Those goddammed plague rat motherfuckers might have given me the Rona!
For context, I work at a fucking Walmart in Kansas within the Covid hotspot of the state. Assholes refuse to wear masks and their fucking kids are walking around touching every goddamn item in the store. So, I woke up today feeling like mighty garbage. I don't have a fever yet, but I'm going to get tested regardless.
Aside from that, I didn't post anything last week because I got mightily pissed off at some of these reviews. The ones you don't see are the hatey Jewy kind of review posted by some midwestern Neo Nazi who's trying to profess his standing in the master race despite him probably looking like wet meat that came out of the Taco Bell dumpster. Like, how the fuck are you the prime example of the white race when you probably have no teeth and your fucking chin is missing?! It's always the same people.
It's ironic when I see these things online because I was the kid that always got used as the example of an aryan whenever we talked about the Nazis in history class and I have a mighty hatred for these guys. (I look like Jaune with a beard.)
[Jaune]
Jaune stood before a new door within the fortress. Another chamber he had yet to explore remained closed to him. Among the thousands of other halls or adjacent buildings, he felt drawn to this place—an unseen hand guiding him to this destination. Not another soul daring to tread here.
The golden doors were similar to those found outside the cathedral. However, standing next to the gateway were two statues of heavily armoured women with angelic wings. Each carried a spear in hand and bore a sword on their hips. At their feet were roses white as snow, placed delicately in massive offerings to the war-maidens.
These were valkyries. They guarded this passage with an everlasting sense of duty and an immense understanding of the importance of what lie behind the doors. Even if these statues were not sentient, each radiated a sombre feeling through the air. It permeated every inch of the grounds leading up to this sect. Jaune felt genuinely saddened as he stood here. Like the times he visited his father's grave.
The boy did not wait any longer, gently pushing open the doors. Their metallic hinges creaked slightly as metal ground upon itself. That's when the purpose of this chamber was presented to Jaune.
There were what seemed to be millions of sarcophagi lining the walls. For as far as he could see, there were coffins. Jaune paused for only a moment before striding past the decorations lying between him and the graves. The grounds were a massive garden miles long with hundreds of stone paths and fountains at every intersection. Many statues of warriors stood proudly among the lush vegetation lining the pathways.
The beauty was incompressible. Words did not have the right capacity to describe the gardens. No man could have even if he'd spent decades working tirelessly to write a single line. It was a perfect mix of the macabre architecture of the castle and vibrant life growing within.
For all of this castle's terrifying features, this room was the only one that felt truly peaceful. It was familiar and not some alien setting one would have discovered within a nightmare—a mere vivarium but on a larger scale. Every leaf tended to delicately, providing the best possible outcome for the species growing here.
Continuing to walk through the gardens, Jaune was finally able to reach the sarcophagi. Another gate fashioned from wrought-golden bars tipped with spikes opened for him, permitting entry to the crypt.
'What is this?'
He gently grazed one of the coffins, removing the only spec of dust that dared to cling to the grave. Carved into the foot of the coffin was a name in Nordic script. Jaune could not understand the writing, but he understood the importance behind it. This person was honoured highly by his people, and laid in a manner befitting their deeds.
Jaune moved onto the next coffin and found this one to be written in English. The name engraved into the marble was Charles Wallace. It was his final resting place beyond the confines of this castle. Those lost souls having to pass on somewhere else, yet, they were not disposed of. Each lied in wait for the time they would be called forth.
"Valhalla," Jaune muttered under his breath.
He laid his hand delicately on the coffin's lid, daring not to disturb the contents. Jaune could feel what remained inside, locked away within limbo. Such a weak fragment that he could barely perceive what was left.
"You understand what this place is now," a person from behind asked.
Jaune turned around and found Freyja standing at the inner gate. The woman was still dressed in her garb, only wearing the trenchcoat as a cape this time. She strode past him, examining one of the other coffins down the line. The woman produced a flower and gently laid it over the top of this sarcophagus.
