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.

Selection Screen

The trip up to Beacon was an uneventful one, all told. I mean, it was beautiful, I guess, but…well, I'd seen it all already, and from a rather more exciting viewpoint. While I was sure that new students must have found the cliffs, waterfalls, and high rising towers spectacular, there was nothing like getting up close and personal with said landmarks by flying towards then at high speeds to attempt a risky aerial maneuver and escape the pursuing aircrafts. Hitching a ride up on an aircraft with one of my dad's friends was rather boring compared to that, honestly.

But even so, when I landed and looked around, it struck me that this was my first time in Beacon itself—if you didn't count flying at, which I didn't. Just standing there, looking around, I was both amazed and…suddenly unsure. In some ways, it was like I'd imagined, with the massive, shining beacon that was its namesake rising about it all, but in others it seemed very…

Normal, I supposed, watching several students walked past. Well, not really normal, because they were training to become Hunters and some even carried their weapons, but despite the levels above their heads and the titles that made them stand out, they still seemed like regular students going to class. Which was because they were going to class, of course, but still. There was an air of routine and structure that just made me feel a little out of place. Looking around at the almost picturesque scene, I tried to imagine myself as a part of it and wasn't quite sure where I'd fit into it all. It was hard to picture myself just sleeping in and walking to class with my friends and maybe that was weird because that had been my life for years and years and years, but now I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it.

And not just because I didn't sleep, period. All that time wasted, lying in bed with your eyes shut—no thanks. I had better things to do with my nights. But how would I hide the fact that I stayed up around the clock and never stopped working? I didn't know how Beacon handled sleeping arrangements; would I have a roommate I'd have to sneak past? It seemed like a hassle, but maybe I could commute? I could swim across the lake and climb up the cliff every morning, no problem, but I wasn't sure that was allowed.

Beyond that, what would I do around campus? I knew students could choose their fields of study to an extent, but hadn't really considered what I'd want mine to be. Or rather, I wanted every field; it wasn't necessarily unrealistic for me, assuming I developed skills from the instruction—and if I did, I wouldn't care if I had classes every hour of every day with no free time, so long as I was learning stuff. But how long would I be learning stuff? So long as I could get a skill out of it, I could just grind it and grind it until it was strong enough for what I wanted. There wasn't a whole lot of point in courses, really, at least not for me, because if it was something they could really teach me, I should be able to master it in fairly short order. I could get most skills to level fifteen or twenty in a day if I tried; given a month, I could get them a lot higher than that.

And of course, if I didn't get a skill out of it, I could still just memorize the entire book in short order. That probably wouldn't give me a perfect understanding, but with some supplementary materials here, a chance to ask the teacher a few questions there…

I would happily spend all day in class so long as there was a point, but after a few weeks or at most a month, would there be? Or would it just be a huge waste of time? Granted, Beacon was a big school and must have taught a lot of different classes, but assuming it handled class times like a normal school, I'd be able to take at least seven courses a day, probably swapping courses throughout the week in a scheduled manner. Allowed time to train outside of class…that wasn't going to last me very long. Maybe it was a little arrogant of me, but I knew how far I'd come in less than four months and I was pretty certain I'd be one of, if not the, strongest freshmen, even while restraining some of my skills. With a chance to pick things up, I was confident I'd be the top of any class I cared about, too, even if it was something new to me.

Would people get jealous of me for that? It seemed pretty likely. I knew the fact that I picked up things so quickly would probably upset some people, but I…well, maybe it was mean of me, but I just didn't really care. I mean, I understood why it would make people feel bad and it was kind of unfair that I was able to get stronger so much faster than others just because of my Semblance—but I wasn't going to hold myself back if I had the chance to get stronger. I didn't see any point in rubbing stuff like that in or showing off, but thinking about it logically, there wasn't a lot of point in getting worked up over hypothetical teenage drama. If someone got mad because I beat their grade point average, it didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, did it? Compared to being able to face whatever horrible thing the living nightmare that was Remnant coughed up, who cared? It's just wasn't worth it to hold myself back.

There wasn't any point in stepping on toes needlessly either, of course, especially among future comrades, so I'd do my best not to—but in the end, everyone who came here did so to get stronger. Doing well on tests and proving my ability in practice exercises would just prove I was ready to go to the next level and let me grow faster; beyond stuff like that, though, there was no point in getting into fights or showing off.

