Played a bit of "mechabellum" yesterday. Was good. Feel like I'm 12 months late to the autobattler genre lol. I actually have very little time to catch up with games I keep meaning to, like how I still don't have more than 15 hours in the Witcher 3. Also want to try that new Shadows of Doubt procedural detective sim but, again, never have any time.

Weirdly, I like that you can spectate live matches and "gamble" on them (not real money or in-game money; it has no monetisation) but with a currency you earn a point of every 6 hours. Then you get rewarded if your predictions pay off. I can gamble and watch on one screen while I write on the other.

That's probably unhealthy. Lol.


Cover Art: GWBrex

Chapter 44


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Atlas in talks of withdrawing Gen. Ironwood and taxpayer-funded security from Vytal Festival.

Atlas Times

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Jaune Arc seen as "cheerful and buoyant" in recent healing visits, leading many to question if mental toll was tied to his unhealthy schedule in Atlas, and complications with his aura. Experts weigh in.

Vale Daily Tribune

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War of words between Atlas and Vale sees cessation of free trade agreement.

The Mistral Review

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Gillian Asturias criticises "childishness" from Atlas, and offers Vacuo's aid to Vale in increasing security around Vytal Festival.

Vacuo Today

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Sienna Khan calls for White Fang to strike at Atlas and open talks with Vale, Vacuo and Mistral in efforts to take Atlas' place as the fourth great kingdom.

Kuo Kuana Express

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Elm Ederne didn't like being inactive. It was something she had long before she joined the army, and back in school where her teachers had despaired at her limitless energy, and many suggested she find a way to control it before it controlled her. In truth, most of them gave up on her, but she remembered her gym teacher – the only one who actually liked her drive – telling her to consider a career in the military. He had been ex-army himself. He'd told her the army could take her energy and mould it into something and give her an outlet that wouldn't require her to waste away in an office with the passion sapped out of her. So, with few good grades and only that advice to go on, she'd signed up and never looked back.

Atlas didn't see her need for action as a detriment. They saw it as an advantage. They gave her access to the best training equipment, her own personal trainers, and told her to work off any excess energy at the gym, and then they held her up as an example for the other recruits when she did. Elm had thrived there, and she loved both the army life and Atlas – and she loved Atlas even though it had gone and smacked its head against the wall a few times. Sure, she was disappointed in them and the way they were treating Jaune, but you could be disappointed in someone and still love them.

Weirdly enough, she thought she might love Jaune as well. Not like that, thankfully – the poor guy had enough problems with romance as it was. He was more like a little brother. A cynical and moody little brother, but one that had a heart of gold in private. More than that, he kept trying to fix things. Elm thought it was that she liked the most about him. If he'd just been depressed and resigned to it then she'd have pitied him and walked away, but Jaune kept trying to improve his situation. Badly at times, clumsily at others, but it was the trying that counted. There were too many people who would have given up and just accepted things as they were in his shoes.

Watching someone keep fighting reminded her a little of herself.

Which was why Elm couldn't say she liked this new route he was taking. And not only because it couldn't involve her. Elm sat in Beacon, earpiece in, speaking to a team of operatives she'd entrusted with keeping an eye on Jaune today. Or Nickel, as he'd called himself. A nod to his father and a simple colour-themed name to go with Cinder Fall's disguise.

"Report," said Elm.

"Nothing much to report, ma'am," replied one of the soldiers. They were of General Ironwood's support crew, here for the festival, and so were immediately deemed trustworthy. General Ironwood picked his staff well. "He's having a drink alone in a café and watching people go by. Bought a comic from a nearby store, too."

"He looks happy about it," said the other. "You'd think he'd be unhappy to be sitting on his lonesome but he's practically walking on air. The waiting staff didn't recognise him even when they came to take his order. This disguise of his is really good, ma'am. Did you do it?"

"No. A friend of his." Elm kept Cinder's name out of it solely for operational security reasons. She also didn't know if the girl would appreciate her name being thrown around like that. "Have there been any suspicious characters?"

"None, ma'am. All's clear."

