Here we go – Stellaris is alright. I can tell it's been a while since I've played because you now have to buy leaders with unity, and I don't remember that being a thing.


Cover Art: Curbizzle

Chapter 26


It would be a lie to say that all was the same when Knight returned. After tearing through competition they had struggled with, nothing could ever be the same. Ruby didn't rush up to him as she normally would have, caught now between awe, shock and a little voice in her head that whispered she wasn't good enough to stand next to him – that he'd gone out alone because she dragged him down. Yang was used to Ruby's inner anxiety enough to catch it, but for once didn't know what she was supposed to say. Yeah, Ruby had dragged Knight down. They all had.

Such was the reality of a person from another world. Fate said it, but she hadn't really accepted it until now. The worst part was that it wasn't only Knight; the Yang of his world was probably capable of similar feats. Blake, Weiss and Ruby too. It was as much the world he came from as himself because anyone could grow so strong given enough time, effort and a little luck. But here, taken from his world and inserted into theirs, the disparity might as well have been insurmountable.

Knight was inhuman. That was the only way to put it.

And all of a sudden, it felt like Leviathan had been the most normal of their iterations even when he had been a monster. Yang missed him. His easy talks, his complete lack of difficulty fitting in. He'd had his issues, obviously, but he'd liked them all and been pretty much like a normal version of vomit-boy. Funny, friendly, a little dorky but a normal guy. They ought to have known Knight wasn't like that the moment they met him. He was older, experienced and talked of being a king. What could a bunch of students offer to entertain someone like that?

He's tired of this world, Yang thought back on Fate's words. The others might have said she shouldn't take stock with an asshole like him, but she didn't much mind the fact he slept around. He never tried it with any of them and it reminded her of Uncle Qrow – an unhappy kind of promiscuity used to mask pain. The only difference was Fate got some, while she would forever tease her uncle for never being seen with a woman. Whatever the case, it didn't make Fate any less a valuable source of information. He knew stuff, and he knew himself, which meant he had a better handle on Knight than any of them did. And it made sense.

Knight had a home, a family and a responsibility. That he'd agreed to fight for them at all was due mostly to him being chivalrous, and not because he had a stake in the fate of their world. One Jaune, her mom's no less, had already noped out the whole thing and taken his life rather than get involved with this. Then Hunter had fled, and even Fate didn't want to fight, nor had Barista. Looking at it that way, there were more Jaunes on their side who didn't want to fight than did.

With that context, it didn't feel like they had any right to complain that Knight was acting out or wanted to push a resolution. Sure, it was their world, but the Gods had summoned Knight to do his own thing, and he was at that. And at least he was benefitting their side when he did.

"Knight." Ozpin took a step forward. He was nervous. Not, she imagined, nervous that he might come under attack, but afraid he might alienate the very powerful young man. Ozpin had a tendency of treating them all like they were young and silly, which was fair in Yang's eyes. He was a teacher; they were students. Dad did the same thing at times. She hadn't really realised he'd been doing the same to Knight, who was far beyond the level of a student. "It is good to see you've returned unharmed."

"I've faced worse."

Three simple words that struck like a Beowolf and exposed the chasm between their skill in one go. They'd all been taken down by Ashari when he'd been going easy on them. Knight had cut the man's arm off while outnumbered more than ten to one. He could have done the same before if he wasn't more worried about protecting us, the useless children trying to pretend we were credible threats. Damn, that's depressing. Different world, she reminded herself. Not a gap in effort or hard work, but simply the fact he came from a world where such feats were normal. It wasn't fair to compare themselves to that. Nor was it healthy.

General Ironwood bristled. It must have been harder for him to accept that when he was in charge of the same military that had struggled to deal with that group even when they had the drop on them. He didn't say anything, though. He could bristle all he wanted but facts were facts, and Ashari came back victorious and without so much as a single injury.

"You realise they won't take this sitting down." Ozpin said. "They cannot afford to."

"I know."

"Are you prepared for that?"

"I am." Knight looked calm about the fact, and Yang believed it. "I'm no stranger to placing myself as a target, Ozpin. They will adapt and they will try to find a way to deal with me. As long as you make sure that way is not through Ruby, I shall make sure the act costs them dearly."

