The Games We Play

Chapter 20: Noticed

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.

Noticed

The simple fact of the matter was that you couldn't predict everything. You couldn't plan for everything. This is especially true for when you're planning against someone else, because then you're dealing with the fact that a good chunk of it is dependent on someone who most likely wants you to fail and possibly die in a fire. Of course, there are many ways to help deal with that because another fact is that we often do go against one another, on many, many different scales for countless reasons.

Personally, I'd been kind of hoping good old surprise would see me through. Surprise was a wonderful thing in any plan; sure, the other guy would try and stop youif he knew what you were doing, that is. As he does not, his ability to react to, and thus disrupt, your plan is comparatively limited. That's the easiest way to deal with opposition, if you can manage itdon't.

Sadly, many times, even often times, that just wasn't possible. The same thing that made surprise a wonderful asset made it a dire threat if used against you, so people worked hard to keep it from happening to them. Maybe that's what happened here; a layer of security we hadn't noticed before, a lie that didn't add up, and maybe even just bad luck; either way, a problem had occurred.

The bright side is that occurring in plans is what problems did and people had been dealing with that for years, too. A lot of times, we try to plan aheadthe best way to never be caught off-guard is to be prepared for everything, after all. Rarely possible, unfortunately, but a nice thought and we do our best. Adam, Blake, and I had made a number of plans, though, and back up plans and more and while I wasn't arrogant enough to believe they covered everything, we covered what we could.

For that reason, I paused for a moment. With some unknown figure approaching, with Blake telling me we had a problem, with no idea what to expect, I calmly remained seated and thought things through.

A big part of planning ahead is, naturally, preparationthat being the very point of making a plan, after all. The same is true of contingencies and backups and, really, training of any kind. You make a lot of plans so you know what to do and how to react, if something happens, or to give yourself more options. A lot of the time, these are done in broad strokes out of necessity, because you just don't know what will happen, but that same thing can reduce a plan's effectiveness because it's not built for a specific problem. At times like that, you need something better.

Which is why the hilarious truth about planning is that often times, you practice and prepare and think over and spend lots of time on itand then some step gets really blurry all of a sudden and you just have to think on your feet since step three suddenly became 'figure out how to make it to step four.' You hear a lot of comparisons battles and life and whatever to games likewell, like chess. Chess is a common one, used in all sorts of metaphors about wars and combats and battle.

I didn't see it. I wasn't a veteran of battles by any means but I'd gotten some experience in the last three weeks or so and I honestly didn't see it. I mean, I guess if you tilted your head at it and squinted, chess might be like a battle. If you couldn't always see the pieces. And if there were more pieces. And if the pieces could move however they wanted, move themselves, leave the game, come back in, switch sides, and had thoughts, feelings, and opinions. So, yeah, not really like chess at all.

But that didn't necessarily mean you couldn't play the game.

'I'll handle my side, you handle yours,' I sent back to Blake as I stood. 'This isn't over yet.'

'Okay,' She replied a moment later.

This wasn't chess and Blake and Adam weren't my pieces. They were people, they're own people, and each probably had vastly more experience than I did in terms of things going wrong. I trusted them and I knew they could handle themselves in a situation; I didn't need to hold their hands in a fight or anything. If anything, it was the other way around on that particular battlefield, so I banished that side of the problem from my mind completely and focused instead on my own. I had the most important job nowthe shipso I gave it my full attention.

First things first, I opened my Inventory. I was still in the uniform I'd used to sneak onboard the ship and now I needed a change. I looked at Crocea Mors, at Dreary Midnight and my masks, and they were tempting, so very tempting.

But no. See, everyone always hears about the dangers of underestimating an opponentand that was true and you shouldn't. But something you hear about less often that's just as important? Don't overestimate them, either.

It was easy to hear about the problem, to see that someone had entered the ship, and assume the worse. That my cover had been blown, that they knew everything, that they were coming for me. It's dangerously simple to see a problem and make connections that weren't there, to blame everything on someone else, to give in to sudden desperation and fear. Something goes wrong while you're plotting against someone; it's easy to assume they were responsible, that you underestimated them, that beneath it all everyone was some super genius.

