Mr. Mercury

You are to report to the training arena early. I have things to discuss regarding the class you are to assist me in. Change into your combat uniform before your arrival. -Professor Goodwitch

The message was the reason Asher had interrupted his conversation with Ruby and headed off early, jogging lightly to make it to his dorm and change before reporting to his destination. The whole time he was throwing around the idea Wiess had inadvertently got into his head. A straight-stick. He'd used them a couple of times himself, during robberies gone bad. While he couldn't say he knew any specific techniques, he could attest to the damage they could do, having felt them himself a few times. If he had a straight-stick already with him, then he'd be able to use it whenever he needed, such as during a job. Surprised him he'd never thought of that before. Everyone seemed to shove guns into their weapons here at the school though, so maybe he'd be able to put some small pistol or something inside it. Or something, probably. He'd seen Ruby's designs. She was not one to settle for small. Asher sighed at the thought before realizing he'd made it to his destination. He paused a moment to straighten his appearance, blandly noticing that he seemed to be doing that a lot lately, before he stepped through the door and into what he would have swore was a bank lobby.

"What the fu-"

"I suggest you never finish that sentence, Mr. Mercury."

"Professor Goodwitch. Ma'am. Uh... what's all this?"

"This is the training ground we'll be using for your classes. At least to begin with. The Headmaster feels a more... hands on... approach will be better for teaching than simple theory. As such, this facility has been temporarily reconstructed to have the basic appearance of the average bank. We have equipment over there you can use at your will, although it is all fake."

"Of course. Let's see what we have here... Knives. Guns. Bombs. Drill. Torch... What the hell is this thing? Nevermind, don't want to know. And this box has... police gear, looks like. Oh! A straight-stick! I was looking for one of these, actually. Mind if I-"

"You may not keep it, Mr. Mercury."

"Damnit. Alright. Seems like a fairly good set-up. There's a vault too?"

"In the back."

"Good to know. So you teach and I just help out, right?"

"Yes and no. I am not a criminal, and I don't pretend to know how you work. Therefore, I will help as I can, but the Headmaster's instructions are for you to lead the class through whatever you want."

"Really? That seems a bit... irresponsible. I can work with that, though. I guess. Actually... do those camera's up there, work?"

"They do."

"Great! I have an idea..."

Asher was all set up by the time the bell started ringing for lunch to be over, and people started showing up. The first group that came in he practically pounced on, and it was with his luck that he received a solid punch to the face that sent him sprawling. He was on the ground only a moment before his mind registered the hit, and he groaned more out of annoyance then pain. Of course the first group here had to be them. And of course, he'd had to spook that one before any of the others. It actually surprised him a little that the other three had shown up, Ruby he'd pretty much just assumed she'd be here. Regardless, as he hauled himself back to his feet, Ruby was there to help him up, looking worried.

"Asher, are you alright? I'm really, really sorry about that! YANG! You need to apologize to!"

"Hey! It isn't my fault he nearly jumped me as soon as I stepped through the door!"

"But still, you shouldn't just-"

"Just leave it, Ruby. I'm fine. Besides, I got to get you four prepped."

"Prepped?"

"Yup. You're the first team here, meaning you're the criminals in our scenario."

"I'm a WHAT!?"

Weiss almost had a meltdown right then and there, but her anger was quickly soothed once Asher continued explaining. As part of the class, Professor Ozpin apparently wanted demonstrations. That was all well and good, but they didn't really have the bodies to play all the roles. So the easiest method was to simply use the students. Not only would they get the knowledge, they'd get to actually be a part of the scenario. It worked out best for everyone. Weiss continued grumbling, unhappy that she was apparently the robbers, but she went along with it. Asher quickly gave them the basics, some fake pistols and a couple of bags. Even Yang was giving him a questioning look, but he waved it away. Asher was gone before anyone could get in another question, scooping up another team that had wandered in and instructing them to be clerks at the bank. The same thing happened to two more teams, getting made to be civilians and guards respectively, before Asher started ignoring the few incoming teams after that. By the time the second bell rang for the classes to begin, Asher counted 8 teams total, of varying years, which was more than he'd expected. Regardless, he directed each of his "actors" to their positions, even as he began speaking.

"Alright! There was an official name for this class I was supposed to use, but I forgot what it was because it was something stupid. Instead, we're going to be watching fellow students go through a bank job, and from there, I'll point out things they did wrong, or did right. This first one is a dry run, they'll just go through it and we'll see how they do. After that, I'll walk everyone through it step by step. We got two hours, plenty of time to do this right, and maybe have people switch out here and there. Questions?... No? Alright then. TEAM RWBY! GO!"