/-/

Emerald flinched as glass shattered on the far wall, raining down to the carpet as Cinder vented her fury. It was a horrible sound, both the glass and Cinder's screaming, and she tensed every time the woman stomped by. To call her furious would be an understatement. Cinder was in a murderous mood, and Emerald was afraid that even a single word might make her the target of it.

Mercury was already dead.

Killed in the blink of an eye, before he'd even had time to realise the danger he was in. For a moment, she'd been sure she would die as well – before Ashari, her summoned champion, placed himself between her and monstrous knight. Looking down at the bloodied wet cloth she was holding to his stump of an arm, she could see the cost of that. It was already healing. Somehow. Or rather, it was sealing up. Cinder had spared no time for offering him medical care, a hospital or even to cauterise the wound, but Ashari was somehow taking care of it on his own. Raw aura, she imagined.

He was quiet. How, she didn't know. If that was her arm cut off, she'd be sobbing or crying right now. His right arm too – his dominant arm. He was less a combatant than he had been before, permanently crippled, and yet he didn't once complain. His lips remained a thin line, his eyes closed almost peacefully, as he let her clean his stump and do her best to repay the sacrifice that saved her life.

Another crash rang through the apartment.

"Impossible!" Cinder raged. "We had numbers, information and power. Three champions to his one! What went wrong? How did he beat us so easily?" No one answered. To do so was to court death. "Are those stupid gods so useless they think this fair? What's the point of giving me inferior champions if Ozpin gets that monster?"

I don't remember Jinn saying it would be fair… Emerald kept that to herself, even if she thought it. Jinn had talked a little on balance, but there hadn't been any promises that strength would be balanced. Maybe they'd been meant to use their own advantages. Ashari was a time traveller who claimed to have killed Salem, so he was obviously strong. Cinder never believed that, though. He didn't have a powerful Semblance or special ability like Grimm and Null, so he was useless.

It frustrated her a little – if only because if Cinder had respected Ashari's abilities more than it would have meant she, as his anchor, was more important. Instead, Cinder had sent them off on their own jobs away from the rest, practically excluding them from affairs of the war. Emerald would never go so far as to say that was wrong – Cinder knew better than she what was right or wrong – but it was… inefficient. Maybe a little unwise. Ashari had taken an advantage over Knight in their first bout, but Cinder just hadn't cared. He couldn't turn off aura or summon legions of Grimm. Compared to that, masterful expertise of weaponry and vast experience just weren't important to her. Cinder always had preferred raw power, hence their focus on the fall maiden.

"Null's Semblance did nothing!" Cinder snarled. "It was like he didn't even need aura-"

"He might not." Ashari grunted. Cinder's eyes burned as she turned on him, and Emerald flinched. Why couldn't he have just stayed quiet? Cinder was looking for someone to punish right now. Preferably someone who couldn't fight back. "We know from Headmaster that Knight works on video game logic. He might have `hit-points` instead of aura, or a health bar."

Cinder snarled and approached them. Fire danced in her eyes and Emerald shrank back. Ashari, of course, sat where he was. "Explain!"

"Video games don't normally simulate aura or injuries. They're binary. A character is either alive or they are dead, and that depends wholly on their health bar."

He was right of course. Emerald was not someone who cared for games, but Mercury had been when they'd stayed at Haven for their cover. He was always playing something or other, and in those rare cases where there was nothing to do and Cinder didn't have work with her, she had been cajoled into playing. He liked fighting games, mostly because he enjoyed spamming one move and calling it skill. Emerald frowned as an unusual feeling rose in her gut, flipping over and over until she felt sick.

"He's right." Null spoke up, coming to Ashari's defence. "And there's no point getting angry at him, Cinder. We need everyone we can get if we want to beat Knight."

Translation: Don't kill Ashari in anger because they were on the backfoot enough as it was. Emerald swallowed, unsure if Cinder would actually listen to Null – or anyone for that matter. There were times in the past when she or Mercury had made suggestions. Sometimes, Cinder listened, but whenever she was in a bad mood she would do the exact opposite just to prove a point.

Fortunately, this wasn't one of those times. "What would a `health bar` mean for us here?"

