The troupe continued through the woods. Jonathan cast a glance over his shoulder every few steps, whenever he convinced himself that he heard something, but Josuke and Okuyasu never broke their confident stride. Bizarre events had become the norm for them. Despite the cavalier attitudes, the two of them knew that they probably weren't out of danger quite yet. A quick pace was simply the best solution. No one wanted to spend the night in the woods with a killer on the loose. The two Japanese men quickly outpaced Jonathan, but when they stopped to let him catch up, Josuke took advantage of the momentary privacy.

"Hey Okuyasu, keep an eye out for anything and keep it subtle. I don't want to scare Jonathan, but I have a feeling those wolves aren't the only thing that lady has in store for us."

Okuyasu nodded along with Josuke's reasoning. "Right, but do you think we should tell Jonathan about our Stands? I'm surprised he hasn't asked about it yet. You'd think he would be freaking out over how we killed those wolf things. Was he even watching?"

Josuke rubbed the back of his head trying his hardest to think back with little luck. "Hard to say, I wasn't exactly watching him during the fight. Either way, I'm sure he's wondering how two teenagers possibly beat them all. I'd rather delay the question. I'm not sure where to begin explaining what a Stand is to someone who doesn't have one."

"Gentlemen!"

Jonathan was waving to get their attention. When they had returned to him, Jonathan gestured towards a small chimney, barely distinguishable from the surrounding tree-trunks. A comforting expression swept over Jonathan's face as he got a glimpse of civilization. "At last! Perhaps whoever lives there can aid us."

Josuke, however, was immediately suspicious about their fortunate situation. Besides the obvious fact that the house could be a trap, it also begged the question who could possibly live in a forest inhabited by monsters? With skepticism written all over his face, Josuke said, "Let's be careful about this Jonathan. It could be the masked lady's house for all we know."

"I hope it's her! We can pay her back by messing with her stuff!" Okuyasu said, beaming from the idea of getting petty revenge.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Josuke couldn't help but find the humor in Okuyasu's idea. "Ha! Like we can drop her toothbrush in the toilet!"

"Yeah! And we can steal her underwear too!"

"Gentlemen!" Jonathan snapped, having about enough us his companions' mischievous and undignified ideas. "If the house is indeed our kidnapper's and is also unoccupied, then it would be wise of us to look for clues on her motives and not…violate her belongings."

Josuke calmed down and gave Jonathan an apologetic gesture. "Alright, alright Jonathan. We'll just check it out to see if anything is suspicious. Okuyasu, come with me."

"Tch, I'm at least peeing on her door or something." Okuyasu said, scowling at Jonathan.

Jonathan was quick to notice that he wasn't included in the mission. "Gentlemen, wait. If there's a possibility you two could be endangered then I must go as well." Jonathan couldn't, in good conscious, stand idle while let his fellow men marched to a possibility dangerous situation.

Jonathan's sudden will to help made Josuke and Okuyasu freeze in place. While his chivalrous attitude was something to be admired, both Josuke and Okuyasu knew Jonathan would be way over his head going into this without a stand. They both looked at each other knowing that as soon as they turned around one of them would have to give Jonathan some kind of explanation. As they shifted their directions back to Jonathan, Okuyasu was the first to speak. "Eh, Jonathan, don't be ridiculous you can't come because, um…" Okuyasu halted mid-sentence leaving an uncomfortable silence with his lack of a follow-up.

"...Why not?" asked Jonathan, waiting patiently for an explanation to Okuyasu's case.

In an attempt to save Okuyasu, Josuke intervened, "I think you misunderstood what we meant Jonathan! While we infiltrate the house, we need you to watch our backs from a distance."

Okuyasu gestured at Josuke in agreement, "Y-yeah, right!"

Jonathan pondered their suggestion. "I see! I'll be your eyes for the area around the house! Just in case someone shows up while you two are investigating the house. Luckily, I recently read a book on bird calls that I can use to get your guy's attention." Jonathan said, demonstrating his technique.

Wow. Josuke's cousin is kind of a nerd. Okuyasu thought as he watched Jonathan perform, from what he could tell, really bad bird calls.

Surprised and relieved that his quick explanation worked, Josuke gave Jonathan a thumbs up. "Great! If everything is all clear we'll call you over."

Jonathan returned the gesture, "Roger! Be careful gentlemen!"

They gave a wave to Jonathan as they progress towards the house and, once they got to a safe distance, Okuyasu put his arm around Josuke's shoulders. "Ha! You smug bastard. This is what I love about you!"

Josuke couldn't help but crack a grin as well, "I can't believe that actually worked. Jonathan didn't strike me as the gullible type."

