Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Lutetia City: Valentine Park

as written by Faithy

Rolling back his shoulders, he shifted out of his seat and made his way away from where many were gathered. The cooking competition was coming up and Jimmy wasn’t sure if he wanted to watch it or if he just wanted to head back to his room. Well, after he spoke with his father, which pretty much sealed the deal of where he’d end up eventually. Their conversations never went well and he more than likely would not want to be around others. No, returning to his room to sulk was what he was apt to do, since that was what he had done in the past. That was before he started to hang out with Celeste, Aaro, and Inarin though.

Would they continue to hang out as a group or would things change? The city was growing more and more unsafe, but he wasn’t about to just hide out at the monastery and hoped they wouldn’t want to either. Well, Inarin might, but he has had life way tougher than anyone else as far as Jim was concerned. Shaking his head to clear out his thoughts, he gazed around for his father, stretching his arms out above his head to pop his shoulders and back. Hearing a ding, he glanced towards his phone, noticing another text from his father. Opening it up, he took note that James was at the Aurellae, sighing when his dad messaged that he wanted him to meet towards the entrance.

“Of course he does.” Shaking his head, the twenty-year-old slid fingers through his ebony locks before striding towards the front gate area.

“Jim! Over here!” James called out to his son, standing off to the side away from those that were standing around, which wasn’t a whole lot of people. The man was feeling worse than before and knew he should probably go to the doctor, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. What if he had been infected and was turning into a werewolf? No! His reputation was far too respected to have that happen. It was just the flu or something. Jimmy nodded and headed towards the man that could barely be considered a father, noting that his appearance was quite different than normal. His dirty-blonde hair was damp against his forehead and his normally prestigious clothing also appeared to be clinging to his body.

“Father, are you sick? What’s going on? Why are you here?” To the point and maybe a little blunt, but Jimmy didn’t want to let this carry on forever. The sooner he was yelled at; the sooner he could return to his room.

“I am not sure, Jim. I just wanted to come see you, felt it was important.” James paused and glanced at his arm before showing his son the bite. “A huge dog bit me a while back, but now I am wondering if it was something else.

“…A werewolf?” Jimmy whispered, frowning at the sight of the bite, his expression deepening when his father just nodded.

“Have you gone to the doctor?” Jim almost reached out to touch him, but something kept him from following through with the motion.

“Of course not! What a stupid question.” There it was, the snarky tone that Jim had grown up with.

James shook his head, grimacing before leaning forward, throwing up all over the place. Jimmy stepped back, alarm on his face. His emerald eyes widened when his father stumbled backwards from the vomit, sweat pouring down his face. What happened next was a flurry of events and it occurred in a matter of seconds. One moment his father was dressed and standing up completely normal save for the excess sweat and the next, he was ripping off his clothing. Thesound of bones popping in and out of place while the man before him changed into something entirely different echoed in Jimmy’s ears. Clenching his eyes closed, no longer wanting to witness the monstrosity act happening before him, the Proselyte felt his stomach clenching up. Thank goodness he didn’t eat that morning. Snapping his eyes back open at the sound of a growl, Jimmy stared at the furry creature in disbelief.

“Father…?” He started to say more just as the man lunged at him, the two going down hard against the ground. Grunting as the air was knocked out of him, Jimmy barely managed to bring his arm up in time to protect his face from claws raking down, the sharp things cutting easily through his exposed flesh, especially since he wasn’t wearing his jacket. He prepared himself for another attack, but before anything else happened, he noticed James was bounding away from him. Leaping to his feet, the young male rushed after his father, ignoring his arm for the moment.

