The Games We Play

DISCLAIMER: This story is NOT MINE IN ANY WAY. That honor has gone to the beautiful bastard Ryuugi. This has been pulled from his Spacebattles publishment at threads/rwby-the-gamer-the-games-we-play-disk-five.341621/. Anyway on with the show...err read.

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"Are you certain that was a good idea?" Raven murmured, staring out over the city of Mistral. After I'd completed my business with Torchwick, we'd returned to the same roof we'd left from earlier today and I'd filled her in on what had transpired within Naraka.

I nodded my head, focusing my eyes in the same direction as her and scanning our surroundings with the rest of my field of vision.

"In the end, Torchwick is the type of man that will put himself first," I replied. "Which is why it's best to make sure he knows that making an enemy of me would be detrimental to his health. He has no loyalty to Cinder, either, and I'm certain he was already looking for ways out, in case their relationship soured. At that time, he'd happily hand over all her secrets if it meant our protection."

"Does he even know anything useful?" Raven asked skeptically.

"With the chance that his life will depend on what he knows?" I replied, raising an eyebrow. "If he doesn't know anything yet, he'll do his best to figure something out."

Raven considered that for a moment before nodding in consent.

"Of course, that blade cuts both ways," She said. "If it was to his advantage, he'd sell us out just as easily."

"Certainly," I agreed. "But after what he saw, he has little reason to believe that would be a good idea. And should he say anything…what off it? I didn't show him anything truly important and we can always make our displeasure known. But he'll play things close to his chest until he's certain of what route to take. I have little to lose and a lot to gain from that display of power, so there was little reason not to do it."

Raven sighed slowly.

"Perhaps you're right," She allowed with a bit of reluctance. It was obvious she didn't like sharing secrets with anyone she didn't fully trust, whatever the potential advantages might be. I wondered how long she'd been like that, hiding everything she could from those around her. Long enough to surprise my grandmother and Ozpin when I mentioned her name, at least, which mean she must have kept things under lock and key. After leaving her family and team behind…with the exception of Adam, I doubted she'd trusted much of anyone.

Until me—and that was a big deal for her.

I didn't say anything in reply, instead turning back towards the others. Gou was lying down on the roof with Adam sitting next to him, absently flipping through his scroll again. My eyes drifted immediately towards Autumn, however, who was standing in front of Gou and waiting patiently for us to move again.

"She's feeling better," I mused under my breath, just loud enough for Raven to hear. I didn't bother hiding the smile on my face as I looked at her, because I was glad. It seemed Keter was right and all she'd really need to recover was time.

"Yes," Raven agreed, looking at her quietly. There was a strange mix of happiness and sadness in her eyes as she did so, probably seeing her friend in her. Or perhaps she was simply thinking about the past again. "If nothing else, today was productive."

"Mhm," I replied, turning my smile towards her for a moment before sighing. "It's okay to worry, you know."

Raven didn't answer for several seconds.

"About Autumn or Torchwick?" She asked finally.

"Both," I said. "Either way, there are risks—but either way, we'll handle them."

She nodded slowly, not looking my way.

"And Cinder?" She asked. "Even now, we don't know what she's up to."

I shrugged easily.

"She'll ask for a meeting soon, no doubt," I answered. "We'll have another chance to try and figure things out then, but we'll need to be prepared. She'll have to reveal something if she intends to gain our cooperation, and beneath that should be at least a few hint of her real plan."

"One can hope," Raven murmured. "There is so much happening and yet so many unknowns. And she's not even the real enemy. Is she?"

I shook my head slightly.

"But that doesn't mean she can't be dangerous," I reminded. "But I agreed with you completely; we need to find answers and sooner rather than later. Cinder's plans will bring her to Vale in a few months' time and then things will start coming together whether we like them or not."

Not just with Cinder either, I thought. I couldn't help but notice where everything seemed to be headed and where it seemed to gather. Cinder was heading towards Beacon for the next stage of her plan, Ruby was already waiting there as a student, and Ozpin had been Headmaster since before I was born. One way or another, I had a feeling that things would start moving there soon and I doubted they'd politely stop and wait for me to catch up just because I didn't know what was going on.