But was that the case? Probably not. It was common enough to hear things like 'I don't believe in coincidences,' but then what do you believe in when something random or unlikely happens. I had more reason to think that way than most, since I had a stat that might well be able to manipulate probability, but even then, I'd seen a fair amount of stuff I'd attribute to chance and a fair number of plots in movies and games and stuff that made me go 'sorry, no, you'd have to be God to plan all that.'

Did I believe then, that we'd just fallen into an elaborate trap, that someone had known all along or else found out in time to set us up? That they'd allowed me to get this far to catch me here, now? A part of me wanted to, wanted to point out that Adam and Blake had recently suffered difficulties and now I was too, and wonder how they could have done it, but that didn't add up.

I wasn't certain what kind of trouble Adam and Blake had run intoI didn't hear any explosions yet, which I figured was a good signbut whatever it was, if it had given me away, why send just one person? Maybe she was an expert Huntress like my mother, but if I was the one in charge of something this big and I suspected someone was attempting anything like I was attempting, there would be more than a small, calm response.

Furthermore, thinking about it with the calm granted by the Gamer's Mind, how would they know it was me? Ignoring the things I know I'd done out of sight, what could have given me away? Again, I could have given into the urge to believe I was dealing with super geniuses who could spot the slightest inconsistency, but I knew that wasn't true. Most of my plan had been built on that not being true. Getting the information about the ship, getting onto the ship, and more, all proof of that people were people. I had gotten passed some of the best security money could by and then onto a cutting edge airship purely on that fact. So then, what had given me away?

Maybe, just maybe, nothing. In which case going out in a Grimm mask and a black cloak would blow my cover needlessly.

With one last glance at my items, I shifted my attention downwards and equipped the flight attendant suit I'd stolen beforehand and left the cockpit.

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I followed the woman I sensed through the ship, careful to take a different route so we wouldn't meet until I wanted us to. To my relief, she hadn't even gone in the direction of the cockpit, but instead towards the passenger section. A passenger coming onboard even earlier than expected? I began thinking of explanations for why I'd need to remove her from the ship

Which all went down the drain the moment I saw her.

She stood by one of the many windows, face expressionless, maybe even sad, as she grazed the glass with her finger nails. She was dressed in light blues and whitesdress, boots, and jacket all made to match in what was probably a custom design. A flash of red, stark against the rest of her ensemble, stood out brightly in her raised collar, drawing attention from the pale colors, but even then, between light blue eyes, white hair, and pale skin, I looked at her and thought of snow.

Fitting, given the words written above her head.

The Loneliest of All

LV31

Weiss Schnee

Wonderful. Justwonderful.

I recovered quickly as I saw her turn my way looking a bit startled, and adopted a smile.

"Ah," I said, thinking fast. "I hadn't realized we'd begun boarding yet. May I"

I tilted my head to the side, trailing off.

"Oh! Ms. Schnee!" I said as if only just now recognizing her. "I apologize. I hadn't known you'd be flying with us today. Will your father be joining us as well?"

Please say no.

Weiss Schnee smiled at me for a moment, but something about it seemed just a bit off.

"No, no, neither of us will be flying today," She said pleasantly, but when I Observed her, I saw that she was anxious behind her fake smile. "I simply wanted to take a look at this beautiful ship before it departed."

Something about how she said that struck me as false, even without using Observe again. Maybe it was just the tip off of her title, but

I bowed slightly at her, nodding minutely.

"Would you like me to escort you then, Ms. Schnee?" I asked. "I have finished with my duties for the moment and the ship is easy to get lost in."

I saw her expression become ever so slightly more strained and her emotions shifted slightly. As she nodded, I could see a bit of displeasure, but more resignation.

"That would be lovely, Mr."

"Hamelin," I said, drawing upon one of the fake names I'd made up as I gestured down the hallway with one arm. "This way, please."

She walked by without another look at me and I stood just a step behind, where I could move into her blind spot quickly if I had to.

I was hoping I wouldn't. Given her leveland the implied training she must have receivedit was unlikely a quick takedown would be possible again, to say nothing of her Aura. And if it came to a fight inside the shipwell, it would be dangerous, but more than that, it was likely to be noticeable and could cause damage to the ship. I needed time to think of a strategy, a way of getting her off the ship peacefully, if at all possible.