James lunged at an unsuspecting female, maw digging into her stomach while his front and back claws sank into her soft body. Sensing someone nearing him, he snapped his head up, bringing out entrails with him before leaping at a man attempting to grab a hold of him. The arm that had been reaching out towards him was snapped down upon and the werewolf shook his head violently from side to side in order to rip the appendage off. He spat it out and swiped across the gentleman’s groin, knocking him down. Latching onto the male’s throat, he bit down hard, shredding it in order to jerk out the jugular. Blood coated his fur as he surged towards a group of children, intending on ripping them all into pieces.
 
as written by Script

To call what followed James' transformation chaos would have been an understatement. Screams filled the air as people scattered, pushing and shoving past each other in an attempt to escape the warpath of the deranged werewolf. All of the tension in the back of peoples' minds, from worrying about St Caron's, the Nuvellon massacre and the Lumiena murders, spilled over into what was set to become a fully fledged panic.

Amidst the fleeing civilians stood two figures that weren't so quick to run, however. Having been on their way out of the park, and so nearby, Inarin and Valére stood momentarily frozen in shock at the scene unfolding before them. In what felt like a split second, two people had been killed, and now...

"No!" Inarin cried out as the werewolf turned towards the small cluster of children, breaking into a sprint without even thinking. He vaguely registered Val's voice yelling his name as he ran, skidding to a halt directly between the transformed James and his would-be prey.

The sound of booted feet and rattling plate announced the approach of the closest patrolling paladins, but they weren't close enough to reach either Inarin or the children in time. The slavering creature drew closer by the second, and the young proselyte briefly wondered what exactly he'd thought he was going to achieve by adding himself to the creature's menu.

Then, Valére was standing with him, palm extended towards the charging beast. A wave of necrotic green energy burst forth from his hand, so intense as to put his brother's display the previous day to shame. The very air around Inarin seemed to shudder at its passing. If it struck true, the corrupting magic would leave James's flesh withered and his muscles like jelly, atrophied in an instant to render him completely immobile. It likely wouldn't stop the werewolf for long thanks to its regeneration, but it would buy them time for the paladins to get there.
 
as written by Faithy

“Dad no!” Jimmy shouted after his father, not as quick as he was, but still desperately trying to reach him before anyone else died. He felt vomit threatening to spill out of his mouth at the scene unfolding in front of him and he couldn’t believe this was happening. Never in his life did he ever imagine his father turning into a werewolf and going batshit crazy. Frowning, he knew that calling out to James wouldn’t do any good and instead he put all his energy into sprinting after the werewolf. However, his heart almost stopped when Inarin moved in front of the children that were the next target.

“NO! INARIN!” Jimmy pushed himself harder and was closing the gap just as Valére stepped beside the young Proselyte.

James snarled at the two of them, determined to not let anyone get in his way and was lunging towards them both just as the wave hit him. The werewolf tried to change his course, but he only managed to get half of his body out of the way. The rest collapsed immediately and he released an incredibly angry howlish-growl. Still dragging himself forward by his front half, James needed to get to his prey. He could already feel the back half of him starting to regenerate and his eyes were set upon the bastard that dared attack him.

“In, get those kids out of here!” Jimmy shouted and moved in front of his dad, hoping to talk some sense into him. “Father, this is not you. Fight it.” The young male stared down at his father leaping off to the side as the werewolf lunged at him. Teeth marks sank down into his arm and he realized that the creature was closer than he thought. Sliding himself up once he could control the muscles of his hind legs, James turned his attention back and forth between Jim and Valére, slobber dripping from his salivating maw.

“Father… it’s me, Jimmy. You’re stronger than this…” Jimmy frowned, knowing that the chance of getting through to his father was slim, but he had to try.
 
as written by Script

"Jimmy!" Inarin shrieked as his fellow proselyte was bitten, starting forwards only to be stopped by Valére grabbing his arm and shaking his head.

"Do as he said, get the kids safe," he instructed.

After another moment of hesitation, Inarin nodded and turned towards the children - who had up until then been frozen in terror. "Come on," he said, moving over to them. The eldest of them looked to be around eleven, a girl, with two younger boys. "Time to go, while it isn't paying attention. Don't run, just stay with me."

Sniffling, the youngest boy practically latched onto Inarin's leg as he started to lead them away, shooting periodic glances back over his shoulder as he did.

