As a note going into this, Big J is not a vampire! We've clearly seen magical persons who are not vampires! Both the military and Weiss so far.
[Jerusalem]
The legionaries looked down upon the city, watching its inhabitants come and go. The final days of their celebrations were coming to an end. Seven days of festivities for an event which the men were unfamiliar with. Regardless of the feasts, prayers, or traditions of these people, the soldiers were assigned to guard this hill. Their duty seperate from the desire to fornicate among the locals.
He turned around to face those condemned to die at this place, dripping sweat and blood into the sand. Their wounds becoming revolting with every hour left on the cross. The lashes delivered by the centurion followed by the men getting paraded through the city to the joy of onlookers left them little more than sacks of wet meat. The finale was nailing them to the beam and raising their bodies up high where they would remain until death. Such was an agonising period where the men would guard the guilty and wait for the trauma to become too much to bear.
The soldier had seen this many times before, and this certainly wouldn't be the last. However, as he turned back to his own comrades, he found they were growing quite restless. The boredom came from sitting on a hill with nothing to do. Admittedly, the soldier was growing quite impatient himself. These rebels and criminals would take several days to die, and the soldiers could not leave their posts until such a time.
Picking up his spear, the soldier strode among the crucified, examining the condition of each. Many were thieves, but there were quite a few rebels among them. That's when the soldier came across their leader, or who was supposedly their leader.
He was an older man, soaked from head to toe in his bodily fluids. Blood dripped off the man's toes in a constant stream from how severe his wounds were. Those open lacerations on his back and the nails impaling his wrists were leaching every drop from his body. His beard was coated in a clear fluid from deep in the lungs, coughed up repeatedly with every breath. He was struggling to maintain consciousness even after a few hours on the cross.
The man's followers who escaped the eyes of their governer came here every day to lament over his suffering. His mother wailed endlessly, and the other followers had to force her back, lest she incurred the soldier's wrath.
"Lo-"
The man spoke weakly. The soldier nearly mistook it for an exhale. He stepped closer to hear what he had to say if anything. For several moments all he received was silence. Then, the man shifted his weight on the cross, forcing the soldier to step away.
When he looked up, the man was staring right into the soldier's eyes. Those hazel orbs bore a hole through him and into his soul. The strength to lift oneself up despite the days of torture left the soldier genuinely shocked. His wounds did not appear to pain him in this moment.
"Longinus, I forgive you..." he said clearly. His voice resonating unnaturally. The man's speech filled with genuine emotion and was on the verge of crying over the soldier.
Longinus was almost frightened by this man's gravitas. The magnitude of his will despite his wounds was nothing short of breathtaking. His bearing so elegant and true that Longinus felt compelled to follow him with just a glance. An entire dialogue was exchanged in those few seconds, and not a word was spoken between them.
Without hesitation, Longinus drew back his spear and thrust it into the man's chest. Blood and oedema fluid erupted from the wound, spraying him in the face and coating his spear. He held the polearm there for several moments, ensuring the man was truly dead before he pulled back. Whatever fluid had built up in the lungs poured out, splashing against the sand with the absence of the blade.
Following the man's death, the other guards took to killing the rest of the condemned. Some had their legs broken, others were stabbed through the hearts with spears. All dispatched without a second thought—each waiting to follow the other into committing this act.
With those last few lives taken, darkness enveloped Jerusalem. The sun vanished from the sky, plummetting the land into a dreary night. Soldiers were panicking at the sudden shift, beginning to pray to Sol for relief. Yet, their calls went unanswered, surely angering a deity with this act of barbarism. Their actions were deemed unforgivable.
Then the earth shook violently, knocking soldiers over despite their attempts at keeping upright. The condemned were falling off their crucifixes. In Jerusalem, the buildings were collapsing in droves. No structure to be spared from this wrath.
Longinus watched as the temple began to crumble, the entire roof buckling under its own weight. As it fell, he could hear the echos of thousands screaming for mercy only to be denied. Yet, as he continued to observe the destruction, that was not the cause for their anguish.
Men were rising from their graves. Hundreds of thousands once buried in Jerusalem's tombs lifted themselves from the grave and began walking around. Each in various states of decay, some skeletons by this point. Those who fled the city were the first to meet them. They were cut down by the dead carrying weapons. Others were simply mauled to death and torn to pieces by the ghouls.
None of the soldiers guarding this hill were able to flee as the legions of undead marched on their position. Some of the legionaries panicked and tried to break through, however, were eaten alive before they could draw their weapons. Longinus and a brave few backed to the edge of the hill, using a nearly sheer cliff as their final stand.
It proved worthless.
The dead merely charged as one, avoiding the crucifixes like water around a rock. Their mass pushed against their pitiful shield wall without stopping them. The legionaries were each thrown off one by one until only Longinus remained.