"It'd mean that no injuries would really show on him until it's depleted." Null said. He was bruised and woozy from being nearly crushed by a Grimm but compared to Ashari he might as well have been right as rain. "Most games don't bother coding in injuries and their effects on a person. It's too much work. So, if you broke his arm it wouldn't actually be broken, but he'd take a hit to his health. Take off enough to where he has none left and he'd die instantly."

"He can die?" she asked.

"Everything can die." Null ought to know. "But like Ashari said, it would be binary. Us squishy humans have to go through injuries, blood loss, crippling pain and all that. He doesn't. A video game character is as healthy at 1% health as they are at 100%. It's only when they hit the big zero that it sticks."

"I see." It was almost funny how Cinder didn't see, but then she'd never cared for anything that didn't immediately result in her goals. Games and fun had never been a part of that. "So, what you're telling me is that he cannot be debilitated other than by death? He won't slow down, won't show injuries or be held back in any way?"

"Something like that." Null said. "It could be we were hurting him a lot, but it's impossible to tell how much. You normally see the other person's health bar in a game. We don't get that benefit here."

It was a whole lot of maybes as far as Emerald was concerned. They didn't know for sure and couldn't until Knight was dead, and if that bout an hour ago was any sign, that wouldn't come soon.

I don't want to have to fight him again. I ran in to save Cinder but… what would I have been able to do?

Nothing. That was the answer. Without Ashari, she'd be dead.

"I'm going to go treat Ashari's arm," she said out loud. Cinder waved a hand without looking, dismissing her as not worth responding to. She was already planning with Null and Grimm. No Headmaster now if they could trust him at all. He hadn't joined in the fight. Was that common sense or a sign they'd been betrayed? It didn't matter since it wouldn't be she who made the call. "Come on," she told Ashari. "My room."

He stood and followed her, let her push him down so he was sitting on her bed and then worked on his shoulder. The room was a shared one, and Mercury's few belongings still sat by his unmade and messy bed. Emerald couldn't quite bring herself to look at it as she unwound the bandages from Ashari's stump and winced. It wasn't gushing blood anymore thanks to his aura, but neither was it fully closed. It looked like someone had taken a cleaver to a chunk of meat and bone. Aura may have made things like this easier to deal with, but that didn't mean it was pretty.

"We should take your jacket and shirt off."

He grunted in acknowledgement and held out his stump in a clear request for assistance. It was the least she could do after he'd saved her life, so she helped him out of the clothing until he was topless. His body was hard, muscular and scarred in numerous places like hard leather. She supposed he was probably attractive, quite good looking even, but he was a little too rough for her liking. Too old as well.

Emerald tool a rag and held it under the bathroom sink, then came back to help clean the blood away, and any grime from the wound. Aura should prevent infection, but that was no excuse for being stupid. He hissed when she touched the stump and she hesitated. He nodded again, eyes clenched tight, and she gingerly went back to it. I can't imagine how much something like this would hurt, and to not even fall unconscious after. He's experiencing every bit of it.

"I'm sorry about your arm," she said uselessly.

"It's fine. I doubt any injuries I take here will travel with me back to my world."

That didn't make it alright, she couldn't help but feel. Less awful maybe. With this, Ashari's chances of winning this war had gone out the window. If he'd had any at all. "Knight was too strong."

"Hmm. I knew he wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. He didn't understand our technology the first time, but he's had time to get used to it now." Ashari looked ahead. "You shouldn't have rushed in."

Emerald winced. The criticism would have normally earned him a slap, but that felt stupid now that she'd seen how outmatched she would have been. "Cinder was in danger," she said. "My body moved before I could-"

"If the situation were reversed, she would not have done the same."

"T-That's fine. I know Cinder doesn't feel that way for me." Yet, she dared to hope. "But I do."

"What you feel is obsession for someone who gave you purpose," he snapped. "You follow her because-hngh!" He grunted unhappily when she pushed harder on his wound. "Careful," he hissed. "I'm not made of stone."

"Neither are my feelings…"

Ashari regarded her for a moment, surprised, and then looked away. "You're right. I'm sorry. I just don't like seeing your devotion being rewarded so poorly. Cinder is blessed to have someone like you by her side."

