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.

Call

I kept a close eye on its trunk as I made my approach, gauging its movements carefully. I knew about the dangers it posed, of course; I'd grown up listening to stories about a thousand different Hunts from my parents, hearing of major battles and confrontations. The Goliaths were threatening even to combatants of their level and fights with them were accordingly rare—but they'd happened before. During and after the Faunus Rights Revolution when tensions had run so very high…during the fall of Mountain Glenn…It was rare for the Goliaths and the Greater Creatures of Grimm to attack, but when they did, it tended to end tragically. My parents had been a part of the group sent to try and protect Mountain Glenn and though they'd failed in the end, they'd fought and killed one such monster in the process.

They didn't talk about it much, at least not to me. There wasn't much about Mountain Glenn that was fit to tell small children, prospective Hunters or not. Worse, it had been a long time ago, when my parents were still in their twenties—fresh Hunters with just the beginnings of a true reputation. Powerful, of course, some of the best in their class even—but a far cry from the professional heroes they'd become with a few more decades of experience. Thrown against those things just a few years after graduation, facing the endless horde that had fallen upon Mountain Glenn…

Well, there was a reason no one really spoke of Vale's failed expansion. It went bad fast and got nothing but worse as it went on. They didn't say much, but thinking back, I felt sure that at least some of the thousands that died in that tragedy must have been people they'd known. What bits of the tale did get passed down to my sisters and I had probably been edited a fair bit in regards to the number of innocent people who'd been trampled to death and the Hunters left broken.

But there were several things my parents had always been clear on—they never lied to use about the capabilities of the Grimm. Never. They'd censor a fair bit to spare us what nightmares they could, but then describe in horrific detail exactly what a Deathstalker's poison could do to a man or the horrors contained within the Pandora Shells. I got the feeling they knew the dangers of false information and drew the line when it came to the monsters that we might one day fight.

So I knew what I was up against, in a general sense. I hadn't expected it to hit quite that fast—or that hard—but I couldn't say I was surprised by it, really. From a creature strong enough to make teams of Hunters wary, it probably was to be expected, honestly; if it was just big, it'd be no true threat. I should have just let the tossing of its head throw me away instead of stopping myself with Levant, but that was live and learn, I suppose.

And I had lived. I'd risked it because of Hugo and Enzo's precognition, but I'd survived an attack from a monster more than fifty levels above me. Two attacks, really, each one of its main weapons—something full-blown Hunters would have wary of. With Adamant Serpent's Skin stacking with Physical Endurance and my Aura Techniques…I'd come a long way if even a direct hit from something like this wasn't enough to instantly take me down. As long as I avoided getting wrapped up in another series of blows…rather than trying to stand against the hit, I should probably just let them smack me away and keep on moving, without letting it out of my sight, at least until I could get into position.

I nodded to myself decisively as I closed in, my clear sight tracking it. Yes, as long as I could track it with my Clairvoyance, I should be able to avoid the nastier surprises. So to start with…

I hit the ground just short of it, changing my course to evade another lash of its trunk. I fell to earth on all fours and immediately Lunged for its face. I saw its mouth open, swirling shades of light gathering between its teeth, and spun in midair, Levant pulling the wind around me to shift my course. What came from its mouth wasn't fire, as such—my father had always described it as some deadly, invisible heat attack, but I could see it, now that I wasn't blinded by being its focus. The Goliath didn't just breathe heat; it fired a rush of energy from infrared to ultraviolet, and maybe even a small amount of even higher radiation. The swirl of colors between its teeth were nothing more than some of that energy spilling out as random visible light, little more than a side effect.

Once fired, an attack like that would be too fast for even me to dodge, but as long as I could see it coming…

I planted my feet upside down on a sheet of solid air, Lunging down. The wave of radiation passed above me a moment later, though enough spilt over to make my skin glow and leaving me feeling momentarily sunburnt. The damage was minute, however, and I leapt from invisible platform to invisible platform to rush underneath its enormous belly before Lunging up to sink my claws in the dark flesh. I clawed to find a hold until Levant could focus the air around me to allow me to stand upside down on its belly, and then began to try and tear at it with Bai Hu's techniques.