He screamed using every fibre of his lungs in his effort to hold a position. The man could feel his bones creaking as the joints locked into place. His spear lost in the battle of wills. The undead clawing at his arms and legs, tearing away at flesh bit by bit.
Longinus did not give in. The earth broke before he did. The loose gravel under his feet gave way, making the legionary slide backwards to his death. Even then, he refused to go down alone, dragging dozens of undead with him on their plummet.
...
Longinus coughed heavily, feeling the weight of the corpses lifted off him. For the first time in what felt like hours, he was able to see the light again. The beautiful sun shone on his bloodied face, making him weep at the sight.
Yet, he could not move. His bones were broken in dozens of places. He could barely manage to breathe.
It did not matter. A man lifted him out of the pile and held him by the throat—a pair of fangs sunk into the flesh, draining everything that remained.
Longinus began to feel cold.
[Ruby]
"Don't worry, Rubes, we got this," Yang said confidently as the two scaled the first flight of stairs.
The girl wore a pair of ripped skinny jeans and a rainbow coloured 'Achieve Men' shirt under a leather jacket. Ruby, on the other hand, wore a pair of baggier pants and her red hoodie. Each girl's difference of taste in fashion became very apparent.
Despite her older sister's encouraging words, Ruby was panicking on the inside. All of her hard work was leading up to this, and she was beginning to have cold feet. Soon, Yang might have had to drag the girl up the stairs and confront Jaune under duress.
Okay, Ruby, just need to grab him and then we can get going...
Reaching the top of the stairs, the girls were standing in front of the boy's door. With Yang's insistence, Ruby knocked and entered immediately after. Each filed into the boy's room, finding him sitting in his computer chair. Neither spoke first, waiting for Jaune to realise they had arrived.
Currently, the boy was leaned back in this computer chair, resting his head on his right fist. Jaune was staring at the far side of the room in what appeared to be a daze. His eyes slightly narrowed and bearing a wide predatory grin. He didn't even seem to be breathing.
Ruby has seen him doing a lot of that lately. Even back when class was in session. She'd guessed it was because of what was on his mind recently. But the change in his demeanour probably was due to a lot thinking to himself about random things, like meditation or something like that. She remembered Ren explaining how it worked to her a while back.
"Hey, Jaune, stop daydreaming and let's go," Yang spoke loudly, clapping her hands together several times.
That did the trick, getting Jaune to snap out of his state. With a loud exhale, he turned to them and stood up. Before he said anything, Jaune grabbed a pair of keys on his desk and locked one of the drawers.
"Hey, guys, you ready to go," he asked, going to rub the back of his head.
As he did so, Ruby saw how his muscles flexed under his white dress shirt with rolled-up sleeves. A shirt, which was a little too tight for him now. Same for his black jeans. The fact bringing her back to something Yang had told her yesterday.
Yang watched the blonde noodle getting swarmed by girls from a distance. Something she found extremely entertaining as even with his newfound confidence, he was still a nervous wreck when it came to girls. The boy's face blushed a nice dark red, trying its hardest to put Pyrrha's hair to shame.
Continuing to converse with the girls, the boy went to scratch his stomach, lifting up the black tank top he was wearing. Which was the moment Yang got a nice look at how excellent a body Jaune had now. He had a disgustingly impressive six-pack hidden under those clothes. Yang investigated further, letting her eyes wander, finding his entire body reflected this.
Deep angular lines cut across his arms and chest where bundles of muscle separated from one another. Yet, they were not overly bulky either, adding only a little mass to the boy's original frame. It reminded Yang of one of those male ballet performers.
Ruby seeing it for herself for the first time had to keep herself from staring for too long. She hadn't even noticed it because Jaune almost always wears baggy clothing around his house. The two hanging out pretty much every single, and Ruby had no clue until someone else pointed it out to her.
"Were you daydreaming about Dew," Yang accused in a playful tone.
"No," Jaune casually denied, blushing regardless of his words.
"Are you sure," Yang playfully asked once more in the most loaded of questions. "Cuz she was all over you like, 'Mmm, girl! Let me slide into that!"
Now both Ruby and Jaune were blushing hard. The former was just from how embarrassing her sister's raunchy jokes were. She had to hide her face, or Yang was going to see it somehow. The worst thing would be to have her attention. Abandoning Jaune to Yang's teasing was the only way to escape.
"Nice try, Yang," Jaune boldly replied, forcing his blush down. "You're gonna have to torture it out of me..." Before Yang could say anything back, he quickly fled the room with Ruby in tow.
"Oh, really," Yang asked, growing a wide Cheshire grin as she stared at Ruby. "Challenge fucking accepted, Blondie..."
[Jaune]
The two booked it downstairs and into the garage. The door wouldn't keep Yang out forever but was a start. So, Jaune quickly grabbed the keys to one of the vehicles and went to uncover it. The sheet of cloth protecting the car rolled off with a single tug from the back end, revealing what was underneath.
