The Games We Play

Chapter 111: Team Deathmatch

DISCLAIMER: This story is NOT MINE IN ANY WAY. That honor has gone to the beautiful bastard Ryuugi. This has been pulled from his Spacebattle publishment. Anyway on with the show...errr read.

Team Deathmatch

The layered barrier I'd set up shattered almost the instant that crooked bolt of light touched itbut it was enough to give me a moment to respond. Recognizing the attack, I Accelerated as much as I could afford to, speeding up both my mind and body.

As I did, I was able to clearly see what was happening. The barrier shattered not instantly, but in pieces, cracks spreading from the hole that had been torn through it. At the center of that broken opening was a twisted bolt of lightning, spreading out from the point of contact like the branches of a tree. Forks formed in the lightning as it took an almost uncertain path towards me, winding one direction and then the other and occasionally shooting off other branches and tributaries. Like a blind man's hands, I saw those streams reach out and try to map out a path to earth, seeking the connection that would ferry Violet's great power.

This wasn't lightning, not really. These were the step leaders that charted the lightning's course, something vastly slower in comparisonthankfully. They were slow enough, in fact, that I had time to think and prepare, even as my body sluggishly tried to catch up with my mind as the fingers of my right hand curled. Spreading my sight through the whole of my skin, I took in the world around my, focusing first on the many trails of light before me. Paths were born as others faded, but at the moment I saw only three that seemed likely to reach a destination and so marked off a general area where they were likely to land even as fingers began to curl.

Turning my attention past the forks of lightning, I saw that a pillar of light had stretched down from Bianca's hand, falling on Olivia's position like the hand of Godor it should have, at least, but as it entered the pulsing, growing sphere of power that surrounded her, it abruptly bent at an angle and swung like a living thing to scythe down buildings in a wide arc, clearing everything between Olivia's tower and the river, likely in preparation of Azure's eventual attack. Olivia faced the sky, standing fearlessly in front of the blast that curved impossibly around her, and her arms were relaxed at her sides.

Even so, I could see beads of sweat forming on the skin of her face for the exertion of controlling so much space, the beginnings of tension forming in the muscles of her neck and back. Like Azure, she'd had no choice but to go all out from the very beginning, as pacing herself would mean nothing if she lost in the opening seconds of the battle.

But it made sense, I thoughtViolet had left, considering Olivia able to hold off Bianca's attack. My left hand began to twitch closed as I peered carefully at the patterns of Aura the surrounded my youngest sister, trying to get a feel for the area around her over the vast distance between us. After a moment, however, I shifted my attention again, focusing on Xihai for a moment to command her to act before focusing back on the city. Olivia was in place to hold of Bianca and Violet had struck at me, which left Sienna, Shani, Indigo, and Azure. I'd bet anything that Shani was preparing an attack and Sienna a defense, but while Sienna would likely focus on protecting Azure, who would Shani go for? I was too far away for her to focus on me first, but would she try to help Bianca? Go for Indigo? Attack her twin?

I'd need to keep an eye out, but I suppose I had bigger things to worry about at the moment.

The fingers of my right hand finally closed and I focused the power I'd gathered between them, forming a Thunderbolt in a flash of light. Taking aim, I called upon Vulturnus and felt him slide into the attack as easily as Crocea Mors did into my blades. Flicking my arm out, I sent the glowing spear hurling through the air with all the speed I could muster. It sank into the ground perhaps five meters away from me, driving deep into the stone, but even before it landed, I could see power rising from the attack. The opposite of the downward leader, the upward stream reached into the sky, guided by my and Vulturnus' will. In moments, it touched the nearest of the leaders, curving its path away from meand lightning struck with a brilliant, purple flash.

I shifted my perception of time, as well as my movement through it, and danced back a step, my other hand rising and hurling a Magic Missile into the distance. I monitored its flight with part of my face and focused on the new arrival. Where the lightning had struck, Violet now stood, both of her eyes now brightly glowing orbs. Her right arm had ceased to be made of flesh, unraveling into a crooked, writhing claw of violet energy, massive in comparison to her left hand, and though the fight had just begun I could see patches spreading over her body like veins of electricity. Though she seemed to have no irises or pupils, I felt it when her eyes focused on me and light shone from the back of her throat when she smiled.