Blessed? Emerald fought the blush that crept up her face at that. Oh, how she wished Cinder would say something so sweet and corny to her. Yeah, it was stupid, but her heart would explode if she did. It wasn't so bad having Ashari say it in her absence. At least someone acknowledged it this way.

"I'm sorry about Mercury as well," he said.

"What? Don't be. We weren't friends."

"You were still allies. You spent a lot of time together."

"He was a dickhead." Emerald spat. "He put no effort into anything, never took things seriously and was a constant pain in my ass. He'd mock my loyalty to Cinder and then mock me for being… for being… you know…"

"Gay?" Ashari smiled. "There's no shame in it."

"I'm not ashamed. It's just embarrassing to talk about that kind of stuff." Feelings had never been something Cinder liked hearing about, and Mercury certainly hadn't been a companion she could confide in. "But he was an ass," she said, feeling her stomach tighten. "I'm glad he's gone. Now he won't be in my way-"

Ashari reached out with his one remaining hand and brushed a finger under her left eye. It came away with a drop of moisture upon it. That, for some unknown reason, made her realise there were more, and that realisation brought a sniffle and a fresh watering of her eyes. "It's okay," he said softly. "It's okay to cry."

Bastard. Emerald's face scrunched up. "B-But I hated him! He was an asshole!"

"You still spent years with him. He was a part of your life, even if an unwelcome one at times, and that means something. No one likes having something they found comfortable taken away."

That sounded so selfish. So cold. Yet, well, what else could it be? Mercury had been an asshole, but he'd been her asshole partner. They hadn't been close, and they might have stabbed one another in the back on more than one occasion, but he'd been a constant part of her life and now he was gone. Snuffed out. Things would never be the same again. Emerald sniffed again and then trembled. Outside, in the main room, no one gave a shit about Mercury. Not Null, not Grimm and certainly not Cinder. His death would be a footnote in Cinder's plans. A mere hiccup.

"He deserved better…" she whispered. "Not such a shit and pointless end."

Ashari wrapped his one arm around her shoulders, and Emerald closed her eyes and let him pull her close against his bare chest. It didn't feel romantic, nor that he was trying to make it, and despite the skin on skin contact and her lack of interest in the male body, she clung to him all the same, burrowing her face between his pecs and shaking.

"As long as one person remembers you, your life won't be wasted. That's what I believe. I'm sure Mercury is glad someone cares enough to."

/-/

"We need an army."

Grimm withdrew into himself when he heard it. He knew what was coming the moment Cinder expressed the thought, and he knew what his role would be to play in it.

"Then refuse." Remy said. "Refuse and walk away."

And leave mom? Prove to her that everyone would abandon her in the end? He couldn't.

"Knight will tear through Grimm just as easily as he did us." Grimm said. "It won't make a difference."

"It will if he doesn't have a choice but to sacrifice himself. If you summoned enough to threaten all of Vale." There was a maniacal quality to Cinder's voice that hinted at just how much the idea pleased her. "Not ten or twenty, but hundreds – thousands. A tidal wave of Grimm pouring down on the city. Knight would almost be forced to come and face them."

"Him, Ironwood and every huntsman in Vale."

"Then we make it an ultimatum. Knight sacrifices himself or the Grimm attack Vale. If he's as `heroic` as we believe, he'll surely take it."

"No amount of heroism will make him walk out to face a horde of Grimm alone while everyone else stays back. Vale will mobilise. Atlas will send their best. It's an army of Grimm. People aren't going to sit back and ignore that."

He heard Cinder gnash her teeth and saw her glaring his way, angry at him for talking back as much as taking a dump on her plan. It was a terrible plan, though. It might work to kill a lot of people, and it might even take out Knight, but it would throw away any subtlety they had, and would probably cost him his life. Which, looking back on it, might have been her plan from the start.

Cinder stormed away angrily, and Grimm let out a breath of relief.

He'd thought that was the end of it.

He was wrong.

Cinder returned with a smug, victorious little grin on her face not twenty minutes later and called him into another room. There, to his immense displeasure, floated a Seer, its tendrils touching down to the ground. His stomach dropped, unpleasant thoughts echoing in his head. Run. Refuse. Reject. He took a deep breath. This wasn't his world. Did he really want to run away and live an existence here when he had his family, his friends, his children waiting for him back home? The White Sheep stepped forward and placed his hand upon the Seer.

