Clarification

The Games We Play

Clarification

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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 work—I 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 situation…I 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?"

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 safe—or 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. But…I 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, but…well, 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 watched the door close behind him and then I turned off the news, waiting for Gou to finish his snack before taking it to the sink. Making a note to do the dishes later, I turned around and leaned against the counter with a sigh, alone in the house. Glancing at the clock, I pulled up my Map and plotted out which route to take as I put together my schedule. Travel times weren't an issue, but I had to make allowances for the amount of time that talking to people was going to take out of my day—still, it wasn't a problem. Tapping the places I'd need to go, I put down markers and caused colored lines to appear as a result.

Multitasking, I opened my status screen and began browsing a bit with my other hand, pondering over what appeared. In the aftermath of both the Conquest fight and first waking up, there had been a fair number of things that had fallen down my list of priorities, but I had a few minutes to waste now. Scanning over the icons indicating my new skills, I decided to start with the ones I'd gotten from defeating Conquest.

Trespasser (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%

The ability to forcibly enter or exit a standing barrier. By carefully applying one's Aura, the user can slide through barriers that would normally keep him out or, at higher levels, destroy the barrier completely. MP cost is dependent on the power of the barrier in question.

Currently, only low level barriers can be bypassed this way.

Pausing, I pondered that for a moment and frowned to myself. Though situational, I couldn't deny that it was a skill that would be useful to me—so much so that it was suspicious. The ability to enter or exit a barrier…was this what Ozpin had used in those ruins or something else? Either way, it was rather convenient, wasn't it? Eventually, he and I would return to those ruins in the hope of entering that barrier again—and this seemed to be exactly what we needed to do it.

It would have been foolish to believe it was a coincidence. I mean, it made sense that I'd get this reward—it was similar to an ability that Conquest himself had used, after all. Just like when I'd gotten Naraka from a Monster capable of making Grimm, it made sense. But was that the point? Both the Goliath and Conquest had been sent at me, after all—it only made sense to be suspicious. Their father had claimed to know me and had been keeping tabs on me for a while, so could he be responsible for this? Could he be controlling what my own Semblance granted me?

Or was I thinking about this the wrong way. There was more to this story than him, after all—I played a role, even if I wasn't entirely sure what it was. The interest he'd taken in me, the way he'd seemed to know me, the fact that he'd called me 'old friend'…somehow we were related.

But how? It went without saying that as far as I knew, I'd never met him before in my life, which left me with only a few possibilities. One, that he was a lying liar who was telling lies, which was probably true at least in part. I mean, he was definitely a murderer and a monster, so trusting everything he said seemed like it would be unwise—but could I afford to just dismiss him, either? No; he obviously knew a lot more about this than I did, whatever came out of his mouth, and he obviously wanted me to do something. Even if he was lying to me, there was a point to his actions and a purpose behind them I needed to uncover. So I put that possibility aside and moved onto the second; that I'd somehow met him and forgotten it. That seemed…unlikely, however; he didn't seem like the type of person one forgot.

Then I was left with the third possibility, which was at once the most obvious explanation and rather concerning if true. He, whoever he was, was obviously old. If he was truly the father of the Grimm and had been involved with Babel's destruction, then he was millennia old, at the very least. And if I assumed that he was telling, at least in part, the truth, then if we were 'old friends'…then, well, what qualified as an old friend for someone of that age? I'd have had to have met him a long time ago. A long, long time ago. As in, probably before I was even alive.

Which meant I had to consider the possibility of reincarnation being involved.

It wasn't that hard to believe, in fairness. The simple fact of the matter was that we knew souls existed, but no one knew how they truly worked or what happened to them after death. The most popular theories had always been that there was either some kind of afterlife or that souls reincarnated after death, with a somewhat less popular theory being that there was nothing after death and we simply ceased to exist. Given those options, the idea that I might be the reincarnation of someone else wasn't completely ridiculous—the very aria for awakening Auras mentioned being unbound by death, after all. So…yeah, I could acknowledge it as an option. Really, it was intriguing, if anything; that I might be evidence of the cycle of death and rebirth raised thousands of questions that were just begging for answers.

