A/N: Oh shit this is gonna be so awesome I can't fuckin' way to show this to you guys.
Well, this is it. This is gonna be the ending chapter of Vol 1 of JPLL. I hope you enjoy, and I will see you at the end of the chapter. I have something small to explain.
The silence was overwhelming. None spoke, as the nigh otherworldly horror started back at them, drooling in a deranged desire to consume. It eyes the three who stood before it, ears twitching involuntarily, waiting for someone to make the first move.
None of them dared to try and move. The fear was gripping enough to make even Perci freeze in place, unable to bring herself to do anything against this new threat. She tried forcing herself, willing her legs to move, but she was frozen in place. Cursing her own body for her weakness, she took a deep, slow breath. That, THING, before them, caught her chest moving, snarling her turning his head entirely towards her as if trying to determine if she is worth being his first victim.
Leila and Hue couldn't move either. Stuck in place, afraid to even inch a the smallest of muscles, they watched in horror as the beast that should have never come to being turned its attention to their teammate. For the first time in their time as a team, Leila felt genuinely worried for her partner. She saw Perci tank a lot of really tough punches. She saw her deal them back just as hard, too. But this... This was beyond their scope. She gave a small, silent prayer to her Lord. She offered a prayer to anything out there, that could help them survive that night.
By now, team ACMM managed to guide the rest of the cultists to safety. Laying them a safe distance away, they tried running back, when they realized anything could set it off, stepping back slowly. The only one closer to the was Jin, who was still struggling with the aura that tried to hurt her very soul directly.
As the tension kept going, a single, solitary bead of sweat started to form on Perci's forehead, being forced to stare face to face with the hideous beast. It slid down, and despite Perci's best efforts to deter it without moving, stall made its way to her nose, hanging by the very tip. Perci eyes, still stuck to gazing at the Grimm, couldn't help but hope that something would happen, as the drip of sweat found its way off, falling to the ground.
It felt like forever; a single moment stretched out to eternity. She could almost envision her entire life flashing before her eyes, waiting for her fate to be sealed. Brief memories of her mother and father, despite how much she hated them, flashed before her eyes. The only thing left for Perci was to grip her cane as hard as she could, focusing her aura around her, hoping that when it lands, she'd still survive.
A second later, just as the bead merged with the ground, it roared. Opening both of its mouths, revealing a set of mismatching, sharp teeth. It shrieked, instigated, flailing its loose arm about, faster than any of them could react. Perci, caught off guard, was hit on her face directly, being launched by the sheer mass of power it had, flinging her like a twig onto the opposite direction. She slammed into the wall, falling to the ground in the open air, thankful that her aura was enough to at least ensure her survival.
The Grimm, without even turning its central head, thrashed its arm again. It hit one of the walls, ricocheting, and before Leila knew it, she was next in line to get every bone in her body shattered. She quickly raised her blade, though before she could react, a single arrow shot through, piercing the flesh near the end of it, and nailing it to the wall, the Grimm breaking it free soon after. "Hue..." She turned her head, watching Hue with her bow already drawn, taking another arrow to her hand and aiming it at the head.
"Leila, I will distract it. You focus on bringing it down!" It was rare of Hue to raise her voice to anything above room volume, but regardless, Leila nodded sharply, spinning her blade to ice dust. Hue complied as well, taking one of her arrows and sticking it one a specially built hatch in her quiver, taking it out and aiming an ice-elemental arrow at the Grimm's head. She shot it, but alas, it reacted quickly, raising its bi-ended arm to negate the attack, shrugging the ice forming on it with ease.
Leila's face grew more and more zealous, spinning her blade above her with both her hands. "And the l'rd endues down frost and bitter cold upon thee!" She called, reciting a verse from her Scriptures, launching a volley of ice flowers at the Grimm. Unlike the smaller, single arrow, it had less luck deflecting her strike, as each flower that hit exploded on contact, forming several explosions of ice on its body, and slowing it down to a degree.
It snarled again, hitting the walls with its frame to break the ice, and while it was busy freeing itself, Hue took the initiative, running at the Grimm with her blade transformed, coming to slice one of its arms off. She brought her blade down, striking with precision and force, but to her dismay, it left barely more than a mark, the Grimm quickly grabbing her with one of its active palms and lifting her to its mouth, already opening it wide to swallow her whole.
