AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth

Taiyang did not appreciate getting woken up at 2am. He especially didn't appreciate the fact it was dog barks that woke him.

But it was more than one dog, so he got up to have a look.

He wasn't too surprised to see Mercury already outside. He was surrounded by dogs and not friendly ones either. These ones were actually trying to bite him properly. They were trying to do him real harm.

Somehow, Tai couldn't say he was too surprised at that either.

But when happy-go-lucky Zwei was growling, snarling and trying to rip apart dogs that were at least three times his size…

What is going on here?

The problem Mercury was having was that he was obviously reluctant to kill them. He had pinned one under his knee and was nearly strangling another enough that it was letting out very high pitched whines. There were also five of them: three foxhounds, one black retriever and one bloodhound.

Hunting dogs.

Hunting was illegal on Patch. It was fine anywhere else in the kingdom of Vale save a few areas and Patch was one of them. Wildlife was such a good indicator of possible Grimm activity.

Now Tai was really angry.

There was rope in the shed. With all the dogs focused on trying to attack Mercury, it was very easy to lure them into a trap and tie them to different trees. It didn't stop their growling or snapping, but it kept them away at least.

It was over in seconds, just before Qrow came out.

Mercury let out a breath. "Thanks."

Tai patted his shoulder. He didn't have any injuries and his aura read fine. "Don't worry about it. But why were they attacking you?"

"No idea. I was meditating and when I opened my eyes, they were there. I didn't provoke them." His gaze went to the foxhound with a broken leg that was still trying to bite him. "But what do we do with them?"

That was a good question. These dogs all had collars; none were wild. Their owners were nowhere in sight though.

"I think setting them loose is a bad idea," Qrow commented as he sat next to Mercury. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"About that…"

Mercury was hesitating. Something was up here.

"Nightmare?" Tai guessed.

"Haven't had one since. Not normal right?" He shook his head. "I was meditating in my bedroom and then…" He glanced at the door. "Was that locked?" His head spun to the woods. "Later."

Tai couldn't see as well as Mercury, but he could make out human shapes. Whatever was bothering Mercury (possible sleepwalking but the door had been locked) could wait a few moments while he dealt with these guys. He was now in a very bad mood. There were four of them. Tai and Qrow stood up. Mercury remained sitting, shifting so he could cross his legs, looking all the more like a kid waiting to see another get scolded.

Tai raised an eyebrow at him.

Mercury's features shifted into annoyance and irritation. He was certainly feeling it.

Tai turned back to the men approaching at a run. The dogs' snaps and barks had changed to growls and snarls. They were much quieter. They definitely belonged to these guys.

"Can I help you?" Tai demanded, folding his arms angrily. He kept the rage close to the surface, but was careful not to let it out. Yet.

He could almost feel Qrow's anger as he stood tall next to him.

One stepped forward. He had a short range handgun (no attachments) and a hunting knife. Long trousers and ankle boots. All of them did. "These are our dogs. Why are they tied up?"

"They attacked my son," Qrow stated.

"We're looking for a fox. Black." That was a different one; his second in command. He looked at the dogs and followed their gaze to Mercury. "They can smell the fox on him. Where did it go?"

"Black?" Mercury asked. "There are no black foxes around here."

"Even if there were," Tai snarled, "I really don't like poaching. Part of why I like it here: it's quiet and no poaching."

"Get up in the middle of the night because some poaching dogs are trying to rip my son's head off," Qrow added with that forced calm tone. "Quite. Literally."

He was angry, but there was something else. He saw that spark. There was something else.

"They're harmless to people." He waved a hand. He glared at Mercury. "What did you do with the fox?"

"I haven't seen a fox in weeks." He glanced at the dogs. "Save the pup your dogs ripped to shreds."

"They followed its scent to that territory. Went a little too deep but still. You know where it is. Hiding it in the house are you?"

"What?" Tai growled. "Going to search it? That's not happening. Get off my property and take your dogs with you."

The leader and second were both staring at Mercury. "Fine. We'll find him when you let him out." He headed for the retriever.

Meditating; bedroom; woke up surrounded by hunting dogs; he's dressed for bed; no footprints away from the door; no pocket to hold the key-Oh.