Unfortunately for Josuke and Okuyasu, growing up with someone like Dio doesn't leave you gullible. Perhaps Jonathan couldn't blame them. The truth was he didn't do anything when the wolves attacked them. Why would they think he could help this time? But the bigger question that lingered in Jonathan's mind; how did they possibly defeat those wolfs? The fact that they didn't want Jonathan to come with them only further justified his suspensions. And considering Jonathan was just as, if not more, physically fit as Josuke and Okuyasu, the reason couldn't be strength alone. As much as Jonathan wanted to trust his new comrades, he had to admit that their situation wasn't the only thing that was peculiar. Josuke, Okuyasu. Just what is it you two have that I don't?

Josuke and Okuyasu concealed themselves behind the closest trees to observe the house. From there they could see the house was much more than a simple log cabin. The house was two stories tall with a porch on the side, a chimney, and even had a shed in the back. Seemed pretty well built and, interesting enough, the architecture was definitely foreign to Japan. No other buildings encompassed the area, though a path came from the front of the house but only lead to more forest. Its humble appearance made it anything but intimidating, but as stand users you quickly learn not to trust appearance alone.

"Hey, Josuke, look." Okuyasu drew Josuke's attention to a mailbox at the end of the lawn. "If mail is delivered here that must mean we're close to a town or something, right?"

Josuke curiously scratched his chin at his friend's observation, "Yeah, that's definitely a good sign. Glad to see we at least ended up somewhere civilized. If we're lucky and the person is friendly, maybe they'll have a phone we can use."

"Hey, maybe they have some food to spare too." Okuyasu offered with a gleefully greedy expression.

"Perhaps they could spare some shampoo too. I'm starting to worry about my hair." Josuke said, rubbing his hair for a moment but then really began to think about what they were doing. "This is going to be embarrassing if the person turns out friendly. They'll probably think we're robbing them or something." Josuke couldn't say this is the first house he's ever search, but normally he had better reasons. The idea of possibly breaking into an innocent person's house was a bit unnerving.

"You're not chickening out now, are you Josuke?" Okuyasu teased, grinning at Josuke for second guessing himself.

Josuke scowled at Okuyasu and said, "Hey, I'm just saying we need to figure this out quickly before anyone sees us. Let's check the windows and see if we can see anything."

The two teenagers stayed low and quickly advanced to the side of the house. Sticking close to the wall, Josuke leaned up to a window to take a peak. And he saw…nothing. It was dark. Peculiarly dark.

"Hey, what do you see?" Okuyasu asked, eager to find out what was inside.

"For some reason, it's really dark in here. I can't see anything." Josuke said as he inched himself closer to the window to the point where his hair was touching the house.

"You think it's haunted or something?" Okuyasu jokingly suggested.

Okuyasu's statement made Josuke's hair stand on end and the phasmophobic teen turned swiftly towards his companion. "Hey, don't say stuff like that! Maybe we'll have better luck if we try another angle."

They both sneaked to the corner of the house and Josuke, who was leading, peaked around the corner and noticed the front door was left slightly open.

"Okuyasu, they left the door open. I guess that's a good sign someone is probably home."

"Huh, that's pretty careless."

Josuke smirked at the opportunity and said, "Well, it looks like they gave us a perfect opportunity to see just what's inside this house."

As they turned the corner and began to approach the door, Okuyasu grabbed Josuke shoulder. "Josuke stop. I think I can hear voices." he said as he cupped his hand to his ear.

"Cut it out already Okuyasu! Now's not the time for jokes!" Josuke exclaimed, under the impression Okuyasu was further making fun of Josuke's fear of the paranormal.

"No, I'm serious. It's coming from in the house. Just listen." Okuyasu insisted.

Josuke leaned close to the house and Okuyasu was right. He could hear people talking from inside the house. Both of them stayed silent to make out what they were saying. From what they could make out there were about two people, both older males.

"I'm losing my patience with you. Tell me where she is."

"Kiss my ass! Just what the hell do you want with her?!"

"That's none of your concern. I've been merciful, but if you keep this up you will force me to use other methods to make you talk."

Josuke and Okuyasu looked at each other in shock, not sure what to think. Just what the hell was going on in there? Josuke leaned into the door's crack to see what was possibly going on but once again the darkness concealed what was inside. As Josuke continued to frustratingly look around, he eventually came across two glowing red eyes glaring at him from across the room.

"Gah!" Josuke, nearly shitting himself, instinctively jumped back from the door and two lasers shoot out of the house right where his head was a second ago. Okuyasu stood there in shock as the lasers shot all the way across the front lawn. "J-Josuke!"

Josuke didn't have the slightest idea what was going on in that house. But what he did know was whoever was in there was a dead man. Wasting no time, Josuke picked himself back up and charged straight at the door. "Let's go Okuyasu!"

"Right!"

The two teenagers busted through the door and run right into the house. The two of them looked around the dark house frantically in the hope of introducing someone to their stands.

"I don't know what's going on in here, but I know I have to kick someone's ass!" Josuke said, ready to wail on the first sign of movement.

"Who the hell is messing with us!? Did you see what he looked like?" Okuyasu asked, unsure of who exactly their target was.

