Ho boy... Well, it's been nearly a year and a half since I last updated this, or so my little reminder tells me, and I have no suitable excuse other than a rather difficult time. Then again, life can do that to a person. Still, I think I'll send this on it's merry way, just in time for Christmas... hopefully I can get back into the swing of writing again, though it has been a long time. To all those who've been waiting(or not), I apologize sincerely for the lack of updates on my part. Either way, here we go...
When one stole from a company that was rival to the Schnee's, you'd think Schnee built combat droids wouldn't be the got to for securing its secret engine.
Of course, one would then find out they were horribly wrong, but Asher liked was hoping if he believed it enough, the problem would go away. The rattle of the AK droids gunfire against the desk he was hiding behind helpfully reminded him that the problem was definitely not going away. As if to reinforce this, one Weiss Schnee decided now was a wonderful time to make some helpful comments.
"You didn't say anything about combat droids!"
In hindsight, he supposed he should've expected something to go wrong. Everything had gone way too well for it not to, Murphy's Law had practically demanded the plan to go to the Grimm. The explosion of light and the blaring of sirens had signaled that the distraction had gone off without a hitch, and Asher gave it another five minutes before initiating his theft, ignoring any normal conventions and bursting in through the front doors of the research buildings. The one guard on duty had started in surprise before having a taser jabbed into his chest, sending him meekly into unconscious oblivion. After that it had been a simple matter of hunting through the building, looking for the room marked as the research lab. Five minutes of work easily done, and the electronic lock bypassed just as quickly with one of Ianthe's devices. He'd almost thought they'd make it through this nice and easy, and Weiss hadn't even opened her mouth to comment the entire time, though her expression had spoken volumes. Then, of course, they'd found the engine they were after. And the droids guarding it. Lots of droids.
"How was I supposed to know they were here?!"
"I don't know, you're the criminal!"
"It was your father's information!"
"Don't you dare lay the blame on my father!"
Another rattle of gunfire cut off any reply Asher would have given. He allowed himself a sigh before he glanced at the duffel bag he'd had. It was useless now, they were pretty much forced to go loud now. A glance at Weiss confirmed she didn't have her weapon with her, Myrblaster, or Mirenasty, or whatever it was. Something Atlesian he thought. Still, that meant she didn't have any weapons beyond her semblance and the taser. Welp, guess that meant he got to see how much better he'd gotten in the past few months. The criminal reached into his jacket and pulled the weapon from within, the revolver's weight heavy and, admittedly, somewhat comforting in his hand. He'd grown used to having it already, thanks in no small part to the emphasis placed upon combat training at Beacon. He'd even managed to find a holster that fit the weapon, a shoulder holster that fit snuggly against his side. The weight their was still taking some getting used to, and its abnormal size tended to dig into his ribs, but he was managing. Asher checked the chamber, counting six rounds loaded, then took a deep breath and swung out of cover, weapon brought to bear on the first target he spotted.
BANG!
The revolver sounded off with a loud crack, sending a .50 caliber round slamming home into the droid's face. The metal that made up most of the front of its head caved instantly, and sparks of electricity jumped from the new hole that had suddenly and violently taken up residence in place of the machines processing computer. It managed to stay standing for another second before collapsing backwards, arms and legs going limp as direction ceased. Asher allowed himself a small moment of pleasure before he ducked back down again, the rattle of gunfire reminding him of the 9 others that were still there. Least now he knew he could hit what he was aiming at.
"Oh good. You defeated one of them."
"Your sarcasm isn't appreciated, Nevermore!"
The machines cut off the rattling gunfire, and Asher heard the distinctive sound of blades unsheathing. Close combat now, was it? He popped up again, taking out another droid with a well placed shot before shifting his weapon into its baton form and slapping aside an attack from the first to reach him. A overhead smash into it's face was met with the satisfying crunch of electronics, but Asher had little time to celebrate. Two more charged at him, and he ducked under the first to slam his weapon into the second's knee, the leg buckling and setting it up for another attack, this one across the face. The other attacker swung at him again, and he swatted aside the blow and countered, hammering blow after blow into it's chest in quick succession, ending the threat fast as he could.
Four down, six to go.
A quick glance revealed one going after Weiss. The taser served her well, the hastily used weapon sending a burst of electricity into her attacker and frying it's electronic brain, the machine collapsing to the ground. Asher is quickly distracted by his own problems though, as another machine comes after him. He takes it down with the same repeated motions, knocking aside attacks and focusing on the head. He'd done some studying into his newly acquired melee weapon, and it seemed that was generally a safe bet. Go for the head and the torso, take people out of the fight quickly. They didn't need to be dead, just useless. After that, you worried about what to do with them. Extremities were targeted as effective counters, damaging limbs useful for removing possible weapons and opening up attacks on the preferred targets. The next machine was taken out just as quickly, though Asher could feel himself slowing down. Even with all that combat training, the forced duels between students, with Yang beating on him every week, he was still behind physically, most tellingly in simple endurance. He'd have to work on that.
