He moves on, a quiet casual whistle as he lets himself into an office. The room filled with opulent items. An oil painting of Junior right behind an antique Valian red mahogany desk, intricate embossing on the corners. The desk had a standard computer and monitor, small and practical. Sat on the left side of the desk was a cup of chiselled marble with gold inlays, a long bottle of whiskey sat right next to it.

Ozpin continues on whistling as he goes around the side of the desk, pulling out the maroon leather chair and taking a seat, letting out a sigh as he does. It obviously wasn't for his size, having to adjust himself a bit to get comfortable. He flicks on the computer waiting for it to boot-up before he cracks the computer giving him administrator access. He clicks on an application and turns off the camera in Junior's office, deleting the last few minutes of footage to scrub any footage of him.

He flicks through some coded messages. He memorises the more illegal aspects, even if they were in coded and were vague, to his weary eyes, he noticed the meaning behind the messages instantly. The door to Junior's office opens, heavy footsteps stumbling in. Ozpin doesn't even bother looking up from the computer, instead finishing the last message. "Wha- ahhh, fuck." Junior is heard complaining to himself.

Ozpin looks up with an easy smile. "Hello, Mr Xiong." He spots Junior's right sleeve noticeably empty. Ozpin's brow quirks at that. "Now, now. What's caused an injury like that?"

Junior gruffly responds. "Nothing involving you." He rubs the remaining upper section of his right arm. A hospital wristband around his only wrist. "What do you want."

Ozpin points at the other side of the desk. "Take a seat, Mr Xiong." Junior seethes, his face twisted into an ugly frown, but he eventually relents. Taking a seat in the much smaller chair in comparison to his own chair at the head of the desk. Despite being in a smaller seat, he look down into Ozpin's eyes. "I'm sure you heard about the recent mass murder of Iron Crown. I want to know who perpetuate it."

Junior stiffens, instantly noticed by Ozpin. The gangster tries to put up a stoic face. "Got no idea who it is."

Ozpin gives a small huff of sardonic amusement. "Please, Mr Xiong. Don't lie to me or else."

"Or else what?"

"Or else I'll throw you in a dark solitary cell, no questions asked. I can then have someone replace you for this club, so that the public doesn't even notice your absence. I can call in a favour with the courts to rush a warrant through to search your properties and subsequently arrest you and place charges." Ozpin lists off, his tone completely casual.

Junior scoffs. "I ain't got anything that can get me jailed." Ozpin taps the computer in response, a smile on his face. Junior shakes his head. "What's on there is not enough to convict, and you know that."

Ozpin pouts his lips as he nods. Any half decent defence lawyer could have the coded messages tossed. "You're absolutely right, its not enough to convict but enough to place suspicion on you, enough suspicion that if say some very incriminating evidence all of sudden just appeared in your residence. I don't think anyone will even blink." He finishes with a sly grin.

Junior's face contorts in shocked fear. "Y-You can't do that! I've got rights!"

Ozpin snorts. "Please, don't act like a victim. You're a criminal, a relatively small-time and rather inconsequential one, which is why I've willingly ignored you for so long and why I'm willing to go back to ignoring you, so long as you don't perform some heinous crime and give me the information I want." He gives a shrug. "Otherwise, life in a cell is your upcoming future."

Junior shakes his head. "I know what that fucking psycho did to Iron Crown. If I squeal to you, he'll come back for me, and what he did to my Brothers' damn arm will be nothing more then a pleasant memory."

"We can just keep it between us, Mr Xiong. You have nothing to worry about, I will handle him and he won't even find out it from you."

Junior gives a mocking scoff. "Handle him? Fucker has a Semblance that lets pretty much ignore Aura like nothing."

Ozpin brows quirk in surprise. This was a first, someone with a Semblance that let them bypass Aura? Such a person would be monitored 24/7, feared in essentially every Huntsmen circle. He speaks, with a curious and slightly cautious tone. "Ignore Aura…? How?" Junior blinks and looks away. Ozpin speaks up. "How, Mr Xiong or should we continue this discussion in a pitch black cell?"