"Yeah! If you see some guy with red eyes, punch him!"

"You kids need to get out of here. He's dangerous." uttered a weak voice. Following the voice, Josuke and Okuyasu found a man lying on the floor. Josuke kneels down to help him and, in closer inspection, he could see he was a middle-aged man with blond hair. It appeared that he'd been beaten pretty badly and used what little energy he had left to call to them.

"We can help you with your injuries, but you need to tell us where that guy went!" Josuke insisted.

The man weakly pointed towards a corner of the room.

What!? Behind us!? They both thought. But before they could both turn around they felt a crushing weight all around them. The weight forced Josuke and Okuyasu to fall flat on the ground. They both tried to pick themselves back up but it was futile.

"What the hell is happening!? I can't move!" Okuyasu panicked.

"It's like gravity is hundred times stronger than it normally is!" said Josuke.

The same voice they heard earlier spoke from the corner of the room. "And who are you two?" Josuke and Okuyasu were so pinned down they couldn't even turn their heads to look at him.

"Let us go you asshole! You don't know who you're messing with!" yelled Okuyasu, paying no attention to the man's question.

The man disregarded Okuyasu's threat with a quick laugh. "I'm afraid you're in no position to make threats. So tell me, do you two know the whereabouts of the girls who live here?"

"Even if we did, like hell we would tell you!" stated Josuke, not giving him the pleasure of interrogating them.

"I don't even know these kids! Just let them go! I'm the one you want!" the injured man desperately pleaded.

"Is that so? It's unfortunate you two would come here at such a time. But I can't let you two leave here alive. You two have already seen too much. I'll make your deaths quick." Josuke judged by his voice that he was out of Crazy Diamond's range and it didn't help that he couldn't see where he was either. If they didn't come up with something quick they were screwed.

"Josuke! Okuyasu!"

Jonathan ran into the house after seeing the laser from a distance and came to investigate. He knew he was supposed to stay put, but he was incapable of standing around knowing that his friends could be endangered. "Hello?! Gentlemen are you there?!" Jonathan yelled trying his best to see inside the dark house.

"Jonathan?! Stay out! It's a trap!" Josuke warned. Shit! Now Jonathan's endangered too.

"What?! Where are you guys!?" Jonathan asked. Looking further, he found his two comrades lying on the ground. "Um, what are you two doing on the floor?"

"Idiot! Don't worry about that right now! Just get out of here already!" yelled Okuyasu.

"I'm afraid I can't do that!" Jonathan said, refusing to heed their warnings, "A gentlemen can't leave his friends behind! We're in this together!"

"I-It can't be! Jonathan Joestar!?"

Jonathan faced a corner where the voice was and saw a man in the shadows with red eyes looking at him. Jonathan got into a boxing stance and confidently yelled, "You are correct, sir! I don't know how you know who I am, but you better leave my friends alone or you will have to face me!"

"Impossible! How are you even here?!"

Jonathan couldn't help but low his guard a bit, confused by the man's rambling. "I'm sorry? What are you talking about? Do I know you?" Jonathan said, as he began to approach the man hoping to get a better look at who he was. However, the man only started to back up as Jonathan moved closer.

"Stay back Jojo!" and as the man shouted, Jonathan felt a powerful force throw him out of the front door and across the lawn.

"Looks like the punk was useful after all." Okuyasu said as he and Josuke picked themselves up. It appeared that the man using his power on Jonathan drew it away from Josuke and Okuyasu just for a moment. And a moment was all they needed.

Josuke gave a sly smile and said, "Yeah, it looks like we owe Jonathan one. But first we need to pay back this guy."

Before the man even knew it, he was right in front of Josuke and Okuyasu with a wave of The Hand. What?! They have powers too?! The Hand uppercutted the man, setting him up for Crazy Diamond.

"DORA!" Crazy Diamond landed a powerful punch in the man's gut and launched him.

"AHHH!" The man slammed across the room, shattering him and the wall alike. While Josuke would love to show him how he REALLY felt, they needed answers from him so he decided to leave some bones unshattered. Besides, he had something he had to do first. Josuke ran towards the front door. "Okayasu, you keep an eye on that bastard in case he tries anything. I need to go check on Jonathan!"

Okuyasu nodded and said, "Go ahead, this bastard isn't going anywhere." He watched the guy carefully with The Hand ready for anything. Just what the hell was this guy's problem and what kind of powers did he have?

Josuke ran over to find Jonathan laying in the middle of the front lawn. "Jonathan!"

Jonathan heard Josuke and tried his best to sit himself up. "Josuke? What happened? Eh!" he stuttered as an extreme pain came from his left arm. "I had the misfortune of landing on my arm. I'm no doctor but I think it's broken."

"Try not to move. Let me take a look at it." Josuke kneeled down and summoned Crazy Diamond. While Jonathan's arm did seem to be in pretty bad shape, no injury was so great that Crazy Diamond couldn't fix it.

