"Alright… not to undersell any of what we did manage to accomplish last night, but if I were to be frank, I think this might be our worst showing as a group to date."
No one was exactly in a rush to correct James as he spoke. As Glynda, Jotaro and Ozpin each sat in their own seats, various beverages in hand, the group of adults looked down at the desk they had all surrounded. Witness testimony, statistics that could be gathered on their attackers and a timeline of events had been laid out before all members and, needless to say, they didn't exactly look happy.
"Based on what happened, this is the best timeline of events we can assume; whoever our mystery girls were who dragged Jotaro away from the Dance Hall and who attacked the CCT to tie myself and my soldiers up, they were clearly looking to pull resources away from the vast majority of the students here at Beacon. With that accomplished, Red Hot Chili Pepper, still at large, Enigma… completely crushed-" As Ironwood spoke he picked up the Enigma Book and, with little care for what it was, let it slam onto the desk, "-and Harvest… found out to be an innocent bystander who was misdirected by our enemies.
"Their aim seems to have been to utterly cripple the Academy System; that attack last night, if successful, would've done more than just take some students away, as bad and terrible as that would have been; after all, these young people are our charges. Their parents have allowed them to risk their lives both for duty and because we've vowed that we can keep them safe till their proper hunters. A betrayal of that trust is bad enough. However, what all this would've lead to was worse; every single student gathered from every single major Academy… gone. Or dead. Or worse." Everyone nodded with grim fascination; it wouldn't have 'just' meant an end to those three years of students. Who in their right state of mind would've sent their children off to an Academy after this sort of showing? Who would risk their children's lives when they were so easily attacked while their guardians were so near?
If the Hunters Academies were on the ropes due to disinterest by the broader populace now, they'd be effectively dissolved by such a large-scale tragedy.
"My soldiers, the Atlesian Military and its mechanized divisions, have made great strides in making up for our shortfall. One day, it might even be enough on its own." Ozpin looked off to the side and Jotaro just scoffed. Ironwood, however, didn't let this derail him; he was aware of Ozpin and Jotaro's disagreement on this score and, while he did firmly believe in this fact, he didn't necessarily blame either for their own convictions.
Not after what he learned to be true.
"However, if the Hunter Academies collapse now then… well, there's no telling what would happen. The Armies of Atlas are not yet ready to completely subsume the responsibilities that long have been held in the hands of Hunters. The Queen very nearly won last night gentlemen. And it would have been a complete and total victory."
"Not total." Jotaro responded calmly, James sighing as he ran his hand through his hair.
"True Jotaro, very true. Because of how your society functions, the loss of a central Academy would mean little… but for the rest of us, that's just not an option. The cities of Vale, Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo have gotten too large, the populations of the kingdoms too great, to depend on the slow progress of the mentor-system. We can't go back. We'd be doomed." With that, Kujo Jotaro offers an understanding nod.
"It'd would have been somewhat ironic, Jotaro." Ozpin said with a wry smile as he took a drink from his cup of coffee. "You came to us because you thought we could help the Frontier… but if last night had gone horribly wrong, we'd be the ones begging your grandfather for aid."
"Which would've been hard to swing if three of our star Huntsmen had been either killed or kidnapped under our noses. Given how little I actually accomplished last night, I definitely wouldn't have been able to convince anyone to help. No one short of the old man could… and it'd be hard to figure out what he'd be thinking at that moment."
"Thankfully, this is all just hypothetical." Glynda spoke up finally, readjusting her glasses. "Our students stepped up to the plate and they managed to reverse the flow of battle last evening. Everyone is safe and accounted for. A tremendous failure wasn't simply allowed to occur." The pride that was held in Glynda's voice was buried deep but, to the gathered occupants, quite clear. A smile graced Ozpin's lips and two nods of agreement came from Jotaro and James respectively.
"I certainly won't take that away from them; they managed to succeed last night despite the overwhelming odds. However, for us to not learn from this mistake and to not change course just because we were fortunate to have the right students at the right time would be foolish of us." Everyone nodded, though some were hesitant, as James spoke, the general and headmaster sighing as he ran a hand through his hair. "I think we need to change tactics; sitting back and waiting for information to come to us is no longer viable. We were attacked… those of us most vulnerable were very nearly destroyed or taken away because of that. They hit us hard and hit us where it hurt and they very nearly won for it. Our defensive posture has allowed the enemy to act against us without any kind of retaliation. We need to push back… we need to set up an offensive."
"James, we've spoken about this. Going on the offensive now while we have no idea what the Queen has in store for us… it isn't a smart move. We need more information on their organization, we need to take our time-"
"Ozpin, I'm sorry, but this slow and steady approach has very nearly cost us two important things now; it nearly cost us the Fall Maiden who, thank the Gods, Qrow was able to save and the Higashikata boy was able to fix. Now it nearly cost us all of our students and the future of Remnant's hunters as a whole. We can't just keep sitting back and waiting for information that's never going to come Oz. We need to strike back, starting here in Vale with the criminal organization that's clearly being supported by whoever our opposing party is."