Oh.

Well. Tai had only thought he was mad before.

The retriever broke free from his lax hold. It darted straight for Mercury.

The dog's head rolled on the ground. Qrow's sword dripped blood. Zwei patted the head to the feet of the leader. He was growling just like the other dogs were.

The men were still.

Qrow pointed with his sword to the canines. "Four dogs left." The bloody sword pointed at them. "Four of you." He spun the blade. "I could deal with them for you."

Tai cracked his knuckles. "Never. Come to Patch again. Never bother him again."

The youngest man, no younger than Tai, drew his knife. Obviously eager for a fight. "You bastard."

"Your killing machine," Tai countered. "My house."

"My son," Qrow added angrily.

The hunting dogs had obviously never been called off a hunt before. They would charge forward. Qrow would kill them. Hunting dogs took time to train and obey a new master. If they could kill the dogs, they could kill the poachers.

Zwei barked and bared his teeth. He took a step before clawing at the ground.

Tai had never seen Zwei act like that.

"He shouldn't have been out in the middle of the night to hide foxes-"

Qrow shot the foxhound with a broken leg. "Attacks people, including kids. You were nowhere near. No one's going to complain. Want to lose another one?"

Tai didn't approve of that. He would discuss it later. Right now, he wasn't complaining. Too much. At least it was Mercury and not Ruby that just saw that.

These dogs though…

They would be put down anyway.

"Want to leave the mutts…" Tai shrugged. "Well, we'll get rid of them if you want. What I want, right now, is for you get off Patch."

For a moment, they only shifted a little.

Then they walked to their dogs, making very sure their weapons were visible and out of their reach. They untied the dogs and threw all their weight on the newly attached leads. Even then, it took one of them taking a plant out of a bag to get them on a different track. Not a word exchanged. They didn't look at Tai or Qrow.

They ignored the corpses.

Once they were out of Mercury's sight, he let out a breath. "Would I have been in trouble if I killed them?"

"No," Qrow replied. "Go back inside. I want to check something."

"Don't forget to close the doors and windows," Mercury agreed. He stood up, stretched and walked through the front door with Zwei trotting after him happily.

Tai raised an eyebrow at Qrow. "Is that possible?"

Qrow shrugged, clearly understanding his question. "No idea. I would have done anything Tai. Maybe it happened. Would explain why he doesn't remember. What are we doing with the dogs?"

"Drop them in the sea. I'll do that after we're sure."

Mercury was in the front room, sitting on the floor. Zwei was next to him, as cheerful as ever. Tai and Qrow made a quick circle of the house, making sure all the doors and windows were closed. It might not work given his Semblance, but it was something. There was enough space in the living room and kitchen; he shouldn't feel crowded.

Qrow sat opposite him. Tai leaned against the couch.

"Ready?"

"Ready." He closed his eyes.

Not a second later…

Tai raised an eyebrow. "Well. What do you know?"

Qrow chuckled. "Guess it's another trip to Beacon for him."

SMASH

"He never did like that vase."

"He's still cleaning it up." At least it wasn't one that had flowers in and to be fair, Mercury's complaint had always been the rickety table it had been on.

…

"How long do you think?"

"You took five hours. Him…"

CRASH

"Who knows?"

Qrow sighed. "This is going to be a long few hours. It's like having a new baby in the house."

Honestly, Tai thought he would take the baby right now. They were somewhat predictable and didn't have a Semblance that allowed them to walk through walls. Which he didn't seem to be using. Yet.

"At least he's not going to get out of the front door."

Hopefully.

At least Zwei seemed to be able to control him somewhat. The dog was having a great time.

Jaune landed on his back.

It was one thing to lose in a fist fight to Yang. To lose one to Ruby…

"Am I getting worse or are you getting better?"

Ruby giggled. "Private lessons every weekend. I have a good teacher." Jaune gave her a look. "Best two out of three?"

"You're on."

Ruby didn't hit hard. In fact, Jaune could barely feel it. The problem was that she was too fast to hit. She was learning to use the speed aspect of her Semblance in even shorter bursts to dodge blows. If she hit you enough times, she won. She kept chipping away until the wall collapsed.