"What on earth?! My arm! What is happening!?" Jonathan said in utter confusion as his arm seemingly began to repair itself.

Josuke stood back up and smiled, "So Jonathan, how does your arm feel now?"

Jonathan moved his arm and regain his composure as he saw that his wounds have vanished. "My arm is completely healed!" Jonathan said in complete awe. He decided to put the miracle to the test and picked up a large rock that laid next to him. "I can even lift this rock!"

Josuke tried his best to think back on how Jotaro explained what a stand was. "How do I put this, me and Okuyasu each can control a spirit called a 'stand'. It's the physical manifestation of someone's psychological energy, or at least that's what I've been told. A person's stand protects the user from harm and each stand has it's own unique power. My stand, Crazy Diamond, can fix anything, even people. You can't see my stand because you aren't a stand user too."

If Josuke told Jonathan this any other day he would have assumed that he was mad. But how could he not believe him now? Nothing in the world of medicine could have healed his arm as fast as Josuke did. The kidnapping, the fight in the field, and the fact they didn't want him to fight was now more clear than ever. Ever since Jonathan was a kid he wanted to be an Archaeologist. The idea of discovering things always excited him. And at this very moment, Jonathan learned that the world was much more mysterious than he ever could have dream.

"Well, that certainly explains how you guys defected all those wolfs! I don't even know what to say! It's the most amazing thing I've ever witness! I've never even had the pleasure of reading about this in my library!" Jonathan said in excitement at this new discovery.

"I can imagine. Knowledge about stands is kind of underground. I can definitely teach you more about them, especially considering we owe you one."

"You do? How so?"

Josuke busted out laughing as Jonathan sat there wondering what was so funny. The way Jonathan ran into the house without a second thought reminded Josuke of the time he saved Rohan from Highway Star. "Well, in a weird way, you kind of saved our asses. Sorry Jonathan, we shouldn't have doubted you."

Jonathan simpered at Josuke's apology. "Doubt me? I'm not sure what you mean. I was under the impression you needed me to keep watch." he sarcastically teased.

"Eh well…I guess I sort of let that one slip, huh?" Josuke admitted. Jonathan couldn't help but laugh at the humorous situation Josuke set up himself up for, but regardless Josuke laughed along with him.

Jonathan wiped a tear from his eye and said, "Regardless, there's no need for an apology. A gentleman is always happy to help."

As Jonathan took Josuke's hand to get back up, he took the opportunity to ask, "What happened to that man in the house? He seemed to know who I was."

That was definitely an understatement. The guy not only knew Jonathan, but was terrified when he saw him. There was clearly something about Jonathan Josuke and Okuyasu were unaware of. "Oh, don't worry about him, me and Okayasu took care of him. He definitely knew who you were. You didn't recognize him at all?"

Jonathan took a moment to recount any bad encounters he's had in the past. While Jonathan grew up getting into fights with plenty of kids as well of his adopted brother, he couldn't really think of any adults he had any bad encounters with. Much less any encounters that would cause such a reaction upon the mere sight of Jonathan. "I don't believe so. He didn't seem familiar and I can't imagine forgetting someone of his character. But, then again it was rather dark inside the house."

Josuke put his arm around Jonathan's shoulder and pointed at the house."In that case, let's go back inside. He's not going anywhere, so you can get a closer look at him." he proudly stated.

But Josuke's pride in his victory was short lived. Jonathan and Josuke heard a crash towards the house. The man they had just fought was thrown out the window and plummeted to the ground. Now that he was in plain sight, they could see that he seemed to be in his twenties. He wore a black robe and scarf with black hair to match and his skin was very pale. But the oddest part about him was his whole body seemed to a slight glow radiating from him. The pale man picked himself back up, bleeding with a large shard impaled into his arm. As he yanked the shard out of his arm with his bear hands, he scowled at Josuke and Jonathan.

"What!? How can you even stand much less jump out a window?!" Josuke raged, clenching his fist at the man.

The pale man ignored Josuke's rant and glared at the glass in hand. He peered back at them and threw it at Jonathan. The precision of his throw was excellent but Crazy Diamond was precise too, who easily grabbed the shard mid air and crushed it in his hands.

"It that all you have?!" Josuke mocked with his hand on his hips, "I'd be happy to kick your ass again!"

Okuyasu came running out of the house and yelled, "Josuke! He's getting away!"

"No shit! He's right there!" Josuke responded, and pointed towards the side of the house.

The pale man jumped upon a tree branch to get to higher ground and finally spoke, "We will meet again soon, Jojo." And with those words, the man vanished instantaneously.

-Bites Za Dusto-

Despite the pale man's situation, he couldn't help but be deep in thought, questioning the events that just took place. Who were the kids who just ran into the house and ruined his plans? How did they have the same powers he had? But the biggest question he was asking himself, what was Jonathan Joestar doing here? Hamon. To think his greatest weakness had followed him into this world. Was this fate's way of giving him a chance at redemption? To have another shot at defeating the Joestars? Perhaps, but now was not the time for such an event to take place. A quick exit was in order after he had regenerated. The pale man did not like getting into fights without knowing his opponents.

