The Games We Play

Chapter 172: Life

DISCLAIMER: This story is NOT MINE IN ANY WAY. That honor has gone to the beautiful bastard Ryuugi. This has been pulled from his Spacebattles publishment at threads/rwby-the-gamer-the-games-we-play-disk-five.341621/. Anyway on with the show...err read.

Life

Raven looked at me with eyes wide enough to see the whites all around them. I could feel that she was shocked by the words, could all be hear the gears turning in her head as she struggled to put the pieces together.

"What?" She breathed. "How?"

"Something's holding back War," I whispered. "There's got to be some reason it hasn't acted yet. After what you told me about Summer's Semblanceshe could only have gotten the infection from her mother. As far as we know, her mother is the only one who could have even known about the infection. As such, it's logical to assume that whatever is keeping the Red Rider in check has something to do with Summer as well. Maybe she figured out something from the inside, maybe she weakened it somehow, maybe the remains of her soul are somehow holding it at baywhatever the case, something she did is keeping Ruby safe."

Raven took a slow breath, expression returning to normal, if a touch more controlled. I could see that she was upset for having even that minor lapse; when the Grimm could be drawn to your emotional state, self-control was important for any Hunter.

"For now," She said. "That's what you're thinking, correct?"

I was silent for a moment before nodding sharply.

"Whatever equilibrium is protecting Ruby now, there's no way of knowing how long it will last or what might disrupt it," I confirmed. "As is, it's hard to say what might awaken the Rider. A big enough emotional shock, direct interference with her Aura, or simple timeanything could cause things to change. But I think that, for now at least, whatever her mother did is protecting her."

Raven nodded slowly.

"Perhaps," She answered, meeting my eyes.

"Do you doubt me?" I asked. "It'd be fair to do sowithout eyes like mine, this must be difficult for you to believe. If you wish, I'll do what I can to prove it to you."

Raven closed her eyes and took a breath before opening them again.

"It's not that," She replied. "I believe you. I did investigations of my own after we last parted and Adam trusts you. But"

"It's your team," I said, excluding the 'former.' "You have to be sure."

"Yes."

"I have neither desire nor intention to hurt her," I told her. "If there's anything I can do to help her, be assured that I will go to great lengths to do so."

"But you'll kill her if you have to," Raven said, without accusation in her tone. It was a simple statement of fact.

Also, the truth. I told her as much.

"Yes," I replied. "If I have to, if there's no other way, I'll kill her. As would you."

Raven was silent at that, but didn't deny it. I still felt bad for saying it, because I could feel the stab of pain it caused her.

"It's unfortunate," I continued. "Disgusting even. But if it came to that point, then thousandsperhaps even millionsof lives would be at risk. I won't dress up such a choice as being anything but the tragedy it is, however cruel a fate being infected by a Rider might be. I won't say that killing an innocent girl to save a million people is a perfect or clean choice. But at the same time, letting a million people die for the sake of one girl is even more monstrous. We both know that. Horrible as it might be, the necessary choice is the right choice by the very definition of necessity."

I waited for a moment to see if she would reply to that, whether in agreement or outrage, but she didn't say a word. She simply inclined her head as if I was telling her what she already knew. Which I probably was.

"So long as it is, in fact, necessary," I said after letting the pause drag on, and that finally got her to look my way. I smiled a bit at the glance she sent me. "People often confuse what's right with what's simple or convenient or expedient. Often, the hard choices people claim to make are actually them choosing the easy way and refusing to admit it. Ruby hasn't done anything yet and the situation, while risky, can still be resolved without hurting her. So long as that's true, I'll do everything I can to find another wayand if I'll fail, I'll take responsibility and put an end to her myself."

"I told you before" She began.

"I know," I interrupted with a slight smile. "But things have changed a bit. Approaching her still bears the risk of infection, after all, and I'm best equipped to deal with it. Will you really not let me handle this?"

She fell quiet at that, glancing down once as she considered it and weighed the options in her mind. On one hand, she probably knew that I was right about being better equipped to handle this issuebut on the other, she saw this as her duty to her best friend, her family. She couldn't foist such a thing off on another, however much it would hurt her or endanger her. But

"What would you do, if it was you?" She asked, so quietly a normal person wouldn't have heard.