The Goliath's armor-like hide blunted most of the damage, but I kept at it, dozens and then hundreds of attacks in a matter of seconds, clawing steadily at its skin. I felt the Goliath rumble, a deep basso sound that shook me like a small earth quake, and I immediately had Levant push me flush against its belly, pretty sure I knew what was coming next.

Its truck curled under its belly like a grasping hand, but I'd been sure to position myself outside its reach. It twitched a few times, almost as if sniffing for me—but I braced myself, knowing it wasn't. Sure enough, the trunk sprayed me with a dark, viscous fluid a moment later, hosing the underside of its belly with enough force that I had to hunch my shoulders to keep my place. The fluid stuck to its skin like mud, clinging to whatever flesh it struck.

The moment it touched me, however, there was a rather different reaction. It hissed and spat at the contact, steam rising all around me as it began to boil. It was an acid, of sorts; one that my dad had described liquefying crowds of civilians in seconds and leaving even some Hunters with brutal scars. It frothed and tried to eat at my adamant skin, noxious fumes rising from it, but I closed my eyes and mouth and continued my work on its stomach.

It stomped its feet, trunk releasing a sound that was almost annoyed in its pitch. More visibly, the pounding of its feet cracked the earth beneath it, shattering it in ways beyond the limits of even its mighty strength until a field of fissures extended hundreds of meters in every direction, pits yawning open wide far beneath me.

But that mighty attack didn't even reach me. Its main weapons were its trunk, mouth, and feet. I could avoid its feet, at least, by staying high above the ground, ignoring its shockwave and earth-based attacks thereby. Its breath weapon, perhaps its strongest form of attack, was limited by the shape and structure of its head and neck. So long as I stayed on its belly and out of the physical reach of its trunk, the only weapon it had was its acid snot which, while disgusting, dealt a relatively small amount of damage, if persistently. Its tail could serve as a weapon if absolutely needed, but I evaded even that from here. So long as I remained on its belly or back, it would seem I was out of its reach.

Of course, in reality, if the Goliaths had a weak point this glaring, they'd have long since been hunted down. I could maybe understand why not everyone would want to jump down a Nevermore's throat, efficient as it might be, but this? This was something else. Not every Hunter could withstand this acid like I could, but enough could that if this was an effective tactic, people would have used it by now. In my parent's stories, they hadn't even seemed to consider the possibility, so what was it that made Hunter's wary?

After several seconds of me ripping into vulnerable patches of flesh, the Goliath had enough. Its trunk curled again, spewing another acidic layer onto me, its chest, and then its front legs. I held on again, briefly pausing in my assault to cling tight to its chest once more, but it didn't even bother focusing on me this time, paying more attention to coating its forelimbs. Then, opening its mouth, it awkwardly raised one leg.

Its entire underside was on fire a moment later, spreading almost instantly from its raised limb to its belly—which really didn't seem to both the Goliath all that much, because it just put its foot back down and turned its heat breath upon the ground below it, slagging solid stone in moments. As for me, the flames rose around me in an instant, hot enough to make my skin glow like a sword from a forge, but I grit my teeth and called to Suryasta wordlessly, who snuffed out the flames in my immediate vicinity. He then had to focus to keep the Goliath's snot from reigniting, but if it was just this—

I moved, senses warning me a few seconds before I saw what the Grimm was doing. Steadily slagging rock flowed into the broken crevices its stops had made and it stepped back to further melt that as well. In moments, what had been a grassy plain moments before looked more like the basin of an active volcano. As soon as the burning lake had finished forming, and without the slightest hint of hesitation, the Goliath climbed in, wading through the magma before crouching in it like…

Well, like an elephant taking a bath. As if to add to that, it almost mockingly dipped its trunk into the molten rock before raising it high over its head to spew it over its back. Ejecting more of that black fluid as well, it was soon completely aflame, a state it reclined in comfortably. I, meanwhile, had to rush to keep from being dunked into the lava beneath it, beating a quick retreat to the edge of the monster's bath as it relaxed. It made no sign of pursuing me or even noticing my presence any longer, staring into the distance.

