Chapter Two

Travels


Diego Brando came back to Nova Columbia from one of his trips to another city in the area. As usual, the citizens of lower city looked down and away as he came into the entrance with his horse. He preferred riding to most other ways of transport, and he enjoyed the company of his equine companion. He made his way to the entrance of the upper city and was allowed through, leading his horse, Silver Bullet. He stabled him and decided to see what traders had come to the trade hub today. It was always interesting to see how new people reacted to Nova Columbia's striated class structure.

He ran a hand through his blond hair and sighed, seeing no one of interest at first. The same wares; the same people. Boring and uninteresting. He was about to leave when he caught sight of a new seller. He wandered over and looked at his wares.

"Can I help you find something, sir?" the man with short, blond hair asked.

"You're new here. Have you traded in Nova Columbia before?" Diego asked, picking up a garishly flashy necklace and examining it. Someone here would buy that, he thought to himself.

"No, this is our first time here. I'm Steven Steel, and this is my daughter, Lucy." He gestured behind him to a slender girl with sandy blonde hair. She looked decidedly uncomfortable as she looked around at people.

Diego could imagine why that was. "Well, don't trust anyone here. They'll sell you out for a couple credits or a precious jewel."

Steven inclined his head and blinked at him. "Why do you say that?"

"Just remember that the upper class here in Nova Columbia is a fickle lot. You'd do well to keep your daughter away from any that come around here. Her youth will not deter some of their advances," he told Steven as he looked at another gaudy necklace.

"Aren't you in this upper class? You have to be, otherwise you can't get in here, right?" Steven wondered, glancing back at Lucy quickly.

Diego snorted. "I am now. I was lucky. I was part of a plot to overthrow a family up here. In doing so, I gained the favor of the others for my ruthlessness." He paused, adjusting his blue hat thoughtfully. "I would turn on any of them given a chance though."

Lucy got up and moved closer to them. Diego bet she wanted to hear better, since they were talking in hushed tones. "What do you mean about them not being deterred by Lucy's youth?" Steven asked just as Lucy came up behind him.

Diego leaned against the table and examined his nails on his right hand. "She's cute and innocent looking. Around here, that's the kind they prey on."

He watched as Lucy gripped Steven tighter, eyes going a bit wide. Steven patter her hand where it rested on his arm. "Well, we don't intend to have those kinds of interactions with people here."

"I'd keep an eye on her nonetheless. A no around here doesn't get much respect either," Diego cut his eyes at both of them before he went back to looking at the wares.

Moving along the back of the table, Steven kept pace with Diego. "You're obviously one of them; you're certainly not like those in the lower city."

Diego grinned, running his fingers over a particularly large stone in a necklace. "No, I'm not like those in the lower city. The people here in upper city would gladly step on any number of those poor, unfortunates."

"Is that why they won't talk to us?" Lucy asked, finally seeming to have been emboldened to speaking. "They think we're like the other upper-class people here?"

He nodded. "Speaking out of turn can get you killed around here."

"Why is it like this?" Steven finally asked, glancing about, seeing they were still alone on this side of the trading hub. "Why are the lower city people treated so poorly? Why don't they rise up? There are more of them than there are people here…"

Diego looked up at him. "Fear. They're afraid of what is outside the city and what sort of things go on out there. They believe what Valentine says. He tells them that it is a wild wasteland where nothing good lives and hides the fact that there are even other places in which to live out there. They believe him. They have no reason not to."

Steven glanced at Lucy, then looked up to see a man and woman coming toward the table. Diego turned around and arched a brow. "Speak of the devil," he muttered under his breath.

From the other side of the trading hub, a couple walked toward them. The woman had her arm through the man's and was looking around her as they walked. She had brown hair that fell about her shoulders and seemed rather aloof. The man had long blond hair that was curling around his shoulders and striking blue eyes. He had sighted the Steels and was coming straight for the table.

"Diego, fancy meeting you here," he said as they grew closer.