Junior's head snaps back to Ozpin, the gangster hatefully looking into Ozpin's hazel-brown eyes. The man shakes his head and lets out a sigh. "I don't know, alright. Best I can tell is his Semblance lets him create bolts of energy hot enough to ignore Aura." Junior hisses as he rubs the remaining nub of his right arm. Pain coursing through him as he could almost imagine his right arm being there again. "One shot, that's all it took… to melt my fucking arm off. Crazy bastard used it to keep my boys in line. Threatened to melt my leg off at the kneecap if I didn't give him what he wanted."

Ozpin's brow raises even more. Aura was capable of resisting extreme heat. One could theoretically swim in lava so long as they had Aura to spare. Of course, most wouldn't due to how quickly Aura would deplete and how the heat would be unbearably. "Did your Aura break?"

Junior shakes his head. "No, probably would have been dead if it did."

Ozpin hums in response. That meant the heat just bled through the Aura, however it was enough heat to melt someone's arm off evidently. Quite worrying, Ozpin had to admit. This mass murderer had skyrocketed in threat level, seems as though he would have to be very careful in taking down this individual. "Where did you meet this person?"

"…" Junior doesn't respond immediately, still rubbing the nub. A few moments pass before Junior speaks with a subdued tone. "Check the bar camera footage from yesterday, you'll spot that psycho instantly."

"Any other pertinent information relating to him?"

"No, he didn't give a name or anything to know him by."

"Think hard, Mr Xiong. You are absolutely positive that there is nothing else?"

"...He mentioned killing someone before coming to see me, said they told him about me, that's it."

Ozpin blinks. He would have to check in with the police chief, see if there was any other murders recently. "What time did he arrive?"

Junior pulls up his scroll. He tries to reach other end with his absent right arm. He lets out a depressed sigh. He offers it to Ozpin. "Do you mind?" Ozpin pulls the other end, the scroll opening up, to which Junior takes it back. "Thanks." He types in his password and swipes through his messages. "He spoke to the bartender at… 1:25."

Ozpin nods. He goes through the recordings of the previous night. He comes to a deadstop when he spots the figure at 1:22. He can see the towering person already, a stained burlap sack covering his face, grimy black armour coated in blood, and an odd device on his left wrist. He fast forwards it, watching the person walk to the bar and wait. Ozpin could see in the figure's stance, they were on edge. He sees Junior swagger his way up to the person. Ozpin could almost see the ego rolling off of Junior. It was almost night and day; the Junior then and the Junior now sitting opposite him. They spoke, Ozpin unable to hear with the loud music in the background. Although he couldn't hear anything, he could see Junior getting aggravated before suddenly the mass-murderer pulls out a… pistol? "What is that?" Where did he even pull that out from? Some well-hidden holster?

Junior leans across the table to look at the footage. He lets out a huff. "That's the gun he used to melt my arm. Looks like some goofy toy from a sci-fi show but…" His point was punctuated by flash of green. A bolt of plasma impacting Junior's arm, unbeknownst to the two, the Aura had blocked the plasma, however this meant that instead of passing through the arm like the plasma bolt would have done normally, it was concentrated entirely on the area that was protected by Aura. All of that heat and energy focused onto one area, resulting in a melted limb. "It ain't no toy…" Junior said, his voice hollow.

Ozpin grimaces as he watches Junior's arm hit the floor. He watches the rest of the footage, watching the figure push the weapon against Junior's kneecap. He could see Junior in the footage open his mouth. Ozpin still couldn't make anything out. "What did he ask you?"