"Indeed. This attack on us last night confirms that there's something more to this than just a random criminal organization acquiring the Stand Arrow. You had your suspicions before but this… this is full on confirmation that Stands are being made to service your enemy." Jotaro sighed as he placed his cup of coffee down, his legs uncrossing and crossing again as he leaned back in his chair. "If we're going to recover the Stand Arrow, we need to hit them hard and fast… before they move on to some other step in their plan."
"Ozpin is correct though; we have no idea what the next step in their plan is or even who exactly will be carrying it out. While it's true that the criminal element in Vale has certainly been helping… well, I don't know if you noticed, but of the three Stand Users who attacked, we only know for certain that one of them was a faunus… and he was hardly a member of the White Fang like the previous Stand Users who attacked." Glynda readjusted her glasses. "In addition, Roman Torchwick has gone all but silent after the overpass incident. No one has seen or heard a word from him which is… distressing, considering how many time he had made his presence known previously during these Dust robberies. Hell, he went out on them himself on more than one occasion."
"If we cannot even ascertain the location of one of the key targets amongst our enemies then a full-on offensive really doesn't have any teeth to use to rip out this corruption within Vale." Ozpin spoke calmly as he took a sip of his coffee. "After all James, you and I both know how the people of Vale would respond if you just started marching Atlesian Soldiers through their streets in order to try to force out these criminals. They'd accuse you-"
"-Of trying to take over. Yes Oz, I know. But what choice do we have at this point? News about the attack will get out eventually; the students will tell people if no one else simply because their lives were threatened that night. Yes, the people might panic if they see my Armies marching around Vale arresting criminals and busting down doors to hide outs, but do you really think that panic would be worse than the one that would rise up once people figured out about how we were attacked so brazenly… and did nothing?"
The silence was telling; the distrust and negative emotions that would be hurled at the Academies would be quite large. They'd lose a lot of the public trust… worse than that, if the Academies lost the public trust, so would hunters. If the public lost their ability to trust in one of their protectors then those negative emotions might just multiply.
The Grimm may begin to take notice.
"I say that at the very least if we do things my way then we might be able to at least get 'something' out of all of this. Yes, maybe the people will distrust my soldiers and yes maybe that will inspire negative emotions… but it seems to me that we're at a juncture where no matter what we do, we're going to have that happen anyway." James leaned back in his seat as he crossed his arms. "At least if we take action, if we actually do something, then maybe we can have something to show to the public in order to assuage them later."
"Or we'll confirm that no one is as safe as they think they are and then they'll truly begin to panic." Ozpin sighed as he shook his head.
"Would that be so bad at this point?" Everyone snapped their heads over to Jotaro as the Stand Using Huntsmen looked back at them all. "This entire time you've been trying to keep the truth away from the people you've been trying to protect; concerned about lulling them into a sense of safety rather than telling them what kind of threats you actually face on a day to day basis. That's fine and all when everything is safe and when you have things under control… but when things start to unravel, as they are here… well then that's when the panic sets in." Jotaro pulls out a cigarette as he says this, Star Platinum quickly lighting it as the, relative to everyone in the room, young huntsman took a drag. "Maybe it's time to stop keeping them in the dark and actually start being frank with them. At least that way they can be prepared."
"And admit to them that we potentially can't defend them. That the normal lives they lead now are at stake? Jotaro, I understand where you're coming from but… the peoples of Vale, Mistral, Atlas and Vacuo… they don't feel like they have a stake in the business of Grimm and Huntsmen. They feel like it's a separate world from them. They feel well and truly safe. If we broke that illusion there's no telling what would happen. I honestly don't know if society could keep functioning the way it has been." As Ozpin spoke Jotaro looked hard at both him and James before he sighed.
"I understand that… I suppose what I'm saying is that you all have allowed it to get to this point. It didn't just 'happen' that people felt like they didn't need to worry about the Grimm. You all helped build that perception… not by actually being good at your jobs, if Mountain Glenn is any indication, but by trying to shield them from anything that might burst this peaceful bubble." Both Ironwood and Ozpin flinched back a bit at the mention of Mountain Glenn. They knew from Jotaro's story that he had passed by through that town of course, still, it was rare for anyone outside of the Councils or the Academies to speak so frankly about that failure…
And about how thoroughly it had been covered up.