"The honoured dead receive the Valkyrie's embrace and are shepherded to heaven," Freyja fervently explained, turning to him. "Here, they await Ragnarok, the Dies Irae! The final battle where our Lord, our God shall judge if we are worthy to enter his kingdom! Those with our blessing shall fight alongside us when we begin the final act of this opera." She gestured towards Jaune with one outstretched hand. "You, Herr Leonhardt, possess a facsimile of that kingdom. An imperfect copy made in your image, incomplete as it stands now. One that represents the finality of our world upon your will's emanation. A Weltall existing outside this universe, sheltering a menagerie of those who you have saved."
Jaune continued watching her, allowing the woman to continue ranting on about this castle. Her speech was not finished despite how she concluded it upon their meeting. The boy did not move an inch, standing his ground even though he knew he would lose without contest. Normal men would have become enraptured by her mere presence. It was a feat that Jaune was not grovelling before her, driven insane by her gravitas.
"These legions shall not rise unless you beckon them," Freyja continued, turning her back to him as she made her way to the garden. As she spoke, her arms gesticulated frantically, expressing the excitement for what lies ahead. "You have yet to find the strength to shout, 'Hail one, hail all! This is a declaration of war!' To call upon the dead to rise, and for hell to sing the Dies Irae!"She turned back and gave him a bow. "This fellow knight cheerfully awaits for that moment as I have foreseen that future and many others." As she stood, a golden aura enveloped her and Freyja disappeared.
As Jaune was left alone, he went to examine the grave she left a flower on. It was another of those white flowers which she had chosen for reasons unknown. When he reached the coffin, Jaune found himself stopped at the mere sight of the name engraved into the stone.
"Dad..."
...
He awoke in his bed, finding the sun just cresting over the horizon. Jaune sat up immediately and inspected his body. His clothes were still intact, not a hair was displaced on his person. That punch Arthur had knocked him unconscious with no longer remained on his cheek. His was Scroll intact as well, not stolen by the Nazis either.
Why did they bring me back here?
Jaune had no idea. A part of him would have expected the Nazis to have captured and used the boy for their own purposes. Whatever weapons like Machecoul or Excalibur they had at their disposal could have seen to that. It wasn't a stretch to believe such a thing.
No, Freyja wanted him to be returned home. She intended for Jaune to find strength so she and the other Nazis could fight him. Her chosen locale for this battle was a place called the Holy See. Whatever that was, it was of some significance to her.
She's the same as me...
Jaune was still trying to wrap his head around it. The way she acted, how she looked, the power behind her mortal visage all lead him to that end. Her golden eyes confirmed that theory. They were the same manner of beast, unlike other vampires. There was something far different from the two of them compared to that man Arthur.
She's their commander. Arthur is the lieutenant. Pierre and Maria were just the soldiers, their scouts.
Maria and Pierre were sent in to observe and potentially draw Jaune out. It was an ambush. One they executed almost flawlessly had Pierre not grown overconfident with himself. Arthur did not show up without reason. He had been waiting for something to happen and acted as support. Freyja merely sat by and watched, yet, she didn't need their help.
Freyja had been following him for years, why didn't she get involved when the right time came?
What was so interesting about Jaune now that she decided to make a move now? Indeed, it wasn't just because of his supposed challenge. She would have appeared for only that when he fought Cassius. No, Freyja only manifested once Jaune realised who he was. The night of his awakening sealed his fate as their opponent. Had it not been for that, Jaune doubted they would have acted. He may have continued to exist as a curiosity for Freyja to observe from afar.
That brought him to the Lieutenant, Arthur. He looked like someone Jaune had seen before. Only, Jaune couldn't put that face to a person he personally knew. Possibly, it could have been some genetic memory due to his own family's magical prowess? A trait found in so few people that it was unheard of by science and the rest of society.
Jaune turned to the edge of the bed and sat quietly. His mind raced with prospective plans to counter anything they were going to come up with. A group of hundred-year-old Nazis would have found a seventeen-year-old to be hardly a match in terms of strategy, but Jaune didn't have the luxury of time.
Heh, maybe that's why she called me Julius Caesar... Freyja expects nothing short of a miracle from me. She knows what I'm capable of even if I'm not sure of it myself.