Jaune was nowhere near as fast. He could decapitate an Ursa with ease, but he could not hit her. He needed to change his angle. Ruby outmatched him in speed, but he lasted longer with endurance. She also did the most damage when he grabbed her.

Scratch normal tactics. Think dirty. Weekends, so either her father or Mercury is teaching her. If it's Mercury, who deals with reversals as much as attacks, then…

"Oomph."

"Ha! I win."

Ruby scowled. "We're on best two out of three, remember?"

"Oh, I remember." He readied himself again. He knew how she fought now. It wasn't like anyone who fought at Beacon and was very different to how Yang fought and how Mercury liked to fight.

Ruby's style was primarily self-defence. There are some points that attack but they were few and far between and she often made a mistake like a foot a few centimetres in the wrong place. That was not what she had been practicing. She couldn't have had many lessons, but those ones were only on protection if she lost Crescent Rose. They would change later, but this obviously wasn't natural. She was very focused.

Ruby hit the ground again.

"Best two out of three goes to me," Jaune grinned. He offered a hand up. She took it and he tugged her up. "Three out of five?"

"You're on."

Ruby didn't last much longer this time either. It didn't help that she was using her Semblance in a way she hadn't really practiced much, so she was getting tired out much quicker. For someone who was designed to dodge blows rather than take them…

Well. It was actually easy for Jaune.

Ruby's aura was now in the red and he still had 80.

Nora grinned and elbowed Pyrrha. "Looks like your training really paid off."

Pyrrha went a little red. Jaune coughed and looked away. She had every right to be proud of him. Melody too as she had helped with hand to hand as well. He was years off Yang, but doing well.

"Well Ruby, I don't think you're ready for a wrestling match."

Ruby grumbled.

"You know that third year…" Melody looked at Emerald. "What was her name?"

"Saturn."

"Saturn started this fight club thing. Hand to hand combat only. No weapons allowed. I signed up, went to last week and loved it." She shrugged with a smile. "I lost every round, but I learned a lot. The best there is a first year. She's going to go far in the tournament if they ever disarm her."

Ruby perked up. "What weapon does she use? Normally."

"A sword of some kind. It's kind of hooked at the end."

"Probably got disarmed a lot when she was starting out," Emerald commented.

"Probably," Jaune agreed. "Now get down here Emerald. It's your turn."

With a roll of the eyes and a slight smile, Emerald came down to the arena. High on his success against Ruby, Jaune readied himself for a tougher challenge. She was two years older and was more life experienced.

He was expecting a rough fight.

What he wasn't expecting was how badly he lost.

"What just happened?"

Emerald chuckled. "Best two out of three?"

"I'll pass right now." Jaune pushed himself to his feet, waving Emerald's hand away. "Maybe I'll sign up. Who's next?"

"Me!" Nora sang. Jaune chucked at Emerald's brief closed eyes. She was in for a much rougher fight.

This may be hand to hand combat training, but it was also winner stays on. It had taken Ren, Weiss and finally Jaune to take Pyrrha out. The only one that hadn't had a go yet other than Nora was Blake, who was back in Menagerie.

A few people had disappeared with her.

Jaune sighed as he sat down. Blake had the weight of the world on her shoulders and there wasn't anything he could do to help.

"Jaune?"

"Hmm?" It took him a moment to realise Pyrrha has said something. "Sorry. I was miles away."

"I noticed. Blake or Mercury?"

"Blake. I saw Mercury yesterday. He was working at the new escape rooms, although my sister tells me he's at the mechanics too."

"I wouldn't trust him with my music player," Ren said completely stoic.

Jaune snorted. "No. Blake. Have you noticed a few students missing?"

"Three," Pyrrha nodded. "I did see them last week, so they still want to be Huntsmen. Coral asked me about History the other day."

"Beacon can be demanding, but it's also designed to be flexible," Weiss noted, fiddling with Dust cartridges. "It's one of the reasons I wanted to attend here rather than Atlas. It makes it a lot easier for personal studies."

Weiss had been studying finances and business. With Whitley's death, Weiss became the only one that could inherit the family business. After so long trying to get away with it, she was now trying to find a way to balance it.