And behind it all, Malkuth was waiting. He was planning something for me, maybe tied into everything else, maybe separate—but either way, I was fairly confident that he'd burn the world down to get to me if he thought he had to. And sadly, that was depressingly possible.

However much I'd learned recently, there was a great deal more I didn't know. I had to find out the truth somehow, before it was too late.

I closed my eyes and ran a few calculations in my head. I didn't like it, but we were on a deadline—and one we didn't even know, at that. I couldn't act recklessly, but waiting endlessly wasn't an option either. There was only a month or two left for preparations now. At absolute best, I could delay things until the break between semesters. But then…

"When can you start helping with Autumn's training?" I asked suddenly.

Raven glanced my way, eyebrows furrowing before she answered.

"Soon," She replied. "For the basics…what does she normally do during your classes?"

"Nothing," I answered truthfully. "She usually just sleeps on my wrist."

Raven nodded in understanding at that and frowned.

"Then I can start teaching her during the day," She said.

"Thank you," I replied, though she dismissed it with a shake of her head.

"You're worried," She stated. "Is it truly that bad?"

"Potentially," I replied, because I had no real way of knowing. But if anything, it was probably worse then I feared. "Best we prepare ourselves as best we are able."

"You still need to tell me what else you found out," She reminded.

"Mm," I agreed, tilting my head back to like at the sky. "It's a pretty depressing story, truthfully."

"As a Huntress, most of the ones I end up hearing tend to be."

I smiled a bit at that.

"Fair enough," I allowed. "I suppose it's just that this is my depressing story—though it ends fairly badly for everyone, in the end."

She nodded once and didn't push, though she closed her eyes for a long moment.

"Will the world end if you don't tell me today?" She asked.

"Why risk it?" I answered seriously. "Besides, you deserve to know, especially with what's happening. Jericho Falls is even more important than before and our enemies are that much worse. I won't ask you to help me without telling you why this is all happening."

Raven gave me a smile that was at once wry and gentle.

"It's fairly rare that I hear things like that from someone in power," She replied.

I smiled at her and shrugged slightly.

"If it makes you feel better, I still plan to bring you with me to Jericho Falls," I reminded her. "If anything, we might need to move it up the schedule, depending on what Cinder's planning. Regardless, it seems reasonable to tell you ahead of time that we're liable to have a horrible time."

"Well," She mused. "You certainly know how to inspired confidence and enthusiasm."

I laughed quietly and nodded her way.

"I suppose I should pick up where we left off earlier," I said. "A long time ago, a group of scientist who called themselves 'Angels' captured and disassembled potentially billions of souls for raw material. With that mass of power, they did a great many things—most notably, in this case, the creation of me and my siblings. I was Keter, the First…and one of my brothers was Malkuth, the Last."

When I finished my story, Raven was silent. She'd returned to staring out over the city to keep from staring at me as I told her what we were up against. She understood the implications of Malkuth's power—to say nothing of his endless horde of Grimm—and what it probably meant for us, his enemies.

And from a purely logical standpoint, she was as terrified as I had been. We were up against a person who could twist the very rules of the world around us and even if we managed to face him, there was nothing stopping him from saying a word and sending the hordes of Grimm out to wash away Humanity. Hell, there was nothing stopping him from doing that in general. As far as we knew, we were only alive because he allowed it—because he needed us, needed me, for some task. Assuming he got that, or even if he didn't…

I'd just told Raven that everyone she'd left behind—that her brother, her daughter, and her ex-husband—would live or die based on our success and that at the moment, our chances weren't looking good. I could feel her thinking, trying to come up with counter-measures, strategies, or plans for what we were up against, and she seemed to be having about as much luck on that front as I was. Even now, I was just trying to get stronger in the hopes that a solution would present itself in due time, primarily because I didn't have any better options.