"If word of what happened at Mountain Glenn had gotten out Jotaro-"
"Domino effect, I get your excuses for why you didn't try to stop this train from moving forward. I'm just saying that, from an outsider's perspective, they're shitty ones." Jotaro snuffed out his cigarette as he spoke. "It's not just the hunters you have under you that you're treating like children, I realize. You're treating everyone under your watch like they're children." Ozpin looked down at the table, a slight sigh released as he shook his head. He had long disagreed with Jotaro's assessments and, even now, still believed that his way and James' way of handling these potential disasters had been the right way…
Now though, backs against the wall and looking at the prospect of their enemies having pulled the rug right out from under them, he couldn't say that he didn't at least see Jotaro's point.
"Don't get me wrong, The Frontier has had its fair share of spies and saboteurs too. The promises men like Dio and whoever this Queen is can make can be quite… appetizing to some." Jotaro nodded in understanding. "However, by clouding your societies in so many secrets, making so many people blind, you've just given your enemies more places to hide. Hell, you didn't even suspect that this Torchwick might've been a pawn for your Queen for a long time… and that entire time he spent gathering up the resources to make these Stands and to steal a tremendous amount of Dust."
"So what you're saying is we did this to ourselves?" James asked, almost sounding amused… up until he saw the stone cold look on Jotaro's face.
"No. You didn't do it to yourselves. That'd be as unfair as saying that the Frontier earned what happened to it. What I am saying is that you all haven't exactly helped yourselves either." Jotaro took another drag on his cigarette. As much as the older men may have believed in their own justice, they couldn't deny that Jotaro had a point. Neither one could look at last night's events and feel satisfied with the work they'd put in. Something needed to change.
However…
"I still don't think going on such a broad offensive is a good idea. If we're going to do something, we need a specific target that, once we hit it, would give us dividends. Going around knocking down random thugs might be good for morale amongst our own men, but the rewards from it would hardly justify the action to the broader populace. We need to find a worthy target of this." It was hardly what James himself wanted but he soon realized that this was the best compromise he could get from Ozpin.
"That's going to be hard though; as stated, we don't know who most in this organization is, we didn't even figure out who Red Hot Chili Pepper's Stand User was and our only known target, Roman Torchwick, has gone off the grid." Glynda spoke calmly as she recounted this information. After a moment Jotaro snuffed out the end of his cigarette, a spark of an idea shining behind his eyes.
"... What I'm going to suggest is very dangerous for my own people. I want you all to know that first; that if we do decided to go through with this, then I'm putting a lot of trust in you all to make sure that this goes right. Any wrong move or poor outcome and it could mean disaster for The Frontier." Everyone at the table flinched slightly at the grave tone that Jotaro used as he readjusted the edge of his cap. "Yare yare daze… we really didn't want to have to do this. The dangers were obvious and we hoped that just sending us and our expertise along would be enough help… but last night struck too close to everyone. If Josuke, Koichi or Okuyasu had been taken, that would've been a heavy blow. At this point, a risk has to be taken…"
"What exactly are you suggesting, Jotaro?" Ozpin tented his hands slightly as he leaned forward, the capped man having turned his head to look over at Ironwood.
"Tell me General, what's the fastest you would be able to get out to The Outskirts?" James blinked a few times as Jotaro suddenly asked this but, regardless, answered.
"If we're talking about just getting out there we might be able to handle it in half a day… but I'm guessing you mean round-trip. In my fastest vessel which we'd need to land and have switch out with a civilian one once we reached the continent again, we'd be able to manage a one day round from here to the Outskirts and back. What… exactly are you planning?" Jotaro nodded.
"Without knowing what your Queen or her pawns look like or what their names are, this options would've been largely useless. So long as Roman Torchwick remained in the city and in the spotlight, it seemed like we could just naturally dig him up eventually. However… if Roman is our only lead and our only hope at a successful counter-attack, then we need to know where he is and we need to know it faster than what your intelligence might provide.
"I trust you all remember how we described Hermit Purple as working, correct?"
As the four adults slowly but surely began to pour over this new information that Jotaro was handing out, none of them took a moment to notice a small twinkle, a spark, that shined in the lens of the camera that overlooked Ozpin's room. Security footage for just in case something happened to the Headmaster of course and yet… now used for a sinister purpose. For as the four spoke the spark sat there and once their plan was clear, it moved on. Through the wiring of Beacon Academy all the way to the outside of the school and towards the airbus dock that took many students and guests to and from The City of Vale itself.
"Again, Beacon Academy would like to apologize for keeping you here so long Mr. Otoishi. We just needed to ensure the security of the campus before we let anyone out. We'd like to thank you for your patience and… well, we can't stop you, but we'd also like to request that you not tell anyone about the events that transpired? If news got out in the city…"
"No worries doll, it's fine. I understand; stuff like this happens when you're entertaining' for huntsmen and huntresses. It's a dangerous profession, after all. Can't say that it wasn't a little exciting though I'm sure my band and I will be quite glad to hit out apartment back in the City for some actual relaxation. Not for nothin', but being cooped up here was pretty stressful." A blue haired young man flipped his long, long locks over his shoulder as he spoke, his fellow bandmates nodding in ready agreement as the young woman just nodded understandingly.