With more time on his hands than some of his friends, Jaune contributed more to the background of their study sessions with Pyrrha's help. Honestly, he found it much easier to focus on non-combat topics then.

But he wasn't happy their twelve had dropped down to ten, sometimes nine.

He also wasn't happy with the topic he had discussed with Mercury. He could see why he talked about it with him rather than his family. Or BRN for that matter.

Either way, the last day of the month was going to be horrible.

Emerald had won.

Only now did it occur to Jaune had very rarely seen Emerald fight. She wasn't even on half aura. That brought it back to Pyrrha.

"I do like a challenge," Pyrrha smiled as she headed down.

Nora plopped down in her spot. "Nothing like a good fight to bring out an appetite."

"We'll hit the town after we've showered." Jaune stretched his arms out. Then he sighed.

"Semblance trouble?" Ren asked sympathetically.

"I just…I can't see how it's taken me so long."

"Maybe you haven't been put in the right situation to use it. Sometimes it is not used for combat. There's no shame in finding it on a mission nothing to do with anything."

"Thanks." It didn't help; they had been telling him that since he had admitted it to them. At least they had never made fun of him for it.

"We start taking more missions next year." Weiss glanced at him. "We can get a lot of variety then, if you think it will help."

"Maybe."

Had Pyrrha just lost to Emerald?

They shook hands and Pyrrha headed back to the seats. A quick glance exchange and Ren went down.

"Emerald was holding back," Pyrrha noted as she sat down. She looked at his face and smiled at him. "We can only get better Jaune."

"Yeah." He cleared his throat. "Can we talk? Outside?"

"Sure."

They got curious looks, even an evil grin from Nora until it faded into a frown. Maybe he hadn't schooled his face well enough. But they didn't follow and that was enough for him.

A quick glance around and he was satisfied.

"What's wrong Jaune?" Pyrrha asked gently.

Jaune let out a sigh. "I spoke to Mercury yesterday. More serious actually. Zephyr…He's being buried weekend after next." He glanced back at the classroom. "I don't know how to tell the others. He hasn't even told his girls. Left me to do it."

Pyrrha closed her eyes and nodded slightly. "Right. I can see why. They're overjoyed to see him every weekend." Her eyes met his. "I'm going to go, if only…"

"Yeah." He resisted the urge to hit the wall. "I just…How do I tell them? It was only when they came back that we knew he was dead. We never got a chance to know him. Properly. I just…" His head hit the wall. "One at a time or together?"

"I think sooner would be better. Especially if it's the weekend after the next. Sometime this week. Perhaps after a trip to see Mercury at the escape rooms. I heard Melody wanted to visit there."

"Throwing him under the bus there. Rather him than me."

"Mercury knew him best. He's organising the funeral. I think we should all be together. The eleven of us."

Jaune rubbed his eyes. His hand dropped. "Right. So…Where do we go from here?"

Pyrrha took his hand. "Jaune…We'll move on. Okay? Zephyr…He is…was…a good friend. That's what I'll remember. What about you?"

"I didn't know another Zephyr. It just…" He swallowed. "Right. Not a weekend. Blake said she'll be back next week at the latest. What if we book the last slot on Mercury's shift on Wednesday, he can come out to dinner with us after and then…"

"Sounds okay. Melody also told me she was told by Daisy to keep an eye on Violet."

"Violet?" Jaune thought. "Her cousin, right?"

"Yeah."

"Right."

He only just noticed now, but they seemed to have become the ones who look after all the students in the school. Few teenagers liked talking to a teacher. Jaune had become the secret keeper for Flash (a third year) and Wake (first year).

How did that happen?

Jaune let a small smile hit his lips. "Should probably get back in there before one of them brings the place down."

Pyrrha smiled back. "You would think they would get more mature with age."

Why was there a mini explosion when they weren't using weapons?

"You would think," Jaune agreed idly. He swallowed. "Wednesday. Let's get back to it."

It wasn't a surprise. Many people in Menagerie had relatives in the White Fang.

At least their passiveness extended to the people running away that had committed violent crimes. They didn't care as long as they kept to themselves. It was perfect for a safe house, provided that those twins didn't visit.