"Valentine," Diego acknowledged, nodding at him. He turned toward the woman and nodded toward her. "Ms. Valentine. I was just checking the wares they had. I believe they would be to Ms. Valentine's favor."

"Oh really?" she said and leaned forward to look at the various pieces of jewelry. "These are nice," she said quietly, but cut her eyes up at Lucy. She gave her a small smirk. "And who are you?"

Lucy swallowed and tried to smile her best. "I'm Lucy Steel. My father and I just came here for the first time, Ms. Valentine."

"Lucy, what a lovely name for a lovely girl. Please, call me Scarlet," she said and extended a dainty hand toward the younger girl.

Lucy took her hand, and Diego couldn't help but notice that Scarlet held on to her hand a bit longer than necessary. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her not so subtle flirting. He couldn't imagine the bad luck to have gained her attention.

"Ah yes, I'm Steven Steel. Have a look and see if there is anything that interests you among my wares." Steven kept a smile on his face despite his discomfort at how familiarly this woman was with Lucy.

"Well, welcome to Nova Columbia, Mr. Steel," Valentine said with a nod toward him. "I do hope you enjoy the upper city while you are here. I do apologize that you must come through the lower city on your way to our beautiful city," he smiled, patting Scarlet's hand idly.

Diego held his tongue. He had a lot he could say about this city and how the Valentines ran the place. His mother had died in lower city due to their way of running it. He glanced at Steven Steel and his daughter, wondering which they were: weak-willed sheep like most of those in lower city, or wolves that would do anything to survive. He knew where he fell on that spectrum, it was just a matter determining where others fell.

"Ah, yes, people in your lower city weren't very personable," Steven cleared his throat and watched as Scarlet looked over the various pieces he had to offer. Each one was unique and well crafted.

"What can you expect from such classless individuals. That's why I prefer to stay here in the upper city, away from the rabble." Valentine watched as his wife picked up a piece to look closer at it.

"All the gems are real," Steven assured as she looked it over. "And hand-made too."

"Oh, it is lovely. Don't you think this would complement that dress I have for the mid-summer ball?" she asked Valentine.

He nodded. "If you like it, my dear. It would be beautiful on you."

"Yes, I think so," she said with a smile.

Valentine paid with credits for the purchase, making Steven quite happy. A couple more sales and he'd have paid for their way to the next stop on their journey. A few more than that, and they would be able to stop off at the islands nearby to relax for a couple days. That would be nice after this stressful visit.

Diego was about to turn and go when Valentine put a hand out to stop him. "Yes?" he asked, turning around.

"Will you be attending the next event?" Valentine asked him, a slight smile upon his lips.

Shaking his head, Diego smiled a little as well. "No, I'll be heading to another town before long."

"That's too bad; you always make things interesting," Scarlet said then turned her attention back to Lucy. "My dear, would you like to come to the ball? I can find you a cute little dress to wear, I'm sure…"

Lucy's eyes widened a little and she stammered a reply. "Oh, um, we'll be moving on before mid-summer."

"Oh, yes, always on the move to the next city to trade!" Steven interjected, obviously noticing his daughter's discomfort at the older woman's attention. To be honest, he was more than a little bothered by it, and Diego's warnings ran fresh in his mind.

Scarlet tapped her lip thoughtfully. "Ah, that is unfortunate. I bet you would be quite a hit at the ball."

Diego wanted to roll his eyes at how blatant Scarlet was being. He knew that the woman had little to no tact, but to flirt so openly with a girl as young as Lucy. He noted several others leering at the young girl, and he knew that she would indeed be popular in the noble circles with her looks. Still, it didn't change the fact that she was in no way an appropriate age. He was glad that Steven seemed to be taking him seriously and making it clear she wasn't going to participate in the upper-class's "games" such as they were.

"I'm afraid I must be going," Diego announced.

"Oh, where are you headed this time?" Valentine asked, brow arched in questioning.