It was his father's project vehicle. A 1967 Mustang Coupe 289 which he acquired from a junkyard, spending the next ten or so years working on restoring it. Of course, there were only so many original parts available to him. However, everything not under the hood appeared to be as it was back when the car was made except for the back seat, which had three seats instead of two.
"Yes," Ruby shouted, starling Jaune due to her ravenous excitement. The toothy smile on her face told you everything else.
The little car nut hopped into the passenger seat, claiming the best spot in the vehicle. Jaune opened the garage and got the car started, revving the engine twice to what would probably be to his sister's annoyance. The noise did tip-off their location to Yang, who wandered into the garage with an offended look on her face.
"No-no-no-no-no, Jauney-Boy, I ain't sitting in the back seat," she said, leaning down to face the two. "Too tall for that."
"Nope," Ruby chirped in defiance. "You snooze you lose Yang!"
"I'm not a child!"
"You are now!"
"Fine," Yang begrudgingly accepted her position. Though, not without the last word. She climbed over Jaune instead of forcing him to lean his seat forward. The girl made it even more obvious by flirtatiously touching him as she did so.
Hugh!
Jaune stilled himself while the girl practically sat in his lap. Her hands unapologetically roamed, feeling the muscles hidden underneath his shirt. The boy would have found this hilarious but chose to deal with it for now. Yang wasn't pulling any punches.
"Okay," Ruby croaked, trying to hide her face as Yang found herself comfortably situated in the back. "Let's go get Ren and Nora!"
Yeah...
Jaune put the car into gear and peeled out of the driveway. His hands and feet working the vehicle masterfully. The girls got to talking about whatever and he occasionally joined in on their way to Beacon.
...
"Hey, guys," Nora shouted, leaning in to see through the window. The bubble girl wearing a white shirt with a heart-shaped window above her chest, and a pink pleated skirt with a blue and pink bomber jacket. She jumped in the back as Ruby slid her chair forward, making room for the girl to squeeze through.
Ren nodded to the group without saying a word. He was wearing a diagonally buttoned green longsleeved shirt with gold and black accents, and a pair of white pants and black dress shoes. The boy quickly filed in, taking the last seat, leaving Nora squeezed into the middle spot. Each beginning to look very uncomfortable with their arrangements.
With everyone inside, Jaune put the vehicle back into gear and began driving through the heart of the city. As the minutes passed, everyone in the group really got to observe the damage. None choosing to explore this far into the centre as of yet. Only Jaune understanding what it was like to travel through here on foot.
The roads were still in good condition, having been mostly cleared of debris as they saw to restore the veins running in and out of Vale. Many of the skyscrapers were still in either a very damaged condition or were on their way to being demolished as they were too far gone to save. Repairs were not set to begin until later this year once the city was safe.
"Kind of reminds me of The Last of Us," Ruby noted, looking out the window. "That skyscraper over there looks like the one you saw when they went into Boston."
Everyone glanced out the window, catching a glimpse of the Schnee Tower. It practically copied the scene which Ruby discussed, only missing the styles of building. The Schnee tower was one containing a very oval shape with glass windows, and the building it was resting one was more brutalist with concrete supports between every window. The only reason the other building continued to stand was due to those reinforcements bearing the weight of the larger structure.
"Don't jinx us, Ruby," Nora scolded jestingly. "We don't need zombies too. Supermen fighting giants is already bad enough!"
"Don't worry guys, it can't get any worse," Jaune said to the other's horror. An ear to ear smile stretched across his lips as Nora and Yang groaned.
"Not you too," Yang shouted in denial. "You never say that because then a fucking tsunami is gonna come out of the bay! It's in every fucking disaster movie!" The palpable hatred of the trope resonated in Yang's voice. Her anger caused the others to begin laughing out loud.
...
"Pull in here," Ren said, pointing to an open spot on the side of the street. "The parking lots around the carnival are going to take forever to get out of. Better to just walk..."
The crowds heading into the amusement park were already growing. Hundreds of people were on this path alone, walking through a hipster-esque retail street. They were merely enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun before tonight's activities could begin. In a couple hours, night would fall, and the real fun would begin. Concerts, fireworks, and performers running amock were going to be among the many things taking place here.
"Good idea," Ruby chirped. She brought up her Scroll and texted someone. "Pyrrha and Blake are gonna be here in a second."
Not a moment later, a red and black Mini pulled into the spot behind them. Jaune could see Pyrrha and Blake hanging out in the front. However, it was too obvious to him that Weiss was in the back seat. Despite how she'd hidden behind the driver, the telltale white ponytail gave her away.
He glanced over at Ruby, who was still unaware of his discovery. The girl was beaming, she was so excited about tonight. Her mind oblivious to the turmoil in Jaune's own head. His thoughts calling back to every interaction he's had with the Heiress prior.
She had her reasons for bringing Weiss along... It's not my place to question it.