The twins that seemed to have dropped off the face of Menagerie, but then much of the continent wasn't inhabited and was desert. Maybe they lived out there.

Blake stepped onto the balcony. Her ears flickered at the sudden rush of wind.

It was warm out tonight.

There was a thump on the railing behind her. She glanced back, but didn't see anything. That told her who it was. She turned away from her and took a deep breath.

"I was beginning to think you weren't in Menagerie anymore Ilia."

Another thump. She was on the balcony now.

"You should have stayed away Blake. Vale was good for you. There's nothing for you here."

"My parents. My people. That's more than enough."

"Your people? You ran Blake."

Blake thought before she replied. Ilia didn't sound angry or accusatory. It was as if she was stating a fact. That threw Blake a bit but she didn't show it to her old friend.

"I ran from the White Fang. I didn't run from my people. There is a difference Ilia."

"We stand up for them. These humans…They don't see us. They see monsters. Are we supposed to just put up with it?"

"If the monsters are all they see, then yes." Blake turned around. She couldn't see Ilia's eyes; she had never seen that mask before. For moment, that mask changed into something else. A skeleton rather than a Grimm. "You're right. Humans see us as monsters. Why?"

"Because that's what they are. It's too hard to look at us and see us. It's far easier for them to hate us if they don't look at us as people. As equals."

"You didn't answer my question." Blake leaned against the bannister and kept her eyes on the floor. It was easier than looking at Ilia. "Humans see the Faunus as monsters because that's how the ones in the White Fang behave. We both know that. The others hide their traits. They hide away from humans. They only see a small group of us, not all of us. It's easy to make rules when there are few to break them. Easy to call them 'different'."

"They started it. How many Blake? How many Faunus kids were just playing when humans abused them? Hit them? I was their friend for months and they turned on me. Just for that. They don't listen to words. They listen to violence. Or they don't listen at all."

"Bullies always do." Blake forced her eyes up. "Not all of them are bullies. Some stand up for us."

Her colours turn red. Anger. But she still spoke completely calmly. "And the others? They stand by and let it happen. They are no better."

"Neither are the Faunus."

Purple. Confusion. She didn't say anything so Blake continued.

"The Faunus here. They came here to get away from everything. I can't blame them for that. But they are guilty of the same thing the humans are: standing back and allowing it to happen. Humans and Faunus are the same in that regard. We the same in a lot of things."

Back to normal. "We are not treated the same."

"I was. At the Vytal Festival I was. One of my best friends is the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. She cheered for me just as much as any Faunus there."

She wasn't just red now. She was absolutely furious. "Those mines killed my parents."

"And who else? Were there any humans in that accident? People assume that Faunus are all that work for Schnee, but my friend got the unaltered reports. Their certainly treated worse, but that's from the other workers and everyone upstairs turns a blind eye. Media is changed so we are blamed and the White Fang make that very easy to do."

Mercury had told her some people were interested in the Schnee mines and the White Fang often worked as their attack dogs. He didn't say who 'they' was and Blake didn't ask. Didn't care. Adam was very strong willed; he may have been forced into it at the beginning, but he was a very eager participant now.

Blake used to think Adam was the only problem.

Then she met the magicals on Earth and she began to understand a much deeper issue. A group of Death Eaters vs hundreds of magicals. It shouldn't have even been an issue. But people hid. They didn't fight. A handful of Death Eaters nearly wiped out hundreds of magicals.

All of a sudden, it wasn't clear cut.

In many ways, it was similar to here.

Blake didn't want a war between Faunus and humans.

"You're one of them now. You're making excuses for them."

Blake shook her head. That should sting, but it was the first emotion she had actually heard. "I know someone whose father cut his Faunus ears off with a pair of scissors, solely so he wouldn't be discriminated against. Was he right or wrong to?"

That was taken very out of context Blake knew, but that always intrigued her. He had shown her what very little was left and had told her he had seen a few Faunus in a similar condition. Emerald was a street kid and she had said the same. They both knew what a Faunus faced. But under pressure, they both responded the exact same way.

Back to purple. "Is it wrong for a parent to want the best for their kid?"