I extended one hand, angled it towards the city below, and drew a breath. Light gathered in my hand and then flooded forth in a consuming torrent, darkening the world around us until only it and Keter remained. When it faded, a jagged scar of destruction had been cut into the city, cutting deep into the earth and leaving shattered buildings and streets in its wake.

I'd always been careful in what I showed Raven, afraid to give the impression of weakness and ineptitudesomething made difficult by the simple fact that I had no idea what she was truly capable of. But if it was something like Lux Aeterna, then even she should be a little impressed, right?

Raven stared out over the city, eyes slightly widened and lips slightly parted.

"I'd handle it quickly," I promised. "So she didn't feel any pain."

Raven recovered and brought her expression back under control. Breathing carefully, she looked at the city for a moment long and slowly sighed.

"If it comes to that" She started before stopping and shaking her head. "No, it's best to hold off deciding anything until we have more information."

"Perhaps so," I replied, noticing the delaying action for what it was. "But in the end, the choice lies with you. Should something change, I will require you aid to react in time to save people. If something were to happen to youconsider it at least?"

"I will," She stated. "And I'm not the type to run into danger without backup or a plan. Whatever happens, I will inform you."

I inclined my head in thanks.

"AboutAutumn," She said after a moment. "Even if Summer is shielding Ruby"

"The coincidences are still too many to dismiss," I replied, nodding. "I know."

She turned my way again and looked at me seriously.

"Thenmay I?" She asked.

I knew what she was asking for and nodded again.

"I trust you," I reaffirmed, stepping back.

"Keter," Raven asked after taking a deep breath. "I thank you for answering my questions thus far, but I have not found the answer I am looking for."

"Then perhaps you have not asked the right question?" Keter proposed, remaining still.

"Perhaps," She agreed. "Then in the hopes of wasting no more of your time, I shall be frank. Is Autumn Rose the reincarnation of Summer Rose? Does she possess any of Summer Rose's soul?"

"To answer such a thing would require that I know the appearance Summer Rose's soul," Keter answered. "I cannot tell you if she looks like someone I have never met."

Raven twitched once and I coughed lightly into my gauntleted hand.

"I apologize, Raven," I said. "He has an unfortunate tendency to run out of answers when it would be most annoying. Unfortunately, he most likely gets that from meor else I from him."

"It's a fair statement," Raven replied after clicking her tongue once in annoyance. "I cannot fault someone for being unable to recognize someone they've never seen before; I should have expected that answer. Very well, I have a different question."

"Ask and I shall do my utmost to answer," Keter answered placidly.

"You said before that much was lost in the process of reincarnation," Raven said. "But not necessarily everything."

Keter hummed back, sounding amused and pleased.

"Indeed, perhaps not everything," He answered. "Though in most cases, what is left is negligible in the extreme. Imagine if you lost not only your memories, but everything contained within your brain. Then, you lost your body as well and were given a new one, nothing like the one you hold now. You are reborn entirely and leave everything you have behind. In what sense are you still yourself?"

"I possess the same soul, do I not?" She replied and he smiled again.

"You do," He said, tilting his head her way. "And what that means depends on who you ask. If you act similarly in this new life, is it the nature of your soul shining through? Or have you simply, by chance, made similar decisions in this new life? Is there any difference? Assume then that you do not act the same way, but make different choices entirely. Is this a sign that you have been wiped utterly clean or simply a different aspect of your soul expressing itself? People are complicated things. It should be unsurprising that souls are the same."

Raven mulled over that for a minute, frowning slightly.

"But you remember your past life," She stated. "At least in part."

"Keter means Crown," Keter informed her. "Just as the crown is worn above the head, so too does Keter encompass things beyond the mind's comprehension."

"And everyone possesses Keter within them," Raven said. "It is a requirement for a functioning soul."

Keter's smiles widened and he looked even more pleased.

"Indeed," He said. "Though the normal amount of Keter is very small, everyone possesses some small measure."

"And if so, it stands to reason that something would carry over," She stated. "Possibly even more so if a soul does not undergo a conventional reincarnation."

"Perhaps," Keter allowed. "There is, it would seem, only one way to find out."

"Yes," She agreed and looked over her shoulder at me. "May I ask your daughter a question?"