Why else would she take such an interest in him? The demon, Mephistopheles spoke highly of him, and he was not a character of such renown as Faust was. She wished to tempt Jaune to step beyond himself for her own purpose. The fact Freyja knew it to be inevitable created this respect welling up inside her heart.
And she knew Dad was there...
A lump began forming within his throat just thinking about that. His father was dead and gone up until now, and Jaune didn't believe in some kind of afterlife where they'd reunite. He'd been ripped out of the castle before he even got the chance to examine the grave to see if anything could be done. A tease, which made the boy wallow in his rage.
If Wallace's soul was still there, his father would have some remnant as well. However, that immediately brought him to what Freyja said. Jaune wasn't powerful enough to raise the dead. He was so close to what remained of his father but knew there was an impossible mountain to conquer before he ever got the chance to see him again.
Several tears fell from his eyes as he reminisced. It soon turned into a downpour of uncontrollable crying that forced him to choke down his voice lest he attracted attention to himself. His heart burning with anger and sadness at the tantalising thought, amplified by his emotions thrown into disarray.
Oh, how he desired the Ghost's presence at this moment. His one and only ally abandoning him to the wolves when he needed that sense of comfort she gave. The boy left to carry such a burden on his own despite how crushing the odds were.
Jaune inhaled deeply, trying to bring himself back to a stable mindset. He scanned the room, considering what he had control of in this very moment. However, as he turned to his desk, he noticed three objects laying on top of it. The boy quickly got up to investigate before one of his sisters barged in and found them first.
On his desk were two trinkets and a letter. Most prominent was the Luger P08 laying over the top of the message. Just next to that was a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross neatly laid out with its signature red, white, and black ribbon attached. This piece promptly displayed the crooked cross in the centre of the cross pattée with the date 1939 underneath that.
Jaune picked up the luger and pressed the release holding the magazine inside. A fully loaded magazine dropped down and into his hand. Upon further inspection, the handgun seemed to be an authentic piece from the second world war. There was no reason for it not to be. The same went for the Iron Cross. Both were in immaculate condition despite the nearly seventy-five years from then and now.
He set them aside and grabbed the letter. Holding the fold closed was a red wax seal with the German Imperial Eagle holding a swastika in its talons. Jaune carefully undid the seal as to not damage it and examined its contents.
The letter was penned with black ink using a fountain pen. The author's handwriting was in perfect cursive with not a flaw found in the script.
Leonhardt,
For valour in battle, I have deemed you worthy to bear Das Eisern Kreuz. Carry yourself in high esteem at this great honour. You have earned the title, Reichsritter.
Jaune sighed and tossed the letter back onto his desk. The absence of a signature ensured no definitive identification could be made. He was sure it was from Freyja, however. Jaune could have easily guessed that given she would be the only one with authority to do so.
Imperial Knight?
Jaune was unsure of why she would give him such a title. They were enemies from the very moment the two met. However, she acted as though they were all apart of the same club, only on rival teams in this instance. Maybe it related to his dream with Pyrrha?
On his nightstand, Jaune's Scroll beeped loudly with three texts that were just sent through. Grabbing the device and backing over to the gun and Iron Cross, he saw the message was from Yang.
Y: Yo, Jaune, Pyrrha and I are going to the gym. Wanna come with?
Y: Come on! You know you want to.
Y: Don't chicken out on us!
Great... Wonder if I can get out of it?
Before he could reply, someone knocked on his door loudly and barged in not a moment later. Blanche was the intruder who did not follow basic decency to wait for someone to respond. Luckily, Jaune grabbed the gun and medal, holding them behind his back so she couldn't see. He had no time to wipe his eyes and cover up the fact he'd been crying.
"Yo, food's ready if you want some," Blanche declared. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Did you fall asleep in your clothes from yesterday?"
He did. Jaune's clothes were entirely intact despite the battle with Arthur. However, the fact he had not changed out of his previous attire and taken a shower meant his appearance was less than stellar. His hair was pushed up to one side of his head, making him look like an idiot.
"Yes, and no, I'm good," Jaune replied, not moving from where he stood. "Going to the gym with Yang and Pyrrha, so I'll pass."