As Okayasu continued to watch him, he began to notice something strange. The man's blood slowly began to seep its way back into him and his shattered bones begin to heal.

"W-what!? What's happening?!" Okayasu yelled, completely perplexed at the horrific sight.

The pale man took in a breath feeling new again. It was time for him to escape. "Fade to Black." he whispered and a shadowy silhouette of a man appeared before Okayasu.

"W-what?! A stand!? So, you're a stand user too huh?!" Okuyasu shouted as The Hand threw a punch.

However, the pale man's stand was quick too. As Fade to Black broke the nearest window, the man was pulled in his stand's direction, shooting out of the house and avoiding The Hand's attack. The whole house was suddenly filled with light, revealing a battle torn living room. Okayasu jumped a knocked over sofa and ran outside to alert his friends. "Josuke! He's getting away!" He shouted.

"No shit! He's right there!" Josuke responded, and pointed towards the side of the house.

The pale man jumped upon a tree branch to get to higher ground and finally spoke, "We will meet again soon, Jojo." And with those words, the man vanished instantaneously. Jonathan turned about as pale as the monstrous man himself as he spoke his nickname 'Jojo.' This supernatural being not only had some sort of animosity towards Jonathan in particular, he seemingly knew him on a almost personal level. Josuke and Okuyasu bravery amazed Jonathan, not the least bit fazed by what transpired. They were searching around the tree as if there was a trap door to find and explain the sudden disappearance, but no dice. Crazy Diamond wailed on the tree in sheer frustration. "Okuyasu! What the hell happened in there?!" Josuke asked, shifting his attention to his friend, who was debatably to blame.

"The punk is a stand user! He used it to heal himself and -EH!" Okuyasu paused realizing that he just dropped that S-bomb right in front of Jonathan. "I mean- he used um…."

"I already explained stands to Jonathan. We can cut that act already." Josuke explained. Great! As if they didn't already have enough questions already. Now they're fighting stand users too? It was hard to tell if this made the situation even more bizarre or more of what they were use too.

"Thank God! I'm not good at this whole pretending thing." Okuyasu said as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. He already felt guilty enough letting the pale man get away.

"I'm simply glad the we are all on the same track now. Okuyasu, you said he healed himself with his stand. Does that mean all stands can heal their users?" asked Jonathan.

"No, the weird thing was he didn't even summon his stand to heal. He just kind of put himself back together." Okuyasu recalled.

"That is strange. Now that I think about, he had some kind of gravity power, lasers, and now healing too?" Josuke said perplexed by it all. It wasn't too uncommon for stands to have more than one power, but those powers at least had something in common. In what way did gravity powers, lasers, and healing have anything to do which each other? The conversation halted as the question puzzled everyone, so Jonathan thought he would take the opportunity to further feed his curiosity about stands. "Okuyasu, forgive my curiosity, but what exactly is your stand's power?" asked Jonathan.

"Oh ho! I'm glad you asked!" Okuyasu said as he eagerly summoned his stand.

"Eh! W-what!?" Jonathan instinctively jumped back as he suddenly found himself right in front of Okuyasu, who didn't even trying to contain his laughed.

"My stand, The Hand, can scrape away anything it touches and closes together what isn't scraped. Just like the space between us." Okuyasu boasted.

"Next time leave me out of the demonstration." Jonathan said in an annoyed tone, "So, where does The Hand relocate the things which it scrapes?"

Okuyasu simply shrugged and said, "The hell if I know! I just know whatever it scrapes doesn't come back."

That's…unsettling. "Are stand users common? What were the chances of us running into one by accident?"

"No, most people aren't stand users. However, the chances of us running into them are actually pretty high. We don't completely understand it, but for some reason stand users are attracted to each other." Josuke explained. Or at least that's what Josuke and Okuyasu were told, they didn't have actual proof. But considering the amount of stand users they happened to run into, the explication seemed compelling enough to them.

"Oh yeah! Josuke!" Okuyasu called.

"Hmm?"

"I almost forgot, that injured guy in the house is still just lying on the floor."

"...Oh shit! Right!"

The once peculiarly dark house now had light flooding in from the windows. The place was wreaked from the fight, with strange devices and items tossed all around the room. All of it was very intriguing to Jonathan, but his curiosity was short lived, as unconscious people on the floor had a tendency to ruin the decor. "My goodness, what did that monster do to this man?!" asked Jonathan.

"This guy was being interrogated by him. He tried to help us while we were being held down by the stand. He's a good guy." said Josuke, "It looks like he got knock out from all the excitement." With the help of Crazy Diamond, the man's cuts and bruises disappeared and began to regain consciousness has he slowly opened his eyes. "Ah!" the man panicked, springing straight up from the floor. He frantically looked around for the mad man only to find three startled teenagers looking at him. Clearly he wasn't expecting to wake up to anything pleasant.