Jaune wouldn't ruin her night, or anybody else's over this. If she wanted to bring her friends along, that was fine. Ruby had every right. He was committed to ensuring this evening had no undue interruptions. That meant keeping Weiss from freaking out as she had done in the cafeteria.
Everyone got out of the vehicle at once, his eyes greeted with Pyrrha and Blake first. The former wearing an 'Achieve Men' shirt in red with a black jacket and shorts. The latter rocking a black ACDC shirt with black skinny jeans and a white long coat. Weiss was the last to exit the vehicle, the most formally dressed among them. A white longsleeved blouse and grey plaid skirt reaching just above her knees.
[Weiss]
"Hello again~," Pyrrha opened, casually walking over to the rest of the group. Both Yang and Jaune struck up a conversation with her immediately. Some of the other members of their group joined in as it progressed, their laughter filling the air.
He won't even look at me...
Jaune had ignored her presence, not even bothering to glance in her direction. Such an insult tore open the wound in her heart once more, making Weiss' stomach sink. Her mind already going through ways to escape this outing just to get away from him. She didn't deserve to be here and possibly ruin his evening.
"Hey, Weiss, you want to get going," Ruby asked, stepping into her field of view. The girl's demeanour displayed her complete understanding of what Weiss was feeling right now. There was an almost palpable concern in her voice.
"Y-Yes," Weiss answered, readjusting her purse to better rest on her shoulder. Ruby began leading her to the amusement park, and Weiss merely followed the lead. She had not bothered to look back and check if the others were coming with.
"So, this your first time going to a carnival," Ruby asked, trying to find somewhere to start with this conversation.
"Yes, I've never been to one before."
Such was not a luxury for Weiss to enjoy. With her mother so inebriated she could barely stand, and her father's neglect towards his children, there was simply nobody to take her to an amusement park. Not even her sister once she left for the military taken her anywhere like this.
Weiss was silently excited for what lied ahead but also anxious for obvious reasons.
"Yes," Ruby chirped, clenching her right fist in excitement. "Okay, then I need to take you to all the best spots! The arcade, games, and the food! Then we need to go on some rides!"
"That sounds like fun," Weiss expressed, smiling slightly at the proposal.
However, as they continued walking, Weiss felt something. It was the feeling of being watched. She could sense a pair of eyes on the back of her head. Her eyes darted around, but couldn't find the source.
[Jaune]
She feels it too.
There was the stench of magic in the air. A familiar scent not of Weiss' or anybody he'd met before. None of the vampires or the Killer matched such a template. Could it have been another vampire sent to spy on him?
Jaune panned his head around the street to figure out the source of this scent. Looking to his back left, he locked eyes with a girl. The boy froze as he noticed her, stopping the rest of the group with him. Before he could focus on the rest of her face, the girl fled, leaving him with only a partial picture. There was not enough for him to identify the girl—only a single crystal grey eye.
"Yo, Jaune, what's going on," Yang asked in confusion. She and everyone else watched as Jaune broke away and headed over to an alley.
"Someone's following us," he said straightforwardly. "Stay over there and let me check it out."
He walked up to the entrance of the alley, finding the woman's scent still hanging around. As he stepped into full view of the hall, there was not a soul to be found. She just vanished into thin air.
She doesn't want to fight yet...
[Weiss]
Everyone stood still as Jaune went down the alley, and disappeared from their view. Two minutes passed, and he had yet to come back. The others were visibly growing anxious now, wondering what happened. Nobody wanted to be the first to check it out.
"Okay guys, I'm gonna see where he went," Yang broke, volunteering to be the sacrificial lamb. The blonde boldly marched over to the alley but slowed her approach as she grew closer. It was a foot or two from where the corner was that she stopped completely.
"AAAHHHH," Jaune shrieked, leaping out from around the corner to Yang's terror.
She screamed, nearly falling on her butt as she tried to get away. Once she realised it was Jaune, Yang corrected herself and stood back to her full height.
"You fucking asshole," Yang shouted while laughing, falling into the boy's chest and beating her fists into his pecks. "Scared the shit out of me!"
Everyone started laughing alongside the blondes. Nobody could deny it was the right thing to do, getting back at Yang for all of the teasing she'd done to them prior. There was a large backlog of pranks or raunchy jokes that needed to be avenged.
"Was there actually somebody there," Blake asked, actually taking this seriously now.
Weiss felt it was the appropriate response for the girl to take. The same went for the Heiress. Both teens were among the most highly prized for kidnapping by their father's respective enemies. With how badly Vale was damaged, there was little chance police would be able to respond or find the girls if anything happened.
"Yeah, some girl," Jaune answered, resting his arm on Yang's shoulder like she was some furniture. "Don't know who it was. She was gone by the time I got over there."
"That's kinda scary," Nora said, subconsciously sliding over to Ren. The memory of the police officers stalking Velvet's coffee shop was still fresh in her mind.