"Understood. Keep watch. Ederne out."

Things were going well for Jaune, and he was undoubtedly pleased. Elm couldn't blame him wanting to be able to regain some of the normality he'd lost, but this wasn't it. Jaune Arc wasn't able to go out and be a normal person. Nickel undecided-surname was. It wasn't the same thing, and this felt too much like him running away from his problems for her liking. If Jaune Arc accepted a life sealed away and never coming out his home, all so a disguised version could, then he'd offload all his happiness onto that.

Did it matter in the grand scheme of things? Elm wasn't sure. Psychology had never been her strongest suit, which was why she'd immediately gone and messaged her concerns privately to Dr. Seng. He hadn't come back to her yet, but she had a feeling he wouldn't be pleased with Jaune cultivating two different personas and having one be happy and the other miserable. That sounded like a recipe for a personality disorder if she'd ever heard one.

With her other hand, she brought forward a few papers sent via CCT from Leonardo Lionheart, headmaster of Haven. They contained details on Cinder Fall and Mercury Black, the two people Elm had asked for information on. Their details were scarce, but then she couldn't expect much more than a school report and academics. They were, by all accounts, skilled students. Not good students. Cinder Fall had been reported as attentive and studious, if bored at times, but Mercury Black was listed as "difficult" to deal with. Nothing that raised any flags in her mind. If anything, he seemed like a typical student getting bored by lessons and acting out. Elm could hardly criticise someone for the complaints they received from teachers. Both were some of the best in their year however, which was why they'd been selected for the festival.

Beyond that, they were orphans – as she'd known before – and had no sick family or friends that they might need or want Jaune for. No criminal records, no violent streaks, no concerns flagged by Lionheart. A dead adoptive family on Fall's side was noteworthy but not unusual. They had lived outside Mistral, and outside the walls of the city, so safety was never a guarantee. Elm had even contacted the very first orphanage she came from, just to get an idea of how she'd been as a much younger child. The matron hadn't remembered much but did have paperwork, and Cinder had apparently been a bright and sweet little thing. It hadn't taken her all that long to be adopted.

There was nothing she could see as actionable concerns. Sighing, Elm set the papers down. It would have been convenient if she could find some reason to push them apart, but even that felt cruel. Mercury was by all accounts a good friend to Jaune, and Cinder had helped him too. The only reason she wanted an excuse was to put an end to this disguise saga before it got much worse. Of course, there was always the option of exposing it to the media herself – subtly if needs be. Elm grimaced and shook her head. No. That would be a betrayal of the highest order; she couldn't do that to him.

"Damn it," she mumbled. "I just know this is going to go wrong somehow. I'll have to talk to him. Maybe I can convince him to see sense."

She doubted it, but she had to try.

/-/

Jaune couldn't have been happier.

The day had been boring – and just the right amount of boring too. He'd walked around Vale, enjoyed the sights, visited a few shops and bought some things. Hell, it was one of the first times he could actually put his ridiculous bank balance to use. Random crap for the most part, but he'd also bought some souvenirs for Weiss, Pyrrha, Elm, Mercury and even Cinder. Maybe the latter was a little weird since he wasn't exactly "holidaying" in some exotic location, but it sure felt that way.

He felt refreshed both mentally and emotionally, not unlike someone coming back to the office after a week away at some luxury resort. His spirits were up, his mood as well, and he even managed a huge smile and a hug for Weiss when he came to give her his gift (once he'd gotten out his disguise). It was a simple thing: a piece of snowflake-themed jewellery in silver he was sure she'd like. Weiss was gobsmacked not only with it, but probably also with the way he was acting around her.

It was to be expected she'd feel down in the dumps with their relationship crumbling, but for once he felt in a good enough mood to do something about that. He squeezed her tight and whispered, "Don't worry. We'll keep trying to fix things" in her ear. Weiss was wide eyed, but she nodded, smiling brightly and hugging him back.

He was in too good a mood to care if it was a bad idea or not.