Junior was slouched in the smaller seat. "Asked about Iron Crown, wanted to know intel on them, told him about the front they hav… had on Blair Street, it was the only thing I really knew about Iron Crown." Junior gulps as he remembers the interrogation from last night. How those cold blue eyes bored into his own like a drill mining Dust. "...wanted to lie, but those eyes… fuck. All I could think about was how little of a shit he gave. How me screaming my lungs out didn't mean a Brothers damn thing to him. Betcha he had the same eyes when he killed that group of Iron Crown. That… thing has no soul, no humanity. Just like a damn Grimm."

Ozpin stares at Junior, a frown set on his face. He turns back to the computer, rewinding the footage before taking out his scroll. He takes pictures of the mass-murderer, trying to get him at every angle possible. When he finishes, he stands up. The large chair pushed out as Ozpin walks around the side of the desk, walking cane in hand. "Well, Mr Xiong. I thank you for your cooperation, this has been enlightening. Have a good day." Ozpin leaves the office. Junior sits there in the guest seat, staring at the floor, rubbing his former arm absent-mindedly.

Ozpin left the same way he entered, out the window. It was far too early for anyone to be clubbing, but he would rather not risk it. Didn't want any potential party-goers or even employees recognising him coming out of the management area of the club. Last thing he needed was to give his political rival ammunition against him.

So, he slinks out of the window, closing it behind before heading down the steps. He pulls out his scroll, as he strolls out of alleyway. He dials the Chief of Vale Police. The phone rings for a moment before going silent, a voice coming through.

"Mr Ozpin. Good timing, I was just about to call you about some information relating to that Iron Crown case as you requested."

"Oh? Did some form of evidence come in?"

The police chief continues on speaking. "Eh, in a way. We had another mass murder the same night as the Iron Crown murders. Group of gangbangers called 8th Avenue Shadows. Whole group is dead. All but one of them was killed via bullet to the head. Whoever did it is experienced. Precise and quick shots, someone with experience in wetwork. Now the Shadows like I said were a bunch of gangbangers, just your local street trash rolled up into one trash-can. Not a group that would really warrant a tactical extermination."

Ozpin hums in thought. Two mass murders in one night? Either this was a very dark coincidence or his Iron Crown mass murderer had struck twice, thrice in Junior's case. "How odd, but I don't see how this relates to the Iron Crown mass murder, horrific as it is."

The chief lets out a sigh. "Getting to that. Ballistics just came back about ten minutes ago, they have… an interesting report about the bullets used in the 8th Avenue murders."

"Interesting how?" The headmaster asked.

"Sadly we couldn't find the casings however, we were able to get residue and the bullet itself. Ballistics determined the bullets used were 10mm rounds, not rare, however… it didn't have Dust in it."

Ozpin blinks. Shock clears on his face as his brows rise. His curiosity was now piqued. "Say again?"

"You heard me right, the bullets didn't use Dust at all, instead some mixture with saltpetre and some other shit. This is where it gets weirder. Same bullets that killed 8th Avenue Shadows, was the exact same calibre bullet used to execute that one Iron Crown kid. Bullet even had the same weird mixture, no Dust to be found just that weird chemical mixture."

"So, this would imply that, whoever killed 8th Avenue Shadows is also responsible for the… butchering of the Iron Crown members."

"Definitely points to it, if not outright confirms it. In all my years, I have never ever seen another bullet use saltpetre and some other grounded stuff as a substitute for Dust, so it's damn near certain that its the same person."

"Thank you for passing this along. This will be a great help to me, Mr Coby."

"Of course, sir. I hope if you figure anything out, you'll pass along to me?" The police chief had a sense of hope in his voice. Ozpin couldn't blame him. He had no doubt that with the recent mass murders, a fire had been lit under the chief's ass. The public screaming at him to bring in this psychotic serial killer before they hurt someone else, someone innocent.

"Should I find any relevant information, I will pass it along." That was a lie, Ozpin wasn't going to tell him anything. He wasn't going to risk police officers on trying to detain someone with a semblance dangerous enough they could kill a Huntsmen in one shot. He'll have the situation handled then give off the criminal to the police chief. That way no innocents officers lives were put in danger and the chief of the police gets to quieten the critics on his shoulders.