"Just stay with the group and don't go off alone," Jaune warned, making sure everyone knew it. His confidence not faltering in the slightest. "They know I saw them, so they'll probably leave us alone. We're in a public place with hundreds of people too. Nobody's gonna do anything with everyone around here. Don't worry about it."
Weiss wasn't sure why, but Jaune's words were oddly comforting. Her mind toyed with the idea of leaving, but now she didn't feel as anxious. She thought it might have been because of him fighting off eight people at once; however, this compulsion ran deeper. His presence commanded they keep going. So, everyone followed.
...
Arriving at the amusement park, everyone paid their way in and pushed on through the crowds. Weiss' ears were bombarded with noises and smells she had yet to come across. There was a ton of food stands she was curious about as well with their pictures of ice cream cones with seven or eight different toppings or what appeared to be fried Oreos.
Fried Oreos? How is that supposed to be good?
It also sounds atrociously unhealthy.
"Jaune, you're with us," Yang said, grabbing Jaune's arm and trapping it between her breasts. She used the distraction to drag him off with Blake and Pyrrha in tow. The strength of the shorter blonde enough to nearly pull Jaune off his feet.
"So, then there were four," Nora said as they watched half of their group depart. A predatory smile stretched across her lips, and then she turned to those that remained.
"Nora, don't you think it's a little early to get food," Ren said, immediately understanding what Nora's next move was gonna be. "We haven't checked out any rides yet."
"Nope, Ren, we need to show Weiss what amusement park food is all about," Ruby expressed, siding with Nora. The girl's grabbing their respective partner and dragging them towards the food stands.
Weiss didn't protest, going along with whatever plan Ruby had concocted. Ren didn't seem to defy Nora either. His desire clearly in favour of just letting her do whatever she wanted. Hanging out with friends was enough for him now.
They came to an area with about two dozen concession stands lined up along the walkway. It was in clear view of the ocean, and a warm breeze blew in, making this location seem delightful. Weiss was beginning to feel rather excited about seeing the beach so close. It was the perfect day for swimming.
"Oh-Oh, Weiss, Nora, look at this," Ruby spoke up, pointing to a sign.
It was a menu with about two dozen items on display. Most were marked up considerably from anything Weiss deemed reasonable, but she understood people would still buy it. However, she recognised nearly all of the ordinary foodstuffs. The more exotic things were where she became lost.
Fried pickles? Fried candy bar?
"Whoever can eat a gallon of ice cream in under fifteen minutes wins a free meal," Rudy repeated, reading directly off another section of the sign. "Loser has to pay for it." As she finished, both she and Nora looked at each other with this gleam in their eye that said, 'You're on.'
Each of the girls grabbed an order of ice cream Weiss considered far too large for an ordinary person to eat. The dish was made up of several flavours ranging from strawberry to mint and chocolate chip with a banana, fudge drizzle, sprinkles, and cherry topping it off. When one of the staff members hit the start button on a stopwatch, the girls dove right in.
Weiss and Ren watched as both girls ate their way through the bowls. If one had a brain freeze, they just kept eating despite the pain. Neither chose to stop until they got to the bottom. Honour and glory were clearly on the line between the two. The fact each would subject themselves to such discomfort was remarkable in and of itself.
Fifteen minutes later, Ruby had finished everything in the bowl except for the cherry stem. Nora... was found wanting. She only managed to consume about a quarter of the bowl and had essentially tapped out halfway through. The ginger now laid her head on the table in defeat and what clearly was a food coma.
Weiss was more surprised that Ruby out ate Nora than her completing the bowl itself. Judging by everything she knew about Nora Valkyrie, her appetite was legendary. The cooking staff at Beacon had to beat her back with a broom before she could devour everything in her sight.
"How are you so skinny," Nora asked, speaking into the table. Her voice was distraught at her defeat. And forty dollars lighter. She looked over to Ren with pleading eyes. "Ren, can I have some money?"
The boy rolled his eyes and handed over the cash.
"Ughhh," Ruby groaned, feeling lethargic after the meal she'd just devoured. Her breathing remained heavy and laboured. She leaned back, trying to shift the contents in her stomach to a more comfortable position. "Okay, Weiss, I won us a free meal. What do you want?"
Ummm...
Weiss wasn't sure. There was a lot of stuff she knew she could safe with. However, this was time for experimentation. Chicken tenders and a burger were only so satisfying but lacked flavour in some aspects. People seemed to really enjoy many of the other items offered here.
"What's a funnel cake?"
"The best thing ever," Ruby exclaimed, running to grab Weiss one from the stand. "Try one!"
The plate set down in front of her was a snarled mass of fried dough with powdered sugar sprinkled over the top. Weiss was intimidated by its appearance at first but decided to try a bite at Ruby's insistence.
[Yang]
Yang took pity on the boy and decided to free him. There were a few ways of getting Jaune to come along with, and this one was by far the most effective. He had no way to escape.
