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.

Family Time

"Hm," Grandmother mused as she looked up from the work on her desk, frowning as I appeared before her. "Somehow, I thought I'd be seeing you soon, Jaune."

I nodded at her, taking a seat as I looked her over carefully. When I thought about it, it hadn't been very long since we'd seen each other face to face—at least, not very long in normal time. Within the bounds of my Accelerated perspective, it had been significantly longer.

Either way, a lot of things had changed since the last time we met.

The Wolves That Hunt the Moon and Sun

LV 164

Jeanne Roma

"It's good to see you again, Grandmother," I replied. "Sadly, it's most business."

Grandmother narrowed her eyes at me speculatively.

"I suppose that can't be helped, under the circumstances," She said at last, closing several windows on her holographic screen before giving me her full attention. "So it's time, then?"

"It is," I said with a nod before explaining the basics—Cinder's official strategy, some of my observations and speculations on the subject, that sort of thing. I'd sent her a fair number of emails over the past few weeks to keep her abreast of the situation should it suddenly deteriorate, so it wasn't difficult; I was most just filling in the gaps and bringing her roughly up to speed on the subject of Cinder.

By the time I was done, my grandmother was frowning as she considered my words. I could tell that she was worried, but also trying to figure out how to best use this information to her advantage.

"The Vytal Festival," She whispered to herself, sighing slightly. "I supposed that's not unexpected. But…to think we underestimated her to such an extent…it's quite fortunate we didn't attempt any of our earlier plans for dealing with her."

"Mm," I agreed. "Observation was definitely the right choice—we'd have regretted trying anything else. Hopefully briefly."

"Indeed," She said. "You did well to talk yourself out of that situation and withdraw Jaune. You did even better by making the allies you did. Despite the potential threats they pose, a great many things will be simplified by Ozpin's and Ironwood's aid."

"I hope so," I replied. "But even with everything stacked in our favor, I'm wary of approaching her directly—as was Ozpin. She's moving carefully at the moment, but that doesn't mean she couldn't go through us as easily as around. We'll need to handle her with care."

"If nothing else, it is someone gladdening to know she will soon be in Vale," Grandmother continued. "If nothing else, the odds will be most against her while she's at Beacon. Ozpin's school is a fortress and there are few who would dare challenge him there."

"Plus, you'll be a continent away from ground zero when the bomb finally goes off," I remarked. "Not gonna lie, I kind of envy that—I'm pretty sure I'll be standing right under it, myself."

"Battle, as with business, is all about location, location, location," Grandmother replied, expression serene. After a moment, however, her smile vanished. "Although, actually, I'd considered coming to watch you in the tournament, along with your mother and sisters."

I looked back at her for a long moment, holding her gaze—and then smiled.

"You might want to take a vacation somewhere sunny, instead," I told her. "I went across the Sea of Monsters, recently—the other side is pretty gorgeous. The Grimm have a tendency to ruin the view, but it's still a nice place, and it might be a safer place to live than Vale, if things go particularly wrong."

"Jaune," She began, but I cut her off.

"I know," I said, smile dwindling but not fading completely. "And I appreciate it, really. But, you know…things are going to get a lot worse before they even have a chance of getting better. Odds are, everyone involved has a pretty good chance of dying when things finally get serious and the Grimm start playing hardball. I know it's the type of situation where I really need all the help I can get, but…"

I shrugged a shoulder and kept smiling.

"I'll make do somehow, I guess," I said. "Even if it's a possibility, I don't have any intention of getting myself killed, so I don't want any of you to think of heroic sacrifices either. You're the one who told me I had to stay alive, right?"

"I told you to pick your battles," She corrected firmly. "And not to risk your left pointlessly or for nothing. In Remnant, there are as many ways to die as there are stars in the sky and most of those deaths amount to nothing. If you're going to die, then you should at least make sure your death makes a difference—the world isn't so kind as to guarantee you success just because you put your line on the line. If you're going to get yourself killed doing something, make sure it's worth it and at least do it right. Life is full of enough regrets and misfortunes without dying pathetically, too."

"I know," I answered. "I've got a lot of things to do before I die, after all—and if it turns out I am going to die soon, there are a few guys I at least have to drag down to hell with me. Until then…I'll manage. Trust me, I'm not above running away from danger. But with the stakes as they are, I can't back down."

"Saving the world is a fairly good reason to risk one's life, as these things go," She noted. "Assuming you can pull it off, of course."

"I have a few things in mind," I replied. "That's part of why I wanted to talk to you today. But I admit it's still a work in progress—that's why I'm still here, after all, and not kicking their asses."

She nodded once at that.

