Jaune and the Games we Play

by Catalist223

Ryuugi's the games we play, i didn't write this, just trying to make it easier for me to read on my phone. Check out the rest of Ryuugi's work at spacebattles. This is a story about Jaune living his life as if it were an RPG

4. Chapter 4

MurazorChief EncyclopedistSuper Awesome Happy Fun Time

The Games We Play
Materials

The next two weeks passed in a blur of focused effort. I didn't need sleep and thus my mother's schedule left no time for me to rest. I trained in a cycle of focused mental and physical effort that never stopped, merely growing as my mother added to it, expanding to new skills as others grew.

I bore it all without complaint, even when my body felt like it had been broken. I never stopped, never gave up, but merely rose again to keep going, stronger than before. The world almost seemed to slip away in the midst of it all, stripped down to the need to improve, the need to continue, until things like the time or the date just didn't seem to matter—but in time, life intervened. When duty called my parents to the city, they brought me along to give me a reprieve, an hour or two off from work, and let me wander the city and relax; a reward for working so hard, perhaps.

Or maybe they were just worried about the strain they were putting upon me, afraid I might break. If so, I didn't share the fear, but taking a little time off didn't seem too bad, though it probably said something about me that I didn't waste it. After a quick trip to the market, I went to address something I'd been unable to until now.

"Jaune?" Tukson asked, seeming surprised when he came to the front desk and saw me perusing his wares.

"Hey, Tukson," I greeted, looking up from what I was Observing a book, a shopping bag in one hand. Looking up at my elder friend, I rested the bag carefully atop a bookshelf. "You been doing okay?"

"I was going to ask you that," He replied, shoulders sagging after a minute as he seemed to take in that I was really here. "With…everything that happened. Blake told me you got back okay, but…things got pretty bad, huh? I'm…well, I'm sorry. I didn't think…"

"Nah, don't worry about it," I cut him off with a smile. "It's no problem. Your books saved my life a few times, you know? And you got my messages through, too, so…thanks. I wanted to come tell you that earlier, but well…things have been busy."

"With your family, right?" He asked, seeming somewhat cheered by my reassurances, though his brow furrowed slightly. "Everything go okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Better then I'd hoped. My parents were really cool and understanding. I mean, I knew that before, but it's like…well, you know."

"I do," He nodded, going quiet as he looked down at something on his desk. "They're your family. You want to make them proud, even when…especially when it's hard, right?"

We were silent for a moment of semi-awkward mutual understanding before he lifted his head and gave me a smile.

"Must be difficult, huh?" He asked, brushing the moment aside. "I…that homecoming must have been something. I mean, when I first went to your house and realized who your parents were…Don't take this the wrong way, but after Ziz, I, uh, took a brief vacation to one of the White Fang's hideouts. Mostly because of the horrific monster, but, not gonna lie, there was a part of me worried about getting murdered when your parents made the connection. I came back to deliver your message and stayed to help the newcomers, but, well…it's still kind of nerve-wracking."

I hummed understandingly.

"I don't blame you," I told him, pretty sure it had been a good move. If he'd stayed…well, it probably wouldn't have ended well for him. "I tried leaving the stuff about you guys out when I explained things to them, but…"

"But I came over just awhile before you vanished," He finished, nodding. "Not the hardest connection to make, but I figured you'd smooth that over when you came back. And hey, no police here, right? That's pretty good, all things considered."

"Definitely," I agreed. "But I meant it when I said your books and such saved me. I'm…I'm sorry I couldn't do things as peacefully as we'd hoped, though. Things got…"

"Hectic?" He suggested, sighing as he rested his hands on the counter. "I…yeah, I know. I saw some of it. Between Torchwick and Adam getting surrounded…I get it. The people still got saved, though, right? That's the important thing. We wanted to give new beginnings and…well, all told, we had about a thousand successes. Compared to that…"

He trailed of, shrugging a shoulder. His words were reassuring, probably because I agreed with them, but I had to wonder if he did. In the end, we'd all had our own reasons. For me, it had always been about the people who needed my help and who didn't have anyone else to save them—but for Tukson and Blake, it had been about even more than that. They wanted to show the White Fang another way, show them that things didn't have to end in violence and bloodshed, and had recruited me to help them prove it.

And I'd held a girl hostage, threatened people, fired on my pursuers, drawn out the Grimm, accidentally awoke Ziz, and all around brutally crushed anyone who stood between me and rescuing the miners, even when it meant tearing someone limb from limb. There was more too it then that, I hadn't wanted or meant for it to happen, and I'd avoided hurting people as much as possible—but I'd also succeeded. At stealing a super ship out from under the nose of some of the most powerful men on Remnant, at the most high-profile theft and rescue in recent memory, in every fight, I'd succeeded. What message did that send?

And the worst part was…I wasn't sure how to feel about it. I regretted the necessity of the actions, yet I was proud of the result. I felt bad for failing Blake and Tukson, but…Adam had told me outright that he didn't think the peaceful methods Blake desired would work, that they hadn'tworked, for social and political and economic reasons that were kind of depressing. Was he right? Or, more worryingly, did I think he was right?

I hoped he wasn't, I was sure of that much. I hoped Blake was correct and there was some peaceful way to deal with all of this. I didn't want it to come to violence and I couldn't support the things the White Fang did.

But with their situation so bad, with what I'd seen, with the countless other examples throughout the world, with all that happened to the Faunus…I couldn't condemn them, either. I couldn't hate them for fighting what was done to them, even if I could hate the bloodshed it led to. I couldn't loathe them for picking methods that seemed to work, even if I was saddened by the methods that had failed.

More than anything else, I wanted there to be a better way, but I couldn't think of one. I wanted to be able to do something, but I didn't know how. A part of me wondered if I'd know when my Wisdom reached a hundred, but an even larger part worried that there just wasn't an answer to be found. It was easy to say the world had problems that needed to be fixed, but evidence would seem to support the conclusion that no one had actually done it yet.

I sighed.

"You mentioned the newcomers were moving in. Is everything going okay? Any trouble with housing or jobs or…?" I tried to change the subject, attempting to pull myself from the thoughts.

"It's difficult getting that many people situated," He admitted. "But all things considered, it's going pretty well. Things are better for Faunus here in Vale."

Maybe it was because of what we'd just talked about, but a pessimistic part of me wondered if that was true and things really were better—or if they were just closer to people who'd firebomb your house for bigotry.

"Thanks to some help from locals, a lot of them have already found work," Tukson continued, oblivious to my thoughts. "There's always stuff to be done in the Agricultural District and it's a pretty good way to get by if you're new in town—speaking from experience. It's a lot of hard work, but it pays pretty well and after what they've all been through…well, I think they find that a pretty novel concept."

"Probably," I agreed, brightening a tad at the words. "I awakened their Auras so they should be okay. Actually, this sort of leads into why I'm here."

Tukson squinted at me for a moment.

"You looking for another part time job?" He asked. "Because with your track record, I don't know if the Agricultural District would survive employing you. Please, think of all the Faunus who need the work and all the people who need the food."

"Hah," I laughed tonelessly. "Very funny, but no. I'm just looking for some books on the subject; I'm working on something."

"Yeah?" He asked, coming around the desk and down a line of shelves. He paused for a moment, fingertips brushing spines, and frowned. "What kind of something? And do you want gardening or farming?"

"I honestly don't know the difference," I admitted. "Both, I guess, because why not? I'm gonna try awakening the Auras of plants."

Tukson paused, blinking as he turned to face me.

"What?" He asked. "Why?"

"To see what happens, I guess," I answered honestly. "And to train myself but, honestly, at this point I just really want to know what'll happen. A lot of people down in Ag have tried it and had a lot of trouble, so I kind of want to know how it'll work if I try. If I get a skill out of it, it should tell me exactly what it does—and even if it doesn't, Observe should show me the results. I had the idea weeks ago but was so busy…it's been bothering me, you know?"

He considered that for a minute before passing me the books.

"Now I'm curious," Tukson shook his head, taking the money I withdrew from my Inventory. "But also kind of hoping that future generations won't condemn me for whatever happens."

"We all worry about that sometimes," I assured, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"No we don't," He denied. "Well, maybe you do, but I mainly just worry about my books and sales. Need anything else?"

I chuckled a bit but checked the clock.

"Not today, I don't think," I said, shaking my head. "I'll need to get back to my parents in just a bit here and this should keep me busy enough for now. I don't suppose there's been any word from Adam and Blake?"

He shook his head.

"Not for a while now," He shook his head. "They volunteered to protect the refugees while they were moved around Vytal, so they're probably busy. It'll take some time to make sure everything's settled."

"Ah," I said, not surprised but a little disappointed nonetheless. It didn't make a lot of difference since it'd be quite some time before I had time enough to do anything—and I couldn't imagine life with the White Fang left them with idle hands, either—but… "Could you message me if anything comes up?"

"Will do," He promised, waving at me slightly. "Good luck with your plants. Try not to create anything that'll get me remembered as the cause of the end times."

"No worries; you'll be a minor footnote in Jaune Arc's Plant Apocalypse, tops," I grinned as I turned to go before pausing. "Though actually…if you're curious, do you want to watch?"

His eyebrows went up.

"What?"

I pulled down the sides of the bag to reveal a simple red rose, planted in a small cup of soil. I'd picked up several different packets of seeds at the market, which I'd test and grow over several weeks to compare to any grown flowers I awakened, but for my first attempt…

It was a little silly, but I wanted the first plant I ever awakened to be something beautiful.

"You interested?" I asked Tukson. "Actually being present would upgrade you to at least accomplice in the case of any foliage-based Doomsday scenario. Do you really want to just be tangentiallyrelated to the rise of the plant monsters?"

"Gee," He said woodenly, pun intended. "When you say it like that, how can I refuse?"

But despite his words, he was smiling as he leaned to rest his forearms on the counter top, and I returned it with a wide grin, locking the door before laying the tip of a finger on the rose's petals.

"For it is in passing," I began, closing my eyes and falling swiftly into a trance. "That we achieve immortality."

XxXXxX

I barely paid attention to the words I was speaking as the world unraveled into patterns of light and darkness. I saw Tukson, a body of color contained within a dim mortal shell. I saw the store around us, left marked by traces of the many lives that had passed through its door, however briefly. Light and power bubbled up from the ground beneath us and streamed down from the skies above, immense patterns painted on the sky, remnants of God only knows what.

And I felt the rose beneath my touch. It was a small and simple thing, a slowly growing light. It wasn't large and seemed unlikely to ever become so on its own—no, it was a rose out of season, grown only for its beauty and doomed from the start. A morbid thought, yet already I could feel the growing touch of death upon it, from its roots to its crimson blossom.

I looked past that, beyond the traces left on its physical form into what lay beneath. It was alive, of course, but in a way the felt different from how Tukson was alive—only natural, I suppose, due to the differences between plants and animals. Still, it was alive and I could feel the light of it growing throughout its form, itself something strange yet familiar. I touched that light with my own, power flooding out of my and setting the structures of the rose alight with the bright color of my Aura, shining brightly even as it pooled somewhere deep within, filling it even as it burnt away what concealed its own light. In a sudden flood, red light flashed throughout its form, leaving it bright to senses and when I opened my eyes I saw that light sheathing its form for a moment before being draw back within.

Left Blooming Alone
LV. 1
?

"Oh," I said after a moment. "It has a level and a title now."

For a moment, we were silent, as if waiting for something to happen. With the red light of its Aura drawn back within its mortal frame, the rose was left looking…exactly the same as before. I wasn't entirely sure what I was expecting, as simply awakening one's Aura didn't generally change who you are or what you looked like, but…

"Kind of anti-climactic," Tukson said, scratching an ear.

I was about to open my mouth to agree when I was distracted.

A skill has been created through a special action! By connecting deeply with the living creatures of the world, the skill 'Natural Bond' has been created!

A skill has been created through a special action! By promoting life within plants, the skill 'Green Thumb' has been created!

Natural Bond (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%
By developing a connection with forms of life around you, a bond has been formed with the natural world. Only possible for those closely attuned to nature.
Increase the effectiveness of Survival and Stealth by 10% in natural surroundings.
Increase HP regeneration by 10 per minute in natural surroundings.
Increase MP regeneration by 10 per minute in natural surroundings.
Slightly increased closeness with natural life.
Slightly increased resistance to natural poisons and diseases.
Reduce all penalties from natural surroundings by 30%.

Green Thumb (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%
The ability to promote life within plants through the usage of Aura (MP). By converting Aura into a usable form, plants can be made to grow and thrive. Only possible for those closely attuned to nature.
Spend 1 MP to gift 1 Experience Point to target plant.
Enhanced plants regain an additional 10 HP regeneration per hour after use for a number of hours equal to the skill's level.
Increased closeness with plants.
Cannot enhance plants beyond user's level.

"—Oh," I mused, furrowing my brows.

"Something wrong?" Tukson asked as he noticed my expression.

"I…" I paused. "I have no idea. I got some new skills and…Give me a second."

Ignoring the fact that I still didn't really know how the Hell 'closeness' worked—much less withplants—the skills were pretty straightforward. Natural Bond seemed like a pretty damn good Passive technique, if one limited to, I assumed, places that weren't urbanized. Still, it wasn't hard to find places where the natural world reigned supreme in Remnant and as a Hunter especially, I was more than happy with the bonuses. As something that I didn't have to pay anything for, it was pretty great.

Green Thumb, however, left me a bit more confused. I mean, I guess it made a certain kind of sense? I'd never actually considered how magically causing a plant to grow would manifest in terms of my power, but if we considered experience the trait of growing up, I supposed maybe it wasn't that odd? Presumably, causing some form of permanent growth in an unnatural way would take the form of either stat boosts or else leveling and I wasn't sure how stat boosts would be represent, since it would depend a great deal on the plant. Leveling as one grew up made sense with what I knew as well, even if I'd never considered it in such a way before; it certainly seemed to be the case with, at least, small children.

Except…to be honest, I had no idea what leveling up meant for anyone who wasn't me or a member of my party. I gained five points every time I leveled up, in addition to a boost to my HP and MP, because I was a game character. I'd started at level one for presumably the same reason, even if that was 'usually' the level of babies and small children.

But other people didn't suddenly get points they could distribute however they wanted to improve themselves. No, more than that, they didn't truly have 'levels' to begin with; those were just markers that my power ascribed to them based on…what? Power? I wasn't sure. It might have had some relation to stats, but I didn't think that was all there was too it; if it did, and I assumed five stat points per level was the norm, then Adam should be far higher than the low forties. No, even beyond his stats, in the right situations Adam's power allowed him to hit far above his weight class, such as when he'd wiped out most of the Giant Nevermore's health in one hit. There was a charge time, but in terms of both stats and threat level, he was…

So I wouldn't say level was just because of stats, nor would I say it was solely because of how big a threat someone was—and the latter especially was something complex and situational, besides. Similarly, people besides me couldn't increase their levels solely by killing things and getting experience, so when they leveled up like Blake and Adam both had, what it meant was…

…I had no idea. The entire system was weird. It made a certain kind of sense when applied to me, but for other people? Adam, Blake, and even Penny all seemed stronger than their levels alone might indicate, but that could have just been because I had no idea what their levels indicated.

So what the hell would it mean for a plant? Would it just make it grow to adulthood? What if I kept using it? If it reached adulthood at level, say, two, what would happen if I raised it to level ten? Or even higher?

Beyond that, converting MP directly to experience sounded really amazing—and it was, to an extent. But at level thirty, I now required millions and millions of experience points to go up a level, which translated to…well, a lot of MP. The skill was only level one so the conversion ratio might change, but…

Well, even so, I was surprised by the existence of such a skill. Was it limited to plants? Balance-wise, I guess it would make sense if the use of such a skill was limited to things that were normally immobile and mindless, but…my power wasn't usually balanced. Still, I certainly hadn't found a way to use such a skill on myself…did that mean anything? Or…

I sighed and shook my head. I loved my power, truly I did, but sometimes I wished it came with an instruction manual or something.

Still, instead of wondering pointlessly, why not just see for myself? First off…

"Observe," I said focusing on the plant.

Race: Rose
Sex: N/A
Level: 1 Next LV: 00.0
Age: 1
STR: 0 DEX: 0
VIT: 2 INT: 0
WIS: 1 LUCK: 15
Specials: Animasynthesis (Passive).
Points: 0

Not really surprising for a rose, I guessed, except for the Luck. The only thing that stood out about it was…

I tapped its special ability.

Animasynthesis (Passive)
The absorption of shed Aura (MP) as a form of sustenance. For every point of Aura spent nearby, gain one experience point.
Range: 1 meter.

"Huh…" I mused, frowning. "But is that a Semblance or just something normal for awakened plants…"

Either way…would that mean it'd get double experience for each point I gave it? Already, I was thinking of ways to make use of such an ability—because I certainly spent enough MP to make such an ability useful. A meter wasn't that great range-wise, but there were ways around that. If I perhaps wore the plant…I'd need to set it up carefully, but I could heal and sustain it, so there should be a way…perhaps if I attached it to my armor? If it absorbed the MP I burnt on a daily basis, it'd grow very quickly indeed. I had no idea what growing would do for it, but it was a tempting idea. In a normal game, I'd assume there'd be some benefit, like some hidden bonus reward to getting it high enough or some special power. Here…I had no way of knowing and the skill itself didn't give an ability to actually control plants, but I could make use of this somehow, I was sure. An Elemental, perhaps, or maybe…

I was getting ahead of myself. I shook my head again, focusing as I reached out to touch it and feed it my power—and then hesitated once more.

"No," I murmured. "If I'm going to do this, then why not…"

Why not go all the way? Or at least try to? I could test the alternative later, but why not see how ridiculous this ability could be?

"Create Party," I said, continuing once the window had appeared. "Invite Rose."

I was sure if 'Rose' would be enough, but a window appeared in front of the plant, fading an instant later as the rose entered my party. I guess creatures that couldn't make the choice for themselves automatically consented to party invites?

And with it in my party…

"Green Thumb," I said, pouring most of my remaining MP into the rose. It shook for a moment before suddenly sprouting, twisting, and growing larger and larger. Roots speared through the plastic cup around it and shifted the bag as flowers blossomed and spread. Thorny stems fell to hang from the shelf, reaching—almost grasping—but finding little else to cling to.

Left Blooming Alone
LV. 2
?

I looked at its profile again and smiled in satisfaction.

"Okay," Tukson mused. "Mildly less anticlimactic. Still kind of disappointing, though."

"Just wait," I said, smiling as I pulled the bag up around the plant's sides. It was far too big to fit completely inside of it anymore, but it made carrying it a bit easier even though I had to channel aura to keep it from punching holes through it. "I'm interested, now. I've got no idea what thismeans, much less what it could do, and I want to find out."

Tukson sighed.

"Just…tell me if it starts eating people so I have a chance to run away, okay?" He asked.

"Bah," I said. "You'd never escape. Before long, it'll be a higher level then you are."

"Wait, what?" Tukson asked, suddenly frowning. "No. What? You're joking, right?"

I chuckled and picked up my new project before turning to go.

"We'll get you to level twelve in no time, baby," I told it, smiling down at it. "See you later, Tukson."

The book trader sighed loudly, shaking his head, but he waved goodbye as I unlocked the door and left.

"I'll call you if I hear anything from our friends," He said, lifting his voice as I went.

"Thanks!" I shouted back, closing the door with a foot. My hands were full of the thorny plant, but looking down at it, I couldn't keep my smile from widening. "Left blooming alone, huh?"

My voice was softer now, gentle even though it probably couldn't understand anything I said.

"That's a pretty sad title for such a beautiful flower," I continued. "But I guess it's not the season for you, is it? Still, instead of being alone…why not spend some time with me? And maybe…let's see if we can find some more friends, okay?"

The rose shifted slightly, even though there was no wind.

XxXXxX

MurazorChief EncyclopedistSuper Awesome Happy Fun Time

The Games We Play
Touch

My parents were still busy with Hunter business when I went to the tower, so I concerned myself with my own matters. The rose was too large to carry comfortable in a bag anymore, so I addressed that first. Recalling the idea I'd had earlier, I equipped the armor I'd used while training with Adam and curled the plant around me. With another feeding to assist the process and some help from Crocea Mors to shape the metal into place, I was left with a number of 'metallic' shoots and stems curled decoratively around my armor, all leading to living roses around my collar and shoulders. Some healing here, feeding there, and liberal use of my power in its presence and it didn't seem bothered by being effectively planted in metal. Later, maybe I could design something more suited to the purpose, but for now, it seemed to work—and though I'd never really considered wearing flowers before, but seeing myself in it, I thought the rose armor was as least as cool as my onesie. My sisters would probably have liked it, at least.

That problem temporarily handled, I moved on to the next matter. I'd bought packages of most of the seed types they'd had available, if with more of a focus on the flowers then the fruit-bearing plants. The fact of the matter was that I just wasn't sure how Aura would mess with things and given that fruits were designed to be eaten—if not by people then by animals—I was wary of starting with them. With flowers, there was still the potential issue of pollination, but it seemed like a lesser risk compared to the possible ingestion of altered fruits.

Still, I'd have to keep a close eye on it, maybe build a greenhouse to act as a contained setting. I already had ideas in mind on what to test; I'd start by comparing different versions of the plants—there would need to be comparisons between ones enhanced early on, ones awakened in adulthood, those awakened young and grown artificially with Green Thumb, those grown with Green Thumb and then enhanced, on and on. I'd need to compare to a baseline, of course, but in time germination, pollination, and fertilization would all need to be tested and the effects on different plants compared.

For now, though, I mainly focused on precisely which seeds to begin with, taking out a few of several different types and storing the rest away in my inventory, before refocusing on my current project. My MP was running low from the awakening and the growth I incited, so I found a quiet place to get comfortable and meditated for a short time, even as I called up a number of skills to burn Aura for the roses. Crocea Mors remained alert in the metal of my armor, shifting it in response to new growth, both allowing it room and gently guiding it.

I noticed some oddities in the plant in the process as it seemed to grow accordingly, bits and pieces of it that should have been in the way shifted—or even shrinking—as it curled around me. Even normally important parts seemed to change…but then, it didn't truly need any form of sustenance but me, did it? Absorbing the cast off light of my soul and profiting from my occasional healings, even systems that should have been vital were unneeded as it curled further and further around me in shifting steel designs. Then, was it growing that way deliberately?

Noting those changes and even more curious, I put off awakening another plant to grow the rose further, letting the steel around me writhe. I guided it away from places that might inhibit my movements and the plant itself seemed to respond to that, paths of growth shifting slightly—not like it was moving a limb, truly, but more like the directions it grew weren't random. I felt prickles as thorns grew, but my armor simply shifted to compensate and between my Vitality, Aura, and various skills, it didn't hurt much to begin with. Getting out of the armor would be a bit tricky, but I could still untangle the vines, stems, and branches. For now, I was just curious to see how much the rose would grow—and how much it could grow.

But I held myself back. Now wasn't the time or place for pushing that particular limit, much as the question cried out to be answered, so I lay the matter somewhat reluctantly aside and moved on. Since the armor's weight was negligible to me now, I drew out some spare metal from my Inventory and drew it over me, hiding the thorns while letting the flowers remain. There was probably a joke or comparison to be taken from that, but I didn't bother, and with the most attention drawing features of my armor gone, I just…

Well. I just sort of wandered, keeping to my thoughts

It actually took me a minute to realize I had nothing else to do. I'd thanked and touched based with Tukson, begun my desired experiment, and…that's pretty much all I'd had planned for my day in Vale. Without room to experiment, I just didn't have a lot else to do, much less on short notice. Tukson was busy, Blake and Adam were gone, and my parents were preoccupied, which left me more or less friendless and alone. I didn't really know anyone else in town, except maybe Junior, and even that was mainly just a business arrangement. I knew the Faunus I'd saved, I supposed, but I couldn't risk drawing attention to them by meeting them as Jian Bing and they wouldn't recognize Jaune Arc.

I guess I just didn't know a lot of people anymore. I didn't really think of myself as cold or unsociable—socially awkward, maybe, but that was different—and I certainly didn't mind people; my mom had always told me that strangers were just friends I hadn't met yet and I'd tried to live by that. It's just…I…I was busy. My power allowed me to train around the clock so…I did. I hadn't had a lot of close friends before, admittedly, but I'd been friendly enough with my classmates—but when I'd gained this power, it had simply taken priority. I mean, this was my dream come true. Could anyone blame me for giving it my full attention? Would anyone else have done differently?

I liked having friends, of course; I mean, who didn't? I was kind of proud that I'd managed to reach out to Blake and Adam, to the people I'd saved, even to Penny. It's just that I didn't mind being alone anymore, either, because I could always train, could always improve myself. For me, someone who'd always been weak…I was fine working constantly for two weeks or two months or even two years. And if someone came up to me or I came across them, I would reach out—but that didn't happen a whole lot while running around a forest. Even with the people I was friends with, it didn't really bother me if Adam and Blake went off to do something and left me behind. I didn't like being truly alone, but in the same way I knew that my parent's and sister's frequent absences didn't mean they didn't love me, I understood that there was more to friendship then proximity. Added to the fact that I had my Elementals to keep me company and I was never really alone anyway.

Did that make me seem distant? I knew I'd kind of blown off a lot of my school life when my powers had set in and I'd be dropping out of school soon, too, but I really didn't mind anybody and I'd never be against making friends. If I saw some of my classmates, or even people on the street, wounded, I'd heal them. If I saw someone looking sad, I'd ask what was wrong. I just got…wrapped up in things. May parents understood that. So had Blake and Adam.

Right?

I sighed. This is why I prefer keeping busy. I don't know if it was just me or a result of being an INT and WIS focused character, but my thoughts just tended to wander.

Screw it.

"Levant, Suryasta, Xihai, Vulturnus," I murmured quietly and calling my Elementals to my side. I didn't manifest them, but I didn't need to in order to see them when they appeared, reclining in various states of ease on the surround architecture. I didn't say anything and I didn't have to, but as I continued my walk through the city, I saw them whenever I looked up. Not necessarily nearby, oftentimes just looking at the city or the people in it, but always there and that put me at ease. When my aimless wanderings took me down a dark alley and through one of the worse parts of town, it didn't both me for a moment. In fact, I just found a place to sit and watched people pass me by.

Oddly enough, even the few people walking the darkening streets didn't come near me.

It was probably the roses, I thought with a smile, cheek resting on a fist as I rolled a seed between the thumb and forefinger of my other hand. I pondered it absently, noting it was a Zinnia, and chuckled to myself. Since no one else was around and the armor covered my face besides…

"To absent friends," I said, lifting it a tad as it grew into a small flower, roots curled about my covered fingers. I coaxed them away, draw the flower up to the blossom into my armor gently touched the white petals with a finger, quietly falling into a trance as I worked to draw out the light within it. It was glowing a gentle white as I opened my eyes to check on it before returning to my meditation, drawing in power. I saw the rose, roots and stems growing through my armor in a color distinct from both my own and the new flower. After a moment though, I felt something shift and change, like…like a drop of coloring diluting in water, except upwards. The dim white of the new flower mixed with brighter red of the rose, starting a shift where they touched that grew out from their connection, quickening as Crocea Mors shifted to make room.

I drew myself from my focus carefully, looking down at the new plant with a slight frown. Already, it's coloring—it very shape—was shifting closer towards…a rose? Something new?

I looked above it and then at my rose, finding the same words above both.

Who Would Inhabit This Bleak World Alone?
LV 4
?

Race: Plant Amalgam
Sex: N/A
Level: 4 Next LV: 37.2
Age: 1
STR: 2 DEX: 1
VIT: 3 INT: 2
WIS: 5 LUCK: 15
Specials: Animasynthesis LV. 5 (Passive), Green Binder LV. 1 (Active & Passive)
Points: 15

"Well," I mused, pondering the plant—plants?-thoughtfully. "You're good at making friends, obviously."

I reached out to check the changed skills when a whisper of wind touched my face. I looked up to see Levant suddenly sitting next to me, eyes staring down the street.

"Levant?" I asked quietly. "What's wrong?"

She turned her gaze back to me, float up to my ear with no other motion. When she spoke, it wasn't with her mental voice but as actual sound, carried on the wind. I looked up to see Vulturnus stretched idly atop a lamppost, unbothered by it being a Hologram. Xihai stood at the edge of a drain, eyes closed as water rushed beneath her. Suryasta stood behind me when I looked back, his demeanor at once reminiscent of a fire about to start and the works mankind had drawn from the flames—dangerously and restrained.

"Okay," I said, patting Levant's head as I rose. She smiled slightly, a simple, gentle expression not at all fitting with the sounds that had come from her lips. "Let's go see, then."

XxXXxX

It probably went without saying that cities were noisy. With thousands and thousands and thousands of people living their lives, it was only natural for it to be loud. Even beyond what was immediately audible, though, there was a lot to be heard in even out of the way places, if your ears were good enough.

Levant's were. Or rather, as an Air Elemental, she didn't need ears to begin with. Because all the air within a rather large volume was under her influence, she could 'hear' things simply by the vibrations they left in the medium. She could feel sound in a way far beyond all but the most exceptional creatures or machines could perceive.

Granted, a lot of the things she heard, she probably just ignored. As I said, in a place like a city, there were a lot sounds and most of them probably didn't mean anything to her. Levant was the wind, old beyond reckoning despite her young appearance, and, in her 'life' before becoming my Elemental, had probably born witness to the rise and fall of empires, great loves and betrayals, and countless acts of heroism and depravity alike—but what did any of those things matter to the wind?

Hell, from the perspective of the Elements, Mankind was a new fad—and, between the Grimm and ourselves, probably not one that would stick around too much longer. Even if the wind somehowdid have a mind of its own, some strange form of awareness independent of its summoning, what reason did it have to care if we laughed or cried, suffered or rejoiced?

But I cared about those things. And Levant cared that I cared.

So when she heard, amidst the countless noises of the city, the sound of people suffering, she whispered them to me—and I acted. It wasn't a single sound, not even close; the sad truth was that in a city as large as Vale, there were countless people suffering in ways beyond counting. There were people weeping over broken hearts, people drinking to numb the pain, addicts shaking and wasting away in back alleys, sounds of violence, the results of accidents, sickness, poverty, hunger—

There were a lot of people in pain. I knew mentally that it was nothing in the grand scheme of things, that only a tiny fraction of the population was suffering at any given time—but a fraction was suffering all the time. The faces changed, the reasons changed, but someone was always getting hurt, whether by others or themselves or things that no one could control. And there…there were so many. Another horrible truth was that you couldn't save everyone; you couldn't even helpeveryone. There were lots of reasons, from situational factors to opportunity costs to countless other things, but you couldn't. You couldn't even come close. I knew that the moment I heard a hundred voices in pain, listened to a wave of suffering so immense that individuals were dragged under and erased. There was nothing I could do to help them all.

But not being able to help everyone, I reckoned, was no reason not to try to help as many as you could, nor did it lessen the value of helping people.