"Did you guys have any ideas for what to do," Blake asked, catching up with the pair.
"Let's wait till night to go on any rides," Jaune suggested, looking around at some of the game stalls. What he didn't notice was all the girls checking him out behind his back.
"Awww, Vomit Boy doesn't want to make good on his nickname right now," Yang teased unashamedly. "You want to do the train ride instead?"
"Nah," Jaune denied confidently. "It's more fun at night. Plus, we can go after we play some games."
He's not wrong...
"That sounds like fun," Pyrrha chirped in agreement. "What about this one?"
The group wandered over to one of those milk bottle games. The goal was just to knock down the bottles, which was easy if you knew what you were doing. If they rigged this game, then one or all the bottles would be heavy, making it harder to knock them down.
"Who wants first dibs," Yang asked.
Pyrrha decided to go, handing the operator some cash. Enough for five balls to begin with. She threw one, knocking down two bottles and another to finish off the stack. The operator set up the next stack, and Pyrrha knocked that one down too using the last three balls. Her prize was a smaller cheap stuffed lion.
Come on, Pyrrha, gotta go for the big prizes!
Jaune stepped up next and got about ten balls in total. Yang smiled because she knew where he was going with this one. Their minds somehow in sync as blondes thought alike. However, what she didn't expect was for Jaune to launch each of the balls over a hundred miles an hour down the track. Each blew right through their stacks and dented the sheet metal wall behind the table. Yang swore each of the softballs should have been smoking given how hard the boy was throwing them.
Of course, the girls were surprised to see Jaune do this. None immediately commented on it, but a silent exchange went on between them. It was just another weird thing Jaune was capable of recently. They were too stunned to make a remark.
The boy's prize was a giant well-made teddy bear the size of a child. You could probably hide Weiss inside it if you tried hard enough. The thing was huge. Jaune's upper body vanished on the other side, and you could only see his arms.
"Hey, Blake, you want this," Jaune asked, holding the bear out to her with a friendly smile.
"Uh sure," Blake said hesitantly, accepting the bear with a blush on her cheeks. "But why not give it to your sisters?"
"Eh, my sisters have a ton already," he explained, smiling nervously as he did so. "And I felt like it, so no take backsies!" He dashed off to another stall with Pyrrha right behind him.
Ooo, Jauney Boy puttin' on the moves... Winning prizes for girls at amusement parks? Classic!
Yang knew it wasn't some romantic gesture, but outsiders wouldn't know the difference. If Jaune could actually land the date, he would have everything down. Shy, nervous around girls, handsome, kind, funny. Girl's liked that. They come banging down the door to fuck if they feel like making the first move.
The blonde was going to follow the pair but was drawn back by Blake's grunting. Yang turned to see her struggling to carry the bear since she couldn't wrap her arms around its waist completely. It was an extremely awkward item for a girl less than two-thirds the size of Jaune to lug around.
"Blake, get the arms, I got the legs," Yang commanded, taking half of the stuffed animal. "We'll drop him back at the car when we go on rides."
[Ruby]
"Dear god, I've created a monster," Ruby exclaimed lowly.
She watched Weiss take that first bite, and it was all over after that. The Heiress ate four plates more in the coming minutes as the rest looked on in horror. Weiss was insatiable when it came to the dish, there was not enough funnel cake in the world to sate her desire.
I feel bad for her cake butler now...
"Okay, Weiss, I think its time to cut you off," Ren intervened as Weiss finished up this plate. He gathered the rest of the trash on their table and disposed of it in the nearest bin.
"Scho good," Weiss uttered through a full mouth of cake. She swallowed what remained and went for a napkin to clean her face of all the powdered sugar. "Where has this been all my life?!"
"Right here," Ruby sarcastically pointed out with a smile. "You regret coming along now?!"
"No... that was great," Weiss expressed, cleaning off the rest of the powdered sugar on her cheeks and lap. "What are we supposed to do next?"
"I'm gonna say we pass on the rides for now," Ren stated, understanding the obvious. The amount of food the girls consumed was more than necessary to cause certain issues. "Want to go to the arcade? It will give you guys a chance to rest for a while."
"Yes," Ruby and Nora said at once, jumping to their feet. They each grabbed their respective partner and ran off to partake in some gaming.
Ruby was more excited about showing everything to Weiss than winning anything. If she liked this place enough, there was always a time they could come back here and go for prizes. Hopefully, by then, she, Weiss, and Jaune could go together instead of their current arrangements.
Turning a corner, Ruby tried to stop herself before she crashed into a man. Unfortunately, her shoes didn't get enough traction, and she smacked right into his chest. Hitting him was like running into a brick wall. There was no give whatsoever, and it caused Ruby to tumble back, falling onto her butt.
"Ow, sorry, I didn't see you," Ruby apologised, holding her nose with both hands. The pain radiating from her face caused the girl to begin tearing up.