And if someone wanted to punch me or something…honestly, whatever they threw at me, I'd probably taken worse on purpose in my training with Adam and my parents. Given a few more months to enhance that further and whatever skills I might develop in the meantime, I wasn't sure they'd be able to hurt me, even if they tried. If someone got really upset and punched me in the face, I wasn't sure it'd do enough to be worth starting anything over, unless they started interfering with my studies and training, so I'd probably just tell the teacher or something and walk away. There wasn't a point in getting into a fight over things that didn't really matter, was there? If they suddenly attacked me with weapons or something outside of a training exercise, that might be something else, but things shouldn't get that far over school stuff, right? They'd probably be stopped and expelled at least, if it was something serious. So I guess it would be fine to just leave and get a teacher there, too…

It sounded kind of lame, thinking about it like that, but it made sense. That was part of their job, after all. But really…a lot of people probably weren't going to like me a whole lot, huh? I'd probably end up sitting at the front of the class asking questions, but otherwise keeping mostly to myself. Yeah, I guess I'd probably be in the library a lot, too; whenever I wasn't in class or out training. So, really, things would be pretty much the same as they were now, I guess.

I wasn't sure how to feel about that—disappointed or reassured. Being surrounded by other Hunters, by my peers, would be…I don't know. I just…wasn't sure what difference it would make. I mean, I guess there was something to be said for socializing, but even beyond the fact that I couldn't imagine sitting in class for hours on end to learn nothing being remotely fun, it probably wouldn't yield many opportunities to get to know each other, either. And outside of class…well I just had so many interesting things to do—who could sit around and talk when they could be learning to shoot lasers that made things explode instead?

And eve beyond that, I wasn't really sure what to do or say anymore. I doubted I'd have a lot to talk about with most of the people I ran into, except for…

Wow. I guess I'd missed all the games that came out these last few months. And I hadn't seen any movies lately, either, or listened to any music beyond the ones my Elements made. Same with the sports stuff—besides the tournament, I guess. I suddenly wasn't sure what I'd talk about with people my own age, besides miscellaneous Hunter stuff. I trained and occasionally got in over my head on an enormous scale, but if I put all that stuff aside because I couldn't talk about it, there wasn't a lot left to discuss. I guess I could just memorize a book on a topic that someone was interested in, but…that wasn't really the same as being interested in it myself. Ever since I'd realized I had the ability to develop superpowers via training, everything else had just fallen to the wayside.

But…

I'd always wanted to go to Beacon, to one of the academy's that trained Hunters. It had been my dream for as long as I could remember, a goal I'd strived for since I was a child and wanted so badly I'd cry when I failed to live up to it—which had meant a lot of tears on my part, over the years. It…it was still my dream, even though it was starting to feel oddly painful. But standing here, knowing for a fact that it was all but in my grasp, I felt really unsure about it all and that was…

A strange feeling. And an uncomfortable one.

I sighed to myself and looked at the sky.

We'd just landed and already my good mood was in its death throes.

"What's with the long face, son?" My dad asked. "You catch a glance at what this place looks like under UV light?"

I made a face at him and then looked around out of curiosity, vision shifting. Then I made a bigger face at my smiling father.

"No," I answered seriously after a moment. "I just…think too much. It's nothing."

"If it's worth thinking that hard about, it can't be nothing," My dad frowned slightly. "What is it?"

"Just…thinking about the future," I said.

"Ah," He nodded. "I understand. I think about your future a lot, too."

"You do?" I asked, blinking at him. I wasn't sure why that surprised me; I'm sure a lot of people wondered about me.

"Of course," His smile widened. "You are my son, after all."

"Right," I said before hesitating for a moment. "Well…where do you think I'll end up?"

"I dunno," He said, before ruffling my hair. "But I guess it doesn't matter. You're my son, so you'll be amazing when you get there.

"Gee," I said, smiling again despite myself. "Thanks."

"No problem." He shrugged. "Over here."