Just as Hue could feel the razor sharp jaws close around her, Leila intervened, running towards her, faster than ever, "HUE!" She shouted, jumping at it from the side, slamming her blade at the abomination's head, and staggering it just hard enough to force it to free her friend from its ironclad grasp. Hue fell, her strength losing her to a degree, Leila rushing to her side as the Grimm struggled to get it, its massive, dormant arm slowing it down.
"Hush. I will heal you." Leila quickly assessed the damage. Hue's arms were on the verge of breaking, and her body was wounded on the sides from the claws. She struck her arms into the ground, putting both palms around Hue's damaged areas, and while she started to pray, her semblance kicked in, forcing her arms to heal faster. Hue gasped weakly as she felt her body recover far quicker than it should have. An injury like this should have taken weeks to heal, if not months. It was as if a miracle was performed on her by her teammate.
She quickly got back up, jumped away from the Grimm as it finally recovered, Leila following suit. The two of them started at it from afar, trading worried glances as their readied their weapons. "This... Could be the end." Leila concluded, steeling herself. "If it is... Then it was a blessing to get to know you, Hue."
Hue looked at the despair vanishing from her eyes, nodding. She didn't intend for it to end, but some place in her knew that if she could help others survive and continue her research, she would be allright with it. Raising her blade, she cut out her emotions for the close while, focusing on the fight at hand.
"Oi... I hope you two ain't thinkin' about dyin' yet." They heard a familiar voice come from behind them. Perci walked in, body bloodied and hurt, a massive wound covering the right side of her face, one that would surely leave a scar. However, before Leila could even come to heal it, the wound closed right before her eyes, the massive aura she took from the unconscious cultists enough to replenish her supply, forming a scar just as predicted. She raised an arm, touching her new face, cussing under her breath. "Dammit, just when I thought I could keep those off my face..."
She raised her cane, and taking a stance, and looking at the rest of her team. "I got a bet goin', you see? Can't let you two bitches die just yet." She smirked, gazing at the monster before them. "Sides... No one smacks my face and gets away with it alive!" She shouted at it, and Leila and Hue couldn't help but smile.
It dashed at them again, mangling flesh stretched out to destroy the team once more. Perci didn't let up, however, catching its arm as it flung towards her, keeping it stable. While Hue and Leila gave an astonished look as to how she could have recovered her aura so quickly, Perci gave them an angered look. "Well, what the fuck are you looking at ME for?! Go?!" She tilted her head at the Eldritchan horror that brought down its second arm at the leaderless team.
Hue quickly jumped back, Leila raising her blade to shield herself while spinning the barrel to gravity dust. She kept blocking it, feeling a rush of power within her, constantly pushing back against impossible odds as Hue readied Lunnos Lamina, shifting it to a bow, and aiming an electrified arrowhead directly to its head, letting her hand loose and the arrow fly. It pierced the air, making a shrieking noise as it hit its mark this time, both the Grimm's arms being caught by Leila and Perci.
Its head was shot back, wincing in pain for just a brief moment, before launching a counterattack, flailing the claw arm one more time, and taking Perci with him. She kept tugging it for a short bit, trying to force it to push against her, before letting the arm go and using the knockback created by her opposing force to stagger the Grimm again, actually able to knock it down to its back.
"Let's end this!" Leila called first, rushing to drive her blade straight into the horror's eye-ridden stomach and stop the blight the madman brought upon her Lord's world. Unbeknownst to her, however, the leg on its back, bent as it hit the ground, launching it flying it her, hitting Leila head on as she was flung into the air, while the Grimm used the extra limb to quickly get back on its feet.
Hue caught her before she hit the ground. Leila coughed, her insides a mess thanks to the quick change in velocity, but regardless, stood back up, raising her blade. She gave Hue a single look, nodding that she can still go on, and before long, struck her sword onto the ground. The dust in her blade reacted to her aura, creating a powerful, gravitational field around the Grimm's body. It was pulled down, brought to kneel by the force of Leila's dust, struck down at least she'd run out of dust, which was approaching rapidly.