So I tried. From sound alone, much less the wash of different voices Levant brought to my ears, it was impossible to determine who was most in need or where they were or who should be helped in what order. This was, I realized a bit belatedly, my first time truly out in the city with Levant, to say nothing of the first time she was doing this. She was trying to help but I don't think she really knewhow; she knew that people were in pain, but I wasn't certain she completely understood the concept and I, her main link to the human experience, probably wasn't the best example to learn from in that regard. Neither Levant or I would be bothered, or even truly wounded, by say…a few bullets or a car wreck, so what did either of those things mean to Levant? She wasn't truly alien, she was intelligent and capable of learning, but this…this was something she'd had neither experience with nor use for.

So instead, she just relayed everything, knowing I didn't like it when people were in pain. And that told me a lot, but not really what I needed to do something about it. Later, perhaps, I could teach Levant how to distinguish between and decide the value of targets, but for now…for lack of any better option, I just asked her to cut down her range, limiting the number of voices to those closest before letting her guide me to specific voices. I spent a moment listening and heard something very…familiar, picking it out amidst the noise.

She pointed and I followed.

There, She spoke into my mind, distant and gentle at once. Even without her words, I could hear the sounds of crying from within the alley and it seemed like I wasn't the only one—but I meet the severe looking man's eyes calmly and said nothing as I continued forward, making him hesitate.

Level six, I noted absently as I stopped before him, skimming his profile with a moment's focus. A past record and some time…I'd like to hope for the best from those around me, but given the circumstances…

"Leave, Ecru," I said with a sigh, gesturing dismissively as I dropped his name. "You don't even want to try."

And then, just in case, I added.

"I'll handle this."

The man paused at my words and gave me a once over—but I couldn't imagine the streets of Vale were especially kind to those inclined to harass a strangely dressed passerby. He saw the armor, the roses, and how I held myself and wordlessly decided to be elsewhere. I watched him leave calmly and then walked down the alleyway.

"Hello?" I said, though I knew full well where they were. "Are you okay?"

The crying went belatedly silent, dropping into frightened, shaking breaths. I gave them a moment before moving with slow steps into their view. Curled together beside a cardboard box someone had put in the alley were a boy and girl, hands and faces smudged and dirtied with the general grim of this part of the city. Matching blonde hair and brown eyes made me think they were related, which I confirmed with a glance above their heads. Twins of some kind, most likely; though the sister looked a fair bit taller, she'd probably just hit a growth spurt already.

"Hello," I said again, tone gentle as I crouched slowly. I made sure to stay far enough away that they weren't in easy reach, trying to allay their worries. "Are you okay?"

Neither said a word, clinging tighter to one another as they watched me with wary, fearful eyes. It seemed like a rather extreme reaction; I'd have figured the flowers would have allayed some of their suspicion. It worried me enough to press a bit harder.

"You're Johannes and Margaret Wild, right?" I asked, taking a chance by saying their names. "Your parents must be worried sick."

"You know us?" Johannes asked before his sister hushed him.

"No they aren't," She said venomously. "She left us here."

I frowned.

"Did she now?" I murmured. That…what that implied made this more complicated. Beyond what I could easily deal with, honestly, but… "Then it's worse than I thought. Still, you can't very well stayhere. This isn't much of a place for children; if someone besides me had found you…"

And someone almost had, I thought. I wasn't sure if they were lucky or if I was, but I couldn't leave them here.

"And who are you?" Margaret nearly sneered, a surprising amount of bitterness in her voice.

I only hesitated for a moment before shifting my armor subtly with Crocea Mors and lifting my helmet.

"The name's Jaune Arc," I said, smiling at them. "I'm a Hunter. Er, well, I'm training to be one. I help people. Like…like this. Here, I won't hurt you."

I lifted a hand for them to see before slowly extending it toward, just one finger extended. I paused as they cringed away slightly, halting until they relaxed, before gently poking the boy and healing my. Minor scratches and bruises closed and a bit of color returned to his cheeks. He let out a little sound of astonishment, his sister staring at him with wide, astonished eyes. I smiled at her warmly and held out a hand to her, waiting as she deliberated before touching her fingers to my own, healing her when she did.

"See?" I said, trying to sound cheerful to distract them from the situation. "Good as new, right?"

"I…" Margaret hesitated for a moment before drawing her hand back to her chest, looking nervous. "It…it doesn't matter…"

It was hard to remain smiling hearing her say that, the dejected quality in her voice nearly dragging it from my face—but I pressed on, trying to look calm and kind and serene.

"Sure it does," I said. "We don't want you or your brother getting hurt now, do we?"

"It doesn't matter," She insisted, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "We're—"

"It'll be okay," I said soothingly. I wanted to reach out and pat her head, but no—I kept out of her space, kept my hands still and where she could see them. "I promise. I'll handle it."

"You," She demanded. "What are you going to do about this?"

She gestured vaguely. At what, I had no idea. As it happened, I didn't really know what to do about this situation, either, besides taking it to the police. I mean, sure, there was a part of me that wanted to go hero of justice and track down the parents that had apparently abandoned their child, but that wouldn't actually help the kids—and there was a chance, however slight, that this was a misunderstanding. Either way, though, the wise thing to do would be to take this to the VPD, which is what I intended to do.

But…should I just pick them up and haul them to the police? I could probably do it pretty easily and it'd be the fastest way—but I didn't want to. Looking at them, seeing how they'd reacted to my presence, I could see how alone and scared they were and I wanted to…

"Well, I'll help you, of course," I claimed. "I may look a bit odd, but I'm a bit of a hero, you see. Like…like…"

I searched for an example they'd recognize and smiled.

"Like X-ray," I said.

"But you don't even look as strong as Vav," Johannes said with innocent skepticism that made me flinch. His eyes widened. "Wait, I'm sorry!"

"It's…" I sighed to myself as I slouched. "It's okay. I…I guess it was kind of arrogant of me to compare myself to X-ray in the first place…"

Johannes looked sad for me, to the point that I thought he might cry again. Margaret just looked at me like she thought I was very, very sad.

"But…" I continued, pulling myself together. "Believe it or not, I really try my best to help people. I found you that way, you know; I was patrolling for those in need."

"Really," Johannes asked, amazed.

"Really," I said solemnly. "I keep on the lookout for anyone I can help."

"Prove it," Margaret said, seemingly on the verge of rolling her eyes.

"Uh," I said before thinking for a moment. "Okay. I actually detected several other distress signals in the nearby vicinity. There's even one…"

I paused to glance at Levant.

"Over there," I pointed in the same direction as her, standing to hurry towards it. Johannes scurried quickly after me, causing Margaret to rise in alarm and swear like sailor.

But she followed both of us out of the alley and into another one a ways down the other side of the street. I paused at the entryway, scanning the filthy but seemingly empty alley with a slight frown.

"…There's no one here," Margaret said, panting just a bit as she caught up to us and looked around. "You're not very good at this, are you?"

I ignored that, listening as Levant amplified the sound of paining breathing. She'd made it loud enough that I hadn't realized it before, but I probably should have guessed, given what Levant was doing—and if I followed the direction…

I got down on my belly and peered under the old dumpster, squinting against the shadows.

"Hey, little guy," I cooed, Observing it. It was a small dog, hidden in the shadows and the filth and looking…awful. Filthy, hungry, sick, wounded…he looked terrible. I think he was one of the Atlesian breeds, maybe a husky or something, but I didn't have much of an eye for dogs. It could have been a mutt, too, I guess, but whatever it was it must have been on the streets for a while now though it barely looked capable of taking care of itself. A glance at its status effects…

Definitely sick. The injuries it had taken fighting…whatever it had fought were infected, as were its ears and parts of its skin. It had worms, fleas—the list went on and on and got worse as it did. I was honestly amazed it had survived this long—it must have been really lucky, especially to have lasted long enough to meet me.

Or, I wondered not for the first time, was this my Luck.

It didn't matter. I placed a hand on the underside of the dumpster and lifted it absently so I could see under it better, making the children gasp—at me or the dog I wasn't sure—and causing the puppy to growl, a surprisingly fierce sound, if one full of pain.

"Shh," I said soothingly. "It's okay. It's okay."

I lifted a hand, reaching towards it but its growl merely got louder. It didn't try to move or run, probably incapable at this point, but it didn't stop, either.

"You're a fighter, huh?" I said in the same voice, pausing as I reached out. The armor had been designed with Crocea Mors' gauntlets in mind and without them, my hands were bare.

Probably for the best, I thought as I turned off my Metal Aura and Hide. If my hands had been armored, it might hurt itself.

I reached out to touch the dog and was unsurprisingly bitten—but it was so weak it didn't really hurt even without several of my defenses. As it held onto me, I gently brushed its snout with a thumb and began healing it. I stayed like that for a moment, supporting the dumpster and gently stroking the dog as it healed, but after a moment it let go of me on its own, allowing me to scratch its muzzle and then its ears. After a moment, I was even able to gently coax it out and lower the dumpster again.

The little dog sniffed my face once and began licking it as I finished up the last of its healing, looking healthy again, if still dirty and missing a lot of hair. Even so, as I picked it up and cradled it gently, I saw some of the hardness in Margaret's expression melt away.

"Fine," She admitted, grudgingly. "I guess it hard to believe you're a complete asshole when you've got roses and puppies."

I smiled at that, scratching the dog's belly absently even as I wondered when a prepubescent girl learned to swear so easily. I probably wouldn't like the answer.

"Do you do this all the time?" Johannes asked, looking exceedingly impressed. "Save kids and puppies?"

"Not all the time," I admitted honestly after a moment of thought. "But whenever I can, I suppose."

"Are you…" Margaret asked, looking abruptly uncertain. "Are you going to take us back to our parents?"

I looked at her for a moment, judging her reactions.

"No," I said. "Not if they left you here. But I'll take you to people who can help you. Will you go with me to the police?"

She was still for a moment before nodding, moving so I could walk passed her, following me with her bother in hand a moment later.

"Hey, Mr.," Johannes said after a moment. "Does your radar pick up anyone else who needs saving?"

XxXXxX

MurazorChief EncyclopedistSuper Awesome Happy Fun Time

The Games We Play
Detect

An hour or so later, I was waiting in the police office lobby with a lap full of dog. Healthy or not, he shook and panted hard, frightened by the presence of so many people, and probably would have reacted violently had I not continued to pet it and whisper softly. As long as I did that, he seemed content to stay put, though I had to keep petting him to stop him from growling—and I was thus left sitting with a dog on top of me. He wasn't heavy or anything, but he did seem pretty certain that there was no justifiable excuse for me not petting him or moving or anything.

We weren't alone, of course. The kids sat beside me, legs swinging freely, and then there were a few others in seats throughout the room. After picking up Johannes, Margaret, and the dog, I'd meandered in the general direction of the closest police station, pausing somewhat frequently to address anything Levant alerted me to. Because Levant didn't distinguish based on the degree—or even species—that meant progress had been fairly slow, but…

Well, I helped a fair amount of people, I think. I'd seen a lot, too—from a man suffering from arthritis have trouble walking down the street to a domestic dispute I'd interrupted. I'd healed the man and he'd been on his way, but in the latter case…well, things like that were more complicated.

I'd broken and entered, kind of. Well, really, I'd just sort of unlocked the door with Crocea Mors and opened it to get a good look at what was going on, interrupted with a pretty lame 'I guess it was unlocked,' and taken some pictures with my scroll. Nothing huge or anything, but I made it clear I knew what was going on and didn't like it and having someone barge in like that…well, that changes things. I hadn't shouted or threatened or thrown a punch—this really was a matter for the police, after all, and such a thing would just complicate things for them legally—but I'd stood my ground calmly. When I'd seen the thought of threatening me or beating me down cross his mind, I stared at him until he thought twice.

Then I'd left with the victim, talked to her about coming with me to face the police, and had eventually brought her along. Things had continued along that vein; Levant led me to a cat with a broken leg and I healed it. She led me to a minor car accident and I'd fixed a small concussion. There was a drunken man getting sick outside a bar who I'd done my best to fix up and get sober before letting him go on his way. Besides the abandoned children and domestic abuse, there had been a few other things that seemed important, but a lot of them weren't really the type of thing I thought I should interfere with directly, especially at such a time. I'd tell the police about a building I was pretty sure was being used by dealers, because if I went in myself I'd probably make legal action harder. There were a few other places I'd noted but…

Well, maybe a part of Wisdom was knowing not just how to act but when to act? That's what I thought, at least.

Regardless, with a few exceptions most of it was fairly small stuff, especially in comparison to the White Whale incident—but I still thought of it as pretty important to help people in need, even if they weren't being held slaves.

Still…as worthwhile as it had been, my actions today had been inefficient. I'd never really considered its use for this particular purpose before, but my power was well-equipped to handle stuff like this, I just lacked any experience doing so—something I'd need to correct. But really, between my Elemental's senses, Observe, and my other abilities, I could pretty easily help people this way as well. No, even beyond that, just my ability to see people's titles…

I supposed it wasn't really surprising given the nature of my power, but sometimes it still surprised me a little how many ways I had to help people. With my ability to adapt and excel in any situation given enough time…it was really more of a question of what I should do then what I could do. Though I'd dismissed them as empty words before gaining this power, my Mom had always said I could become whatever I wanted. Now, I guess that was factually accurate. It wouldn't be immediate, but if I dedicated myself to something hard enough for long enough, my skills should let me become a master in any field. The only question was which field.

What I wanted more than anything else, what I'd always wanted, was to be a Hunter and defend the world for the monsters at our door—and that was a good choice in a lot of ways, I thought, because our history was all too full of nations that had succumbed to the darkness. In time, I could become a legendary warrior, push back the beasts, and slay even the most deadly of monsters as I helped further the borders of Mankind. I had no idea what my limits were in the long run—in a year, two years, a decade…when I was my father's age, what would I be capable of? I couldn't even guess. But being the slayer of monsters and defender of the innocent was a good choice and one that let me go further by gaining experience quickly.

But there were other problems in the world besides the monsters, and I…I could fight them, too. I could become an investigator easily, even with just my passive skills; I could Observe the details on evidence, gauge suspects, watch out for titles, and hunt down the monsters inside the system. As a healer, if I continued on this path I'd be able to cure any disease, close any wound, save countless lives with but a touch. I could probably develop some sort of political skill, too, if I figured out how; perhaps I could even help unite the Humans and the Faunus. Or maybe I could build technological wonders if I focused on Craft, advance Mankind that way.

I could become any of those things. Maybe all of those things. But what was the right choice? Even if I could do everything, I couldn't do everything at the same time, so what should I focus on and when. I had the chance, especially while I was still at relatively low levels, to shape my entire destiny, but into what? I knew that I was far from the only sixteen year old with uncertainty about the future—but with power like mine, the choices I made could affect so many…

I sighed quietly.

But even with my Wisdom high as it was, I wasn't certain about all the choices I was making for myown life; I don't think I was up to weighing the implications all of my actions and decisions might have far in the future—and if even the short time since I gained my powers had proven anything, it was that I had no idea what the future held, for me or anyone else. For now, I should just—

"Jaune Arc, right?"

I looked up to see a man in a neat suit with salt and pepper hair. Several officers, detectives, and lawyers had filed in and out since I reported what happened to people I'd brought in, but this one was new and…familiar, maybe?

"That's me," I said, patting the dog to indicate why I didn't stand. I looked at him inquisitively for a moment, trying to place his face. "Do I know you, sir?"

"I…think we met once or twice, yeah," He said with a smile, leaning against the side table to my left. "Name's Delrick Albion; I worked with your mom and dad a few times. Last time was about…a year and a half ago, I suppose? They invited me over a few times so we might have seen one another. To be honest, though, I recognized you because you look a lot like your father. Your parents know you're here?"

"Already sent them a message," I nodded. "Kind of surprised they aren't here yet, actually, but they got called in for something earlier. Must have turned out bigger than they expected."

"That happens, yeah," Albion said, looking over me closely. He didn't comment on the armor or the roses, but if he'd worked with my parents, he'd probably seen weirder. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, sir," I replied. "Just here for emotional support, really."

"Yeah?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow as he looked over my little group. Sini drew away, looking elsewhere, while Levi—a young man I'd picked up who seemed to be having problems with his life in general—stared at him nervously.

Margaret, in contrast, looked really bored, her brother already sleeping in the chair next to her.

"Our mom left us in an alley," She said, the words slightly bitter but otherwise without inflection. She could have been talking about a sudden rain shower for all it colored her tone with annoyance.

Albion raised an eyebrow at that, glancing at me as I sighed. I nodded at him in confirmation.

"One sec," He said, pushing off the wall to wander off for a minute. When he returned, he was idly flipping through something, brow furrowed. He must have been a fast reader, though, because he finished the rest of it in a few more seconds, and then sighed. "Busy day, huh?"

I shrugged.

"What were you doing that close to the FF, anyway?" He questioned. "The HQ is in midtown."

"Keeping busy while my parents were held up," I said honestly. "Ended up wandering."

"Up North?" He asked, eyebrow going up again. It didn't really look like he was suspicious but more…well, more like he was looking at a member of my family.

"Mom's been training me, lately," I said defensively. "There wasn't a whole lot else to do on short notice."

"Ah," His expression cleared as if the words explained everything, though he looked at me with enough worry that I assume he knew my mother. "Well, whatever the case, it's a good thing you were there. Your parents will probably be here—"

"Woo!" I heard my dad shout, door slamming wide open to reveal his grinning face. "If it isn't DA the DA! How you doing, Rick?"

Mr. Albion rolled his eyes but smiled a tad fondly.

"Jack," He said. "I was just telling your boy here that he did a good job. It seems he spent his day actually being a productive member of society."

"Ugh, why?" My dad asked, expression pulling back. "I'd heard you were downtown and hoped you'd had fun or something."

"Helping people is fun, Dad," I chided.

He snorted, but gave me a smile as he rustled my hair, sending the dog in my lap growling.

"Oh," He said, looking down at it. "You pick up a puppy, Jaune?"

He reached towards it and was promptly bitten for the attempt, which did nothing but amuse him further.

"What is it?" He asked. "An Atlesian?"

"I think so," I shrugged. "Don't know a lot about dogs, though."

"It is," Albion said surely, not even giving the dog another glance. He'd shifted his attention to look at each of the people I'd brought in in turn, observing them closely.

"It likes you a lot, whatever the case," My dad continued, glancing over my armor with a small smile. "You heal it?"

I glanced at Mr. Albion, a bit surprised he'd bring that up here. I mean, I wasn't really hiding it since I'd used it liberally, but…

He probably knew what he was doing, I thought, trusting him.

"Yeah," I said and saw Albion's eyebrows go up. "He was in a pretty sorry state when I found him."

"My son's been practicing to be a healer," My dad bragged to his friend easily. "Gonna be the best in Vale before you know it. How bad?"

I hesitated for a moment before rattling off a quick list of what he'd suffered from, making my Dad's smug grin widen.

"You got the flowers too, I see." He noted, surprising me again. "You want me to talk to your mother about keeping the dog?"

"Uh," I said, brow furrowing as I looked down at the puppy. I was surprised he would bring up something like this here, but…

I scratched the dog's ears and it panted happily, lifting a paw to pant it against my chest.

"Sure," I said at least. "I mean…yeah. Um, but…"

My dad snorted.

"Rick's got good eyes," He said meaningfully—or perhaps warningly? "It's why he's so good at what he does."

"Why thank you," Albion said, bright green eyes fading abruptly to a more worn color. "I was going to mind my own business, though, Jack."

"You?" Jacques Arc laughed. "And nah, I was gonna speak to you at some point, anyway. Wanted to talk to you about my boy here."

"Oh?" Albion said, casting an easy glance around. "Shall we talk in my office, then?"

XxXXxX

"You'll be okay?" I asked, kneeling beside the children. "You're sure?"

Margaret almost rolled her eyes. My dad and Mr. Albion had left to discuss matters in the latter's office, so I'd remained with what I considered my charges. Well, really, all I'd been able to do was sit beside them and wait as the police did their jobs, giving reassuring nods when they were called into offices to speak in private. Sini had been called in first, thankfully, and after all the physical evidence was recorded I was finally allowed to heal her. She gave her statements, handed over all her contact information, and had her relatives were contacted, one of whom swung by to pick her up. Levi's issues were…well, more complicated due to both his own history and that of his family, but I vouched for him as best I was able.

All in all, though, they were private matters and I wasn't allowed to listen to what went on behind closed doors—and, more than that, didn't listen out of respect for their privacy and the sensitivity of the issue. I trusted the police to be able to handle it and to do all they could.

Except…

Well, given the circumstances it came as no surprise but Johannes and Margaret had their parent's called in for the investigation. Naturally, stories would need to be taken, evidence gathered, social workers would probably be involved, among who knows what else—I understood it was a complex issue made even more complex by the apparently conflicting claims of the parents. But…it was still worrying, that they were being asked to enter the same room as their parents now. I knew mentally that nothing would happen in a police office and the officer who'd come to speak to Margaret had made it clear she didn't have to face them yet if she didn't want to, but…

"It's nothing," She said confidently, sounding for all the world like she meant it despite the somewhat nervous motions of her fingers. "I ain't scared."

"Do you need me to—" I began to offer before she did roll her eyes.

"Go," She insisted and I rose hesitantly, still carrying the now sleeping puppy.

"I'll ask my Dad and Mr. Albion if I can call later and make sure you're okay," I promised as I shifted Johannes into a more comfortable looking position where he slept beside his sister.

"Whatever," She said, though it almost sounded like a thank you. I sighed quietly and nodded at her before leaving.

I barely made it out of the waiting room before I heard my name.

"Jaune," My Dad smiled. "You done?"

I scratched my head and nodded, if a tad uncertainly. My dad laid a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Don't worry; I'm sure they'll be fine," He said. "You did good, son."

"Mr. Albion told you?" I asked, though it wasn't really a question.

"Rick told me what you did, yeah," He said, bobbing his head. "But you gotta understand—sometimes you have to do the best you can and trust others to do the same. You knew your limits and that's good, so leave this to the VPD, okay?"

"Yeah, it's just…" I struggled to find the words.

"I know," He said, understanding as I knew he would. "As a Hunter, Jaune…the future's always uncertain; you know that as well as people twice your age."

I nodded.

"But we face it, even if it looks bleak and it seems hard to find the light," He continued. "We face the unknown, fight the monsters, and risk our lives; that's what being a Hunter means. But we do it all for the sake of others, to protect people and try to create a brighter future for them. Facing danger and uncertainty for that…how could we not? When it's something for us to bear in place of others, we'll face danger proudly. And yet…sometimes it's not. Sometimes we can't protect them—and even when we can, we can't protect them forever. You can spend a month guarding a village and slay any Grimm that comes close, but what will happen after you leave them behind and go protect someplace else?"

"There's no way of knowing," I said quietly.

He nodded.

"So we do the only thing we can," My father said. "We do everything we can. We fight hard and we protect them with our lives and work together and we hold onto hope even when it's hard. And it can get very hard, son; no matter what anyone says, it's not easy to believe, much less to trust people you don't even know with the lives of people you do."

He nodded back in the direction of the children and at the police that must have been with them now.

"But even if we don't know each other, so long as we share the same goals and hopes and dreams, that's enough. No matter where we come from or what brought us together, whether we're Hunters or Soldiers or Policemen, we fight to protect people. When you grow up and have to fight, when lives are on the line and you stand beside people you barely know, remember that it doesn't matter how they got here, only why they came. And that applies here, too. You're worried about them, about their parents and their futures and it's scarier than facing danger yourself because you can protect yourself and they can't. But you brought them to the police for a reason and you can trust them to handle things, right? Being a Huntsman means you've gotta be strong, but it doesn't mean you have to be able to do everything yourself. That's why we work in teams."

I nodded but stayed silent for a minute.

"Is that why you spoke to Mr. Albion?" I asked, looking at him closely. "Because you want me to work with them? I…well, I don't mind, but…"

I didn't mention that I'd worked with Blake and Adam, because I was pretty sure I didn't have to. My Dad's lips twitched.

"Nah, that's something different," He said before giving me a meaningful glance. "Though getting some experience working with the police and making friends wouldn't hurt. Neither would some experience with this kind of business."

I nodded, understanding.

"But I'm not too worried about you in that regard," He said, ruffling my hair. "It's just important for us all to be reminded now and then—it's okay to worry, but it's okay to have faith, too. For those of us who are powerful especially, it can be hard to remember that just because you can stand alone doesn't mean you have to. Even if we have gotten told a thousand times already, God."

I chuckled a little at that, smiling up at my old man.

"Not an issue for me," I said. "I know I've got a long, long way to go."

"Maybe, kid," He shrugged at me, lips twitching. "But you'll get there eventually. Just remember you don't have to protect everyone by yourself. "

I nodded and we were both silent for a minute as we walked through the darkened streets.

"I want to do more than just protect people," I said suddenly. "Because I know I can't be everywhere, can't save everyone. I know nothing I do will ever truly change that fact, too. But…if they'll be safe only because I'm there and be in danger if I'm gone, that's stupid, isn't it? I know I'll be gone eventually, so…I want to help keep them safe, even if I'm gone. That's why…"

He chuckled and put a hand on my head without ruffling it.

"I know. But that's gonna be a lot of work, even when you do get it cheap enough and it won't fix anywhere close to everything. And just getting that far…you told me how hard it would be." He said seriously before suddenly pulling me close with an arm. I had to adjust the dog in my arms to keep him from being squished between us and he let out a chuffing breath in his sleep. "Well, but…I know you'll do it eventually, Jaune, even if it is difficult."

I huffed a bit from beneath his arm, though I wasn't really upset.

"Of course, Dad," I asked. "I already know I can do it, so why would I ever give up?"

He laughed, messing with my hair again.

"That's the spirit," He said. "Anyway, I talked to Rick and…hm. Am I getting you to help him or him to help you?"

He seemed to muse over that for a moment before shrugging with a smile.

"Well, I arranged for you two to help each other, how about that?" He asked. "You should be able to learn a fair bit from him; fighting's not really his specialty, but there's a reason he was put in charge of so much stuff. I was gonna talk to him eventually but since you were here anyway…Well, you're old enough for some of the work and he can pull a few strings. It'll get you some experience or, you know, explain a few things."

I nodded.

"Although," He mused. "It'll have to wait until after your Mother's done with you. And Mistral, of course. And I said I'd bring you along on a mission or two. Your mother will probably think of something else for you to do, too…wow, I guess you're pretty busy, huh, Jaune?"

"You say it as if it had nothing to do with you…" I shook my head but didn't both trying to fight the smile. "It's fine, though."

I let the silence return for a moment before sighing deeply.

"So," I said at last. "How are we gonna explain the dog to mom?"

"I figured you'd just awaken its Aura, bring it home, and not even acknowledge that anything was different," My dad replied like it was nothing. "They say it's better to beg for forgiveness then ask for permission, right? Personally, I never saw a lot of point in apologizing unless you made things worse, though. And really, if there were explosives wired throughout the entire building, odds were it was gonna end up exploding eventually, anyway."

I looked at him for a long moment and then sighed again.

That explained a few things, but…

"Yeah, okay," I said, looking down at the sleeping bundle in my arms.

Just A Dog
LV 1
?

I laid a hand on the dog's head and closed my eyes, reaching out to the light trapped within him with now long-since practiced ease. I muttered the words under my breath but barely heard them as light flared and burst forth, shining trails outlining a weakened mortal form and feeding it power. It shone brightly beside my own and felt…different from a humans, more tactile in a way I wasn't entirely sure how to describe. But I drew myself away from it, drawing a deep breath as I looked at the somewhat startled looking pooch, who let out tiny squeaking barks as his head swiveled and he looked around. I scratched him behind the ears to calm him down and he immediately quieted.

I gave him another once over.

Mystic Dog
LV 1
?

A skill has been created through a special action! Through close bonds and a steady hand, the skill 'Beast Tamer' has been created!

"Not bad," My dad said. "By the way…does he have a name?"

XxXXxX

MurazorChief EncyclopedistSuper Awesome Happy Fun Time

The Games We Play
Pets

My mom pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You named it after the Tiangou?" She asked, looking down at the tiny dog that now panted up at her happily. It sneezed, the act shaking its entire body, and then looked around in confusion—which seemed to simultaneous fill my mom with disapproval and nearly make her laugh. When I'd brought him home, she'd greeted him with a poke, apparently trying to confirm what she was seeing, and had received a now nearly customary bite in response. She'd watched it nibble on her finger for a moment and then flicked him hard enough to send him sliding across the floor. She'd picked him up after he'd lain there for a moment and had watched him careful, both of them having apparently accepting that she was the boss with that gesture.

"He'll grow into it," I said, thinking of his namesake. A legend in Vacuo—though after Ziz, who was I to say whether it had or hadn't been real—the Tiangou had terrorized the lands and skies of the West long ago, possible even before the days of Zhao Zheng. Descriptions varied and may or may not have been exaggerated, but…well, it had been one of the monsters that had gone down in myth alongside the Ziz, and had left a legacy of countless tales behind it. A beast who'd sundered the land and darkened the skies, it was one of the most famous and fearsome monsters of Western legend.

In comparison, the puppy I'd named after it could be lifted comfortably with one hand and found its attempts at aggression met with amused laughter.

I'd chosen the name for several reasons, most of them pretty simple. I thought it was a cool name, for one thing; I mean, given that we were all still alive, the Tiangou probably hadn't actually blotted out, much less eaten, the Sun, but it made for a neat tale and a funny name to give to a tiny puppy. I'd considered naming it after a famous hunting dog, of course, such as the legendary Laelaps or the loyal Argos, some of the most famous hounds in Mistral's history—but it was shocking difficult to find one that hadn't died horribly or tragically. Then again, it was hard to find legendary Hunters that didn't end up dying horribly or tragically in the line of duty, pretty much for the same reason.

Still, while naming it after something that died in an awful manner may have been respectful of their sacrifice, I had luck enough that I didn't want to risk it. The Tiangou had supposedly been driven off, but it was one of the few dog like creatures who'd walked away from everything thrown at it. Yeah, it may have been a horrifically destructive monster, but that was no reason not to think positively about the situation.

And…well, it was stupid, but perhaps a name from the West just seemed fitting, for something weak looking to become strong. After all, I…

"You can just call him Gou, though," I continued. "That's what I call him, isn't that right, Gou?"

He barked, looking at me upside-down with a panting, puppy dog grin. My Mom just shook her head.

"You do realize that Gou means dog, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, so?" I asked, wondering what her point was.

My mom rolled her eyes and checked the dog's teeth, ears, and fur, even as it panted happily in her arms.

"You'll take care of him, feed him, and train him yourself," She said almost absently. It wasn't a question, but I answered it regardless.

"I intended to," I replied. "I already awakened his Aura and I got an animal training skill out of it, too. I'll train him up in no time."

"Good," She said, a little more sternly. "It doesn't matter if he does it to us, but if he persists in biting anyone who comes close, someone will get hurt—especially with an Aura. Make sure that doesn't happen."

I nodded.