If the Nazis knew where he lived and were clearly watching him, it would be better to stay away from home. At least at the school or out in the town, his family would keep out of the crossfire. Jaune could hide his friends or lead the Nazis away if one decided to act this morning.
As Blanche closed the door and left the hall, Jaune quickly found a t-shirt and wrapped both the gun and medal inside of it. The boy then stuffed it in one of the pockets on his bookbag for safekeeping. If those detectives were to search his room, they could not find those among his belongings. It would lead to far too many questions.
Jaune then began preparing himself for the day ahead. He couldn't achieve his goals if he just sat around here, especially with what he learned only minutes ago. Despite that, nothing had changed from his original end, only the rewards at the end of this road. Bringing Valhalla into this world was merely one of the objectives leading up to the climax. He committed himself to discover that key, no matter the cost. The only thing he could be sure of was to devour life's experience and bring another weapon into this world.
[Yang]
Buzzing herself into the building, Yang pulled open the outer doors to Beacon. Inside, there was nothing but the gentle hum of the air conditioners to fill the silence—a sharp contrast from a few days ago where the bustling school was filled with hundreds of teens. Without people here, it felt the opening sequence to a chase scene in a monster movie.
The only evidence of someone else being here was the janitor's cart. Even he was missing right now, genuinely leaving Yang alone. With her mind going straight to the thought of horror movies, she quickly fled in the direction of the weight room. The sounds of her sneakers clicking against the tile floors filling the air.
If this place wasn't so creepy, I wouldn't mind fucking around in here... Go-karting through the hallways or playing hide n' seek would be so much fun!
Goodwitch would probably suspend the girl for organising something like that, but it would be totally worth it. Like the time she and Nora started a food fight, which both girls got away with Scott free. Everyone got detention, but she'd been given that before.
A beep on her Scroll drew Yang's attention away from the hall in front of her. Checking it, she saw something was sent to her and Pyrrha by Jaune's sister.
B: Hey, if Jaune's going to work out with you guys, make sure he's okay. I think he was crying in his room.
"Awww, fuck," Yang cursed, putting her Scroll away. As she looked up, someone checked her shoulder, nearly knocking the girl off balance. It felt like she'd hit a brick wall. "Sorry, wasn't looking..."
When she didn't get a response, Yang turned to see if the other person was all right. However, as she whipped around, Yang found Ilia staring right at her. The girl bore what could only be described as a mix between a zombified expression and a blank stare. The Faunus was looking right through Yang like she wasn't even there.
It honestly creeped Yang out. Before she could say anything, Ilia simply turned and left the girl by herself. The blonde was befuddled for a couple of moments, but continued on her way, peeking over her shoulder from time to time.
...
The girl stepped out of the locker room wearing an orange tank-top with a burning heart emblem and plain black shorts. Her hair was tied up into a ponytail barely constricting the wild mane. Pyrrha followed, bearing a similar outfit but in a designer red and black tank.
"So, what did Coco tell you," Pyrrha asked, taking a sip of water from her bottle.
A lot of things. Mostly, she called Yang last night complaining about the assholes who were stalking Velvet's coffee shop. The girl went on what seemed to be an hour-long rant about how Velvet didn't deserve their shit and about how she was going to string some guys up by their nuts if she found them. There was a little bit on how the police weren't going to do anything about it, but Coco wasn't considering the fact Vale was not exactly in great shape. Yang didn't feel the need to correct her because of how angry she was and how this kind of thing escaped justice all too often.
"Well, Jaune's eyes are actually gold," Yang confessed quietly. Her voice stayed low enough that nobody else could hear them. Yang didn't need someone else picking up on Jaune's business, and it spread like wildfire. "They're not contacts, so they confirmed what we were guessing."
Pyrrha looked at her with a look that spelt shock, jaw hanging open slightly and everything. Yang could see the gears turning inside her head as she registered the news. Whether or not, Pyrrha actually believed it was another matter entirely.
"How does she know," Pyrrha asked, still sceptical, which was becoming a regular thing when they talked about Jaune. Yang guessed that she was partially blind to it because he was one of her best friends, so that couldn't click in her brain.