"Hey, hey!" Josuke said, motioning him to calm down. "You can relax now, we took care of whoever was attacking you."

The man took a couple deep breaths before responding, "What happened to him?"

The three of them looked at each other before Jonathan decided to be the one to inform him of the bad news, "Unfortunately sir, we had captured him for a short time but he escaped into the forest." Okayasu scratched the back of his head feeling responsible for the man's escape.

"So, he's still out there." the man said as he took a few seconds to gather his thoughts. Who could really blame him though? Surely the last thing he wanted to hear was that the psychopath who almost killed him was still on the loose.

Josuke started to feel responsible for letting him escape and gave apologetic bow, "We're sorry we let him escape sir! Please forgive us!"

The man was taken back by the sudden apology, "You kidding me? You don't owe me any kind of apology. I need to thank you three. I'm embarrassed to say I'd probably be dead if you guys didn't come here on time."

The timing was almost too good. Was this very event some how intended by the witch? Perhaps she was associated with the pale man. "Sir, just what did that man want from you exactly?" Jonathan asked, searching for clues on the matter.

"The pervert kept asking about his daughters or something." Okuyasu recalled.

"Right..." said the man, running his eyes over Okuyasu and Josuke's outfits. "Let me guess, Yang's friends right?"

"Actually, we were just lost in the woods and were hoping to ask you for some directions. As strange as it sound, our timing was coincidental." said Josuke. Though, that was only half true. He thought it would be best to leave out the part about the witch hunt and breaking into his house.

"Just a coincidence, huh? Weird, you three have to be around her age." the man stated, scratching his scruffy chin at the interesting circumstances. "Regardless, it looks like I'm in your guy's debt. My name is Taiyang Xiao Long. I'm a former Huntsmen and a teacher at Signal Academy. You kids students there?"

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Long. You must understand, we don't actually live around here." said Jonathan.

"Well, whoever taught you guys how to fight and heal deserves a reward. In all my years, I've never seen anything quite like it that guy's technique. Anyway, so you kids don't live in Patch?" asked Taiyang.

"Oh, we're in Patch! That's like a country or something, right?" Okayasu asked looking at Josuke, who only responded with a shrug.

"As someone hoping to be an archaeologist, I'm ashamed to say I'm unfamiliar with Patch as well. Sorry Mr. Long, but may you shed some light on the matter?" asked Jonathan.

"Do you three really not know where you are?" Taiyang asked with a confused expression.

"It's a pretty long story. I'm Josuke and my friend, Okayasu, here live in Japan. And my, eh cousin Jonathan is from England."

"Japan and England..." Taiyang mumbled to himself. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the towns. Hold on, I have map here somewhere." Taiyang said as he walked over to a drawer. He pulled out a map and pointed to a small Island next to what appeared to be a even larger island. "I'm curious to find out how in that long story you guys ended up getting lost on an island. See, Patch is right here just west of Vale?"

The gang gathered around the map. What were all these islands? Didn't appear to be anything like the Philippines or Caribbean. Jonathan squinted and tilled his head, but the land was unfamiliar from every angle.

"Hehe, this one kind of looks like a dragon." Okuyasu chuckled, pointing at one of the islands.

"Yeah, it looks like something out of a manga." said Josuke.

"Guys, it's just a map of Remnant." Taiyang said in annoyance.

"Huh?"

Taiyang started to realize the boys weren't joking with him as they stared blankly at him, followed by an awkward silence. "Okay...maybe we should back things up a bit." Taiyang said in a very concerned tone. "You guys don't know where Patch is, yet you three are all the way out here in the woods. How did you guys even end up here?"

The story was a real doozie, but, then again, maybe it wasn't any more bizarre then what just happen to Taiyang. And any chance of learning more about the masked lady had to be taken. Jonathan looked to his comrades for confirmation. "I don't believe we have a reason not to tell him. Start at the beginning?" he asked.

"I think you have a point" Josuke said turning back to Taiyang, "Though our story may be a bit hard to swallow."

Taiyang started to laugh. "Is that what you guys are worried about? Believe me, I've had my share of crazy stories too. Try me." he said confidently.

"Well sir, the reason we are lost is because we were actually kidnapped by someone. But that isn't even the odd part about our situation..." said Jonathan.

Okuyasu gladly jumped in where Jonathan struggled to explain. "The person who kidnapped us was this crazy lady in a bird mask. She used this weird red cloud thing to teleported us to some field with monsters. But, she didn't expect us to kick those monsters' asses pretty easily." Okuyasu said proudly.

Taiyang's reassuring smile had disappeared with Okuyasu's words. "You said a lady in a mask brought you here?"

Josuke could tell Okuyasu's blunt explanation left much to be desired, "Look we know it's hard to believe but-"

"I know her." Taiyang interjected.

