When the pair of would-be train robbers returned to Beacon, they were quickly and quietly ushered into Professor Ozpin's office to give their report. The Headmaster took the news with a thoughtful expression on his face, likely already forming plans, before he'd dismissed them back to their rooms. Blake had been quick to disappear, likely worn out from both the physical and emotional toils of the day, and Asher was inclined to agree that avoiding people would probably be the best option. Unfortunately for him, he'd hardly gotten the opportunity, as word of his return had somehow gotten to the ears of a certain, enthusiastic young red-cloaked girl. Before he'd even made it half-way to his own room, Ruby was coming it at him like a guided missile, tackling him and sending both to the ground. Asher groaned in pain, the second time that day someone had hit him in the stomach, while Ruby sat up, rubbing the top of her head gently before her eyes focused on the older man she was now seated next to.
"Asher! I finished it!"
"Finished... ow... Finished what, exactly?"
"Your weapon!"
"My wea- Don't you mean the design?"
"Uhhhhhhh..." Ruby giggled nervously, eyes refusing to meet Asher's and he frowned at her evasiveness, she was clearly up to something.
"Ruby... What did you do?"
"Well... I DID design it. But then, you know, I sorta... kinda... got a just a leeeetle bit over excited. So... I might have built it for you..."
The younger girl seemed to pull a black, squared case as if from nowhere and dropped it into Asher's lap, the weight of it making the man grunt. He glanced once more at the girl before gingerly taking hold of it and undoing the latches, each opening with a dull click. He paused a moment, not quite sure he wanted to see whatever monstrosity Ruby had cooked up, then sighed and opened the lid to reveal what she was adamant was his new weapon. What he discovered inside surprised him, despite her seeming insanity, she'd actually constructed something reasonably tame.
The weapon was a single, long-barrel revolver, slightly larger than anything he'd ever seen before. The revolver's chamber itself also seemed slightly oversized compared to those he'd seen before. Closer inspection revealed the hilt from "Crystal Virtue" repurposed into the grip of the handgun. Asher frowned at the sight, the silver-grey material of the piece seeming to mock him with what it used to be, before he silently picked up the weapon, and frowned at the weight. He'd handled a few revolvers before, albeit nothing quite as large as this, and he'd assumed it would weigh more. Ruby seemed to notice the look he was giving it, and quickly assumed the worst.
"You don't like it?"
"What? Oh! No, it's... it's fine. I just... didn't expect it to weight so little. I thought it would... I don't know..."
"Weigh more? I used titanium-steel alloy, it keeps the weight down and reduces corrosion issues, so you don't have to clean it as much. I chose a revolver design because it would let you load whatever kind of round you needed. Like some of those stun-rounds that the police use sometimes."
"Right. More options is always better."
"I made a bunch for you already. I left them in my locker though. Didn't think you'd need them until tomorrow. Where have you been all day, anyway?"
The question brought a sour look to Asher's face, and Ruby caught the expression easily, even though he was quick to wipe it away, and her look of curiosity was replaced with one of concern. Asher already knew he couldn't talk about it, especially given everything that was going on. So, he decided he'd have to change the flow of conversation. If he'd learned anything about Ruby Rose, it was that she loved weapons, and she'd provided the perfect one to talk about herself.
"I see the revolver, but I remember asking for a straight-stick."
The girl's eyes lit up, her concern temporarily discarded in favor of a more interesting topic, at least for the moment. Instead of answering, however, she took the weapon from him and seemed to snap the weapon upwards, as if closing a double-barrel shotgun. The barrel of the gun straightened out with the grip, forming a solid, straight piece, then seemed to shift pieces around, becoming more like a cylinder. The revolver chamber locked itself into place as the barrel closed up completely, turning that portion of the weapon into a solid piece of cylindrical metal. Then everything locked into place, forming, once all was said and done, what could only be described a metal straight-stick. Asher watched the entire procedure without comment, then took the weapon back from her and gave it an experimental swing. It certainly felt solid, and heavy, enough to deal some damage. He eventually glanced back up at Ruby to discover a cocky grin settling on her face, and he sighed in resignation before reaching out and ruffling the girl's hair.