Suddenly, the last three robots were hurled into a wall, smashing with a loud clang into useless pieces of twisted metal. For a moment, Asher stared, then he turned back to glance at Weiss, fading sigil disappearing from sight in front of her. She caught his look and favored him with a twisted frown of distaste, which he took as a sign to move on.
"Let's just get what we came here for."
Weiss nodded, a short choppy gesture, before a wave of her hand produced another glowing rune under the engine and lifting it slightly from it's resting place. Asher moved to the door, glancing out into the hallway. It seemed the ten in the room weren't the only ones around, as more AK's seemed to emerge from everywhere, taking up positions throughout the building. Asher muttered a curse, then turned back to Weiss, pulling his mask up to his forehead. She'd moved the engine closer to the door, glyphs placed along its path to keep it floating and near weightless, making it easy enough to move with a simple push of her hand.
"Trouble?"
"Uh... you could say that..."
"You know, this doesn't speak highly of your supposed skills, Mr. Me-"
"Ah!"
"...King Taijitu."
"Well, never said I was the best at this. I don't think I'm gonna be able to hold off all those though. So..."
"So?"
"Mad dash for the door?"
"Are you suggesting we run all the way to Bl- Death Stalker?"
"Sounds about right."
"... You are by far the worst criminal I've ever seen."
"Now that, that is hurtful."
Asher gave Weiss a manic grin, he was going to run either way, which Weiss responded to with a huff of annoyance. Still, as he turned towards the door, he could see her tense, muscles preparing for the task ahead, and he had to smile. Whatever else she was, Weiss was adaptable under fire, and took things in stride. Well, most thing... when it suited her... and didn't involve school work, reputation(her's, her team's or her family's) or her need to be the best. Asher shifted his weapon back to revolver form reloaded the two rounds he'd spent already, then prepped himself to go. Mad dash it was. He could help but feel that grin get ever wider. Escapes were always the most fun when things were going wrong. Nothing like getting shot at as you ran for your life, cash in hand. Or engine, he supposed. He pulled his mask down, took one last deep breath, then pushed the door open, swung out into the hallway and shot the first droid in his path in the chest.
"Let's move!"
Weiss was right behind him, wasting little time, the engine kept alongside her as she summoned more glyphs along its path and kept it moving. Asher spearheaded their path, firing until his revolver was empty before switching to baton form and charging ahead, smashing aside droids. For a few precious moments, the droids seemed taken aback by the pair charging through the corridors, then gunfire exploded around them. Asher felt the sting of a few rounds slamming into his body, his aura soaking the damage easily enough but forcing him to falter slightly in his momentum. Still, the pair continued on, pushing through and bursting from the back door of the facility, Asher glancing around desperately for the truck. He spotted it moments later, parked a few feet away, and quickly helped Weiss push the engine towards it. Blake met them outside the truck, Gambol Shroud drawn, and as AKs pursued them out of the building, she met them head on, weapon and body becoming a blur of motion and machine death. Asher allowed himself a moment to offer a silent thank you that he'd been gifted such an understanding partner, then helped Weiss load the thing into the back of the truck.
"Stalker! We gotta go!"
The only response he got was the sound of gunfire, and he had to hope she'd heard him. Weiss was already headed for the truck's cab, Asher close behind her. They pulled themselves into it, and just as their door closed, Blake appeared inside behind the wheel, setting the thing in gear and hitting the gas. The truck squeeled in protest, then lurched forward, tires screeching as Blade turned onto the road and headed off down the street. Weiss, of course, took this as a good time to remove her mask and immediately launch herself into a screeching rendition of her thoughts on the matter at hand.
"NEVER AGAIN!"
"Oh come on. It wasn't THAT bad."
"Not that bad? NOT THAT BAD?! We got shot at, nearly killed, probably going to be wanted criminals-"
"Me and Blake kinda already are..."
"- nearly bungled the entire thing, and all because your information gathering skills were sub-par, at best!"
"Technically, it was Schee information gathering skills."
Weiss favored Asher with a look that could kill, before settling deeper into her seat and folding her arms over her chest. Asher himself followed suit, in so far as he settled into his seat, before placing his revolver back in its holser and settling down further. Blake already knew the drop off point, some other warehouse a reasonable distance away, where they were supposed to exchange the engine for the information Ozpin was after. It would be a short enough trip. Hopefully they could get back to Beacon before the night was over.