My father nodded his head towards one of the buildings and led the way. I looked around as I followed after him, glancing from between the many buildings. Even for such a famous school, Beacon was big, with many towers growing high into the sky, but I tried to memorize all of it. My awareness spread outward from my body, through wires and pipes and open air, and I mentally mapped out all of the school that I saw. I wasn't particularly surprised when my father led us to the tower that was Beacon's namesake, either, though as I crossed over the threshold, something prickled my senses. Crocea Mors flowed quickly into the steel of the building and painted an image of moving gears and mechanisms that looked like…

I frowned for a moment, looking around. I actually had no idea what all the things going on in this place were doing, for all that it felt bizarrely familiar. I could feel a thousand clockwork pieces moving within the building, but a quick Observe didn't yield anything informative. Was it something so big I couldn't see enough to use Observe on it? From the feel of it, it went deep underground, maybe even…

The elevator opened, drawing me from my thoughts, though I made a note to ask Ozpin about it later.

Speaking of which…

"Hello Jack," The headmaster greeted, smiling slightly as the elevator reached the top floor and we entered his office. "And Jaune, of course. You said you needed to speak to me about something?"

"Two things, actually," My dad said. "The kid wanted to talk to you about some of what happened in Mistral, too, I guess."

"I see," Ozpin tilted his mug slightly our way. "And you, Jack?"

My father smiled widely.

"I want a bring my son to work day," He answered promptly. "I want to take him on a mission with me."

Ozpin quirked an eyebrow mildly at that.

"Ah, yes," He mused. "You did mention something like that a few weeks ago, didn't you?"

"Yeah, when we talked last," Dad nodded. "Anyway, Isabelle's been training him and he's gotten strong enough that I think he can handle himself."

Ozpin gave a slight smile and inclined his head at my father.

"Did you have anything in mind, Jack?"

"Eh, I was thinking we'd start small, what with this being his first mission and all," My father replied. "Get him into the swing of things without drawing suspicion; that sort of thing. He's a good healer and more than capable of taking care of himself; I was going to bring him along on a short away mission to heal villagers and stuff, first. Is that okay with you, Jaune?"

"Yeah, that's cool," I nodded, shrugging. I didn't mind healing people.

"He doesn't have a healer's license or anything, but I can vouch for his skill—and I doubt that any injured villagers would complain." My dad continued. "No one going against bringing a healer along for…well, anything, either, so getting that out there seemed like a good place to start. After that…well, we'll see, right?"

"Very well, Jack," Ozpin said easily, taking a sip from his mug. "I'll try to arrange something."

"Thanks, Oz; you're the best." My dad said. "I'll get you another World's Best Teacher mug as thanks."

I was surprisingly easy to break the rules at Beacon, I noted, smiling a little.

But…

"Can I talk to him alone now, Dad?" I asked.

He glanced at me and shrugged.

"I'll just go speak to some old friends, then," He said. "That okay, Oz?"

"Please," The headmaster made an allowing gesture. "Peter's teaching a class right now, however, and Glynda is—"

"Probably cleaning up someone's messes," He nodded, interrupting the older man. "You know, GG really doesn't get paid enough for what she puts up with, Oz. But then again, if she got paid that, it'd probably destabilize the economy or something, so I guess there's nothing for it. I'll be seeing you, Oz."

"Indeed," The headmaster replied, gesturing at my father idly with his mug. "Good luck, Jack."

My dad went over to the window, fiddled with something, and then leapt off the top of the tower with a wave. I waved goodbye to him as he fell, but Ozpin barely gave him a glance; I wondered if this happened often. I could see my dad riding the elevator up and jumping out of the tower, just for the fun of it. Maybe I'd ask later.

"Now then, Jaune," The headmaster looked at me, making me focus. "What is it that you wanted to discuss with me?"

I took a moment to choose my words before just shrugging to myself.

Best to be straightforward, I suspected.

"Well, you might already be aware," I began. "But I figure it's best to just come out and say it, anyway. The Kingdom's are running out of Dust, Professor Ozpin."

He looked at me impassively and then nodded once, showing no signs of surprise. I'd been pretty sure he'd been aware—and if he hadn't been told about it before I took Weiss' necklace, he probably would have gotten some hint of it during whatever investigation was being performed. If nothing else, the general of Atlas was one of his friends.

"I see," He said. "Yes, I figured as much; your mother said you'd found something. I take it you learned this from Ms. Schnee's pendant?"

"Yeah," I said and then paused. "Well, technically no. The pendant just gave a password that I used to hack into the Schnee Company servers after I…you know, the details really aren't important. Yes, I got it from her necklace, along with some other stuff."

"Dangerous information," He noted. "I trust you've been suitably cautious with it?"