"He won't interfere with your training, either," She stated in the same tone. "We missed today—and that's my fault more than yours, but we did and we will make up for it. We have a long way to go still, especially with your new friends in the mix."

"No problem," I said. "I was going to get back to work anyway. The flowers are fine, too?"

She frowned again, looking me over carefully. Even after spending hours in solid metal, the flowers remained vibrant and continued to grow. The traits from the two flowers that had been a part of it had begun mixing more and more as the day went on, whether as a result of time or the plants continued growth.

Either way, I couldn't deny that the possibilities intrigued me. In the midst of everything that happened, there hadn't been time to check precisely how the process worked, but if it could merge with other plants, draw them in to the create a greater whole…

It was just a flower now and there were probably limiting factors, but it wasn't impossible to imagine a living, sentient forest.

There was no way of knowing how the specifics worked without testing it, of course—so I would. Before long, I'd add some new plants to the amalgam—maybe some lilies or lotuses at first, simple and beautiful things. I'd need to define the precise limits and carefully control its growth, keep it from running out of control, but the idea of it all…I wanted to see it grow. After all, it was…

"Be careful, Jaune," My mother said, echoing my earlier thoughts. "You said it gained Intelligence and Dexterity as it leveled…I trust you Jaune and I know you're smart, but however fascinating this might be, you have to be careful with this. In a way, you've created life, Jaune. You've crafted a mind that can live and grow who knows how far—and you have to be responsible for it. I'm not…"

She frowned, seeming to search for the words.

"I'm not telling you to stop it," She said slowly. "Or even to limit it, necessarily. But the creation and care of another life is something that needs to be done with wisdom and understanding—and you have those, but…Jaune, whatever you do with the life you now hold will shape its future. The choices you make for it, how you raise it…it's not easy to tend to another and it's not a role you can put on and then discard. Even beyond that, you may have started something huge and if anything were to go wrong…You need to be smart about this."

"I know," I said, immediately becoming serious. I had to admit, this really wasn't a conversation I'd expected to have with my mother for…a long, long time and it was weird as hell, but I gave it the attention it deserved. "I will. I mean, I want to make it grow, but…that's because I want it to grow and I want to watch what it grow into. I get that I've made something new—not just a new life but a new form or life—and that there are obligations that go with that, even beyond making sure it doesn't grow up to eat people. I need to keep it safe and…I get it. I do. And I will, because…wow, it's…it's amazing, isn't it?"

She looked at my face for a long moment, possibly wondering about the series of life choices that had resulted in her becoming the sort of grandmother to a sort of plant baby, but then nodded.

"It's different from a normal child," She warned. "That'll make things both easier and harder for you. I'm sure it will grow fast under your care, but make sure it does so properly."

"Also," My Dad said, wandering back in after raiding the fridge for a sandwich and a drink. "Remember that 'I am your creator!' is not an effective argument or defense with babies, nor does it make them obey. Speaking from experience."

My Mom turned and gave him a look that could have melted the skin off a lesser man.

"Jack," She all but growled. "This is serious."

"So am I," He said, glancing around at the non-humans in the room. "Sup, dog. Sup, flowers."

Gou panted happily, mouth dropping open in an ever wider grin as he came over to pet it and then pat the flowers.

"Anyway, we talked about what we'd do if he ended up making an AI or something," He shrugged. "This is kind of like that. I'll go buy you some of the classics so you know what not to do. And don't worry, I'll swear of mowing the lawn and stuff."

My mom closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. From how long she remained that way, I thought she might have been counting to ten.

"Anyway, are you gonna keep carrying her around like that?" My dad nodded at my armor. "From what you told me, she might be getting pretty big. You'll need to figure something out for that."

I reached up to touch the blossoms on my chest and nodded.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that, too," I said. "But I'd like to keep her close, too. I've been thinking about what could be done if she merged with trees and such, but…"

"It can be hard, watching them grow up," Dad shook his head before pausing. "I mean, granted, she's growing a bit faster than your sisters, but…"

"Jaune," Mom said at last, staring a hole in the back of my dad's head. "Start training."

I nodded and rose from my seat.

"Come on, Gou," I said, moving to the door. "Let's go get some exercise."

Gou barked and ran after me when my mom put him down. As I opened the door, my mom stopped me again.

"Wait, Jaune…" She said, pausing for a moment before asking her question. "What's her name?"

I was silent for a moment, tilting my head to the side. Coming up with a name for Gou had been easy enough, since there were plenty of good examples to draw from. I didn't want to give either of them stupid or silly names; I wanted them to mean something, even if they didn't understand what they meant. It was something that mattered, like how I'd been named after my mother's teacher, the Hatchet. For Gou, a tiny dog I'd found near death, it was at once something to strive for and a promise. But…

Well, there were a lot more famous dogs then there were famous plants—or maybe I just had more knowledge about the former. It was just as well, I supposed; I wanted to think about them, to show that I'd given it serious thought instead of granting them dismissively. I didn't want to say the same thing for the flowers as I had with Gou, either, but…

Left blooming alone, I thought, looking down at the petals of the flowers and their many brilliant shades. Out of season, a rose born to be beautiful and then die—but it hadn't. Then, if it had survived the Summer…

"How about Autumn?" I said, smiling as the question mark faded from the sign above the rose.

XxXXxX

With my business done and my parent's filled in, I threw myself back into my training, redoubling my efforts to improve myself. Though I called Margaret periodically to check up on her as I'd promised, I largely fell back into the routine of my schedule, training both my body and my mind. Sometimes, it almost felt as if nothing had changed, that the break had never occurred—but that was just the repetitiveness of my days talking. This stage of my training was all about honing my fundamentals, creating something to build upon through repeated effort. Training my stats was a lot harder than training my skills, but they tied into everything and even a slight boost to strength could be multiplied many times over when I called upon my powers.

So I ran and I lifted and I studied the days away. It was kind of funny in its own way, how whatever happened, I always seemed to come back to this. What was that old saying? Before Enlightenment: Chop wood, carry water. After Enlightenment: Chop wood, carry water. Even when I could scarcely believe how much some things had changed, I was amazed by how other things just hadn't. Hell, sometimes I imagined myself ten or twenty years from now, training for months to get one more level or grinding some new skill.

Granted, my new companions necessitated a bit of a shift—but even they didn't really changethings. With Autumn and Gou in my party and my power thus extended to cover them, I mainly just went about my days with them at my side, keeping an eye on them and helping them improve where I could with my new abilities. The skill I'd gotten while awakening Gou—Beast Tamer—facilitated attempts to train animals in a way similar to Green Thumb…except not really?

Beast Tamer (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 100
The power to hasten the training and growth of an animal through a resonance of souls. Only possible for those attuned to both animals and nature.
Increase the effectiveness of training on enhanced Animals by 100%.
Increase the HP and SP regeneration of enhanced animals by 100%.
Increased closeness with animals.
Additional 50 MP used per minute.
Enhanced animals cannot be trained beyond the abilities of the user.

As usual, my power wasn't very clear, but…essentially, it allowed animals to improve their abilities—that is, what my ability translated as stats, skills, and possibly even levels—more quickly under my care. I'm never quite sure when it came to stuff like experience and levels and other things that really only applied to me, but I'm pretty sure it amounted to gaining double experience.

Whether it was or not, though, Gou trained beside me all the time, running with me day and night. When he got tired, I restored his stamina with a quick heal, gave him some food and water, and we got back to work. Most days we'd run around Vale a few times in the mornings and evenings and he'd spend the rest of the day by my side, either sitting near my feet or playing around like the puppy he was, though I trained him in other things during what free time I had—mainly just basic dog stuff I'd looked up on my Scroll. He was still a puppy and a long way from being a hunting dog, but I kept a close eye on him and watched him grow both larger and stronger as time went on.

Someday, when he was ready, I'd take him out to hunt Grimm and improve his level as well as his stats. I was nervous about allowing a level one dog fight monsters—but I also knew well that there were more to fights than what my power interpreted as levels. He was growing quickly, physical stats rising as he trained beside me, and eventually…I was worried about putting him in danger, but I knew that by the time I did, he'd be more than up to facing it.

As for my 'daughter'…In many ways, Autumn was the opposite of Gou, growing fairly quickly in level but very slowly in stats. Because of the amount of MP I burnt in a day, she'd quickly fulfilled my claim and surpassed Tukson, growing until she could no longer easily be carried by me. She grew in twisted loops and thorny vines, sustained more by my Aura than any other form of sustenance and growing to reflect that as she grew further and further from a normal plant. A tad sadly, I'd finally crafted the armor and some other spare metal into something between a baby carriage and a rickshaw and begun to pull her along behind me—I tried to think of it as just another form of strength training, but it still left me feeling oddly disappointed.

But I didn't stop her from growing, even when it made it harder to keep her close; I assisted it, at least where I felt right doing so. Though her Vitality had improved a fair bit as she'd gotten bigger, things like her Dexterity and Intelligence improved much more slowly. Though she'd built up a number of points through leveling as a member of my party, without true sapience and mobility she had no way of spending them. It was possible I could have found a way around that, somehow, perhaps spent the points for her. I hadn't found anything when I checked, but that didn't mean there wasn't one. Perhaps I could control her somehow, call up her screen, and make her increase the appropriate stats—

And yet, I waited patiently instead, allowing her to grow on her own. Because for all I wanted to speed the process, that was just my own impatience at work—I knew that she'd gain Intelligence in time, knew that she was becoming slowly more mobile, and so I didn't want to interfere. Because each of those points…I knew well their value and as much as I wanted to spend them for her, it was nothing compared to how much I wanted her to be able to spend them for herself, to choose how she'd grow and develop. Regardless of what I wanted or suspected or desired, I wanted it to be her own choices that defined her, so the points were a…birthday present of sorts, for the life I had created.

Which isn't to say I did nothing. I helped her grow in every way I could, shedding massive amounts of Aura when I had some to spare and—though she didn't truly need them—I nonetheless made sure she had water, nutrients, and light. I even researched some studies on plants and music and followed them.

And, of course, I brought her other plants. I didn't force her in that regard, either, but I didn't have to; in the same way that the Rose and the Zinnia had melded without my input, Autumn naturally sought to reach out to other plants. I simply assisted her by awakening more flowers and leaving them for her to meld with—for with each plant that joined the Amalgam, she grew. Her flowers blossomed in increasingly varied shapes and colors, roots and branches shifting in both shape and function as they did. She took in lotuses and lilies, sunflowers and hydrangea, irises and carnations and more until, in time, she seemed more an cloak of petals then a coil of thorns. And with each, she grew a tiny bit stronger, a tiny bit smarter. Hundreds of flowers came together and then some to create a being that was still more than the sum of its parts.

And yet…

I sighed as I rose from my meditative state, knowing it was time. I'd felt it, seen it for weeks now, and I knew what I had to do.

"I guess you can't grow much more that way, can you, girl?" I said, Gou's ears perking up as I finally rose, brushing a hand through the flowers in the rickshaw. I'd gotten more than a few strange looks around town for running with it and my dog, but that didn't matter to me, compared to this. I'd kept her close to my side for nearly a month and a half now, letting her gaining experience with each point of MP I spent—and I spent a lot of MP. Every day, I burnt tens of thousands of MP, shedding it and swiftly refueling in a trance. In this relatively short time, I must have spent several million MP; probably not even enough to raise me up a single level anymore, but for Autumn…

Who Would Inhabit This Bleak World Alone?
LV 19
Autumn Rose

I felt the blossoms and branches shift slightly at my touch, a definite reaction to contact, to my presence. She'd come a long way, such that even with the addition of many flowers a day, she couldn't grow very quickly anymore. Each flower gave her power, mass, experience, but at this point it was a negligible addition. She needed something larger now, so it was time to try something bigger again.

Slowly, carefully, I lifted the thorny length of a branch, Levant assisting with a buoying winds to support more and more of her. I'd needed to reinforce and enlarge the rickshaw several times as Autumn had grown and all told, she was at least a thousand kilograms of plant. Even with the modifications I'd made, the rickshaw was only able to hold up because of Crocea Mors' assistance, and pulling her around had become my main form of strength training of late.

And I wound the totality of that slowly around the large tree I'd been resting under, curling it around the branches and trunk. It looked, more than anything, like a many-limbed creature was trying to devoured the tree, with dozens of impossibly long and flexible branches rising out of Autumn's main body on the ground—a tiny little thing, compared to the branches and roots that grew so unbelievably. Then, when I was done, I laid a hand on the ash tree's trunk and took a breath, leaning my forehead against it as I closed my eyes.

By now, the ritual was long since routine to me. My soul flowed into the Ash, starting at the roots and rising up towards the sky through the trunk and the branches. All but leafless in the fall, the barren branches grasped at the sky and I felt them as I could feel my own limbs. The light within the tree was concealed by the muck of material existence, but that concealing detritus cracked in a moment under my touch and it shed its restraints as easily as it had its leaves.

I exhaled slowly and stepped away from the tree's murky green light, kneeling beside Ash and Autumn. When the light faded, nothing had changed—it was still an ash tree decorated in Autumn's coils. Not surprising, honestly; this wasn't the first time Autumn had sought to meld with a tree and failed. The difference in size and relative power between her and a tree interfered with her Green Binder and no amount of slow struggling on her seemed enough to change that. Eventually, she'd give up and I'd return her to her carriage.

But today, things were different. My training was nearing its end, with less than a week until Mistral. My physical stats now lingered near seventy, close enough to rectify before the tournament—but my Intelligence…

Having started nearly ten levels higher, it went without saying that it was the first to reach the benchmark. It had taken just a little over five weeks of training, in fact, with the rest spent trying to improve it yet further in the time that remained. Yet…with it now over seventy and my physical stats still trailing a bit behind, I'd spoken to my mother and she'd agreed; I'd be spending the remaining days focuses on my body instead of my mind. Even just taking into account the time it had taken to reach seventy-one…it wasn't worth it, comparatively.

Especially when I could do this instead.

I brought my status screen up and made my changes, inhaling deeply as I did.

By raising INT above 100, you have gained a random ability related to your brain functions.

The skill 'Clairvoyance' was created.

By raising INT above 100, you have gained the passive skill 'Medium Mana.'

By raising INT above 100, you have gained the passive skill 'Mana Regeneration.'

I smiled, looking down at my hand as I flexed my fingers.

"Let's try this again, dear," I said, touching her roots. "Green Thumb."

Even more flowers bloomed across Autumn's limbs until the Ash was all but hidden beneath their bulk, but it wasn't enough.

Not yet.

"It's fine," I murmured. "I can do this all night."

XxXXxX

MurazorChief EncyclopedistSuper Awesome Happy Fun Time

The Games We Play
Alerts

Once skeletal branches were now adorned in leaves and flowers of every color, blossoms growing on bark and branch as much as anywhere else. Standing out against it were deep discolorations where Autumn had once been wrapped around the tree, marking where the organic material of the two plants had melded together to create something new. Though once an Ash tree, the plant amalgam seemed unable to decide what it would be now and its structure and design varied from branch to branch, the bulk of its truck shuddering and shifting occasionally as it followed suit. Around the lesion-like remnants of their fusion, the tree's bark seemed to ripple in slow motion, setting down patterns and colors and even the occasional half-formed image as it changed. In one place it might be smooth, in another covered by almost scale-like patterns, though some of the oddity was hidden by the growth of the even stranger flowers.

Before, the flowers had been varied, the result of many different plants coming together. A lotus might burn with the colors of fall or a carnation might slowly take on more aspects of a lily, slowly creating something distinct and different and new in each blossom—but all leading back to some recognizable source, if you knew what to look for. A specific flower might combine a shape with a strange color or a find a middle point between two extremes, but you could still see where it came from.

But Autumn had grown beyond such things now. Flowers I couldn't identify grew from the wood of the tree or rose from the dirt around it, reaching up from the roots. A flower would fall away and something more vibrant rise in its place, white petals catching the light strangely and sending it back in opalescent shades. A fern-like leaf would twitch once and close, as if growing in reverse. Vines would fall from branches and twitch occasionally, curling oddly. I could recognize it all, ascribe traits to plants I'd seen and studied and knew existed—but they weren't plants I'd given to Autumn.

It was strange. What had once been a simple tree now seemed almost alien, something unreal. Beautiful in some ways, but also something that put you on edge, something that looked wrong. And yet…

"You've grown a lot," I said, smiling. Though someone else might have been frightened or alarmed, I wasn't off put in the slightest by Autumn's changes. Part of that may have been the Gamer's Mind, part of it might have been that I knew my own power—and part of it might have simply been that I was feeling bizarrely…hopeful. And to the extent that I felt nervous, it was for a different reason. "I've said it before, but…my name's Jaune Arc. I was the one who…well, who woke you up. I'm kind of your father, you could say. I, uh, I even gave you a name. Autumn, because you survived the Summer and because you have such beautiful leaves…do you know what Summer is? Or what, um….can you understand what I'm saying, now?"

Autumn's branches creaked slightly as they moved, shifting unnaturally in the windless night. There was the sound of leaves moving and brushing together, but even that seemed…off. Deliberate, maybe?

But she reacted to my words. She'd moved. It was still slow, cautious, and careful, but she'dreacted. I'd spent all night Observing her closely as I urged her to grow just a bit more. I'd leveled up Green Thumb greatly in the last few weeks and I knew Autumn's own skills had improved as she'd grown, but this…

I'd actually done it. Before I left for Mistral, I'd wanted to do at least this much, to guarantee nothing went wrong in my absence. As she'd grown ever bigger, I'd known that taking her with me would be unfeasible, but I needed to ensure that she'd be okay. In the body of an ancient tree with roots set firmly down, supported by the many plants she'd made a part of herself, I knew that she'd survive—and if I'd gotten her far enough to be able to understand what I was saying and react to my words…

It was thanks to my new skills, I thought with a fierce grin. I'd strongly suspected that reaching a hundred would give me something good, but three skills? That had surprised even me.

Medium Mana Capacity (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%
An ability given to the few mana users that are born with an exceptional ability to handle mana.
Mana-based attacks are 15% stronger.
10% less MP used for all attacks.

Mana Regeneration (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%
An ability given to those with a special heritage that allows for faster recovery of MP.
MP regeneration increased by 100%.

Clairvoyance (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 50
An ability given to those with the natural ability to clearly perceive the world through forms of Extrasensory Perception. Takes the form of enhanced visual acuity and perception beyond the limits of normal eyesight, as well as optical interpretation of information. Range, breadth, and visual processing increase with skill level, INT, and through related abilities.
Additional 50 MP used per minute.

All three were powerful skills even separately. Together, though? They were something else, both for what they said and what they didn't say. Medium Mana Capacity, even beyond the cost reduction to my other skills, seemed to have…well, increased my Mana Capacity, despite nothing indicating it. I wasn't sure why that was the case—perhaps it was a set amount that did not change as the skill improved?—but it was and it meant I suddenly had a lot more MP to work with, especially with Mana Regeneration assisting it. Boosting my passive MP regeneration from one percent to two percent on top of my increased MP meant I could maintain far more skills than before, as well as restore my full power much more quickly.

Clairvoyance, the random ability I'd gotten for going over a hundred INT, didn't play into that combination directly, but made up for it by simply being an amazing ability all around—so much so that I had to wonder if it was truly a random selection at all. Had I gotten lucky or had I gotten Lucky? Either way, I'd struck gold when I received it. At its most basic level, it improved my sight, allowing me to see far further and more clearly then I had with even Lenore—but then my Affinities and Skills came into play.

I wasn't sure if it was because I was a game character, but…really, it reminded me a great deal of some of the games I played. Sonar vision from Levant, thermal from Suryasta, what I assumed was EMF from either Vulturnus or Crocea Mors—or perhaps both—the list went on and on. For a long time, I'd used them to perceive such things for me and notify me in abstract was, but now…now I could see it for myself.

And it didn't stop there. Perhaps it was because of my meditation or past experiences, but…surrounding Autumn, Gou, myself, and everything around us…I could see Auras as clearly as if I was wearing Lenore, if not more so. When I'd used my power on Autumn, encouraged her growth with my own energy, I'd been able to see it with my eyes as well as feel it. When it came to applying Aura, the addition of 'sight' to what had formerly been only 'touch'…

Gou barked, drawing me out of my thoughts and self-praise. He stood beside Autumn, front paws on the tree's truck and head stretched back to look at me. I saw patterns of dark colored Aura ripple and pulse around him, colliding with Autumn's own in a prismatic display as the tree continued to shift.

I frowned.

"Autumn?" I said again, watching her continue to sway her limbs, brows furrowing in concern as I approached carefully. Of course, she didn't reply except perhaps by shifting herself in my direction a bit more than others. Almost as if… "Oh. Oh, no. Shit."

I continued my approach until I touched the tree as Gou had, hands flat against the truck. The movement of her branches halted as we touched—or rather, as my Aura touched her own.

God damn it…

"I'd hoped that as you grew, with so many plants and such a high level…" I sighed quietly, the happiness I'd felt at my power and success draining swiftly away. "But of course, you can't see, can you? The way you perceive the world is…"

I reached out beyond her trunk, Aura extending to grasp her own. I held her like that for a moment, watching the light of my soul surround her own as she calmed, quieting slowly at the contact. I'd just been thinking of how much of a difference even one additional sense made when it came to Aura, but Autumn…Autumn was blind. And deaf and numb and—
"I…dammit," I whispered, suddenly feeling exhausted and awful. "It's…I just…"

I wondered to do. I mean…the life I'd created had suddenly gained awareness of the world, not merely as a plant but as a truly sapient creature—and one locked within a body that could not see or hear or feel, but for the touch of another's Aura. Something like that…

It was a problem I had to make a priority. In comparison, the trip to Mistral was effectively meaningless; I couldn't leave her alone and scared for days or weeks, even if she could survive without me. If she'd been able to see and hear…that might have been different. I could have left her with my father, if I couldn't find another solution, or made plans, or…but…

No, I told myself. First of all, none of that mattered. I shoved it from my thoughts and focused, gathering my power. As I touched her Aura with my own, I shifted my power in a careful pattern, tracing slowly.

"Can you hear me?" I said pointlessly. I wasn't communicating with her through sound, but through the touch of my Aura—and not in the form of words, either, for what grasp would she have of language? Instead, I tried to give a feeling, to express something without words to someone who wouldn't understand anything I said. Really, what I was trying to do was something ridiculous, akin to teaching a language I didn't know to a newborn. If it was possible at all, it'd take years of trial and error to slowly establish meaning between us, but…

But if it was me…

"Please…" I said quietly, repeating the message carefully, again and again and again. "Please…"

A skill has been created through a special action! Through the repeated connection of souls, the skill 'Floral Communion' has been created to speak with plant life!

Floral Communion (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 40
The ability to comprehend and communicate with plants. At this level, simple communication with an appropriate target is possible, limited by the target's Intelligence and sense of its surroundings, as well as their ability to respond to stimuli.
Increased closeness with plants.
Duration: 30 minutes.

"Yes!" I near shouted, smiling again. "Hell yes! Thank you!"

Of course, with my ability, something like this was nothing. Really, I've done way crazier things, this was just—

I used the skill and tried again, 'speaking' slowly to make sure I was understood. It wasn't much at all like talking, but it was something, and I was able to tell the nascent mind within the tree that I was here for her, who I was, and what was happening. I was able to connect my mind to hers slowly and hear her respond, however sluggishly. And so I tried to explain and allay her fears, keeping things simple as I did, even as I used the skill frequently to try and improve it. With my improved MP and Mana Regeneration, and with the skill's duration…I cast it until I had almost no MP, and while the skill lingered, regained MP to cast it even more.

As the skill improved, I tried to explain things to her, though I wasn't sure how much she truly grasped. I explained that I'd created her and how and why, told her about the world around her and tried to paint it in a way that she could understand. More than that, I tried to explain my power as the Gamer, tried to somehow convey what it meant. My power, the party system, the points she had…was that the solution? It might well have been, but how did I explain that to someone who had no reference point?

Perhaps I should try something else. An Elemental, perhaps? I wasn't sure if it would work for this, but I could certainly try. Or, if not for me, then perhaps she could use an Elemental? The Affinity required for the skill and how difficult such a thing was to get for anyone who wasn't me rendered the ability pretty much impossible for me to teach to others—but if anyone was likely to have a…Plant Affinity, one would imagine it would be a sentient plant. I had options, was the point, I just had to figure out—

A screen appeared before me so suddenly that I nearly stumbled back. It was one I didn't recognize, yellow in color, and I would have sworn at it if the Gamer's Mind hadn't calmed me. Instead, I look a deep breath and looked at it, figuring it might actually be important.

I stared.

You have 1 new message!

"What…?" I murmured, looking around as if I might find a message box somewhere. I had a new message? What kind of message? From who? And how? The only messages I got were from—

I paused before reaching into my Inventory with one hand, fishing out my scroll. Sure enough, the light was blinking, indicating that I had a new message.

I eyed it strangely. I suppose it wasn't that odd, relatively speaking. In games where you had scrolls and such, it wasn't uncommon for you to get an alert when you got something—except Inever had, even when I'd gotten messages in the past, so what was going on? Had my power changed somehow or…

No, I thought as something occurred to me. This was something new and it just so happened that I had just gotten something new. I'd turned off most of my abilities to maximize my MP regeneration, but I'd left several on for being useful—including my new Clairvoyance. I'd kept it because being able to see my Aura made 'speaking' with it that much easier, but…

It had interacted with my Elemental Affinities, I mused. Could it be interacting with…I suppose it would be the Gamer's Body? It wasn't that hard to believe; the information I got from Observe appeared to me in the form of a pop-up window, so I knew stuff could work like that, but I hadn't…

It didn't matter, I thought. Though a part of me was tempted to just ignore the damn thing, only a few people had my number, none of whom would call me for no reason—especially at this time of night. So I opened it, keeping one had on Autumn's trunk reassuringly, and checked my messages. It was from Adam, I noticed with a bit of surprise.

We need to talk. Meet me at the shop.

I pondered the terse message with a slight frown, musing over it. 'The shop' meant Tukson's, of course, but for Adam to call me and request a meeting…

"He probably just wants to hang out," I said to myself. "Get me that drink he owes me."

I waited for a moment to see if I believed that and shook my head. Even though I'd sent some messages to Ozpin and things were beginning to calm down a bit, they were still very much on the edge and Adam—Jian Bing's most well-known accomplice—probably wouldn't risk meeting here in Vale just to hang out. I'd figured we wouldn't meet each other for another few months, in fact. For him to call me this early meant…I had no idea what it meant.

Trouble, I guess. And if it was trouble, Adam either needed my help, in which case it must have been very dangerous, or else wanted to warn me about something, in which case it must have been catastrophically dangerous. Either way, I should go see what he had to say.

But…with Autumn still in this state…leaving would probably mean abandoning her for hours. Maybe longer, if things were bad, and possibly a lot longer if things were really, really bad. A part of me wanted to swear, because good God, nearly two months of peace and things choose to pop upnow?

I considered asking him to meet me here instead, but would that have been too risky? Adam was a wanted criminal, while I was…well, an even more wanted criminal, but better hidden. Walking around when he didn't have to, coming to my house…logic and wisdom said I shouldn't risk it, but…

I nearly growled when I heard something that made me turn around; the sound of another screen appearing—

And again, I stared. It would have been a normal status screen, if not for the fact that it was completely blank and released a strange, alternating hum.

"What the…?" I muttered, frowning as I tilted my head. What was this supposed to mean? Was it another new window caused by my Clairvoyance? And if so, what was it trying to tell me? Or—

I looked up at Autumn.

"Is this yours?" I asked, both aloud and with my power.

For a moment, there was no reply.

And then she started melting, branches beginning to droop under their own weight as bark liquefied and droplets of plant matter fell to the ground.

"What the fuck!?" I swore, immediately trying to heal her. I used Soulforge first, pulling out a Dust crystal when it did nothing. When that didn't work either, I tried Regeneration and Green Thumb, but neither made a difference. I started panicking—

I exhaled slowly and used Observe. Her HP was full, I noted in relief, so whatever was happening wasn't hurting her in that sense. I skimmed her stats quickly on my way to her statuses—

My gaze snapped back up as I caught something, mouth opening.

WIS: 111

As I stared, Autumn shuddered once before abruptly falling to the ground in a splash of liquid plant matter that sent Gou running back, whining in distress. I swallowed once, Observing her again—she was alive but…

The puddle stirred as something began to rise from it. For a moment, it was a misshaped blob of gleaming fluid, but it quickly seemed to solidify into something…I wasn't sure how to describe it. Like a snake, perhaps, but not; tough-looking green flesh in place of scales, a flat expanse where the eyes should be, and a mouth with teeth as long as my hand—

It fell back into a puddle an instant later and rose anew, forming something that could have been the upper body of a human, if a human had no head and four arms and was made of intertwining branches—but again, it liquefied and returned to the ground.

For a moment, the fluid was still enough that I considered approaching, but in a sudden flurry of motion it rose into a spiked expanse of whites and red, like a giant starfish made out of barbs and thorns. It held that form for a moment and I had a sudden feeling that I was being watched, even though there was nothing indicating eyes. But then that too fell away and it returned to a quicksilver expanse.

After a moment, it began to shift and swirl like a whirlpool, fluid rushing towards the center even as it shrunk in size—

And all of a sudden, there was a rose, rising serenely from the dirt. Not a bush, even, but more like something one might find in a vase, dismissing the fact that it seemed to have roots.

I hesitated for a moment and then approached, kneeling beside it to touch the stem with a finger.

"Autumn?" I asked. "Are you okay?"

The rose shifted, blossom turning to face me, even turning it in a gesture that reminded me bizarrely of someone tilting their head.

I exhaled harded, shaking my head.

"I…" I searched for the words and couldn't find them, but at last settled on a smile. "Hello. Hello, Autumn. I'm Jaune."

XxXXxX

I couldn't actually say I had the slightest clue what had just happened or how I was supposed to react to it. I mean, I could make a pretty educated guess that in raising her Wisdom over a hundred, Autumn had either gained a new skill or greatly increased the effect of one she already had, but…wow. I had not seen this coming and it was…something.

But if there was anything I was becoming really good at, it was rolling with the punches, literally or metaphorically. I took a moment to process the situation and accepted it as strange, important, anddefinitely in need of further investigation—but also helpful in solving what had previously been a major problem. Given the situation, I was willing to put it aside for a time, until other matters could be addressed.

Which was how I ended up walking through Vale in the dim light of morning. Looped around the wrist of my left hand was a leash that connected to Gou's collar, the dog trotting happily along by my side with a panting, doggy grin. Autumn was curled around my right arm.

And I meant curled. When I'd picked her up, her stem had shimmered momentarily before bifurcating up to the blossom, both ends stretching and curling around my forearm in a crisscrossing pattern that left me with a bracer of binding stems leading up to a flower that sat atop my wrist like a liking watch. More alarming were the inch-long thorns it sprouted, more reminiscent of an Atlesian Blackberry then a rose, but I was fortunately very durable. I stretched my Aura to cloak Autumn as well and allowed my Vitality and Physical Endurance to reduce the damage from the vines to almost nothing, with a bit of Regeneration and some periodic healing taking care of the rest.

