The Games We Play

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.

New Area

It didn't take us long to reach the so-called Sea of Monsters, the massive body of water circled by the continent. Its name was a bit deceptive—after all, everything was full of monsters on Remnant—but it was noteworthy because of its historical significance. As a general rule, the ancient nations of Remnant didn't make exploration a priority, beyond what was necessary. After all, the answer to the question 'what's out there?' was pretty much always 'a lot of horrifying monsters that want to kill us,' and the predation of the Grimm limited the potential rewards of such endeavors. Mistral's largest museum actually had an entire exhibit filled with the maps of ancient societies, depicting what they thought the world looked like, and it was actually pretty neat to see how people filled in the blanks. Generally they just went with the often sadly accurate 'Here Be Dragons' but other times…well, a lot of Remnant's piecemeal history came from those maps. Even if you didn't share a language, you could still look at the pretty pictures, after all.

The Sea of Monsters, however, was one of the few exceptions that. While, yes, the maps of it were filled with illustrations of monsters, they stood out because they weren't just randomly placed warnings about the obvious—the Sea of Monsters was the first place that had been scouted and mapped such that the common locations of the various species of Grimm were accounted for. While the creatures of Grimm, being the dominant form of life on Remnant, were able to go wherever the fuck they wanted and would sometimes go far out of their way to ruin people's days, having the most common locals of the various beasts did a lot to make things safer, most of the time.

If records were to be believed, it had all started because of Mistral's old style of conquest. In their efforts to achieve dominance over the continent, they sought to obtain naval superiority, as all of their known enemies had also bordered the sea. Given the costs associated with going anywhere on Remnant, some emperor or other decided that, 'hey, if things were going to try to murder us either way, we might as well take a short-cut.' What was believed to be one of the first accurate maps of Mistral—or the parts of it bordering the sea, anyway—came from those days, and some of the paths they'd mapped out were still used now, if rarely. There wasn't much point, now that just about everyone you could visit that way was dead—and now that we had airships, of course.

Still, for something that had been a source of horror stories for thousands of years, the Sea of Monsters was remarkably pretty.

"I heard there was a herd of Leviathan in here," Adam mused as we stood on the beach. It was a nice place, I noted absently. I'd never been to a beach of recreational purposes, but my Mom and Dad had. Only the rich and powerful did that much, simply because of the odds of Grimm ruining the occasion. Vale had a few areas set up for that, but it was still rare and the fact that people worried about going made it that much more dangerous. "Do you think it's true? And…actually, is it a herd? Or a school or something? I don't know what you call a bunch of Leviathans."

"I actually don't know," I answered slowly.

"For which question?"

"Both, actually," I said, pursing my lips. "Leviathans are pretty big, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything with the Grimm. There could be a few in there somewhere, though. As for what they're called in groups, I have no idea. Leviathans are kind of weird looking."

Adam considered that for a moment before kicking the sand and watching it spray. I wondered if he'd ever been to a beach before. If so, it probably hadn't been to play.

"I've never actually seen one," He admitted after a moment.

"I doubt many people have," I replied. "Those sea monsters we killed last time? I bet most people have never even seen them before. You'd only meet them if you were on the water, after all, and most people don't sail much these days. But my Mom and Dad killed…well, tried to kill every monster in the book. Turns out the book's a bit bigger than they thought, but…"

I shrugged.

"They killed a Leviathan, though," I continued. "A little one crawled up on the shores of Vale awhile back and they were part of the group sent to deal with it before it got to the rivers."

"Crawled up?" Adam repeated, frowning down at the beach with renewed severity. "Leviathans can walk on land?"

"They're amphibious," I confirmed, tilting my head as I wondered how to best describe them. "They're…odd. Sea monsters, but they're one of the Grimm that steal from various animals. There are some shark bits, some snake bits, some whale and crocodile, and some other stuff. Plus the general Grimm weirdness."

Adam snorted.

"I hate the sea," He said. "If there's not shit crawling out of it trying to kill you, then you're crossing it yourself and everything's going to shit."

I hummed once, figuring he was remembering Menagerie. Probably not fondly, not that I could blame him.

After a moment, though, he sighed.

