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.

Faction Quests

For a moment, my heart pounded. I knew about the White Fang, of course—everyone did. But I hadn't ever expected to run into them on the street or something. I mean, I don't know why I never thought about what they did in their free time, but—

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the Sun," Tukson greeted.

All at once, I calmed down and started thinking about this rationally. He's here. Running a shop. Meaning he's almost certainly not a known White Fang supporter and that he'd probably like to keep things that way. He wasn't going to grow claws and tear my throat out for not being a Faunus.

Furthermore, I knew he was a member of the White Fang because of his title but he didn't know that I knew. He didn't know anything about me and he probably wouldn't bother finding out so long as I didn't give him any reason too. What's more, I could find out more about him a lot more easily then he could about me.

Still calm as could be, I nodded to the owner and walked over to one of the nearest bookshelves and started browsing, casting a glance at Tukson out of the corner of my eye.

"Observe." I muttered and my new Observation window appeared before me. I scrolled past most of it, though it confirmed his race as a Faunus and gave him a title as 'Reluctant Gang Member.' At that, I skipped past his stats—I had no intention of fighting him, after all—and went to the new section at the bottom.

Background: A Faunus born in Vacuo, he joined the White Fang prior to its transformation into its current form. Uncomfortable with its new status as a radical organization yet not wanting to betray his friends, he finds himself on unsteady ground, afraid both to withdraw his support and participate. He seeks comfort in his peaceful life as a store owner.

Emotions: Anxiety, Uncertainty, Helplessness, Distraction.

Huh. That changed things. Hell, that threw my train of thought completely off the tracks.

I wondered what to do now. I was even less worried about Tukson now, but I should probably do something here, right? I mean, I was…wanted to be a hero. But I think I needed a higher Wisdom score to handle something like this. Tukson was a White Fang member, but I guess I couldn't blame him for that—even I knew the story of the White Fang. However, while I didn't blame him for it, I couldn't really help him with it, either. If I was in his shoes, would I want to betray my old friends? Would I want to run, knowing what might happen?

Then…should I just take control of the situation myself, ignore his wishes, and call the police? But that would just get Tukson himself wrapped up in this—and bad as what the White Fang did was, the fact was that a lot of people were biased against the Faunus. Who's to say they wouldn't just arrest and haul off everyone involved?

Then…

I sighed, raising the book in my hands and leaning it against my forehead.

Maybe I should just ask mom about it again. I bet her WIS score was huge.

"Is…something wrong?" Tukson's voice asked, sounding vaguely concerned.

"Ah," I said, lowering the book. "Sorry. A lot on my mind, is all. Sir."

"Heh," He answered. "I know something about that. Can I help you with anything?"

He nodded around his shop and I hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Do you have anything about Aura?" I asked.

"Third row on the left," He said immediately, his phone ringing as I followed his directions. I saw his expression shift slightly as whoever was on the other end of the phone answered before he moved into the backroom, out of my hearing. Even so, given what I knew about him, it wasn't hard to guess what the reason probably was. I hoped—

Holy.

Crap.

Tukson's Book Trade's catchphrase probably wasn't literally accurate but damn, Tukson evidently had access to the good stuff. I was looking at the Hunter section the Aura books fell under and I…I had to hold myself back from reaching out to them. I mean, I want to, like…to touch them. Just for a little while. I—

I took one of the books down and stroked its cover gently.

You obtained the skill book 'Meditation: The Soul of the World.' Would you like to learn this skill?

I wanted to say yes. I wanted to say yes so bad it hurt. That blue screen and button hung in the air, taunting me, the bookshelf of skill books just behind it. I could just slip this into my Inventory, grab a few dozen of its friends to keep it company, and…

I sighed and put it back in its place. No. For one thing, stealing may have been stealing, but for some reason, stealing from a person I knew was in need felt worse than stealing from a library. Maybe it was just because Tukson had a face and a little square for his background, I don't know, but it did.

Second of all, stealing from a place like this would be different than stealing from a library. Hundreds of people went to the library every day, shifting in and out, talking, drawing attention—who would remember one blonde boy in all of that, especially when he left with, apparently, no books on him? This place was different. I was the only person in here now and Tukson seemed like he knew his shop. If I left and a bunch of books vanished from the section he'd directed me too, it wouldn't take a genius to figure out the likely culprit. Even if he didn't notice for a few days, I'd still probably only have a few competitors for the title of 'Most Suspicious' by the time he did. And he knew what I looked like.

Also, he was affiliated with a gang that I was guessing probably wouldn't take kindly to one of their members getting robbed. Or a Human robbing a Faunus. Or my face.

I noted the price tags with a small hint of longing and sighed, stepping away. I'd have to figure something out and come back some other—

A quest has been created!

I blinked and looked around. Here? Now?

Nonetheless, I pushed the button.

Quest Alert!

Tukson's Hope: Delivery Boy!

Tukson's been called to deliver a package to a member of the White Fang. Deliver it so he doesn't have to! Time Limit: Three Hours.

Um.

I shifted awkwardly. I wanted to help Tukson. I really did. I mean, I could only image how sucky his situation must be, with no real way to win. That sucks and it's unfair and he didn't deserve it—no one did. I also wanted to be helpful, a hero.

So why was it that I wanted to turn and walk away from this sign? Maybe it was my new Wisdom score. I'd like to blame it on that—see, this wasn't because I was scared, it was because I was smart. After all, it's a member of the gang Tukson's a part of; he'd be safe and I wouldn't. And, really, would this situation be improved if I, someone who had nothing to do with any of this, involved myself where I wasn't needed or wanted? Probably not. And, really, if it involves the White Fang, what are the odds it was on the level?