Two hours later, and Asher was the last person in the training ground, the other teams having headed to their final classes. He was helping out by collecting the discarded props, while at the same time reviewing the lesson in his head. It had turned out better than he'd expected, despite the general feeling of disinterest he first felt from his fellow students. Most had apparently not come to the class to take it seriously at all. That had changed as soon as team RWBY had begun their dry run.

It had started off well enough, likely do to Weiss' general desire to plan things out. They'd entered the "lobby" and quickly taken control of the situation, Ruby darting around the room using her semblance and taking out the guards furthest away, while Yang barreled through those closest. Meanwhile, Weiss and Blake took control of the civilians, ordering them to get down. It was here that they made the first mistake, and mainly because they simply didn't have that much experience handling hostages. Instead of having the workers come out from behind the counters, Weiss had gone back with them to keep an eye on them. A reasonable way to do it, but certainly not the best. The very least they could have done, and what he'd done during the Payroll job he'd been caught in, was have the clerks back away from the desks before getting down. It made it a bit easier to keep an eye on them over the counter, and didn't require that you shepherd them out onto the main floor. Explaining that came later, but an idea came to him as Asher watched one of the clerks quietly stick his hand up and tap the panic button. The criminal had smiled as he'd gathered up the remaining observer's, quietly assigning them the role of the police. Then he dug a stopwatch out of the bins and started it up, letting the girls go about their business for 10 minutes. They'd run into the hiccup of the vault, and were unprepared to simply get it open themselves. Thankfully(for them), Weiss had some experience dealing with banks, and quickly set them to finding the manager while the rest guarded the hostages. Unfortunately, they didn't count on the manager stubbornly refusing, even with the promise of pain. Frustrated and directionless, the time till police arrival hit, and he sent in the rest of the students present to "apprehend the criminal menace". Needless to say, the four stood little chance against so many of their fellows. Asher had gotten a good laugh out of that, but had quickly explained that he'd needed to present a failure, to help showcase some of the mistakes amateurs make. From there, he'd begun to show them what his crew did, as well as some techniques from other robbers he'd met.

Still, the class was over before he'd known it, and Asher felt satisfied in simply getting to be back in his element, even if it was to show others how things were done from the other side. Professor Goodwitch had no objections, despite her general misgivings about the whole thing, and had left him to his task, only watching through the camera's and acting as an additional security measure. NOw that Asher was alone, however, he found himself pausing in his work, mind turning to his friends, who were likely still on the run, or at the very least, lying low and keeping their heads down. He just wished he knew what they were up to sometimes.

"What are you thinking about?"

Yang's voice, not quite so violently angry as usual when directed at him, cut into his thoughts, and Asher turned to face the blonde. He studied her a moment, the woman leaning against the door frame in a sort of fake relaxation, despite the fact that he could feel her contained hostility coming off of her like her aura. Taking that into account, the criminal decided it would be safer to play nice, even if he'd prefer to simply brush off the question and slip away as quickly as possible. At least Ruby would be pleased that he was trying.

"Just about what the rest of the crew must be doing."

"Rest of the crew?"

"Yeah. You should know after the class that you never do a bank job on your own. What are you doing here anyway? Don't you have a class to be at, Ms. Xiao Long?"

"I'd think a criminal wouldn't mind playing hookie every once in awhile." Yang stepped further into the room, eyes wandering the now empty bank lobby, as if searching for something to say. A few moments passes in silence, Asher simply continuing on with his task, before Yang bent and picked up a police baton, swinging it experimentally. "Sooooo... I talked to a few of my friends about you."

"Nothing nice to say, I'd guess."

"Actually, it was about you being at Signal. It seems you really did go before."

"No reason to lie about it. I went. I quit. End of that brief chapter of my life."

"And I got that, but I can't figure out why you would quit. I mean, it's Signal. One of the best Hunter Prep Schools in Vale. Why would you just give all that up?"

Asher kept silent, his mind working through the possibilities. Yang seemed genuinely both confused and curious, and while he was far from sharing any of his personal life with her, or even letting her in on his entire reason for doing it, he was considering slipping her a clue. He'd seen how protective she could be of Ruby, even in the two weeks he'd been here, and he didn't doubt the lengths she'd go to if the need ever arose. Still, would she understand the lengths he'd gone? Would she be able to understand why he'd given up everything he'd ever had, his own reputation and a highly regarded place in society? He didn't know. But he could certainly test the water.

"Yang, you love Ruby, don't you?"

"Of course! She's my sister!"

"What would you do to protect her?"