"Visiting the Morioh Islands next. There's a couple contacts there that I want to speak with," he explained, glancing toward the gate. The longer he was here, the more he felt his skin crawl being around the Valentines.

Valentine snorted. "Ah, those barbaric islands."

"Barbaric?" Steven asked, frowning.

Diego cocked an eyebrow at the description. "I don't know if I'd call them barbaric…"

"Isn't that where we're heading next?" Lucy said, looking a bit worried now.

"Yes, they're a barbaric and naïve bunch that live there. The dregs of society have washed up on those shores, and they accept them with open arms. They'll never appreciate your wares, and I doubt you'll sell much of anything with those people." Valentine flipped his hair back over his shoulder with a huff of breath.

Steven exchanged a look with Diego. "I'd heard they were a small and welcoming community…" he said and tried not to look worried himself.

"They are definitely are; too welcoming. The way they live is practically communism," Valentine commented with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Certainly, of no use to such fine items as you sell."

"Well, I have to be heading out soon," Diego said, feeling even more like he needed to get away from the place. "I'm staying here in Nova Columbia tonight and setting out tomorrow for the islands."

"Ah, well, good luck on your excursion. Hopefully you make some decent business dealings with those people out there on the islands." Valentine nodded to him.

"Good day," Diego said with a slight bow toward them and walked back toward the upper city entrance. He'd rather sleep near his horse.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Johnny blinked as the sunlight began streaming into the room. He looked over to see the nurse, Reimi, had pulled open the window curtains. He covered his eyes for a minute until he got used to the bright light.

"Mr. Joestar," she said gently as she came over by the side of the bed. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Johnny smiled at her. "Better. I think I'm finally getting through this adjustment period and getting used to not having the alcohol."

"It can be hard to get used to, that's for certain," she assured as she pushed the tray with breakfast over toward him. "If you are up to it, why don't you take a trip around the town square and meet some of the townspeople."

"I might do that," Johnny said as he sat up in the bed. "I would like to meet some of the other people that live around here. Maybe get to know who I'll be living around."

She left him to his breakfast, and Johnny ate in silence. It had been a rough week or so since he got here, but he was starting to feel more normal again. He still craved having a drink, but it wasn't such a driving force to him right now. He supposed that his history with alcohol should have been enough of an excuse to stop drinking. He hadn't had the reason to stop, though, and as things got worse, the only relief he found was in the form of spirits. He had just finished his breakfast when he heard a knock at the door. He looked up to see Gyro standing there with a half grin.

"Gyro," Johnny said, smiling. He'd already come to like the strange doctor's company. He wasn't like any other doctor he'd ever seen, but he did seem to know what he was doing.

"Reimi tells me you might get out and about today," he said, leaning against the doorframe.

Johnny nodded, shifting to sit on the side of the bed so he could transfer over to the wheelchair. "Yeah, she suggested it, and it looks like a nice day to take a look around the place. I mean, if I'm going to be living here, I should get used to the people and places around here." He paused and then transferred over with relative ease, the motion much practiced since he lost the use of his legs. "Um, speaking of living here, any idea where I'm going when I leave here?"

Gyro looked thoughtful for a second. "I thought you could come stay with me for now. I want to see if I can't do something about your spinal injury to get some use of your legs back to you."

"Are you sure?" Johnny asked as he rolled over toward him.

"Yeah, my place is big enough. Too big for me alone, really, but the town insisted on giving me one of the larger places since I was going to be the main doctor here." He stepped aside to give Johnny room to come out of the room into the hallway. "But you should head out and see who you can meet out there today. I'm sure there are plenty of colorful individuals for you to speak to and get to know."

Johnny nodded as he came to the exit and looked back at Gyro. "I'll be back around lunchtime, I guess," he said as he wheeled himself out.

