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.

Tasks

I decided to head towards Junior's club first. I'd left both his club and his men in a rather sorry state last night when I'd promised to help them, but—well, other things had just taken priority. Still, I felt bad about it and I liked to think I was the type of guy who kept his promises where possible.

Beyond that, Junior's club was also the place I was most likely to be met with opposition. If Yang had told her family what had happened—or if Raven really was upset that I'd punched her daughter out of a building—the proverbial scene of the crime was where I was most likely to find out. And if someone was waiting for me, well, I'd rather find out now than later. Hell, if nothing else, it might give me a chance to Observe them and possible learn more about Summer and Ruby; a long shot, perhaps, but it wasn't like I had any other sources to tap.

That in mind, I jogged through to city and let my senses spread as I approached my destination. For obvious reasons, Junior's club had been closed, but there were still a fair number of people inside, cleaning up or working on repairs , as well as other's deeper in the building, where the nightclub's design gave way to neatly organized offices. Airflows and electrical currents led me to a room—first basement, the door at the end of the hall—that housed a single figure working at a computer. From the displacement he left in the air and the fluids within his body, I was fairly certain he was Junior, but there was no point in being careless. Retracing my steps a bit, I pulled my senses back through the locked door and noted the presence of two similar shapes in the third room on the right, watching TV on a large couch. Gauging their figures as well left me pretty sure they were the girl's from before, Melanie and Miltiades Malachite.

Since it seemed unlikely that Junior would be without his bodyguards so soon after an unknown attacked his club, it seemed safe to assume he was, in fact, the man on the computer.

Returning my focus to my actual body, I then scoped out the area around the club. Glancing over every location that had a vantage point to the club, I reached through windows and doors to see if anyone seemed to have an eye on it. There were a pair of police officers in the coffee house down the street, but since their car was parked outside the club itself, I assumed they were just taking a break. It was hard to tell beyond that, since we were in a fairly busy part of town, but no one seemed to be obviously watching the building. Checking the rooftops as well showed no one, either. That was either good news or bad news, because it implied that there was either no one watching or that there were, but they were professional enough not to stand out.

Well, it's not like I hadn't intended to be cautious. Continuing my jog without missing a beat, I took a few turns to find a secluded place and confirmed there was no one watching before slipping into Naraka and changing into my other suit. Returning to the club, I walked in through the front door and followed the path I'd scouted earlier, kicking down any doors that got in the way for the sake of expediency. When I came at last to Junior's office, I considered doing the same before materializing inside—but no, that would have been rude. Instead, I emerged in front of it and knocked politely.

Inside, Junior raised his head to look at the door and frowned. I felt a flash of confusion, suspicion, even a trace of fear, before he lifted his voice.

"Come in," He said loud enough for the girls in the room behind me to hear and I felt them react as well, but paid it no heed. Putting my hand on the doorknob, I confirmed it was locked with a touch and opened it anyway—stuff like that doesn't really matter to people with Metal Elementals. Giving it a nudge to make it swing open, I stood in the doorway for a moment to let him look at me and didn't move. The girls appeared in the hallway behind me and stopped, glancing back at the locked door at the top of the stairs to the open door to Junior's office. I felt the sudden tension in them all and gave them a moment to realize I wasn't going to attack them before speaking.

"Hei Xiong," I said at last. "I apologize for departing so rudely last night; something came up that had to be dealt with immediately."

He looked at me for a moment before glancing past me to give the girl's a nod. Slowly, but not without relief, they both relaxed—but didn't leave. It didn't really matter.

"The girl?" He asked.

I shook my head slightly.

"Something else," I answered, but offered no details. "I drove her off without meaningful injury. I cannot promise she will not appear in the future, but the matter is settled for now. Your men?"

"In the hospital," He said. "After seeing you heal Oakridge last night, I wanted to hold them here, but by the time the authorities arrived, it was out of my hands. I don't suppose…?"

"It will not be a problem," I stated. I'd heal them later—not as Jaune Arc, of course, but it wouldn't be very hard for me to pay them a visit in the hospital, especially since I'd be there all day. A few barriers here, a bit of speed there, and it wouldn't be a problem. "I would have fixed the damages above, but as it is your business, I felt it would be best to ask you first, due to the insurance aspect of things."