"Mother."

"I have orders for you." Salem's voice echoed about the small room. "Summon Grimm, an army of them, and threaten to lay waste to Vale in my name. Draw out the one known as Knight, overwhelm and kill him."

"That is not your plan." Grimm said. "It is Cinder's scheme."

"It matters little. Winning this war is all that does. Fulfil my orders. I demand it."

"Say no. Please, Jaune, say no."

"I will surely die doing this, mother. If not to the Huntsmen, then to Knight. Do you really want to send me to my death?"

There was silence for a moment. Blessed silence, a hesitation during which he wondered if she might be thinking of him. It didn't last long, less than ten seconds, but it had been there. There enough for him to know it existed. "I care not one way or the other. As long as I have my victory."

"For victory, you would throw away your own children. Not so different from Ozma in the end, are you?"

"How dare you! You are not my child!"

"No. I am the child of another you. I am the child you could have had, the son you could have had, had you not chosen to dedicate everything to revenge. I want you to remember that, mother, when Cinder reports to you of my demise. I want you to remember that you chose to send me to my death, and that I did so."

"I will remember it…"

"I love you." he said. "I hope one day you can realise that."

Salem forcefully ended the connection, and worse, she caused the Seer's head to grow and burst, splattering gore over Jaune's arm and stomach. He took a deep breath and let it go, then drew another.

"Are we really doing this?"

"Do we want to stay in this world, Remy? Do we need a wish?"

"No to both and winning would mean killing Yang and Ruby." The parasite let out a sigh inside him. It was an odd, tickling sensation. "Alright. I see your point. Might as well go out in style, I guess."

"That was very sweet." Cinder's voice cut through his thoughts, dripping with insincerity. "I almost shed a tear hearing you say you loved her. I'm sure you came close to winning her over. Oh well, we have our-" A tentacle speared out his back "-hrk!"

Cinder's feet kicked wildly as she was lifted up off the floor by her neck. Her hands and fingers dug into the black flesh, grappling at the hardened skin as she struggle to breathe. Her eyes bulged out, wide and, for once, afraid.

"You're not half as cunning as you think you are." He watched her thrash and struggle. "Do you really think mother isn't aware of your treachery? You're arrogant, Cinder, and like so many people who are, you have so very little to back it up with. Power? I could crush your throat right here and now. Skill? Ashari can best you with one hand. Intelligence? Headmaster ran you around so easily you never even realised you were but a pawn in his game, and now he's left to finish his plans while you struggle to pick up the pieces."

He drew her close, batting her hands away as she tried to launch fire at him. Just to show her how helpless she was, he manifested two more tentacles and wrapped one about each arm, pulling until her shoulders threatened to break. He saw it then, raw fear in her eyes. The same fear she held for his mother.

"But you know what, dear sister, I'm not going to kill you." He raised her higher, until the last air was choked from her lungs, and then dropped her. Cinder landed on her knees, gasping and clutching at her neck. "Do you know why?" he asked, leaning in. "It's not because I'm weak or because you're cunning. Oh no. I will summon the Grimm, draw Knight out and take him down with me just as mother wants."

He touched her chin with two fingers and drew her face up to meet his.

"The reason I'm going to let you live is so that you can see with your own eyes just how far your schemes get you. It would be a kindness to kill you now, because then at least you could believe that you'd have won if it wasn't for my intervention." He released her. "I'm going to let you live long enough to see your plans come crashing down around your ears, to realise just how far your vaunted genius gets you."

His smile grew.

"And if the fact that almost every Jaune we know of has beaten you in one way or another is any indication, I'd say your chances are slim."

He walked past her, conflicted at hearing the hitch in her breathing. Only for a moment, though. His Cinder, his sister, loved him back, even if she'd withstand torture rather than admit it. In a way, he supposed this version was like mother. A Cinder who hadn't grown up unofficially adopted by Salem, who hadn't been unofficially loved by Salem, spoiled by her and then ruthlessly teased by him and his sisters. It made him feel sorry for her – for both her and his mother. This world really was a horrible, horrible place.

A part of him wouldn't be sorry to see the last of it.


Oh dear. There's no way this ends well.


Next Chapter: 21st May

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