Crystal Clear Part 2: Familiar Faces (Jasper x Reader)

Chapter 13: The Oldest Name

“He will not sleep much longer,” Sapphire muttered as the ground rumbled faintly.
“Then we must make all haste,” Stier proclaimed as he began to put on his armour.
“I thought you were never a soldier?” Jasper said.
“Quite right, but we all receive the standard equipment.”
“Are you sure you know how to handle yourself?”
“I imagine there shouldn't be too many surprises. I think everyone plays with weapons as a child, the mechanisms are simple enough.”
“What about you Sapphire? I've seen that you can handle yourself, but are you sure you wouldn't do more good up here?” Jasper asked.
“I don't think so. I see today. Today is the day. If we cannot stop him, we never will be able to.”
“Well then,” you said, “let's hope this works.”
The four of you climbed down again for what would be the final time. After allowing Sapphire and Stier to get over the horror of the sight of the billions of fragments of the dead, you made a beeline for the spot where you had nearly uncovered The Paragon’s heart before… but The Paragon had other plans. The moment you drew near, the giant he had formed before rose up, a blue glow visible within its chest. But rather than offering to fight, it began to run away. Stier tried to shoot at it with the bulky plasma gun he carried, but was unprepared for the recoil and fell flat on his back after a single shot which came nowhere near to its target.
“We'll never catch it,” you said. Then an idea hit you. You summoned your claws and studied them. They reminded you of a certain character. “Unless… Jasper, you know about the X-Men, right?” She nodded. “Fastball special!”
With some difficulty, Jasper managed to hurl you through the air, where you landed on the beast's neck, digging your claws in for grip. It tried to grab at you, but succeeded only in punching itself repeatedly in the back. Taking advantage of its imbalance, you slashed and jabbed until it finally poofed in a shower of gem shards. From its core fell the same blue crystalline heart you'd seen in your dream, glowing with a light that illuminated much of the cavern. The others ran over to investigate.
“Let’s hope that’s that, then! Let’s get this thing out of here and see if he’s still active,” you declared hopefully. You took off your coat, intending to wrap the stone, having an eerie feeling that touching it directly wouldn't be a good idea.
But before you could, a hand shot up from the ground and pulled the object down. Then another hand shot up. And another. More and more, all around you, thousands of them.
“He's awake!” Sapphire gasped.
“You don't say?” Jasper grumbled sarcastically, taking a defensive position. Thousands of gem mutants began hauling themselves up from the ground. “(Y/N), we have to go!”
“I can't! This is our last chance!”
“Protocols are in place for a total evacuation of the planet!” Stier protested. “If we make it back we can warn everyone in time!”
“You're right,” you sighed. “We've done all we can.”
“We should probably be running,” Sapphire pointed out as the mutants shambled slowly towards you.
You all ran as fast as you could back to the ladder, shoving and flinging aside enemies as you went. You sent Sapphire and Stier up first. Jasper insisted that you go next, but you refused.
“Go on, I'll be right behind you watching your back.”
She saw in your eyes that you were telling the truth, nodded, and began to climb. You went up behind her… but you weren't alone. The mutant priests followed behind you. You just climbed as quickly as you could without looking back.
You were more than halfway up when you heard a low rumble. Everything began to shake, and rocks were shaken loose from the edge of the pit, falling down towards you. Most of you managed to avoid them, but one struck Jasper's hand as she reached for the next rung with her other hand. She didn't scream as she fell - she gave only a short gasp of shock, not fully comprehending what was happening. She didn't get a chance to before she stopped with a jolt. She looked up to find you'd grabbed her hand.
“I've got you!” you grunted as you struggled to lift her up (and struggled to keep your shoulder in its socket). You looked down and saw that the mutants, led by the one you called Bones, we're dangerously close behind. “Jasper, will you marry me?”
“You mean if we get out of here alive?”
“I meant regardless.”
“I will!” she cried as you finally managed to help her up so she could get a grip again. You meant to continue up after her, but you felt a bony hand seize your good ankle. You tried to pull free, kicking and wriggling, but his grasp was like a vice. You gave a long exhale and felt a tear form in the corner of your eye. Jasper looked back just in time to see you take out your claws and sever the ladder. You met her gaze with eyes full of regret as you fell along with hundreds of the priests back into the depths. You fell for what seemed like forever. At times it felt almost like flying, but you knew the truth of what was about to happen, shutting your eyes and accepting it before everything went black.
Jasper’s eyes slammed shut, fighting back a flood of tears. The other two looked back to see what the commotion was.
“Go on, hurry!” she urged.
Finally, they all escaped.
“(Y/N)’s gone,” Sapphire realised before Jasper was even up.
“Yes,” she confirmed weakly, falling to one knee and covering her face. “We need to tell everyone to get out of here.”
“But maybe there's still hope,” Sapphire replied. “I said gone, but not dead.”
Jasper stood in shock and looked around.
“In that case, we need to keep trying. We just need to change our approach. (Y/N), if you were here, what would you come up with?” She yawned, the events of the day starting to catch up with her. Her eyes lit up. “Of course…” She turned to Sapphire. “In you don't want someone to be at their best, you don't let them get a good night's sleep. You've been trying to keep The Paragon asleep for however long it's been, and it's been a losing battle. I think we need to do the one thing no one would ever think to do. We need to wake him up.”
Sapphire nodded and approached the edge, but looked nervous as people began to filter onto the scene, wondering what she was happening. Jasper clutched her small hand to reassure her.