"Of course! It's perfectly understandable and I'm sure Headmaster Ozpin would take no offense. Thank you for promising to keep this quiet though." The man, one Mr. Otoishi, just nodded in agreement as his bandmates walked on, the young guitarist just shouting that he needed to check his guitar real quick before boarding.
"Oh no worries doll, that'll be easy for me." Otoishi said, a sinister grin on his face growing as he popped open his guitar case next to one of the loading vehicles of the station. As he did so a spark of yellow electricity jumped out from the vehicle and quickly melded into his guitar, a slight whine heard from the instrument before the light died down. "After all 'my' lips are sealed… Yeahahahahaha~" The young man closed his guitar case and lifted it right on up as he turned back to the air bus, his expression schooled back into a calm demeanor as he boarded the next flight for The City of Vale.
Torchwick Safehouse, City of Vale, Meanwhile
"Aaaaah! AAAAAH! Goooods!" Mercury winced as he watched his… hmmm, technically he guessed he was her partner in their disguise, writhe and take deep, pained breaths as the various White Fang contacts and Torchwick's own 'trusted' folks got to work on her. Even after a full night's rest under Cinder's 'tender' care… or maybe Cinder care?
Fuck, he needed to stay further away from Team RWBY and their gaggle of friends, that joke made him nauseous…
Anyway, after a whole night spent building her Aura back up, having that heal her and having Cinder take care of her… Emerald was still so fucked up.
Like, amazingly, impressively, unGodly fucked up. This coming from the kid of an alcoholic, abusive assassin dad who cut of his son's feet and replaced them with robot feet. He's seen some bad shit.
But what Kujo Jotaro did to Emerald?
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
Some of her bones had to be re-broken and then reset into place under guidance from others Aura because her own was just trying its damndest to stitch as much of her body back together from the hits she took from Star Platinum as it could. There were still bruises that covered her though thankfully they were no longer the pure black bruises that he'd seen spotting her entire body the night before. No, now she just looked blue and red all over instead of black and blue. She had a concussion so bad that he was certain that, if he asked, she would've said yes to a date from him last night. That's how bad out of the loop she was.
They'd heard about how strong Star Platinum could be. How utterly devastating its assault could be. The man who had once been Yellow Temperance had apparently spent well over a year eating through a straw before an odd and sudden death. That seemed to be the short and long of what happened…
But here's the thing; Mercury could accept Star Platinum pulling this off on normal people and Stand Users. After all, they had no Aura, they had no means of defending and fixing themselves from harm. They just had to take all the punishment. Surely someone who had Aura, who had that line of defense against physical attack, could stand up to it right?
"AAAAAAAGGGGGGH!"
No. No, no, no, no, no. No they could not. At least, people with Aura's only as strong as Emerald's couldn't.
The worst part about all of this was that they were warned. Repeatedly and fervently they were warned. Don't let Star Platinum get on top of you. Whatever you do, make sure you don't directly confront this fucking Stand. Kujo Jotaro is the most dangerous person on the other side you could meet in direct combat; you will break long before you can even hope to have a chance of breaking him.
They had all gambled on that just being rumor and hearsay from people too scared of the bastard to think straight. That Whitesnake was just acting on fear of his own master being killed to consider Kujo Jotaro's actual strengths and weaknesses.
No. What they'd learned from Emerald was that all the warnings that they may or may not have taken seriously were right on the money. Hell, Mercury was even the guy weeks ago who was really nervous about all of this. Back when he thought that Star Platinum might just roughly be as much of a threat as Crazy Diamond or The Hand plus its Time Stopping powers.
Now though he saw why Whitesnake suggested they might be able to take Crazy Diamond or The Hand but, under no circumstances, should they directly face Star Platinum.
This Stand was a walking nightmare that could punch the everloving shit out of you.
He wondered if Emerald was only not dead because Kujo Jotaro felt like he needed someone to drag back to Josuke to fix so that they could interrogate them…
Not exactly the most comforting thought in the world.
Dragging her all the way out here had been a nightmare in and of itself. While the process of sneaking her through Beacon had been a relatively easy process, her semblance and Neopolitan's duoing well together to keep anyone from actually figuring out what kind of state she was in, the actual nightmare was in making sure they didn't hurt her more. Even after all of Cinder's work, she was hurt and hurt bad. A wrong move and you could tell she just wanted to howl in pain. The trip all the way down to this safehouse had been a veritable game of not accidentally causing Emerald to blackout before they got there.