"I can only say... damn good job, you did. Aren't I supposed to make my own, though?"
"Well... TECHNICALLY, yeah, you're supposed to. But..."
"I get it. Don't ask, don't tell. Still, I have to thank you for this, Ruby. I don't think I could make anything even close to this thing."
The girl was practically glowing with the praise, and Asher was happy to give it. He was being truthful in his praise, he probably wouldn't have been able to come up with something even half as inventive as this. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty. He was effectively using Ruby to make his own life easier, even if he hadn't intended to. Still, he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, especially not considering the need he had for a good weapon. Once Asher was finished bestowing his praise on the girl, Ruby spent the next few minutes going over how exactly to make the weapon shift forms(which actually involved a small pressure switch hidden within the grip, as well as the hand motion to snap up the barrel) as well as minor necessities for maintaining the revolver. Still, as the basic lesson ended, Ruby was suddenly in his face again, eyes narrow in concern and suspicion. Asher grinned at her with as much innocence as he could muster(which wasn't much) and fiddled with the weapon in his hands in agitation.
"What's up, Ruby?"
"Where were you today?"
"... Nowhere, really. Thought I needed a break, so I was in my room. Why?"
Ruby stared at him, clearly not believing a word of it, but she let the matter drop. Asher was thankful for that, he wasn't sure how he would have gone about convincing her he wasn't doing anything crazy. They'd gone their separate ways at that point, Ruby silently promising herself to get to the bottom of it, especially with Blake mysteriously disappearing at the same time. Her later interrogation of the cat-faunas would reveal nothing either, other than a bland look and then outright refusal to talk. Ruby eventually left her alone, and the next few days past uneventfully, the students settling into the routine of schoolwork easily. Still, the team leader couldn't help but feel like something was off about Asher and Blake. Her time was soon consumed, however, by Asher and his new weapon, or rather, helping him learn to use it. The first time he'd fired it the thing had nearly launched itself out of his hands. This lead to a rather awkward discussion between the two, namely in the use of .50 caliber rounds in a handgun, and how much it was a bad idea to try. Ruby, of course, remained stubborn about her design, accusing Asher of just not having enough skill to handle the "awesome" pistol. Still, with a little practice, and some aura reinforcement, Asher found he could easily fire the weapon using the relatively large bullets. Not much could be said of his accuracy, but that would come with practice.
Which is why, the weekend after the ill-fated train job, Asher found himself at the academy firing range, dutifully testing the limits of the weapon as well as those of his abilities. He'd only been at it for an hour, and was in the middle of reloading when he was interrupted by Blake. She'd slipped inside a few minutes earlier, and after watching his dismal skills, decided she might as well help the poor man out.
"You're terrible."
"Hm? Blake?"
"You're stance is all wrong."
"My stance is... Well then, how am I supposed to be standing?"
The faunas girl strode up to the firing line and Gambol Shroud found itself in her hands. Within moments, she was in a "proper" firing stance, emptying the weapon into the paper target Asher had been using, scoring perfect hits in the chest and head. Then her weapon was stowed away once again, and the girl's eyes focused on Asher, hands gesturing for him to try. He frowned, then snapped the revolver chamber back into place and took his stance. Almost immediately, Blake stepped up and corrected it, making adjustments as needed, until she was satisfied. Then she gestured for him to fire. The resulting shots were far more accurate, and Asher found he could much more easily regain his target. Blake, seemingly satisfied, returned to her place behind him, seated on a nearby bench. Asher continued reloading and firing for awhile longer, feeling slightly awkward in the girl's presence, before Blake once again interrupted him.
"I wanted to... thank you. For stopping me on the train."
"Not really something to be thanking me for. It's my role."
BANG!
"Your role? Like a character from a play?"
"Pretty much. I'm just playing the part. Same with all that confidence I was showing. I can guarantee you I was about ready to piss myself when the Schnee Guards showed up. But it's the way I work. Always stick to the role."
"If you're just acting... is that why you seemed to go a little insane when you put those gloves on?"