Still, I'd need to sit down and talk to her about it as soon as possible. While it didn't bother me any more than Gou's bites had before it, someone without the durability of a hunter could find themselves seriously hurt by it. Worse, it seemed like it was only a matter of time until she learned the tricks of one of the many, many, many poisonous plants that inhabited Remnant, at which point she might honestly kill people. Right now, she was still just a mostly blind child holding onto her father and dawning her defense mechanisms in preparation of a potential threat, but…

I pat her reassuringly as she squeezed my arm rhythmically—probably more to feel the vibrations caused by my heart beat than anything else—and was once more reminded that someone without the training and defenses of a Hunter would be dying very quickly right now, bleeding out through dozens of deep cuts.

Then again, I'd spent an alarming amount of time in situations that would have killed me…huh; a little over three months ago, now. And it was quite possible that I was about to add another mark to that particular tally. As just, I felt justified in being cautious.

As I turned down the street towards Tukson's book trade and slowed my pace to cast my gaze over the street once with my normal eyes before calling upon my Clairvoyance, causing the world to shift. It was hard to describe how things looked when my skill made them clear, not because the effects weren't obvious—because good God were they hard to miss—but because…it was like…

It was hard to describe. Human sight is trichromatic. That is, we perceive three 'types' of color, mixed in thousands and thousands of different ways to paint the world we see. It's more complicated than that and there are a bunch of factors that can affect it, but that's the basic idea. However…if you've ever seen a picture of the Electromagnetic Spectrum, the section for visible light is just this tiny sliver.

What if you could see a bit more? What if, instead of three primary colors, you saw the world with four? Or five? Or even more?

I wasn't sure how many I was seeing right now, but it must have been quite a few. Color swirled for a moment before settling and…I could still see everything the same way on one level, but on another…Something that should have been black glowed with neon light. Things that had long since faded from human sight marked the world in splatters and streaks while color hummed throughout everything, rising into the air. And…I made it sound like those were separate things, but they weren't. They were all happening at the same time. To everything.

That's the world under the full power of my Clairvoyance—my so called 'clear sight.' And it was clear, in a way, like I was seeing through a window that was smeared with mud for everyone else. But that much clarity…it was like a light that illuminated to the point of blindness. I had to focus to make any sense of it, draw individual forms of perception from the chaos. Maybe later, when the skill was leveled after weeks or months of use, I'd be able to look the whole picture, but as it was now I had to take glimpses.

But even so, a tiny fraction of what Clairvoyance could show me was still more than most people would believe. With the store technically closed and business afoot, the windows of Tukson's store were opaque, hiding everything inside.

I peered through them from several hundred feet away, looking into the front of the shop and then through the parted curtain of the back as I switched my sight, seeing two people. One was Adam, the other Tukson.

Drawing back, I kept walking, glancing around a bit to see if anything else was afoot. I was cautious—or, I preferred to think, smart—but I wasn't worried about them betraying me or anything. I mean, I wasn't stupid; I knew Adam's loyalty was to his people first and foremost. But Ialso knew that we were still friends and that in the short time we'd known each other, we'd gone through a lot. He knew I wasn't prejudiced against the Faunus and that I'd risk my life to protect them if I had to. Even if I assumed that he was cold enough to just call a friend out somewhere and kill them for being in the way, which really didn't seem to be the case, I was pretty sure he had no reason to do so to me. Tukson, one of the more peaceful members of the White Fang, I especially couldn't see going along with it without dropping some hint of warning. And even beyond that…I trusted both of them.

That did not, however, mean I was completely at ease. In fact, because I trusted Adam, I treated this seriously, making sure I didn't see anything unusual. After confirming that Adam and Tukson were alone and there were no suspicious individuals eavesdropping, I made sure nothing else stood out. No strange men stood nearby, no oddly placed electronics, nothing. The area seemed clean. The only question was…

I felt my lips twitch as something caught my eye, colored brightly in the light only I could see. I checked around again to make sure no one was watching, that I wouldn't give anything away—and then waved at one of the nearby rooftops. There was no reply, but I saw her react.

It was possibly, vaguely, vaguely possible that I was using caution as an excuse to play with my new toy, but God, I felt like a secret agent. A movie secret agent, that is; not one that shifts through people's trash and makes phone calls, fun as that could sometimes be.

"If only I had a suit," I lamented to Gou, who looked up at me with delighted incomprehension.

I walked down to Tukson's store and entered with barely a knock.

"Sup, Adam, Tukson," I said even before they came into sight, simply because it made me feel cool. "We gonna leave Blake out in the cold?"

Adam brushed the curtain and looked me up and down, not seeming impressed by my remark, much less off put.

"What's with the rose?" Adam asked, immediately assailing the foundation of my suaveness.

"It's my daughter," I said a bit curtly.

At that, he actually did pause. He looked at me silently for a moment, watching me with a blank expression before replying.

"I don't know how to process that," He said at last, to which I shrugged. He opened his mouth and raised a finger, preparing to ask something—and then seemed to change his mind at the last second, pointing to Gou instead. "You got a dog, huh?"

"Yup," I replied easily. "His name's Gou. But seriously, is this guy's night or something?"

"It is now, I guess," He mused, shrugging at my glance and elaborating. "Blake doesn't like dogs."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that kind of…cliché?" I asked, trying not to smile.

"Underneath Blake's poised exterior lays a very grumpy cat," Adam said solemnly before smirking ever so slightly and kneeling to scratch Gou's ears. Where a month ago, that would have gotten him a probably-meaningless bite, now the dog allowed the contact, sniffing Adam's hand. "Tail's gone?"

"Took off the title," I answered, looking down at him. It struck me suddenly that Adam was beating around the bush.

Wow. This must have been pretty bad if Adam was hesitant to address it. I mean, if we were talking about cliché's, Adam was the bull in a…well, book shop, currently, but the fact remained. He could be subtle, careful, even cautious, but given the choice…

In fact…

Several thoughts connected all at once and I looked over my shoulder.

"Blake might not like dogs," I said, feeling the thought out. "But she was out there before I showed up. I thought maybe she was on watch, but…if you thought there was a chance you were being followed, you wouldn't be here, would you?"

"No," Adam said, light gleaming off his mask. "I wouldn't."

"Then why…?"

"Because it's White Fang business," He said, standing. "And above her pay grade."

Maybe that was true, I thought. But it seemed safe to assume it also meant 'she wouldn't approve.'

"White Fang stuff," I said aloud. "Stuff you can't even tell Blake? Then why tell me? Is this about Jian Bing?"

"No," He shook his head before pausing. "Yes. Maybe. I don't know."

"That covers just about everything," I nodded.

"There's something going on in Mistral," Adam said, ignoring my remark. "A deal that's been in the works for a while, maybe pushed forward by…you know what. The White Fang's putting the finishing touches on negotiations with…someone."

"And I'm going to Mistral," I nodded, absently wondering how he knew that. "But, uh…if this is big White Fang stuff, why not just…not tell me? I mean, you know I'm not gonna rat you out or anything, but it doesn't have a lot to do with me, either. So…why tell me about something you wouldn't tell Blake?"

"Because, you'll be in Mistral," He answered. "And I have zero faith in your ability to keep from getting wrapped up in this somehow."

That seemed fair, I acknowledged, but…

"That's not all," I said, belief the words firming as I gave them voice. "There's more at stake here…you said this was pushed ahead by what I did? Do they want me to…?"

"Yes," He said and then. "And no. It's complicated."

"I can tell." I frowned.

"After word got out about your name and success…it got a lot of attention and interest," Adam shrugged. "A lot of people want to meet you, bring you in on things, get you involved. But at the same time…"

"No one knows a thing about me," I guessed. "Or what I think about things or what I intend to do. It's like a lot of people want to listen to me, but no one can guess what I'll say. Right?"

"Basically," He said, making me squint at him.

"And if she knew, Blake would want me to say one thing," I said. "And you and the leaders of the White Fang would want me to say something else. Right?"

"Basically," He repeated, sighing.

I cracked my neck.

"You should know already," I said. "I don't have a solution to the White Fang's problem. I can't appear and tell everyone to lay down their arms and embrace tactics that almost certainly won't work…but I can't truly support the things they do, either. If you're worried or hoping I'll make an appearance…"

He nodded, unsurprised.

"I know," He said. "I already told the others you probably won't attend, but I figured you should at least know about it. Like I said, with your luck, there's a real chance of you getting involved somehow and I really don't want you to stumble into this blind."

'The others.'

I occurred to me that I never did find out what exactly Adam did in the White Fang, beyond break faces. I mean, I'd had my suspicions, of course—I didn't want to stereotype because everyone has a hobby, but his grasp of socioeconomics and politics was a bit better than I would have expected from, say, an enforcer. And now he was apparently playing the role of emissary to Jian Bing with everyone just accepting it…

In fact, thinking about it, I never found out what role Blake played, either. Really, the only member whose purposes I actually knew was Tukson's.

I glanced at the store owner who toiled in the back room as we talked. He kept his head down and stayed out of the way—but I noted that he was still inside, despite Blake being kicked out.

Maybe, I appended. Maybe I knew what Tukson did.

"Okay," I said. "Thanks for the heads up. I take it that means you'll be in Mistral, then?"

Adam shrugged. I took it as a yes.

"Blake coming, too?" I wondered.

He grunted. I took that as a yes, too.

"Maybe I'll see you guys there, then."

"Hopefully not," He said, giving me a half smirk. "But probably yes. See you later."

He stepped passed me, reaching for the door.

"Hey," I stopped him suddenly and saw him turn his head slightly to show he was listening. "Can I ask you something? Well, two things, really?"

"Eh," He said, but didn't leave.

"Out of curiosity, how'd you know I was going to Mistral?"

"Maybe we were keeping tabs on you," He said, sounding amusing.

"My mom's been training me," I answered.

Adam clicked his tongue.

"Poor you."

"She's spent the last two months nearby." I continued, though I smiled at his words. I guess she had a reputation. "You weren't keeping tabs on me."

He chuckled.

"Fair enough," He said. "But you already know, don't you? How paperwork falls in all sorts of hands…"

"Ouch," I said, trying to keep from smiling even as I felt a little concerned. "You would use my own spy magic against me?"

"Absolutely," He smirked. "Though I only saw it by accident. I recommend not being obvious about it if you don't want a lot of attention drawn you way, but you might want to look into why you're mother's going to Mistral in the first place."

"I'll do that," I nodded. "And…again, out of curiosity—and yeah, actually, you probably shouldn't tell me even if I won't say anything, but…who are the White Fang negotiating with?"

"You're right," Adam said, opening the door. "I shouldn't tell you."

As he turned around to close the door, though, he stopped for a moment and shrugged.

"A human," He said.

"A human," I repeated. "Like me?"

"No," Adam shook his head, closing the door. "Not like you."

XxXXxX

MurazorChief EncyclopedistSuper Awesome Happy Fun Time

The Games We Play
Flight

I lingered in the store for a time, both to give Adam and Blake a chance to leave and to give myself time to absorb it all. I frowned slightly, looking out at the slowly brightening sky, just…not sure how to feel.

I had a lot of questions and few ways of getting answers—or, rather, I wasn't even sure if I shouldtry to get answers. The easiest way to satisfy my curiosity would be to ask my parent's but…would that be too suspicious? I hadn't asked her why we were going to Mistral, trusting her to tell me if I needed to know, but Adam's words had forced a tiny spark to burn.

I knew, of course, that she was going there for a reason. More than that, if Ozpin was sending a Huntress of my mother's caliber, it must have been at least potentially serious. He'd want someone who could handle herself in a fight if it came to it.

But on the other hand…she was considering bringing me along. And I knew she loved me and knew I wasn't weak, but would she drag me unknowingly into a situation that might erupt into major league violence? It seemed unlikely, which implied…

What? That it was serious, but not necessarily dangerous? That there was some way of keeping meout of danger? That there was something else at work? It could have been anything.

But I thought back to the words Ozpin had spoken months ago, about hearing whispers of something in Mistral. Had it just been said in jest or was there some truth to it? Was he sending my mother to investigate and find the source of such rumors? Could such whispers actually be of the White Fang and their new partner? Would they send my mother if it was?

I thought about it. I could see it, maybe; if it was something that was…suspicious, something thatmight have been big but had nothing definite, sending someone to investigate was only natural. But if it did turn out to be real, it would need to be someone strong enough to fight her way out, too, and bring that information home. To maximize the chances of success, someone who knew the area well would be preferable; someone who was familiar with local groups, who had a reputation and maybe an excuse to be there, someone that might not be immediately suspected of an investigative role…I could see it. From a coldly logical point of view, it might have even made mypresence make sense; a high-ranked Huntress travelling alone would draw more suspicion then a mother travelling with her son, showing him her homeland. Even if said mother was a huntress; it was all about perception, framing.

But the addition of another person, someone unassociated with the mission, would make things more difficult. Wouldn't it?

"A festival," I murmured to myself, looking at my reflection in the window. That seemed important, somehow. It was a festival. A major festival at that, the first one after the chaos cause by Ziz was beginning to wind down some.

No, I thought. After the chaos I'd caused was beginning to die down. It was more than just Ziz, after all—this was something bigger. A legendary monster awakened near Vale, on the continent of Vytal. A major terrorist attack on the Schnee Dust Company and an invasion of its home country, Atlas, on the continent of Mantle. Two Kingdom's rocked in short order, while Mistral weathered the storm untouched.

I wonder if anyone had given thought to taking a vacation there. Travel between the kingdom's was so rare because the only way to do so with guaranteed safety was to travel in a large group; a single ship, barring something cutting edge like the White Whale, faced serious risks in venturing beyond the Kingdoms, but twenty ships? Fifty? A hundred? With a military escort?

That was a different matter.

It also wasn't worth the cost, except very, very rarely. While it may have reduced the threat of opportunistic Grimm, flying that many ships…unless there was a huge demand, it was far too expensive. But there were occasions that made it worthwhile—like the Vytal festival.

And Mistral…Mistral had this. An event big enough, famous enough, that it would be worth the cost to mobilize a fleet of transporters—several of them even, from the different kingdoms.

That's a lot of traffic, I thought. Enough to hide the movements of a terrorist organization or two. It'd be pretty easy for a person to just happen to get lost in a crowd that big, too. And while they're lost, well, who's to say? An excuse to keep me away from danger—and really, all it'd take was one of about fifty million attractions—and boom! Goodbye, Wonder Mom; hello, Super Spy.

Of course, I reminded myself, all this was conjecture. There was nothing to truly support any of it; I mean, the pieces may have fit, but I was making them fit, constructing a situation that fit what I wanted to see. There was nothing saying I was right about my baseless conjectures; in fact, I was probably wrong.

All I'd need to do was ask my mom a question or two and I could prove it, a treacherous part of me whispered, all the more insidious for being completely right. Because, yeah; I could ask my Mom what the mission was about. She might tell me the details, she might not, but either way I'd probably learn something. It'd be way more productive than letting my brain run itself away on a hamster wheel.

But…

Maybe I was constructing a situation based on a couple vague hints; I couldn't deny it waspossible. I didn't mind that, even, in and of itself; my mom was a busy woman. She was aHuntress, for God's sake—it wasn't surprising that she'd need to work some while away. Hell, even if she only had the idea of bringing me along because it was useful to the mission, I knew she loved me and I was sure that it had been at least partially intended as a reward. She wasn't forcing me to come or anything, either. I wouldn't get mad at her if it turned out she had more than one reason for making the suggestion.

Besides, even if she did intend to bring me to the festival and leave me to my devises while she worked—and it was completely possible she didn't—there was still a pretty awesome part where I got to go to the festival. I was fine with that.

My mom was a Hunter and had to keep secrets sometimes. I was fine with that, too; hell, I'd kept a lot of my own.

But…but if I asked her and she answered, if she confirmed my probably made up suspicions…then that put me between my mother and my friends. It would mean I'd know something she was looking for and was keeping it from her, if I said nothing—and mean betraying my friends if I spoke.

And I…if that happened…

But if I said nothing…then really, it was just me and my over active imagination, wasn't it? Even if…

I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against the glass.

Damn it.

"So…" Tukson said a few minutes later, probably watching me just stand there. "Are you gonna buy anything, or…?"

XxXXxX

In the end, I chose to say nothing. I was afraid of what might happen if I spoke, so I just stayed quiet and tried not to think about it—to run away from the possibility, if I was being honest. I got back home before my mom finished her morning routine and let my trip pass without comment, returning to my training as if nothing had ever happened. Because I trained so often and frequently ran around the city early in the morning, I doubted my mother had even noticed anything odd. I went about my day as normal and got back to my training.

And so my last few days of training came to an end.

Our blades clashed and, though she held me off easily, she seemed pleased with how I'd improved. The nature of my power was such that even a small difference in stats was multiplied enormously and with all my physical abilities nearly twenty points higher…well, it added up to a pretty massive change. Even if I knew she was still holding back, she was fighting on a higher level then she had when she first brought me out here to train, allowing me to compare and contrast and…

I felt stronger. Despite myself, I couldn't keep a smile off my face and she matched me for it as she struggled to push me back instead of casually sending me flying.

"See? You've gotten stronger, Jaune," My mother praised, sounding delighted as she bore down upon me.

"Thanks to your training," I said, ending the words with a quiet grunt as I fought against her before suddenly backing off as I sensed danger. I'd shifted Autumn to my left arm, concealing her under Crocea Mors' protective shield. I fought with Power Attacks and Double Strikes, enhancing myself many times over with the skills of the White Tiger, and hit her again and again with all the power that entailed. I kept it to a sword fight, leaving my Elementals to watch on the side lines, but other than that I held nothing back.

"The hardest part of training is always conditioning the body," My mother lectured as she took slow, deliberate steps forward, walking through the strength I brought to bear to the sound of ringing steel, parrying blows methodically. "Getting it ready for what you'll put it through. But with your power…when we return, we'll go Hunting together, Jaune. We'll begin your training in earnest—and your father will want to take you out on missions as well, I suppose."

I absently hummed my agreement.

"What are we going to Hunt?" I asked after the silence lingered for a few second, partially because I was interested and partially because talking was a distraction. Not that it made much of a difference, granted, but it was the thought that counted.

"Anything we can," She said. "Whatever you're up to fighting. Just eight more levels and then you'll be able to master Bai Hu's art?"

She phrased it as a question so I nodded, feeling droplets of sweat bead on my brow. I came in to swing once at neck level and then once at each knee, before backing off again as she parried each blow. I shifted to a defensive strategy as my senses screamed out in warning. I'd held my own so far, but I knew from experience that this was when she'd break out all the stops and try to end things quickly.

Well, I said 'try' optimistically, as if she wouldn't succeed if she wanted to.

"Reaching that level should be enough for now," She continued, suddenly up in my face. With speed that somehow still managed to surprise me, she knocked me off balance and smashed me to the ground with a mighty, hammering blow. "With all of your stats that high, prerequisites shouldn't be an issue either, right?"

"I guess," I grunted, using my shield to assist with a roll, Autumn's thorns prickling my skin as I did.

"Then you should be able to broaden your skillset as needed," She smiled as she stopped my attempted evasion with a boot to my shield, pushing down hard enough that my upper body sank a few inches into the dirt. "You've come a long way, Jaune. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Mom," I said with a hint of strain as she literally ground me into the dirt. Using her foot to help brace myself, I kicked at her from my prone position, not really expecting to accomplish anything—and was a tad surprised when she even bothered dodging. In a motion like walking backwards up a staircase, she stepped up onto my rising leg and back off on the other side.

Almost casually, she grabbed that same leg and lifted my entire body, swinging me up over her head and straight into the ground. I slammed into it once, twice, and then flew through the air as she gave me a toss.

Really, though; I did feel stronger.

I felt her put a knee into the center of my back almost as soon as I hit the ground, sword slipping neatly under my neck as I arched up in response. She held me that way for a moment, grasping my hair to help hold me off of the ground.

I took two short breathes before speaking.

"Elementals, now?"

She chuckled and patted my head affectionately.

"Not today, sweetie," She said, removing her sword and rising off me so I could push myself to my feet. I hadn't bothered wearing a shirt, simply because they tended to get ruined whenever we trained like this. So did my pants, granted, but I felt a bit less comfortable without them on—though at this rate, I might not have a lot of choice in the matter. "Looking forward to the big day tomorrow?"

I was silent for a moment as Xihai gathered water to me and helped me scrub away some of the mud, kindly splashing cool water over my face in the process.

"Yeah," I answered at last, brushing my hair into a rough semblance of my usual style as I did. "I finally get to see Mistral after hearing so much about it. Are you looking forward to going back, Mom?"

She smiled at me, the action a little off.

"I suppose," She lied, making me frown slightly in concern.

"Bad memories?" I guessed after spending a moment wondering if I should even bring it up.

"Not all of them," She said after a moment of silence, sounding like she was mulling the thought over even as she spoke it aloud. "Some are good, too. But yes, there are a lot of bad ones."

I waited for a moment before nodding in acceptance when she didn't offer anything else.

"Should we…" I trailed off immediately, not sure why I even bothered giving it voice to begin with. I already knew the answer and so did she.

Still, she smiled.

"Its fine," She answered what went unspoken. "I go back every now and then, to check on things and fulfill my duties. It's just…I get a bit melancholic, I suppose, remembering…"

She exhaled slowly, looking past me and far away.

"But…" She mused, an odd expression on her face. "The festival is always so beautiful. I think you'll love it. Truly."

I nodded, moving to her said with a bit of uncertainty. The words seemed to at once cheer her and sadden her further, leaving me wondering what she was recalling. My parents had always told me stories about their lives as Hunters, enough so that at times I felt like I had been there alongside them—only to be inevitably reminded that there were parts I had no knowledge of whatsoever. When you'd heard a thousand stories and grown up listening to them every night, it was easy to think you'd heard all there was, but for Hunters a thousand adventures was nothing. My mother didn't talk a lot about her life in Mistral, back when she was Isabelle Roma. I knew some of it, of course, like about my grandmother, but the rest…

Well, I suppose could guess, given her maiden name. The Children of the Wolves had a bit of a reputation when it came to…everything.

"Any plans for what we're gonna do at the festival?" I asked, trying to distract her while also carefully tiptoeing around the mission. "Are we going to meet anyone there?"

It seemed to work because she made another face, as if she'd bitten into a lemon with a tongue covered in paper cuts.

"I guess we'll have to go see her while we're nearby," She said, sounding like the words were being forced out of her. "If we don't, she'll find out eventually and that'll only make it worse."

She made it sound like it would be something torturous, which really cut down the possibilities.

"Grandma?" I wondered, trying to keep my lips from twitching.

My mother's scowl deepened at the sound of the word, probably not liking the implication that they were related. I'd never gotten the whole story about that, either; I mean, there must have been something interesting to how I ended up getting named after a woman my mother claimed she hated.

I didn't mind visiting Grandma Jeanne, personally, but I should probably keep that to myself. Mom had always seemed kind of morally outraged that all of us liked our grandmother.

"After that…" She mused, seeming to put the thought of her old teacher behind her through sheer force of will. "Let's see, there's the fireworks, the parade, the hunt…"

"Are we gonna watch the games?" I asked, not-so-subtly moving the conversation toward the reason why the Olympia festival was so famous. It might have been a little late to get tickets for the good stuff, but I could just find a tall building and watch with Clairvoyance if I had to, doing away with the crowds in the process. Still it'd be more fun to watch it with family and friends then to do so alone, even if my mom would probably just find it amusing.

I wondered if Adam and Blake were gonna watch it.

My mother was silent for a moment, looking at me before slowly exhaling. She opened her mouth to speak, hesitated, and then continued more firmly.

"Actually," She said. "I've been thinking about that, too. How…how would like to fight in one of the tournaments?"

I tilted my head the side.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"You're certainly strong enough," She continued. "And I figured you might enjoy—"

"Yeah," I nodded quickly. "Yeah, no, yeah. I mean, it sounds cool; it's just…isn't it a little late now? Don't you kind of have to schedule those kind of things in advanced?"

"A month in advanced, minimum," She nodded before taking a deep breath. "Which is why I called one of my old friends shortly after you came back from your trip. I—you don't have to, or anything; I'm not trying to force you to do anything, but…but if you were interested, I wanted you to have the option. We can still cancel, but I thought it might be a good experience for you and a chance to have fun. You can fight with people your own age in a relatively safe setting, test yourself against people with other Semblances without fear of the consequences, and maybe practice some of your own skills. Now that your training's over, I thought it might be a good chance to push your limits and see how far you can go."

A dark part of me whispered that it would also be a good way to get rid of me for a few hours while also making sure I was somewhere safe.

I looked that voice in a box and threw it away, nodding my head quickly.

"Yeah," I said. "I could…I don't know. Do you think I could win?"

"Yes?" She shrugged, smiling slightly. "Maybe? I don't really know, but it doesn't really matter, does it?"

And that's what I meant about finding it amusing. Though, in fairness, it didn't matter, not really—cool as it was, it's not like I'd really lose anything if I was defeated. I cared about the rewards and publicity about as much as my mom did and while I guess it was a chance to prove myself, I'd already done so to everyone whose opinion actually mattered to me. Thinking about it that way, whether I won or lost really wasn't all that important, but…

But it cool. Dumb in a lot of ways, sure, but still cool—something mom and I could laugh about at its worst, celebrate at its best, but probably remember fondly one way or another. And maybe I was growing cynic, but there was a part of me that remembered about Adam's words and worried about my mother's mission and thought that maybe, just maybe, this trip would need something to smile about afterwards.

"No," I told her. "It doesn't. Let's do it."

XxXXxX

MurazorChief EncyclopedistSuper Awesome Happy Fun Time

The Games We Play
Registration

When the Sun rose the next morning, we were flying over Mistral. Gou sat in my lap, seeming understandably confused with life as he gazed out the window of the aircraft while Autumn was on my wrist, understandably apathetic about it all. Bringing them a long hadn't been difficult; when someone had questioned Gou's presence, my mother had said it was fine and that had apparently settled the matter—I suppose you probably saw weirder things, shuttling Hunters around.

As for why they were with us to begin with, my father was to blame; when we were preparing to leave, he had declared the house his sole dominion until mother returned and had shoved Gou into my arms to get him out of the way. What my father intended to do while we were away, I wasn't entirely sure, but I'd given up arguing when he'd started to simultaneously take off his pants and make nachos while in the process of telling me why Gou had to go.

And yes, he used those precise words frequently. Indeed, the majority of his argument had consisted of repeating those words with great emphasis. Nonetheless, he'd won the argument despite my mother's stares of disapproval and so Gou had been off to see the world.

I had…mixed feelings about that. Autumn, still mostly insensate and unable to communicate with anyone but me, I'd intended to bring with me since she returned to her rose form, but Gou…I didn'tmind bringing him with me, per se, but I wasn't sure what to do with him during the festivities. I'd be busy a fair amount of the time as would my mom—one way or the other—and neither of us would be in situations fitting for a puppy. Hopefully, Grandmother would be willing to keep an eye on him; I'd tell her dad was being weird again and she'd understand.

Maybe, at least. I wasn't sure I understood, because my father, while often strange, wasn't stupid. Further, my mother hadn't stopped his strangeness, meaning…they both wanted me to keep the dog with me? I wasn't sure, but…well, it didn't matter.

I scratched Gou's ears absently, causing his tail to wag despite his expression of profound concentration, putting aside my thoughts to see the view. Mistral gleamed in the sunlight, thousands of buildings in as many styles unfolding in every direction with seemingly no regard for shape or age. Where Vale had once failed in its attempts to expand outwards, Mistral had achieved some success by growing up, even as they tried to preserve their pasts. As a result, ancient marble temples sat in the middle of a park surrounded by gleaming high-rises, monuments beside shopping districts. Where space was an issue, the people of Mistral reached higher, connecting large towers that sometimes ran across smaller structures, all of it forming a web of shining steel in the air, contrasting sharply with the monuments that made sure not to cross. 'Completed' buildings appeared strange, ready for further construction in the future when additional levels were required. There were massive structures where different buildings had risen so high, they'd needed to be linked together to keep from falling.

It added up to something at once chaotically deranged and artistically beautiful. That seemed…fitting, honestly.

Mistral was a gathering point for countless cultures, home to people of every size, shape, and color—one of the last remaining havens of Remnant's history. It was home to the remains of nations long gone, a display of Remnant's architectural history and diversity, and the home of Alexandria's great library which held onto some of the oldest texts in the world, one of the few insights we still had into our past and those who came before—

Because Mistral had taken those things from the nation's it had crushed. The arts and books, taken from the towns and towers of fallen enemies. The diversity, born from slaves brought home from war. The music, beauty, and knowledge weaved together from the things they took from the defeated. With its boot on the throat of the continent and its back to one of the most hostile environments on Remnant, it had reached out and devoured countries and kingdoms until it was all that remains—the shining jewel of the East, a pillar of art and industry and taste.

Of course, that had all happened a long time ago and things had changed a lot since the War, but…well, its rulers had made violently ruining the lives of everyone in their vicinity into something of an art form for about a thousand years, building one of the most successful Kingdom's in Remnant's history in the process. From Alexandria and the Romas to the Khans and the Carthans, the kingdom and its leader's had a reputation for military excellence, profound success against horrible odds, and a complete and utter lack of mercy.

It seemed odd, to think about that and know I was related to them—to the kings and queens of Mistral. That's a lot less impressive then it sounds, granted, as said rulers had a tendency to really get around, but it was true enough that my sisters and I had pretended to be princes and princesses and war leaders and fought to conquer Mistral or Remnant or just to decide who had to do the sucky chores. It always ended up being me, of course, but it had still been fun.

Still, looking down at the ancestral home of my family—both sides of it, if you go back far enough—I felt…odd. For all the games we'd played as children, it hadn't been until I'd started training my Intelligence that I really understood what all those tales of conquest and war meant, not just for Mistral, but for all the Kingdoms. Even with the Grimm, even with the world like it was, our history had been a bloody one. To the extent that Mistral's was the worst of all four, it was only because its campaigns had been the most successful.

Worse, I knew that without all those things…

I sighed, the sound drowned out by the ship landing.

"Home, sweet home," My mother said, raising the moment we were on the ground. I followed her out of the airship, carrying Gou which seemed to make him happy. We got to travel first class, thanks to Mom's mission and some company policies, and we were on the ground before anyone else left the plane. There were already hundreds gathered before Arch of Triumph, the legendary gates of the city; though it would have been faster to land inside, it was customary to enter Mistral through the arch when attending the festivals, owing back to its earliest days. The arch towered high, decorated in sculptures and engravings featuring thousands of faces and figures—maybe tens of thousands. Thought the opening itself was relatively small, the structure itself was at least a hundred meters tall, nearly twice as wide, and a quarter-kilometer long, expanded by generation after generation of Mistral's monarchs.