Asher almost groaned the minute the thought crossed his mind. He'd had to think it, didn't he?
The meeting place at the warehouse was, to say the least, suspicious. It didn't help that they drove into the place, the warehouse door already open, and almost immediately that same door had slammed shut behind them. Asher pulled on his mask and slid out of the truck, eyes darting about in the gloom of the mostly empty warehouse, the only source of light being the trucks headlights and single ceiling lamp above them. He felt a presence at his side and glanced over to find Blake, mask on and weapon out, body tense. He wasn't sure, but for some reason she was tense, and he didn't like it. He slid his own weapon out of its holster, glancing around again, and that's when They stepped out.
The woman before Asher looked startlingly like Weiss, though she exuded far more confidence and far more of a regal air. Unsurprisingly, she bore the crest of Schnee Security on her uniform, as did the two men flanking her. More surprisingly, a noise roughly equivalent to a strangled cat came from somewhere behind Blade and Asher, and both glanced back to find Weiss scrambling back into the car, desperate to hide herself. Almost as quickly, the woman voice snapped out, harsh and unforgiving.
"Weiss! It's too late to hide yourself now."
The girl froze, then slowly lowered herself back down and trudged to stand beside the pair of her classmates, looking sheepishly at the mask that now found itself in her hands being coyly played with.
"H-Hi Winter. I-I didn't expect to see you here."
"Father felt it best someone trustworthy conduct the... exchange." Winter eyed the other two, both still wearing their masks, with something approaching disdain. "I trust you've brought what was promised."
Asher allowed himself a moment to be properly intimidated(Schnee Security, again) before he sucked in a breath and dropped back into character. He was the leader. He needed to be confident. He needed to not let the very large piece of fear currently curling his stomach into a knot be known to his companions.
"Yup. In the back of the truck. You got what we need?"
"Hmph." Winter extended a hand to the side and a folder was placed in it. She opened it herself to glance at the contents, then tossed it to Asher, who caught it and took a look himself. Photo's of the Old Man looked back at him, and files regarding an apparent auction at a casino. It certainly seemed legitimate. Still, it wasn't right to ponder that now. Now was a good time to get the hell out, before something else happened.
"Looks good to me. She's all yours. Pleasure doing business with you."
"The pleasure is all your's."
Asher flinched at the cold tone, but backed away regardless, holstering his revolver and tucking the file under one arm. Blake was close behind him, her body still tense and waiting for some form of attack. Weiss hesitated a moment, glancing at her sister then followed after, slipping the mask onto her face once again. The three slipped out of the warehouse into the cold, traveling silently for a few blocks before all the finally calmed enough to talk. Asher, coming out of his self-induced roleplaying, spoke first, his voice noticeably quivering.
"Weiss?"
"Yes?"
"Remind me never to piss off your sister. She didn't do anything, but she scares the hell out of me."
"I..."
"Still, all in all, think we did good. Got what we came for, and we can all go back to Beacon heads held high. Mission accomplished."
"Certainly went better than last time."
"Well yeah, Schnee's weren't trying to kill us this time."
"Hey!"
"All's well that ends well."
"Do you think Ozpin is going to make you steal anything else?"
"Probably. Judging from what I've seen from this folder, though I honestly hope not."
"I see... well then, I suppose our mission is only done until the next one comes along."
"Never again. I refuse to participate in any more of these criminal, underhanded, ludicrous schemes any longer. I've done what's asked of me, no more."
"Yeah yeah. We got it. Let's just get home."
Asher started off, his two companion close behind him. Still, even as he trudged along, his mind kept working. A glance down at the folder helped solidify his plans further. Slate needed to know what was in this folder. If this sword they were after was so important, and the Old Man was selling it at a casino, then that meant it was worth a lot of money to a lot of influential people. If Slate could get his hands on it first, then they could be the ones to sell it, and that meant a lot of money for them. And, well, he was a criminal, wasn't he?
Eight hours later, Weiss Schnee's phone received a message.
Two hours after that, Weiss Schnee would read this message.
One minute after doing so, Weiss Schnee nearly screamed with rage and vowed she'd kill Asher Mercury if it was the last thing she did.
Continue to monitor Mr. Mercury's activities.
Honestly, this is a lot shorter than I'd have liked it to be, but most of the action was meant to be in the first half anyway. Also, I forgot how hard it can be to write fight scenes... hope it didn't go too badly... Oh well, first attempt at writing in awhile, need to get back into the swing of things. I might have to come back and edit this at some point... we'll see.
As always, comments, concerns and ridicule are much appreciated.
Until next time, keep dreaming