"Get away from him, Jimmy." Valére's voice was steady, but obviously tinged with fear. "You've already been bitten. If you don't get back, he'll tear you apart."

He cut off, then, beginning to mutter an incantation under his breath. More shadowy green energy began to dance between his palms as he gathered necrotic power for another spell.
 
as written by Faithy

Not an inch of him relaxed as Inarin finally started to lead the children away. Val remained behind and the Proselyte was incredibly thankful for that. The paladins were hopefully growing closer, but at that moment the only thing he could focus on was the beast in front of him. His arm was aching tremendously between being sliced open and bitten, but he didn’t allow his focus to get sidetracked. Even when Valére told him to get away or be torn apart, Jimmy couldn’t budge.

“…He’s my father… I have to talk sense into him. I have to try… I have to try and get him back. He’s all I’ve got left and despite his shitty attitude towards me… I… I can’t just leave him.” His voice had an underlying sadness to it, especially when he realized that his last family member was probably about to be killed.

James snarled and once again surged forward, this time keeping a wary eye upon Val while attempting to sink claws into Jimmy’s body. There was definitely no man left in the creature, that was obvious when he tried to kill his own flesh and blood. Jim quickly moved backwards out of the way, really wishing he had a bat or something to hit him over the head. Instead, he just kept moving, dodging claws and snapping teeth. If he ran, he knew his father would easily overtake him, but he couldn’t leap and lunge out of the way too much longer.

“Father! It’s me!” Jimmy shouted, fear evident in his voice. “What would mother think?! Think of Nicole… how much she loved you!” He hoped the mention of James’ wife would snap him out of the bloodlust he was in, though it was doubtful. James paused for a brief second before returning to his attempts to shred Jimmy into a million and one pieces.
 
as written by Script

As Valére continued to chant, the air around him grew chill with his magic. Just as the werewolf was pausing, he unleashed the spell.

It wasn't a projectile like the previous spell. Instead, from the ground at the werewolf's feet burst near a dozen spectral limbs formed of shadow, grasping at his limbs and his body with clawed fingers. Where they succeeded in taking hold of him, he would find that their grip was vice-like and unyielding, and carried with it a deathly chill that was like ice upon his very soul.

The flesh where the hands gripped would find itself quickly dying as though frostbitten, whilst the limbs sought still to drag him down to the dirt.
 
as written by Ronin

The moment the necromantic limbs stretched out from the ground - hopefully holding James in place - thunder cracked the air. A crater opened up in his chest, followed by another, and another, massive bullets spewing flesh and fur in every direction.

Sir Jonas Virn entered the scene, smoking lawkeeper leveled over his forearm. Two other paladins flanked his side, swords drawn.

"Kill the beast," Virn commanded in a surprisingly calm tone, "remove its head."

The knight sprang forward to obey the command, ready to finish the already wounded werewolf.
 
as written by Faithy

Sure enough, his father once again attempted to leap at him, but before he could do anything, James found himself being grasped by hands coming from beneath him. He was acutely aware of the cold that was spreading from the appendages trying to keep him from moving and that angered the beast immensely. He wanted to rip and maul those in front of him, but he just couldn’t get away from what was dragging him down to his demise. Howling, he snapped at the limbs and managed to get his front end untangled just in time to take the shots to the chest.

“NO!” Jimmy screamed as his father’s chest was basically blown to smithereens. He didn’t budge for a second until the shots died down and Virn had ordered the head of the beast. Moving forward, he stepped in front of them, his arms outstretched so that they’d have to go through him to get to James.

“He’s my father! He can’t help himself!” He made sure he wasn’t close enough that James could snap down on his butt or any other body part, but he was most definitely in the way. “You can’t just kill him!” He pleaded despite knowing that there was no hope for the man that had done little to raise him, but he was still blood.
 
as written by Script

Valére released his magic with a heavy sigh as the paladins arrived, letting the spectral hands fade away into nothing - though they left behind numerous patches of frozen and withered grass. He said nothing as Jimmy tried to plead for his father's life, even as he was bleeding from a dangerous number of injuries.