"Ouch."
BANG!
"I wouldn't call it insane... maybe a little overconfident?"
"It was insane."
"Alright, alright. But yeah, the glove thing is like a mental trigger. I put them on, and I just slip into character."
BANG!
"So if you didn't have your gloves, you'd be a coward?"
"Uh... no? I can do my little acting thing on my own, I just can't do it for very long. It's like I'm trying to force it. And I'd like to think I don't need the role at all... Not that I want to test that theory."
"Does that mean that satisfaction you get out of it isn't real either?"
"That's real. Has always been real. It's like the rush you get from a flight or fight response. The adrenalin that courses through you when you're fighting. I just get it when I'm pulling a job."
"... Who taught you how to act in your role?"
"My boss. The others didn't really need it, but I'm not the bravest person in the world normally. I tend to crack after awhile. He taught me how to act like I'm confident and in control. Eventually, I got so good at it I trick myself. At least, on the surface."
BANG!
"Even if it was an act, you stopped me from getting myself killed. I wouldn't have changed anything dying on that train. Now, all I can do is look forward. If you're ever going to steal something for the Headmaster, let me know. I'll help out."
"You'll help me, will you? Isn't that something you're supposed to do for your team?"
"Well, Death Stalker will help King Taijitu anyway."
"I see. And what about if you run into those Schnee Security guys again?"
BANG!
"Then I'll fight them. And I'll win."
The suddenly harsh tone wasn't missed by Asher, and he could guess that there was some history there. Wisely, however, he chose to ignore it and move on. Any questions he could ask would probably fall under the "not his business" category.
"Right. Well, you were handling four of em on your own. You weren't winning, but you were handling them."
"I'll be better by then."
"Will you? Well, if you're training, mind helping me out?"
"Helping you out?"
BANG!
Asher fired off his last shot, then unloaded the revolver, slapping the chamber closed as he finished. Then he flipped the barrel up, hand brushing against the pressure switch, and the revolver shifted into its baton form. Asher took a swing with it, nodding his head as it kept its shape, then turned back to Blake, offering her a sheepish grin.
"Yeah, helping me. I need to get better at close combat too, otherwise, how am I supposed to watch your back on these trips of ours?"
The weeks turned into months, the summer giving way to fall, and then Winter. Asher kept up his lonely lifestyle, only now it was peppered with the presence of two young woman. Ruby, of course, refused to leave him on his own for long, spending the hours after school(when she could get away from her studies) helping him improve his understanding of his own weapon, not to mention pestering him to name "her", which he neglected to do, half on purpose and half because he had no idea what to call the weapon. The other woman, Blake, tended to keep to herself on the school days, or spent time with her team. On the weekends, however, she usually sought him out, helping him improve his shooting as well as his close-combat skills. And improve they did. While he was still far from what you'd call "hunter class", his steadily increasing abilities were causing his frequent duels with Yang during class to actually last longer than a few pitiful minutes, and on the occasion allowing him to strike back a few times.
In all, Asher had easily settled into the routine of it all, and was, in some ways, growing used to simply spending time honing his skills and blatantly ignoring most of his classes. It didn't help that Professor Ozpin seemed wholly uninterested in giving him more tasks of the questionably legal variety to perform. On top of all this, Asher was even inclined to admit that he was slowly starting to stop thinking about his old crew, Bruno and Ianthe and Slate, as the days grew longer and he received no word from them. About the only thing that truly worried Asher at this point was the fact that his "donations" weren't getting to where they needed to go anymore. Without him pulling jobs, he had no cash to donate, after all, and Asher didn't like not fulfilling the whole point of his dropping out to become a criminal. Regardless, eventually the school began buzzing with talk, this time about a very specific thing.
The Remembrance Day Ball.