Yang blinked in surprise. The question had seemingly come from nowhere, and she couldn't help be taken aback. Still, her mind latched onto it greedily. A question she could answer easily. Once her surprise was gone, she set herself squarely against the man in front of her and sharpened her gaze.

"I'd do anything."

"And that, Yang, is why I gave up everything."

"That doesn't explain anything! You know what? I don't even think you HAVE any real reasons to give! You're just a plain criminal, who takes pleasure from stealing from others! The least you could do is fess up, and just act like the person you are, instead of trying to win the pity card from people like my sister, and then use them just to make your own life easier!"

Asher offered the blonde a weak smile before dropping the last of the equipment into the bins and heading for the door. He needed to get away from this woman. She was getting on her high horse, taking the moral high ground, and his blood was starting to boil. Yang, however, was not one to give up easily, particularly when she had found something, in this case a question, she wanted answered. And more riddles were not answers. Before he'd even made it to halfway to the door, the blonde had placed herself in his path, arms up in a ready stance. She'd beat the answers out of him if necessary. Asher groaned in annoyance before sighing, trying to rein in his fraying nerves. This was not the way he wanted this conversation to go.

"What do you want from me, Yang? My life story?"

"I have to know you're not going to hurt Ruby, Asher, and so far it ain't looking good. My little sister seems to think that you did what you did for a good reason. I can't think of any reason good enough to commit murder, and as I just said, I don't even think you have any real reasons. But if you do, you better hope they are damn good ones. Hell, to tell you the truth, I think you just act like you do to convince yourself that you're somehow allowed to hurt other people. That it's somehow ok! News flash, IT ISN'T!"

Asher's considered himself a fairly calm person. Most things he took with a grain of salt, and he took verbal and physical abuse with little more than half-hearted complaint in return. One thing he couldn't stand, however, was someone else looking down on his motivations. Yes, he was a criminal. Convicted criminal, now. Yes, he was well aware that he was not one of the good guys, not after everything he'd done. But the reasons for the things he'd done were always about his sibling. He would have gone to the depths of hell if it meant Azure's life was saved, and he refused to allow anyone to question that. So, before he'd even noticed, Asher had closed on Yang, forcing her to back pedal at the sheer ferocity of his conviction, something she hadn't expected coming from him.

"What gives you the right to question my motivations? What gives you the moral high ground to tell me I'm not doing the right thing? Is it because you're the good guy? The hero come to save and protect us simple citizens from all the hellish monsters that are the Grimm? Is it because the government, the law, says I'm wrong, regardless of my reasons for committing the crimes? Or maybe it's because you just happen to be stronger than me, and therefore have the right to impose your judgements on me?"

"No! That isn't what I-"

"Shut up and listen, Yang Xiao Long. I'm a robber. I'm a criminal. I'm a convict. I'm a 'bad guy', and I know it. That doesn't mean I give you the right to question my reasons. They may be stained black with my sins, and they may seem like nothing to everyone else. But I do what I do for them. I live for them. I would die, for them. I didn't ask for your judgement and hatred, but I'll live with it. And I certainly don't want whatever pity you might feel, but I'll live with that to. I'll carry out my sentence with whatever shreds of dignity and honor I have left, regardless of the fact that I feel no guilt over my own crimes. But you, who have no idea my circumstances or my past. You have no right at all to question me. So get off your damn high horse, and leave me. The hell. Alone."

Yang's back was against the wall now, lilac eyes staring into hard, angry grey ones. The person in front of her was not the oddly calm Asher of Beacon Academy. Nor was it the reportedly insane murderer the news portrayed him as. Honestly, she could have dealt more easily with either one. No, this Asher carried within him a conviction strong enough to let him do anything if it would help accomplish his goals. She felt a shiver run through her as she realized she was not meeting a mere criminal, she was meeting a person with just as strong a will as her, as Weiss, as Blake, as Ruby, as any student in the school. The blonde had no doubts now, whatever his reasons, he believed in them strongly enough to be unafraid of what others thought of him, and unashamed of the things he'd done. And he'd have done them again, in a heartbeat, if given the same choices. Silence followed as the two students merely stared at each other, before Asher pulled away and slipped out the door.

Minutes after, Yang still stood against that same wall, staring into nothing. She had come here to question what she thought was a mere criminal, pretending to be a Hunter. What she'd found was Hunter, hiding in a criminal's body.