"This parent was human and deliberately had a Faunus kid. Then amputated his Faunus traits. Does that make the kid human?"

"And they will not treat him any different than from a human. Because he isn't one of us anymore."

"He doesn't like bullies, regardless of whether they are human or Faunus. Most of the people at Beacon are the same. Some bully the bullies that bully Faunus. It's amazing what people will do to each other if they think they had a good reason." Blake looked Ilia in the face then. "Humans and Faunus both."

Normal colour now. "Peace didn't work Blake. Your father tried that. We tried that. Violence is working-"

"But we're still not equals," Blake interrupted calmly. "They still fear us, but they see us as monsters rather than lower beings. It's not any better. The abuse continues but now…Now, they have a reason. And we gave it to them."

"So now it's our fault?"

"No. Some humans are willing to stand up for us. But if the only Faunus willing to stand up for themselves are in the White Fang, what does that make us? We can change it Ilia, but violence isn't the answer."

"You think I don't know that Blake? But if nothing else works, that's all we're left with. What humans have made us into."

Ilia hopped on the bannister behind her, using that momentum to leap onto the roof and into the darkness.

Blake sighed.

The White Fang was part of the problem.

But there was far more to it.

And Ilia had very good points.

"Blake?"

Blake blinked and looked at her mother. "Sorry. Just needed some air."

"Like your father. Dinner's ready if you want it."

"Yeah."

"Are you okay?"

"…Fine. It's just not occurred to me I'm not what I used to be."

"Are you happy with who you are now or who you were then?"

Blake couldn't answer.

"I'm proud of both of you."

"Where do we find these idiots?" Mercury chuckled.

"Perk of the job," Scarlett smiled as she watched over another group. "So what you got? These guys don't seem to understand that they haven't got a four digit combination yet and they are trying variations of the three combo they have."

"They haven't figured out it's a mirror image yet and they're four supermodel obsessed teenage girls."

"Ouch."

Scarlett offered him a chocolate. He shook his head and leaned back in his chair. He typed out 'Hint?' for their screens and they responded as if they were scandalised. Put these escape rooms on the air and it would make a great TV show.

So far the best group he had had were a bunch of eleven year olds. They would earn a lot of money when they grew up. They obviously hadn't got it from their parents, though to be fair they had been far from the worst.

Mercury switched over to the other room he was supervising. They had gotten out of the first room and were making good progress on the second. The problem was that they had left their needed clue in the first room.

"No problems here. How about you?"

Scarlett leaned forward towards her screen. "Not sure yet."

Mercury glanced around. "The stag party or the family?"

"The stag party."

"They're doing the heist one, right?"

"Yeah and one's scanning the ceiling tiles a little too much."

A chuckle escaped him. "Yeah, like my first shift for that one. To be fair, it was the kids that were too young to know better and the parents weren't paying much attention. Pulled them down when I pointed it out."

"One of the reasonable parents then."

Mercury was still laughing a little as he turned back to his screens.

He had decided not to return to Beacon, but then Qrow had told him what he would need to do if he wanted to graduate early. He liked that and started to work towards it. He had expected it to be far more difficult to get a job, never mind two part-times so fast, but apparently they were desperate for help. Escape rooms while school was in session. Mechanics and his bonus was knowing how a motorbike ran as well as a car. He had Yang to thank for that one. Weekends not needed as they had staff for then.

Oobleck and Peach had compiled questions and essays for him to work through which he sent off with the girls when he was done. Goodwitch and Port were already happy enough with him, so no work there. He still had time for his own little projects.

Though he would have to bite the bullet when he got back and ask Tai to show him how to knit. His five attempts on his own were just wasting material.

Now he was looking for somewhere to test his new weapon. A few more tweaks and that would be finished. Maybe he could check some of the mission boards next week. Although, it would be easier to talk to Ozpin and get RMEY some field experience.

"Are you Smarter than a Ten Year Old or Pointless?"

Mercury snorted. "Have you seen how smart those kids are? Be a much better show if they picked average kids rather than geniuses. Still, that's what I'd go with. Too much luck with Pointless. You?"