Immediately above the small entrance rested a simple looking plaque, the words on it long since faded away even though the message was clear. I turned my Clairvoyance upon it regardless and translated the revealed words carefully.

Many have stood before us;
Go now and look for them.

I couldn't help but laugh at that, smiling at the audacity of the words—before pausing, lifting my gaze yet higher. I hadn't noticed with my normal eyesight, but the sharpened clarity my skill bestowed showed me clearly.

"Mom, why are there soldiers on top of the wall?" I asked with a frown, causing her to stop and look at me. She followed my gaze, tracking upwards to the top of the arch, frowned for a moment, and then scowled, probably improving her own eyes somehow.

"Damn it," She grumbled. "Just…let's just get inside, okay? There are a thousand people out here, it's—"

But I'd already seen it—in fact, I'd probably noticed it first, since I'd already been looking. And so I crouched near to the ground, made sure I had a tight grip on Gou, and jumped. I put all my strength into it, multiplied many times over my Jumping skill and a quick call to Levant, and was rising into the air by the time my mother spoke.

Oops, I thought when I heard her words, a snarled curse following on their heels. But since I was already up hear and it would have been both embarrassing and hard to explain if I suddenly changed directions, I kept going until I was over the top of the arch, landing with one foot on what seemed like some sort of portable guardrail. The darkly uniformed figures on top reacted immediately, weapons drawn in an instant and poised to attack—

"—Stop." A calm, cold voice said, halting everyone. I hopped down from the guard rail as the uniformed men parted, revealing a woman seated in the midst of them. Even with hair white with age and a face that was leathery and wrinkled, her eyes remained as I remembered them, an almost shockingly bright blue. She was small, relatively speaking; about five-three, five-four, but she had enough presence that I'd seen her in the middle of a crowd of taller men and women.

Granted, much of that presence was in the massive, two-meter-and-change halberd she rested casually against a shoulder.

For a moment, she looked the way I always saw her in pictures, expression remote, eyes at once alert and distant. She looked fearless and deadly, uncaring whether she was attacked or fled from—there was a simple confidence to her that was so immense and yet so basic that you just accepted that she was one lethal little lady.

And then she smiled at me, something unlike the smiles she gave for cameras and addresses—something warm that light up her face and made her seem like a lethal little lady who was also a kind old grandmother.

"Jaune," She said happily, opening her arms. "I'm surprised to see you! It's been too long."

"Grandma," I reaching out to hug her fiercely.

"What brings you to Mistral?" She asked unworriedly, releasing me. "Does your mother know you're here?"

"Uh, yeah; she's down there," I said, turning to peer over the edge. There didn't seem to have been much reaction to my jump—not that I expected one from a group of people here to see Hunter's fight—but I was surprised to find a small circle cleared around her as she stared up at me. But was it fear, awe, or…no, did they…? "I think she's mad at me now though. I don't think I was supposed to talk to you."

"Mm," Jeanne the Halberd smiled, resting her elbows on the railing and cupping her chin with her hands. "Perhaps not. Really, she gets worked up over the smallest things…have you been planning to visit long?"

I scratched my head with an embarrassed smile, guessing what she was really asking and saying nothing even though it made no difference.

"No matter," She continued after a moment, voice bright and cheerful. "I'm sure her letter just got lost in the mail. It happens. Shall we go talk to her?"

"Um, ma'am," One of the men in uniform interrupted. "We—"

"Fuck off, Pech," She said in exactly the same tone. "I'm too fucking old for this bullshit, anyway. Come along now, Jaune."

She adjusted her halberd and leapt over the railing. I made to follow but paused for a minute to look back.

"Sorry," I told the man. "She does that sometimes."

And then I followed my grandmother down to the ground below.

XxXXxX

When we returned to the ground, the demeanors of many of those around us abruptly changed—partially because of my grandmother's recognizable presence, but mostly for what it signified. The multitude of foreigners merely glanced at us in fascination, if that, but for those who lived in Mistral…

After the War ended and the continents were truly connected to one another, there had been a lot of pressure for the nations to adopt the Council-based governance system, laying aside the Monarchies and Oligarchies that had made them 'Kingdoms' in the first place. Given the nature of the War itself and those who had caused it, it was only natural for people to shy away from such things—and some places, often owing to the ruin the War itself had left in its wake, went along with the shift relatively easily. Vale, for instance, found a change in its ruling body rather simple, as the War had left it entirely without one, and so settled fairly easily into the new way of things. There were holdovers, of course, with laws and traditions owing back to the times of princes and lords and kings, but on the whole it had been an easy transition.

Not so much with Mistral. Having fought hard for the cause of individuality and stood firmly against those who sought the destruction of Alexandria's famed library, the lords and ladies of Mistral had considered the suggestion to step down both insulting and ungrateful and had reject the demands outright. They'd remained unshaken in the face of resulting political pressures, as well, refusing to submit to such tactics. Supported by its allies in Vacuo, there had once been a real chance of another War over the matter.

Mistral went to war with itself, instead. During the course of the war, many had fled their homes and sought safe haven in the city and more had followed when it had remained one of the least damaged in the aftermath. With Vale and Atlas putting themselves back together, the two remaining Kingdoms had been the natural choice for those seeking safety from Remnant's threats, but those same people weren't happy with being ruled again, either—and the descendants of long conquered peoples began to take issue as well. Things had gotten tense as a result, something which had drawn more and more Grimm to the nation until things got bad and fingers were pointed. Finally breaking down around forty years ago, the Kingdom had very nearly torn itself apart in a Civil War. The war had lasted longer than anyone expected, degenerating as it did as the ideologies and sides broke down and it because worse and worse, but in the end, the rebels won.

Except not really. As far as official statements went, the old way of doing things has been abolished and Mistral was now governed by elected officials; it was pure coincidence that said figures happened to be pretty much the same people as before. The Nobility of Mistral had made concessions and agreed to accept the changing times peacefully for the betterment of the nation—and so the Council was made.

With an iron gauntlet clamped firmly around its neck. Indeed, Mistral's lords and ladies had set aside their literal crowns and metaphorical swords to become upright members in society—a society they had all but owned, in the end. Despite the many famous battles, the Civil War had truly been won through socioeconomics, with the Noble's banding together to buy up what was, at the time, worthless property. Laws had been laid down concerning the treatment and ransom of prisoners, such that even great men could be set free with an at the time humble offering of fallen businesses and valueless land, as opposed to other, higher costs. It hadn't seemed to matter at the time, when no one really cared who God or the law said owned what and both sides seemed intent on uprooting the other.

But then the battles had become peace talks and all the more dangerous for it, the Noble's having a firm position legally and militarily. In the negotiations that followed, the rebel leaders had been careful to include clauses pertaining to the ownership of such land and how it could be taxed, used, and so on. Employees were protected, as were those who lived on the land and used it, trying to keep it from screwing them over without being able to deny the Noble's claims directly. These places needed to be maintained for historical reasons, these businesses had to be kept profitable, or else ownership reverts to etc.

And the Nobles had accepted it, in return for conditions of their own, uninterested in petty vengeance. They'd quietly stayed back and profited from the cash inflow for most of a decade, quietly toiling behind the scenes and stay out of sight and out of mind except when they needed to act to support their investments. For years, they allowed Mistral to flourish, and then—moving as a unified group—had acted.

They didn't conquer Mistral or enslave its people or reap cold vengeance on their enemies, but they seized power—economically, politically. The richest families of Mistral acting in concert struck hard and fast in what would have been an amazing display had anyone even noticed at the time. Instead, it wasn't until weeks or months later that any even caught on. They were subtle about it, especially at first; taking over businesses through many accounts, working together to reach what they couldn't separately, making it look like nothing was even really happening until after they were in too far to remove once people understood.

And they'd been around ever since, something in the background to most people but affecting everything. Not as a single person or even a family, but many different families tied together despite their clashing methods and beliefs, working together when no one thought they could. The Children of Khagan, of the brothers, of Alexandria and Barca and many more—united. Each, a number of different, interrelated families. Together…honestly, they were more like a mafia. A mafia so large, so entrenched, that it wasn't even really illegal anymore.

Which didn't mean they were necessarily well liked. As I stood beside my grandmother, I immediately received looks—some of them acknowledging, like between colleagues. Others seemed considering, looking for something. Most of the Mistral crowd paid us little heed, recognizing my grandmother but then moving on, uncaring of who owned what.

But a few, I Detected before I even saw, such was their intensity. It wasn't everyone, it wasn't even most people, but among those watching us were players, those who fought against the group that had once been nobles in confrontations that could be economic or violent. They knew who my grandmother was, what she had done, and they hated her, just as they hated me for standing beside her.

This was Mistral, now; the city famed for standing united in the War, divided three ways. Or was it four ways? It could have been five, depending on who you counted; maybe even more. Whatever the case, there were interests and enemies, politics and schemes, positions and territories—things that most people who lived there didn't pay any mind, but things that happened beneath there city's surface. The people staring at me with hostility enough to burn…they could have been anyone; criminals, police, or businessmen who remembered the Civil War and had been wronged or defeated.

And yet, standing there amidst all that, my grandmother smiled very slightly, looking utterly at ease. I followed her lead, letting the serenity of the Gamer's Mind brush aware the unnerving stares and I walked just a step behind my grandmother, showing deference to the head of my mother's family. I didn't move closer or back away, but stayed relaxed and unruffled even as I kept my senses sharp.

"Grandmother," I whispered quietly as I picked out some particular intense hatred coming from a calm-looking, balding man in his forties. "Thirty-seven meters to your right."

She didn't so much as twitch, that I could see, nor was there even the slightest change in her pace.

"I see him," She said an instant after I finished. "Don't worry, dearie."

I nodded and dismissed him from my thoughts, trusting her. Even without being able to see her face, I thought she must have been smiling.

"You've gotten stronger, Jaune," She said. "And taller, too. You're lucky, you know; you look just like your grandfather."

I was pretty sure she meant on my father's side, but didn't ask as I stared calmly ahead, making sure I was out of her way, just in case someone tried something. I came to a stop as we reached my mother, absently watching the crowds give us a wide birth, even though we were in the way.

"Isabelle," Grandmother said, a warm, gentle sound to the word. "It's been too long. I meant to come down last year, but…well, I am such a busy little bee. Something came up that had to be dealt with and it needed a woman's touch. Please forgive me."

"It's not a problem," Mother answered, her voice bizarrely quiet. Her eyes, though, sought my face and there was a demand in them. I hesitated more an instant before starting to move to her side, halting at a touch from my grandmother's hand.

"Now, now," She clicked her tongue. "Don't be too hard on the boy; he hasn't seen his grandmother in years. You're sixteen now, aren't you, Jaune?"

"Yes, Grandmother," I answered, glancing from her hand to my mom's face and shrugging helplessly.

"Sixteen," She sighed. "And only now seeing Mistral. But you started his training, didn't you Isabelle?"

My mother said nothing at that, so Jeanne turned to look at me, expression expectant.

"Yes, ma'am," I answered. "I've been working hard to get into Beacon, Grandmother."

"Bah," She said, but she was smiling. "Beacon. Is that dusty old wizard still alive?"

"Professor Ozpin is doing well, Jeanne," Mother answered with forced patience. "He sends his regards."

Grandmother laughed.

"I'm sure he does," She smiled and for a moment it looked sharp enough to cut. "How sad; it seems everyone is too busy to visit their old friends. It must be because I'm so wrinkled, nowadays."

"Ridiculous," I stated immediately. "You look even younger then when I saw you last, Grandmother. I'll be wrinkled before you are."

"Aw," She replied, never taking her eyes off my mother. "That's sweet of you to say, Jaune; actually, I have been moisturizing lately. Still, I'm certain I'd look younger still if I didn't spend so much time worried about my little girl and my tiny grandchildren."

Mom grit her teeth but said nothing again, so my grandmother glanced my way, secretive smile on her lips.

"I asked her to send your sisters to Haven, you know, so they could come visit this poor old women," She told me. "But your mother wouldn't have it. What about you, Jaune? A bit young, but you seem strong enough now. Would you like me to speak to the Headmaster for you?"

"Uh…" I blinked.

"That won't be necessary, Jeanne," My mother cut in. "We've our own business to take care of."

"Oh, I'm sure you do," Grandmother replied, turning the smile on her. I saw my mother's face twitched and wondered if my grandmother knew why we were here—thinking about it, she hadn't seemed all that surprised to see me. "But please, a moment to catch up. Do you mind, Jaune?"

I glanced between my mother's flat gaze and my grandmother's smiling face and picked the least dangerous option.

"I don't mind," I said.

"Wonderful," She answered, clapping her hands lightly. "But let's not stand out here all day. Shall we go home, Isabelle?"

I saw my mother's mouth twitch, her fingers flex, but she nodded.

"It's been a long time," She said quietly, looking like she wanted to say something more.

"Good, good," Grandmother said. "It's about time you saw it, Jaune—all your sisters already have."

Mom froze, expressionless, while I blinked in surprise.

"My sisters were here?" I asked. "When was this?"

"Oh, now and then," She gestured. "They stop by to visit whenever business brings them this way and keep an old woman company. It's nothing special, but it reminds me they care."

I saw my mother's hands shake slightly and quickly changed the subject.

"This is Gou, by the way," I said, jostling the dog lightly. He wiggled in my grasp, tongue lolling out as he enjoyed being carried. Grandmother absently scratched his ears, looking him over.

"Gou?" She said, sounding amused. "A good name for a dog, I suppose."

"Why thank you," I smiled, offering her my arm to try and steer us towards the house.

"Are you going to train him?" My grandmother asked, taking it and beginning to guide me. "I've always been partial to local breeds, myself, but an Atlesian isn't a bad choice, either."

"I've already started," I told her as I followed. "I already awakened his aura. It'll take a while before I feel comfortable taking him into the field, but…"

"Anything worth doing is worth taking the time to do well," She advised. "Patience is a virtue, believe you me."

I nodded.

"I take it from your words that you've been in the field yourself, though?" She continued, smiling when I nodded. "Another thing I've missed; you'll have to tell me all about it. Anything else?"

"A few things," I admitted, though I only lifted the wrist Autumn clung to. I saw my grandmother glance at it speculatively. "I'll tell you later, though."

"Fair enough," She said. "I suppose you're here for a reason, then, I suppose?"

I thought that might have been directed at mom, but I figured she wouldn't want to talk about her business—or at least not here—so I nodded and spoke instead.

"The festival, mainly," I said. "I've never seen it."

"And what a crime that is," Grandmother sighed. "Don't worry, dear; I'll make sure you see what you've missed."

I nodded with a smile.

"Besides that…" I said, shrugging a little. "It's a little silly, but I thought it might be fun to compete in the tournament. Mom signed me up in advanced."

"Oh?" My grandmother quirked an eyebrow, lips twitching. "Those things are silly, but they're fun as well. They can even be entertaining to watch, betimes."

"Do you think they will be this year?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, perhaps," She mused, glancing up at the sky. "But I'm hoping for more than just that. Luckily, this has been a year for interesting things, so far. Even the forecast seems good."

I followed her gaze to the dark clouds in the distance and felt something stir in me, Vulturus rousing from his slumber at the sight.

"Storm clouds," I mused.

"Yes," She said, smile on her lips. "And I do so love a good storm."

"Grandmother, when you say things like that, they sound really ominous," I sighed. "But well…"

I pondered the cloud just as lightning flashed in the distance.

"I guess I do, too, though," I admitted as the thunder rumbled under my feet.

XxXXxX

MurazorChief EncyclopedistSuper Awesome Happy Fun Time

The Games We Play
Acceptance

"Ah, I see," Grandmother nodded in acceptance, sipping her tea. "Then this flower is my great granddaughter. My, how time flies…"

We sat at the dining room table of my Grandmother's huge house, drinking from cups that must have been of Vacuo make. Mom had barely gone inside before leaving again, off to handle business I assumed. Gou had sniffed around curiously for several minutes, exploring the new place until my grandmother's own dogs had walked in, massive hulking beasts that were several times the growing puppy's size. Despite that, they had played around the room, prancing around until Gou's adventures lead him out the open door and into the rain outside, immediately drawing his attention. Currently, he seemed to be engaged in battle with it.

He also appeared to be losing. I suppose it was fine so long as he had a good time of it, though.

Autumn, on the other hand, now rested within a pot of soil Grandmother had had one of her men fetch from outside. At a touch, Autumn had unwound herself from my wrist and taken root in the soil, transforming quickly to appear the same as any other rose. My grandmother had watched the process with interest as she'd listened to my explanation.

"Truly though, she's amazing," She continued, blowing gently on her drink. "There have been many experiments over the years, but I've never seen an awakened plant grow so advanced. The most I've ever even heard of was a plant capable of limited motion, but they were unable to get any definite responses to signify intelligence."

"They probably just couldn't communicate with it," I mused, hands around Autumn's pot. "I encountered something similar; when Autumn first became self-aware, she was blind, deaf, and numb to the world. I ended up connecting us through Aura, in the end, but…"

I shook my head, imagining those other plants, who'd never had someone to bring them out of the dark. I hoped…well, I wasn't even sure what I hoped for. That they'd found peace somehow, I suppose.

"Remarkable," Was all my grandmother said, stroking one of Autumn's petals. There was a reaction, after a moment, but I don't think she'd been able to speak to Autumn as such, merely draw her attention with her Aura. "Truly, my granddaughter is quite amazing, isn't she? And very beautiful, as well."

There was a kind smile on her face as she spoke the words and I translated them for Autumn, giving her a rough understanding of the context as well. Autumn reacted by changing her face, blossom shifting somewhat in both color and shape as it opened. I'd explained to Autumn how humans considered her flowers beautiful and she'd used them as one of her many forms of response ever since.

"A Middlemist," My grandmother breathed. The name of the flower, I supposed? I didn't recognize it. "It has been a very long time since I've had the pleasure, Autumn."

She tapped her blossom again, a gentle contact with a single finger, and then looked up at me.

"You said she could consume plants, as well?" She asked. "That's how she grows?"

"I think it's more complicated than that," I replied. "It seems more like a melding of minds then a consumption of them—but yeah, that's one of the ways she grows. She's gotten to the point where she can consume entire trees. She feeds on Aura spent around her, as well."

Grandmother smiled at me gently, so her next words were a tad jarring.

"Have you given her anything poisonous yet?" She asked.

"Not yet," I shook my head after a moment's pause. "Issues with when to use it, mainly; she tends to keep her natural defenses up at all times. Until recently, she would cover herself with Atlesian Blackberry thorns, even while wrapped around me—and sometimes she still does, if something frightens her. She…"

I paused, trying to put the thought into words before my grandmother did it for me.

"She's blind and deaf and numb. Trapped in a silent, lightless world, surrounded by strangers," She said calmly, smile momentarily fading. "It's only natural that she'd get scared."

"Exactly," I agreed. "But even so, a lot of people could get hurt if she reacts the wrong way. I've been working on that with her, but…well, it's something that needs to be done right."

"Then see that it is," She inclined her head towards me. "But once she is prepared, do you have any plans?"

"A few," I shrugged. "The merging seems to have greater results when used on another awakened plant and there are a few good ones I can get to easily. Ranunculus, Aconite, and Oleander seem like good places to start."

"Ah," She said fondly. "A good place to start indeed. But don't be afraid to aim your sights a little higher—Abrus and Brugmansia, Conium and Cicuta and old Cerbera and dear, sweet Manchineel. At the very least, you should have no trouble finding Ricinus in Vale, should you so need. But if I might make a suggestion?"

I tilted my head to the side, not recognizing all of the names—and somewhat worried that my grandmother did. Even so, I raised an eyebrow inquisitively, bizarrely curious.

"Menagerie is quite famous for its…inhabitants," She said, lips quirking slightly upwards. "If its dangerous plants you intend to look for, I'd recommend you aim for the top and research the matter. There's a species of Heracleum that has a fascinating poison; I've seen men fine one minute and blister and burn as they walked back into the sunlight. There's another I'm familiar with, a rather spectacular Dendrocnide, which stings those who touch its leaves, injecting them with a toxin so agonizing and persistent that most chose commit suicide to escape the pain. There's a distantly related tree called the Urtica, though that's native to the north-east, and its one of the few plants I've known to have killed people who simply made the mistake of walking into it. There's also a very poisonous breed of plant by the name of Daphne, though you may know it better as a Spurge-laurel, though it's neither a spurge nor a laurel; regardless, those who eat it tend to meet rather horrible deaths."

She made the words sound conversational.

"These are all on the Kingdomless Continents?" I asked, shaking my head.

"Most of them," She shrugged. "It's among the many reasons why they're that way, though a bit down the list. Still, some have been taken away and grown successfully elsewhere, throughout Remnant's history. Mistral has quite a record of making use of such poisons. I've done some research on that topic myself, as you might have guessed."

I could guess why, too.

"As you grow older, you'll find that all manner of skills can prove useful," She continued. "I and several of my old friends developed some small skill at knitting while at school and it's seen us all a ways. That's where I first met your grandfather, you know, though we didn't get to know one another until sometime after that."

"I've found a number of odd skills useful myself," I admitted. "I can believe it."

She reached over to pat my hand gently.

"Will you be going out tonight, then?" She changed the subject. "If you wish, I'll take you to see the festivities tomorrow."

"Thank you, Grandmother," I replied. "I'd love to. But I do think I'll take a look around some, since I'm new in town and all. I don't need to do anything for the tournament tomorrow, right?"

"Not tomorrow, no," She shook her head. "Preliminaries will start the day after, however."

"Then I'll go for a walk, if that's all right with you, Grandmother."

"I don't mind," She said. "I'll send Grigio with you to make sure you don't get lost."

It wasn't a request, but I didn't mind anyway. I really did just want to take a look around—and, okay, maybe scope out the city so I knew where everything was if, against all odds, something happened to go catastrophically wrong in my proximity. Unlikely as it seemed, I felt it might be wise to prepare myself anyway.

Still, a guide could only help with that.

"Okay," I agreed. "Would you be okay with looking after Gou or should I take him with me."

"It's fine if he stays," She answered with closed eyes.

I nodded once, even though she couldn't see me, and then picked up Autumn and rose to leave—but I stopped when she spoke again.

"Jaune," She said. "If you're going into town, you may want to leave Autumn here, as well."

"Oh? Why?" I asked, frowning. I wasn't suspicious of my grandmother—okay, no, that was a lie. I wasn't an idiot; I was totally suspicious of my grandmother. But I was sure she wouldn't harm me or Autumn. But if she wanted me to leave Autumn here… "You know that without me…"

"I know," Grandmother said, opening an eye to look at me. "But…it's your first day in town, Jaune."

I tilted my head to the side and said nothing for a moment.

"You're talking about the others, aren't you?" I said at last; there was no need to clarify who I was talking about.

"If I was with you…" She sighed slowly. "But no, it may be better this way. Word must have spread by now and they'll want to get a look at you. It should be fine but…just in case, leave Autumn here."

I said nothing, frowning down at the pot I held.

"You're strong enough to stand on your own, aren't you?" She asked after a few moments of silence.

"I can't say, without any knowledge of who I might be standing before," I replied, unafraid. "Butyou think I'm ready or else it wouldn't matter."

She smiled at that.

"You're ready," She stated. "But I don't know if Autumn is. Could you protect her?"

Could I? There was really no way of knowing yet. I thought I could; I knew I had a long way to go, but I was still strong now. Autumn herself had a fair number of tricks up her sleeves. I was pretty sure we could handle whatever came up.

The better question was 'would I bet Autumn on that'?

No, I thought. Not if I didn't have to. Not if there was a safer way. She was…

But…

"Should I stay here, then?" I wondered aloud. "She's still so…"

My grandmother chuckled sadly.

"You remind me of myself, Jaune," She said, her smile briefly sad. "But perhaps you should ask her first?"

I looked down at Autumn, Aura shifting invisibly around me.

"Are you sure?" I whispered after a moment and then looked up. "Is this important, Grandmother? Or should I stay?"

"It might be important," She said. "Or it might not even come up. But…in my experience, problems don't go away just because you ignore them; they just get bigger. I advise dealing with such matters quickly and thoroughly."

She looked at me steadily.

"She can sense Aura, can she not?" Grandmother asked. "She'll know she's not alone. Tell her I'll keep her safe until you return."

I was silent for a minute and then nodded.

"Gou," I said and my dog immediately stopped playing in the rain to rush inside. I winced slightly at the mud and water he trailed in but knelt beside the happily panting puppy regardless and lifted Autumn from her pot. A silent whisper and her shape changed, stem splitting to tie loosely around Gou's neck in a second collar, flower on the back of his neck. Gou continued to pant in what seemed like approval, so I scratched his ears before touching Autumn one last time. I knew she'd be safe here—possibly safer then she'd be anywhere else, but…I suppose this was the first time we'd been a part since she woke up and…I…

I'll be back soon.

For a moment, she rippled with patterns of white and red crystal and I knew she could see me as I rose.

"Stay here boy," I told Gou. "Keep an eye on her, okay?"

He panted in acceptance of his important mission before bouncing back into the rain to continue his efforts to conquer it. Through it all, my grandmother's dogs sat patiently on the porch, just watching the puppy play. I imagined them wondering 'what is this idiot doing?'

After a few moments in the rain, however, Autumn stirred around Gou's neck, blossom rising on an extending stalk, growing swiftly larger as large leaves grew around it to help catch the rain for her to drink. Below the organic umbrella, Gou was struck by profound confusion as he continued to run around for a moment, before apparently coming to the conclusion that he had succeeded in defeating his sworn enemy. He sat down and gave me a doggie grin.

"I'll be back soon," I said.

XxXXxX

I walked through the rain, unbothered by the downpour. In Xihai's invisible embrace, the water ran off me quickly, and all it took was a thought for Suryasta kept my clothes warm as well. My grandmother's subordinate walked a step behind me, not commenting on that if he even noticed. He'd offered to hold an umbrella above me when we left, but had nodded easily in acceptance when I'd chosen to stand in the storm instead, appearing used to it.

The man, Grigio, was dressed in a neat, charcoal suit. He looked more like an accountant then a bodyguard, what with his pocket protector, wire-rim glasses, and slowly graying hair, but the symbols above his head made it obvious he was more than he seemed. At level forty-one and with a title like The Garrote, he probably did more than handle finances in his free time.

Well, unless accounting was a significantly more cutthroat business than I'd been lead to believe, which was always possible. How would I know?

"Where do you recommend we go first, Grigio?" I asked absently, keeping my senses focused on my surrounding. With my Clairvoyance, I saw the city for how it really was, beneath the veil of visible light—splatters and colors and remnants of things long gone, spilt blood and worse on the streets and the walls, the swiftly fading traces Aura caused by the daily motions of countless lives and the more vibrant colors on living people. Even without the holographic streetlights, the darkness did nothing to inhibit my sight, and I watched the roads, the rooftops, and any place people might be able to hide.

It wasn't just my Clairvoyance. I kept watch might my other senses, too, waiting for the slightest hint of danger. Occasionally, I felt the stirrings of hostility and hatred from the people we passed on the street and thought I remained relaxed, I'd been prepared in case anything had happened. Crocea Mors had already slide into the blade at my hip and my Elementals hovered invisibly around me, ready to act at a moment's notice. I drew most of my persistent abilities around me, strengthening myself for what was to come.

What could I say? My grandmother had given me a warning; it would have been stupid not to take heed.

"Most people who are new to Mistral try to see the Wonders at least once," The manservant said after a moment's pause. "It's famous for the survival of so many ancient wonders, after all."

"I should probably keep my distance, then," I said, half-jokingly.

"Your grandmother often says the same," Grigio stated, nodding minutely. "Should I suggest something more modern, then? The Cyber Coliseum has finished construction and there's always someone fighting there, if you'd like to see. It has a connection to Hellenistic Gaming, as well, if you wish to entertain yourself. Large shipments always come in during the Olympia festival, due to the relative safety and large consumer base, so there should be a variety of new games to play; as I understand it, the newest installment of the Lost Kingdom saga has been selling very well."

"Oh?" I asked, looking over a shoulder at him to give a curious glance.

He shrugged a shoulder.

"It's a joint venture," He said by way of explanation. "Between us and Alexandria."

"Ah," I nodded, considering it. So Nine had already come out, then? I'd forgotten about it, during my training—it and who knows how many other games. The Lost Kingdom series had always been good, except for maybe three and five, but…I hadn't really played a lot of games since I'd gotten this power. I mean, my life was a game now. Like I'd told Adam, I had different things to focus on now and playing games had fallen to the wayside.

And maybe it was the fact that I was in a city known for ancient history or maybe it was the rain, but thinking about it…that was a little sad. Those games—Lost Kingdom, Grimm Nights, Blackblood, and the Wild Hunt, especially—had gotten me through a lot. I'd perfected all of them, knew them from start to finish, and had had a lot of fun. A lot of my childhood was in those games that I never played anymore. There was a part of me that wanted to go back and play them again, for old times' sake. Even if it was pointless, maybe even a waste of time, I…

But at the same time…was it stupid that I was honestly worried that I wouldn't enjoy them anymore? That the possibility that I wouldn't like them anymore seemed like an honest concern?

"I…" I sighed and shake my head. "It's rather sad, but I seem to have fallen out of games, recently. I think I'd rather curl up with a good book."

"As you say, sir," Grigio nodded calmly. "And if so, you've come to the right place. Alexandria's library is the largest on Remnant. When asked how many books she wanted to see within it, Alexandria once said 'if possible, all the books in the world,' and ever since, the first of any book that's come into Mistral's possession, whether by conquest or trade or theft, has been stored in the library, with a copy being given back if necessary. The only library that was ever considered able to compete with it was Vacuo's House of Wisdom, but when Vacuo was under siege during the War, they transported countless books to Mistral to have copies made, should the worst come to pass. Now, hundreds of millions of books have been stored within the library over the millennia, accounting for duplicate copies, and its keepers now seek to store all of those books in a web format, though progress is relatively slow."

"Amazing," I said, smiling slightly at how passionate he sounded. A part of me wondered how he and my Grandmother would react if they knew about my ability to consume skillbooks for knowledge. When it came to the ancient wisdom within the library, would they be horrified at the potential destruction or intrigued by what I could learn?

Well, I hadn't intended to destroy the priceless artifacts within the library in the first place, but it was good to know that copies were being transcribed.

"How many of the books can be read?" I asked, curiously. "That is, how many are open to the public and how many have been translated?"

"It's hard to say," Grigio shook his head. "Though the connections between the Kingdoms has done much to increase the library's size, much of it came from the conquest of nearby nations over the millennia or from the transcription of ancient texts. In its totality, it's believed the library contains books in over two thousand languages, very few spoken today. With the issues of syntax, culture, translation and transcription…it's hard to say, but decrypting many of the works held within the Library is a major goal of its keepers. The vast majority can be read, however, and the access of that majority will not be an issue."

"Oh?" I asked. "Do we…?"