"I'm glad," She said. "When you first told me about what you'd done, I was worried about you—and for you. Risking your life over so many things, getting tied up in growing danger when you could have avoided it. It wasn't the presence of danger that bothered me, but why you faced it."

"For my friends?" I asked, even though I knew that wasn't why. I was fairly sure I knew where she was going with this. Sadly, I wasn't entirely sure she was wrong.

She squinted at me for a moment.

"Was that why you did it?" She asked me. "Truly. I admit, I never had a normal childhood and the friends I made were every bit as odd as I was, but unless I'm mistaken, there are ways to support one's friends without stealing airships, aiding terrorist organizations, and snubbing powerful businesses and militaries."

I smiled a bit at that and shrugged.

"I suppose that's true," I said. "Though I have some fairly odd friends."

"Granted," She allowed. "But that wasn't the healthiest of behaviors, especially for a Hunter. Being willing to die for the people one cares about is fine—so long as it's also necessary. I told you before that lives are precious and should be treasured and valued, and when you die, you also leave people behind. If you're going to give your life for something, make sure to sell it highly."

I tilted my head slightly, watching here.

"What would you sell it for?" I asked her after a moment. "If you had to?"

She shrugged slightly.

"I can't say I ever considered giving my life to save the world," She admitted. "In my experience, it usually doesn't work out like that—and truly, the world has never really been something I could grasp. If I were fighting to the death and the world was on the line, I would most likely keep fighting for some of the people within it, because if I died, I wouldn't be thinking of millions of people as I did so. I'd think of your mother. Your sisters. You. My family and the Family. I can't value everything in this world."

"Yeah," I said, chuckling slightly. "I suppose not. But I don't think that's bad, per se. Everyone has their own reasons for fighting, when you get down to it."

"And what's your reason, Jaune?" She asked. "Before, you said it was because you had to. Has that it changed?"

"A bit," I replied. "I do still feel obligated to stop Malkuth and the Grimm, because of the part I played in all this. Then there's a big chunk of me that just knows it's him or me. And, I admit, another part of me just hates the bastard and wants him dead. But the rest…I guess my reason is a lot like yours. I don't want to see people hurt if I can help it and I want to protect them, but if we're talking about who I'm fighting for now, it's the people I knew and know. My family, my friends, my team. I don't want to forget that I'm my father's son and I want to make a world for Autumn where she doesn't have to deal with any of this. I want to come back with my team when all this is over and just laugh about things for a while. It's complicated."

"Life's complicated," Grandmother said. "So anything worth dying for should be a little complicated, too."

She took a deep breath and shook her head slightly.

"My offer stands," She said. "There's still quite some time before the tournament and…whatever happens, I'll at least protect my family. Truthfully, dying to protect one of my grandchildren would be a vastly more dignified death than I'd ever expected to have."

"I'll keep that in mind," I replied. "And to be honest, there's a reason I didn't say no. I want to keep my family safe, but…"

I shrugged.

"Remnant," I finished, as if that explained everything.

Which it kind of did.

If I was being honest with myself—which I at least tried to be, most of the time—I knew that putting my family on the other side of the world wouldn't necessarily keep them safe. My enemies were powerful enough and numerous enough that they could strike at the ones I loves anywhere in the world. Even if I kept them as far away from me as possible, there was no way to be sure that would be enough.

In a way, it might be safe to keep them close. If they did come to Vale with me, I could keep a watch over them and make sure nothing was going on. The only problem with that is that it would increase the high chance of them being attacked to a near certainty, once things truly began—I didn't believe for a millionth of a second that Malkuth wouldn't take advantage of the fact that so many of the people I loved were in one place, and if he got his way that would mean their horrific deaths if they were lucky. If they weren't…

Well, Malkuth had probably had time to come up with ideas, since Babel fell. I wasn't certain I wanted any glimpses into that demented psyche, though.

On the other hand, being certain might have been better then not knowing—or at least being able to know quickly. It was unlikely that Malkuth wouldn't target my family at all, especially after getting my father; it was only a question of who and where and how. I knew myself well enough to know that I'd worry about it constantly, wondering which ones he'd want to pick off and if I'd be able to stop it. If I'd even know it was happening before they were dead and gone in so horrible attack.

But at the same time, Malkuth was the type of sick fuck that would probably enjoy making me watch them die, helpless to stop it. He knew 'me' well enough to know that he couldn't break me—not with the Gamer's Mind or the nature of Keter. He couldn't make me snap or anything like that. But he also knew I wasn't immune to pain, even if I could endure it endlessly, and unlike physical wounds, the pain of loss wasn't something that could vanish in an instant. As I was now, it was the closest anyone could get to permanently wounding me.

Especially because I'd never forget it.