Perci took the chance, running up the Grimm. She flinched for just a second, but overcame her instincts to run, slamming her fists together as she prepared to give that motherfucker a beating of a lifetime.
"So, you think you can just SCARE me and get away with it?!" She blocked out her own fear with a rush of recklessness, forcing herself forward. Wisps of peach-colored aura, visible to the naked eye, started to form around her fists. "Well, it's useless!" She shouted at it when she was just close enough, bringing down a fist straight to its ugly ass face. "You hear me?! Perci Periwinkle Valiére will NEVER bow! Not to you! Not to ANYONE!" Her emotions came out, raw and wild, shouting at not just the Grimm, but the world around her. "It's useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless!" She kept screaming, slamming empowered punch after empowered punch right on its bone plating.
However, she failed to realize Leila's dust ran out, and the gravity returned to normal.
While still managing to crack its prime mask to a degree, the Grimm didn't lay dormant anymore. It jumped, knocking Perci back, hitting Hue on the way, and dropping them both to the ground. Leila came to heal them, but by the time she was about to heal them with her semblance, it was already too late. The monster already descended upon the trio, jaws open and bite inbound.
And just as it came to consume her friends, Jin's eyes sprawled open.
Before they knew it, the bite each of them expected never came. Perci looked up, watching Jin holding it back, her massive strength enough to keep it at bay for just enough to let the others get away and for Leila to heal their injuries.
The Grimm roars, and Jin growls at it back, her primal instincts keeping her on top, while she struggles against the terror. It flings the arm around, trying to impale her from behind, as the ricocheting solid claw flung across the torn and tattered warehouse. However, when it would seem that it pierced Jin's back, her hair softened the blow, seemingly far harder than the average. She pushed it back, outright lifting the abomination, before throwing it away.
It slammed against the metal wall, knocking it over with tremendous force and breaking it apart. With barely anything to keep the roof held anymore, it collapsed, falling down on the team.
"Look out!" Leila was the first to react, jumping at the falling metal and slicing it apart with Caliborn, two halves of the broken structure falling to their sides. While still in the air, with the shattered moon above her, Leila focused her aura on the dust in her blade, readying fire, and unleashing her usual barrage of holy fire upon the horrid beast. While it was busy deflecting her attack, Hue and Perci worked quickly, Perci lifting her team member and launching her at it. She spun in place, her foot now at the helm, smashing into it with a kick, and using it as a contra to launch herself into the air.
Just as Hue was above the Mutated Grimm, Jin ran at it, screaming wildly. She felt it, something building up deep within her, as her face quite literally turned redder and redder, her skin and the dust covering her body gaining a new hue to it. Hue watched from the air, falling towards the monster with weapon drawn, aiming to strike it directly from above. When she realized she was getting on a collision course with her partner, she quickly changed plans, kicking it again, and jumping off, just as Jin lunged it with her dust claws.
She kept hacking the Grimm, almost as if she was trying to claw her way through its body. Wisps of lightning covered her nails, electricity building up, and before she knew it, each swipe she made induced a highly concentrated shock to her opponent, driving it back. The pressure only heightened, the others staring as Jin finally unleashed what she was truly capable of, screaming more and more while swinging her arms.
The Grimm finally retaliated, bringing down its left paws on her. Jin, acting quickly, caught them in her right palm, keeping the Grimm locked. On her other end, it swung the loose claw, forcing Jin to use her other arm to grab it to protect herself. Now, face to face, it bellowed straight to her face, in an attempt to make her flinch and finish her off.
The pressure in her throat was finally over the limit. Jin couldn't hold it back anymore, opening her boiling mouth and unleashing a roar of her own. As she did, the dust in her body reacted to her anger and rage, unleashing a fiery breath straight to the beowolf's face.
The rest stared at awe, the gentle giant they knew her being replaced with a fierce, pirmal guardian of all that was living. Jin's draconic breath managed to surprise the Grimm, pushing it back, and giving the team the opening they needed.