Ruby looked up and found a set of crystal blue eyes staring back at her. They belonged to a man with skin and hair as white as snow. He wore white and blue rags that hung loosely off his body, tattering as they reached the end of their length. His lips curled into a predatory grin as he focused on the girl sitting in front of him.
"Hegh, hehehe hehe," he laughed, shaking his head. The man merely sidestepped them and continued on his way. "Enjoy your evening, Fraulein..."
Ren quickly pulled Ruby onto her feet, and the group continued on their way to the arcade. No conversation was had as the boy shepherded them into the building. He looked out the door one last time to make sure the man had left them alone.
"Are you okay, Ruby," Nora asked, grabbing some tissues. She pried Ruby's hands off her nose, checking the damage, and her face seemed to drop at the sight. "Oh my god, we'll have to amputate..."
"Psssfff, no we're not," Ruby scoffed in disbelief. "Just really hurts..."
"Don't think you broke it," Nora deduced, moving the damaged cartilage around to check. "Rub some dirt in it, you'll be fine!"
"That's probably the worst thing you can do," Weiss warned, taking the girl's jest seriously. "But what was going on with that man?"
"He didn't look like an actor for the haunted house, Ren noted, beginning to relax now they were in the arcade. "Maybe he was homeless? He didn't seem like he was all there."
Ruby thought the same. An employee would have immediately made sure she was all right, breaking character and apologising. Most homeless people would have done the same too. Hurting someone by accident should have elicited such. That guy looked like he was crazy. And judging by his clothes, it was likely Ren was correct about his state.
"You may have a point," Weiss agreed, sighing loudly. "Homeless people don't typically dress like that if they can. He may be mentally ill..."
That sucks...
Ruby didn't know what to do for him. By now, it was likely the man was gone by now. The most she could do was tell one of the staff about him and see if they could get someone to make sure he was all right. Though, it was unlikely the park would have a social worker on hand to check on him. Paramedics maybe, but that was about it.
"I'll go talk to the front desk and get some tokens while I'm at it," Ren said, turning to head over to a nearby desk. "You girls stay here."
A few minutes later, Ren came back with several cups filled with coins.
[Jaune]
Blake and Pyrrha clung to his arms in terror. They slowly marched through the dark halls filled with fog, hoping to find an exit. Every sound made one nearly leap out of their skin. When somebody charged out of the darkness, they screamed and attempted to shield themselves from the assailant.
"RAAAARGH," a man shrieked, storming through the fog with a chainsaw. He revved it twice as he closed the distance, stopping just before he could get close.
Blake and Pyrrha both screamed, pulling the boy forward in a manner that felt like they were going to tear off his limbs. Yang laughed hard at this, watching the three from behind. She had not reacted once to any of the scares so far.
"God, Blake, Pyrrha, you're giving me too much to work with here," she exclaimed, keeping a slow pace compared to theirs. "I might start getting the wrong message if you keep holding Jaune like that!"
"Not funny, Yang," Pyrrha shouted back, clinging to Jaune more tightly. Her sense of dignity did not matter in the slightest right now. Yang could make fun of her all she wanted.
Before they were able to round another corner, an actor looking like a small child with long black bangs covering her face appeared. Without warning, she revealed her mangled demonic face with a scream and began chasing the group. Her body contorting awkwardly as she bolted in their direction.
"Awwww, fuck that," Yang shouted, beginning to push Jaune to move faster despite him going as fast as he could. "Go-go-go-go-go!"
A few more scares later, they came out the other end, nearly stumbling over one another to get to safety. Each of the girls was panting heavily from all the running and the surge of adrenaline in their symptoms. Jaune, however, began laughing at their predicament, not frightened in the slightest.
"Oh, ha-ha, Jaune," Pyrrha shot back at him. "I'm getting you back for this!"
Her retort only served to set Jaune off further. His face burning a bright colour at this point.
"Guys," someone shouted off in the distance.
Jaune turned and saw Ruby and the others running over to their position. Each was carrying an armful of prizes or candy from the arcade. The girls each beamed in pleasure at their haul while Ren kept a slight smile, still showing his own satisfaction.
"Okay, Ruby, P-Money, we're switching teams," Yang dictated, grabbing all of the stuff she and her group won while relieving Ruby of her items. "You guys got Jaune, and we'll drop the rest of this stuff at the cars."
"Hey, why not, I don't have to carry it anymore," Ruby agreed, taking some sweets for her regardless.
From behind, Yang pushed Jaune in Pyrrha and Ruby's direction. "Don't keep them waiting," she whispered.
Yeah, they wanted to go on some rides with me... Need to make up what happened with Cardin.
Jaune jogged over to the girls and matched their pace. Both were treading to some of the larger rides in the park. There were a few roller coasters in this here along with some more easy rides that Jaune was better able to handle.
Of course, his vampirism fixed his motion sickness since then. He was able to enjoy going on roller coasters now with having to throw up. Any ride was fair game now.
