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.

Mobs

I think what surprised me the most was that I didn't panic. I wanted to run, of course, and I was well aware of what a horrible situation I'd found myself in, but despite this being the first real fight I'd ever been in—and despite knowing instantly that I was truly, horrifically outclassed—I didn't lose my cool. It was kind of weird, honestly.

As the wall broke and the last pieces of rubble fell, I called up my Inventory, reached into it to get my great-great grandfather's sword and shield, and activated my Aura. Stepping back, I cast gaze across the building, the robots, the two blurs that had finally slowed to a stop, and then back before walking into the building.

Crazy as it sounded, there was a logic to it. There were three of those LV43 Spider Droids and once the twin blurs had come to a halt I'd been able to see them, too.

The Beauty

LV34

Blake Belladona

The Beast

LV41

Adam Taurus

Given the circumstances, it was easy enough to guess that a fight was about the break out and, again, I was only Level Two. I wasn't gonna survive participating in a fight like that and I didn't want to take my chances in terms of being caught out in the open since each of those Spider Droids had four arm cannons. If I was on the streets when all twelve of those cannons started firing and even one happened to hit me, odds were good I wouldn't survive it and I'd rather not take my chances. The level difference between us was such that even a glancing blow might well be enough to take me out—I was a faceless extra in an action movie out here. The obvious thing to do was take cover.

Of all my options, I chose the ruined building for several reasons. First and foremost, it was by far the closest and I could get inside easily. I didn't have to sprint to a nearby building and hope it was unlocked or anything—there was a giant hole in the wall right next to me even if the door hadn't been unlocked. Second of all, given the title of my new quest and what I'd already concluded from Tukson, it seemed safe to assume several things: This was a White Fang Base, 'Blake' and 'Adam' where White Fang Members, the Spider Droids were hunting the White Fang, and most or all of the Faunus inside had already been taken out. Adam and Blake seemed to be the priority targets in the Spider Droid's eyes as well, given how they were focused on them now, and it seemed logical to conclude that they wouldn't want the Spider Droids firing on the building containing their allies and would distract it. As such, it was the least likely place to be filled with bullets. Third…

Third, there were people trapped under the rubble. I accepted the quest and entered the building.

As I did, I had to amend my thoughts slightly, however.

Schnee Security Droid

LV10

AK-130 Android

So it wasn't completely safe in here. It wasn't my fault I couldn't see through walls—and at least they weren't twenty times my level. They didn't seem to notice me at first, which wasn't all that surprising. The sound of gunshots and explosions wiped away pretty much all other sound and even though it was still daylight and most of a wall was gone, the place wasn't exactly bright. Clouds of falling dust and rising smoke acted like curtains throughout much of the building, and half of the lights on the ceiling were broken, scattered by bullets or torn off completely. Several of the rest were flickering so quickly they made things, if anything, even harder to see. For people who couldn't see people by the signs above their heads, I could only imagine how they kept track of anything.

Another flickering glance told me everything I needed to know. There were five remaining Androids and the broken remains of about thirty or forty more. I spotted a number of Faunus by the signs floating about their heads and I saw several more above piles of rubble, which I assumed to be the trapped Faunus mentioned in the Quest. I counted three standing to the nearly ten down—not counting the corpses. The ones remaining were attacking the Androids, one with a gun and two with swords and none of them had a level above seven. Odds were they were going to lose and then die.

I should hide, a part of me whispered, or run.

I ignored that part; it was only a small part, thankfully, and it was crushed quickly beneath the merciless boots of logic. I could already hear the fighting beginning anew outside and however much I disliked being in a room with five killer robots, I liked it way better than being out there with three killer super robots. It was too late to run and if I hid, odds were the robots would just kill these guys, sweep the room for survivors, and find me. I could fight them alone or I could fight them with help.

Besides, what was the point of running if it meant leaving people behind to be slaughtered?