"YOU'RE MINE!" before Leila or Hue could react, Perci was already running straight for the monster, passing Jin on the way, and aiming her Anarchy Melodica straight for its face. "SwiIIIING bada bada bada!" She yelled, smirking all the while, delivering a crushing blow with her cane straight to its secondary face, crushing it at last. The horror staggered, falling back, the cheek that used to contain a face now a mess of melting ichor and horrid smell. Perci didn't let up, giving the smaller face a hook, though the bone proved more sturdy than she gave it credit for, her aura lessened greatly from the start of the fight.
The Grimm brought back its left arm, smacking her, Jin dashing to Perci's save, giving way for Leila and Hue to step in. Now, as it was weakened, the two of them worked like clockwork. Leila brought down her rain of fire, keeping the Grimm distracted, while Hue jumped onto its back, using her katana to slice the extra leg off, finally ridding it of the excess appendage. It bellowed in pain again, flailing the hardened claw in her direction. Hue, already seeing it coming a mile away, rolled away before it could strike her.
Perci started at Jin for a brief moment as she was let down to the ground again. Jin gave her a nod, as if recognizing her or something, running back to try and kill the menace. "Hold on..." Perci looked at her, trying to make sense of that look Jin gave her. "Hey hold on! That's MY kill!" She ran after her, turning her weapon to gun form, spraying the Grimm with a whole cartridge of bullets. As each of them hit it, it was pushed back a bit more, until it felt its mangled back hit the outer wall of another warehouse.
The whole team, gathered together, circled it. Jin and Hue from one end, and Perci and Leila from the other. Each of them had her weapons raised, aiming to finally kill this ungodly, disgusting mess of a creature, and save the rest of the world the horror of witnessing it.
It gave a sharp howl, still having some fight in it, flinging its arm to a metal pole, sticking from the wall behind it, and using it to fling itself to the roof. JPLL didn't let up, Perci leaning down to offer contra for the rest of them, watching Jin quite literally pierce the metal with her claws to climb after it.
After launching Hue after it, seeing her flung high into the air again, Leila brought her foot, putting it between Perci's hands, looking at her for a brief moment. "Thank you." She muttered, before Perci rolled her eyes and lifted her up, her extra strength letting her send the nun flying.
"Alright... Now for me." She sighed, bending down, focusing her aura to her legs. It was still a costly move for her to perform, but regardless, she managed it, kicking off the ground with a massive jump high into the air.
All four of them landed on the roof in front of it. The Grimm, already visibly weakened and hurt, tried to launch its spiraling claw at them again. Jin caught it, and Leila walked closer, raising her massive, wide blade.
"Now vanish." She concluded swiftly, lowering her blade and cutting off the extended tentacle-appendage, sending it howling in pain again.
Then, it tried bringing its other arm, split into two forearms, to slash them into ribbons. This time, Perci caught it, using the remains of her aura to keep it close just long enough for Hue to be able to slice the arm off as well.
Left armless and with no way to kill them easily, it roared, dashing at the group. Ichor was spilling out of its sides, a and the mask on its main head was already brittle. "You're mine!" Perci called, wanting to seize the chance and take the kill. She brought her fist forward, but the Grimm managed to avoid her, ramming its head into her abdomen. Perci rolled away, and Jin, screaming in anger again, lunged one last time, her nails filled with electrical charge. She locked eyes with the beast one last time, her precision deadly and accurate.
And her claws finding their way firmly into its skull.
Her hand sunk into its head. It froze, twitching in place, while Jin had almost her entire arm deep through its skull, jaw, and so on, bits of lightning escaping her fingers. She pulled it out, her whole arm covered with ichor and reeking like death itself. From there, it didn't move a whole lot more. Some parts of it tried to struggle, but fortunately, it was too late for it to survive. It fell to the floor, twitching and spamming, as the rest of its body started to decay, leaving nothing behind.
All Leila could do was pant heavily, leaning on her blade as support. "We..." She muttered, struggling to hold her weight as the fatigue from all along finally hit her. "We... Won."
"Guess we did, eh?" Perci struggled back to her feet, walking closer to the nun. "Shame, though. I really wanted to get that first kill..." She chuckled, coughing as she did, covering her mouth with her hand. She brought to forward, feeling some warm liquid on her palm, looking at it and realizing she was bleeding. "Ah... Shit."