Despite all of this, and Mercury did mean ALL OF THIS, Cinder seemed positively calm. As she just watched over Emerald last night and watched her now, she wasn't even flinching. Her gaze was narrow, sure, but there was still that confidence behind it, that self-assuredness that she always carried…
What was even going through her head that she could still maintain that?
Soon enough the screaming stopped. Torchwick and the White Fang's contacts backed off and he could see, to some relief, that Emerald was alright. Gasping for breath and sweating like she was in the middle of a heatwave, but alright. Her skin was no longer dotted in deep bruises and she didn't look like a ragdoll that'd been thrown in a washing machine. Her red eyes were wide and her pupils were dilated as her mind seemed to be trying to catch up amidst the aftershocks of pain but… well, it seems like Roman and The White Fang had some good men on hand.
He supposed they had to when they were going up against professional soldiers and hunters, but still, it was good to see.
"Stand up Emerald. It's time we all had a discussion about last night." Emerald's gaze shifted a bit as she turned her head towards Cinder, her eyes still wide and, seemingly, uncomprehending as she took several more deep breaths. After a few of those however Emerald's gaze calmed and she seemed to bring her breathing under control. She nodded slowly as she placed her hands against the hospital bed that had been dragged in for her convenience and forced herself into a sitting position. As she did so she still winced but Cinder just nodded with a good deal of approval. "Very good. I knew you wouldn't stay down for long, dear Emerald."
Mercury frowned a bit as he saw the spark behind Emerald's eyes when Cinder spoke. While Emerald was never as bad as Tyrian was with Salem, there was a similar spirit to the way they each looked at their… superior. While Emerald would never openly espouse Cinder as a Goddess, she wasn't that far gone, Emerald did believe, quite fervently, that she owed Cinder her life. That the chances she's had to make a new living and to crawl out of the gutter were entirely Cinder's doing and that anything Cinder could have asked her to do, she'd do it.
Mercury never really got that. For him, Cinder just appeared when he finished with his… 'business' back home and basically made him an offer. Now, Mercury could've said no then and, hey, he might've even had reason to. After all, young guy with robot legs and some assassin training can have a lot of work in the World of Remnant, especially in a place like Mistral. Or who knows, maybe he would've hung up the robot legs and been a real disappointment to dear old dad and become a baker or something. Hey, you never knew, it could've happened.
However, Mercury hadn't said no… and it wasn't out of some ill-placed loyalty to Cinder or her organization. No, no, no. Mercury did it because Mercury's time with his father had instilled in him a very… delicate sense for how to figure out if a person's dangerous. It's what immediately started ringing alarm bells in his head when he heard about Crazy Diamond or The Hand and when he looked Josuke and Okuyasu in the eye… and especially whenever he had the ill-fortune to be looking at Kujo Jotaro in the eye.
There was something there that wasn't for a lot of these other kids. Blake Belladonna had this too but for many, it was missing. A sort of… experience, though that wasn't the best word for it he thought. They had all 'experienced' things like he'd experienced. Hearing about how regimented The Frontier is and how they're constantly under threat, he understood it from those three and, thanks to the White Fang, he was very much familiar with why Blake might've had it…
But what Cinder had in her eyes dwarfed what he saw in there's. There was a sort of brilliance bordering on madness, a deep-seated desire that you knew that 'she' knew she would accomplish. No matter what she had to do, no matter to what depraved depths she'd have to sink to and no matter how many corpses she'd have to walk over. She'd succeed in what she viewed as her rightful destiny…
And if Cinder dwarfed the Morioh-crew and the kids at Beacon, then Salem was bigger than any of them. There were no words for what he saw in her eyes; perhaps that was the point. The only thing he could see in that gaze was oblivion.
Not too dissimilar to the promise that underlay Whitesnake's voice.
So Mercury had said yes to Cinder. He'd said yes to Salem. He'd even said yes to Whitesnake. Not out of any misplaced loyalty… but because he knew if he didn't, they'd destroy him. It wasn't a matter of if he could get away or if he could use his skills to push them back for a moment. They'd eventually win. He saw and heard inevitability from each of them…
And as far as he was concerned, it was better to be on the winning side and uncomfortable with your company than on the losing side and comfortable while awaiting your inevitable destruction. Call Mercury a coward all you may have wanted, but at least he was a coward and alive. Which was more than could be said for anyone to crossed Tyrian's path.
"Cinder… I'm so sorry. I failed miserably. You just needed me to keep him busy and… and I overstepped my bounds considerably. I tried to do more than was asked of me… but please, I thought I could've done it. I thought I could've won." Emerald's words flowed out from her as she bowed her head, Cinder just smiling a bit as she walked forward. The smile, to Mercury, was odd; a mix of understanding and… something he couldn't quite place. Perhaps, on some level, Cinder felt a thrill at having utterly dominated someone like Emerald. Having her tow the line and follow her orders and being so visibly shamed when she didn't come through for the person who 'saved' her.