They passed by all of the other games and made it to the section where the rides were kept. By now, it was just getting dark with the sun finally dipping over the horizon. The lights were beginning to flip on, transforming the mood of the park into a more intimate one.
Groups were starting to break apart with couples going where they pleased. Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ruby appeared to be out of place among them. Yet, they didn't seem to mind. The girls didn't even notice by the looks of it.
"Let's check out that one," Ruby exclaimed, pointing towards the largest roller coaster in the park. The name on the track, 'The Devil's Gambit.'
The name gave away the entire decorating scheme.
It went up about three-hundred feet in the air on the first rise. From there you would descend into all manner of twists, and gut-wrenching turns with a corkscrew, loops, and parts where you were upside down for a majority of the track. It all came back to where you began after an adrenaline-fueled run.
They got into line, which was not long by this point. The number of new arrivals was beginning to taper off. It was pretty much a 'date's only' period of the night. No groups with a lot of children or families were around much anymore.
"Oh, we're right there guys," Ruby said excitedly, barely able to contain much longer.
The agonising wait ended not a moment too soon. Ruby was going to have an aneurysm if the kept leading her on.
They were lead up to the cars and seated in the third row. There was enough room for all three of them, so they crammed themselves into the one chair. The operator pushed down the buzz-bar, locking them in before going down the line and taking care of everyone else.
As the operators finished, they signalled to the riders with a countdown. On the last number, the cars lurched forward on their slow ascent to the top of the incline. The sound of the chain clicking as they climbed filled their ears. Each of the teens smiled widely as they waited to be dropped over the edge.
Coming to the top, the car stopped momentarily, giving the group a fantastic view of Vale and the ocean in a single picture. The perfect place to take a photo if one wasn't afraid of losing their device. Though, that moment did not last much longer as the car moved onwards, tipping over the final few inches before gravity would take them.
This steep incline forced the car to accelerate to nearly a hundred miles an hour in only a few seconds. The inertial forces pushing the teens back into the chair without effort, only Jaune capable of resisting the passive forces placed unto them. Their hair and clothing flapped wildly against their bodies. The girl's hearts climbing into their throats. Each screaming at the top of their lungs alongside everyone else.
Seconds later, they bottomed out, reaching the corkscrew. The twists sent them upwards nearly sideways in a series of repeated loops, placing more pressures on the riders' bodies. Ruby had to grab onto the bar to compensate for these forces while Pyrrha held her hands up high, continuing to shout happily.
It wasn't long before they found the double loops. The first slowing them slightly as the centrifugal force kept everybody in their seats. Once they passed through, the second loop slowed the group even further to a crawl.
The final stretch turned them upside down and rotated between orienteering the riders in all manner of positions—each turn sending your stomach into your throat. Many were becoming dizzy at this point with all of the previous trauma they were subjected too. Their bodies not built for this.
Luckily, they were spared from any more abuse. The cars came back to their starting point, unlatching to free the riders. Everyone got out at once to make way for the next group.
Ruby's first few steps were like a newborn giraffe's. She made three and nearly fell over, having Jaune catch her before she could face plant. His strength more than adequate to support the girl as she found her bearings.
"That ice cream was a bad idea," Ruby expressed weakly. Her skin was turning a slightly more pale shade of white, appearing like those ghouls in the haunted house.
Ice cream?
"Here, there's a bench over there," Pyrrha said, pointing to a seat on the docks.
Jaune half-carried Ruby over there and set her down. The boy plopped down right next to her and Pyrrha next to him. They each sat quietly for a couple of moments but didn't get a chance to say anything immediately as fireworks started going off out in the bay. The group watched them in stony silence, thoroughly enjoying the view.
"Oooo, pretty," Ruby expressed, leaning back into the bench. "I didn't know they were doing a show."
"Eh, doesn't matter, we got front row seats..."
"Are you guys having fun so far," Pyrrha asked, turning her head slightly but not taking her eyes off the fireworks.
"Yeah," Ruby exclaimed. "I probably should have held off on the food though..."
"Me too," Jaune agreed. "Thanks for bringing me out here."
I loved everything...
[Unknown]
The first apostle has risen.
The first blessed by our Divine Lord.
The Ars Magna we have long desired is finally upon us.
There are no evils.
There are no sins.
There are no further chains that might bind you.
All taboos have been rendered meaningless.
You shall take a sword in hand, and smite all those who would stand against our Lord's purpose.
And we shall not leave a single thing alive in our wake.
Now come children, and join me in our unholy benediction.
We shall kill the men and the women.
We shall kill the aged and the mulling babes.
Our god will allow it. As will I. Your Lord will allow all.
You are his knights—the claws and fangs of this beast.
And thus, in the name of our Father, I confer blessings unto you.
Who is receiving these blessings, I wonder?
I also drew inspiration for the carnival scenes from Mallobaude. If you haven't read his stuff yet, you need to check it out.
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