"Said it himself," Yang revealed in a much lower whisper. "They asked, and he told them. Jaune thinks being around that fight on the bridge did it to him. Just don't tell anybody else because Coco promised to keep it a secret."
"Nothing looks wrong with him, though," Pyrrha pointed out. She turned to Yang with an expression mixed between anxiety and regret. "I've been hanging out with him for the past few days..." She let out a loud sigh. "I dunno, do you think we're making a huge deal about this over nothing?"
I'm not sure... If giants like that skeleton exist there's probably a lot more weird stuff that can happen and we don't know about it yet. Jaune was at the wrong place, right time.
"Eh," Yang uttered, giving a so-so gesture. "Maybe, but we're just sticking with the plan, so I just wanted to let you know. Jaune comes to work out with us, we beat some more confidence into him. His new looks are doing that already for him, but a little more self-esteem never hurt anybody."
He wasn't walking around like his dick was too big for his pants, so that was already a good start. Some guys were wont to do that because egos got too inflamed. Girls too, but it wasn't a good look on anybody. When Yang first met Jaune, she got that kind of vibe from him; however, he quickly mellowed out.
Not with the Ice Queen though... That really didn't go away when it came to her.
"I see," Pyrrha relented, shrugging her shoulders. "Jaune's not the only one that feels off though. Everything here feels kind of tense now, and it was fine when we came back to school a couple days ago."
"Yeah," Yang chirped, in agreement. "I ran into Ilia out in the hallway, and she looked right through me. Kind of like she was sleepwalking or something. A few of the other girls were walking around the same way too."
Maybe it's because of all the stuff going on in Vale right now. They're stuck here and stressing out with the city on fire. Most of them don't have anywhere else to go...
It felt like the right time where a bunch of weird stuff would happen. Yang had the niggling sensation it was all related, but then again, the circumstances were nothing she'd seen or heard before. That kind of thing only really happened in anime or video games, so Yang had her doubts.
"Weiss doesn't seem to be doing well either," Pyrrha said with a dose of venom in the back of her throat that would stop a man's heart in less than a second. Yang could bet money on that being due to the text they got from Blanche. "And I can't believe Ruby decided it was a good idea to invite her along..."
Ooooo, boy...
"I get it, Pyrrha," Yang expressed, still trying to keep on her friend's good side. However, she was looking at the bigger picture. "But, we need to help them both if anything is going to be fixed between them. This is our first step, and all you need to do is walk around with Jaune, stuff your face with churros, and drag him onto a roller coaster. Ruby is going to take care of the rest with Weiss tomorrow."
Pyrrha let out a prolonged exhale. "Fine," she relented reluctantly, gritting her teeth. "If this goes badly, I told you so..." With that, Pyrrha walked away, going to meet the blonde noodle who just walked into the room.
The boy was being swarmed by a few of the other girls joining them for workouts. Octavia and Dew were the most ecstatic, already striking up a conversation with him. Jaune was equally as enthusiastic when talking to them. If one was looking at this from the outside, they wouldn't have been able to guess the boy was crying earlier.
Nothing wrong with a guy crying though. Everyone needed it from time to time.
[Unknown Location]
"Harriet, let's get that bandage off you," the Doctor said kindly, untying the bolt of cloth. With the knot undone, he slowly unwrapped the bandage, taking care not to be too quick about it in case he hurt his patient.
As the final pieces of gauze came off, Harriet was able to see the left half of her face in a mirror once again. The leftmost field of vision was still blue and hazy, but she could see now. Her pink iris remained the same as it was before its loss. However, as the Doctor flicked on a small flashlight and shined into her eyes, any sight immediately vanished.
"Well, your pupils are dilating just fine now, but I won't be clearing you for duty," the Doctor said, turning the flashlight off. "Losing fingers and toes is not as severe as an eye. You're lucky it was able to grow back and function properly. I would suggest coming back every two days, so we can run some tests, okay?" The green-eyed blonde kneeled to her sitting height and smiled.