It was still early, so there weren't a lot of people out yet. He was enjoying the nice midsummer weather, though. It was still kind of cool but not cold at all. He made his way to one of the only people that he could see in the town square. A tall, blond haired man with an extraordinary amount of muscle was clearing the ground in the middle of a marked off circle. Johnny came over to him and watched him work on it for a few second.

"Um, what is it you're doing?" he asked finally after he watched for a while.

The man turned around and smiled at Johnny. "Clearing the Sabbath area for the next bonfire."

"Sabbath? Oh, like the guys were talking about. Some sort of fire that changes color?" Johnny remembered the one who was petting him saying something like that.

"I'm Whammu," he said and leaned over to extend a hand toward him. Johnny shook with him, finding his grip to be as strong as he would imagine from such an impressively built man.

"Johnny, Johnny Joestar," Johnny answered with a nervous smile.

"You haven't been here very long, have you?" Whammu continued sweeping out the area as he spoke.

Johnny nodded. "Um, yeah, just getting over the adjustment and stuff. Um, so this Sabbath, is it like a religious thing or something?"

"I guess you could say that," he said. "Everyone believes their own thing, really. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, there's no problem.

"So, no human sacrifices and blood orgies?" Johnny blurted finally, unable to contain the questions that he had any long.

Whammu paused and stared at him for a good, long minute. "Um, no. Where did you hear such a thing?"

"I'm from Nova Columbia. They tell tales of the people here, but it doesn't seem that many of them are true," Johnny explained. "What do you do on this Sabbath?"

"We celebrate the lives of everyone that lives here. I guess you could say Kars, who is kind of like our high priest, leads the town in a religious pursuit of peace and thankfulness to the world around us. We use a bonfire and sometimes throw substances on it that change the color of the flame. Everyone is invited, and Kars often speaks of ways to help others during the week between the Sabbaths," Whammu explained with a soft smile. "Tomorrow is the Sabbath, so we'll tend the fire for most of the day and have everyone come to dusk and dawn gatherings."

Johnny felt a little better about this place now that he knew more about them. It was hard to get used to everything being so strange and being outside was even more different from watching from the hospital window. He already knew that there were some people who would strike him as odd just from those observations. He was still thinking when a small creature ran up his leg onto his lap and stared at him. It was a small reddish colored thing with big ears. It made a noise at him and Johnny wasn't sure what to do.

"Little Wing!" he heard and looked up to see a man with long brown hair. "Oh, you're the one we brought in last week!"

Johnny stared for a second, then it clicked in his mind where he'd heard that voice before. This was the one that had been sitting with him on the boat.

"Yeah," Johnny said, still not sure what to think of the creature in his lap.

"Sorry about Little Wing, he got away from me. Come here, you," he said and picked up the animal. "He's a Fennec fox. My brother Andre has one too, she's named Foxy Lady."

"And you are?" Johnny asked, watching the small fox climb up on his shoulder.

"Oh! I'm L.A. My dad is Benjamin. We're the Boom Boom family," L.A. said with a grin. He looked up as another man came up behind him. "Andre, look, it's the one we brought in last week!"

Andre, a slender man with messy black hair under a cap, nodded, holding his own small red fennec fox. "Nice to see you out. Get through the adjustment sickness?"

"Yeah, finally feeling human again," Johnny said with a grin. These guys weren't so bad, he guessed.

"That's good," Andre nodded and grabbed L.A. by the arm. "Come on, we're late for breakfast with you chasing Little Wing all over the place."

"Bye!" L.A. called as they headed off.

Johnny shook his head and saw that while he was talking to L.A. and Andre, the big man named Whammu had left, apparently done with whatever he'd been doing. He wheeled away from the town center and saw a tall woman with extremely long black hair with a shorter guy with silvery hair. They both were dressed in light clothes it looked like. As they walked, they held hands. They seemed normal enough, he thought to himself. They came toward him and waved as they got closer.

"Hello there, you're new around here," the woman said, pushing her hair behind her ears.