Either way, Mercury knew what was coming next; it was a favorite tactic of his dad's after all. A little bit of sweet and a little bit of sour. Just enough to hopefully keep you in while also instilling a lesson. So he watched as Cinder placed her forefinger on Emerald's forehead and slowly forced her up so that she was looking into Cinder Fall's golden eyes. Those very same eyes slowly radiated with her power and, though she winced, Emerald showed no other outward signs of pain or distress as the area where Cinder had set her finger began to smoke.
"Indeed, dear Emerald. That was what the plan had called for and, by disobeying, you put us at 'considerable' risk. Such reckless abandoning of my own vision in pursuit of what you 'think' you can do only threatens everything. It's disappointing, to say the least." Emerald winced as Cinder dug her fingernail slightly into the skin of her forehead. "But my dear Emerald, you did it was the best of intentions. You meant to serve our cause and do it a greater justice… your judgement was simply lacking. Your failing was not the worst of last night's either. I am in a mood to forgive, seeing how far Enigma and Harvest failed in our designs. So there is no need to prostrate yourself further, dear Emerald. I forgive you." A silent thank you was offered from Emerald as Cinder removed her forefinger.
This entire time the trio had more important guests than the contacts that the White Fang and Roman had brought in. Namely, Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan. The duo watched the scene with varying reactions; both were largely unaffected by the action itself, having each seen far worse acts of violence than this. Indeed, both had inflicted such acts of violence on others themselves. It wasn't something they were unfamiliar with. Still, the grimace on Roman's face and the dismissive roll of the eyes from Neo came more from the show itself rather than the actions; the words and attitude of Cinder and Emerald having done more to either disturb or further aggravate the pair. It solidified Neo's opinion that Cinder Fall was a nut and that Emerald was a complacent toadie, while this scene had only deepened the well of fear that had grown in Roman Torchwick's gut upon having met these individuals.
"Alright, alright, enough of this… passion play." Roman coughed into his fist, causing Emerald to glare over at him while Cinder just adjusted her gaze slowly. "You said we needed to talk about last night so let's get to it. We don't have all day and, if we're going to do this, I need to get to Mountain Glenn as soon as possible." Cinder Fall shook her head slowly as Roman spoke, a grin on her face as she shook her finger.
"Now, now, dear Roman, we cannot begin yet. Not everyone has arrived and our last guest… well, his information could very well be the most vital for today's meeting." Roman's eyebrow quirked up in curiosity. However, just as he was about to speak, the lights in the safehouse began to flicker on and off, the various grunts each looking up in worry as the flashing occurred more and more quickly. Soon enough a violently shower of electricity sparked from one of the nearby power outlets and, without a flourish, Red Hot Chili Pepper jumped out from the power outlet, the Stand cackling slightly as it jumped from its point of entry all the way over to the gurney that Emerald had left just moments ago.
"Yes Roman, you should learn patience. It's rude to try to rush ahead when not everyone's showed up. You never know what you might end up missing! Yeah-hahahaha!" Roman's lips immediately fell into a slight frown as he placed a hand to his forehead, rubbing at it slightly.
"Red Hot Chili Pepper… should've figured." The bowler hat wearing thief sighed as he put on his best fake smile. "So, to what do we owe the honor Chili Pepper? I would've figured you'd be a little too afraid to show your face around here after getting beaten down by a handful of hunters and having your end of the operation go entirely tits up." If RHCP was at all put off by Roman's statement he didn't show it in the slightest. Instead the avian-ish Stand just smiled nice and wide
"If you really feel that way Roman, then shouldn't you be three-times as unwilling to show your face around here?! Seems to me that you've had the worse run of luck out of the two of us!" Red Hot Chili Pepper cackled as Roman's face scrunched up into a deep frown.
"Why you little-"
"Enough Roman." Cinder's voice cut through the potential argument and, immediately, Roman was silenced. Cinder crossed her arms with a smile, lookin at all gathered parties. "Red Hot Chili Pepper did his part… the nature of the Valkyrie girl's semblance was an unknown. If that hadn't been sprung then it is almost guaranteed Chili Pepper and his User would have been successful… which cannot be said for the failings on Enigma's and Harvest's part. Harvest was going to be compromised the moment any of our enemies found him, this much we knew for certain. Which was why it was such an important part of that phase of the plan that they all remain in that Dance Hall until Chili Pepper either killed them or Enigma papered them. The fact that, in addition to the unknown that was Valkyrie, that Glynda Goodwitch remained available for combat was additionally unfortunate.