And yet, that was the problem as well. There were countless questions, but there weren't any answers for me to find. Who had I been? How had I died? How was it related to that man and the Grimm? There was no way of knowing and it just raised more questions. If that man and I were 'old friends,' which from his tone I took to mean enemies, and then what did that mean for me? I didn't remember any past life I might have had, which wasn't surprising either, since a common feature of 'reincarnation' was losing all of that stuff. But if I was different physically and kept nothing mentally, that basically meant I was a completely different person in every way. Did it matter that I was a reincarnation if nothing remained?

Or did something remain? My mind and body might have been different, but reincarnation referred to the soul…I'd dismissed it long ago, but my Semblance had awakened before I'd even activated my Aura. I'd told my dad about it and he'd seemed surprised—and why wouldn't he be? After all, a Semblance was supposed to be a personal expression of one's Aura. It was something gained through training and effort, but I'd gotten it before I'd done anything else. It was one of the many things I'd just accepted about this power of mine, but I'd effectively started running before even learning to walk.

It was a minor impossibility compared to everything else my power had proven to do, but it was important because it was the first impossibility. Could this be an answer? I'd wondered so many times about the countless oddities of my power—was this why? Then, could this be the answer to other things, too? These things that seemed to be leading me somewhere, to Babel and those ruins…what if it wasn't that asshole doing it? What if it was me? Or whatever remained of who I'd been, at least. But if so, how? Why? What made me different from everyone else?

And then, the biggest—and oddest—question: Could I trust myself? After all, it seemed I barely knew me.

I smiled for a moment but then sighed, for no answers seemed forthcoming from my empty kitchen.

Perhaps it was just as well that that was when someone decided to call my scroll.

I reached into my Inventory, plucking my scroll out of the air with a slight frown, snapping it open quickly to see who was calling. There was a pretty short list of people who had my number and, well…maybe it was because I myself seemed nearly incapable of calling people to give them good news, but I was immediately on guard. Seeing my grandmother's face staring back from the ID screen at once relieved those worries and increased them greatly. Still, she was probably calling, at least in part, to check up on me, so I answered.

"Hello, Grandmother," I said as her face filled the screen. On the off chance she was near anyone that might be watching, I made sure to wait until the third ring instead of answering instantly—it was one of those little things that people probably wouldn't notice unless attention was specifically drawn to it, but still, no point in being careless.

"Jaune," She answered, eyes flicking over me quickly. I could practically hear her thought processes—I'd answered the phone and appeared fine. Between that and what she knew of my ability, I'd probably suffered no meaningful injuries, for a rather broad definition of 'meaningful.' I don't recall the last time she'd been too my house, but I wouldn't have been surprised if she saw the cabinets behind me and realized I was at home, as well. When she slowly blinked after a moment, I could practically hear filing cabinets rustling in her mind as she nodded slightly and sorted the information away. After that moment's pause, she nodded slightly and tilted her head to look at me. "I heard what happened from Ozpin."

The way she said the words made it abundantly clear that she didn't believe for a second that she'd gotten the truth, or at least not the whole truth, but I nodded without giving comment.

"You'll be here soon, then?" I asked.

"Yes," She answered, watching me closely. "I will arrive in a matter of days. I've already spoken to your sisters, in fact, and did my best to coordinate things on that end; I've tried calling your mother, as well, but it appears that she is still resting."

"Ah," I said, rubbing my neck slightly. "Yes, I couldn't speak to her yesterday, either. Still, there's no need to worry; I'll have the house prepared by the time you arrive."

She nodded slowly, frowning slightly, and then surprised me a little.

"Your father was a good man," She said. "Though we had our disagreements, I've always thought that—or else I would never have let your mother marry him. Whatever his faults, he was a strong man and, even more impressively, he was a good man."

After a moment the surprise faded. My grandmother, true to her nature, had cut straight to the point and spoken of my father without dancing around the issue. It was very…her, enough so that it made me smile.

"Yes," I answered.

"You were with him, in the end?" She continued unflinchingly where others probably would have faltered, meeting my gaze calmly.

I thought of the battle in his soul and the words we'd exchanged. I had to close my eyes for a moment before nodding, it was so…

It was hard to describe. Despite everything that had happened, it wasn't a wholly horrible memory. Or rather, it was a horrible memory that I was thankful for? It was something I felt but which didn't fit well into words.

"I was," I said. "Not for the very last part, but…we 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 end—and 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 now…I'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 way—for 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 grandmother—which 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, was—as 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 was—or, at least, who my reputation said I was—Raven 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 future—or 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 all—so I suppose this is what I get for having the gall to sleep twice in as many days.

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