What an asshole, I thought, a tad annoyed as it continued to throw lava onto its shoulders and sink deeper into the pit. But fine, if it wanted to be like that, it was better for me, I suppose. If it was going to be stupid enough to just give me another opening, then I'd happily take it. First, I'd—

Its truck swung absently in my general direction, unleashing a black wave of fluid that I had to leap over. It didn't seem like it was even trying to hit me with it, honestly, for it merely lifted its trunk and trumpeted loudly when it missed. I landed a bit closer to the edge of the pit, crouching to prepare another attack. My fingers curled, Aura gathering around my like an invisible shroud as I prepared to Lunge for its golden eye.

A hand stopped me, curling around my ankle. I lashed out at the sudden, unexpected contact, breaking the grip to dance away a step, but my senses warning me and I spun in place and jumped high again, looking for my sudden assailants.

What I saw was a field of writhing black, spreading swiftly from where the Goliath had thrown it. It crept along the swiftly dying grass until it reached the edge of a tree which began sinking as if the ground beneath it had been replaced by quicksand. The creeping black fluid continued to shift, almost leaping in place as it began to boil. A moment later, amorphous shapes began to rise from it, stretching out their limbs as they swiftly began to gain definition, structure.

Black bodies and white masks.

The Grimm. Rising from the pitch the Goliath had spewed.

The same substance I was covered in.

As if in response to that, a hand clawed at my face.

I raised my hand to shield my eyes reflexively, even as limbs began to sprout from me like branches. Wholly independent from any type of body, they reached out, grasping and tangling with my limbs to try and restrict my range of motion. For a moment, they succeeded, growing in such numbers that I was nearly bound within a cocoon of dark flesh—but then I called to my Elementals. Suryasta appeared beside me, manifesting in a physical form as he grabbed one of the offending limbs, the touch of his fingers forcing black flesh to burn and melt. He tore limbs off like that even as I struggled within, twisting awkwardly to grab ahold of whatever I could and exert enough for to tear limbs loose. In seconds, we tore away maybe two dozen arms.

It still kept us busy long enough for the rising tide of Grimm to fall on us. Trees around us fell, sinking into the growing pool of black fluid even as creatures began to rise. Ursa, Beowolves, Nevermore, and other beasts shook themselves free of the stuff as if it were the opening of a pit rather than laying atop the ground. Dozens at first, but then more, until a horde larger than the one that had assailed the White Fang stood around me, obvious to my senses even as my vision was obstructed.

"—Annoying," I snarled, Vulturnus and Levant taking shape as well, even as Suryasta's flames grew. Whatever property of the creeping liquid allowed it to both catch and withstand the Goliath's flames, it didn't seem to extend to the spawning Grimm, since they burnt nicely.

On the other hand, that wasn't enough to keep them from attacking. That they had to charge through a wall of flames to reach me simply meant they reached me while on fire—a state of being that didn't seem to bother them as much as I might have hoped. Vulturnus kept the horde at bay whilst I was preoccupied, crocked forks of light leaping between opponents to the sound of sizzling flesh and cracking bone. For a moment I stood within a jagged, fluctuating circuit of light that tore through all in its path, leaving me free to deal with the increasing tide of limbs sprouting from my own body.

Then, at last, I felt water bead upon my skin as Levant and the hidden Xihai gathered moisture from the surroundings. As the first drop of water touched my skin, the flow hastened until a shimmering puddle formed on my chest, protrusions rising into the shape of fingers and then hands. As Xihai found more and more water to place under her control, it slipped over me, clawing hard at my skin in a mirror to my own actions. I felt the slime peel away, forcibly pulled off by liquid razor edges. Soon, I knelt in my own personal sphere of cleansing water, heated by Suryasta until it boiled and frothed.