"Yes, sir," I answered. "The only person who found out about it was the person who discovered it with me and she can be…well, she isn't going to release it to the masses, I'm sure of that much. My grandmother already knew, though."

Ozpin seemed to hold back a sigh at the mention of my grandmother, but nodded and motioned for me to continue.

"We discussed it a lot, which is actually why I'm here," I said. "Because while I was in Mistral, we also found something…else and Grandmother asked me to tell you about it and ask for your help."

Begrudgingly, I left out—though from his expression, I figured he'd caught it anyway.

"Then this must be serious indeed," He set his mug down and faced me fully. "What did you find, Jaune?"

I took a breath and considered him carefully.

"You're good at keeping secrets, right?" I asked, which actually made his lips twitch.

"I have something of a knack for it, actually," He replied.

"Cool," I said as I shoved us both into Naraka.

Ozpin paused, noticing the change the moment it occurred. With a growing frown, he rose from his chair and walked over to the massive office window before staring down at the now empty courtyard with a frown.

"It's called Naraka," I said. "It's a dimensional barrier, if that means anything to you—it separates everything within it from the normal world. And as long something's inside of it…it creates Grimm, sir. I can mess with the specifics, like which Grimm, but it'll create them endlessly as near as I can tell. But one of most interesting things about it is what learnt it from. It was written in Babel."

Ozpin watched in silence as Grimm slowly began to overrun the empty school. They stalked out of dark places, noses low to the ground as they began to hunt for their prey—us, namely.

"My power let me grasp the basics anyway—and it can do the same with other things written in Babel, too, though it's hard to get more than a rough grasp of the topic, most days. But I've been working on that and if…well, the implications…"

"Yes," Ozpin said quietly, still not facing me.

"My grandmother and I think that Babel might be the key to figuring out the true nature of the Grimm. At the very least, the people of Babel probably had a far greater understanding of the Grimm—and its possible that they were their source. And just look at the things they created, like this barrier! Before Naraka, I'd never seen anything like it," I said. "Have you?"

He was silent for a moment but then surprised me.

"Something similar to it, yes," He said. "Just once."

"Sir?" I blinked at him as he turned back to me at last—and then, with a snap of his fingers, made Naraka shatter, returning us to his office.

I just…stared at him for a moment.

"I suppose one secrets deserves another," He said to me, turning away from the window after watching the people who'd returned to the courtyard for a moment. "A long, long time ago, a group of Hunters found a series of ruins in the Shadowlands during what should have been a routine escort mission—Babel ruins, of course."

"And you were…" I trailed off

"I was not amongst them, no," He said. "In fact, all four members of the team vanished quite abruptly in that area—it was only weeks later that other Hunters were able to track the remains of their equipment to that location. Shortly after, a larger squad composed of three teams was mobilized to examine the ruins. They reported a great deal about the area, from the surprising amount of damage the Grimm had caused to the ruins to the equally strange concentration of powerful Grimm in that area. They observed the area extensively, making brief incursions and reporting back regularly. And then all communications abruptly ceased."

Ozpin paused for a moment to let that sink in before continuing.

"Because of the data they provided, however, the strange behavior of Grimm in that area had become immediately apparent. Coupled with…other irregularities, it was deduced that the Grimm seemed to view that location, for whatever reason, as valuable—and so an even larger team was gathered to find out why. Fourteen teams were gathered in all, my own amongst them, and were sent to seize the ruins equipped with everything they could carry."

He looked at me steadily and drew a slow breath, closing his eyes for a moment.

"I was the only survivor," He said.

I looked at him silently for a moment, not sure what to say to that. But…

"How?" I had to asked. "How did…? What…?"

How did they die? How did you survive? What was so important to the Grimm that they apparently organized to defend it? I wasn't even sure what I was trying to ask.

"I didn't fight my way out, sadly," He said, apparently deciding for me. "I'd found myself quite wounded early on, in fact, and was in no condition to even run—not that I think I would have gotten away had I tried, either. Instead, something strange happened. One moment, I'd been watching everyone die, but the next…they were all gone. Humans and Grimm alike vanished and I was alone in a world much like the one you just created…minus the Grimm, of course."

I perked up at that, despite the grim tale.

"Like Naraka but empty?" I has to ask, mind racing.

"No," Ozpin shook his head slowly. "There were no humans nor any Grimm nor any other life at all that I'd been able to find…but it wasn't quite empty."