"I don't mind," I said. "Though I can assure you that she'll answer. What do you wish to ask?"

Instead of answering me, Raven walked over to the rest of myourteam, who had been waiting patiently while we talked.

Well, I say that, but Adam had sat down and starting playing with his scroll again, though he hastily put it away as Raven approached. But though she gave him a look, she said nothing about it and instead focused on my daughter.

"Autumn," She said. "I've something I'd like to ask you. Will you answer me?"

Autumn didn't even look at her, at least not with the eyes on her face. Instead she stared quietly into the distance, looking at who knows what. After a moment, however, she nodded shallowly.

"If this were the end for you," Raven began. "And you were to be scattered and never bloom again, thenhow would you die?"

I blinked twice at the odd question and tilted my head. Autumn didn't say anything for several seconds, mulling it over without the slightest reaction from her physical bodybut then she turned her head to look at Raven.

"I would scatter beautifully," She answered in a flat, almost matter-of-fact tone. "Like the petals of a rose."

Raven held her gaze for a long moment and then nodded once, as if everything had been decided, and slowly lifted a hand to touch Autumn's cloaked shoulder. After taking a slightly shaking breath, she straightened and turned to look at me.

"Very well," She stated. "Back to business then, I suppose?"

I restrained myself from lifting an eyebrow at her. A part of me, a pretty large part, wanted to ask her what that was about, but that would have ruined my image.

"Then she is truly Summer?" I asked a bit pointlessly, which is why I shook my head a moment later. Given the way Autumn had answered and how Raven had reacted to it, the phrase must have meant a lot to herwas it something Summer had said? Something that managed to last through reincarnation? Whatever the case, if it was enough to convince Raven, it was enough to convince menot that I needed much convincing at this point. Butthat didn't explain anything. Even if she answered the question right, how would a piece of Summer's soul have gotten into a rose and stuck to it? And the one rose I'd managed to pick up, at that?

Wait, I suddenly thought. Had it been just that rose?

Raven nodded once, calm expression belied by the grip she kept on Autumn's shoulder, and I frowned slightly, concerned on several levels.

"I bought Autumn from a store in Vale," I said after a moment of silence. "On a whim, to test something. But under the circumstancesI think perhaps it would be a good idea to figure out where he got them from."

"You think there might be others?" Raven asked.

"If it happened once, it might have happened a few more times," I replied. "There's no way to know for sure except to check. I wouldn't be opposed to taking a look at their house, either, to make sure nothing was left behind. After so much timeit's difficult to say if anything remains, but it's worth a look, if you're willing."

"I have no objection to that," Raven answered, voice showing no sign of the flicker of hesitation that went through her. I wondered how long it had been since she'd last been home. "We've business in Vale regardless."

"Oh?" I wondered, cocking my head.

"Our friends have been busy in Vale," She stated. "The man named Roman Torchwick has led a string of Dust robberies that shows no sign of stopping. He has also begun negotiating with the White Fang forassistance. It's to be one of the topics of the upcoming meeting."

I frowned again, pondering that even as I did a quick calculation of the amount of Dust you could get ahold of doing something like that. Quite a bit, if you hit the stores at the right time and in the right order. Depending on how you did it, on what day, and in what orderhell, if you did a simultaneous assault on several stores at onceyou could definitely get quite a bit of Dust, but

"What do they need that much Dust for?" I wondered, pursing my lips for a moment before focusing my gaze on Raven again. When she shook her head to show that she didn't know, I exhaled slowly and considered what I knew about Roman Torchwickand more importantly, about Cinder. "Cinder doesn't strike me as the type to do something for no reason, so we can likely assume they do need it. The scope of their theft narrows down the possibilities, thankfully, but"

"None of those possibilities are particularly pleasant," Raven finished when I trailed off.

"Indeed not," I agreed. "Have they stolen anything in particular? Crystals, powder, or rounds?"

"They've taken everything," She replied, shaking her head. "And before you ask, no, there's been no sign of it being resold through other sources."

"That's unsurprising," I answered. "Dust is often marked while it's being processed; if they did sell it, it would only be a matter of time before someone made the connection back to the theft. No, it's more likely that they actually need it. Have you been monitoring Torchwick?"

"Of course," Raven answered, looking vaguely insulted by the question. "As near as I can tell, however, he doesn't know why, either."