He flicks over a message to a certain Huntsman. Hopefully they were in range with a radio tower.

{-How soon can you get back to Beacon?}

{Qrow: Probably around 10, y?}

Seem he was lucky this time, or perhaps Qrow was unlucky to get this text.

{-AAU mass murderer running around, has a very dangerous Semblance that can bypass Aura and kill someone in one shot. Need you to track him down and bring him into custody.}

{Qrow: Always give me the fun jobs don't you? I'll fly over quick as possible.}

Ozpin snorts at the double meaning. He makes his way back to Beacon, or at least he was before that nutty smell hit his nostrils, making him come to a stop. He turns his head to find a coffee shop, right across the street. A small number of people waiting in the store. A fancy sign with the rather simple name of Lotus Lane Coffee Shop.

His ravenous craving reared its head, the siren call that was the intoxicating smell of the coffee shop. Perfect blends of nutty coffees mixed with the smell of fresh bagels.

He tore his head away, he told himself he had to get back to Beacon, and he could have coffee there but that scent, it was like a seductress, tempting him with its earthly essence. Ozpin gives one longing gaze at the shop, before letting out a sigh. He pops into the shop, the jingle of the door ringing out.

He'll get a quick coffee and a bagel, unlikely he'll ever return here.

Qrow walks up to Ozpin's office, grumbling about the elevator the whole way up. He enters into the room, as expected Ozpin was at his desk. "Lift is broken." Ozpin had went ahead and printed every picture he took of Junior's attacker. The pictures spread across the desk. A coffee cup and an empty bag with the scent of bagels away from the pictures, so as to not ruin it.

Ozpin hums in response. "Already informed Victor, he'll take a look at it tomorrow."

Qrow lets out a grumble, pulling out his flask. "Could of informed me, would have just flown into your office instead of taking that horror set you call a staircase." He takes a swig of the flask before closing it and planting it away.

"Ah yes, because you being seen leaving my office but never entering won't be suspicious at all."

Qrow doesn't respond to that, instead walking up to Ozpin's desk. He looks down at the pictures. His eyes widen in surprise. "Oh, shit."

Ozpin looks up wiith a confused look. "What?"

Qrow takes one of the pictures, lifting it up. He stares at it intently. "I… might have already seen this kid."

Ozpin's eyes narrow. That's an odd word to use for a mass murderer. "Kid?"

"Yeah, kid's probably around Yang's age, maybe a year or two older. Met him back in Vinves, came from the Grimmlands apparently." Qrow index finger points out. "He took a headhunter bounty and a nest extermination bounty. Killed the bandit leader in a pretty gruesome manner."

Ozpin hums in response. "Is he actually a Grimmlander or is it just a cover?"

Qrow shrugs. "He came from the direction of Grimmlands from what I heard, no idea if its true or not."

"If he truly is a Grimmlander… then he would have no documents except for a visitor visa, unless he snuck into the city." He would check into files, check with the immigration office for any new arrivals that match the pictures he had. He opens his mouth to speak, asking Qrow a question. "How was the bandit leader's death gruesome?"

Qrow frowns just a bit. "Well, from what I heard. He melted the bandit leader's torso, as well as his leg. Wanted to check it out myself but wildlife fucking chewed that body to the bone, so not much I could glean from it." Qrow hums in thought, his thoughts back on the location of the bandit group's resting place. "He used a trap too, caught a few of a bandits off guard if the blood splatters and damage from the force was anything to go by."

Ozpin frowns. "...As I mentioned this individual is dangerous because they have Semblance that can kill someone in one shot regardless of Aura." Qrow nods at that, a grim look on his face. "It does not however break it, rather instead I believe the heat of the shot bleeds through the Aura and melts the victim."