"It will not be a problem," He echoed. Whether that meant that he wouldn't have any problems collecting the insurance money or that he just didn't consider it worth the cost of being out of business for days or weeks, I wasn't sure, but hell, it was his place.

"Then shall I?" I asked, leaning casually against the doorframe.

"If it's not too much trouble, please." He replied, gesturing slightly.

I closed my eyes and took a slow breath, focusing on the invisible Elementals gathered around me. First, Ereb and Levant. I felt the two of them come to the forefront of my mind as if stepping forward, the images of them as vivid as if I were looking at them with my eyes. After a moment, the vision blurred and distorted, Levant fading as Ereb began to crumble to dust in my thoughts. In moments, there was nothing but a pile of sand remaining—and then it began to rise. Grains swirled upwards, gathering into a course looking skeleton followed by a shifting, particulate musculature that at last smoothed into tanned, androgynous features. The new Sand Elemental tilted its head and the resulting cascade of granular earth smoothed into shoulder-length hair mid-fall. As it formed, I felt my awareness expand, enveloping something new—but dismissed it, drawing Suryasta to mind next.

Sand met fire and disappeared into the flames. What appeared in its steed was another new figure, perhaps a bit closer to the masculine side of the spectrum, though it was rather hard to tell. It was composed entirely of thousands and thousands of colored shards of glass, which seemed to grow outwards from its heart. The center of its chest was a literal work of art, stain glass exploding outwards in beautiful designs, but it's face and limbs were more patchwork, made of hundreds of carefully arranged pieces of glass to make something at once humanlike and very not. His skin looked smooth, as did its hair, but with the riot of colors it definitely stood out.

Also, he had wings made of literal broken glass, so. That was a thing.

Still, the moment he appeared, all the glass in my vast range appeared brightly in my thoughts. With the damage having been done late last night and it only being early morning now, most of the debris were still here, if gathered into piles, and that gave me plenty to work with, which I immediately started doing. Bringing up the memory of how Junior's club had looked before, I set my Glass Elemental to work and my mental image of him spread its wings and rose swiftly into the air. I sent Crocea Mors following after moments later, to handle everything else, and considered the matter addressed.

"Done," I said, feeling the glass begin to move above us. Pushing off the doorframe, I gave Junior a nod and then turned away.

"What, that's it?" Junior asked before he could stop himself and then immediately backpedaled. "I mean, uh…"

"Your club is being fixed as we speak," I interrupted, stopping in place. "I will attend to your men later."

Junior paused before tapping several keys on his computer and staring at the screen. I felt surprise, awe, fear—

"How the hell…" Junior whispered before looking back at me. "What, did you just will it back into shape?"

That was a bit of an oversimplification, but…

"In a word," I answered. "Yes. Is that all?"

"You're…" Junior paused for a moment to reconsider the question and possibly a fair number of other life choices before continuing anyway. "You're Jian Bing, aren't you?"

I looked back at him and smiled slightly.

"That goes without saying," I said. "As does the fact that you should not use that name lightly."

He nodded quickly and I turned my head back to the front. Feeling my Elementals finishing up their work above, I took a step and vanished into Naraka.

Unity (Passive) LV1 EXP: 3.49%

An ability given to those who have surpassed all limits and seen the truth, glimpsing the light from which all things come and return. By grasping this truth, however slightly, the user has obtained a true connection to the world around them by understanding even that which is above the minds ability to comprehend. Through this hidden knowledge, Elementals may be combined into even more complicated forms and the user may draw upon the Element of Light.

Allows for the use of the Element of Light through the combination of various Elements. Also allows for up to three basic Elementals to be combined into the form of an Advanced Elemental. Elemental Affinities are equal to the average of all component Affinities.

Grants resistance to Elemental Attacks. Resistance to a specific Element is equal to the average resistance to all component Elements.

25% less MP used for all Elemental abilities.

50% increase to the effectiveness of all Elemental abilities.