"It is maintained and funded by the Alexandria and Roma families, with some aid from the Khagan, but the library is not owned, as such," Grigio shook his head. "It strives to be an open source of knowledge for all of Mankind, supported by deals and agreements old and new. Even during the Civil War, the library was agreed to be off limits for its 'enterprises of service to all Mankind.'"

He gestured to indicate the quotation and I nodded, remembering the words.

"It's this way, sir, if you're interested," He said, pointing down the street as we reached the intersection. "If we cut across Ashina, we can head towards Primus fairly easily."

"Sure," I smiled. "One second, though; would you mind checking my notes? On the people following us, I mean."

"Not at all, sir." Grigio assured.

"I count a girl down the street, trying to stay out of sight, that guy we've seen leaning against, like, seven different walls, and that guy who's not even trying to hide. There were a few people who watched us closely when we were nearby, but didn't follow us—I figure they just reported back to someone else—though I'm more worried about the guy way over there, watching us on top of the tower." I said calmly, like I was mentioning the weather. Like so many times before, I knew appearances would matter greatly here, so staying composed was important. Grigio, for his part, didn't even twitch until I mentioned the last one, at which point his eyes flicked to follow my gaze and he couldn't stop himself from frowning.

"You're Grandmother mentioned that you had good eyes," He said. "My apologies, sir; I had missed that last one. His name is Swart; he works for the Barca family. He's…"

Grigio frowned, seeming displeased.

"How bad is it?" I asked him.

"…I hesitate to say," He murmured. "He's not armed, but it's what his presence implies that's worrisome. If you'll allow it, I'll address the matter later, sir. For the moment, it may be best to pretend he isn't there while keeping him in mind."

I nodded at him and watched him closely.

"Since you're more experienced at this than I am, how do you think I should handle this?" I asked. "Directly or indirectly?"

"The ones following us are of the younger generation," Grigio said after a moment of thought. "The heirs and one of their close companions—they want to get a feel for you and where you stand, most likely with their parents' permission. For them…I feel a direct reproach would be best. Just remember that first impression are important."

I nodded, already thinking the same thing.

"Ulaan Khagan," I said, raising my voice even as I kept my back turned. "Kyanos Alexandria. Melania Delphos. Do you need something?"

I saw Grigio glance at me sharply at that but didn't flinch, didn't even turn around until I heard footsteps come near—and when I did, I made sure it was slow and casual. I looked over them almost absently. Ulaan, the large guy who'd leaned on a few walls and watched me openly, was a large, tanned man in red and white. Kyanos hadn't even bothered with that much and had openly tailed us, wearing a green T-shirt and jeans. Melania had stayed in the shadows, which I'm pretty sure had darkened around her, but when she stepped out she was wearing pastels and a floppy hat.

"It's Melanie," She said. "Only my mom calls me Melania."

"Didn't see you there, Melania," Kyanos said despite her words, smiling at her. "You worried about me?"

"Well, you're an idiot, Kyanos." She answered. "Of course I'm worried."

While they were speaking, I looked at Ulaan, the one with the highest level. He was big, so much so that he towered nearly half a foot over me, but more than that he was calm. He looked me over and did the same to him. After a moment, he nodded at me in acknowledgement.

"Jaune Roma," He said at last. "Welcome to Mistral."

"It's good to be here, thank you," I replied, not correcting him. I wasn't a Roma, but then, he probably wasn't a Khagan; whichever family was in power held those names in Mistral. That he extended that name to me was an act of respect—if probably more to my grandmother than to me. "I'm surprised to see you so soon, though."

"No, you're not," He answered.

"No," I said, smiling a bit at that. "I'm not. Still, it's good to see you, I hope. I take it you're here to get to know me better?"

"Something like that," Kyanos smiled widely, showing his teeth. "Itri was too busy being an asshole to come, but you'll see him around eventually. He's like a cold—everyone has to put up with him eventually. Look forward to it."

"I will," I replied, thinking he may have already sent a representative. "So then, what should we do?"

"Well…" He seemed to ponder that for a moment. "Originally, I was gonna pick up some porn, explosives, and beer so we could all go up to the catapults and have a nice male-bonding experience—"

"Don't ask," Ulaan murmured as I raised an eyebrow.

"—But Melanie's blown that plan all to hell with her damn cooties and boobs," He shook his head and sighed. "God, what a bitch."

Melanie leaned back without the slightest change in expression and kicked him in the ass. He stumbled forward a few steps but recovered quickly and continued without comment, ignoring her interruption but for a widening of his smile.

"Well, she's my friend so I have to put up with her, however much she sucks, so try to do the same, okay? I'll make it up to you later," He said, sidestepping another kick in the pants without even looking at her and placing a finger to his lips thoughtfully. "Let's see, though, what could we do to get to know each other…"

He smiled suddenly and pointed in the opposite direction of the library.

"I guess we could play some games?" He said. "We can hang out with some of my friends. What do you say?"

I looked at them all carefully.

Heir of the Scourge
LV37
Ulaan Khagan

Heir of the Conqueror
LV34
Kyanos Alexandria

Nymph's Shadow
LV31
Melania Delphos

"You sure you want to?" I said, pretty sure I knew what he had in mind. "Because I'm…pretty good at games."

XxXXxX

MurazorChief EncyclopedistSuper Awesome Happy Fun Time

The Games We Play
Competitive

Kyanos laughed, obviously enjoying every second of this, and even Ulaan had a fierce grin on his face. They honestly thought this was fun.

In fairness, so did I. We were at the Cyber Coliseum, a reconstruction of one of Mistral's ancient landmarks with a new and modern twist. Fighter's would compete year round for people's entertainment, battling in dozens of leagues and tournaments for prizes and sponsorships and more, stemming back from an ancient Mistral tradition meant to keep people's spirits up in dark times and ward away the Grimm. The fights were broadcast on several channels but tickets could be bought to see it in person for major fight—most notably the ones in the Olympia Games. Generally speaking, however, fighting within the Coliseum itself was restricted to those who were supposed to be there.

Which apparently included us, because we'd been allowed into a private arena with nary a word. There, we played our game—and I'd say I was surprised that it descended immediately into outright violence, but I really wasn't. The games my sisters and I played growing up had pretty much always turned into fights, if ones that I'd been mostly left out of as the youngest; I figured the other Families of Mistral probably grew up in similar conditions.

I blocked Ulaan's sabre with one hand, even as I forced his spear away with my shield, planting my feet to strain against the larger man. It was a battle of strength, a simple struggle to see who had more physical power, and I fought against him without using any tricks.

Well. Without any tricks he could see, that is. For the sake of fairness, we were all using practice weapons provided by the arena, for what little that meant—well, 'practice weapons'; they were still sharp, but they didn't transform into rocket launchers or machineguns or have the crafting of a Hunter's weapons. Which really wasn't fair as it did nothing to affect me, but which was a handicap on their part which I was more than willing to exploit. Besides which, Crocea Mors was always by my side, in whichever weapon I chose to wield. That gave me a fierce edge from the very beginning, though I was happy to take advantage of whatever I could.

After a moment of struggle, my senses alerted me of danger and I broke off, dancing quickly to the side as another spear flashed through the space I'd inhabited moments before, thrusting into Ulaan hard enough to draw a grunt from the boy. I spun, lashing out with my shield to smash it into Kyanos's chest, boosting my strength with both Power and Double Strike to send him skidding several meters back. Ulaan swung his spear in an arc that ducked neatly under before forcing me to parry a sword strike as I rose. Held briefly still, he thrust his spear forward that even bracing myself and blocking with my shield I was sent sliding back.

He didn't stop there, of course, but continued with a series of mighty blows, never even allowing me to stop. He lashed out so quickly with each attack that the sound of one impact slide right into the sound of the next and if not for Crocea Mors, each strike would have left dents deep in the steel of my shield.

In the end, I cheated, sliding just a bit further with the help of Levant, such that his next blow had to reach ever so slightly further, took a fraction of a second longer—and yet, it was enough. I turned aside the spear head by angling me shield, pushing it aside even as I turned the motion into a spin and slammed the edge of my sword hard into his upper arm, sending him into the ground a meter away. To his credit, he turned what should have been an uncontrolled fall into a well-practiced roll and kept ahold of his weapons.

To my credit, I kept on him and didn't give him time to get up. I came down on him from a high leap, sword arcing down with thunderous force behind a magically sharpened edge. He lifted his weapons to block, crossing sword and spear to try and halt my blade—and if he'd been using his actual weapons, it probably would have worked. But these practice weapons?

I had an Elemental to make even cheap steel hard as diamond.

He didn't.

The haft and blade of his weapons splintered and shattered and my sword continued down the smash into his chest. The Coliseum floor around him cracked slightly as he gave a coughing exhalation and I lifted my sword to strike again—

And leapt up, out of the way of a sudden blue-green blur as Kyanos raced across the arena in shroud of his own Aura. Flashing towards the opposite wall, he seemed to rebound off something invisible before hitting it, bouncing away at an angle to change position and come back my way. Once again alerted by Sense Danger, I'd moved before the second ricochet, striding neatly out of the way of his advance. He drew passed me, changing direction again before returning my way, only to find me once again out of his path. Even if he could move fast enough to seem like a blur to normal eyes, he still traveled in a straight line, so an early warning was all I needed to get out of that line.

Except…the second attack had been faster than the first and the third faster still. When he came my way again, he continued the trend and got that much closer, the time between Sense Danger's warning smaller and smaller until it turned into a steady alarm between the tenth and eleventh. I continued my evasion, never stopping for even a moment, but he came closer and closer as his speed increased. Would he just keep getting faster until he hit me?

No, I thought, Observing him. His MP was dropping quickly with each attack, the rate of descent rising alongside his speed. This ability—Chariot—wasn't something he could keep up forever.

The question was if he could keep it up longer then I could evade it?

I wanted to find out. I already had Haste activated, the skill I'd drawn from yellow Dust giving a more muted increase in speed in exchange for a vastly increased duration, as well as the White Tiger's Tread. I could still go faster if I had to, but before I did that…

I took a chance and stepped aside, turning neatly to take another step and another and another still. Sense Danger gave me an advanced warning, but here I needed something else, something to gauge the individual strikes not just the fact that I was in the line of fire.

Luckily, I had just the thing. I watched him closely, turning to keep him always in sight, and focused on him with my Clairvoyance. With my clear sight, even his steadily increasing speed wasn't enough to escape my eyes—it was just a matter of keeping pace with my body. I could see every moment of his approach, I just needed to dodge early enough to get out of the way, to compensate for his acceleration, to move early enough to avoid danger but also late enough to keep him from reacting.

The opening for doing so shrank steadily as he raced across the area like lightning, leaving cyan streaks in the air as a mark of his passing, but I dodged and danced between the blows, using the smallest possible movements to evade, centimeters to his meters—and through it all, I waited for his MP to drop.

But apparently, they had been waiting, too. All of a sudden, the world around me shifted, like a screen had fallen over my eyes and darkened my sight. Melanie, I realized as I saw her in the periphery, using her power to block the lights. She wasn't making darkness, per se, because the lights were still there, still glowing where they had been positioned.

I knew, because I could see them. Whatever she was doing, it didn't stop my Clairvoyance—or rather, it didn't stop all of it. Even cut off from visible light, I could clearly see everything around me with just a slight shift in perspective—and as I did, I saw what they were trying to do.

Kyanos couldn't see in the dark, but he didn't need to. Moving as fast as he was and in straight lines, all it would take was a moment's hesitation on my part, a sudden uncertainty, and he'd crash right into me. And that's what this darkness was meant to do, to make me uncertain, to interfere at a crucial moment even if it meant sacrificing Kyanos' own sight. It struck me as a trained maneuver, something practiced extensively and which had probably worked many times.

But it didn't work here, because I wasn't uncertain and I didn't hesitate. I saw him coming, moving as fast as he could—for what better time for this trick then near his top speed—and at the very last moment, Lunged aside. Just a meter or so; enough to get out of the way and continue my turn, but enough to send him by me one last time.

To his credit, even blind he stopped before hitting the wall, rebounding one last to skid to a halt before crashing.

To mine, I Lunged after him the moment I was out of the way, smashing into his back like a cannonball and shoving him part of the way into the wall.

"Kyanos!" Melanie shouted, apparently still able to see in the darkness. I glanced at her and saw her running towards me, a pair of knives in her hands.

Well, 'running.' Compared to what Kyanos had done, to what I could do, she might as well have been walking. I could see, both with my eyes and Observe, that she was a skilled fighter—as expected of anyone at level thirty-one, really—but fighting a face to face confrontation wasn't her role; she was more suited to darkening an area and picking off enemies one by one. As someone who'd done the same before, I could acknowledge and respect that, as well as recognize its power.

But that just wasn't gonna work here.

I stepped away from Kyanos and another Lunge took me to Melanie. I landed slightly crouched but already swinging my sword up at her, my closeness to the ground causing it to carve a furrow in the stadium floor as I slammed her with a power attack that sent her flying into the air. She landed some five meters away and stayed on the ground, the darkness fading around us as she went still, though a quick Observation said she was okay. I'd heal her afterwards.

"Melanie!" Kyanos shouted, rising from the dirt as he panted hard. He still had his spear in hand, but he glanced at it once and threw it away. "Ulaan!"

The Khagan boy fell from the air right in the path of the spear, snatching it out of midair even as he tossed what looked like another short sword—probably plucked from the nearby armories—towards Kyanos. The pair turned to me as one and rushed at me, blue-green and violet-red.

I stood still and welcomed their charge. My shield came up and met the spear's haft, my sword parrying its mirror. They drew back and struck again, barely a moment between blows, and I still didn't retreat. I pushed aside the force of Ulaan's strikes, met those of Kyanos with yet greater force, and refused to budge—and then I started to push back. I ducked under a strike toward my eyes and used my shield to push aside the spear again, this time using it as a pivot, turning to shove a shoulder into Ulaan, sending him a grunting step back. I completed my turn to face Kyanos fully and struck his defending sword aside to send him sprawling with a bash from my shield.

I turned again to face Ulaan and, instead of pushing his spear aside, surprised him by letting it pass under my arm and then caught it against my side. A moment later, I cut through the shaft of the weapon with another Doubled Power Attack. Even with his Aura reinforcing it, these weapons were fragile compared to a Hunter's, and the wood cut easily.

Our eyes met and I saw him sigh slightly before I smacked him across the face with my shield, sending him prone. I turned again and strode quickly closer to Kyanos as he rose, blade going to his throat.

He looked up at me for a moment and laughed.

"Okay, okay, we get it," He said. "You're a beast. I give."

I smiled a bit at that and lowered the sword, giving him a hand up, healing him as I did.

"Oh, that's a neat trick," He said, glancing down. "We haven't had a healer in the blood for a while now. You mind?"

He nodded in the direction of the other two who I went to heal with a nod.

"I guess your grandmother must have ridden you hard, huh?" Kyanos asked, absently rubbing an arm. "All the families do, but I guess your gran has a reputation for a reason."

"Oh?" I asked, looking at him.

"Your mom and all, I mean," He said, as if that should explain it. Which I guess it did, honestly.

"Ah," I nodded. "I see. I actually trained with my mom, though."

"God, it's a family thing?" He shook his head. "We'll compare notes some time on the awful things our parents do to us, yeah?"

"Sure," I said, watching Melanie's eyes open. Kyanos moved to stand over us, shaking his head.

"Some bodyguard you turned out to be," He said. "I got my ass kicked, Mel."

"It's not my fault he can see in the dark, you idiot," She said bitterly, but accepted my offered hand. When Kyanos glanced my way, I shrugged and said nothing, moving to heal Ulaan next. The heir and his friend bickered behind me, but I fixed the damage to the Khagan easily and waited for his eyes to open.

He glanced at me and frowned slightly before nodding.

"You fight well," He said.

"Thank you," I replied, helping him rise. "You do, too."

"It's my loss," He sighed. "Even three-on-one, you won…your grandmother will be pleased. My father will not."

I wasn't really sure how to respond to that.

"I'm sorry," I said at last, a bit awkwardly.

"Don't be," He said, shaking his head. "You should never be sorry for proving yourself. I look forward to working with you in the future, Jaune Roma."

He turned to leave solemnly before Kyanos ruined it.

"Hey, Ulaan, where are you going?" He shouted.

"Home," He answered with another sigh. "It's getting late."

"No, it isn't," Kyanos disagreed. "It's not even seven."

"True," Ulaan nodded in acceptance before looking over his shoulder. "Allow me to rephrase; I find you annoying, Kyanos."

"Aw, dude," The Alexandrian replied. "Is that anyway to speak to your friend?"

Ulaan just kept walking, making Kyanos laugh again.

"You're lucky I'm so nice, Ulaan," He said. "I guess that blow to the head knocked something loose. Did you forget what day it is?"

Ulaan stopped.

"Oh," He said.

"What?" I asked, looking at Kyanos, who only grinned.

"Since you're new in town and you won the fight, why don't I show you something cool?" He asked. "We've got a special guest in Arena Three. If you want, I'll get you her autograph."

"If you ask her, she'll break your face again," Ulaan said, but didn't seem interested in leaving anymore. He eyed me for a moment, ponderingly. "Are you tired?"

"Not really," I shrugged after a moment's hesitation, wondering if that was rude to say after a fight. "Why? Who's there?"

XxXXxX

"Pyrrha Nikos." Kyanos said, nodding his head towards the fighter sparring in the arena. "Three time winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament looking to break the record with a fourth. She's an old friend of mine."

"Old friend?" I asked Melanie without taking my eyes off the fight. She fought several opponents at once, much as I had, but for her it was four against one, rather than three.

"She hates him," She explained, sounding bored.

"Why?"

"I honestly don't remember," Kyanos mused, frowning. "It was something about…something?"

"Informative," Ulaan grunted.

"You hurt one of her friends in her first tournament," Melanie reminded, though Kyanos' face was blank. "Third round? That one guy?"

"Need I remind you who made it to the finals?" He asked, shrugging at my look. "There were a lot of guys who got their asses kicked."

"You…" Melanie waved her hand irritated, going quiet for a moment. At last, she suggested. "Broke his arms? Or maybe his legs?"

"You're gonna need to be more specific," He said, again shrugging under my gaze. "You fight in the big league tournaments, that type of thing happens. You lose when your Aura drops into the red, right? Because that means its low enough that you might get hurt if you continue, you see?"

"Yeah," I said when he seemed to be waiting for a reply.

"But the thing is, all that stuff's relative," He continued. "It's based on percentage—how much of your total Aura you have and all that. And that's all well and good if it's between two equals and such, but if it's between someone on their way to Haven and some newbie…well, it's not that hard to knock someone from half-full to empty in one hit. Nikos down there knocked, like, three—"

"Four," Melanie corrected, pursing her lips.

"Four people out of her first tournament like that," Kyanos corrected before pausing to consider it. "Though they were kind of losers, from what I remember. Still, if you knock someone to empty, the rest of the force hits their bodies, so injuries aren't uncommon, even if they suck. You're expected not to hurt anyone too badly, but nobody makes a fuss over some broken arms."

"They made a fuss over this," She shook her head. "There was a lot of news about the Champion's injured friend for a while, remember?"

"No, I don't remember," Kyanos sounded annoyed. "How is it you remember what happened to…whoever, but don't remember what she did to me? You don't see me holding a grudge."

"Well, your father called in a healer to put you back together. Even with the delays, you were up and walking again in a week," Melanie shrugged. "He wasn't. There were complications because of…something and he took a while to heal. I think he might have missed a year?"

"Yeah?" He frowned to himself, looking down before shaking his head in irritation. "God, I still don't remember."

"That's probably why she hates you," I noted and Melanie nodded in agreement.

"It was one guy," He said. "Just some dude from the third round of one tournament I competed in four years ago! And I had a concussion by the time that thing was over! Hell, do either of youremember his name? Or who you fought in the third round?"

"No," Ulaan said, doing his best to ignore the conversation and watch the fight. Kyanos looked vindicated by his words nonetheless.

"Of course I do," Melanie said—probably just to be contradictory, as she fell silent immediately after. Under Kyanos' expectant gaze, her mouth twitched once, twice, before she blurted. "It started with a 'P.'"

Kyanos snickered at that, before looking back at the area and sighing.

"So something like that happened, huh?" He sighed. "God, I feel old saying it, but four years seems like so long ago now. Four years ago, I hadn't even gotten into Sanctum."

Four years ago, I hadn't even failed to get into Signal. He was right; four years did seem like a long time ago. Hell, four months seemed like a long time ago, now, but back then…most of my sisters had still come by home from time to time—checking in on me, they said, though in hindsight they'd probably just been worried that I would be starting Mom's training soon. Of course, that had never happened, because I wasn't…I hadn't been…

God, the memories were so vivid, the feelings they invoked so real, yet that could have been another life it felt so far away. Not even four months and look how much I'd changed, how far I'd come, what I'd done…

Maybe that was why I nudged Kyanos.

"If it bothers you, why don't you apologize?" I asked, the words at once optimistic and vaguely sad. "Even if it's just words and she doesn't forgive you, you can still try, right?"

He sighed, leaning against the railing.

"I guess," He mused. "I'm not used to apologizing for kicking ass, though."

"Think of it as apologizing for making her kick your ass," Ulaan suggested. "Repeatedly. In front of thousands of people. Being in such close proximity to the embarrassment you made of yourself must have been agonizing for her."

"Patty…" Melanie murmured. "No, not…Patrick? Pre…per…? Damn it, I know this!"

"Wow," Kyanos shook his head. "Sometimes I forget how horrible all my friends are. You guy'ssuck. In fact, you know what? Screw both of you. Jaune, you're my new friend, okay?"

"Uh," I said. "Sure?"

"Cool," He said, even as he frowned to himself, looking concerned. "Also, you can just heal me if she breaks my arm again, so it's fine, right?"

"I suppose," I nodded hesitantly as I looked at him. "Although, you…might want to wait until you remember the guy's name."

"Yeah," He nodded slowly. "It's waited four years, it can wait another day or two. Right? Right."

"Prasino!" Melanie blurted. "His name was Prasino, I'm sure of it!"

She furrowed her eyebrows, frowning.

"Probably."

"Probably?" Kyanos asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Melanie's expression shifted to one of annoyance almost instantly.

"It was four goddamn years ago and I never even met the guy," She sniffed. "I'm pretty sure his name was Prasino and you don't remember a damn thing, so you can go fuck yourself. Go get the shit kicked out of you by Nikos again for all I care."

He nodded quietly, considering her.

"Yeah," He said, drawing the word out. "I think I'll wait to look it up. But speaking of getting broken by Nikos!"

He turned to face me with a smile, pointing at me with a lazy gesture.

"You want to try your luck against the reigning champ, Roma?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"What?" I asked, blinking.

He nodded at the arena. In the time it had taken us to finish talking, the red haired girl had finished off her opponents without taking a scratch and looked no different than she had when she first entered the ring.

"I figured, hey, you're a pretty good fighter; want to try your luck against the champ?"

"Here?" I wondered, though Kyanos just waved the concerns away.

"Everyone knows Pyrrha will take on all comers—if you're brave or stupid enough to want to fight her, she'll gladly kick your ass."

"Even when her tournament's so soon?" I asked. "If she's going for four in a row, wouldn't she want to be fresh?"

He snorted.

"Who knows?" He said. "Personally, I doubt she really cares one way or another. What about you?"

I looked down at the ring. Even though I'd been a bit distracted by the conversation, I'd seen enough of the battle—if you could even call such a one-sided fight a battle—to know she was good. In fact, if she'd won three times, it was safe to assume she'd be the strongest fighter in the tournament. So really…there was no point wasting time, when I could just fight the champion. Winning the tournament didn't mean anything to me, apart from the fun it could bring—but if I could just skip to the best part…

"Sure," I said, leaning forward to rest my elbows on the railing. I nodded to myself after a moment, deciding. "Yeah, sounds like fun. It's really okay, right?"

"Um," Said Kyanos, smiling brightly before looking suddenly uncertain even as Ulaan just smirked, unsurprised. "…You sure, dude? Because, like…I want to see this. A lot. But as your newly appointed friend, I feel like I should warn you before letting you run headlong into danger. Because I got my ass kicked by both of you, but she kicked it a lot harder."

"So you were gonna just throw him to the wolves before?" Melanie asked, rolling her eyes.

"Nah, I like him," Kyanos said, punching my shoulder. "I'd have given him fair warning before setting up the camera and placing bets—but you've gotta get pounded into the ground by Nikos at least once. It's tradition."

Ulaan and Melanie both frowned at the apparent reminder.

"Besides, I can't very well throw a wolf to the wolves, can I, Roma?" He asked, looking at my again and glancing me up and down. "Yeah—you're a healer; you'll be fine. And you were holding back some, right?"

I shrugged.

"Maybe a little bit," I said.

"That's the spirit," He nudged me again. "The sons of the Families can't coast through life on our stunning good looks alone, right?"

"That is sadly true," Ulaan admitted, lifting a hand in concession.

I smiled a bit at that, even while Melanie rolled her eyes.

"But you're sure?" Kyanos asked me.

I looked out into the area, contemplatively.

The Invincible Girl
LV47
Pyrrha Nikos

"Yeah," I said. "I'm sure."

He looked me over one more time and nodded sharply.

"Hey, Nikos!" He suddenly shouted before extending his hands as if to present me. "A challenger has appeared!"

XxXXxX

MurazorChief EncyclopedistSuper Awesome Happy Fun Time

The Games We Play
Cooperative

I rolled my eyes at my new friend's antics and stepped up onto the railing, allowing myself to fall down into the ring. I landed lightly and strode forward with confidence, drawing closer to the three-time champion. Pyrrha's eyes focused on the trio behind me for a moment—or perhaps just Kyanos, I didn't bother checking—and then shifted to me, watch me draw nearer. I meet her gaze and nodded in acknowledgement when I'd drawn near enough.

"Hello," I greeted, waving slightly. "Jaune Arc, at your service."

"Pyrrha Nikos," She replied, giving me a small smile. Her heart didn't seem to be in it, however, and it faded quickly. She glanced over my head again before looking at me, contemplatively. A tad belatedly, she added. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

I nodded in thanks and waited for her to continue. I could see the question in her eyes, but waited for her to give it voice.

"So," She finally asked, voice wryly. "How'd you get dragged into this? If they're making you fight…"

"Ah," I said, casting a look over my shoulder before explaining calmly. "It's nothing like that. I'm just looking to have a good time. It's my first night in Mistral and they're…showing me around? Well, something like that."

"You're here for the tournament?" She asked, looking at me a bit differently.

"Yeah, sort of," I said, shrugging a shoulder. "I'm not really the tournament type, but I was gonna be in town with my mom anyway and it seemed like fun, you know? But then they told me you were the champion the last three times and that you were accepting challenges. Aren't you?"

"I am," She confirmed, before hesitating. "If you understand what it means."

"That you're the champion for a reason?" I asked, shrugging. "I get it. Well, I only signed up for the tournament for the memories, you know? But if I could fight the champ instead, that'd be even better, is kind of what I was thinking."

She seemed to consider that for a moment before accepting it.

"I won't hold back," She warned. "Are you sure?"

"That's cool," I shrugged again, looking around before putting a hand to Crocea Mors, where it hung at my side. "It's just for fun, right? So let's have fun."

At that, she gave me an honest smile.

"Very well," She said. "I would be happy to be your opponent."

"Practice weapons or live?" I asked. Practice weapons were the norm for…well, practice, as they lacked the horrific lethality that tended to characterize the instruments of Hunters and combat schools—that is to say, they minimized the chances of someone dying if something went wrong. However, it wasn't uncommon for Hunters to spar against one another with their actual weapons; it was sort of the norm, even. To apply Kyanos' words, I suppose it worked for those who were strong enough not to be knocked out instantly and, hopefully, smart enough to surrender before running out of Aura. Kyanos, Melanie, Ulaan, and I could probably have spared that way, it was just that they'd come to meet me unarmed, so as not to seem threatening. I'd put aside Crocea Mors to make things a bit more even, but for a fight like this…

She opened a hand towards me, wordlessly giving me the choice.

I smiled a bit at that and drew Crocea Mors, letting the sheath unfold into a shield as she silently brought her own weapons to her hands. A gleaming Dipylon shield and a xiphos, if I recalled correctly, both colored red and gold. She held her shield between us, lifted high enough for her to be able to move it into a blocking position swiftly, but not high enough to impede her field of vision. Her sword was held…not at ease, per se, for it was obviously at the ready, but her stance…

If I had to guess from how she was standing, I'd say she'd probably lead with her shield, whether by defending to make an opening that her sword would exploit or using it to knock me back. In its own way, her stance was like a mirror of mine; I held my shield close, ready to defend if needed, but I lead with my sword—regardless of what jokes that probably left me open to. I could take a hit thanks to my layered defenses and healing ability, while Bai Hu's art had gotten me used to being on the offensive. I was better suited for it, besides.

So when she didn't make the first move, my instinctual reaction was to attack. Going by her stance, it seemed safe to assume she'd attempt to block instead of dodge, hoping to tie up my weapon for a moment and strike. But if I stacked enough skills behind a single attack, hit her hard enough to throw her off balance…

Assuming I could hit her hard enough to throw her off balance. It would be foolish to assume nobody had ever thought of that before, but here she was, three-time champ. If she'd built her fighting style at least partially around a shield, it seemed likely she'd probably invested some time and effort into actually using it. In fact, the simple fact that she wasn't going on the offensive implied a lot. It was possible—maybe even likely—that she was going easy on me despite her words, but I didn't think that'd make her fight stupidly. If she was doing this, there was a reason.

I took a step to the side, watching her react to the sound—or, rather, her lack of reaction to the sound. I relaxed as I walked a slow quarter-circle around her, lowering my shield slightly and shifting my grip on my sword. It was a confident stride, an inviting one, opening me to an attack.

But she didn't take it. She held her position for the slow seconds that I moved, ready to attack but not doing so. She wanted me to attack first. A trap? A test? I wasn't sure, but basic logic said that if your enemy wanted you to do something, it probably wasn't to your benefit to oblige her. It would be better to draw things out, to let minutes pass and force her to make the first move; if needed, I was pretty sure I had the patience to outlast pretty much anyone. Or perhaps I should try a ranged attack and see how she responded.

Instead, I attacked her, exactly how she wanted. Part of it was curiosity; if it was a trap, then springing it would probably reveal something about how she fought. Another part thought that it would be good to determine early on how much she could withstand, to build further plans off of. But the biggest part? It wanted to test my strength against hers, to see how I compared. Remembered that this was just a sparring match, just a game, and wanted to have fun.

Perhaps an instant after I started forward, she moved, rushing to meet me in the middle. I brought down Crocea Mors a bit earlier then I planned and the sword rang against her shield, a shockingly loud sound as my skills multiplied the force over and over again. I saw her arm sink slightly beneath the force of the blow, but I was moving before the blow even truly connected, senses crying out in warning. As she blocked the blow from above, Pyrrha herself had gone below, sliding under her shield to swing at my legs. I tried to step back, but the sword suddenly extended into a javelin that she used to sweep my feet out from under me.