"On the other hand, Roman, I will actually give you a great deal of credit for last night; you putting Neopolitan forward to assist our efforts saved all of us… and that is no exaggeration on my part. True, Enigma and Harvest are gone but… well, they were the wink links to begin with. Regardless of how poorly other aspects of the plan went last night, our primary objective, the hacking of the CCT, has gone off without a hitch."
"Indeed. Ozpin, James, Glynda and Jotaro are so busy looking over the assault on the dance, they've managed to convince themselves that the students were the main targets. That much of your plan was successful Cinder." The lack of formality on RHCP's part clearly irked Cinder Fall but, whereas with Roman she would at least verbally punish his statements or show her disdain, here Cinder clearly let it slide.
"Indeed. Which brings us to the second phase of your part of the plan Red Hot Chili Pepper. I trust that your being here and already having such key information on our enemy's movements following last night means that your infiltration was successful." The Stand merely grinned as it crossed its arms over its chest, floating slightly in mid-air off the power of its electricity.
"Perhaps far more so than even you yourself could've dared to hope for Cinder. They didn't even suspect for a second that I might've been listening in; Beacon's infrastructure, and the electrical wiring and power that goes with it, is simply too massive for them to have successfully scouted me out. As far as they were concerned I made my getaway somehow… when the truth was, as you planned, I stuck around to follow up on what their next move would be.
"A good thing I did too, otherwise Torchwick here would be in quite the bind." Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan each tensed up as Chili Pepper spoke so casually, the Stand merely continuing despite their reaction. "Our assault has spooked them sufficiently that it's even got Ozpin to a point where he's willing to wager on an offensive action in order to disrupt our movements. Although he was hesitant on just banging down doors and arresting folks, as was Ironwood's want, because… well, I think you can surmise Cinder. It'd have done more to help us than hurt us, that much is certain." Cinder nodded in agreement and motioned for the Stand to continue.
"So in comes Kujo Jotaro with a suggestion; a way to single out the one important target they know about, to get information on his whereabouts and what condition he's in. A way to follow his movements so that they can plan an appropriate counterattack." Red Hot Chili Pepper raised its finger as it grinned. "I assume you, Cinder, and your toadies have heard of the Stand 'Hermit Purple' correct?" CInder's golden eyes went wide as the name was uttered, Mercury even whistling as he scratched at his cheek.
"Wow, they're actually getting that desperate huh? Willing to bring the old geezer down and expose him to danger if it means actually getting some info on us, huh?" Roman raised his hand as all this went down, a perturbed look on his face.
"Okay, slow it down now kiddies, I haven't heard word one about this 'Hermit Purple'. What exactly is about to go down here that we should be so worried about?" As Roman asked this, Emerald turned her gaze over to Roman.
"Hermit Purple isn't a combat Stand… or at least, it isn't on the level of something like Crazy Diamond or Star Platinum. However it is an incredible Stand when it comes to information gathering. According to Whitesnake, the Stand is capable of finding anyone or anything that the User knows the name and appearance of, presenting either an image of it if used on a television or in a photograph or other various bits of information depending on what medium Hermit Purple is being used on."
"In short Roman, if Joseph Joestar does get down here and use his Stand, he'd be able to find you easily. Everyone knows what you look like and everyone knows your name. The second he invests that Stand in something, you're going to light up like a festival tree to them. They'll be able to locate you pretty easily." At that, Roman's gaze went wide with panic, Neopolitan similarly looking absolutely beyond worried as Torchwick turned his gaze over to Cinder.
"You can't be fucking serious! You mean this entire time you assured me that I wouldn't be located, that my name and face being used to headline this operation wouldn't matter and yet, here we are, some old asshole's about to come down here and use just that to rat out where I am and how they can get me? What the fuck Cinder?" Cinder's gaze moved over to Roman, a cold and calculating look to it that sent shivers down his spine.
"We hadn't foreseen the possibility that they'd get this desperate. Joseph Joestar is the Leader of The Frontier, a person of both administrative and… moral importance to that society. If he were to die then it'd mean a catastrophe for these people. We had thought this would keep him in his isolated little town while we went about our business." Cinder scratched at her chin as she thought, Red Hot Chili Pepper nodding as he placed his hands on his hips.
"He's set to arrive by noon tomorrow if they have their way about it. They're going to send out one of the faster planes available to Atlas to pick him up from Morioh and then make a stop off the coast to put him into one of several airbuses. The idea is that they'll transfer him amidst one of these in order to try to play a shell game with him, keep us from figuring out which one he's in." Chili Pepper grinned cruelly as he looked over at Roman, the man practically sweating bullets as he brought his gloved hand to his lips. Fear was clearly present in his eyes; he had seen what Star Platinum had done to Emerald, after all.