"Yeah, thanks, Doc," Harriet expressed and hopped off the examination table. Before she could leave, the Doctor handed her a small white eyepatch.
"Make sure you wear that," he ordered, reaching back to mess with his ponytail.
Yeah, yeah...
As she put the eyepatch on, Harriet walked out of the Doctor's office and into the base's medical wing. The hall was lined with rooms where surgeries would be conducted or where patients were housed. Pretty much everything handled by Doc, a maestro when it came to patching up everyone.
I should get to headquarters...
Picking up her pace, Harriet passed the room where Marrow and Elm were. A part of her wanted to go check on them, but they were still out cold. So, needing to check in with the rest of the team, Harriet broke out into a jog.
Several minutes later, she came to the outer doors of the command centre. The soldiers guarding the room made way as she flashed a badge and opened the door for her. Before she was able to make more than two steps inside, a man accosted her.
"Harriet," he called out, walking next to her. His voice held a sense of urgency.
"What's going on, Vine," she asked, picking up the pace to match the mood of the room.
"Are you going to see Clover," he replied, still keeping the same tone as before.
"Yes..."
"He's been in there with the General all night long, they found something on the drone footage," Vine explained with what sounded like fear. "You need to see it!"
I don't like the sound of that...
Vine broke off as Harriet approached the door to the command centre. He stood his ground unmoving, waiting for her to come back out. With that cue, Harriet knocked and then opened the steel doors. Inside was only two men in the dark watching a large monitor on the far wall. Neither chose to address Harriet as she shut the door behind her.
Approaching them, Harriet was able to catch a glimpse of what they were watching. Three individuals were shown on the screen. One was that vampire they fought a couple nights ago, and two Nazis. The former was kneeling before what appeared to be the stronger vampire.
"There's more of them," Harriet nearly shouted in surprise.
Clover turned to her and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, that vampire, Leonhardt, killed one and was about to go after the others," he explained. "Then, she showed up."
Harriet walked closer to get a better view of the film. For the first time, she was able to see Leonhardt's face clearly. He was younger than expected.
He's just a kid...
"If he wanted to fight them, maybe we can bring him onto our side," Harriet proposed, seeking out a possible plan of action. The thought of some seventy-year-old vampires in Vale was making her nervous. "He didn't try to kill us when we ambushed him. He just ran away..."
"No," the General objected, not moving from where he stood. The man holding an at ease pose. "Just because he is their enemy does not make him our friend. Unless he comes to us, I would only consider him to be hostile." He unclasped his hands, but still did not turn to face her. "For now, I need you and Vine to sit on Marrow and Elm. When they wake up, I will personally debrief all of you on the situation."
Harriet snapped into a salute. "Yes, General Ironwood!"
I hope you guys liked this chapter. I'm going to get tested for the Rona now.
Additional AN:
So, the location that Jaune and Freyja call Valhalla, is another dimension that acts as a repository for souls. It includes people that Jaune has killed or those he's 'chosen' to reside within that have already died. It's not the literal Valhalla, only an artefact similar to Jaune's Crocea Mors that he needs to bring into our dimension. An artistic recreation of mead hall.
Encyclopedia of MAJMLYAI.
Vampires:
Jaune
Aliases: Leonhardt, Julius Caesar, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown
Familiars: Crocea Mors, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown
People Consumed: 226
Nazis Killed: 1
Major Arcana: The Emperor
Cassius
Aliases: Cassius
Maria
Aliases:
Familiars: Machecoul
Freyja
Aliases: Mephistopheles, Helena, Freyja
Familiars:
Major Arcana:
Arthur
Aliases: Arthur Pendragon
Familiars: Excalibur
Major Arcana:
Other:
Brynhildyr Valkyrie
Aliases:
Familiars: Musphelheimyr Laevetinn
Major Arcana:
General Ironwood
Aliases:
Familiars:
Major Arcana:
Methuselah, Pierre
(He ded.)
Friends/Allies:
Ruby
Aliases: Element Unknown
Yang
Aliases: Element Unknown
Pyrrha
Aliases: Element Unknown
Weiss
Aliases: Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown
Blake
Aliases: Element Unknown