"Definitely Pointless. For that exact reason." Scarlett growled. "And now they're pushing and ignoring me. Excuse me." She pushed herself off the chair and walked out.

Mercury rolled his eyes and checked on her other group. They were doing fine so he headed back to his station. He stopped at the timetable. According to that, he had one more left. He was sure they had been the last.

Rolling his eyes, he skimmed through the book to find…'Beacon students: 10. Mercury'

"Of course they did," Mercury groaned as he collapsed back into his seat.

Even more annoyingly, he couldn't record it. At least he got to see them running around like headless chickens. A smirk grew. This was going to be entertaining.

Scarlett rubbed her head as she came back in. "Days like this the fun isn't worth the headache."

"Can't be many of those." He pointed to the book. "When did the Beacon students book?"

"Last night." She rolled her chair to drop the chocolates back in the fridge. "Drink?"

"No thanks."

She shrugged. "Yeah, someone called Jaune rang and booked two rooms. Asked for your last slot oddly enough. Friends of yours?"

Last slot. That meant they had plans for him after it. "Yeah, I attended Beacon last year. Can I leave you to lock up today?"

"Sure."

"Still no recording allowed?"

"Afraid not. It is always the most annoying when you know them."

"Tell me about it."

According to the clock, their slot started in twenty minutes. So they would be here in ten.

"They're not going to rip the place apart, are they?"

Mercury was about to deny it when he actually thought about it. "Not intentionally." Stuff did tend to get blown up around them a lot.

"They have their aura unlocked. Had to ask. That's what happened to the last escape rooms."

That must have been a while ago. "Which school? Beacon?"

"Nah. Shade. Vytal Festival five years ago."

"Sue them?"

"Of course not. Accidents happen. The school paid out before the lawyers got involved."

That sounded odd. "Who got hurt?"

"Only the one who blew it up. Apparently forgot to engage their aura."

"Must be a first year. Little actual field experience." They were now on the final door. "Looks like the jungle lot are done." Which meant that Mercury had to actually get up and greet them.

He would put up with the socialising. The hilarity of many of their mistakes more than made up for it.

These guys weren't too bad either.

"How'd we do?" The youngest asked. Belle if he remembered right.

"Pretty good." He led the way back to the main lobby. "In the top half. It takes most over an hour to get out of there. How was it?"

Jay (?), teenage brother, shook his head with a long breath. "Never felt like so much of an idiot when we figured out some of those."

That was the most common response Mercury got.

"We got out," Belle cheered, bouncing on her heels. He would like to guess she was about ten.

"Yes you did," Mercury agreed. "Not everyone does." In the hour and a half anyway.

"What do you with them?"

"Feeds them to his dog," Jay stated with a grin.

"Oh please. My dog has better taste than that." The parents were frowning at Jay but Belle was giggling.

"Your Beowulf?"

"Enough Jay," the mother snapped. "Sorry about them."

Mercury waved a hand. "Don't worry about it. Have any problems or anything you'd like to mention?"

"No. It was a very enjoyable experience. I'll be sure to book again."

"Have a nice day." Good. These guys weren't hanging around.

"Bye mister!" Belle waved as she disappeared in the street. Her family left not soon after.

"Having fun there Mercury?"

And of course they just had to arrive. "Yeah. Tons." Emerald had used her Semblance to ask him that. "Seriously? Couldn't you guys have picked a day I wasn't working?"

Yang crossed her arms. "Of course not. Besides, what are you complaining about? You get to watch us being idiots."

"I have a whole scroll of you lot being idiots."

"You're not allowed to add this one," Nora sang.

"We'll take you out to dinner afterwards," Ren tagged on.

Mercury had guessed something like that the moment he saw that memo in the timetable. He just sighed and stepped back to allow them in. "Lobby's closest room up the stairs. I need to reset one of the rooms. You'll have to wait."

Nora gave a mock salute and skipped up the steps. Ren and Blake gave him a nod as they passed. All said hello, but he while he returned it his thoughts were elsewhere. Jaune and Pyrrha were the last to enter. Mercury raised an eyebrow at them. Jaune shook his head slightly.

Right. So we need to tell them about the funeral.

He had kind of been hoping to avoid that scene.