Picking up the Dust proved to be a simple matter. Shortly after I left Junior's I received a message from a store named 'From Dust Till Dawn,' telling me my order had been prepared and I swung by. Ozpin had already paid for it, it seemed, so all I'd really needed to do was confirm my identity—as Jaune Arc, of course—and sign for it. That done, I slipped into Naraka to change again and went to the address Adam had given me, bypassing all the doors to appear inside, startling a few people in the process. It had been pretty much the same thing, however, if with a few more passwords and masks. Still, they hadn't really questioned me about my intentions or anything, so it was simple enough to get what I wanted.

It would be a lie to say I didn't appreciate the clout being Jian Bing gave me or the number of doors my presence alone could open. Even when it came to getting something as large as a literal train car full of Dust, all it had taken was a word from Adam and a quickly appearance and I was on my way. I emptied the neatly arranged boxes—each marked with the symbol of the Schnee Dust Company, of course—and stored the contents in my Inventory before using Crocea Mors to melt the car and boxes alike down into more…inconspicuous forms, to help with their later disposal. No one questioned me about where the Dust had gone, why I needed it, or what I was planning next, which was fine by me; I thanked them for looking over it for me and then left.

My dwindling Dust supplies restored, I got to my main order of business and went to the hospital.

"Are you Jaune Arc?" The lady at the front desk—a woman named Acer Sharab—asked as I entered, making my raise an eyebrow.

"I am," I nodded, palming my ID absently to show it to her. Acer typed a few words at her computer before opening a drawer in the side of her desk. Shifting several papers to the side, she drew out a manila folder and held it out to me. I opened it and read the front page quickly before understanding. Basically, there were several forms I needed to fill out before I could work in the hospital as a sort of guest or volunteer healer. It involved listing everyone I healed, when, and of what, as well as a number of waivers that essentially put all the responsibility on me if anything went wrong—still, from the looks of it, it didn't seem like the type of thing that was handed out lightly. There were a few mentions of certifications and tests, but most of them had already been signed by Ozpin.

It seemed I wasn't the only one that had been making use of his reputation.

Plucking a pen from the counter, I signed my name where indicated before handing it back to the woman, who looked it over once before nodding and shifting the papers to another pile.

"Scroll, please," She asked and I hesitated for a moment before giving it to her. She swept it across a scanner and then types a few things on her computer to finish the registration process, before handing it back to me. "There you go. It's good to have you here, Mr. Arc; you're in the system. Just scan your scroll when you need to and you should be good to go, so feel free to get started whenever you want."

I took it and clipped it at my belt before giving her a nod, scratching my chin. From the sound of her voice, she seemed to think I was some medical prodigy brought in by Ozpin—which I supposed was true, but probably not how she imagined. Well, whatever got the job done.

"Professor Ozpin said he was going to speak to the Director about the use of my barriers," I said after a moment. "Is it okay to set them up, then?"

She tilted her head to the side, blinking slightly before shrugging a shoulder.

"Dr. Paean said to let you work, so I suppose so—as long as it doesn't interfere with the rest of the hospital, of course."

"It won't," I promised, setting up a Temple there and then, restricting its size to this one room. "I'm very careful."

"Then I wish you luck," She said, tone becoming a bit distracted as her computer pinged. I saw an alert pop onto the screen in the reflection of her glasses, a message from an incoming ambulance. Giving her a nod after a moment, I left her to her work and got back to my own.

First things first, then. Since Ozpin had gotten me permission to do so, I might as well run wild. If it was just Temples, then the cost to set them up wasn't all that meaningful; a few hundred or thousand MP was nothing to me anymore, especially not when it was paid over the course of an hour. As it was, I could regenerate the entire cost in a fraction of a minute, so setting up multiple barriers wasn't an issue anymore. Since I got experience from the process and I wanted to improve my healing anyway, I plotted out a schedule in my head, timing the barriers such that the cost never got too severe despite setting up a couple hundred. Setting it up so that the individual barriers covered only a room or two wasn't an issue, either, but by the time I was finished, pretty much the entirety of the hospital was covered.