A Beacon Academy tradition, it was something held every year, and one highly anticipated, if for marking the beginning of the two week holidays and nothing else. For most of the students, it was simply a chance dress up in fancy clothes and visit with friends and loved ones. For other, like the fourth year students, it was a precious chance to network with some of those individuals who came on invitation, most of which were from high-society. Ingratiate yourself with one of them, and you might find yourself with a wealthy supporter as you worked to protect Vale and the rest of Remnant. The actual holiday, of course, was originally meant to be a silent affair, a day for remembering fallen heroes and those who died in service to humanity. In more recent centuries, however, the somber mood had given way to one of celebration and gift-giving. Why be sad for those who had fallen when you could party and live the life they'd provided you to the fullest. Regardless of how, the day was celebrated by all of Remnant in one way or another. Asher and his crew had generally celebrated the last two years by robbing a bank and giving out the proceeds to the needy. No reason robbers couldn't get in on the holiday spirit.
This year, however, Asher had been informed that he would be required to make an appearance at the ball, as he was a student and it was required attendance, then slip away and stay out of sight. The criminal was glad of the opportunity, he wanted nothing to do with many of the high-class stuck-ups that populated the thing. Thankfully, it seemed his normal choice of attire was good enough, and that meant all he had to do was wait for the day to arrive, pay his dues, and then leave.
A certain blonde-haired brawler had other plans for the criminal. Specifically, plans regarding a, in her opinion, much need family reunion. Which is why Yang Xiao Long found herself tagging along behind the blue-haired girl in front of her as they wandered around the shopping district on one of the coldest days they'd had so far, searching for a suitably elegant dress for the younger. They'd been at it for hours already, and despite Yang's abundance of patience(meaning little) she was getting fed up. They'd passed up dozens of dresses already for the rather mundane reason of "It's not my color." and Yang had about had it. So, upon Azure picking up yet another dress and frowning uncertainly at it before moving to put it back, Yang exploded.
"GET OVER IT ALREADY! IT'S ONE FREAKING DAY! YOU'RE PROBABLY NEVER GOING TO WEAR IT AGAIN!"
Azure recoiled slightly, then deliberately made a show of putting it back before turning to face Yang squarely. If they were going to argue, they were going to damn well do it right.
"Why wouldn't I? Besides, I've got to look my best. I'm finally meeting my brother again after two years."
"Why would you even want to meet the bastard!? He ABANDONED you, in case you've forgotten!"
"Yeah, so? I'm angry about that, trust me, but I don't see why that should mean I need to abandon him! I'm going to meet him, I'm gonna maybe hit him in the face a few times, and then we're going to go right back to the way it used to be!"
"Ignoring the fact that he's a convicted felon."
"... MOSTLY back the way it used to be."
Azure turned away from the blonde again, angrily pushing her way through a couple more racks of dresses. Yang, on the other hand, moped slightly. Even if she didn't like it, she had to agree with the girl on some level. If Ruby had simply up and left, then reappeared a few years later, Yang probably would have been ecstatic to finally see her again. Angry too, but mostly happy. The thought made the older girl grudgingly sympathetic to the younger, but that didn't mean she had to admit it. Particularly when she herself was still pissed at the man. She hadn't had another opportunity to get him one on one, not ever since both Ruby and Blake decided he was an ok guy to be around. The latter had received quite a bit of teasing at the sudden shift in attitude, particularly because before she hadn't seemed all that interested in him before. It definitely hadn't gone unnoticed by the blonde that the two of them had been missing on the same day, but Blake had denied anything and everything, then stubbornly shoved her nose into a book and refused to remove it.
"Yang."
Of course, that didn't mean that they hadn't been up to something. Now that she thought about it, Blake used to be a member of the White Fang. AND she was pretty sneaky. There had to be something there.
"Yang?"
At the very least, she could probably use that to tease her partner to no end. Oh! Calm indifference by day, romantic robbers by night! That was sure to get a reaction! Why hadn't she thought of this months ago?
"YANG!"
"Huh? What?"
Azure glared at the suddenly aware brawler, wondering rather viciously if this was a case of ditzy blonde. She banished the thought from her mind quickly. The older girl was helping her out a lot, especially by getting her invited to this party. It was probably the only chance for awhile she'd get to enter Beacon, at least not without sneaking in. At the moment though, she needed the girl for an altogether different reason. Namely, they were changing stores again, this one not having anything she liked. Yang groaned as she was dragged to the next shop, but as they walked over, Azure decided now was as good a time as any to thank her companion.