"So how are we getting across?" He asked. "I mean, I assume you can just fly over run across or whatever, but I can't."

"You can run on water," I disagreed. "It's not even that hard."

"Across a river or something, no," He allowed. "But across a sea? That's a bit different."

I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling.

"Fine, you big baby," I said. "I'll just carry you over—"

"How?" Adam interrupted, making me look at him oddly.

"Um," I began before pausing, honestly unsure of what to say. "Easily? I mean, all jokes aside, I'm pretty strong. I could run across with you on my back, no problem."

"Piggyback?" He asked incredulously. "That's not happening."

"Ah," I said as I understood. "You mean how will I carry you. Got it. Uh…I think whatever's fine. Over the shoulder, bridal style, I don't care."

"Well, I do," Adam stated firmly. "And I think you'd get stabbed if you tried to carry me bridal style. And I think you'd get stabbed in the back if you just threw me over your shoulder."

"If I get stabbed, I get stabbed," I answered amusedly, smiling at him. Still, I pondered the issue for a moment before shrugging. "There's really no dignified way to get carried around, Adam."

"Yeah, I know," He replied. "That's why we're having this conversation."

He must really not like the sea, I thought. I considered it for another long moment before nodding.

"Okay," I said, lifting a hand. "No carrying, then."

And then strands of spider web began to spill from my fingers.

Gossamer (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%

An ancient art utilizing the principles of Alchemy. Through the process of transmutation, it is possible to convert one's flesh and soul into baser materials, but due to the requirement of living tissue, few alchemists were willing to transform large quantities. Instead, many alchemists favored the spinning of small threads, allowing them to easily heal the damage inflicted upon themselves. Because of its relative value, many lesser practitioners spun silk and spider silk was especially valued for its strength. For masters of the art, however, it is said to be possible to create far greater things.

10 HP and 10 MP per meter of silk.

As I pulled with my Psychokinesis, the silk came away as easily as thread from a spool—and yet, it felt like I was pulling the skin off of my fingers. Mainly because that was exactly what I was doing, focusing my Aura through a careful process to change it into another form of matter. It was…well, pretty fucking cool, even if it hurt a little bit. I mean, I knew it was possible to seemingly create matter with Semblances and such, so changing existing matter wasn't too much of a stretch, but being able to see the process at work…

I could see the light of my Aura flashing between my cells, breaking them down and then encompassing them as it rearranged them into a different form. I could see the creation of fibroin, the shift and balance of glycine and alanine, the production and arrangement of glutamine, serine, leucine, valine, proline, tyrosine and arginine. My flesh was being torn apart on the most basic level and twisted into something new through a process I could see but not fully grasp. In my head, I could recount the alchemical procedure, the balance of energy that would influence the creation of new materials, but was the matter itself adjusted?

I wasn't sure, even as I drew strands of protein fiber from each finger of my right hand, spun them into a single thread with my Psychokinesis, and then began to weave that thread into what I wanted. The cord came first and the bare bones of a suit, strings, and then the carefully designed parachutes. I spun several hundred meters of silk to make sure, weaving them into place around Adam who started once, but then held still.

After several seconds, when I was done, he looked it over and raised an eyebrow.

"The fuck is this?" He asked.

"Something I saw once," I said, attaching my end of the cord. It ran from me to Adam, becoming part of his new suit. "It was called parasailing."

Adam frowned once, eyebrows furrowing.

"I think I've heard of it," He said slowly, tugging the cord absently. "I'm guessing you're the boat?"

"Mm," I confirmed. "This okay?"

"Better than getting carried," He nodded. "Will this stuff hold?"

"Yes," I answered simply. I didn't bother going into the tensile strength of spider silk or the fact that I suspected that the nature of the silk's creation would make it comparatively easy to channel my Aura through. Either way, it would hold.

Still, it would be nice to test out just how well it would hold up. I was already planning to use it for sewing, which would help train it, and I was already curious as to how it would develop. Would I be able to create stronger webs as the ability improved or would I just learn to make different things? I'd once heard that alchemists could create gold and now I wondered if it was true.