I looked her over again, Observing her closely. Her stats were biased in the direction of Intelligence and she possessed an impressive amount of MP. A similar glance at the sword by her sideand how did she get away with bringing that in here?labeled it as 'Myrtenaster' and a 'Multi Action Dust Rapier.' I noted white, yellow, blue, red, light blue, and purple Dust set into what looked like a revolver chamber inside the rapier's guard, and between that and her family name, it seemed safe to assume she was a Dust user, though what that truly meant depended on how she chose to use it.

It was still good to know. Just in case.

"I apologize," I said, both to buy time think things through and to satisfy my curiosity.

"For what?" Weiss asked in return, but there was a type of tension in her voice. I considered my words carefully for a moment before answering.

"I got the impression that I may have interrupted something," I said truthfully. "And you seemed somewhat upset by my appearanceresigned, perhaps. And for that I apologize."

I saw her fingers twitch, but she said nothing. I was sure that if I'd been able to see her face, she'd have been frowning.

I didn't speak again until I'd led her to the first class area and viewing deck. Here, the sun shined upon the opulence within through one of the largest windows I'd ever seen, displaying a room that looked like it was out of a movie, with plenty of open space, comfortable looking seats, personal screens for each, and much more.

More importantly to me, however, there was an easy pathway from here to one of the exits. If I was lucky, I'd be able to convince her to leave by the time I led her there. If notwell, I'd have to improvise. Either way, though, I needed to do this quickly, before other people started showing up. Or even before Blake and Adam got here, because I honestly wasn't sure how they'd react to the company heiress.

I wasn't even sure how I was supposed to react to the company heiress. Should I take her hostage now? I really didn't want to do that and even if I didn't find it really uncomfortable morally, every way I could see it ending looked bad, just some less than others. What I really wanted was to get her off the ship without complicating this any further, but

"It's not really my place," I began again after a minute of admiring the view, trying a different approach. "But does your father know you're here?"

"You're right," She said after a moment of silence. "It's not your place."

I fell silent at that, feeling a little bad even as I started thinking of ways to use it to get her off the ship. I was pretty sure I could, was the good news, but I kept thinking of her title, wondering what you had to do to get something like that pasted above your head. I wondered about titles for other people in general, honestlylike, what did they mean? What did they even do? Could they change? I assumed they could, since I couldn't see Adam being born 'The Beast', but if they changed

I repressed a sigh, forcing myself to focus. I glanced around, thinking about my next words, but she spoke before I could.

"I wasn't going to run away." Weiss said firmly after several seconds of awkward silence. I stared at her quietly for a moment and then nodded, even though she couldn't see it.

"I believe you," I said and when silence fell again, added. "You don't really seem like the type who'd run away. But it's interesting to consider sometimes, isn't it? Running away and leaving behind the expectations andeverything."

I thought I could almost hear her teeth grinding and for just a moment I wondered if she'd start yelling at me. But when she answered, her voice was soft.

"Only a coward runs away from their problems."

"Perhaps," I agreed. "That doesn't mean the brave don't consider it, though. I like to think that by having the option and choosing not to, we become brave."

She slowly stopped walking and looked down, hair covering her eyes. I stopped behind her and let her consider that for a moment before continuing.

"I don't have any right to talk about your problems, butI used to think about it too, sometimes. When I was alone for weeks and" I let myself trail off again, trying to strike the balance between making a connection and not telling her anything about myself. "And that's always what I thought, after. I don't know if it's really true and sometimes I wondered if it was just another way of being scared, butit helped, I think. And I knew that my parents were"

Weiss turned her head and looked back at me with irritation shining in her eyes.

"You don't know anything," She almost snarled. "I"

She visibly cut herself off and turned away again.

I looked at her quietly and reached out to put a hand on her shoulder after some deliberation.

"I won't tell my boss I saw you," I said gently. "Or your father or anyone. So let's go, okay?"

I had her now, I thought. I had no idea how I felt about how easily I could manipulate someone's emotions, besides a little sick, but I did. I was pretty sure she'd let me lead her out if I asked. I wondered what she'd think we she figured out why I was actually here or if she'd think I was just another casualty of the White Fang, but for now, I could remove her from this ship before anything else went wrong

I had to struggle to contain a scream of frustration when I heard explosions.

I barely held myself back from dashing to the window as fast as I couldbecause if I moved as fast as I could, if I reacted so quickly, it may well be enough to give me away, even if Weiss thoughts were probably focused elsewhere at the moment. Instead, I let her move first, following at a more normal pace to stand behind her, at which point I followed her gaze to the scene outside.