With that many barriers and the bonus to experience I'd gotten from my Wisdom skills, that should level it up rather quickly. My barrier techniques were amongst the slowest to improve, but this should smooth things along nicely. That done, I returned to my starting point and went on another round through the hospital, this time stopping by to heal the patients individually and to cast Regeneration on them. As the largest hospital in Vale, it had well over a thousand beds, but relatively few were occupied at the moment, it didn't take me very long per patient, and my healing skills were high enough to deal with most things pretty easily. While status effects weren't necessarily covered by my Soulforge, illnesses and injuries were, and I could fix most of those with a touch. Even with the relatively steady influx of patients that a major hospital faced, I healed everyone I could in less than an hour, even after stopping to wait beside the beds of my sleeping friends and filling out all the information that was required of me. Even futzing with the numbers to arrange something with Junior's men didn't take me long.

In time, however, I was left with nothing to do but return to the front desk and take a seat in the waiting area to…well, wait. Specifically, to wait for the arrival of more injured people that I could heal, having run out of those I was capable of fixing. There were a few I hadn't been able to fix out of hand, mainly the particularly extreme cases, but I assumed I'd have to work my way up to healing those, just like I would need to in order to learn how to regrow lost limbs. Though I was pleased to be able to help so many people, if it was just a few hundred patients, I wouldn't be able to increase my healing skills very easily; I'd probably need to have my Elementals attack me again later, so that I could heal myself and get better results. Even if I'd reduced the number of wounded to a comparative handful of intensive care patients, I wasn't satisfied with being unable to heal everyone.

Well, even if I wasn't content, it was enough for me to get some odd looks from Acer at my early return—and for those looks to turn to something like awe as she checked the many reports that flooded her computer. I'd met most of the actual doctors as I made my rounds and they'd largely reacted with an odd mixture of gratitude, disbelief, amazement, and abject confusion, but as I'd largely left them without much to do, most of them had filed into the lunch or break rooms to waste time. Dr. Paean, the man Ozpin had spoken of, and stopped by to watch me several times, his disbelief fading into something closer to curiosity and contemplation.

Even he had left suddenly once I'd reached the end of my list, though, which had left Acer and I as pretty much the only ones doing anything. Even then, it was more that when the odd patient or emergency rolled in, Acer took their information and I healed them on the spot before releasing them back into the world again. Honestly, it got to the point where Acer joked that we could have installed a revolving door. Personally, I was a little concerned with the knowledge that the news would inevitably catch on to what I was doing and lay proverbial siege to the hospital and my private life—but, well, that might bring more patients flocking in, so…

Well, I guess I'd talk to Ozpin about it when he finally showed up. He probably had more experience at dealing with that kind of thing, anyway. He seemed to be taking his time arriving, but he was probably just busy, especially in light of recent events. It was just that hospital waiting rooms weren't the most interesting of places, especially when you aren't waiting on anyone in the hospital.

Despite that, I waited patiently until noon came and the Headmaster made his appearance, leaving periodically to renew the Regenerations I'd cast on the patients. I sensed him coming, but avoided listening in on his conversation out of respect—though I noted that the man he was speaking to was Dr. Paean, who'd left at some point for 'lunch.' As such, it seemed safe to assume that they were talking about me.

"But Ozpin—" The Director said as they reached the hospital doors, sounding frustrated.

"Enough," Ozpin stopped him with a word, eyes turning calmly to me. "Hello, Jaune. I apologize for keeping you waiting—a rather large number of things came up."

"It's fine," I said, standing and nodding to the Director. "Did you have a nice lunch, Dr. Paean?"

"Could have been better," He snorted. "Ended up having to listen to a bunch of stupid, stubborn old men prattle on about some stupid shit or other."

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee to hide a smile while I nodded as if I understood.

"Paean tells we you've become familiar with the hospital, Jaune," The headmaster said conversationally. "Would you mind escorting me again?"

"Of course not, sir," I shook my head. "Same as last time, sir?"

"Please," He answered. "We'll continue our discussion later, Paean. Ms. Sharab, excuse me, but I must steal your new friend for a time."

"I guess it's for the best," Acer sighed. "I'm pretty sure half the staff is about ready to just call it a day and go home. I should tell them to go do…something."

"I shall leave you to it, then," Ozpin answered. "Let's go, Jaune. We've a few things to discuss, I suppose."