It left me feeling squeaky clean.

Freed from the busying annoyance, I leapt at the created Grimm, gestures knocking loose heads and limbs as I carefully floated above the black tide. The birth of the monsters slowed as I dismembers and decapitated, coming to halt as I exterminated the annoying crowd, cutting them down like grass in the summer. I whirled towards their creator, lips pulling away from teeth as I did, and—

Paused, taking in the sight before me. While the land-bound Grimm, from the Ursa to the Creeps, had harried me to make an annoyance of themselves, an unkindness of Nevermore had flocked to the Goliath and perched on its mighty shoulders. They paused for a moment, eyes upon me, and then shook once in perfect unison before collapsing into the fluid from which they'd been made.

Except…

Above its head, the Goliath's HP bar returned to full, erasing what little progress I'd made.

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Dick," I titled it, though it continued to ignore me dismissively. My gaze rose upwards to the ship floating above its head, keen eyes glimpsing the people held within—but though both my grandmother and Cynosarges looked on with interest in their eyes, neither moved to interfere.

I could guess why. Despite being Humanity's greatest enemy, very little was known of the Creatures of Grimm. It was generally accepted that they had some way of making more of themselves quickly—few other theories held water, given their population—but their origins…for millennia we'd had to speculate without finding any answers. While the possibility that they were born from the same negativity they were so drawn to had been raised many times, even in times of peace and prosperity they swarmed in numbers far beyond anyone capability to deal with. If we assumed an intelligent, external force was responsible for their creation then even beyond the question of 'why?', it didn't add up—if they were a result of a malicious mind, it would have to be both immortal and…if not stupid then at least apathetic towards the apparent sole drive of its creations. After all, if such a person truly wished to end Humanity, it would be as simple as mobilizing enough of the monsters. There were countless theories and just as many reasons they didn't work.

And yet, at the same time…it was undeniable that the Grimm—whatever they were, wherever they came from—were too well designed to be truly natural. Countless species built for different tasks and yet who could nonetheless work together at the drop of a hat…strategic actions such as how they buried the complex Pandora Shells to claim territory…how they could grow and learn and become more dangerous threats…However much most explanations didn't seem to fit, there must have been one, a reason for their actions. They'd preyed upon Mankind since long before recorded human history, but from the very beginning…

This was an opportunity, then. However accepted it was that the Grimm could reproduce—in whatever sense of the term applied—actually seeing it…

This was a goldmine of information, I knew. Just what little we had just witnessed was as invaluable as it was terrifying. If the Goliaths could produce such a large quantity of Grimm on demand, it explained a great deal about their behavior, of how they quietly stalked the outskirts of civilization and waited. Further, what it implied…could other Grimm do such a thing? What were its limits? At the very least, we hadn't been overrun so there must have been something stopping them, if only sadistic whim. And that the fluid the Nevermore had turned into had healed the Goliath…what were they made of?

It was amazing, terrifying, and, most of all, very, very worrying. That it was showing us this while looking bored…the Grimm had played things close to the chest for millennia. I mean, I guess it was always possible that some ancient nation had figured it all out and then somehow been destroyed anyway, but still, for us…

There was no reason for it to reveal these things and yet it had. It had ventured away from the herd alone, had waited for me to attack, and now showed me all these tricks…if it was a 'you won't live to tell the tale' situation it might have been a bit more understandable, but…

"What are you planning…?" I whispered, watching the Grimm as it continued to face away from me. If I hadn't known something was up from the beginning, I'd have been sure now. It was almost as if…

My grandmother signaled me to keep fighting, probably having checked if it was safe with Hugo and Enzo and now wishing to see what else would happen, what else this strange Grimm could reveal. It would have been a lie to say I didn't feel the same way to some extent, and yet I…I had my doubts.

But in the end, I obeyed, as curious as I was wary.