Johnny smiled and nodded. "I'm Johnny," he said and reached a hand toward them. The guy took his hand and shook it first, followed by the woman.

"I'm Yukako, and this is Koichi. We live nearby," the woman said with a gentle smile.

"Nice to meet you." Johnny didn't see anyone else at the moment.

"Same," Koichi said as he smiled too.

"Koichi, Yukako," another voice called. Johnny turned in his chair and blinked a bit owlishly because this time it was a man with blond hair and nothing but what looked like a thong. He had been expecting to see some of the people that went around with little clothing, but he was surprised so early in the morning for someone to be out dressed so minimally.

"Oh, hey, Melone," Koichi waved as the other man approached them. "This is Johnny, he's new here."

Melone reached a hand toward Johnny with a grin and shook his hand. "Good to meet you, Johnny. You must be very new."

"Um, yeah, I just got out of the hospital for the first time today," Johnny told him, trying not to stare.

Melone crossed his arms and looked at the couple again. "How was your weekend? I haven't seen you this week yet."

"I spent a quiet one at home," Yukako said and nodded toward Koichi.

"I spent the weekend with Rohan." Koichi frowned a little. "But he was in one of his moods, so all we did was cuddle."

"Aw, well, it's nice to have a relaxing do-nothing weekend now and then," Melone said, patting Koichi on the back as he went by. "I'll talk to you later, going to get some supplies."

Johnny was still staring at Koichi, though. Had he just said he spent the weekend with someone else? He thought they were a couple?

"Erm, so, where are you from, Johnny?" Yukako asked as Melone disappeared into a building.

"Ah, Nova Columbia," Johnny explained, turning his eyes on the taller woman now.

She smirked. "Well, you're in for a wild ride here," she muttered, nearly too low to be heard.

"Things are different here," Johnny confirmed and thought about just how much different they seemed to be.

Koichi nodded. "You'll get used to things around here pretty quick. There's a lot of good people here that will help you out when you need it. Have you found a place to stay yet?"

"Um, yeah, I'm going to stay with Gyro for now," he answered.

He noticed the couple exchanged a glance and there was a ghost of a smile on her lips as she spoke. "Ah, that's nice. He doesn't have people stay with him often."

Johnny nodded. "He's going to try and help me with my legs a little bit, see if I can't get some use back in them."

"Private doctor visits," Yukako grinned now. "But we should be going. It was nice meeting you Johnny, see you around!"

"Later!" Koichi said as they took each other's hand and walked off toward a building.

Johnny watched them go, then decided it was time to head back to the hospital. While he felt better, he was easily drained of energy. He headed back and found Gyro waiting near the front. He smiled as Johnny came up.

"Did you have a good trip around the town center?" Gyro asked.

"I did. I met some interesting people," Johnny explained as he came back into the room. Gyro walked beside him as he pushed himself down to his room again.

"Oh?" Gyro held the door open, so Johnny could get back into his room.

"Yeah, I met the big tall guy that was cleaning up the bonfire area, a nearly naked man, and a couple who seemed to have an interesting relationship. All in all, it was a rather odd experience. I'm trying to get used to the different kinds of people that are here. It is so much different from the way Nova Columbia is." Johnny maneuvered himself back into the bed, intending to take a nap before lunch when Gyro left.

"Ah, you met Whammu getting ready for the Sabbath tomorrow. You should come to it in the morning. It is quite an interesting spectacle. Everyone on the islands sort of communally becomes a part of the religion that Kars heads up. It is good for everyone to have a sense of community like that, though," Gyro told him as he leaned on the back of the wheelchair.

"And getting used to the way people do and don't wear clothes is weird," Johnny muttered, pulling the covers up over his lap and sighing. He was really starting to feel the strain just from such a short trip around the town square.

"I take it by nearly naked man, you met Melone?" Gyro smirked as he stood there.

"Yeah, that was his name," Johnny confirmed. "He seemed nice enough."

