The Games We Play

Chapter 94: Clarification

Chapter 94: Clarification

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.

Clarification

I watched the world turn, barren rock breaking down to sand and the growth of life covering it in a sea of green. The shapes and nature of what I was watching changed over what must have been an unspeakable amount of time, the species that covered the world shifting and changing over eons. Lifetimes could have fit into moments, but in time I saw what could only be the markings of mankind. Civilization grew in dizzying shapes, mining wonders from the earth in a thousand places as it grew from caves to gleaming towers that scratched the sky

But then, like all things, it came to an end. I didn't see how, didn't even see anything like people, but I saw this place of wonders come to an end. I realized after a moment that I was sitting comfortably in the palm of a stone giant, a creature who towered over all the mountains of the world and made cities shake with his footsteps. He walked without care for what was around him or beneath his feet, crushing steel towers like they were ants and moving on without a care, but even more than that, I saw the world around us crumbling. For a moment, I looked upon a place long lost to history, staring at their works, but then there was nothing but lonely, level sands, stretching into the distance.

Yet the giant continued to walk and I sat patiently in the palm of its colossal hand, watching as we continued on towards something in the distance, nations rising and falling around us like grass in the summer.

And then I woke up, seated upon a throne of blackened stone that had been positioned atop a raised pedestal. I did not recognize it, yet I knew at once that it was Ereb's design and felt him through the stone behind me and the earth beneath my feet. As they had been the last time I'd done this, my Elementals were waiting for me, this time positioned around me on podiums of their own, though they lacked thrones. Suryasta stood in a bonfire, broken tree limbs gathered at his feet, and Xihai was submerged in a still pool of water. Levant's place was barren, open to the wind, while Vulturnus and Crocea Mors stood together, the latter standing at the center of a complex metal circuit the former was racing through. Ereb, the creator of this all, was beneath me, mirroring me underground on a throne of his own.

None of them moved as I awoke, but we were one and I knew they were as aware of me as I was of them. Why they'd bothered with this, I didn't know and didn't bother asking, but

I took a breath and then exhaled, leaning back in my throne. I couldn't deny it made me feel pretty cool. I was naked and a bit dirty, but I corrected that quickly enough by using the nearby water to wash myself off and then accessing my inventory. As I reclined, however, I allowed my senses to expand and reached out to my house. I could feel Adam in the living room, watching TV again as he waited for me to return, but I shifted my attention passed him to the nearest clock. It was shortly after eight which meant it was time to get to workI had a busy day ahead of me, after all. I needed to speak to Adam about that train car full of Dust, collect the shipment Ozpin had promised me, swing by Juniors to keep my promise and make arrangements, head back to the Hospital to see my mother and continue healing the others, speak to Ozpin, arrange my house, probably look into Ruby's situationI had a lot to do, so I best get to it.

Rising, I looked around a bit and then down at myself. Taking a moment to activate all the skills that had turned off while I'd been sleeping, felt my Elementals fade to a less visible state, following just a step behind me as I headed back to my house so as to not keep my friend waiting.

"Hey," Adam said from the couch as I entered the house a few seconds later. He had a bowl of cereal nearby that he was eating pretty lazily, feet up on the table in front of him.

"Hey," I greeted brightly, not bothering to pretend I needed to eat anything. "Sleep well?"The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

He grunted sullenly, probably feeling the effects of the night before. I felt just fine, of course, and I made sure he was aware of that as I moved to sit on the other end of the couch.

"Anything about Junior's club?" I asked, glancing over the news.

"No."

"I'm gonna head back there in a bit," I said, happy to make conversation with my hung-over friend. "Still need to heal his men and help clean up the place. Think I need to worry about anything?"

"Maybe."

I nodded in acceptance. I knew that, of course, which is why I'd be wary. With what I'd done to chase of Yang, she might have told her father or uncle something. If anything she'd said had made them suspicious, well, someone might be keeping an eye on the club. Thankfully, that wasn't an issue for me, since I could just jog past the club as Jaune Arc, scope the area out thoroughly, and then return as Jian Bing if everything was safeor even just step inside using Naraka. I needed to go into town anyway, so it wouldn't be any trouble either way.

"I'll just have to be careful then," I said cheerfully, putting my own feet up. "Hey, you want to come, too? You can watch my back and maybe we can get a few drinks out of the deal. I mean, we barely got to drink anything last night."

He turned to stare at me for a moment and then gave me a disgusted looking sneer and turning back to the TV.

"Son of a bitch," He said, but he couldn't put much vehemence into it. "You're not even hung-over, are you?"

"Nope," I drew out, smiling widely. "I feel fine. You?"

"Go fuck yourself, Jaune." He replied.

I laughed and punched his shoulder, holding back enough to just jostle him slightly. As I did, I healed him once, which seemed to take the edge off of the discomfort and he exhaled slowly.

"When do you have to leave?" I asked when his expression began to express a little less hatred for all life.

"Whenever, really," He answered. "I can waste a few days if I want to, though, since I just finished a mission."

'If I need anything' went without saying.

"Thanks," I said. "For everything. ButI really do think I'll be okay."

He nodded, excepting the words and then tossing me a piece of paper.

"That's the address for the Dust," He answered as he stood. "They're expecting Jian Bing, so just swing by in your other suit. If you need anything, Tukson or Raven can reach me."

"Got it," I said, memorizing the address and password. "I'll be in town today, so I'll pick it up. If something comes of this whole moving business, I'll tell you how to reach me, butwell, you have my number."