Truthfully, I wasn't sure what to do. I always hated it in the comics when the superhero refuses to reveal his identity to his loved ones to keep them safe—because how the hell did it actually keep them safe? If they knew the truth, wouldn't they be safer? They could call for help and the hero could come to their rescue, flying in or running to their side at superspeed or whatever. That's why I'd told my family who I was, at least, so that they'd know they could call me for help. With Raven, there was even a pretty good chance I could make it to them in time—and because of what I'd told and shown them, they had the option to reach out. I wasn't sure they'd take that option, granted, because if Ziz or Crom Cruach or whatever other horrific nightmare Malkuth unleashed appeared, they might refuse to ask me to save them because they were afraid I'd die trying.

Sadly, that would be quite possible. In the end, my biggest issue with keeping my family safe was that if Malkuth or the Grimm did go after me seriously, I wasn't sure I had any way to stop them. Usually, comic book heroes were at least somewhat balanced against their enemies, but I was both horrifically outnumbered and outgunned. If I left them as they were, scattered throughout the Kingdoms, I might not be able to react fast enough to save them if something happened. If I kept them close at hand, however, then when something happened—and it would—I simple wouldn't have the strength to protect them.

Not as I was now, at least.

And that pissed me off. At this time spent getting stronger and I still didn't have the power I needed to keep what I loved safe. I needed to grow stronger, strong enough to protect them and defeat my enemies, but how was I going to make it in time? Even with my trump cards and secrets and the Arcana at my disposal, I knew I couldn't beat him as I was now. And he'd hardly wait until I was strong enough to make this a fair fight, either. Truthfully, a good part of my desire to invade Jericho Falls was the simple fact that I was…hopeful. I had to believe there was a chance to win this stacked game, that I'd found a way and might be able to make it a reality even though all the cards were in his favor. He was stronger, more experienced, and had significantly more allies than I did, but there had to be a way.

There had to be something or else what was holding him back? Even if it was just an outline, something I had to build off of or finish, that'd be enough for me.

There were things I just couldn't let him take away from me.

I closed my eyes for a moment and then exhaled.

"I'll think about it, I think," I said at last. "In the meantime, there are several things I wanted to speak to you about. The first is quite simple—I need you to help me make arrangements to head to Vale early."

Grandmother blinked mildly at that and then twitched a shoulder in a tiny shrug.

"Okay," She replied. "Why?"

"It's a bit of a long story," I answered. "I'll send you a full report of it later, but I don't want to bore you with the details. The short version is that a student at Haven decided to go on ahead and took a ship to Vale and now everyone else wants to follow him there. Kyanos and his teammates are probably speaking to their families about it right now, in fact, for reasons that vary from being able to get a good look at the competition to being able to skip classes, and I was asked to speak to you. To be honest, it doesn't make any difference to me one way or another when we get to Vale or how—but as it happens, I could use an alibi. I need people to think they know where I am without having any way to actually confirm it."

Grandmother nodded slightly at that, as if that were a perfectly normal, everyday request—and given the business she was in, this actually probably wasn't that uncommon for her.

"I take it that by people, you mean Cinder," She said.

"Yes," I nodded. "And she's on to me, which makes things fairly difficult, which is why we can't just arrange some meeting somewhere and be done with it. Leaving her unwatched is risky, but I'm fairly certain she won't act overtly at this stage, so we have some wiggle room—and she's bound to be a little suspicious anyway. But it's important that she doesn't get a good idea of what I'm up to. If it's an airship, I could leave in midflight and then return before landing without giving anything away, and it should be hard for her to monitor me from such a distance. And conveniently, it wasn't my idea; I'll have to thank Sun for this opportunity when we get to Vale."

She nodded absently, frowning to herself.

"How long do you need?" She asked as if mentally flipping through a catalog of diversions and escape plans. "It's definitely possible to arrange—if, say, I were to fly to Vale with my grandson, it would only be natural for me to bring my guards with me. As it happens, I have one or two that have Semblances that might be of assistance in this regard; I chose my attendants for usefulness rather than combat power. Moros, for instance, is very good at making things seem incredibly dull and uninteresting, a skill I've found quite valuable on a number of occasions. He should be able to veil an airship from suspicion so long as no one looks too closely, the only issue is that your window of opportunity might be limited by the short trip. Alas, my personal transportation was not designed with scenic views in mind."

"Eh," I said with a shrug. "Anywhere worth seeing is probably full of things that want to kill you, anyway."

"That was my thought, yes," She agreed. "Assuming we want to be certain we won't be noticed, you may need to act fast."

"Don't worry about it," I replied. "One way or another, it won't take me long. I'm planning to visit Jericho Falls."