Well, I'd probably find out if I leveled the skills up enough. Even if it was possible, though, I wouldn't be able to create it freely. There were economical concerns, after all. The silk aspect was more interesting to me right now. Besides, I'd have plenty of chances to experiment with Venenum, which worked under similar principles to transform blood—technically any bodily fluid, but generally blood—into other liquids, most commonly poisons or medicines. It was like being able to bring a laboratory with me wherever I went, even if it meant poisoning myself periodically. It would give me a chance to improve my ability to resist such things.

But that could wait until later. For now, it was time to explore the other side of the continent, which was no doubt willed with all sorts of horrific monsters—and that was a thought that I could hardly wait to explore.

In fact, I wasn't going to wait any longer.

"Hold on," I told Adam before I began to run.

A lot of people don't know this, but walking on water is actually pretty simple. Well, actually, I suppose walking on water was probably fairly difficult, but running on it? That was easy. Surprise so, in fact—all you really need to do is run at about thirty meters per second and you could skip across the waves like a stone. Pretty much any Hunter worth the name could do it, at least over short distances. Crossing a sea entirely on foot was a bit harder, but still doable, especially if you had the handy advantage of never getting tired. Since my healing techniques resorted my physical stamina and the rate it regenerated naturally was pretty high as well, I could effectively go forever. I'd even, now and then, thought about running around the world, to see if I could. I mean, it should be possible and it would probably be great training.

Assuming I didn't run into anything that could kill me, of course. That was the one thing holding back my desire to see the world—the same thing that had kept civilizations from exploring for hundreds of years had left the Kingdoms with no real way of knowing what's out there. We looked, of course, using airships and arranging expeditions, but hey, Ziz had been sitting in Vale's backyard for God knows how long with no one the wiser. Adam had asked if there really were Leviathans in the sea right next to Mistral, perhaps the most explored body of water on Remnant, and I'd answered truthfully by saying I didn't know. And with the amount of interest the Grimm had taken in me of late, well…

I wasn't sure I wanted to risk it. Forget Leviathans—with my luck, I might run into fucking Jormungandr. Having run into Ziz and faced the opening of a Pandora Shell, I couldn't discount the possibility and even I wasn't sure I wanted to ride that particular train.

Not yet, anyway.

As such, it was with an above average degree of caution that ran across the sea, senses and defenses at the ready. Though the surface of the sea seemed calm, it was an illusion that was easily pierced and the truth hidden in the depths was grim.

Heh.

But seriously, though, there were a lot of fucking monsters in the Sea of Monsters—which is, presumably, why they call it that. More than that, they were organized in ranks. Near the edge of the shoreline, just out of sight, Karkinos and Tegmines dotted the coast like castle walls; at once the first line of defense and the front line should the Grimm choose to push. Surrounding them were schools of lesser sea monsters; Akheilos, Skolopendra, and other such things. Further out there were the Hafgufa and Lyngbakr, the massive cephalopods mixing until the coils of their massive limbs seemed like storm clouds in the deep. I gave a wide birth to the series of small islands we came across, as well; though others might have dismissed them as simply being too small to appear on a map, I recognized them as a bale of Fastitocalons, each ferrying armies of Grimm across the sea on their camouflaged shells.

And then there were the real monsters, biding their time at the back of the host. For now, the Grimm were patient, content to simply gather and exist, but I recognized battle lines saw them. Those these particular lines had shift over the centuries as civilizations rose and fell, now that only Mistral remained, the ranks of the enemy were positioned relative to it—ranks that I knew could push forward at any time.

But then, it was like that everywhere—around every city past and present. Looking down into the depths of the sea that normal light never reached, I could make out the ruins of cities. The stories of who knows how many civilizations that had all ended the same way.

"Stuff like this is why we don't get tourists," I joked to myself, trying to lighten my own mood and failing, which was just sad. When you can't even laugh at your own jokes, you know you're in dire straits, but even my desire to go to see interesting places was dampened by the knowledge that the Grimm had already gotten there and killed everyone. They're inconsiderate like that.

Sighing, I did what I tended to do whenever depressing things like reality started catching up on me and focused on something else. Luckily, my senses were good enough that it was easy to find things to amuse myself with.