"He's a good guy, a lab tech actually. But of course, he doesn't dress that way when he's working," Gyro explained.

"That's probably a good thing," Johnny said, yawning a little. "Then I met this couple but the guy was talking about spending the weekend with another guy, but they looked like they were together, so I was a bit confused."

Gyro looked thoughtful for a second. "Ah, Koichi and Yukako, I think. Koichi and Rohan see each other as well. Koichi and Yukako have an open relationship with each other. Just a small sample of the different types of people you'll find around here."

Johnny nodded. "Yeah, that was them. I think I'm going to take a nap before lunch, though. It was a bit tiring."

"Alright," Gyro said and stood up. "Have a nice rest and I'll see you after lunch. Tomorrow we'll get you moved to my place."

Johnny muttered ascent and put his head down in the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

"Good morning, Johnny!" a chipper voice spoke, bringing Johnny up out of his sleep. He blinked as it wasn't all the way light yet outside. He turned his head to see Reimi. She smiled. "Do you want to visit the dawn Sabbath today? It starts in a little while!"

Johnny had mentioned to them last night he wanted to attend. He smiled and saw that she had brought him a cup of coffee. He was glad they at least had good like coffee on the islands. He sat up in the be and picked it up carefully.

"Yeah, I wanted to see it this morning," he said with a grin. He really did want to know what went on at these Sabbath celebrations. So far, everything was a far bit away from the stories that went around Nova Columbia. He was beginning to see how ridiculous the rumors were about this world outside the dome.

After he drank his coffee and got transferred to his wheelchair, he followed Reimi out of the hospital. He saw that there were many people already surrounding the bonfire. A few people moved over so Johnny could be closer and could see everything. The bonfire wasn't lit yet, but as he watched, a tall, thickly muscled man with long blackish hair came up behind it and lit the fire. Soon, it was blazing up in the center of the area.

Someone tapped Johnny on the shoulder and he was handed a slip of paper and a pen. He looked at it for a second, then glanced around to see others writing on their slips of paper. Reimi leaned down an whispered to him.

"Write your wish or hope for the week," she explained.

Johnny nodded, jotting something down quickly, then passing the pen on to someone else. He looked at the small slip of paper and his extremely simple hope and he wondered what other people wrote on theirs. The man at the front raised his arms as the sun began to rise. Light began to flood the area and everyone got quiet. Johnny remembered the day before when Whammu had said that Kars was the name of the one that presided over the Sabbaths. He looked over and saw Whammu standing behind and to the side with another heavily muscled man.

"Good morning!" Kars began. The crowd responded in kind. "Another week is ahead of us, as another week is behind us. Let us begin the day together. Our hopes, dreams, and wishes for the week shall be cast into the fire to be lifted up. Fire will take our words to the sky and bring us good things this week!"

Johnny listened as Kars went on to talk about things going on across the islands, and things that people were doing. He asked everyone to honor the elements of the world and thank them for all they give to them. The crowd grew a little as the event went on, obviously some late comers to the event. No one was bothered by the lateness of anyone else, it seemed. Soon, Kars stepped out and threw a hand full of powder into the flames of the bonfire. It turned several colors then seemed to glow bluish in the morning light. Everyone stepped forward and began tossing their slips of paper into the flame. Johnny threw his into the flame and watched it turn to ash and smoke. Somehow, he felt better after doing it.

"What did you write down?" Reimi asked as Johnny took off back toward the hospital.

"Just that this week continues to improve for me. Nothing much," Johnny said as they got back into the hospital.

"I'm sure it will. Today, you get settled in at Gyro's place. It should be a nice change from staying in the hospital." Reimi patted him on the shoulder as she passed to go down the hallway.

Johnny paused and thought about that. What would it be like, living with Gyro? He liked the guy, he was a good doctor, but to live with someone that he barely knew… He swallowed the nerves that were threatening to make him rethink the arrangement. No, Gyro wanted to help him. He would stay with him and see if he could help him after all.