What I saw was as confusing as it was bizarre. It wasthere wasn't any order to the scene that I could see, nothing I could focus on and make sense of. One of the nearby buildings had apparently been destroyed, crashing down in a massive pile that had already begun to do up in flames. I saw what looked like the robots I'd fought several weeks ago, including one of the Spider Droids, moving through the grounds, guns firing rapidly in the direction of the crowds already streaming from the presentation hall, muted screams mixing with distant gunfire to make a bizarre backdrop to the strange sight.

I saw what must have been Hunters blurring between the firing robots and the crowds, deflecting fire with weapons of all kinds and making it look easybut that didn't change the fact that they were being forced to remain where they were or else expose the crowds to lethal fire. Worse, the robots were arranged in such a way that the crowds didn't have anywhere to run to and their terrified rush was halted by the Hunters themselves, keeping them where they were. I saw return fire from those who could spare the focus, saw robots collapse, but it scarcely seemed to matter as other machines merely stepped into place.

The Hunters could dodge the fire easily. Once they closed in, they'd slaughter the robots just as trivially. And yet, for all of that they had no choice but to stand their ground as bullet after bullet flashed through the air, because they couldn't risk the safety of those who couldn't. For all their power, they had to take everything the machine's dished out until they either ran out of bullets or something got through. And given the amount of robots, the number of people present, and how thinly the Hunters present needed to be spread to protect all of them

I'd have bet on something getting through, if only because of the Spider Droid's charging beam cannon, but for one thing. A glimmer of hope that, strangely, came in the form of Adam. In a role I would not have expected from my older party member, he stood between the crowd and the hostile machines, cutting down all he could with flickering strikes that reached far further then his blade should have allowed. As the Spider Droid finished charging, I saw him move, bracing himself with gritted teeth as he interposed himself in front of the flashing streak of light.

I saw him get pushed back, grit his teeth, and withstand the rest of the attack before striking back in a flash of black and red, even as I heard another thunderous crash of fallen rubble as the burned pile abruptly shifted, the giant figure of another machine rising against the backdrop of the flames.

I'd like to say I understood what had happened at a glance, but that would have been a damn lie. The truth was that I had absolutely no clue what the hell was going on. Hell, if not for the Gamer's Mind, I would have stared at the scene before me in abject shock like Weiss was doing. Instead I remained calm and took things in as best I could and continued to observe the scene. It didn't suddenly start making sense, sadly, with Schnee or Atlasian or whatever robots attacking innocent people, Adam fighting to protect them, and so much stuff on fire, but that just meant I needed to think things through before getting involved withthis.

First things first, I had to find my friends. I saw Adam, but not Blake and since she had been the one to message me beforehand

With a whisper, I brought up my Map, glancing at it to see the colored dots indicating my party members and noted Adam's position before turning towards the other. Through the window on top of the elevated White Whale, I could see the rooftops all around, which was the only reason I was able to spot Blake at all. Atop a blocky red building off to the side, I saw her fighting a man I didn't recognize and could barely see from here. If I could put on Lenorebut no. I tried to squint, catch some details, but all I could see was red hair, what might have been a black hat, and a white coat or suit. I couldn't make out any more details about him, except for the fact that Blake was fighting him as hard as I'd ever seen and not instantly winning, which told me a lot all its own.

There were other marks on my dots, scattered around the area, but now that I knew both of my teammates were alive I had more important things to do. Likefiguring out what to do.

Something had obviously gone horrible wrong somewhere, though I was beginning to suspect it had less to do with us and more to do with an unanticipated third party. I considered aborting as the mission had already gone half to hell, butKnowing nothing else about them then that they were here, it seemed safe to assume that the White Whale was their goal and motive. The reason for their presence could have been anything from stealing it like we'd planned to destroying it to just trying to take advantage of the crowds it'd drawn. There was no way of knowing with the information I had right now, but whatever the case

Whatever the case, this could easily ruin everything. Whatever their motivations, whether they were successful or not, it was unlikely I'd be able to get to the White Whale again after this, at least with anywhere near the same amount of ease. If they destroyed it, that was it. If they got away with it and managed to get it away from the people sent after it, that would probably be it, too. But if they were unsuccessful or if they were just trying to take advantage of the situationeither way, security would be increased tremendously, if this public demonstration wasn't called off entirely which seemed more likely. It might not be impossible, but it would be a lot harder and there was no way of knowing when there'd be another chance.