After all, what was there to say? He could tell a mad werewolf when he saw one, and family or not... there was no known cure.

It was only as the adrenaline faded that he noticed his phone buzzing in his pocket, and he pulled it out to answer.

"Val?"

"Hey, Al."

A heavy sigh of relief was audible on the other end of the phone. "Are you alright? I heard screaming from near the exit, and you weren't answering, and-"

"I'm fine," he smiled. "A little bit of a close call, but I'm not hurt. The paladins are here now."

"Listen, stay put, I'm trying to get through but- MY BROTHER'S THROUGH HERE YOU TRUMPED UP TIN CAN, I'M GOING THR- NO, YOU LISTEN TO ME..."

Val winced, holding his phone away from his ear as Al began to yell at what he imagined was some poor paladin trying to keep innocents away from the danger.
 
as written by Ronin

Jimmy's outburst gave the approaching paladins pause; that someone among the crowd would defend the monster was curious indeed, and the revelation that the beast was this boy's father did nothing to alleviate their confusion. Did they push past him? Subdue the Garoux rather than kill him outright? Call paramedics?

Jonas pushed between them. He wore no helmet, his brows drawn over a pair of glittering green eyes. The tall paladin stopped in front of Jimmy, looking between the wounded werewolf and the pleading proselyte.

"Your father," Virn said coolly, "is a monster." A nod of his head, a silent command. The paladins stepped forward, each grabbing one of Jimmy's arms and attempting to bustle him away.

If successful, Virn would draw his sword - a sleek, gleaming falchion - step to the side of the struggling wolf and attempt to remove its head with a single, effortless swipe.
 
as written by Faithy

James snarled and thrashed behind Jimmy, still trying to sink claws and teeth into the boy in front of him. Despite the hands disappearing, he still couldn’t get his hind end to work like it was meant to and the gaping cavern in his chest wasn’t helping matters. Jimmy kept his arms stretched out, his eyes on both paladins even as Jonas stepped between them. Narrowing his eyes, he mentally dared the male to attempt to get past him, all logic clearly out of the young Proselyte’s mind.

“He isn’t a monster! He can’t help himself! He’ll be fine soon! Just leave him alone!” Jimmy shouted his words out, absolutely hysterical at the notion of not just what his father had done to the few that got in his way, but at the fact that he was about to lose his final family member. It was a harsh blow to the male, despite the fact that the bastard never wanted anything to do with him, but it didn’t change the love that Jim felt for the man deep down. When both of his arms were grabbed by the paladins, the twenty-year-old felt his whole world crashing down. Refusing to be pulled away, he fought against the hands, struggling to get free to fix what was mucked up.

“I said leave him alone!” Jimmy’s voice turned cold and angry and without thinking, he was reaching for the nearest weapon he could get his hands on, one of the Paladin’s sword. Jerking free, he would grasp the hilt, if his grab was successful. It was official, Jimmy was losing it. James snarled at the man attempting to lop off his head and ducked away, salivating maw snapping at the Paladin.
 
as written by Script

"Jimmy..." Valére winced and took a step back as the situation seemed to be about to escalate again. Once more, he searched for something at least vaguely comforting to say, but came up short. He certainly wasn't about to step in.

"What's going on over there?" Val returned his attention to the phone, raising it once more to his ear. Apparently, Al had won his shouting match.

"I'm not sure I can answer that succinctly enough to have finished by the time you get here."
 
as written by Ronin

The paladins struggled, doubtless delayed by Jimmy's antics. Still, they were church knights, and were, in all likelihood, stronger than the proselyte, big as he was. As Jimmy reached for one of their swords, the paladin to whom it belonged smacked a gaunleted hand down on his wrist, keeping him from drawing.