"Hey, little bro," She said, her voice odd modulated as if static were disrupting her words.

"Hey, sis," I said and triggered the Thunderbolt. Lightning flashed up around her and Vulturnus rose with it, crafting a form out of the destructive power. Violet's attention immediately shifted, her mutated arm already reaching out in reflexive response. With a blinding amount of speed, her hand touched Vulturnus and the both of them were abruptly gone.

A moment later, I saw lightning flash in the clouds above us, noted the rough location, and went back to work. Focusing on my flying Missile, I saw it enter Olivia's range and abruptly change direction, curving hard to the right when it hit one of the many patches of Aura my sight revealed. Four more Missiles formed in my and Bai Hu's hands and were immediately in flight. I saw Olivia shift in place, trying to get a bead on me even as she kept back Bianca's assault, but all she saw were four more attacks. One reached the edge of her control and was hurled down and right, the next penetrated several meters before flying straight up, and the remaining pair both turned hard to the right, even though the landed meters apart. None of the attacks came close to her and wouldn't have even if they hadn't been interrupted, but it worked as a test.

All around her, in a steadily growing sphere, were layers of Aura, each broken up further into multiple parts. Some patches were darker than others, some twisted into whorls or slid like brush marks across a particular layer, but there were hundreds and more grew with ever second, even as existing ones shifted. Above her, I saw Bianca turning her narrowly focused blast to strike at different areas of the sphere, forcing Olivia to focus and adjust, and I paid close attention to how the sphere around her changed in the process, considering. At the moment, Bianca seemed focused on wearing her down by forcing her to change and adapt constantly, looking to exhaust her before the sphere could grow large enough to take in anyone else, but

My thoughts were interrupted as I felt a change and more stepped leaders fell from the sky, angled behind me. Vulturnus was still far above me, somehow seeming weakened and drained, but too far away to help right this moment regardless. I made do without him, another Thunderbolt forming and flying after a moment's aim, positive side directed upwards and streamer stretching high. Lightning flashed once more and Violet reappeared, veins glowing more brightly as electricity crackled around her and wiggled its way under her skin.

"You've gotten pretty fast, Jaune," She continued as if our conversation hadn't been interrupted, hand reaching down to grasp the Thunderbolt and tear it from the ground. Without so much as a pause, she lifted the blast to her mouth, teeth sinking into the energy before tearing a chunk away. The mass as a whole lost its shape and twitched, rising out and down her throat as she literally devoured the attack.

I waited patiently for her to finish, turning and watching the city behind me out of the back of my neck.

"And you're as fast as ever, Violet," I replied politely, still focused.

Her smile widened slightly at that, trails of light shining between her lips. From behind her concealing hair, I saw the glow increase as the light spread outwards from her eye socket, consuming skin.

"Figured out the lightning thing, huh?" She asked.

"I read a lot of science books," I shrugged and explained. "The hardest part is just being able to actually see what's happening and react to it."

"Heh," She chuckled. "Well, even if you say that, only a few people have ever done it. I'd say it's pretty impressive, Jaune."

"Thanks," I answered, watching her carefully. She just smiled at me, completely still for a momentand then her arm unraveled further, exploding into dozens of stepped leaders again. I could just barely see them, but with only meters between us, there wasn't time for another Thunderbolt, much less a chance to dodge. I had only a moment to take in the sight and determine which leader would touch down first

And then there was only time for reaction. A hand like a searing brand came down on my shoulder with force enough to shatter much of the roof around us. Bai Hu slid through my body to try and shield me from the attack, claws reaching for Violet as I was shoved back. I brought up and arm in defense and the metal beneath my feet rippled as another lightning bolt came down, carrying Vulturnus down from the clouds now that he'd had a moment to recharge. Lightning and Metal worked together to draw in the current as it slipped through me and carry it away, but I had to catch myself and dig the Tiger's claws into the roof before I was hurled off.

Violet whistled from where I'd stood a moment before, the glow in her form more prominent, the amount of flesh visible lessening. She ignored the electricity crackling along the ground completely and cracked her neck once.