"I do," He said, putting the mostly empty cereal bowl on the floor for Gou to lap up and then walking away. As he was about to open the door, he looked over his shoulder and met my eyes. "Good luck, Jaune."

"You, too," I nodded. "See you around, Adam."

"I was," I said. "Not for the very last part, butwe got to say our goodbyes. I got to hear his last words, to say what I wanted to say knowing what would happen."

"He must have been happy," She mused. "Knowing he wasn't alone. Knowing he was loved to the very endand that his children would live on. I think he would have been pleased with that. I take it he died well, then?"

I exhaled slowly looking up at the ceiling. I remembered my father's body on its knees, form twitched into a monstrous puppet. I remembered my blade coming down, his head rolling away, my father's body dying.

But I also remember what had happened before that. Of our last meeting in his soul, of fighting and defeating Conquest, a monster who had destroyed countless lives and then of facing his master. I hadn't seen the fighting, but I remembered that my father had fought, against odds we both knew would be hopeless.

"Yes," I said, quietly after a minute, looking back down at her with a slight nod. "Yeah, he did."

She nodded once in acceptance, an air of finality to the gesture as if that matter had been settled for all time and there was no room for argument.

"And those responsible?" She asked. She didn't specify and she didn't need to.

"I settled things with one of them," I said. "The other is a work in progress, but I'll catch up to him eventually."

"We always do," She said. She smiled at me and oddly, I found myself smiling back. "And you, Jaune?"

I hummed once to myself, considering.

"Doing better," I mused. "Maybe even doing well. I spoke with some people, kept busy, that type of thing. And nowI'll be okay in time."

She nodded again and there was that same air of acceptance to it, as if it must be true if I had said it. She didn't question me or doubt my words, though she probably would have listened had I needed her to.

"I spoke to the medics already, but I trust your opinion more," She moved on, appearing to consider that settled for now. "When is your mother expected to recover?"

That is, 'when would I be able to heal her?'

"Soon, hopefully," I answered. "I'll be focusing on my healing abilities for the time being. If no results are apparent, I may have to look into alternatives, but I'll get the job done one way or another. General Ironwood has a robotic arm if I'm not mistake, so it's certainly possible. If I have to, I'll speak to Ozpin about it and see what I can do about making arrangements. Whatever happens, I'll find a wayfor the mean time, though, I'll be hard at work in the hospitals, I think. As for what'll happen once she's back on her feet, I think you'd know better than I would, but I suppose it depends on the therapists."

"Yes," She said. "I will speak with her about that upon my arrival. There are no other problems?"

"Shouldn't be," I shook my head. "I gave her some preliminary healing yesterday and made other arrangements for her. I'll set have to go back and renew them later to make sure everything's still going okay, but she should be doing pretty well, considering."

"That is very fortunate," She smiled. "I'll leave that to you, then. You will be fine alone for a few days?"

"I've got plenty of money," I shrugged, giving her a smile I knew she'd understand. "And it's not as though I need much to get by, either."

"Marvelous," I heard her tap something with a finger off screen and tilted my head to the side. "Now then, that's just about everything. The rest of our business can wait until my arrival, I think"

That gave me pause. I made sure not to react in any way, but I focused closely on her face, scanning it as well as the hologram would allow. Without seeing her in person, I couldn't be sure, but she seemed to be my grandmotherwhich meant

"Will that all then, Grandmother?" I asked politely, tilting my head to the side.

She met my eyes and though her smile didn't change in any way, it seemed abruptly toothy, like a wolf baring its fangs.

Just for a moment, but it wasn't something I'd miss and it confirmed what I suspected.

"Nothing worth the mentioning," She said. "I'll see you soon, Jaune?"

"Yes, Grandmother," I answered, remaining still until she hung up and then sighing quietly. "Raven, huh"

We'd avoided the topics of Raven, Jian Bing, and Babel, completely, of course; we'd long since agreed not to discuss any important matters over our scrolls. Unlike me, my grandmother had no way of truly knowing if Raven was watching her at any given time, which made anything but face to face communications dangerously unsecure. I had to protect my identity as Jian Bing, after all, which wouldn't last very long if Raven saw my Grandmother talking to me about things I wasn't supposed to know about. I'm sure my grandmother wanted to ask about the mission that had crippled her daughter and killed her son-in-law, but she wouldn't ask about it over our scrolls.

So that we didn't talk about that wasn't so odd. That she mentioned the obvious by saying we'd talk about it later, however, wasas were her parting words.

I wondered if Raven was actually upset with me over Yang. It was possible, I suppose, but I really had been extremely gentle with her, all things considered. Given who I wasor, at least, who my reputation said I wasRaven would undoubtedly realize I'd held back for her sake, so I really couldn't see her as being too mad. She couldn't really expect me to do nothing if her daughter got involved, right?

Perhaps I was thinking about it the wrong way, then? Perhaps she wasn't angry, but merely wanted to set up ground rules or request I handle things in a specific fashion should it come up again. That would be ideal, really. Or maybe she was looking for me for completely different reasons that would undoubtedly draw me into trouble in the near futureor hell, maybe she just wanted to know what I needed a train car of Dust for. Thankful as I was for Adam's gift, I'd probably want an answer or two on that front, were I in her shoes.

Whatever the case, it all boiled down to the same thing. I added 'speak to Raven' to my already busy schedule, glanced at the clock, and stood up to face the day with only a slight sigh.

There was no rest for the wicked, after allso I suppose this is what I get for having the gall to sleep twice in as many days.