Turning abruptly, I began to run in a wide circle atop the water. By my reckoning, which was more or less perfect, we were about two-thirds of the way across the sea—far enough for the mightier Grimm to show their faces and yet still deep enough that they didn't need to until it was too late.

"Hey, Adam," I said, making my voice carry as a matter of course. "I found those Leviathans you were talking about. Want to see one up close?"

Adam looked down for his airborne position, raising an eyebrow even as he considered it. He was the adaptable sort and had gotten used to the strange manner of transportation quickly—he even seemed to enjoy it a bit, which was good. I was using Levant to direct the air around him to make the journey a relatively comfortable one. He really must have had a lot of bad memories of crossing the water to go along with this, though. Or maybe bad memories of someone holding onto him while he crossed the water. Either way, there were friendship rules in place and they demanded that the situation be avoided if at all possible.

"Define 'up close,'" He asked. "You have different definitions of proximity than most people. I don't want to be eaten by one, if that's what you're asking."

"No eating," I assured. "I'm just in a bad mood and want to take it out on something. And maybe get some skill books—that always make me feel better."

"You're simultaneously very high-maintenance and easy to please," Adam noted.

"It's not like I eat," I replied, slightly affronted. "Or sleep. Or drink. Or required much of anything, really. My vices can be forgiven. And hey, I just thought maybe you had a bad mood, too. If you don't want to…"

"I could kill something right now," He admitted. "I'm all for misplaced aggression, when it's directed at things that deserve it anyway. It's a multipurpose exercise."

"And you get to see a Leviathan," I said.

"And I get to see a Leviathan," He agreed.

I stopped running and began to float above the water's surface instead. A shift of Levant's power was all it took to keep the cord taunt and Adam in the air, so I pondered the creature below us for a moment.

"You want to be the hook or the bait?" I asked after some consideration.

"Oh, I get to pick this time?" Adam wondered, seeming more amused then anything.

"Why not?" I answered, giving him a shrug. "We're a team, after all."

Adam flashed his teeth at that.

"Bait," He said.

"Oh?"

"How many people can say they've seen a Leviathan up close?" Adam asked.

"Hmph," I snorted, but didn't hide my grin. "Fair enough."

"Just remember to do your part," He said.

"Mm," I confirmed. A moment later, Adam began to fall like a stone, the wind literally taken out of his sails. Even so, he slipped through the surface of the water with nary a splash, passing through it like it was no more than a doorway even as streams of water rose up around him, forming a bubble of air around him. Together, Levant and Xihai pushed him as far down as the cord would allow, until he was bobbing like…well, like a fishing lure.

And then he began to glow. I felt him draw upon my power through the Caritas connection I'd established, flowing through him and into the sword at his waist. I saw the Grimm notice him, a tide of the creatures beginning to swim towards Adam.

But before they did, Adam unleashed him gathered power, directing the strike straight down.

A wall of water rose high above me, raining down on me as a side effect of Adam's attack even as it carved a fissure across the deep. Light warped around it, turning the sea and sky red and black, but the effect faded as soon as it came.

And the water began to roil and writhe for a different reason entirely, something dark abruptly stirring. Water began to twist into a whirlpool at once, but I knew what was really happening.

Immediately, I took flight and drew Adam from the waves and into the open air. The shape beneath the surface moved again and a forest of white spike erupted from the sea.

The Leviathan snapped its jaws closed and thirty feet above the water, we found ourselves face to face with the beast. Its head wasn't quite long enough to look like a crocodiles, nor blunt enough to seem like a shark, but the teeth within its maw had been reminiscent of both. Its body was massive and serpentine between the limbs of various creatures—a pair of crocodile legs here, a row of tentacles there, and then some pincers and claws and other such things—and it was massive. I could see down to the bottom of the sea where its hindmost legs dug into the silt, and its head still rose above the surface of the water. Rows of luminous red eyes lines its body, gazing in every direction even as the clusters upon its face looked at us.

For some reason, I expected a creature like that to growl or snarl or roar, but the sound it made instead was like that of a teapot pot times a thousand, and accompanying the sound, steam began to rise from the sea.

The Abyss of the Sea

LV 107

Leviathan

"Wow," Adam said, voice dry enough to soak up all the surrounding water and then some. "You are one ugly motherfucker."