"Cinder seems to be a fan of need to know information," I said, sighing again. "I suppose she knows she's being watched. Thus far, she's been close-lipped even while alone. I am beginning to suspect that she won't give anything away until she believes it's safe to do soperhaps when her illusionist is nearby to assist her. How likely do you think the White Fang is to accept Cinder's offer?"

"Past experience would suggest it to be quite likely," She replied. "Thus far, she has given us a great deal of support. After the supply of weapons she provided several weeks ago"

I nodded, unsurprised. I considered attempting to force her to react by working against Torchwick, but no, at this point such a thing would be hasty.

"With that much Dust, whatever she is planning is likely to be dangerous," I stated. "Whether she plans to power something big, supply an army, or use it herself, she must be preparing for something major."

"And we still have no idea what she's aiming for," Raven mused, quietly annoyed.

I paused and thought about that for a moment before shaking my head.

"That, at least, is no longer true," I said.

Raven tilted her head to the side at that, hair swaying slightly as she did. The question was clear in her eyes without her having to voice it.

"It would seem that Vale is her target," I explained. "That is where the robberies are taking place and I would guess there's been no sign of transporting it out of the country?"

"Not that I have seen," She said, considering it. "And transporting that much Dust would be difficult regardless. If they were planning to move it and were willing to involve the White Fang, I'm certain I would have heard about it."

"You would be the person to ask," I agreed.

"Then her activities in Mistral have been a distraction?" Raven wondered, frown deepening. "An attempt to direct attention away from her real plans?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head before pausing. "Or at least, not entirely. One thing I've managed to learn is that Cinder will be participating in the upcoming Vytal Festival. When that happens, she will be not only in Vale, but inside of Beacon itself. I believe that's part of her plan, so it is likely that she will make a move at that time."

"The Vytal Festival" Raven mused, nodding slowly. "That makes sense, given the number of people who will be gathered in Vale at that time. But the Vytal Festival has a great deal of security to compensate for thatCinder is not the first person to attempt something during that time. In the worst case scenario, Hunters from all over the world will be present and are sure to react. While the opportunity would be a good one, even making the attempt would be dangerous in the extreme."

"Ah," I said. "But what if she doesn't make the attempt herself. If, while she is behaving herself in Beacon, Torchwick and the White Fang were to make a move of some kind"

"Perhaps," Raven allowed. "But what would she stand to gain from it?"

"I suppose that would depend on what move she chose to make," I answered. "And people reacted to it. There's not enough information to say at this point, but if I were able to get a closer look?"

"We'll be in Vale anyway," Raven said, lifting a shoulder slightly in a minute shrug. "We can make a stop."

I smiled at her brightly and inclined my head towards here.

"Then shall we be off?" I asked. "I've much to tell you about our other enemies, but it doesn't particularly matter which continent you learn it on."

Raven nodded back at me and lifted a hand to her sword before stopping.

"Actually, there is one more thing," She said. "Best to inform you now, I suppose."

"Oh?" I wondered, raising a white eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Cinder, or rather her intermediaries, expressed some interesting in meeting Jian Bing," Raven answered. "The request was directed at me, in fact; at a guess, I believe several members of the White Fang let slip that we've worked together in the past, if only rarely."

I accepted that quietly, figuring it was pretty likely. I mean, even if it was just during the Weiss incident, the rumor mill would probably see to it that everyone thought we were partnerswe were, after all, two famous and powerful members of the White Fang. In the end, though, I was more interested in why she wanted a meeting then how she learned off me. After all, I was pretty famous in the right circles and would have been surprised if someone like Cinder didn't keep an ear to the ground when it came to wild cards.

But if she wanted to speak to me, whether in person or through proxies, then she wanted something. At the very least, she'd try to ascertain where I stood in regards to her plan, what I knew, and what I was likely to do to stop it. Variables are a part of life but that doesn't mean anyone likes it when they pop up and fuck up everything, especially not people who put an extraordinary amount of work in keeping things from fucking up. Beyond that, howeverI had no idea what she was after.

Well, I thought. There's a way to change that.

"Since we're going to drop by Torchwick's office regardless, I shall graciously accept," I replied at last, smiling brightly at her. "As it happens, I've been meaning to speak to that man for some time now."

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