Hue walked closer, inspecting the wound. "Hmm... I believe that you should make a full recovery. However, you will need some extra aura for that."
Perci rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Captain Obvious." She coughed again. "Maybe I'll call you next time when I need something I already know explained to me." Despite her sarcasm, there was no malice in her tone. Perci looked at her, smirking. "Anyway... Good going. Wish I could use a sword so well."
"It comes with the practice." Hue admitted. "Now..." She pointed to the now ruined warehouse, where their friends were waiting for them. "Shall we?"
Jin walked heavily towards them, a tired, but happy smile on her face. "S-Safe... W-We're... Safe..." She cooed, almost falling from exhaustion. This time, it was Perci's turn to walk over and assist her, as the four of them jumped from the roof back to the ground level. They walked back, seeing the path of destruction they left in their wake.
"So... Who pays for the mess?" Perci spoke weakly. "N-Not it." She managed to put out before Leila glanced at her.
"Perci... Please, don't talk. You might hurt your voice if you keep this up. Just wait until you have enough aura to heal." She gave her a minute lecture, and for a change, Perci complied, shutting her trap and looking at Jin with a hint of admiration. Sure, the brute could barely think like an average person, but she'd be damned if Perci couldn't respect her overwhelming force.
When they finally reached the rest of the group, team ACMM stared at them with disbelief. Ash walked towards them, slowly, peering over to make sure none of them were dead. "You guys... Just took THAT thing out." She wasn't even sure that in her sleep-deprived state she was seeing things straight.
After her, Melody walked over. She gazed at the horror, the fight that just occurred still playing in her mind, as she managed to utter but a single phrase. "...Holy shit." Melody stepped back again, the horror's visage still fresh on her psyche. She knew that being a huntsman was dangerous, but this? Fighting these types of abominations on a daily basis? The image of her doing that was still far, far away from her mental image of herself.
Perci let Jin sit down, walking towards Ash. She raised a hand, asking for aura wordlessly, and Ash, realizing what she wanted, lent her a hand. "Alright... I guess you should have some help, after that." She breathed, feeling Perci's semblance drink her aura away, leaving her dry. After that, Perci opened her mouth, trying to speak, and when realizing that making abstract noises didn't make her throat hurt, tipped her hat to Ash.
"Right... Thanks for that, Detective." She showed some gratitude, and walked over to Melody. "Now... I believe that was some date mentioned in this mission?" She leaned a bit closer, hoping that Melody would fill her end of the bargain.
"Well... Can we do this another time? I know, I promised, and I will, but.." Melody stuttered, Perci raising an eyebrow as the rest of them looked at her.
"But what? Come on love, I don't have all time." Perci groaned.
"Perci, please." Melody beseeched her. "I need some time to process everything that just happened. And, well..." She then pointed to Perci's back, showing her the police was surrounding them. "...That."
From there, the VPD took care of the scene. The cultists were all taken into custody, though for the most part none of them could have given the investigators any coherent response as to what happened there. Some quick thinking on Ash's and Hue's part, and the two teams managed to find plausible stories as to what happened there that night. The madman who started this cult ran off, but for now, none of them could care.
Most importantly, however, was Perci's situation.
A few days later, having broken her parole, she was taken into the arrest as well, waiting for her full trail to begin. She didn't expect anything else but being declared guilty, and being sent back to jail proper. She laid on the small cell bed, staring at the ceiling, and wondering if it was even worth sacrificing all of it on the off chance that she'd get some pussy.
"Hey, you." The guard came to her, and Perci turned her head to him, gaze glazed and uninterested. "You got a visitor. Says he's some headmaster or something?" Realizing who he was talking about, Perci jumped back up to her feet, tapping her foot on the ground.
"Alright, then. Bring 'em over." She nodded, and he shrugged, calling the man, as Professor Ozpin walked into the small station, taking a seat and placing it in front of her cell.
He looked at her for a brief moment. She was still hurt, and with a new scar to boot, but regardless, she was alive, staring him in the face with a mix of hope and discontent. "Hello, Perci." He addressed her, Perci nodding back and sitting back on her bed.