Fortunately, my brain was moving faster than my body. A last minute adjustment with Levant turned a fall into a flip and I landed on my shield, rolled to one knee, and blocked a thrust of her javelin that sent me skidding back. As it did, I moved with the force, sliding to my feet as I came to a halt and immediately pressing forward as Pyrrha spun with the blow. I caught it on my shield again and spun with it myself, turning to bring a blow up at her head. She caught it on her shield and shrink her weapon back down to a sword she tried to stab me with, which I shielded against in turn.

For a moment, we strained against one another, a simple battle of strength. I thought her base physical strength was probably greater than my own, but was pretty sure my passive skills gave me better increases—whatever the case, I stalemated her long enough to brace myself with Levant and try to kick at her legs.

An instant later, my senses were screaming in warning again. I felt a sharp point and sudden weight on my thigh as she literally stepped onto me, but saw the true source of danger as her sword shifted neatly into a new shape—and it was only by all but falling backwards that I avoided looking down the barrel of a rifle. She fired a shot that chipped away at the floor a few feet from my head, but I lifted my shield to cover my head and chest before she could adjust her aim. Three shots rang out in such quick succession that I was only able to distinguish them by the impacts on my shield, even as I lifted my blade to stab at her leg.

By then, she was already in a flip of her own, an arc that I caught only a glimpse of as my danger sense gave me a moment's reprieve and I moved my shield. I pushed away from the ground with one arm, Levant all but pulling me to my feet in a motion that ended with me swinging down at Pyrrha as she landed in a crouch. She brought up her shield in another ringing block and swept her sword at my feet again—but this time I was prepared. I jumped the moment my senses alerted me, a short hop that used my blade as a pivot and the force behind her defense to flip neatly over her, turned midair to land facing her back, and swung down at her head.

Without even looking, she brought her shield up behind her head, but she was on one knee and defending from an awkward position—she had to brace herself against the ground with her sword arm, pommel of the blade against the floor.

She used that to steady it when the blade suddenly expanded back into a spear, length pushing it past her shield and towards the center of my chest. I caught it with my shield again, but with the floor on the other side she leveraged me back, rising with the action to push harder. I planted my feet, shifting to the side to angle the blow away. She didn't even bother pulling the spear back, simply shrinking the blade back to its sword form as she bashed her shield against mine. I spun, caught her blade on my own, and managed to plant my feet quickly enough to push against her while she was still extended, shoving her back. As she pulled her sword closer, I closed in myself and swung hard down at my head.

But what she did next surprised me.

As my sword came down, she raised her shield in an instant and caught my strike as I expected her to—but she blocked it with both arms, releasing her sword at her side in doing so. With my Clairvoyance, I saw it all—how she let go of the weapon, how it spun almost idle circles through the air, how her now free hand came up to grasp the inward curving edge of her shield and help force my attack aside, even how my reflection gleamed in the shield over the course of each passing moment. As steel brushed steel and I tried to pull back, I even saw the fingers of her free hand brush the flat of my blade. Light glimmered against steel, shining from a thousand sources throughout the arena yet seeming suspended as I focused.

Then the moment passed and she spun, using her shield to push away from my blade, retrieving her discarded sword before it even touched the ground and striding away.

I didn't follow. That maneuver had been…beautiful, certainly, and undeniably graceful, but…what surprised me was one simply thing, the moment when she'd let go of her sword to brace her shield with a hand. She'd let it spin through the air for a moment before drawing it back, but…there'd been no true need to let go of it, not really. She could have braced her defense with a sword in hand as easily as without, yet…

It was strange. Something tiny and without any apparent meaning, over in an instant, and yet it seemed so out of place. Pointless, compared to everything else; a needlessly showy addition that stood out starkly compared to the whole. Maybe it was only because I noticed everything in such vibrant detail—

Vibrant detail, I thought, noticing something. In the dozens of lights that glittered on the surface of my weapons, there were four out of place. Off-color, they stayed in the same place no matter how the blade moved, markings on the steel.

Four points of light on the flat of Crocea Mors, where Pyrrha's fingers had touched them.

"What…?" I whispered, but didn't have even a second to think about it because Pyrrha was suddenly on the attack. I raised my shield to counter a bash from hers, sliding back a pace as I readied my sword. She came at me shield first again, but I braced myself better this time and though I slide again, I wasn't pushed away. Shield to shield, we both raised our blades, striking around them even as we pulled back our defenses.

Again, I saw every moment—how she slid her shield across mine to raise a defense, the knuckles of her hand dragging across Crocea Mors' surface and leaving trails of light in their wake. How rippling patterns of light appeared in the air, spreading from her hands to the small space between us. Dim Aura marks flashed brightly at their touch.

She shouldn't have been able to bring her shield up quickly enough to block, but my sword seemed to shift ever so slightly as it passed through those waves and she did anyway, stopping the attack even as her own sank into my upper arm. There was a flash of pain before she jerked it back, sword extending into a spear again as she swept my legs out from under me, neither my sword nor shield moving precisely how I wanted them.

I landed flat on my back and I was thinking about it the whole way down. It was subtle—so subtle I couldn't even feel it—but I'd seen it with my Clairvoyance. Given the possibilities of my different forms of sight and what had been affected…

"Magnetism," I breathed quietly as she drew a step away, going back to a defensive stance. She stopped at my words, looking at me in surprise. "Right?"

I rose to my feet and she didn't stop me. I was breathing hard, I noticed absently. It wasn't important, not really, and it faded as I healed myself besides. As I recovered, though, I looked at her face. She didn't look upset or worried, merely…surprised. Even so…

"Did I see something I shouldn't have?" I asked quietly, leaning closer.

She seemed to consider that.

"No, no; it's not really a secret, I suppose," She mused aloud after a moment. "It's simply that its best uses are subtle and I don't talk about it much. You're simply the first to notice."

"Yeah, sorry," I said. "I have really good eyes. It's not a problem, is it? For you, I mean."

"I don't see why it would be," She said. "If you noticed here, you'd have noticed it later."

"I suppose so," I agreed. "Still, I only noticed outside the tournament because you were willing to fight me, so I feel a little bad? Well, if you want, I'll drop out of the tournament and we'll call it even."

"Oh?" She asked, looking surprised again. It was easy enough to guess why.

I shrugged and smiled.

"It doesn't really matter," I said. "I'm more interested in fighting you anyway."

"That's not necessary," She shook her head after a moment, frowning. "We're both learning things from this battle; if you've noticed more, than that's simply because you're more observant. There's no need to apologize for such a thing. Shall we continue?"

I shrugged, accepting her words, and then nodded. Glancing down at Crocea Mors, I considered my options. If her power was based on magnetism, there were several solutions. For a long time now, people had made jokes concerning how magnets work, but actually it's pretty simple. Generally speaking, it's a result of aligned magnetic dipoles, which meant there were several ways todemagnetize something that I could try. Whether they'd work or not would need testing, though, since Aura could work in strange ways. It was up in the air whether any of those methods would stop her, though I could try. With my Elementals and my powers, I could probably figure something out.

But for this…

I sheathed Crocea Mors and placed him back at my side, sending him an apology as I did so.

"I'm sorry, but since you've already marked him," I shrugged with a smile.

"Are you giving up?" She asked, sounding disappointed. "Or do you intend to fight unarmed?"

"Neither," I said. "Do you mind if I try something new?"

"By all means," She said.

I smiled at her gratefully—and then focused power in my hands.

I felt my Aura taking form in my thoughts even as it gathered before my eyes. The part that was visible, that glowed like a shaft of white light to the naked eye, was just a small part of it—most of the power I channeled into it spilt off in other ways, only visible to me because of my Clairvoyance. It was sloppy and wasteful—which really wasn't all that surprising from a first attempt, I suppose—but I peered through the shed energy and wasted power, glimpsing the core held within. The various forms of Clairvoyance came with different effects and benefits and this one, the basic ability to see Aura, gave bonuses to attempts to shape and work with the energy directly; presumably my abilities way of representing me being able to actually see what I was doing instead of grasping for it blindly.

And I saw. I started with something familiar, forming my Magic Missile, and then shrank it carefully into a more compact shape. I'd gotten the idea from Pyrrha's own weapon, but the leap from concept to practice was a tricky one. While I'd lengthened the energy within Magic Missile, I needed something different here and went a different direction. It was hard to describe what it was like to shape energy, but I compressed and folded the power, even if it may not have been obvious from the result, forming both an exterior matrix for the power to fill and an interior lattice of support. On its own, I knew it wouldn't remain in such a state for very long—I could literally see the energy seeping away, after all—but that's why I drew upon Crocea Mors help, matching the pattern of my sheathed blade with my own soul to reinforce the structures with the enduring stability of Metal.

A skill has been created through a special action! Continuous manipulation of mana has created the skill to form magical weapons, 'Vorpal Sword.'

I exhaled, allowing the somewhat misshaped creation to fade and crafted a new one as I took a breath. The result, as expected, was a much smoother length of pure white energy, if not precisely how I'd envisioned an energy sword—in the center of the wildly radiating energy around its length, it appeared more like a cylinder topped with a cone-like point then a flat plane, which didn't seem precisely optimal when it came to a blade. Nonetheless, I trusted my power not to lead me astray and promptly created a second one in my other hand. I'd never tried dual-wielding swords and there were many reasons why it wasn't a great choice in really life, but hell; I was a game character. If nothing else, I'd probably get a dual-wielding skill at some point, so there was no reason not to. I had MP to burn, after all.

Through it all, Pyrrha watched me closely, the barest hint of a furrow on her brow.

"I learn fast," I said, shrugging under her gaze before her words surprised me.

"You said you had good eyes, too," She mused. "What exactly is it that you see?"

"…Who knows?" I shrugged at last, giving her a flight smile. "Various things, I suppose."

She nodded once, seeming to accept that as…something, and lifted her weapon again.

"Shall we continue, then?" She asked.

I attacked her by way of reply, a slow, telegraphed move that she defended against with her sword even after moving her body out of the way, positioning it as a test we both wanted to see the results of. Her sword blocked the attack as if it were from any other blade, which was a bit pity. On the other hand, the blades themselves didn't shatter in the process or anything, which was nice. They seemed to function like normal blades, despite their appearance, though I'd need to read the profile later.

With that confirmed, we began in earnest. I swept my right sword in an arc, leaving a glowing flash through the space it traveled as I did. She came forward, shield pushing the blow aside even as she stabbed upwards with her sword, but I defended in turn by swiftly reversing my grip on the left blade by letting go of it and turning it around with a thought. Holding it backwards, it was close to the skin of my arm and I pushed her sword aside, evading the strike and the follow up when it turned back into a spear.

Even so, my senses cried out in warning and I was stepping back even as Pyrrha shifted her footing, drawing back her spear and thrusting it rapidly in a series of half a dozen strikes in a brief moment. I strode back a step, but it wasn't enough to fully counter the reach of her weapon so I took the hit and used its own force, assisted by Levant, to hurl myself out of the way of its fellows. Landing like a feather, I saw that she'd already shifted from spear to rifle and was aiming at me down the sights.

This time I returned in kind, extending the fingers of my left hand her way, releasing the nonexistent hilt of my new sword and leaving it to float by my forearm. We shot together and Pyrrha had to quickly leap to the side as the ground on which she'd been standing abruptly splintered under the force of my Cannonball. Her shots hit me in the chest, but with my defenses and Crocea Mors still hardening my armor I dismissed it as unimportant and remained focused on her as she rolled over her shield and to one knee, bringing up her rifle to rest the stock against one shoulder. She began firing in a steady, practiced rhythm that sent flashes of pain through me, but I raised a finger and returned fire with Magic Bullets. She immediately brought her shield up to cover almost the entirety of her body, rifle rested on the inward curving portion of the shield. Her body jerked slightly with each impact on the shield, but she didn't back down and she didn't stop shooting.

I switched to Cannonball again, trading ineffective penetration for impact to send her skidding back, releasing the sword in my right hand as well. With my blades hovering in easy reach but both hands free, I struck her again and again, my arms working steadily as if I were throwing the blasts at her—but credit where credit was do, Pyrrha took each blow with a jerk of her shield and little else, pumping bullets into me. I took the hits to my HP, letting them through my Aura now that I'd had time to figure out how, and let them chip away at it while I struck back. But even once Pyrrha had her back to a wall, she took the blows and pushed through them with her iron defense.

Pausing in my attack in annoyance, I healed myself and accepted that I wasn't simply hammering through that guard. I needed something else. Something bigger? Magic Missile might do the trick, but it was risky to use—partially because charging it would take a while, during which she'd probably take notice and either try to stop me or make it really hard to score a hit, but also because if it somehow did hit, I wasn't sure what would happen. I hadn't exactly designed it for use in friendly sparring matches or for upon opponents that I didn't want dead and it tended to punch through anything in its way. It wasn't so much a matter of its power, but…No, it too risky; I needed something different, new.

Or maybe…

Suryasta, I thought. You and I haven't had many opportunities to fight together. Do you want to have some fun now?

The Fire Elemental didn't reply with words, but his spiritual form flickered once, shifting from his place in the stands to right by my side in a fashion similar to looking at something with one eye and shifting to the other. In an instant, the flames I felt from him were calm, the image his presence against my mind invoked one of a beautiful, thriving forest full of potential.

Potential to burn. All it needed was a spark in the right place.

I smashed Pyrrha with another Cannonball, just to make it seem like I was sticking to the pattern, and then called one of my blades to my hand, swiping it at the stadium floor to send up a small wave of tiny, insignificant sparks.

They should have died immediately.

They didn't.

I released the sword in almost the same instant I'd drawn it, lifting a hand to gather power into an Elemental Bolt—but not one of Metal, not a Cannonball. Instead, it was a Fireball that slammed into Pyrrha's shield, the impact minute but scattering flames around her, heating metal. I saw surprise glimmer in her eyes and wasted no time in taking advantage of it. The same hand that I'd extended in her direction swept down in a half circle that left my palm face up and I thrust it upwards as Suryasta's eyes flashed, a column of fire rising in a sudden rush.

Pyrrha was already in the air, leaping away at the first sign of danger—and in doing so, left the literal frying pan for the metaphorical fire.

Levant.

I flipped my hand over so the palm faced the ground as my Air Elemental appeared out of…well, thin air. Another Elemental Bolt formed, an invisible gathering of force that rose above Pyrrha with little more than a shimmer of the air and then knocked her roughly back down to earth. The moment she slammed into the ground, my other hand came up, a sudden Cannonball throwing the off-balance warrior hard into the wall. I didn't let up or show mercy, but followed it immediately with a pair of Fireballs that set the area around her on fire.

My fingers curled as if grasping the air or pulling something invisible together. Flames brightened as air gathered, feeding them until—

Boom. The flames rose into an explosion in a flood of heat, light, and noise that I felt even ten meters away. For the person at the center of it, I could only imagine.

No sooner had that thought crossed my mind then a spear—Pyrrha's spear—flew from the flames. I reacted even before I saw it, senses alerting me to danger before I saw it, and in an instant my blades were in hand and rising to my defense.

It wasn't enough. As if to mock the attempt, the spear suddenly quickened in midflight, as if to remind me that being unable to affect my weapons didn't stop her from manipulating her own. It slid smoothly past my defenses, hammering into my chest hard enough to throw me from the center of the arena to the opposite wall and very nearly pound me into it. What seemed like mere moments after, the shield followed, thrown from the still fading smoke like a discus to hammer my head up to my ears in the stone behind me. I jerked once in pain and immediately tried to stand upright, knowing what was coming—

Pyrrha landed less than three meters in front of me, catching her shield as it rebounded even as her other hand snatched up her spear with a minor use of her power ensuring both returns to her. She spun as she grasped the weapon, twirling it quickly to slam it hard into the side of my head, sending me straight to the ground in pain.

But pain fades, especially for me. I hit the ground; I got right back up, weapons still in hand. As she came at me again, blows hastened by her power, I met her full force. Aware that her blows could change in speed and direction, I didn't bother to block, shifting completely to offense just to get some room. She ducked beneath a swing while my other hand released my sword, open hand extending towards her chest. Her shield arm came up so fast she must have dragged it with her control of the metal, slamming hard against my wrist as her spear came across my face and then back across my chest. She braced herself against a sudden wind I called, giving me only a fraction of a second to act, but when I sent a pair of Fireballs her way, she bounced her shield off my head as she leapt back, rifle coming up to shoot me in the face as well.

I fell backwards, knocked off my feet, but as I did so I kicked out with a leg and Pyrrha's trajectory abruptly shifted as she was knocked higher. My left hand moved as if to break my fall, but it never touched the floor and neither did I, buoying air gathering beneath me to raise me back to my feet in an instant. The same hand came up to smash Pyrrha even higher with a Cannonball and then another as I tried to juggle her, keep her off the ground. I went for a third strike, but she just twisted in the air—pulling herself by her armor, most likely—and threw her spear at me hard.

I knew I couldn't dodge, so I continued the attack and hit her one more time before I was thrown head over heels across the arena. I was stopped by a wall and rose immediately, pain fading thanks to the Gamer's Body; I healed myself as quickly as I could and refocused on my opponent as she landed a bit early then she should have. As she did, I struck her with another Cannonball but with her feet on the ground again, she just withstood it, and I had to Lunge away before she could retaliate. I left my swords hovering by my arms and leapt swiftly from point to point, pausing only long enough to attack once before moving again. In contrast, she stayed in position in the center, moving her shield to counter each time, unless I sent a Fireball her way. She quickly adapted to my movements in my pattern around the arena and began to strike back, rifle firing in short, controlled bursts each time I paused and before long, she was hitting more than she missed, bullets curving slightly in the air to strike me.

New plan, I thought, abruptly stopping to lift both hands. I gathered my power again and gave it shape, first in my thoughts and then in reality. Suryasta appeared without needing to be called, smiling serenely. He lifted his hands in a mirror to my own, guiding what I was creation. I remembered the first time I'd done something like this, on a whim beside a river, but this was different from Magic Missile—had to be different, because of its very nature. The control and structure I'd created with Metal wouldn't work with Fire, so I took a different approach.

It started as a sphere about the same size as any of my Fireballs and Pyrrha immediately dodged, but nothing came her way. Instead, it swelled, growing swiftly until it was as wide across as I was tall—and it kept growing, rising like the sun above my head. The lighting in the room changed in moments, shadows spiraling away from the massive new source of light as the temperature skyrocketed until even I began to sweat.

To my Clairvoyance, such a thing meant a rush of colors and shapes through swaths of the Electromagnetic Spectrum, but even through all that, I saw Pyrrha, face shocked and alarmed. She drew her rifle and shot me steadily, guiding the bullets towards me, but I ignored them now, dismissing the pain. Levant congealed in front of me, pleasant smile on her invisible face even as she rose to my defense. Suddenly, the bullets started missing me or hitting more defended areas, Crocea Mors working to shore up such defenses. A second passed, two, and then her rifle shifted into a spear again. She looked ready to throw it for a moment and Vulturnus joined my side, ready to aid my defense, but in the end she just glanced above me and mouthed something before charging right at me.

She probably thought I wouldn't risk using such a technique in close proximity.

I laughed at the very thought and brought it down on us both.

XxXXxX

MurazorChief EncyclopedistSuper Awesome Happy Fun Time

The Games We Play
Stage

The flames swept across the arena floor and surged up the walls, kept in the ring only by my will. They clung unnaturally to every surface, refusing to fade despite the lack of fuel, as I kept them burning on the lingering power of the spell and my Elementals. Maintaining such an enormous quantity of flames would have taken a massive amount of MP if I kept them going with Suryasta alone, but I didn't bother—instead, I kept the flames alive with Suryasta and set Levant to the task of fanning them higher, keeping the stadium floor a raging inferno.

Flare, I named it for old times' sake, like Magic Missile—a way of remembering the games I'd loved before. The flames roared around and over me as I walked through them, feeling their scorching heat but in a distant way—like touching a wall with fire on the side instead of actually burning. With my Elementalist title equipped and Elemental Mastery and Suryasta protecting me, I stood within the flames and was unburned.

The flames should have been blinding—and were, on several levels. Even with very little smoke rising from the stone, the sheer amount of fire, of light, left me unable to see with my normal eyes. The amount of heat cast off further reduced my thermal vision to uselessness. But I had other forms of sight, ones that did work, and used them to compensate. In the crowd around us, the people who'd come to watch the champion practice were on their feet, making enough noise to mess with my sonar vision as well. Shouting?

I reached out to Levant and the air shifted, sounds reaching me over the roar of the flames.

Not shouting, I realized then. Cheering.

They were cheering for me. My perspective shifted and I could make out faces, if with the colors all wrong. I scanned the crowd and heard the applause, saw their expressions, even Observed them to make sure what I was seeing was parsing correctly—but no matter how I looked at it, they were cheering for me, for us. Most of them were shocked, stunned, disbelieving, but they applauded the battle nonetheless, enjoying the scene they were being treated to. The stands were set high, to compensate for the sheer destruction battles between hunters could cause, and still very few people sat near the front rows of seats, but those few who did seemed all the more enthused by it. Hunters or trainees, they probably saw the fight for what it was, could watch and analyze the exchange of blows thanks to years of experience, and they cheered.

There were people recording the fight on their scrolls, as well, though a strangely excited part of me recalled what Grigio said, about the fights being broadcast. Would that apply to something like this, a simple training match? I had no idea, but maybe…

My hearing shifted and I heard different voices as Levant's attention was drawn to the only people in the crowd actually saying my name. Kyanos did most of the work, but his energy was infectious, enough so that he spread to the others around him and the people above him in the stands began to slowly use my name as well. Melanie and Ulaan stood beside him, expressions focused, and though neither seemed much like the cheering type, Levant carried whispers of support to me.

I laughed again, celebrating in the flames simple because they were celebrating for me. This fight wasn't over yet, I knew that, but this was…new. And nice.

Suddenly, the cheers increased in volume and I turned to see Pyrrha standing in the center of the flames, a figure of light and dark shades beneath my sight. She looked more than a bit ruffled now, her pony tail coming partially undone, but she appeared unharmed, thanks to the defensive effect of her Aura, but a quick Observe showed how much that blast had taken out of her. It'd taken a lot out of me, as well, to say nothing of maintaining it, but even beyond the attack's initial damage, I could see her Aura steadily, slowly declining in the flames.

Even so, she didn't back down. She could have run from the area, escaping to higher ground, but she stayed in the ring, prepared to fight.

"Shall we continue, Pyrrha?" I asked, stepping closer in the flames and letting them arc and lick around me. To my human eyes, she was nothing but a barely visible shadow and I doubted she could see me any better, but I didn't want to play keep away until her Aura ran out, not with this. I didn't even really care if I won or lost, but this fight…

Without a moment's hesitation, Pyrrha turned and cast her shield at me. Grinning fiercely, I didn't try to dodge or block—I attacked in turn. A Cannonball connected with the shield midair, sending it careening back towards its master, who caught it easily as she charged fearlessly towards me. I thrust my hand towards her, refusing to back down, and the flames before me suddenly intensified as a rush of wind streamed over them. The gust barely made her slowdown, but the flames crested over her like a wave, something she couldn't fully block with her shield. While her vision was even further obstructed, I hit her with a Cannonball, intending to push her back.

Instead, the ground beneath her feet cracked as she braced herself against the blow, halting for a minute before continuing her advance. Her spear came up and when she threw it, her aim was true for all that she could only barely see me. I saw her squint against the light of the flames, extend her arm with the throw, and knew that though she was all but blind, I still probably couldn't dodge.

Once again, I didn't even bother trying. With all of her strength behind it, the spear drove me off my feet, to the ground, and then carved a furrow in the arena's floor as it pushed me back. Her strength and control over magnetism became a force that even I couldn't stand against as I was now—I slammed full force into the back wall, barely slowing down on the way.

It didn't matter, I thought, quickly healing myself. She might have been trying to distract me, to keep me out of the fight until she could close in and try to end it, but if so, it wouldn't work. I wasn't alone in this fight—I was never alone.

Not bothering to cross the space in-between, Suryasta appeared to stand guard over me, gesturing with a hand. The flames right beneath Pyrrha's feet suddenly erupted upwards, throwing her into the air. Floating ten meters above the direct center of the arena, Levant started laughing, an echoing sound unheard by anyone but me. She extended her hands before her, as if reaching out for something, and the wind swirled on the ground below to catch the fire and send it swirling upwards in a storm that quickly took shape. In moments, two massive, burning hands extended from the ground below, Pyrrha hanging neatly between them.

Expression gleeful, the Air Elemental clapped her hands and the massive constructs followed suit.

Pyrrha mouthed something again, expression almost upset, and changed direction at the last second, falling faster than gravity alone should have allowed. She just barely fell below the hands, only to be thrown fiercely back to earth by the thunderous shockwave—a wave of wind and sound empowered by Levant. Pyrrha came quickly to her feet and started moving faster then I'd have expected from her—fast enough to surprise me until I noticed her skimming several inches off the ground as she 'ran.' Even so, Levant's fake hands did not fade, nor was my second spirit content to stop with something so small. From their base on the ground, the arms began to spiral up, into the still connected hands even as they began to loss shape and come together. In seconds, the arms had been absorbed into a massive sphere that hung above the arena like a giant star before suddenly falling towards Pyrrha, adjusting as she ran.

The warrior's expression tightened, but fear was evidentially a foreign concept to her, as she merely adjusted her stride slightly to keep ahead as she ran towards me. I rose as she came near, swords coming to hand once again and she drew back her spear and prepared to smash me into the ground. I knew my efforts wouldn't be quick enough to keep her from hammering me down, but I wasn't one to back down either. Before she could hit me though, Suryasta snarled—a strange, inhuman sound, between the roar of a tiger and of a massive fireplace. He reached out invisible to catch Pyrrha's face with an intangible hand, something that should have done nothing, yet which sent the redhead stumbling suddenly back.

As she moved, I was able to see why. Though he still had no form of his own, he'd formed a glove of sorts, overlapping the same space as his hand. He stepped forward as Pyrrha retreated, more flames rising up his legs, giving him a pseudo-manifestation. As it formed, it didn't look like him, though—or like a human, needless to say, though I thought I saw some subtle traces of myself in the design he chose. Instead, he chose to make something more impressive for his first real fight, rising into a form well over two meters in height, with four arms and a massive, bulky body as if he were someone wearing armor, though the flames all blended together. Mostly shapeless flames roared where his hair might have been, but some of it rose inconsistently into the shapes of horns, altering between those reminiscent of demons and animals. In each of his four hands, he formed a sword, each blade jutting straight out of a palm.

Barely hesitating, Pyrrha slammed her spear through his head, but with no material form to speak of, he wasn't the target. Dancing back a step, Pyrrha seemed to realize that, too, and attempted to dance around him and strike at me, Levant's burning orb getting closer.

In response, Suryasta…opened was the only word I could think of to describe it, lines across his body yawning wide as he opened straight down his body like a bizarre suit of armor waiting to be stepped into. Or maybe a mouth was a better example, as he lines the evidentially hollow interior of his shell with blow-torch like 'teeth.' He stepped closer to Pyrrha, trying to draw her in, and evenshe gave him a wide berth—and a rather ineffective blow to the head, of course.

Levant's sphere lowered, preparing to fall upon Pyrrha if she continued her advance and—having experienced firsthand my willingness to bring such a thing down upon myself—fell back a step with an aggrieved frown. As she did so, tube-like streams rose from Suryasta's back, rising up to connect with the sphere above him, causing both flames to brighten even as the effort on me lightened.

I exhaled quietly, rolling at last to my feet. I was pushing Pyrrha, I knew that—hell, I could see it, watch her MP bar slowly decrease—but doing so many things at once was a heavy strain on me, as well. I could just restore my MP with a Dust crystal, but I didn't really want too; I wanted to see how far I could get without such a thing, to know how far I could go purely on my own power and skills, as Jaune Arc.

Suryasta and Levant were doing an amazing job keeping her busy, but they couldn't get a decisive hit through her solid defense. I'd managed a few good hits here and there, but to win this without trying to draw this out, I'd need to be able to hit her for real—possibly several times. But how?

Levant lowered her sphere yet further, drawing it down to float only just above Suryasta's head as the Fire Elemental fought. Pyrrha kept her distance, edging around the sphere's motions and occasionally taking potshots at me. When she shot me in the face between a pair of rolls, Suryasta swung an arm at her, stretching it out to reach at her. She leapt over it, but Suryasta just extended his other arms as well, creating beams of flame out to the arena's wall and using them to chase Pyrrha.

It gave me an idea. Several, actually.

Releasing my swords again, I gathered power to my fingers. By this point, I had a lot of experience with manipulating Aura—gathering it, throwing it, compressing it, spinning it, changing it from one thing to another, the works.

Even so, this was new. I gathered the mana to my hands, forming a rough sphere above my palm. After quivering for a moment, it separated into three streamers of energy that I stretched and coiled tightly around one another, compressing it as I did.

A skill has been created through a special action! A skill to create a rope through application of mana, 'Mana Rope,' has been created!

I smiled fiercely as I dismissed the rope, glad that it had worked. And it that was possible…

I called my swords to my hands and took a deep breath.

And then I began to twist. I sank my thoughts and power both into the structure of the weapon, easing the Metal aura that gave it structure. As it loosened and became more fluid, I coiled the blades around one another, summoning another blade when I needed more. I gathered my power within the structure, causing it to grow even as I kept its image distinct. Once it had roughly the form I wanted, I reaffirmed its structural integrity with Metal, making it stable once more if in a bit of a…different way.

A skill has been created through a special action! A skill to cut down the enemy at range, 'Vorpal Lash,' has been created through the combination of Vorpal Sword and Mana Rope!

"Vorpal Lash, huh?" I smiled, releasing my creation and summoning my swords anew. The skill must have improved, because a single application summon a pair of blades. "Interesting. Let's try this again."

I extended a hand and my swords swiftly floating in front of it, spiraling together quickly into something new—a twisted, bladed chain leading up to a merged point. The chain floated casually in the air around my arm, looping around it many times over in a way that reminded me of Autumn. Who, thinking about it, I was glad wasn't here for this fight, given how everything was presently on fire.

I shook the thought away and focused my attention fully on Pyrrha as she ducked, rolled, bobbed, and weaved, doing her utmost to stay ahead of my pursuing Elementals. Credit where it was do, Pyrrha was amazing; I had all the advantages in this fight, with dozens of different powers and the ability to make more on the fly, Elementals to outnumber her with and assail her, healing, a huge amount of MP, battlefield control, and much more, but she fought on with nothing but her weapons and some subtle uses of Magnetism. Granted, I was holding a few things back because this wasjust a sparring match, but to stay this composed and fight on in the middle of a burning arena…

Because of that, even if I was wasting MP quickly, I didn't mind—I was just happy to be having this fight. I was glad I'd decided to follow Kyanos, because it had led to this. Whether I won or lost didn't matter, so long as I could see things through, I'd be satisfied.