"Y-you what?!" Jonathan blurted out.

Their new friend was the last kind of person they thought would be acquainted with their kidnapper. The mad man who attacked him would have been much more believable, but a seemingly normal person? The three of them didn't even know how to react to this revelation.

Taiyang sat down on the coach with a troubled expression and said, "I know exactly who you're talking about. Her name is Raven. We have a lot of history together."

"Then start talking! What's her problem dragging us all the way out here and trying to kill us with those monsters?!" Okuyasu said demanding answers.

"I don't know. This may sound crazy, but she probably wasn't trying to hurt you guys. Knowing her, she wouldn't have made you guys fight grimm unless she knew you guys were capable of doing so. She may have been testing you guys. Her world view of things is…complicated to say the least."

Grimm, huh? So, that is what those wolves are referred to as. Jonathan thought, taking a mental note.

"Woah, she sounds pretty scary." Josuke said with a worried look, getting chills at the idea that someone like that is after them.

"Sounds kinda fishy to me. Why should we believe she wasn't just trying to kill us?" asked Okuyasu.

"Forgive me Okuyasu, but I believe he's telling the truth." said Jonathan, "I could be wrong, but remember when I told you guys that she asked for my help? I know evidence may suggest other wise, but what if she really brought us here for something? Do you think you can tell us more, Mr. Long?"

"Thank you, Jonathan was it? Believe me, Raven is anything but a pushover. If she wanted you guys dead, the last method she would use is the grimm. As I've stated, I don't know why she brought you three here, but I know someone who may have an idea. Her brother, Qrow, is a good friend of mine."

"Do you think you can take us to him? As you can imagine we have a lot of question that need answering." asked Josuke.

"Sure, I can take all of you over there quickly. First I need to call my daughter. If that guy is still out there I'm not out of this yet. My daughter is taking a trip to Vale for some dust shopping and should be heading over to a boat to take her there right now. Thankfully that bastard shouldn't know her whereabouts." Taiyang said, as he paced around the room. He appeared to be looking for something.

"If you don't mind me asking Mr. Long, who was the person who attacked you and what did he want from you? The man...knew me somehow." asked Jonathan, hoping to be an end to this question that had been lingering in his mind.

"The truth is I don't know who he. I've definitely made enemies in my career, but he isn't after me."

"If you don't mind me asking sir, why would he be after your daughter in particular?" asked Jonathan.

"...It's a long story." Taiyang said half-heartedly, continuing to search around the house. Clearly, whatever the reason was, he didn't want to talk about.

While Taiyang was searching for presumably his phone, Jonathan, Josuke, and Okuyasu took the opportunity to huddled up and discuss the situation.

"What is the plan once we actually reach the nearest town? We don't exactly know where Remnant is." asked Jonathan.

"I get what you mean. I'm just as confused about this as you. Not sure what to do about the mask lady and that goth psychopath either." said Josuke.

"We aren't really going to just leave without dealing with them? I owe that bastard payback for getting away." said Okuyasu.

"I have to agree with Okuyasu. That man is still out there looking for Mr. Long's daughter and God only knows what the masked lady is doing. We can't just leave here knowing they're still out there right? Shouldn't we at least inform the authorities?" Jonathan suggested.

"Look I hear both of you guys." Josuke said in agreement, "As far as we know, the masked lady may just kidnapped us again if we try to leave. I'm just saying we know very little about the two of them. How about this; after he calls his daughter, we'll see if we can contact Jotaro, learn as much about this masked lady as possible, and then see where we can go from there."

"Who is this 'Jotaro' anyway Josuke?" Jonathan asked as he recalled the name. "I think you mentioned him before."

"Oh he's, well...technically my nephew. But he's older than me by at least ten years. He has a lot of connections, so he probably wouldn't have any problem getting us a way back home."

All this talk about Jotaro made Jonathan wonder just how many distant relatives did he have? Could father really have been keeping this part of our family secret from me or did he simply not even know of Josuke, Joseph and Jotaro?

Before Jonathan could further investigate, Taiyang jumped into the conversation, "Sorry to intrude on your guys' secret meeting, but I got something important to ask. I can't find my scroll anywhere. I may have lost it during the battle. And I'm assuming it wouldn't make much sense for you guys to be lost and not have your scrolls, right?"

"Um yeah, we don't have any...scrolls." said Josuke. Either that's Remnant slang for cellphone or some kind of brand of cellphones Japan doesn't have.

"Thought as much. In that case, I'm going to quickly make my way over to the city. If we're quick enough we maybe able to get there before my daughter leaves Patch. And Qrow is taking my daughter to the port. We can ask him questions once we're over there too." Taiyang suggested.

"Seems like the perfect plan for the both of us. We'll help you find get your daughter and we get to ask your friend about the masked women. Two birds with one stone." Jonathan approved.