Honestly, he was in such a good mood that when Elm brought up the fact today was a hospital day, he agreed to it almost immediately, only wanting a quick shower to get the last of the hair dye out. After washing up and dressing in some fresh clothes, he let them take him to the hospital and went about the patients with more cheer than he'd had in months. He didn't even care to ask why they'd been hurt, or how, and the doctors who had grown used to his surly attitude didn't know what to do with him.

"Is that it?" he asked when the eighteenth was healed. "I could probably go for a few more."

"Not and risk your recovery," said Elm. "Your aura is only just starting to get back to what I'd call a health level. Trust me, I've started running again on a healing leg and I know full well you can undo all the healing in one fell swoop."

"Fair enough. Are we off, then?"

Elm nodded and led them back outside. There was a relatively small crowd of well-wishers today, and no protestors for a change. Jaune felt in a good enough mood to even wave and say hello to a few of them.

"Mr Arc!" shouted a reporter. "Can you offer any information on the state of your aura?"

The media. There weren't many of them today, only this one and maybe two others keeping their mics close enough to hear. He'd normally ignore them, but he was feeling generous today, and it wouldn't cost him anything. It might even get them off his back. And if they're focused on me then they won't even think to look for the other me in disguise.

"My aura is recovering, according to the doctors, but it's only beginning to go back to what would be called normal. I've been advised not to undo all that hard work by overtaxing it now, or I'll just make things worse."

"Mr Arc," another called. "Does this mean you won't be returning to full-time work?"

"I can't say." He shook his head. "And I mean I can't say, not that I won't. I'm not a professional in aura and I don't know what's healthy for me here or not. I'm just a seventeen-year-old guy with a Semblance. I'll be following their advice, and they haven't come up with any for me yet." He smiled. "I'll let you know when they do – if the Council of Vale doesn't beat me to it."

"Mr Arc, is it true you left the kingdom to use your Semblance elsewhere?"

"I didn't leave the kingdom. I left the city. I was still in Vale." He could feel Elm tugging his arm to go, but he answered the one last question to satisfy them. "There are obviously a lot of people in Vale that could use my help, and with that whole terrorist fiasco at the hospital it was felt that my working there would put a lot of innocent people in danger. There's a limit on how much I can do, so if they blew up an entire hospital then hundreds of people would have died."

The reporters nodded. They looked satisfied, which was a rare thing. "One last question!" called one as Jaune walked to the transport with Elm. "Do you have any comment on the terrorist attack from extreme Atlas elements?"

"I hate it, obviously," he said, already half in the car. He looked back to the camera all the same. "But I'll say one thing to them. No matter what you do – and no matter how hard you try – I'll undo all your work. I'll even make sure you live as well, so you can be punished to the fullest extend of the law." He turned away. "That's all."

There were flashes and even cheers from the small crowd as the door closed. Elm came around the other side to get in, and then they were off. The heavy woman sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

"You goaded violent terrorists. I guarantee they'll react."

"To hell with them. They're evil."

"Agreed, obviously, but that doesn't make it a good idea to call them out." Elm didn't sound too bothered by it. More concerned for him. "But I guess they're gunning for you anyway so it won't make too much of a difference. Just be careful."

"I am." He winked at her. "And I have you."

Elm laughed. "You're almost flirty today. Sheesh."

"What can I say? I'm feeling great. And I don't mean it that way, but I really do appreciate everything you do. Have I ever said that? You mean a lot to me."

"Jaune!" Elm sounded scandalised. "Jaune, please. You'll make me blush." Her laughter died off soon after. "Jaune, this… I know you like being able to go out and be normal in disguise but…"

"But what?" he asked, a little heat creeping in. Elm wasn't trying to take that away, was she? Surely not after he'd just gotten it. He felt on top of the world. Hell, he felt like he could fix him and Weiss, and even put up with some of her silliness. "I feel amazing, Elm. I feel like I'm finally getting the free time and rest I've been needing. What's so bad about this? What's wrong with it?" He pushed on her. "I'm not hurting anyone."