"Not bad, not bad," She praised before raising a somewhat taunting eyebrow. "Are you gonna fight back, though, or what?"

I rose and Bai Hu rose with me, a Thunderbolt forming in each of our hands. Violet's smile widened along with the glowing gaps in her skin, her eyes brightening as she leaned forward in anticipation.

She seemed surprised when I threw all four of them behind me, compensating for the awkwardness of such a tactic as a matter of course. Confusion turned to surprise as the glowing spears sailed through the air, covering the distance to the city in a moment. I doubted she was able to see the first Thunderbolt drag hard to the left or how the second one connected to it and drove it back forward three meters from its staring point. She probably didn't see the third shift the course of the second, the fourth shift the third, the third shift the first, or the first readjust the second, much less the pattern that followed after.

But she definitely saw the lightning that reached for the sky moments later, rising from where it drove into the roof less than two meters from Oliviaand saw Bianca demolish a nearby building moments later as Olivia was distracted. I saw her head snap up to look past me, an expression of focus coming onto her face for a moment, and then she returned her gaze to me.

"Tch," She clicked her tongue and unraveled again, closing the distance in an instant. I was prepared for it this time and Bai Hu shielded my chest with his own, but it was still force enough to drive me back and fling me from the roof and over the cliff below. I angled my body into a picture perfect dive moments later, adjusting my course with Levant as I went, but I saw lightning flash in the clouds again as Violet returned to Olivia's side.

Then I slammed into the water hard into that it felt like solid steel. Even so, I plunged through it, falling into the depths with enough speed and force that I felt water steam against my skin, and then shifted to slow myself as I reached the bottom. My eyes adjusted to see underwater, all five senses working just fine in the liquid environment, and so I took a moment to decide on my course of action. Given where I was now, it wasn't that hard, so I closed my eyes and reached out. While I waited, I cut off my power to the remaining barriers above me, set up a new Temple and Sanctum Sanctorum, and patiently waited.

It only took seconds for Xihai to return from her mission and answer my call, pressing her hands against the solid barrier and looking at me with pitch black eyes. Smiling at her, I calmly swam to the edge of the barrier, put my hand mirror to her own, and waited several seconds more before turning off these barriers as well.

Then I calmly took Xihai's hand and we went to invade Azure's aquatic empire.

Moving through water was very different than moving through air. Sure, I could move in three dimensions either way, but it goes beyond that, simply because liquids were different then gases. From the increased resistance to the natural refraction of light, the difference was hard to ignore and the simple fact of the matter was that I didn't have a lot of experience fighting underwater.

But I made do, letting Xihai pull me along as I adjusted. The first thing I did was focus on my most important asset, namely my senses. Visually, things underwater seemed to fade as they got further away, blurring before they disappeared completely. It was simple enough to fix, thankfully; simply a matter of changing how I unscrambled the light, and in moments my vision sharpened as if I'd donned a much needed pair of glasses. Focusing into the distance, I could already see my target.

Azure's creations were hard at work. Though they'd had at most five minutes to build, they'd taken to it with their usual enthusiasm and with each moment I saw more and more of the creatures bring down materials from the surface, ferrying them to a massive, underwater dome made entirely of ice. Adjusting my vision again, I peered through the frozen water and glimpsed inside the dome and saw the massive creature Azure had made before filling much off it. What looked like a miniature city filled much of the remainder, built on top of the massive beast, to the point that I could see much of its giant mass flowing up and into the constructs, operating controls that weren't designed for anything else. In the center of the dome, I saw Sienna and Azure standing inside of what looked like the cross between a snow globe and the control deck of some advanced space ship, seemingly coordinating the process in silence.

Drawing back, I pondered the dome itself. Such a thing could only be Sienna's work, but she had more control then I remembered. At various points upon the dome's surface were what had probably been entry hatches before Azure's creations modified them into gateways, each near a construction site inside. The smaller minions created parts outside the dome and were then allowed in to add it, the gates themselves opening and closing only to allow such entry.