"My thoughts exactly." said Taiyang, happy to see Jonathan and him see eye to eye, "Again thanks a lot for helping me even after what happen to you guys. I promise once I find my daughter I'll help you guys in anyway I can. See if we can clear to air on why you guys are here."

"Great! We'll be right behind you." said Josuke.

"Alright then, let's head out!" said Taiyang.

Ruby Rose had been wanting to be a Huntress for as long as she could remember. Her father, uncle, and her late mother were off fighting Grimm before she was born. Every day the countless stories her family told her would fill her head and she would dream about how awesome it would be to a Huntress. Even her older sister, Yang, was in training to be one. And this year, Yang was finally older enough to join Beacon Academy. Ruby admittedly couldn't be more jealous that her sister was going two years before she could. Happy as well of course, but very jealous nonetheless. Ugh, age restrictions. Ruby was sure if they could only get a look the weapon she made, Crescent Rose, they'd reconsider that limit in a heartbeat. But unfortunately any good weapon couldn't reach it's fullest potential without dust. Her uncle Qrow recommended a shop to check out in Vale. He was nice enough to walk her to Patch's port before she left.

"Thanks for walking with me before you leave on your super secret mission Uncle Qrow. So…..how long is it going to take again?" asked Ruby, eager for her uncle to come back even before he left.

"Jeez, how many times have you asked me that already? Like I said kid, you know I can't always put a time on these missions." said Qrow.

"Yeah I know. It's just that you're leaving the same time as Yang and it's starting to look like it's going to be a lonely two years for me." Ruby said with a sigh. At Signal, Yang and her uncle were about the only people Ruby actually had any social interactions with. She COULD make friends if she wanted to, but she just preferred to let her fighting do the talking.

"Hey don't sweat it kiddo. A little time without me and your sis around will be good for you. It may teach you how to actually talk to the other kids at Signal." Qrow teased.

"Hey! I….talk to them. You know I have friends at Signal. I just like to let Crescent Rose do the talking."

"Yeah yeah anyway, the boat to Vale should be here eventually. I'm going to pick up a couple things at Signal and then I'm heading out."

Ruby jumped into her uncle for a goodbye hug. "Thanks for everything Uncle Qrow."

Qrow gave Ruby a rub on the head and said, "Hey anytime. And don't get too down kid. It'll be no time until your at Beacon Academy. Just don't slack on the training exercises I taught you while I'm gone."

"Of course! You know I practice with Crescent Rose every day!"

"Every day huh? Well, when I come back I'm expecting good things then." Qrow said pointing at Ruby as he walked away.

Ruby gave a smile and waved, "Goodbye Uncle Qrow!"

Qrow gave a wave without looking back. He probably thought that it made him look cool or something. Having nothing else to do in the meantime, Ruby took a seat on a bench and started to play a game on her scroll. Unfortunately her boss fight was interrupted by a text message. Oddly enough it was from her father. Hopefully she didn't forget anything before she left!

Dad: Ruby? Are you there?

Ruby: Hey Dad, I'm at the port right now! Uncle Qrow just dropped me off. I think we got here a little early, but Uncle Qrow said the boat will be here eventually. However long that is. In the meantime I'm playing games! :D

Dad: I see. Ruby do you think you can wait there for me? I forgot I had something I wanted to give you before you left. I'm heading over to you now.

Ruby: Sure, but I think you better hurry. Like I said, not sure when the boat is going to be here.

Dad: It's actually really important. You may need to wait for the next one if you have too.

Ruby: Oh ok.

Dad: Thank you, I'll be over there as soon as I can.

Ruby: Ok! Love you!

A/N: I apologize if this chapter comes across as unpolished or the writing style seems different then chapter 1. You may remember me mentioning that this story is co-written. Long story short, my friend, who wrote parts/polished chapter 1, hasn't been around to help. Unfortunately that only left me with two choices: my inexperienced (not to mention dyslexic) ass is going to write the whole thing or wait God knows how long for my friend's help. As much I wanted to see this chapter look as good as chapter 1, my impatience lead me to say "fuck it" and just post this chapter anyway. But hey, it's quite possible for us to come back and polish it eventually.

But regardless of this, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. It has been "done" for a while, but, during my waiting, I went through this chapter countless times in an attempt to match chapter 1's grammar. And if you guys happen to be fine with this, well shit, I can probably get these chapter's out faster. Especially since we are two chapters in and Ruby has only showed up for a brief moment. And also I'm sure most of you know who the "pale man" is, but, on the off chance that it's still a mystery to someone, I'll keep quite about it for now.

Also shout out to RWBY season 4 for showing Taiyang's house in a million different angles. Thank God for Yang's PTSD. Though, I was also hoping to see Taiyang's weapon for the sake of the story. Also I'm getting into a dangerous situation, lore wise, having the story in Patch because we haven't seen it's city yet. But hopefully season 5 won't come back to bite me in the ass...I hope. Anyways, till next time boys!