"It's…" Elm grimaced, turned away, and looked out her window. "Just be careful. You're still putting yourself at risk."

His anger faded as quickly as it came on. Elm was just worried about him. Of course, he was overreacting. Jaune sighed and ran a hand down his face.

"Sorry. I got worked up there over nothing. Yeah, I get you. Those terrorists are out there and obviously if I was revealed then things would get bad quick even if it was just fans swarming me. I'm being careful. I mean, I'll lose this if I get found out, so believe me when I say I'll not take any risks whatsoever." Not with this. "And I'll happily take as many escorts as you want me to. I'll even go directly with them if you like. They don't have to follow me at a distance if they want to walk with me."

"Right. That's good." Elm didn't sound entirely satisfied. "I guess that'll do for now. Just, don't outsource all your happiness onto this disguise, okay? Try and be happy as yourself as well."

"Elm, I am happy as myself. It is me out there under a bit of hair dye and some contacts. Sure, I use a different name and I act a little different if people talk to me, but it's not like I'm becoming another person. I'd tell you to come with me and see if you weren't so… uh… attention-grabbing."

Elm snorted. "Nice word choice. You can say huge without hurting my feelings."

"I'd rather say impressive." Maybe he was laying it on thick but he really did like Elm, and anyone who insulted her could stay dead as far as he was concerned. "But don't worry, I'll be careful. I'll go with a full squad if that makes you feel better."

"No. It's fine. One or two is less suspicious. Just keep your aura up. Even if these terrorists don't recognise you, they might still catch you in an explosion. The best way to get to you is to kill innocents and force you to react – especially after what you just told them. Who knows, they might get lucky and kill you by accident."

It was something worth keeping in mind. He wasn't immortal no matter how much his Semblance defied death, and he could be killed if they caught him in the blast. If they got him close enough then they wouldn't even be able to find a body.

Which was an interesting thought…

/-/

He was on the news.

That was nothing unusual, but what was unusual was the fact he was watching it at all. The anchors were mostly singing his praises for another day's hard work, more lives saved, and then giving up some time to talk to people after. They acted like his time was theirs by right, which was arrogant as usual, but it worked in his favour tonight. They played out his full message to the terrorists in Atlas, which he could now see was a little more threatening than he'd meant it to be. Elm was right to say they'd take that as a direct challenge.

Damn. I didn't mean it like that. I guess I'll have to stick to it.

That was fine. He'd make an exception for innocents killed by terrorists like he had the last time, and it wasn't like this was a battle of attrition they could win. Atlas was already under pressure to crack down and eradicate them after the first bomb in a Valean hospital, and if they tried again? Well, not even Atlas could ignore the politics of that. This group would be hunted down long before he ran out of aura.

Unless they tried something really big. The Vytal Festival. Jaune grimaced, but he was sure General Ironwood had already predicted it. He'd ask to be sure, but if he'd figured out the possibility then Ironwood, with all his experience and support staff, surely had. And there'd be a whole lot more security on Amity than there was in the average hospital waiting room. There were already scanners being set up at the future loading points for the Bullheads, but it'd be bad enough if a bomb detonated in a crowded queue.

It's not my job to plan for all this. I'm not in charge of security. My job is to work at the hospital use my Semblance. That's it. He turned off the television and considered just donning a disguise and going out. Elm wouldn't accept that, though. Not this late in the evening, and not without considerable prep. It would be unfair to dump this on Cinder without giving her any warning, either.

He considered calling his family to talk but decided against that as well. He'd been keeping them updated by texts but he hadn't mentioned the disguises. Having his messages hacked once before had left him too leery to rely on their security again, especially for something this important. He'd have liked to use his disguises to hang out with Pyrrha or Mercury too, but they were known to be his friends – at least by other people in Beacon. Pyrrha Nikos hanging out with a random guy who, on closer inspection, almost looked a little like Jaune Arc, would be too on the nose.

His scroll buzzed suddenly and he picked it up. He expected Weiss, but it was a text from an unknown number. He'd have normally ignored that but it showed the first three words: "Hi. It's Cinder…" The rest was cut off, but he decided to open it anyway.