Qrow gives a grimace. "Damn." He takes out his flask and pops it open, taking an another swig before closing it. "I stalked the psycho brat a bit, he gave me a gut feeling, looks like it was right once more."

"Do you have any more information to add about him?"

"He's experienced, I dunno about the whole Grimmlander thing but I can believe it. He moves like he's surrounded by enemies at all times. Every step is measured and every shot is calculated. Perceptive fucker too, I put him off just as much he put me off, even when I was watching him as a bird he was still on edge. He snapped around at one point, probably felt my eyes on him. Crazy brat shot at me when I was still a bird." Qrow scoffs. "Dick."

Ozpin huffs in amusement at the last word Qrow said. His smile turning into a straight line. "Did you see his Semblance in action?"

Qrow shakes his head. His lips twisting into a deep frown. "I… might have. I saw him switch from a pistol to some chainsaw sword on the fly, as if they just manifested in his hands."

Ozpin's eyes narrow. "Are you telling me, he has dual Semblances?" Such cases did happen, but they were exceedingly rare. Almost one in a one hundred million chance of actually having dual Semblances. Ozpin rubs his temple. That's where the mass murderer pulled that sci-fi looking pistol from at Junior's club. Their other Semblance. "Now that I think about it, I think I have seen him use his other Semblance as well." What are the chances? A dual Semblance and one of them is extremely lethal and the other allows him to carry a potential entire armoury's worth of weapons on his person. 'Brothers, is this some kind of joke?' Ozpin asked no-one.

"So, what's the plan?" Qrow asked, his lips still set in a deep frown.

His Semblance that let him ignore Aura seems to rely on the sci-fi pistol, after-all why not just use it for everyone, why not use the 10mm pistol and use his heat Semblance on it? Ozpin didn't know, perhaps it consumes Aura upon firing, perhaps it severely damages the gun he uses that he needs to make a special weapon just to resist the heat. Ozpin could make dozens of theories on it, each of them would require unique planning to prepare for it.

He couldn't send Qrow after the killer, not yet. "...We need more information on how his Semblances work, do you think you can spy on him? Figure out his weaknesses?"

Qrow gives a half-hearted shrug. "Like I said, fucker is perceptive. He felt someone watching him when I was in bird form so spying on him might not be possible."

Ozpin frowns, letting out a silent grumble. "We need intel, Qrow. If we go in not certain on his capabilities, then he might be able to easily kill you."

"Well, what are you planning?"

"...Watch him, but keep your distance and make sure his line of sight on you is obscured at all times. If he's already saw you once and is as perceptive and on edge as you say, he will take a second sighting of you in bird form as a threat."

"Any idea on where he is?"

Ozpin taps the picture with Junior in frame. "He had brutally interrogated Junior and mentally tortured the head of the Iron Crown Vale subsection for intel. I wholeheartedly believe, he is going to move onto the next Iron Crown presence he can find."

Qrow scoffs, giving a shrug. "I'm not exactly privy to all the secret little tea parties Iron Crown have got hanging around."

"Neither am I." Ozpin mutters out. "I'll going to do some digging into the killer's potential visitor's visa. If he does have one, I'll instantly be able to know when he leaves and where, you can intersect there and follow him. If not that, I can pull around some connections, ask about possible Iron Crown encampments and you hopefully catch him there, maybe even watch him attack the Iron Crown camp and see if there's anything to glean from his fighting."

"Is this gonna end up a capture or a kill job?"

Ozpin doesn't respond instantly. He weighs the question in his head, speaking. "Capture would be preferable. If we bring him in and hand him off to the police, that's a favour the chief will owe us. However this is an individual that what little we know about him makes him an extremely deadly threat, he could have a plethora of tricks and weapons up his sleeves that are even more dangerous." Ozpin shakes his head with vigour. "For now, just watch him. We'll decide how to handle him later, when we gather more information on him, until then no fighting with him."