I took a deep, steadying breath. Even if they outnumbered me and were five times my level, I could do this, had to do this. I knew I was a lot more powerful then I should have been at level two, thanks to my skills, training, and Aura—I just had to be smart, hit hard, and hope it was enough. If it wasn't…well, I wouldn't have to worry about it for very long, would I?

Of the five robots, two had been engaged directly by the Faunus, their hands having turned into wicked-looking blades to hold back the curved weapons of the White Fang. The other three had turned them into guns instead, which seemed like a bigger concern—and was probably why the two Faunus had gotten up close and personal with the other two, forcing them to fight on their terms. Outnumbered as they were, it still wasn't enough, even with the remaining Faunus trying to distract the other robots with cover fire—he was outnumbered and outgunned, even if he seemed like a good shot.

I focused on them as the bigger concern, knowing I'd need to make the first hit count. No one seemed aware of me yet, so this was my best chance. I focused on the training I'd done, on my Aura, on the Skills I'd trained, and dashed forward. The sound of gunshots filled my ears and I could feel the ground tremble slightly with the footsteps of the massive creatures outside, but I blotted it out as I narrowed everything down to me and my targets. One of the robots seemed to turn as I got close and I broke my run off to leap at him, swinging my sword down with all my might.

"Power Strike!" I shouted, the edge of my blade biting deeply into the base of its neck. The sight sent a thrill through me—I could do this. Jerking my blade back, I bounced back a step and readied myself to swing again as the machine tried to complete its turn, motions shaky and halting. "Power Strike!"

This time, the head came clean off.

A skill has been created through a special action! Continued use of Aura has created the skill 'Aura Channeling' to empower equipment!

I ignored the screen, casting my gaze at the firearm-wielding Faunus. He looked surprised to see me, but his expression smoothed as I jerked my head at the robot to the left of me and then stepped right. The element of surprise was gone, but I still had to press the assault. The robot I was approaching had begun firing before it had even completed its turn and I felt impacts across the left side of my chest in an odd way, like the pounding notes of some strange rhythm rather than bullets.

Nonetheless, getting shot at was bad and I broke off my run to throw myself to the side, raising my shield as I went. I heard clicks and bangs, bullets passing close enough to seem like insects buzzing past my ear, but somehow I managed to stay ahead just enough to avoid being hit again—until I realized I was running in a circle and that the Faunus would soon be in the line of fire if I continued to do so. I had a split second to think about that before I was charging, shield out before me.

Bullets rattled against the ancient metal, the blows soft at first but then abruptly harder, jolts rising up my arm at the force even though the shield held—and then I tried to gasp and scream at the same time as a knife of pure fire passed through the side of my abdomen. I went down in a slide, more by chance then choice, but I swung my blade again any way, catching the machine in the ankle hard enough to knock its feet out from under it and send it pitching forward.

I rolled over and fell to one knee as I tried to rise, barely able to breath or think as I reached for what was no doubt a gunshot wound—and the pain abruptly faded. I expected my hand to come away wet with blood, but instead felt only cloth.

What…?

A skill has been created through a special action! Through the endurance of pain and damage, the skill 'Physical Endurance' has been created!

The sight of the windows, oddly, brought me back to the present and I rose to my feet, turning. The fallen machine was trying to rise mechanically, but I lifted my blade like an executioner's axe and brought it down, snarling Power Strike as I did. The usual glow did not appear—was I out of MP already?—but the blade bit into the back of its neck and forced it back down to its hands and knees before swinging the blade a second time and then a third. At that, the head came off and the body went limp and I nearly stumbled back with relief.

Your level has increased by one!

The sight of the windows, surprisingly, brought me back to the present and I rose to my feet, turning. As I'd thought, with the numbers evened—no, with the numbers in our favor, counting my defeated opponent—things were going a bit better. The gunman was pinning the robot I'd directed him towards from a distance, distracting it while the other two had apparently been rejuvenated by the turn in battle. I ran towards and past the first, knocking it off its feet as I went and pausing long enough to drive my sword point first straight down into its head before hurrying to join the others. I caught one of the robot's blades with my shield and held it high so the Faunus to my left could hack at its hip, and then crossed blades as the other swung at me, the robots apparently focusing on me as the greater threat.