Asher was laying on his bed hours later, the door already secured shut, thinking on the meeting with the blonde. His mind went over the scene again and again before he moaned. Damnit! He'd said too much, and now he felt like an hypocritical ass. There he was going on about getting off her high horse, and he'd just jumped on it after pushing her off. And where had those words come from? Stained black with his sins? Who talks like tha-... Damnit it again. He'd been spending too much time around Slate. Guy was always great with the theatrical themes. Maybe being stuck at Beacon would get that out of his system. Asher glanced around the dark room a moment, a habit he developed long before getting his sister to the hospital, as he silently check the room for any signs of possible danger. Finding none, as he expected, he rolled over to get ready to sleep, only to hear the door suddenly unlock. Asher tensed, waiting, before he heard it creek openly gently and close just as quietly. Moments later, he heard the harsh, whispered voice of an old friend.

"Asher? You there?"

"Bruno?"

The younger man rolled back over and sat up, eyes catching the form of his crew mate, and he could only see the small smile on the wolf-faunas' face. The older stepped forward and shook the younger's hand, before pulling him in for a hug. Asher could only stare in shock and amazement, mind whirling at the possibilities. Had they actually just broken into Beacon Academy? Where they insane?

"Bruno, what are you doing here?"

"I would say coming to get you out, but I'd be lying. I can't stay long, Ianthe's little hack isn't going to go unnoticed. The boss has a job for you. Inside job."

"... I was kinda hoping to leave, but hey, a job is a job. What's up?"

"You remember the new guy for the payroll thing? He took off with one of the bags, and whatever else was inside it. Ianthe says it was a gem of some kind, perfectly round and clear."

"Yeah, I remember. Seemed odd that it was just sitting there next to the money. One of the deposit boxes was just hanging open too. He really took off?"

"Yeah. Well, boss thinks that's what the Schnee guys are so mad about. Whatever it is, they want it back bad. We're trying our best on our end to figure out what it is, and find it, but..."

"But...?"

"Boss thinks if you mention it to this Ozpin guy, he might be know more, and if you're cooperating..."

"He might tell me what he knows, in hopes I might give him more."

"Yeah. That's the idea anyway. Think you can pull it off?"

"I don't know. The Professor is pretty smart... I can try, but I can't promise he won't catch on to what I'm doing."

"Well, give it a shot anyway." Bruno glanced at the glowing clock on the nightstand and growled. His time was up. He had to leave now, before the alarms starting going off. "Look, I gotta go, Asher. I wish I could have... I'm sorry, about the bank."

"Bruno, don't worry about it. They're not torturing me or anything. Just teaching me. Which might be torture, considering some of these classes. Just promise me when the time comes, you'll spring me."

"Count on it. Slate's already got something in the works for that. Something about stealing that big ass statue they got out front, and getting you out while we're at it."

"Seriously?"

"I don't question the man. Apparently some collector somewhere is looking to get his hands on it though. Regardless, you take care of yourself. Ianthe sends her regards, and while you're here, make sure to get some combat training in, alright?"

"Yeah, I'll try not to get beat up too much. Tell Ianthe I wish she were here to build me my damn weapon. Now get going, Bruno."

"See ya, Asher."

The faunas slipped out of the room, re-locking the door behind him, before disappearing into the shadowy corridors. It had taken them awhile to even get into Beacon's security system, and Ianthe even more time to put even that small hack in place. They wouldn't be getting a second meeting, not like that, as someone was sure to notice, but it was a start. And Bruno felt a small smile tug at his lips. While Asher was stuck here, and clearly happy to see him, the boy wasn't looking too bad all things considered. He just hoped that this place wouldn't change him too much. The lure of heroics and the side of "light" was always a temptation for kids like Asher, and Bruno didn't want to lose his friend to that, selfish as that was.

The next day, Asher skipped breakfast, instead making his way to the headmaster's door and knocking loudly, waiting patiently for the call to come in. Only a moment passed before it came, and Asher slipped inside to find Professor Ozpin accompanied by Professor Goodwitch, as was custom. He made his way over to the desk and stood in front of it, waiting for Ozpin to give some indication he could talk. The headmaster calmly sipped at his coffee as he went through some files on his scroll before finally looking up, eyes filled with curiosity.

"Mr. Mercury. Odd to see you here. Can I help you with something?"

"Actually, Professor, I think I remembered something else about the robbery..."

Author's Note- Time to get the story rolling again, I think. We'll be seeing Asher's personal weapon, à la Ruby, sometime in the next few chapters. We'll see how that turns out. Anyway, I've been thinking about what other characters Asher's mentality might conflict heavily with(besides Weiss), and Yang easily fits. Yang is protective of her sister, but it's a much more open protectiveness, with Yang preferring to be with Ruby all the time, while Asher protects his sibling from the shadows, choosing to break contact with her to avoid dragging her down with him. I'm planning to bring that up more later, but I needed a good starting point for the two to butt heads, and that seemed a good one.