The Games We Play

DISCLAIMER: This story is NOT MINE IN ANY WAY. That honor has gone to the beautiful bastard Ryugii. This has been pulled from his Spacebattle publishment. Anyway on with the show...errr read.

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."

XxXxX

"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."