I swore, suddenly stumbling back to see claws where I'd just been, one of them having suck a blade under my guard, leaving what felt like a gash in my side before the other Faunus could bring his sword down on its exposed wrist, biting into it and knocking it downward. I stepped forward quickly and avenged myself upon it gratuitously. The last machine fell quickly under our blades.

And then I stood, panting hard in exertion but bizarrely elated. At what, I wasn't certain—survival? Victory? Perhaps a mixture of both, our perhaps it was just an adrenaline.

"Shit, dude, are you okay?" The Faunus to my right—a grey-haired boy who couldn't have been more than a year or two my senior and who had curling ram horns—asked as the last robot went down. He paused as he turned to me, looking confused. "Huh. I thought he got you."

I reached down to touch the spot that had hurt terribly moments before and which now felt perfectly fine, my clothes not even torn. Even without my Aura, even when it felt like I'd been hurt, there wasn't even a mark left behind. And yet…I called up my Status Screen and confirmed what I suspected; about half of my HP bar was gone. A good chunk of my MP, however, was back, the increase from leveling up adding to it. I'd have to remember that—and also keep in mind that getting hit with my Aura on drain my MP. Which, you know, was way better than dying, but still would have liked to have known. I added 'get better defensive options' to the long list of things I needed to work on.

After a moment of deliberation, however, I turned my Aura on again anyway. Not getting splattered was way more important than any other use for it right now.

"So did I," I said aloud. "Guess not."

"Lucky," Ram Man said, several wounds bleeding. "Fuck this went horribly. Thanks for the assist, uh—"

"What's a human doing here," The one with the gun asked, scales gleaming through torn sleeves, and I couldn't help but notice the shift in the other two at the words. Their bodies shifted slightly away from me, eyes dancing over my arms and face as if trying to find something and failing, before smiles dimmed. I wasn't going to lie, fine as I felt I really didn't want to fight three more people, especially not the ones I'd gone through all this to save.

"Tukson sent me," I said, thinking quickly as I raised my hands. "Easy guys, I'm a friend. Just here to deliver a package and when things got messy, I figured you guys could use some help. Speaking of which, we're not out of the woods yet."

I nodded at…well, the huge hole in the side of the warehouse and let the sounds of explosions punctuate my statement.

"Let's grab the wounded and get out of here." I said and led my example by approaching one of the bodies that had a sign above their heads and lifting it onto my shoulders. "We got a way out of this place?"

Lizard Boy was still for a moment before jerking his head at a semi-truck near the back. Nearby were crates that looked like they'd been torn open from the inside and the Schnee symbol on the side. In fact, looking around, I saw that symbol all over the place. Was this a Schnee warehouse?

I imagined the White Fang breaking in to do White Fang-y things and suddenly a bunch of boxes explode and release giant robots, catching them by surprise. Nobody expects the robot police.

Moving quickly, we managed to move the rubble off of the survivors and gathered them into the back of the semi.

"Adam and Blake are still out there," Ram Man said.

"We'll pick them up on the way out," I said. "Where are the keys?"

He hesitated for a second before tossing them to me.

"You can drive, right?" He said, rummaging around until he found a gun. Probably to provide cover fire, though I really couldn't see the point with those Spider Droids.

Even when he took out what looked like a rocket launcher.

"Yeah," I said, thinking of my Drive skill.

Quest complete!

Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!

A quest has been created!

White Fang's Need: Escape the Spider Droids and get to safety!

Escort the White Fang to safety with Blake and Adam's help! Time Limit: Twenty minutes.

Completion Reward: Exp 10000, Increased closeness with the White Fang.

Failure: Death.