"Eric sweetie, please stop pulling at your collar, you'll mess up your tie again," a woman with short black hair chided streaked with red as she adjusted her teenage son's neck tie.
She stepped and looked him over, her silver eyes twinkling at how smart her son looked in his formal suit, apparently ignoring the clear unamusement on his face.
"Doesn't he look great Oscar?" she gushed to her husband who was clearly tugging at his collar as well but quickly stopped as he put on a smile.
"You bet Ruby!" he said cheerfully before glancing at Eric who looked ready to choke himself.
Eric hated wearing suits, they're stiff, they're stuffy and just overall uncomfortable. However it's not like he had much of a choice. Given the situation he'll put up with it. It was either this or babysit his little sister, and he'll be damned if he had to sit through another marathon of 'Pumpkin Pete's Adventures of Friendship' again.
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Elsewhere
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An Aged Qrow Branwen looked about ready to shoot himself as the little toddler before him clapped her hands and sang loudly to Pumpkin Pete's theme song.
"Go out and have fun, I said. I'll watch over the little tyke, I said…." he muttered to himself as he leaned back on the couch.
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'That's Papa Qrow's problem now….' he snickered to himself.
The Rose-Pines, Eric's family, minus his sister, Heather, are currently at a gallery showing at the museum of Vale where his parents, veteran Hunters, Ruby Rose and Oscar Pine are the guests of honor.
Admittedly Eric was getting kinda bored staring at ancient junk amidst all the guests 'Ooh' - ing and 'Aah' - ing at the exhibits.
His parents had been pulled away to chat with other guests, Ruby was showing off Crescent Rose to the other guest. Eric was currently mulling over the choices at the buffet table to see what deliciously fancy treat he could stuff his face with until it was time to leave. While he contemplated, he felt himself bump into a small body.
"Oop! Sorry about that!" he apologized as he looked down to see a young girl with long red hair and green eyes, in a white sparkly frock with a brown satin ribbon while she held a matching satin pouch.
The girl just shook her head and smiled, waving a bit before she skipped off.
Eric watched her leave before he shrugged and went back to mulling over his choices.
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The little girl skipped away through the crowds until she found herself in a hallway towards an unopened exhibit.
A smile formed on her face as she walked towards it, her eyes spying two Atlesian Guards standing on either side of a glass case, a light source illuminating a large single gold coin, resting on a red velvet pillow.
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Elsewhere in a security room, a bored looking guard was yawning as he scanned over the security feed when he saw movement on one particular screen.
Immediately he was at attention as he saw the Atlesian guards begin to approach something (or someone) off camera. Next thing he knew there was an orange flash and the two guards were sent flying back into view as the video feed suddenly cut.
With a gasp, he quickly placed a finger on his communicator to connect with all the guards.
"All units we have a hostile in That exhibit! The Atlesian units have been disconnected and visuals have been cut! Move out!"Â the guard announced as he pressed the alarm.
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Guests were startled as alarms went off.
"What's going on?!"Â a bewildered Eric asked.
At that moment, an Atlesian guard ran up over to them. "Sir, Ma'am, we could use some assistance. It's regarding that." The guard whispered to the couple in a low voice.
Ruby and Oscar immediately looked concerned as they nodded.
Ruby placed a hand on Crescent Rose which she pulled out of who knows where. Seriously though, Eric had no idea where she was keeping it.
"You ready Oscar?" Ruby asked as her husband tapped The Long Memory in his hand.
"Ready." Oscar said.
"Eric go wait in the car," Ruby ordered.
Eric's jaw dropped. "What! But I can help!" Eric in protest.
"You can help us by staying safe!" Ruby retorted.
Eric opened his mouth to say something but Ruby gave him 'The Stare'. The kind of stare that said "Cross me, I dare you!".
Eric immediately shrunk back. "Yes Ma'am….. "
Eric went to the exit but he stopped when he noticed the girl he bumped into earlier. She was walking to the back exit, fiddling with a gold coin. "That was easier than I thought~" She said as she merrily skipped along.
Eric stopped in his tracks. That voice sounded much huskier than a girl's voice should be….
'Something smells funky here….' Eric thought.
Being careful to stay out of sight, Eric stealthily followed the "girl" to the alley way. At one point, the "girl" paused and turned around, prompting Eric to quickly dive behind a dumpster. Spotting a piece of broken mirror on the ground next to him, Eric carefully slid it out to make sure he was in the clear.
Thankfully, the thief had turned away again, lifting up their pouch. Eric watched curiously as they opened the mouth of the pouch, he could see an orange glow shining from within.
"I've got the loot, my dear~"they said into the pouch as if speaking to someone while holding up the coin.
"And now, you're gonna give it back!"
The thief whipped their head around to see Eric standing at the entrance of the alley.
Lifting his coat a bit, Eric removed what appeared to be a folded cane with a silver handle as he flicked it out. The cane body itself extended into a short staff as Eric took his stance, brandishing the cane almost like a rapier, a stance he learned from his Aunt Weiss.
The thief rolled their eyes in disdain. "There's always gotta be one isn't there?"
Eric narrowed his eyes. "I'm not gonna ask again, return that coin Missy!"