It was a defense against Bianca, I thought at once, considering it. Possibly Shani as well, but it was definitely focused towards their eldest sister. Sienna had frozen the space around the massive creature with her power and it was simply the resulting lack of motion had created the ice. Though a fair defense in its own right, the halt areas themselves would protect against Bianca until Azure finished her construction within, facilitated by the few entry points allowed into the hemisphere. Those areas were more vulnerable, but they were small and above the water you'd need to be very lucky to hit one. So long as Sienna had power, Azure had time to workand giving Azure time to work never ended well for those she was working against.

I suppose that decided that.

Drawing further back, I let Bai Hu sink back beneath my skin as Xihai dragged me down to the riverbed and we continued our swim along the bottom. Xihai drew up the dirt and detritus that layered the bottom, pulling them around us to add another layer of concealment to our approach. Though my eyes could decrypt the natural refraction of light in water easily enough, the opposite probably wasn't true, though I admittedly wasn't certain about the visual acuity of Azure's creations. Unless it was truly amazing, however, I had an even greater visual advantage then usual and I intended to exploit it. Xihai kept our passage from stirring the clouds too much and we approached as fast as we could without drawing attention, stopping perhaps a hundred meters from the dome. I looked over the weak points in its surface, peered within to chart my course, and took a moment to adjust my other senses as best I could, focusing primarily on my hearing.

Through Xihai and my eyes, I saw and felt how sound traveled differently through the water. As I often did with Levant above the water's surface, I asked her to reach out to the sounds, to adjust and mimic them for my sake, and then merely changed my hearing to compensate for what differences remained. In moments, I could hear everything around metouched by being done underwater, perhaps, but still audible and at least somewhat recognizable. I heard Azure's minions craft their machines with the slick brush of metal and the turning of joints. I heard how the creatures squelched and shifted and bubbled in the water, how they squeezed in and out of the gates, how they tore materials into smaller, more workable pieces.

And beyond all of that, I heard my sisters. Blotting out the sounds of their beating hearts and the creaking of their muscles, I focused on their voices and listened.

"Violet's returned to distract Bianca," Azure said in a dead serious tone, as if this were a war for their very survival.. "Olivia's trying to consolidate her control over the South-east. Once she does, the Magfishicent will undoubtedly use the chance to stage an attack against the SCBs borders, or else attempt to drive Bianca towards us."

"And Jaune?" Sienna asked grimly, a veteran preparing herself for the worst.

"Unknown," Azure said. "He moved out of our sensor's range early on, though Violet seemed to engage him at the beginning of the fight and abandon it moments later. I suspect he was responsible for the attack on Olivia, but his present location is unknown."

"What about the others?"

"Shani and Indigo have yet to show themselves either."

"Melting ice caps," Siennaswore? I guess? She seemed to be getting into this. "There's only one thing we can do. Azurecharge the laser."

Several massive structures within the dome began to glow, making me roll my eyes.

Of course there's be a giant laser.

"Let's go," I said, using Xihai's power to modulate the sound into something I could hear normally, just to see if I could. "Time to, uh, melt their ice caps or whatever."

Xihai nodded seriously, having no idea what I was talking about and seeming completely unbothered by that fact.

The core idea, however, seemed to translate just fine.

I brought up my arms and let Bai Hu rise around me once more. At once, I saw Azure's creations turn their twisted attentions my way, but it was too lateXihai thrust out a hand and the nearest of the gateways exploded inwards, water rushing through the opening. I felt the current pull me along and brought down my hands with all my might, Accelerating as I went and pushing myself through the opening the moment before Sienna reacted, freezing the areas over the gateways in response.

It was a bad move, made worse by being exactly what I expected. I reverted Xihai back to her spiritual state and drew her past the physical barriers before recreating her inside and then

And then I began to swim.

I swam as fast as I could, drawing upon my Acceleration, Bai Hu, and every other speed booster I had. I made a score of laps around the dome's circumference in a fraction of a second, starting high and going lower with every ten or so revolutions. The massive beast below us tried to react first, but Xihai turned the water in the dome against him, not so much using it to hold the beast down, but simply asserting control over several carefully picked regions of the interior. The dome was packed tight with water and with all the ways in or out sealed, there few places for the water to go and she simply reduced those options yet further.