"Don't try it, kid," he growled. The two pushed him forward with great force, attempting to shove him away from the snarling werewolf, onto his stomach, bending his arms behind his back.

If Jimmy was out of the way, Virn would again step forward to confront the foaming beast. His sword was still drawn, and he waited until Jimmy was subdued and on the ground before trying for another execution.
 
as written by Faithy

Wincing as his hand was smacked by a gauntlet covered hand, Jimmy clenched his fist, tempted to punch the Paladin in the face. Before he could do anything and vaguely hearing Val calling his name, he was suddenly being forced down to the ground. Despite the training and ability to generally hold his own in fights, there was absolutely no way that the twenty-year-old could beat two Paladins that were obviously stronger than him.

“Get off me! What you’re doing is wrong and you know it!” Jimmy fought against the two holding him down, though it was pointless. The pain soon registered thanks to how they were bending back his arms, his previously injured elbow threatening to give for a second time.

“You can’t just execute him! He’s a man! Not right now, but… he is a prominent figure!” Jimmy continued to plead, knowing it was pointless. Shouting out in pain, he tried to get himself up to his knees, despite feeling his elbow starting to fracture. Why did he care so much about a man that was basically a stranger to him? He couldn’t answer that at the moment, his throat tightening up as tears threatened to spill. “Please leave him alone!”

James snarled and gnashed his teeth at the sword wielding man. He crouched low against the ground and sprang up towards the Paladin in an attempt to dispatch the individual despite not being completely healed as of yet.
 
as written by Script

"What's going on?" Inarin's voice cut across the mayhem as he returned from escorting the children to their parents. He stared wide-eyed at the subdued Jimmy, then across at the werewolf engaged with Virn.

"Hey, b- be careful! Can't you tell he's wounded?" The younger proselyte went to Jimmy's side to protest his handling by the paladins. No doubt the rough treatment was wreaking havoc on the bite and claw wounds he'd sustained during the scuffle. He kept half an eye on Virn and the werewolf, in case Jimmy's father turned his attention towards them again.

More quietly, to Jimmy, he spoke again. "Th... that's your father?"
 
as written by Ronin

"Step away, proselyte," one of the paladins gruffed at Inarin, struggling to keep Jimmy on the ground.

The other pinned James' hand to the small of his back. "Laren, he's right. The boy is bleeding badly." He produced a pair of handcuffs from his belt. "Let's get these on him and I'll crack open some salve. Paramedics are already on their way."

Behind them, Virn was at work. As the werewolf sprang forward, the paladins stepped to the side, thrusting his blade forward at the advancing beast's maw. The ramson steel went directly into the monster's throat, exiting out the back of his head.

"Hhm," Virn frowned, twisting the blade in the monster's mouth. Blood spurted from the exit wound and dribbled out of the wolf's maw. Taking the blade with both hands, the paladin ripped the sword out of the monster's throat through its cheek, rending away a huge chunk of flesh on the left side of its face. The upper part of James' head hung to its lower by a single mandible.

Jonas stepped forward and kicked, planting a heel on the werewolf's abdomen. The creature sprawled on its back to die.
 
as written by Faithy

Jimmy didn’t even glance over at Inarin as neared the scene; he was that focused on the incident at hand. He was still struggling, despite the pain from his elbow, bite mark, and gashes from the werewolf’s claws. He was subconsciously aware of the blood and the potential danger and infection that might come from what had happened, but he needed to save his father. Finally looking over at In, Jim just nodded at the question, wishing his friend could have met the man, not the beast. Though, who knows how that conversation would have gone. Snapping his gaze back towards James, the Proselyte growled as they talked about cuffing him. No, he had to get to his dad.

“Get off me! I’m going to break your faces!” He twisted and writhed, trying to get at least one arm free to give him some advantage.