At least with the family, they had left the pieces out where he could find them easily. He had made a mental note while watching them complete it and so far had yet to be wrong. Never took him more than five minutes at the longest. One final sweep and he headed out, bumping into Scarlett on the way.

"Room clear?"

She smiled at him. "They only asked for two rooms. They didn't care which ones."

"Right. I'm going to leave as soon as they're done."

"I thought you might. If you're lucky, you might get the full pay for today."

"I'm not too fussed about the money." At the moment, he did not want an argument with his boss. He needed the hours more than the money and this was a fun job.

"I won't tell him that. You can have these two groups."

"Well thanks."

"Any of them your old teammates?"

"Yeah. Three of the girls."

"Good grief. You'll definitely get the full pay."

Mercury scoffed and headed back to the lobby, shaking his head a little. He vaguely remembered a few people asking how he managed on a team with three girls. He had always replied he had no trouble telling what was his. They had given him confused and disbelieving looks. He knew what they were really asking and he had no interest in entertaining them.

Right now, the ten were entertaining a very tame game of 'I Never'. Mercury wanted to stop that game fast before it escalated. At least they hadn't ever pushed him to play.

"Okay guys. Rooms are ready. Jungle and Pyramid. Who's going with who?"

Jaune, Blake, Ruby, Weiss and Nora had their thumbs up. Pyrrha, Ren, Yang, Emerald and Melody had their thumbs down.

Mercury put Ruby and co. in Jungle and the others in Pyramid. Then he sat back and watched.

"They're good." Scarlett's groups had left and she was hovering by him to watch.

"They're not idiots. That goes a long way."

"I looked you up while you were sorting them out. Remedy right? Your team made it to the finals. Almost won. Blake there did. I thought she looked familiar."

He was slightly surprised she hadn't recognised them immediately. He got the impression she loved TV. "Like I said: they're not idiots."

"I'll say. Normally takes people a while to understand that number sequence." The Pyramid had that effect on people. It made very fancy numbers look like pictures or words. Mercury never understood where the pyramid idea came from in the first place.

He was more worried that Nora and Yang would accidentally break something. They were normally far less careful than this. Not that he was going to mention that until something went wrong. If these rooms were open for Huntsmen, or anywhere near Beacon for that matter, accidents happened.

"Ever wish these things had sound?"

"They used to when they were in Mistral. From what I hear, it was scrapped and not because of the money problems."

"Romance?" Mercury guessed with a long breath.

"Wasn't suitable for kids. At least they never went farther than one top taken off."

"I don't want to hear any more."

"Neither did I."

There was a strategy here. Those with no patience and/or attention span, like Yang and Nora, studied the room very thoroughly and took their findings to the others for them to figure out. If there was more than one clue, they split into groups. Kept talking though; kept in contact. It was the most efficient method he had seen so far.

As a group, they were flawless.

A group he didn't feel much a part of anymore.

He wasn't being replaced. Everyone…Including himself…Were just moving forward.

"These might have the best time," Scarlett commented, reaching for the scoreboard.

"Wouldn't surprise me," Mercury murmured, not paying much attention to her. His senses sharpened again when she approached once more.

"Will they want photos?"

"Most definitely."

"Then I can take them if you want to get yourself sorted then?"

"…Thanks."

A well-oiled machine. Both groups in fact.

"Thanks Jaune. I mean it."

"They're my friends as well Merc. You'd do the same for any of us."

"Still. I mean it."

"If you need anything Mercury. Anything; comfort, routine, space…Just let us know."

Chuckling. "I'm fine. Now I know you'll be looked after."

"They're done."

Mercury blinked. In one swift movement, he stood and headed to his locker. There wasn't a dress code, but his boss did insist his boots remain in the locker during work hours. Non-combat boots were fine for now. The re-forged pair of knives were hidden in notice-me-not sheaths; no one knew they were there. Not even a metal detector would pick them up. A moot point anyway seeing as his prosthetics would be.

Mercury was thinking about the problems with getting his new weapon to work when he caught up to them. They had decided to hang around the entrance and, naturally, poke fun at each for their games.

"So where are we going?"

Other than to ruin their very good mood.

It had to happen sometime.