Qrow nods in response. Knowing was half the battle, He already had a good view on the way the Grimmlander fought. Brutal and quick attacks aimed to put down the enemy fast. The way he killed the Alpha Boarbatusk also revealed he was able to adapt and use his surroundings to his advantage.

Qrow was sure he could beat him, but like Ozpin said. They don't know if he has any other tricks up his sleeves. 'Better not have a third Semblance.' Qrow thought with a grimace. "If that's everything, I'm going to go catch some sleep before I go stalking this crazy person." He turns around, stopping when Ozpin calls out.

"Ah! Actually his guns used something odd."

'Something odd?' Qrow parroted in his head. "Odd how?"

"It turns out the 10mm rounds he fired utilised a chemical mixture between saltpetre, sulphur, charcoal and lead."

Qrow makes a face at this. "...Weird but what does that mean to me?"

"Whenever he fires his 10mm or any other gun utilising these kind of bullets, the smell will be immediately recognisable and stick out. You'll be able to smell the sulphur. Just something I wanted to point out, maybe something you can use to detect him."

"So, if I smell sulphur, then that means he's been shooting recently right?"

"Most likely. I don't know if the smell would persist after being stored in his second Semblance but just something to keep in mind."

"Right, anything else to add?" Ozpin shakes his head to which Qrow nods and walks off, leaving the same way he entered. Ozpin was left alone in his office, grabbing his cup of coffee and taking a sip. The sweet nectar overwhelming his taste buds. He plants the cup down and stares at the pictures.

Finding him surely won't be that difficult, after all the young male was seven feet tall, his equipment was caked in blood and he had a burlap sack covering his face.

Not exactly a needle in a haystack.

Days went by. Alex had stolen clothes to wear so as to blend in, as well as washing the blood off his face with rainwater. Although he wanted to keep his 10mm on hand, he didn't want anyone questioning why a dirty stranger had a gun, so he kept only a combat knife hidden underneath the stolen clothes, not wanting to appear armed to any passing police officer.

In the three days he would regularly buy food from a local dinner he found not too far from the abandoned construction site. Unsurprisingly, the employees found him unnerving and weird; a tall, dirty, scarred boy who wouldn't take any booths except for the one in the corner of diner, even if it was already occupied. Alex would just wait silently in some corner or section where there wasn't people until the booth in the corner opened up for him.

When it did, he would order large potions and devour it like a rabid animal. He got looks of disgust from that, which resulted in him pacing himself next time to not draw attention onto himself.

When he was done eating he would go off and check near Blair street. He kept an eye out for any potential Iron Crown or shady individuals, but he saw nothing. When he saw nothing around Blair street for the third time he felt a bit confused. He expected something to happen, perhaps an increase in activity from Iron Crown. To show the world they were not taking this massacre sitting down

The only thing that seemed to come out of his butchering of the group was just dozens of news articles and people talking about it in the diner. Spreading rumours and telling their variation of a story they heard from a friend, or a brother, or a co-worker.

It made no sense.

Back in the Wasteland, when Alex would kill large raider gangs. He learned that you could force a reaction by killing a subgroup of the larger gang. Someone would eventually react, perhaps an overzealous leader that throws their weight around making them easy to assassinate, or perhaps one of the raiders as greedy as all the others but being a bit more confident, take the death of the subgroup as a chance to take over the gang for themselves and receive the lion's share of the spoils. A civil war within the gang itself, resulting in it being vulnerable to the Lone Wanderer.

An arsenal of tactics he learned fighting in the Wasteland. He assumed that something would shake loose from his slaughter.

But that was the Wasteland. This wasn't, He was in a more civilised place where the whole survival of the fittest thing didn't really exist, at least not like in the Wasteland.