It tried to rise, but the water refused to flow past or around it, pinning it down by simple refusal to move or be compressed. It tried to fight anyway, tried to lift the unspeakable weight above the boundary Xihai erected, and it wasted precious seconds on the futility, seconds where I continued to swim. The friction against my skin boiled the water on contact and Xihai split her focus to aid in the process as the ice on the inside of the dome swiftly began to melt. I heard Azure catch on to my plan at the sight, hissing something to Sienna about pressure cooking, but I didn't stop swimming. Moving in steady circles, I raised the heat and pressure higher and higher, directing it with Xihai's natural power even as my passage shattered buildings. In some places, I was gliding on steam more than I was swimming, which was actually kind of fun.

Well, for me that is. The rising temperature and my catastrophic displacement of water seemed to be wreaking havoc on the fine machinery within Azure's city and the steam was making the massive creature squelch in displeasure. Abruptly, an impossibly solid wall appeared in front of me and I narrowly avoided running into it as ice gathered upon its surface and nearby structures. I merely adjusted my course around it, swinging sharply again as several more walls appeared to try and box me in, but I saw them as they form and twisted sharply out of the way. Seeming to have enough, Sienna brought both of her hands down and made two walls in the sphere, freezing everything from the center to the circumference as if marking out the area of a giant slice of pie, filling the area inside with ice in the process.

That seemed like my sign to leave, so I dove hard the moment I saw the structures forming, heading for the bottom edge of the dome before Sienna could start taking shots at me again. Xihai peeled the edge of the creature up as if lifting the corner of a rugelecting another squelch of displeasure in the processand I hit the dirt full force, calling to Ereb as I did.

As easily as if I'd gone down a slide, I went right under the dome and continued upon my merry way, waving back at my sisters as I left, sure they could see me somehow. At the very least, I could see themand I could see them pouting at me. Well, they probably thought they were frowning in displeasure, but really, Azure had never been able to get past a pout.

That should keep her busy for a little while, I thought as I rose to the surface. I hit the air in a moment and my momentum carried me high into the air until I caught myself on a platform of air. Withdrawing Bai Hu again, I slid an illusion of absence over myself and knelt, looking down to see Xihai slithering atop the surface of the water.

Without a word, we both reached into the river beneath us, at once pushing and pulling at it. I focused my power and felt it spill out of my, flowing like water poured onto a smooth surface and yet trying to form something solid.

A skill has been created through a special action! Continuous manipulation of mana has created a skill with flowing elemental power, 'Tsunami.'

I didn't release the attack just yet, watching Violet and Bianca rage in the sky, light against lightning. Olivia was still expanding her territory, Azure and Sienna making repairs, and for the moment I had time to myselfso I used it. I charged the attack for most of twenty seconds, hanging silent and unseen in the air as my siblings clashed.

And then I let it go.

What seemed like the whole of the river rushed forth, flooding its banks and then rising high. Water came gushing down from its mouth and up from the sea, Xihai helping me feed the attack and push it forth. It rose over thirty meters into the air, then fifty, and then even higher as it hit shore, before crashing into the city of Vale like a fleet of airship.

Glass shattered. Buildings fell. Neighborhoods were flattened as water poured forth and crushed it beneath Nature's might. Bianca rose and Violet arced high into the sky, but Shani, Indigo, and Olivia had no choice but to weather the attackand I felt them do so, bright in my mind as Xihai whispered their locations to my thoughts. Keeping my illusion tightly around myself, I leapt down, landing in the mud and debris at the edge of the river and prowling quietly

My scroll started ringing. An alert popped up to inform me of it, but more then that I could hear it, even I my inventorymy Clairaudience at work. Except, no one should have been able to reach my scroll in Naraka; it wasn't a place that got much in the way of reception.

Given that, there was really only one possibility as to who it might be and a glance at the incoming signal confirmed it. I considered ignoring it, truly, a part of me half-expecting what was going to happen, butin in the end, I heaved a sigh and answered, solely because I knew it would make her happy.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Azure Beam!" She shouted into my ear at the top of her lungs, drawing out the last word.

A moment later a column of light as wide as a small neighborhood slammed straight into me and threw me through most of the city.