I had to decide, here and now, whether to back out or keep going.

We might be able to fight another day. If the White Whale wasn't destroyed, if it wasn't taken someplace we couldn't reach, if we were lucky, we could get another shot someday, maybe. It wouldn't be easy by any means, would be a lot harder than it was today, but the very nature of my power meant that time was on my side. Given another week, I could definitely gain a few more levels and learn the next skill in Bai Hu's lost art. Given a month to prepare, or two, or six, or a year, I didn't even know what I could do. I could get stronger, though, far stronger then I was now. I could grind my skills, prepare, struggle, and improve until I was up to the challenge. So could Adam and Blake, once I'd leveled up enough for us to really party.

Patience and time were on my side, whatever the situation. I could wait. I could always wait.

But could the people I was trying to save? If nothing changed, if nothing was done, could they wait? If it took me a year to get another chance to save themwhat could happen to them in that time? How many would suffer in that time? How many innocent men and women and children would die in that time, if I backed out now?

I guess we'd never know.

I decided my next move before Weiss even spoke.

"They're after the ship!" She said, turning around in a flurry of white. "We have to tell the Captain to get this ship in the air!"

I nodded silently without even looking at her, having already come to the same conclusionbut it went without saying that I couldn't let her speak to the non-existent Captain. It wasn't an issue, though.

I closed my eyes, projecting an image to Crocea Morsthe cockpit as I'd last seen it. Then I changed the thought, giving basic instructions to go with it, and held on as the airship rattled and began to rise.

The White Whale, like most airships, could be flown by a single pilot, so long as he knew how. The second pilot was there for safety concerns and to split duties to make the flight easier, but either could manage the ship by themselves if needed. I intended to fly the White Whale that way, as the only member of my group who knew how to fly itbut I did have a co-pilot of sorts. Crocea Mors was in the metal of this ship, in the controls.

It wasn't the same as him being able to fly, sadly. If anything, it was like I was telling him how to play a video game, directing every button press and motion, and there was a limit to the range, too. But if it was just for something like this and with me this closeit was enough.

Weiss stumbled as the ship rose unevenly, falling back into my waiting arms while I braced myself on the window. She let out a little huff of expelled air as she rocked into me, but quickly steadied herself against my frame, waiting for the airship to stabilize.

But there was a problem with that, too. See, I was already thinking about the situation, where it was going, and how I could play into it. The people Adam and Blake were fightingI knew nothing about them, but I could make educated guessed from their actions. Whatever they were doing, I assumed they must have put at least as much planning and preparation into it as we'd done for ours and I had to admit that as distractions went, a horde of reprogrammed robots was a pretty damn good one.

But that was all it was. A distraction and a way to buy time. So long as innocent lives were at stake, they could keep the Hunters preoccupied and pinned, but they couldn't beat them that way. If they shot enough bullets, some would get through and people would get hurt, even die, but the Hunters? When the bullets ran out, they'd just be angry at the guy behind it. He'd probably run, though, seeing as I'd ruined his plan and stolen his prize.

We'd won that battle, more or less.

But that didn't mean they'd be happy with us, once it was over. When the gunfire faded, Adamwhose actions I wasn't certain on, but who I trusted and called a friendwould be stuck in the middle of a group of people who would probably be thankful for the assist, but hardly enough so to let us walk away with an airship. Or walk away at all, really, given that when this was over, Adam would be a White Fang member standing in the middle of a bunch of Hunters. Blake was far enough from the scene to maybe get away but

No. Blake wouldn't leave Adam to his fate like that. She'd get involved just like I would. The difference was, I could actually get us out of this mess. Probably. If I could pull it off. No, more than that, if I could actually do it.

I closed my eyes for a minute, thinking of why I was involved in this mess.

Yeah.

I could.

Weiss pushed away from me as the ship straightened at my command.

"Come on," She snapped impatiently, not even looking at me as she barked commands. "We still need to speak to the pilot. We'll need to"

I'd already opened my Inventory, preparing myself.

I'm sorry, I thought and meant it. A part of me wanted to explain myself, regretting this already. Butfor my friends, for the people I had to save

I attacked.