"Oooh Tough Guy…" the thief said sarcastically twiddling fingers at Eric. "Whatcha gonna do Big Boy?"
Eric's eye twitched as the thief reached into the pouch, which glowed orange once more as they pulled out a cane of their own.
"You want it? Come and get it."
Eric growled as he leapt at the thief, thrusting his cane at them. The thief smirked as they parried the blow before smacking Eric's cane away and delivering a flurry of thrusts at the teen's torso.
Eric was only just barely able to block the attack but unfortunately some hits managed to breach his defense, causing him to slide back, winded and wincing a bit in pain.
The thief smirked as they twisted the handle of their cane, straightening the handle as they unsheathed a blade from the cane itself before leaping at Eric. The teen gasped as he quickly dodged the now duel wielding opponent while he parried some blows. The thief thrusted the blade at Eric, who was able to dodge by curling backwards and backflipping away.
Eric twirled his weapon in his hand before activating a mechanism which extended the cane further into a pole as the handle itself disconnected and reformed into a silver blade, effectively transforming the cane into a scythe.
Eric spun his newly transformed weapon about as he began a renewed attack on his opponent.
The thief's grin only grew as they parried every attack with ease.
Clash! Their weapons ended in a deadlock as the thief finally got a good look into Eric's eyes.
"You have silver eyes~" the thief noted with interest when Eric suddenly was able to break them apart and slashed his blade at the thief who jumped back.
The thief chuckled excitedly as if finally realizing something. "I see now! Such a small world this is! You're her Son!"
Eric clutched his scythe tighter, confused and a bit unnerved. "Wh-what are you talking about?! Who are you?!"
"Who am I? Oh where are my manners? Introductions!" the thief suddenly exclaimed as they grabbed their hair and dress before ripping them off and throwing them towards Eric who instinctively slashed them with his scythe.
When he finally got a clear view, the thief had on completely new attire. They were wearing a beige sweater, reddish-brown pants, and heeled boots. "Let me guess you're some crook wanting the coin to sell it on the black market." Eric said. The thief laughed.
"No, no, no sir. I'm The crook. You'll catch on." The thief said whiping out a bowler hat and bowing. "But you can call me Alexander."
'Wait, I heard that name in the news. They're calling him 'The Next Torchwick'. Eric thought.
"I believe we can agree that this evening was eventful but I have people to see and meet," Alexander said, reaching into his hat and pulling out a small object.
Eric lunged at Alexander but the thief grinned and pulled a pin on the object. Next thing Eric knew there was a bright flash of light, causing him to yell as he became disoriented by the sudden illumination to his eyes.
The teen groaned as he dropped his Scythe and rubbed his eyes, trying to recover faster as he strained to see through his now spotty vision.
Through the blurriness, Eric saw a flash of orange light and Alexander's silhouette gesturing a two fingered salute at him.
Next thing he knew, darkness….
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"Eric?! ERIC!"
Eric groaned a bit. His ears were still ringing but he could hear the familiar worried voices echoing and calling out his name.
The teen blearily opened his eyes to find his parents looking down at him, their faces clearly vexed before softening into relief.
"Oh thank goodness!" sighed Ruby as she hugged her son.
Still slightly disoriented, Eric's eyes slowly looked around to assess the situation. He was still in the alley, only this time his head was cushioned on his mother's lap, now being hugged tightly.
Just where was…
"Dammit!" exclaimed Eric as he out of his mother's arms and whipped his head around.
"Did you see him?! Where did he go?!"
"Eric?!" exclaimed Ruby slightly appalled when she felt her husband's hand on her shoulder.
Oscar gave her a reassuring smile as Ruby allowed him to take the lead.
Oscar stepped forward and turned his son towards himself.
"Eric, look at me. See who?" he asked calmly.
"Th-the thief! It was that crook! I saw him! I fought him!"
"Who?"
"Alexander!"
Oscar started to look like an inconvenience occurred. But Ruby looked a little more mad. "That crook tried to hurt my boy…." Ruby said quietly but full of anger.
"Honey… please calm down, " Oscar said with a hint of fear.
"Calm down! That no good crook tried to hurt our son! When I get my hands on him he'll regret the day he was born!" Ruby fumed until Oscar held up a chocolate chip cookie wrapped in a napkin.
"Babe, just take a deep breath and eat this cookie," Oscar said in a soothing tone.
Ruby heaved a sigh as she snatched the cookie from her husband's hand and stepped back.
Satisfied, Oscar turned back to Eric. "Now again, what happened?"
"The person who stole the coin was Alexander! I was walking back to the car when I saw him! I tried to get it back!"
Oscar nodded in understanding. "I believe you, son. We'll hand this matter over to the police. For now, let's go home ok?"
"But Dad-!"
"You've done enough Eric. Let's go home," Oscar in the calmest voice Eric had ever heard his dad spoke.
A gut feeling told him that he shouldn't press any further as Eric just nodded obediently as he followed his parents back to the car.
Unknown to them, Alex was watching from the top of a building, rolling the golden coin between his fingers before lifting up to get a good look at it.
"So close but better luck next time Red Jr. ~" he chuckled as he skipped away into the dark, whistling a song that echoed around.