"Hi. It's Cinder. Mercury gave me your number. Hope you don't mind. Wanted to thank you for the gift you bought me. You didn't need to."

It hadn't been a very inspired gift but then he didn't really know the woman. She'd made an off-hand comment about the cost of dust however, so he'd bought her a box set of exotic elemental dust in different glass jars, nestled in a velvet lining in a wooden case. It was the kind of thing a parent might buy a child about to start at one of the academies. It hadn't been cheap, but it also hadn't been so expensive that he'd have felt weird giving it to someone he didn't know that well. He'd spent ten times as much on Weiss and Pyrrha's gifts.

Still, it was nice of her to get in touch. He sent back "Hope you like it. Thanks for your help before" and set the scroll down. A reply came back less than a minute later and he picked it back up. He'd thought she was just being polite, not that she wanted to talk. He read it through.

"Emerald and I are planning a shopping visit for some spare clothes tomorrow. It might be a good chance for you to pick up some of your own – if you know what I mean. You're welcome to come along. You can bring as many friends from Atlas as you like if you decide to come with."

Clothes shopping? She had to mean for his disguise, but that wasn't what confused him. It was the fact she'd invite him out at all. Did Cinder want to become his friend? He supposed he had gotten her a gift, so she might have felt this was the way it was going. Maybe it was. He considered her something of a friend for helping him out, and Mercury was a close friend.

It couldn't hurt to have more.

I'll have to ask Elm, he typed back, and got a "k" from her as a final message. He doubted Elm would be thrilled about it, but the offer to let him come with bodyguards would help. He assumed Cinder meant in disguise too, because otherwise they wouldn't get any shopping done at all. Should he invite Weiss in disguise as well? She might make things awkward, but going out with two girls might be even more so if it was without her.

Such thoughts were answered when he texted her to ask, and Weiss said she had promised to spend the day with her team but "could drop it" if he wanted to hang out. He told her no and promised to go on a date another time with more warning. He didn't want to monopolise her time and make things awkward with her team. Weiss deserved to have some friends outside their relationship just as much as he did.

Maybe this is the best way to handle things. Weiss and I both need a chance to calm down and recover our moods, and spending all our time together isn't it. It reminded him of the fact that his own parents were separated a lot. Nicholas was often out on hunts, and Juniper at home. Other families were often the same. One or both partners worked and only spent the afternoons and weekends around each other. I guess the key to a good relationship is having some distance. That's kind of sad to think of, but it makes sense. Familiarity breeds contempt and absence makes the heart grow fonder. It's also just harder to get bored if your time together is limited.

In a way it made him think of how super-rich people often ended up unhappy, or seeming it, because while they had all the free time in the world, and all the money to make use of it, they ended up bored of things. A lot of them got into drugs as well, chasing new highs because their standards of excess had risen. Always chasing that dopamine rush. Meanwhile, the average person who worked most of the day and had limited free time and money appreciated those rare moments precisely because they didn't happen every day.

"Heh. I should become a relationship counsellor. Or not. I haven't even fixed my own yet. But maybe it's on the way." He paused. "Screw it. I'll go out tomorrow with Cinder and Emerald. I'll convince Elm to okay it. This helps and I feel better for it. I didn't even snap at the media."

If that wasn't proof this was working then he didn't know what was. Jaune sagged back on his bed with a pleased smile. It felt good to be making some progress, and even better to be going out tomorrow as "Nickel" once more. Though he needed a surname. Maybe he should ask Cinder if he could borrow hers and play off the idea they were siblings. Or maybe that was too convenient.

Jaune dreamed of a different life, in a different place, under a different name, with different people. He dreamed of walking out of Vale, of everyone looking for him but having no way to find him, and a life spent as a random carpenter in some village, making cabinets and repairing tables for friendly locals. It was a strange dream, a random dream, but it was one of the best he'd had in a long while.


Nice and healthy coping mechanisms here. Definitely nothing worrying from a psychological point of view.


Next Chapter: 25th May

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