That was how bad things were and she probably knew it.

"You're brother sounds unpleasant," She whispered at last.

"I told you you'd hate him," I replied with a shrug.

She shook her head in irritation.

"How do we—" She began before cutting herself off and shutting her eyes for a moment. After a breath, she continued. "Where do we start? Jericho Falls?"

I nodded.

"Unfortunately…we don't have any other leads at the moment," I told her, sighing quietly. "As much as I wish otherwise, it seems we will have to take our chances."

She answered my nod with one of her own, the motion jerky. We both knew I was right, but we also knew that Jericho Falls had a reputation for chewing up legions of powerful Hunters and spitting out the bones—and I'd already told her that they'd been holding back when it came to the one person who'd ever survived it. Even so, she was trying to stay professional and think things through.

"We should start by observing the area," She said. "Most people go into Jericho Falls blind—"

Mainly because there weren't exactly a lot of survivors to tell people what they'd seen.

"—But with our powers, we should be able to analyze it from a safe distance," She finished, though I could feel hints of doubt. On some level, she was worried that they might notice us, despite the nature of our powers.

In fairness, a part of me was also worried about that, and for good reason; from everything I knew, Jericho Falls was home to some of the strongest Grimm around. If the computer they guarded was as valuable as I suspected, then I doubted even that was the worst of it—it's not as if anyone had ever made it all the way inside the place, after all. If there was a Rider there or something like Ziz…noticing that we were watching wasn't off the table. Even if they did, we probably escape, but there was no way to know how they might react. Depending on how Malkuth felt about us snooping around—or even withdrawing—wiping out a few cities wasn't off the table.

The issue with provoking someone you had no way of actually stopping was rather self-explanatory—you can't stop them. And this was something I knew was important. I had to handle it carefully.

Luckily, this was something that I did have a plan for. Sort of.

"Not just yet," I answered. "I'd like a bit more time to make preparations before touching Jericho Falls. It's too big of a risk to approach recklessly."

Raven was silent for a moment before nodding again, relaxing a bit as she did so.

"You have something in mind?" She asked.

"Indeed," I replied. "Though I'm still a shadow over my former self, my power has been growing quickly. I've been working on several things for precisely this purpose and believe I am nearing a breakthrough."

"What kind of breakthrough?"

"In this case, a sensory one," I said. "If nothing else, if we intend to gather information, waiting a while longer would present us with more options."

"Very well," She agreed after only a moment's thought. Though she wasn't one to shirk her duty, I could tell that she didn't feel too torn up about not having to leap into the jaws of death at precisely this moment. "How much longer do you believe it will take?"

"Not long," I assured. "A few more days—a week at most. Truthfully, I'd hoped to test it on Cinder when we officially meet, in the hopes of learning a bit more about what she has planned."

Though it had certainly taken long enough, a number of my sensory skills were approaching the point where they'd rank up and I was hopeful for the results. Every little bit helps when you're trying to gather information while flying blind, after all—and the timeframe I'd given Raven should be more than enough for what I had in mind.

"I see," She mused before nodding again. "Then by all means."

"Thank you," I replied, inclining my head her way.

She smiled at me once before flicking her gaze over the rest of our team and then over the city I was keeping us hidden from.

"If that is all, then, I shall take my leave," She said at last. "I'll return in a few days to take Autumn for training, once I've made proper arrangements."

"I appreciate it," I told her. "And also, should you hear any more news about Cinder…"

"I shall pass her answer onto you once I receive it," She promised. "Farewell Jian."

"Goodbye Raven," I replied, watching as she turned and disappeared into a portal. After a moment, even that had vanished.

I took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then sighed.

"Tough day?" Adam asked, walking up to me without looking up from his scroll.

I grunted at him, lowering myself to speak his native tongue, though he showed no sign of appreciating it or even showing interest in my reply.