Hissing when he scraped his gashed open arm against the ground, Jimmy felt pain radiating down the appendage. His eyes shifted towards James the moment Virn rammed his blade into the beast’s mouth. Screaming out, Jimmy fought even harder, his entire body getting in the act. His heart plummeted and he couldn’t look away from the gruesome scene, especially when his father was kicked onto his back to die with the majority of his face missing, blood pouring not just from that area, but from the back where the sword had exited.

“NO!” Jimmy went into a hysterical frenzy, his eyes red with tears.
 
as written by Script

"You just-" Inarin's jaw dropped. "You just killed his father in front of him. Y- I- y-" His stammering returned in full force, but for once it didn't seem like it was nerves that was causing it. If anything, it seemed as though he was spluttering with disgusted anger. "W-werewolf or not, c-couldn't you- Do the humane thing and- and at least w-wait..?"

He let out a frustrated hiss, shaking his head and turning away towards Jimmy. Ignoring the paladin's orders to stay away, and heedless of the blood, he dropped to his knees and did his best to try and wrap the older boy in a hug. He sought both to provide Jimmy with whatever comfort he could, and to stop him from doing himself any further harm by thrashing around.

Should the paladins try and continue escorting Jimmy away, Inarin's yelled response would be uncharacteristically aggressive. "Just wait, you assholes!"

To Jimmy, he was quietly murmuring whatever comforting words he could think of. "Don't look," he whispered, "don't look at him. J-just look at me. Let it out, it's okay."

Whilst this was going on, Valére stood helplessly a few feet away, frowning sadly. A familiar voice drew his attention over his shoulder, however, as his brother finally approached at a run.

"Val!" Alvére cried out, catching his brother up in a sudden embrace that took him more than a little off guard. "I swear if this is what happens when I leave you alone for half a day, I'm never letting you out of my sight again. Why didn't you run? What if you'd been hurt, you could have be-"

He cut off as Valére brought a finger to his lips, frowning solemnly and gesturing towards Inarin and Jimmy. Alvére turned to look, raising a questioning eyebrow at his brother that was answered with a shake of his head. "I'll explain later. Just... stay quiet, for a bit."

With another uncomfortable glance towards the sobbing Jimmy, Al nodded his head. He stepped back from the hug, but didn't relinquish his grip on Val's hand.
 
as written by Ronin

Shortly after the werewolf had been slain, the cavalry arrived. Police officer and medics entered the area, following the trail of carnage left in James' wake. The tended to the wounded, and several EMTs approached Jimmy, noticing his injuries. Assuming Inarin successfully calmed Jimmy down, the paladins would leave him be.

Virn was cleaning his bloodied blade with a handkerchief. Two officers approached him.

"What happened?" one of them demanded.

"What does it look like?" Virn shot daggers into the man. He gestured towards the body of the massive man-wolf. "It's already taken care of. Make yourself useful and clean up the mess." He sheathed his sword, making a brief pass over the crowd before walking decisively towards Val and Al.

"You there," he looked to Val, "the wolf was caught in something when I arrived. That was you, wasn't it?"
 
as written by Faithy

Jimmy felt his entire world crashing down on him and the fight left as soon as Inarain wrapped him into a hug. The tears he had been desperately fighting to keep inside of his body was soon spilling down his cheeks and he was opening sobbing. His gaze remained on what was left of his father, the beast dead before him. He desperately begged himself to wake up, to get out of this nightmare, but deep down the male knew this was reality. Despite Inarin trying to get him to look away, Jim couldn’t.

Even as more people arrived to take care of those that had been massacred by James, Jimmy’s attention never drifted away. However, when he was released by the Paladin’s, he shifted into a sitting position, though he didn’t shove Inarin away. He wanted to leap up and kill the man that killed his father, but that would be wrong. Deep down he knew that it had to be done, but that didn’t change how he felt at that moment. His arm ached from the gashes and the bite and he was pretty sure his elbow was hurt again, but nothing mattered. Maybe he should’ve just let his father kill him. Then at least he wouldn’t be alone. Unable to stifle back a loud sob, he wrapped one arm around the younger Proselyte, just letting it all out.
 
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