So I stepped things up a notch. Pyrrha ran, slid, and rolled to avoid the horizontal pillars of fire, kept in constant motion to stay ahead of the pursuing sphere, skated around Suryasta's semi-materialized form, and still had both the time and thought to spare me a few potshots, so I knew she could take it. Casting my hand forward, I swept my arm counter to Suryasta's beams, cutting through them and his false form both. The burning figure he'd created didn't so much as pause as it was cut through, continuing its stomping approach towards Pyrrha, four beams arranged so that at least one was always harassing the warrior while keeping me out of the line of…well, fire. My Vorpal Lash extended almost fully across the arena in an instant, cutting across it almost as quickly when it kept pace with the swinging of my arm.

I saw Pyrrha's eyes widen in the brief instant of warning she had before she leapt into the air, curving in a way that couldn't have been possible without her control of magnetism to rise fully over the lash and immediately back to the ground. She barely missed a step, all told, but even that little pause was enough to give one of Suryasta's beams time to close in. She had to raise her shield against one, but the Fire Elemental immediately turned all four hands upon her, combining them into a massive, luminous column. For all the advantages Pyrrha's metal equipment gave her, I couldn't imagine it made that pleasant, especially when I sought to help matters with a hammering blow from above while she was pinned.

Nonetheless, Pyrrha handled such difficulties with grace, tossing her spear straight through Suryasta to strike me into a wall, rolling aside as she did to avoid my Vorpal Lash. She crouched as she evaded, using the nearly circular nature of her shield to her advantage to defend herself as she rolled, which proved necessary as Suryasta immediately refocused upon her. She was charging almost before she rose, nothing but her no doubt scalding shield between her and an oncoming tide of flames, and yet pushed through to beam towards Suryasta. When she stood face to face with his chosen form, she rolled again instead of charging through it as I nearly expected. Using proximity to her advantage, she stayed just ahead of Suryasta's hands and the blasts he extended from them. When I moved to make things even more interesting for her, she threw her shield at me as well and I was momentarily distracted by it slamming my head into a wall.

When I recovered a moment later, I saw my Elementals pressing their advantage against the now unarmed girl. Suryasta halted his beams and instead lifted thick walls of fire, leading up to Levant's now falling sphere, trying to trap her inside, dissolving into them as he did so. When Pyrrha came too close, parts of his crafted form would erupt and try to assail her, attempting to push her deeper into the cage, but with the only alternative being the descending sphere—

Pyrrha reached the same conclusion I did and charged through the wall, Suryasta and all. Perhaps even more impressively, she kept enough of her wits about her to charge in my direction, rushing straight towards me to try and end things. I didn't bother trying to keep her weapons away from her and she'd rather proven how well I did against her in close quarters when she brought her magnetism into play, but…

I was a game character, so this should work; it was part of my inspiration for the idea, after all. As Pyrrha drew near, I extended my Vorpal Lash—not at her, but at an angle away from her. It struck out across the arena, burying itself in the wall.

And then I reeled myself in, all but flying across the arena as I pulled myself towards the hook, instead of the other way around. I laughed, partially in wonder, partially in simple glee that it had worked. Well, of course there were things like this in all sorts of games, so there was no reason for it not to work, but…this wasn't Levant and it wasn't quite flying, but it was me doing this. I pulled myself out of Pyrrha's path before she could attempt to catch me in a series of blows, landing easily by a wall nearly a third of the arena's circumference away.

But I didn't stop there and neither did my Elementals. This time, Levant's sphere didn't follow Pyrrha, but fell upon the suddenly stationary Suryasta, expanding into a larger dome as its volume shifted. For a moment, there was nothing but a smooth looking hemisphere in the center of the ring, but I would have been shocked if Pyrrha was surprised when it didn't stay that way. The top suddenly shifted, like something was moving beneath the surface and then Suryasta rose from the flames anew.

His form had shifted again, becoming something at once closer to and further from human. Most of his inhuman features, such as the horns above his head, had faded away—along with his entire face, leaving nothing but a blank surface a bit too long to be a person's anyway. He was larger now, too; though only his upper body emerged from the hemisphere, he must have been a good four meters in height now, and his arms were much too large for his body and far too long. Though they were roughly human in shape, if he'd had a proportionally sized lower body, they still would have been able to touch the ground, at a guess. I was mildly surprised he'd abandoned a pair of them, though; had he had trouble coordinating four? And where was…?

Ah, I thought as the hemisphere stirred again, another massive shape rising from it. Back to back with Suryasta, the new form might have been a bit more feminine, but I might have been projecting Levant onto the image. Roughly the same base design as Suryasta, its form seemed more fluid—though they must have been coordinating on the maneuver, Suryasta's favored the flames a bit more while Levant favored the air, and it showed through though both seemed like burning storms in the rough shape of giants.

Really, those two. They were certainly spending my MP freely, though I'd kind of given them permission to do so. Still, I'd spent most of my MP already and something like four-fifth of it had been on them. Well, I suppose it was fine if they were having fun, though.

Pyrrha moved to follow me, but Suryasta lifted a gigantic hand and the flames around her exploded. She managed to dodge at the last second—probably used to the fact that anything my Elementals did meant trouble for her—but some of the blast still caught her, throwing her aside. Levant mimicked him, even facing away from Pyrrha, and little tornados of wind no more than a cubic meter in size began to form.

A lot of them.

Needless to say, they all made a beeline for Pyrrha, even as Suryasta and Levant tried to swat her with their massive hands.

The three-time champion tried to ignore both the attacks and the twin giants who made them—which must have been pretty damn hard, considering—and continue on her path towards me. I respected that; even with everything going on around her, she'd picked me out as the source of the threat and remained focused on dealing with me no matter what distractions arose. I thought that was kind of amazing.

Which is not to say I was having any of it.

I leapt as hard as I could and struck out above me with my Lash. Focusing slightly, I summoned another for my free hand, a pair of blades appearing with the casting and swimming together into a single shape. Sending my second weapon in the same direction as the first, I pulled myself higher and higher and then flipped over. Pulling against it with my arms and pushing with my feet, I 'stood' on the dome of the Coliseum and looked down at the sight below.

Now far beneath me, Pyrrha took a deep breath, nodded her head, and kept moving, shifting her focus to trying to stay ahead of both the seeker tornados and the explosions Suryasta would build beneath her while probably also attempting to come up with a plan. Even in a situation like this where she couldn't harm her main attackers and the entire arena was against her, she refused to surrender, kept looking for a way to win.

And maybe she'd find it, yet. Even moment in the flames, every defense and attack, everything she did below slowly ate away at her Aura—but every second of keeping this going did the same for myMP, draining it perhaps even faster. I had so much of it, we were still close, but…

I pushed harder. The chains that kept me latched onto the ceiling loosened just enough for me to raise my hands above—below?—me. I called power to my hands and rained attacks down on Pyrrha; more distractions, more things to deal with. I fired Cannonballs at her first, blasts of stone shattering force to add to her troubles, adding Fireballs and Magic Bullets shortly after. She raised her shield above her head like an umbrella, hiding her face from me as bore the assault. I called upon my Mana Rope next, casting it down to try and bind her limbs, succeeding for a moment before she tore through it with sheer strength. The moment's pause gave my Elementals a chance to draw nearer, though, and so I cast it again and again.

A skill has been created through a special action! A skill to tie the enemy up with rope, 'Bind,' has been created through continuous application of Mana Rope!

Switching instantly to the new technique, restrictive energy raced from my hands. I was curious as to how I might combine the skill with my Elements or with Vorpal Lash, but first—

The ropes pulled tight around Pyrrha, snaking around her arms, her legs, even around her throat and mouth, pulling tight in an instant. The Champion stumbled, but was on guard from my previous attempts and whether with skill or magnetism, managed to trap her blade between flesh and rope, and she used her power to cut the edge swiftly. Even something like that only bought a secondagainst her.

But a second could be enough; a bunch of seconds, even more so. In that brief pause, wind and fire had drawn nearer and I could just hit her with it again and again until they caught her and ended it. Eventually, she wouldn't escape quickly enough, would take a hit or series of hits, and it'd be over. I knew that instantly from that one brief pause—and I knew that she knew as well.

The only question was how she'd deal with it—and it was a question.

Can you do it? I wondered. Can you push this even further? Or is it my win, Pyrrha?

I saw her look up at me for a second.

I saw her make her decision.

She changed directions suddenly, hurling herself towards a yet burning wall, surmounting it quickly and leaping from the top. In midair, she aimed her spear up towards me and I thought for a minute that she'd throw it again.

Instead, she did something much more impressive. As she planted a foot at the base of the spear, fire spurted from the end and she rose like a rocket, magnetism lightening her load. She flew towards me, surfing her spear high into the air, and if thoughts of giving up had ever crossed her mind, I couldn't tell.

I smiled, then—and laughed in joy, amazement, even a little astonishment. My Lashes released their hold on the ceiling and I began to fall, but it could have been in slow motion compared to her rise. I reached out and the Lash around one arm struck out at the arena wall far below, swiftly reeling me towards it.

It wouldn't be enough, I knew before I even saw her response—and sure enough, it wasn't. As I fell past her, Pyrrha pulled down, the spear arching high as it curved to follow me back down to earth. I'd known I couldn't escape her like this.

Or at least, not just like this. With the first shot having moved me enough to the side to escape her original trajectory, I pulled it back even as my other arm Lashed out. The second chain sank deeply into the burning sphere below and began pulling me into the inferno.

I looked above me at the woman on my tail and our eyes met.

She knew I wasn't bluffing.

I knew she wasn't running.

And in that moment, as we fell towards the flames, I was pretty sure I was smiling just as widely as she was. This was it. This would decide it. We—

"—That's enough."

XxXXxX

MurazorChief EncyclopedistSuper Awesome Happy Fun Time

The Games We Play
Interruption

The flames in the arena dissipated in an instant, snuffed out against my will by a…I wasn't even sure how to describe it, but they just seemed to slip through my fingers, washed away on contact with a ripple of blue-green light I assumed only I could see. An instant after it passed over me, I felt arms wrap around me before I found myself being carried swiftly out of the arena. I stiffened, reflexively preparing myself to fight—before just as quickly relaxing, catching sight of the Aura of my captor and recognizing it.

"Mom," I said. "You can put me down now."

She did, setting down on my feet in one of the Coliseum's halls, right beside the locker rooms. A quick glance showed that we were not alone. Just a short ways down the hall was a woman walking our way, casual for all that she held Pyrrha bridal style. When she saw me looking, she smiled gently and set Pyrrha back on her feet, standing right behind her. The three-time champion didn't complain about the treatment or even say a word while the smiling woman gently straightened Pyrrha's hair, bringing it back to its orderly ponytail and combing it with her fingers. Almost absently, she brushed dust and dirt off the Champion's armor, licked a thumb to wipe away a smudge on her face, and then gently embracing her from behind, resting her face against Pyrrha's.

"Thetis," My mother greeted the serene-looking woman, probably for my sake though I could see her name hanging in the air above her blue hair. "Your daughter fights as well as you said."

"It's kind of you to say so," Her expression didn't change as her eyes moved slowly towards me. "I'd like to say the same of your son, but you appear to have forgotten to mention a few things. Jaune, was it?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said. "Are you Mrs. Nikos, then?"

"I am," She nodded towards me. "My, but you two caused a stir—and before the tournament, as well. It was just a spar, but this is the first time in years I've worried about my Pyrrha in battle."

"Mother…" The Champion said, falling silent as Thetis drummed a finger on her shoulder and pulled her closer.

"But perhaps it's for the best. Much as I hate to worry, things have been quite tedious for my daughter, lately," She continued as Pyrrha went quiet. "It's good to have some excitement in your life, isn't that right, Isabelle?"

My mother snorted out a breath and I assumed it was some type of in-joke between them.

"Did you have fun together?" She asked, turning her attention back to the two of us. I nodded, as did Pyrrha, making her smile widen even further. "That's good. I hope you'll entertain one another in the tournament as well. Speaking of which…"

She shook her head and sighed.

"My, but what a hard act that will be to follow," She said ruefully. "Everyone who'd been looking forward to the tournament up 'til now will find the first few rounds rather disappointing, I think. Your mother and I saw you in the square, you know, on one of the big screens. And how it was advertised…whether it was a preview or meant to get people excited for the matches or part of the first day's celebrations, it must be hard for all the other participants, to be written off so early on."

My mom frowned at me.

"What were you even doing here, anyway?" She asked. "I thought you were with…I thought you were going to stay at home."

"I was going to take a walk and see Mistral," I said, shrugging. "But Grandma gave me some advice about meeting people."

Mom's face twisted.

"That explains far too much," She spoke as if she'd just tasted something awful. "I thought those children looked familiar. What were their names…Kyanos and Ulaan?"

She directed the question at Thetis, but I nodded anyway.

"And Melanie," I added, before tilting my head to the side. "What does it explain, exactly?"

"Did she send you out here alone?" Mom demanded fiercely, ignoring the question.

I was curious, but…

"No," I said. "She sent a man named Grigio with me."

"Grigio," She nearly spat. "Of course she'd send you out with Bigio's boy. What is she…no, I know exactly what she's thinking. You should have stayed at home, Jaune."

I glanced over at Pyrrha and saw the sudden concern in her eyes, though she remained silent at her mother's side. I looked back at my own, glancing over her face. She wasn't upset about the fighting, I was pretty sure—and I doubted she minded me showing my powers, either, given the all the planning and training we'd done—but…

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked. "If I did, I'm sorry."

After a moment, my mother sighed, leaning back against the wall.

"No," She said. "It's nothing you did—nothing you could have avoided, really. I'm sorry, it's just…at times like this, I remember why I avoid coming home. Should we meet up again tomorrow, Thetis?"

She nodded easily.

"Peleus will want to address this soon, anyway," She mused.

"Jeanne and Cynosarges will get to it first," My mom shook her head. "It won't be that simple."

Thetis seemed to concede that, nodding slightly in my mother's direction.

"Even so, he'll wish to speak to Cynosarges," She replied. "Despite everything that's happened, he stood beside the man for years. Maybe still does, in his own way."

Mom made a face at that but nodded in acceptance.

"It was good to meet you, Jaune," Thetis said, smiling at me. "I wish you luck in the tournament."

"Thank you, ma'am," I said, smiling at her. "Goodbye, Pyrrha. I'm sorry we have to leave it at this, but I'll look forward to fighting you again."

The Invincible Girl looked between her mother and mine, as if putting pieces together, but looked at me when a spoke and nodded resolutely with a smile.

"And I as well, Jaune," She said. "I'll hope to meet you again in the tournament; we'll continue where we left off."

Thetis patted her daughter's shoulder once and then gently tugged her away, waving at us one last time. As she did, though, I couldn't keep from glancing up at her title one last time.

The Terror of the Sea of Monsters
LV71
Thetis Nikos

With a title like that, I had to wonder…

But I didn't ask. As Pyrrha and her mother walked away, I waited silently beside my mom and didn't say a word. Only once they were gone did I look at her and speak. I didn't ask who her friends were or who they had been, what she was doing, or even what was going on, even though I wanted to. I trusted my mother just as I trusted her to tell me those things if I needed to know; until then, I trusted her with her secrets, as well. But there was something I did need to know.

"Mom?" I asked. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," She said. "Except what you were supposed to, I suppose. It doesn't matter; none of this is your fault."

I nodded at that, accepting it even if I didn't understand.

"Did Grandmother do something, then?" I asked. "You're mad at her."

"Damn right, I'm mad at her," She growled. "She…there's things happening in Mistral right now, but she…she just tells you to go off and fight and when you do well, she throws it up for all the world to see. Does she even know what could be happening?"

As a person who absolutely didn't, I had to force myself past that. When I did, though, I tilted my head to the side and thought about it.

"I've never considered Grandmother the type to not know exactly what was going on," I mused. "Now whether she cares or not, I couldn't say."

Mom nearly snarled at that observation, kicking a wall. She didn't knock it down, though, so she couldn't have been all that upset.

"Of course," She said. "Of course she knows; what am I saying. So she shows everyone what you can do and dares them to try. And if they do, she'll chop them up, put them in a box, and just label it Return to Sender. Even at a time like this, she'll just flip off everyone and—"

She cut herself off and took a deep breath, turning to lean her forehead against the wall. For my part, I kind of had to wonder if she was speaking from experience.

"I'm sorry, Jaune," She said after a moment. "To act this way. I should be congratulating you—your first day here and you went toe to toe with the regional champion. Don't tell Thetis, but I know you would have won, even fighting like that. And everyone…you should have seen it; entire streets stopping just to look at you fight. Even…even I was surprised, Jaune, at some of the things you managed to do. You did amazingly well. I'm proud of you, Jaune."

She turned around and immediately pulled me into a hug that I returned after a moment of surprise.

"But I…" Her voice almost shook before she went silent for second. When she began again, though, it was steady, stable. "There's a lot I can't tell you, Jaune, and I know you can handle yourself, but Mistral is…it's not like Vale. Go home for tonight, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed instantly, holding her. "Should I get Grigio?"

"No," She said with a sudden flicker of…something. "Grigio is…he's…"

I furrowed my eyebrows in concern at that, even though I knew she couldn't see it.

"Grandma wouldn't send me out with someone she didn't trust," I said, certain of that much. "And Grigio was very polite."

"Yes," She said, her voice still strange. "Of course he is, just like his father. He's courteous and intelligent and loyal and so polite that he'd apologize to you for the necessity of hanging you up by your entrails. I'd rather you walk home alone then with him."

There was a part of me, beyond everything that mental image incited, that wanted to point out that if there was something dangerous going on, having a guy who'd eviscerate anyone who tried anything in creative ways at your back was probably not completely without merit. But there was a larger part of me that thought saying that out loud might not be the best idea.

So I nodded instead.

"Okay," I said. "I'll head back now, then?"

"Please," She said, stepping back enough to kiss me on the forehead. "Be safe, Jaune. I love you."

"I love you, too, Mom," I said, letting go. "I'll see you later."

So I left. I felt kind of rude doing so without saying goodbye to any of my other new friends or without even telling Grigio where I was going, but I figured I could apologize to them later and left the Coliseum. I retraced my steps back towards Grandmother's house, staying alert just in case. All around me, on the massive screens of the city of Mistral, my fight with Pyrrha was playing and I got to see some of what my mom had meant. Though much of the initial shock and awe had faded, people still stopped to watch the battle, to chat about it and cheer.

There was a part of me that felt proud about that, that wanted to go over to one of them and just say 'That's me.' But instead I put my hood up and kept walking, trying not to draw attention while also trying to be aware of everything around me, on guard for any threats.

Which was why I was out of the way the moment Sense Danger alerted me to a threat. The instant I felt it, my other senses focused on the source and I felt it before I saw it. Immediately calm, I analyzed the projectile as it sailed through the air—a simple rock to all of my many senses—and I caught it out of the air just so it wouldn't accidently hurt someone else.

Then I just followed it back to its source with my eyes. It came from an alleyway, at the very back where the city lights faded and shadows covered everything. Of course, none of that did anything before my sight, and I simple peered through the darkness. There was a part of me that honestly considered that it might just be an accident or perhaps a disgruntled fan of Pyrrha's; something minor and meaningless and nothing more, which I'd be able to just walk right past and dismiss.

But it was a small part. Microscopic, really.

As such, I couldn't say I was all that surprised when instead I saw Adam, mask-less and disguised and still obviously him to someone who could see his Aura and his name above his head. He looked at me from his cover, eyes meeting my own, and nodded at me while gesturing me closer.

I sighed slowly, closing my eyes for a moment. My mom had told me to go home. Sure, I could rules lawyer that trivially, say that she hadn't specified when or how or whatever, but the message had been pretty obvious; she wanted me to go straight home and be safe. Whatever Adam had to tell me in a dark alley when I knew full well he had a lot of reasons not to want to be anywhere near me right now was probably not going to be conductive to that plan.

Which didn't change the fact that he almost certainly had something important to say.

Casting a quick glance around the rest of the street just to be safe, I walked into the alley.

"You don't waste time when it comes to getting in trouble," He said by way of a greeting. "We need to talk."

"Right now?" I asked, making a futile effort for my mom's sake.

"Yes," He said, looking me up and down. "How fast can you change suits?"

Shit, I thought, knowing what he was really saying.

"Fast," I said aloud. "Why? I thought you said…"

"No plan survives contact with the enemy," He said. "Or you. Come on."

I exhaled loudly through my nose but nodded, trusting him.

It was ironic, though, I couldn't help but muse. I'd just gotten out of a literal fire.

Now I was jumping into a different on.

"Okay," I said. "Just tell me when to put my mascara on."

XxXXxX

"You didn't tell me you were a Roma," Adam said as we took a winding course through the city.

I nearly asked why it mattered, but I supposed I could guess. Each of the different countries had their own history with the Faunus, each complicated in their own ways. On Mistral especially, things had been…it was hard to describe. Oftentimes, Mistral was held up as a historical example of equality between Man and Faunus, with some of the best known examples of Faunus in positions of power within a non-Faunus community. But if you look a bit deeper, beneath the cartoon specials and speeches and such, and get into the real history of Mistral, it…well, Faunus were treated equally, yeah.

Equally badly, by and large. Mistral would roll over a Faunus village in its path and force them into servitude. They'd crush resistance and crucify them around towns so that the negativity would draw Grimm to devour others. They'd extort and exploit and devour everything they had.

They'd just do the same to the human village down the street, too.

In fairness, Mistral had had policies that were both progressive and barbaric. The reason Faunus could rise above their situations and obtain such famous positions was because Mistral had implemented a system wherein slaves could rise from their positions and become citizens…it's just they had still taken them slaves. There was a lot of stuff like that, in all of the Kingdom's histories; amazing things and terrible things and contexts. And after thousands of years of development, of change, those things eventually resulted in what we have today.

Which, thinking about it, was as good as it was bad. Mistral's practices in the past had eventually led to it being such a place of diversity, but its history of empires and conquests and rulers had been the source of how it now functioned, too. And though those two things may have seemed unrelated, they weren't and they tied into everything else.

Maybe even the White Fang.

"I didn't think it was important," I said, shrugging. "My mom doesn't really like that part of our family and I only get to see grandma rarely. I guess she keeps busy."

Adam grunted in agreement without looking my way.

"You know why the Roma are called the Children of the Wolves, right?" He asked.

"Because Remus and Romulus might have been Wolf Faunus," I nodded. "Or might have been adopted and raised by a Wolf Faunus; the records aren't completely clear on that front. It was a long time ago, even for Remnant. If you're asking if I have any Faunus blood in me, then almost certainly. I've never really looked into it, but statistically speaking most people have some Faunus blood, especially those descended from Mistral. A lot of the time the traits won't pass on and most of the time all that matters is how you look. So I might be related to a Wolf Faunus if you go back far enough, but you can probably trace me back to something more recent, because if you were hot enough, Mistral's kings and queens didn't usually care if you were human or Faunus or married or…well, you know. Go back a few hundred or thousand years and we'd probably find some Faunus wife or concubine or slave I'm descended from."

Adam grunted again and I shrugged.

"It's stupid, I know," I said. "Humans and Faunus can interbreed and have a lot—and everything that's happened is just the result of which genes line up, what's dominant and what's recessive. A huge amount of people, including the ones that hate the Faunus the most, probably have Faunus ancestry somewhere down the line, but they mated with a human and the traits just didn't pass on. Some…would it be insulting if I used the term breeds? Some breeds of Faunus shine through more than others, but a lot just vanish. Genetics didn't really come into until relatively recently, beyond a generation or so, and even now, it's usually appearances that matter. It's shallow, but…"

"But true," He finished. "Pretty much no one is pure Faunus or pure Human, not after thousands of years together, and yet…"

I nodded understandingly, even though he probably wasn't looking.

"I know," I agreed. "I'm just saying that, however true it may be and whoever I may be related to, the 'We're not so different, you and I' argument is probably not going to work. I didn't think old blood really mattered."

"It doesn't," He sighed. "It doesn't mean a thing. But it's…politics…"

"Ah," I said, musingly. "The White Fang is looking to set up in Mistral? I…can't imagine that going over well, Adam."

"It didn't," He stopped as we reached a street, letting cars roll by. "It's…the White Fang tried before, back when it first got started; Mistral was the natural choice, given its position as…well, one of the more accepting Kingdom's, at least. But the leadership in Mistral doesn't abide competition or dissent. It didn't go well and the White Fang focused its attentions on Vytal instead. But still…things are better for the Faunus here in some ways, worse in others."

"That's Mistral, for you," I shrugged a shoulder, waiting patiently for the lights to change. "Land of the highs and lows."

He conceded with a snort, turning to look at me out of the corner of an eye. He'd put on some sunglasses, despite it being nighttime—which looked kind of silly, but I guess he could see fine that way so…

"The Families can all trace their lines back to some Faunus, whether they were descended from one, taught by them, married them, or whatever," He continued. "Most of it long enough ago that it doesn't matter genealogically—but historically, they were famous people, remembered in myths and legends, so it does matter. After all, people know they're related to Faunus, so it's not like they could hide or distance themselves from the fact. As a result, the Families have taken to a policy of, at the very least, neutrality towards the Faunus, which is both good and bad. On one hand, the rulers of Mistral are not prejudiced against Faunus and so official discrimination. On the other hand, the rulers of Mistral…aren't very nice people."

"Ah," I said, looking down a bit. "Yeah."

"Because the people who most publically support and are related to the Faunus are…how shall we say…criminal scum," Adam nodded towards me as if as an example. Which I guess I was, sort of, but it was kind of hypocritical coming from him. "The view of Faunus in Mistral has been altered accordingly and such perceptions often force them into the roles because of discrimination against them in their daily lives."

I eyed me friend a tad disbelievingly, looking him up and down.

"Um," I said. "No, offense Adam, but if you want to make people stop thinking of the Faunus as criminals…well, I'm not sure the White Fang are the best people for the job, is all?"

"I fucking know, right?" He actually laughed. "Anyway, that's the official explanation and its true—it's probably even on the agenda, somewhere down the line. But…well, that's not why we're here; why the White Fang wants to set up shop, I mean. Changing all that…that's long term stuff, something that's not gonna be fixed except over decades. Ideally, the White Fang wants official backing and support from Mistral but it's largely been content with things on that front for a while now. Since the change in management, we've even done a few odd jobs for the Families in exchange for…considerations, let's say. But the Families control most everything and are willing to keep things positive, so we've largely focused our efforts elsewhere. Everything else can be handled later."

"I'm sensing a 'but' here," I noted, frowning.

"Things have apparently changed," He said, looking up. I got the feeling he had closed his eyes. "We've…I don't know what's happening, not really, but I'm getting the feeling that the schedule's been moved up. For whatever reason, they think things will start to change very soon. Things that shouldn't matter for another few decades are getting brought up. The guys in charge…there's…there's been talk. They're expecting something soon."

"How soon?"

He shrugged a shoulder, the set of his mouth making him look uncertain.

"A year?" He guessed. "Maybe two? Not right now or anything, but for something as big as this…"

It was too fast, I finished the thought, frowning slightly. I couldn't really argue with him there—if he was talking about cultural change on the scale I thought he was, it just wasn't something that could happen quickly, not without heavy resistance. If the White Fang suddenly thought they had a realistic chance of pushing something like that through anyway…then this was something big. Really, really big.

Quite possibly big enough to warrant getting my mother involved in. Which meant I was walking into the situation I wanted to avoid, potentially putting myself between my family and friends—which was somewhere I really didn't want to stand. And…

"What's this have to do with me?" I asked before putting several pieces together. "And why'd you bring up that I was a Roma?"

Adam just looked at my calmly and I pursed my lips, abruptly wanting to react. Even so, the Gamer's Mind kept me calm and I took a deep breath, considering things. Silence could speak as loudly as words and I knew what his was hinting at.

"The Families," I said at last. "They're involved?"

"Of course they are," He replied. "However good a time the Olympia Festival may be for meetings like this, nothing goes on in this city without the knowledge and consent of at least one Family. I'm not sure how much or why, but…"

I nodded, accepting that even as I swallowed down words.

"And my Family?" I asked. "My grandmother? Does she know what's going on?"

If…if my grandmother came down on one side of this and my mother on the other…and if my sister's got involved, too, the rest of my family…if this was—

Careful, Jaune, I thought to myself as I forced my mind away from the thoughts, the implications, my sudden concerns for the future. Baby steps.

"I don't know," Adam said at last—or, at least, it felt like I'd been waiting on his answer for ages. In reality, maybe he'd answered promptly. "But…I thought you should be aware. Of what you're getting into."

I nodded, accepting that calmly.

"And the White Fang," I continued. "You don't know what they're planning?"

This time, Adam did hesitate, pausing for a minute as he looked at me and remained quiet. At that moment, there was a part of me that wanted to demand the answers, take them, make him tell me—but I didn't. That was fear talking; a very logical, quiet, steady concern that hardly felt like an emotion at all, but which set up shop in the back of my head and showed little sign of moving. I was aware of it, felt it even, but I thought through it with my power and waited patiently. It didn't control me.

"No," Adam said finally. "They're keeping things quiet and they're working with someone—who's working for someone who's working for someone else, from what it sounds like. Distancing things."

I looked over his face for a minute before nodding slowly.

"Okay," I said. "Thank you. For telling me, I mean. I…didn't want to know this, but maybe I needed to. So thank you; I know what you must be risking for this."

He grunted at that, a bit uncomfortably, and shrugged like it was nothing.

"You're not the only one who has reason to worry," He said and I wondered if he meant himself or Blake.

"But," I proceeded regardless. "I need more information."

"Yeah." He agreed.

"And you know what I have to do to get it?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I nodded again and looked forward, organizing things in my thoughts. My mom, my grandmother, Autumn and Gou, the situation in Mistral, the White Fang and the Families, there was…

God, how do I get wrapped up in so much, so quickly?

"Okay," I said aloud. "What first?"

"First," He replied. "We need to make sure everyone believes it's you."

I assumed he meant Jian Bing and glanced his way.

"Have there been imposters?" I asked.

"Imposters, crazy people, the usual," He shrugged. "Nothing major, but we'll need to deal with it now."

"What do you propose? I can use some of my powers, but I'm not sure what they'd recognize, considering. The White Whale is kind of noticeable and also on another continent. The mask and cloak?" I shook my head in irritation. "Can't you just vouch for me? You were there."

"My presence will do a lot to prove your identity," He nodded. "But a few people might be suspicious about you abruptly turning up. Just in case, it'd be best to avoid questions. It doesn't need to be unquestionable or anything, just enough to stall any questions. From there…well, improvise."

"A show of power?" I guessed.

He blew out an exhausted sounding breath and nodded.

"A lot of Grimm always gather where the White Fang does," He said. "Negativity and all. They need to be dealt with regularly to avoid drawing attention, but things tend to get troublesome after a while, as more and more come. But for this, they should work fine. So…God, I'm regretting this already, but…let's go Hunting, Jaune."

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