He tried making his way back to the abandoned construction site, unknowingly to Alex however it was rush hour, dozens of people filtered onto the streets. Cars honking and so on. He rushes into a shadowed alleyway. The miserable dark grey skies hanging over head. He leans against the wall as he stares out into the street, so many people walking up and down. He even saw people sitting at bus shelter, confused on what they were doing.

A group of young people around Alex's age walk up to the bus shelter, coming to a stop right at it. The group laughing and talking.

"You lot wanna see that new Jackass movie?"

"Nah, man, fuck that. I want to see that new Nightcreep movie, I heard its good."

"Yeah, to be fair, the trailer for Nightcreep was sick. I want to see that. We can watch Jackass next Friday."

"Can we go Solstice first? I'm starving."

They continued on talking, the words complete gibberish to Alex. A spike of jealously went through him as he watched them. Their faces were clean and unblemished, not so much as a scratch on their youthful skin. Their eyes were bright and full of life, evidence of restful nights. Clothes without a stain and were proper.

They were normal.

He turned away, walking deeper into the alleyway. He didn't want to see those young adults any more, nor did he want to hear them. Every word they uttered just hammered in the point that he was nothing like them. Just a numb revenant that pushes himself for reasons he can't even be bothered to examine. It wouldn't matter what the reasons were, it didn't change the fact it still hurt to see how different he was.

A drop of water hits Alex's nose, causing him to look up into the grey skies. The dark concrete buildings looked like towering walls to him. The first drop was prelude, as the drops of water pick up in speeds, it pelters everything within clear view of the clouds; including Alex. He lets out a sigh as he looks down, the head of his hoodie providing minimal protection from the weather. He walks out the other end of the alleyway, thankfully less people on this side in comparison.

He dodges as many people as possible, trying his best to avoid large swathes of civilians walking home or going out into the city for a night-out. One young woman with bags under eyes, completely zoned out and just wanting to get home bumps into him accidentally, the Lone Wanderer almost pulls out the hidden combat knife on instinct to stab her. When they looked up at Alex's face to apologise they let out a squeak and quickly moved off, eyes full of terror. He stares for a moment, taking a calming breath before walking off. He realises most people actively avoided coming into his immediate person. Stepping around him and bending their bodies so their shoulders wouldn't impact him. As if his presence has kept the two sides separate. Perhaps it was the iron smell that stuck to him, or his intimidating stature, maybe even his hollow eyes.

It served a good purpose, as Alex was able to reach his temporary home without any more altercation with random cityfolk. He walks up the concrete stairs. The sound of rain smacking the cold concrete and rotting wood scaffolds. The bitter wind being pushed around into the open abandoned construction site made it sound like the howling cries of a dead spirit.

He moved to the top floor, sitting on the edge and staring into the city.

If there's no evidence of any Iron Crown activity in the city tomorrow then he would leave. Leave the city and search for that dock the Iron Crown leader mentioned.

He could handle one more day in the city.

End of Chapter 6.

Alex is on the verge of leaving Vale, not knowing Ozpin and Qrow are planning on stalking him until they gather enough information they can reliably take him down.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed. As usual please leave a review/comment whatever and I shall see y'all in the next one.

AAU: Active Aura User or AAU is a classification given to individuals that are capable of utilising Aura. Such individuals when living in under Kingdom rule must register that they are AAU. Generally most AAUs are affiliated with Huntsmen schools, or at least have a line of work relating to combat. Criminal AAUs are normally dealt with with either Huntsmen or Swat teams utilising armour piercing rounds to deal maximum damage against Aura.

Magic: The topic of magic is to this day is still discussed on what it exactly is between various researchers. The most popular theory is that magic is some form of special Aura only certain people are born with. Only those that are born with it can utilise it. Whether it be some form of shapeshifting or control over elements. It is impossible to tell if someone can use magic via examination due to the fact that like Aura is it not a biological function therefore cannot be spotted.

As such magic users are extremely rare as such the general public do not believe in it, and would assume any usage of magic is nothing more then a Semblance.