Throwing my head back, I roared, letting loose with the sound for the first time in months with no fear of who might hear. Birds fled to the skies at the sound, panicked cries filling the forest as the wave of noise washed over it—but all the Goliath gave of noticing the sound was a faint twitch of an ear as it lazed about in lava. I leapt over the flaming pit, steel fist pounding into the might creatures face with enough force to make it rock slightly in placed. I rose over it, taking in the rising heat as I landed on the Goliath's back.

Smaller Grimm began to rise from the black fluid caked to its hide immediately, but I grabbed a Beowolf by the arm, used the whole of its body to sweep an Ursa into the flames below, and then broke it on the bony plates of a Boarbatusk. The boar-like Grimm brushed off the impact and then began to roll quickly towards me in its strange manner. I sidestepped at the last minute and reached out to guide its direction with my gauntleted hands, sending it over the side. A pair of Creeps rose next, followed by a quartet of Nevermore, but I punched each and every single one in the face hard enough to make their heads explode.

I wasn't in the mood to play around with these small fry, so I didn't. I tore them to pieces, sometimes literally, and swept the remains into the fires below. Then, once I was alone but for my Elementals, I returned my attention to the great beast beneath my feet. My hands came down—as fists, as claws—with force enough to sway the gigantic beast, as if a giant were pressing down upon it. I hit it again and again and again, beating a steady rhythm with thunderous blows, my Elementals doing what they could to add without drawing too much of my power away. Against Pyrrha, I'd let Levant and Suryasta run wild without thought for efficiency, simply enjoying the game, but here…I couldn't waste my MP on such wasteful displays. I made them focus their assaults, making each hit count.

The Goliath didn't even bother feigning interest. After a minute of steady pounding, I'd whittled away maybe five percent of its health—pretty good against something at least fifty levels above me and far faster then I'd have managed at range, but…it didn't seem bothered in the slightest by the attacks, dismissing them as completely unimportant. And I suppose they were, if it could restore its health, too, even if it wasn't bothering to do so now. And yet, the way it was acting…for it to behave this way, I couldn't help but wonder if…

But I kept attacking anyway, unsure of what to do but to continue to slowly whittle away its health. But as another minute of steady pounding slowly passed, it raised its trunk and trumpeted sharply. The sound was louder this time by far, echoing as my roar had before it—so loud I had to pause for a moment as I actually felt the sound, from my bones to my brain. In its wake, the forest was silent for a moment, up until it was broken by the reply.

A familiar shriek made me look up, eyes widening as I saw dark shapes take flight in the distance—a trio of Giant Nevermore rising into the air. They flew towards us instantly, eyes focused on me the moment they turned my way.

Right, I thought. Of course; the stronger creatures of Grimm could command the lesser ones—everyone knew that. I…hadn't expected this, but given that, I suppose it wasn't that surprising. First it had created Grimm to fight me; what was summoning allies compared to that? I wasn't scared. If it was just a Giant Nevermore, or even three Giant Nevermore, it wasn't something for me to be scared of.

Yet again I hesitated, looking down.

"Do you…" I muttered. "Are you trying to make me stronger…? What are you up to, you damn monster?"

I didn't receive a reply, not that I expected one—but the thought felt right, now that I spoke it aloud. The Goliath couldn't have been sending enemies my way in an attempt to kill me—it couldn't have expected its minions to be enough before and I doubted it believed these Giant Nevermore would fare better. More than that, it didn't seem bothered in the slightest when they failed and died or when I continued my attack. What it was doing now…what was it thinking? What did it know that I didn't? Did it want me to…?

…I had no idea what was happening, but I didn't like it. I considered running away; to flee rather than go along with whatever the Grimm might be planning. But on the other hand…if I left it alone and never found out…would it be better if I never knew what it was doing? Or would that just…

"Damn it," I growled as the Nevermore drew near, leaping into the sky. The Goliath didn't so much as raise its head, continuing to in the lava pit.

Waiting.