And see, all that was completely valid. Those were all good points. And, hey, if any of that had been what came to my mind, I might even feel reasonable about just turning away, if a bit sadly. Instead, what came to mind was more along the lines of 'Me? Talk to a member of the White Fang? Holy crap, I'm only level two! My hp score is almost as tiny as my STR, VIT, and DEX scores—and even that's larger then my life expectancy if I take this mission.'

I thought about refusing the quest because it was dangerous and I was scared and that was it. I considered leaving Tukson to do it alone to spare myself from having to get involved. And as I realized that, I wasn't sure if that made me want to take the quest in spite of all my reservations or run away even more.

But there was something I was learning lately. Every choice—the ones me make and the ones we avoid—defines who we are. That wasn't necessarily a good or bad thing, it was just a fact. I could walk away from this quest and nobody would ever know but me, but at the same time I would know. That's not to say I'd necessarily regret it, because hell, maybe I walk away and find out tomorrow that I was completely right to do so. Or maybe I would regret it forever. I don't know what the future holds. But there was a choice in front of me and it was mine to make, for better or worse. Yes or No, the choice was mine.

I took a deep breath and looked down, thinking.

And my brain waves abruptly flat-lined.

Completion Reward: Exp 60000, Skill Book 'Meditation: The Soul of the World.'

Sixty thousand experience points.

That was…that was a lot. More than all the experience points I'd gathered thus far combined, several times over. That was enough to level me up for sure. Twice. Maybe three times or more, I'm not entirely sure how much I'd need for each level. And a skill book on top of that. Now that's just unfair.

I told myself it didn't matter. Whether I did this or not, whether I chose to aid Tukson or leave him be, had to be decided based upon me and Tukson. That's how a hero would do it. That's how I should do it. Tukson was a man in need and I had to decide whether I would help him, could help him, based solely on that fact.

But sixty thousand experience points and a skill book.

The reward doesn't change the quest. If I couldn't bring myself to help a man in need who has nothing to offer, what would it say about me if I would suddenly change my mind if I found out he was rich? My dad would help him either way. So would my mom. If I'm only helping him because of what's in it for me, when I would have rejected it before, then what did that make me? Not much of a hero, that's for sure.

But, I thought, I hadn't made my decision before I saw the reward. Maybe I would have helped him anyway, despite the risk. Maybe I wouldn't have. Maybe any decision I made now was biased by what I'd seen, whether to accept or decline. And, really, the reward itself told me about the mission—if it was that great, there was more to this then there seemed. Probably something dangerous—really, really dangerous. And if I did nothing, then Tukson would be the one to face that. He was at a higher level than me, but…

I couldn't help but wonder if maybe I'd know the answers to all these questions if I had another ten or fifteen points of Wisdom.

Tukson returned from the backroom, features set in a severe frown.

"Sorry, something came up," He said, sounding honestly apologetic. "I'm going to have to close early—"

"Um," I interrupted, reaching out subtly to press the button. "It's okay, Mr. Tukson but, uh…actually…"

XxXXxX

It was surprisingly easy to convince Tukson to let me face horrific danger in his place—well, not that surprising if you think about it that way, but it was still easier then I would have expected it to be given that he didn't know about that part. I'd basically just offered to do the job in return for the book, assured him I knew how to get there and was going in that direction, and tried to ease his concerns. Apparently the job was as simple as transporting a book to a building on the Industrial Side, putting it in a mail box, and coming back, so it wasn't like it was anything huge from Tukson's perspective. It was a simple delivery mission.

Yeah. Right.

I stayed on guard as I ran, though I had to move it to cross the river back over to the Residential District and then cross another bridge to the Industrial District in time. Even though I'd never been there before, I hadn't been lying when I told Tukson that I knew how to get there—I just said 'Map' and one of the City of Vale appeared before me with the position of both my objective and myself marked and the quickest route highlighted. I kept it open beside me and watched it with half an eye as I ran for my life and experience points.

I made it there with nearly an hour to spare and, strangely, wasn't attacked by the forces of darkness, angry Faunus, the police, or anything else on the way there. The most I got were a few odd looks from people as I rushed through the streets and I quickly found myself before a rather plain warehouse in the Industrial District. I was still early in the afternoon and the Sun was high in the blue sky. I could even hear birds chirping in the planted trees on the sides of the street.

I gave the other shoe a chance to drop, but it didn't oblige me. Odds were, it would spring until I'd gone too far to have a chance to escape—or, at least, that's probably how it'd work in a game. Could my power manipulate circumstance that way? Or was it just me it was manipulating, putting in the right place at the right time?

I looked around, looked at the clock nearby, and sighed before taking the last step forward and lifting a hand to knock on the door. I wasn't all that surprised when a blue window appeared before my eyes.

Destination reached! New objective: Survive long enough to deliver the package!

A quest has been created!

White Fang's Need: Rescue the Faunus trapped in the rubble!

Members of the White Fang are trapped in the rubble and need your help! Save them while Blake and Adam fight the Spider Droids! Time Limit: Thirty minutes.

Completion Reward: Exp 3000 per Faunus saved, Increased closeness with the White Fang, quest item 'The Keys.'

The side of the building exploded outwards, three massive machines climbing out of the dust and smoke after a pair of blurs. Each of the machines had the same sign above their heads.

Schnee Security Droid

LV43

Spider Droid