Truthfully…I'd had worse days. In fact, upon reflection, it was rather startling how many worse days I'd had. Today hadn't even been particularly bad, relatively speaking—my daughter had resolved an issue I hadn't known existed until earlier today, I'd helped a friend, and I'd hopefully made progress against Cinder, though it was too early to say precisely how useful Torchwick might be. I'd even managed to tell Raven more of the truth about…everything. All told, today had been a pretty good day, so it wasn't that.

It had more to do with the last month. And the coming months. And whatever future awaited me beyond that, assuming that the world didn't decide to end at an inopportune time which, frankly, was quite possible.

"Tough life," I answered, stretching once and then cracking my neck.

"I hear that," Adam said, still not looking up. "I keep ending up having to spend time around this one asshole."

"Sorry, Adam," I replied. "I didn't mean to leave you alone. Come, bask in my greatness, you sad, pathetic being."

"Heh," He snorted, tapping the screen several more times to close the game he'd been playing before looking up at me. "I'd ask you what we were going to do now, but I assume it'll be the same thing we do every night—blow up cities and kill a lot of fucking monsters."

"That sounds nice," I said wistfully. "I could use a chance to relax. One second though."

I scanned the city from the roof top, double checking to make sure everything was as I'd left it. I found my sister's first, then my mother and grandmother together in the latter's house, and then checked on Cinder once I'd confirmed that there were no immediate threats to my loved ones. She was in Haven, as she had been when I left, which I considered to be a good thing. Then I checked on the friends I'd made in the school, just in case something had happened whilst I was gone.

But apparently, they'd all managed to survive without me. That was good.

Having completed my rounds, I nodded my head and smiled, drawing us all into the confines of Naraka with a fluctuation of power.

"Okay," I said. "Back to work everybody. Adam, you go do your thing. Gou, you go make sure said thing doesn't involve being stupid. Autumn, sweetie, are you feeling up for training yet?"

Autumn nodded once, turning her head towards me and walking my way. Within her cloak, I could see her body melting and solidifying between one step and the next, as if it were trying to decide on a new form—which, in all likelihood, it was. She tended to do that as she grew more powerful and learnt new things, so it wasn't that surprising to see her doing it after absorbing the rest of her soul.

I smiled at her gently, drowning the sound of Adam's muttered insults and complaints beneath the colossal weight of my own magnanimity.

"All clear the ground down below," I told her. "You try and follow me down on your own this time, okay?"

"Understood," Autumn answer, voice unchanging even as her body abruptly fell into a quicksilver puddle and began to reshape itself into something new. Nodding at her again, I crouched down slightly and then leapt backwards with enough force to shatter part of the roof and send me flying into the air.

And yet, for all the power I'd put into that jump, the moment I was off the building, my trajectory changed. All of a sudden, I was falling straight down, a faint white nimbus gathering around my hands and feet as I did so.

Yellow Road (Active) LV1 EXP: 14.25% MP: 300

The ability to change the direction of one's physical body solely through the use of one's Aura. By creating a 'pathway' with one's power, the user may cause their body to follow it without any loss of speed. Even shifting direction while in midair is possible, as is the creation of complex routes by using multiple, connected paths.

Change direction towards a specified point.

Additional 300 MP consumed per additional point.

Range: 10 meters.

As I approached the ground, I curled a hand into a fist and struck out just as I was about to hit it. For the briefest of moments, the ground rippled, waves spreading outwards from the point of impact until the strain grew too much for it to handle—and the street around me shattered, tossing Grimm to the ground and shattering their limbs.

Shockwave (Active) LV1 EXP: 7.14% MP: 100

A skill to create a wave of destructive force using one's physical strength. By gathering power within one's fist and unleashing it upon impact, the user's strength can be felt from beyond the reach of his physical body.

Target receives damage normally.

Everyone within 5 meters of the target receives 25% damage.

Everyone with 10 meters of the target receives 10% damage.

Damaged targets may be knocked down.

Range: 10.

I stood easily, brushed myself off as Autumn came skittering down the side of the building in the body of a massive wooden centipede, and smiled.