"So, what now? I go back to the slammer, and that's the end of my parole?" She didn't expect any favors. She broke the rules and got arrested again. From here, no one in their right mind would give her any special attention.
"Perhaps. I think the more salient question is why you did it." He leaned in. "What drove you to actually willingly break your parole?"
Perci leaned against the wall. "I dunno." She played dumb, staring at nothing in particular. "I guess my team needed me? Really it was just dumb from the get go. We fight a bunch of crazy people and viola, I'm in jail again." She chuckled, shaking her head lightly. "Talk about the opposite of clever..."
"That's all I needed to hear." Ozpin smiled gently, getting up. He then turned to the guardsman. "Can you please release Ms. Valiére from her confinement? If she stays here any longer she'd miss some very vital lessons in Beacon."
Perci's head fell, looking at Ozpin with sheer confusion. "...Excuse me, what?" She muttered, the rookie policeman shaking his head with her. Ozpin then handed him a stash of papers, neatly organized in a folder.
"I have discussed this with the consul before coming here. They have agreed to resume her parole, seeing as her behavior so far was rather good and clean." He grinned, walking towards the door, and opening it, coyly stepping out. "Besides, she had done a service for Vale. Surely, this can be ignored." He walked out, leaving Perci speechless.
Her bonds loose, she stepped out of her cell. Walking outside of the station, she was surprised to see the rest of her team, as well as team ACMM, all waiting for her outside. Hue, Leila, and Jin walked closer first. "Welcome back, Perci." Leila smiled, fixing her glasses a bit.
"Huuuuugs!" Jin cheered, taking Perci in her arms and giving her a crushing hug again. The rest of the group couldn't help but chuckle as Perci started cussing, barely able to struggle free from Jin's fuzzy, yet deadly hugs. Shaking her in her embrace a bit, Jin finally let her down, and Perci spun a bit in place, dizzy.
"Y-You fuckin..." She felt disoriented, but regardless stood up. "Oh yeah, before I forget." She realized something, turning to the rest. "Did they ever find that crazy motherfucker? That one that started this whole mess?"
The rest exchanged worried glances, Leila finally being the one to speak up. "...No. They did not. We... Decided to try and solve this case between us."
Perci couldn't help but snicker. "So what? Now we're a fuckin' weekend morning cartoon gang? Where's the talking dog and the extremely unsanitary van?"
"Ha ha, very funny." Ash mimicked her tone, and the rest chuckled, walking back towards Beacon. As Perci walked with them, she felt something she hadn't felt in a long, long time. It was a feeling she didn't even remember, and as it washed over her, she couldn't help but smile.
She felt like she belonged.
Meanwhile, around Vale's slums...
He sauntered the streets of Vale. Ever since the incident, the voices in his head only grew stronger, whispering of things that were before. Things of beings that no longer walked Remnant. People outright avoided the hood covered man, feeling nauseated and distressed just by proximity, though he clearly didn't care at this point. He simply made his way to another storage unit, opening it up, and staring inside, a mad smile forming on his face.
Kegs. Barrels of ichor, stolen from the time he still used to have a steady job at that wretched company. He could still remember his boss' stern voice, and his strange attraction to the harbingers. That's what they were called now. The voices named them that, over and over. He grinned maniacally, walking closer to one of the kegs. He could almost feel it. That same power. It was laying there, just waiting to be called out.
Waiting to be called out and consume the world.
A/N: Woo! That was something, wasn't it? I hope you enjoyed, and now, a word:
This is how I'm going to work with each Volume. As you've seen, I have been releasing them consistently for every day for the past two weeks or so. Now, I will take a single week's break, and return next weekend with the beginning of Vol 2. Then vol 3, and so on. AFTER that, once I've caught up with the show proper, I will take a hiatus, and wait for the end of Vol 5 to come out myself.
Or not, maybe I'll just do my own Vol 5. We'll see how it goes, I actually have a lot of ideas for later on.
Regardless, this is Arch, signing out. I hope you enjoyed the first Volume of Jaspilite, and I'm eager to see you all next week!