"Hey Yang?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for doing this for me. I mean, getting me invited to the party and everything."
"Ah... uh... about that..."
Azure halted in her steps and glanced at the older girl's guilty looking smile. She felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance, and for a brief moment, managed to convince herself that she really didn't want to know. Against her better judgement however, she sighed and face-palmed, already dreading the answer to her next question.
"Yang, what did you do?"
"Uh... well... getting an invitation is kinda hard, you know, real exclusive and all that. So... I... uh... kinda had to come up with a plan."
"A plan?"
"Yeah. It'll be easy. We just gotta sneak you through the back door is all. Or a dorm room window."
"You... you want me to trespass at Beacon Academy, while there's a party going on?"
"Um... yes?"
"Do you realize how much trouble I could be in? I might get shot by some high-profile security guard! Or put in jail for trespassing at one of the most prestigious academies ever! Yang, you're planning on getting me to follow in my brother's footsteps!"
"Aw, come on! It can't be that bad! It's just a party."
"Just a party, she says... I swear, if my brother wasn't there..."
Azure started off again, grumbling to herself, although she was already very much aware she was going to be doing it anyway. She couldn't believe she trusted the blonde to actually do what she'd said she'd do. Well, she sorta did do it. Sorta. God, she was already trying to justify this as an ok thing to do in her head. She wondered for a brief moment if her brother ever did this, then banished the thought. She'd be able to ask him soon enough. She just needed to find a Grimm damned dress.
"Hey boss! We got it! Took us every bit of spare cash we had, but we got the invitation!"
Slate glanced up from the papers he was reviewing to find Bruno standing on the other side of his desk, an envelope in hand. The older man smiled slightly, the plan Ianthe had come up with was coming along beautifully. His face not being seen at any point during their heists was a fortunate thing, allowing the leader to move with impunity when the others had to lay low. The only issue he'd have going to his party was the severe lack of privacy. Talking with Asher would be an issue if he tried it out in the open. Of course, if he disguised it as a conversation about something else... Irrelevant for the moment. He had a week to figure out what exactly he'd do. For now, there were more interesting things to handle.
"Excellent, Bruno. Unfortunately, I have more work for you and Ianthe."
"Whatever you need, boss." Bruno dropped the envelope on the desk, waiting for his next instructions.
"It's a bit of a mess, really... The man who stole our little dust-crystal seems to have disappeared rather well. However, just recently I received a tip from one of my 'friends' that he's holed up with one of the mob families. A relatively minor one, by the looks of it, but..."
"We still can't just walk in and take him. At least we know where he is."
"Agreed. We can keep an eye on him easily. I was hoping you and Ianthe would handle that for awhile."
"Of course. Ianthe won't be happy about it, but we'll get the job done."
"Wonderful. I'll be keeping up my search for these relics Asher was talking about. There's underworld rumors that the Old Man was going to be selling an interesting piece of history, but he's gone to ground again." Slate reached over and picked up the envelope, tearing it open slowly and extracting the documents inside.
"Seems fair to me boss."
"Mm. Well, look at that. A guest list is included with the invitation. Quite a few big names here... Oh... looks like the Schnees will be making an appearance."
Bruno's ears flattened under his hat, the name sending a bad feeling down his spine. Slate on the other hand, smiled gently. Another opportunity presented itself. He wondered, did the great Mr. Schnee know about these artifacts being collected? Only one way to find out.
"Looks like this party might get a little interesting..."
Author's Note- Another chapter or two and we'll be on to another heist. Unless my creative mind decides to go somewhere else then what I have planned... it happens. Regardless, here's the aftermath/set-up chapter for the Chris- I mean, Remembrance Day party. From there, we'll see how goes.
On another note, I'd like to hear who you think should join in on the next heist, Ruby, Weiss or Yang. Just send me a PM or throw it into the reviews, if your so inclined, and figure it out from there.
Until next time, keep dreaming.