"You should probably look to getting your affairs in order there Torchwick. By tomorrow you'll probably be getting 'Ora Ora Ora'd yourself… and I doubt they're gonna let your little girl their save you like she saved Emerald! They'll be ready for it this time! Yeaaah-hahahahaha!" Roman glared over at Chili Pepper, brandishing his cane as the Stand ceased its laughter, a far more deadly expression on his face as he saw the pressure building up in Roman Torchwick.
"This is quite the opportunity for us." The gathered group looked over to Cinder, their expressions ranging from disbelief from Neopolitan to… vain hope from Roman. "If we can kill Joseph Joestar, we'd effectively cripple the Frontier. Sure, Kujo Jotaro might have to return there and Whitesnake would lose 'this' opportunity to grab him up… but arrangements can be made at a later date. For now if we can just get these additional Stand Users out of our hair, it would be a tremendous weight off of our shoulders… and an easy path to victory would lay open before us."
"And… this plan you're cooking up, you're sure that it'd get me out of this, right Cinder?" Cinder Fall turned to Roman with a soft smile on her face, though her eyes still gleamed with her devious nature.
"Of course dear Roman. You'll be departing for Mountain Glenn tonight." With that, Roman Torchwick's brows just furrowed, an annoyed grimace on his face.
"... Okay? I really don't see how that's going to keep me safe if your plan falls through just like this one with the School Dance. Hell, if I didn't know better Cinder, it sounds to me like you're just getting me as far away from you as possible just in case your plan-"
Cinder was upon Roman in a moment, her hand violently gripping at the lapel of his coat as Neopolitan pulled out her sword. If Cinder cared about the little ice cream girl's gesture she didn't show it as that cruel smile, though tarnished with a look of annoyance, still held on her face.
"Do not throw such doubt at me Roman… after all, you and I are fated to get through this. It's destiny… so long as you go with me, that will remain true." Roman swallowed nervously as he nodded, a glow coming to Cinder's eyes. "You'll be safe no matter what happens Roman… if we kill Joseph Joestar, then there's nothing they can do. If they don't… well, all that will happen is that they will find you at Mountain Glenn, when it will be far too late for them to either stop us… or for them to capture you."
"Wha-"
"Just trust me Roman… my plans haven't failed us yet. They will not fail us now."
"What, a big mission?" Ruby Rose asked, her head tilting to the side. Indeed that look of confusion was on most of the gathered young hunter's faces as they stood face to face with Kujo Jotaro. Locked out of the adult's meeting for most of the day, Teams RWBY, JNPR and JOJO had little recourse but to wait to hear word afterward. They had assumed they'd hear it from either a secretary or a message on their Scroll and they had assumed that they were just going to be dismissed.
They hadn't expected Jotaro to come and gather them all up, one by one, telling them that they had important information for them that they 'needed' to know. Nor had they expected that information to be the fact that they were all being offered a mission.
"I mean, not to look a gift horse in the mouth Jotaro but… well, aren't our missions supposed to be coming later this week? Along with everyone else?" Yang asked, curious, as she crossed her arms across her chest. Jotaro just nodded, understanding their curiosity, as he crossed one leg over the other.
"It's true that your 'official' first mission is to be taken place alongside the rest of the student body… however, given what you all know and what you've been exposed to, not to mention the valiant efforts many of you put forward last night in the face of so many enemy Stands, it was decided that some… additional help would be required. Help that could only be provided by people with a proven track record of dealing with Stands, The Fang and Torchwick. Out of the entire student body, well…"
"We're the only folks who're up for that. I get that, but, what about other teachers? Surely the staff-"
"Are busy trying to keep order with all these students." Jotaro commented as he adjusted the rim of his cap, Jaune having quickly silenced himself. "Right now the rest of the student body is bordering on panic. Last night, as far as they were concerned, their lives had come as close to being over as they could've ever expected. Not at the hand of the Grimm, which they signed up for, but by beings with powers they're only just now coming to understand. The staff here at Beacon is needed to keep some semblance of order. If everyone panics now, everything we've done so far will be for naught. Not to mention how highly sensitive this mission is. Given the fact that you all have been quite… effective at keeping quiet about your escapades when it comes to the student body-" Many of the gathered hunters sheepishly scratched their heads at this, "-we decided that enlisting your aid… potentially would be of help. Especially with several teams like Team CFVY already out on their own missions."
"Potentially?" Pyrrha asked, which earned her a nod from Jotaro.
"Indeed. This is entirely voluntary. We're not going to 'enlist' you all into a mission that, by all rights… according to Beacon, you're all too young for." Jotaro sighed in some annoyance before he continued. "None of this was asked of any of you in addition to this… and you all have a right to make your own choices. All you all need to know is that this mission is quite vital to the interests of Beacon, Vale and The Frontier. Outside of that, we don't feel safe sharing much more information, lest any of you somehow be compromised." Everyone nodded in firm understanding of this. If they were going to learn more, they had to be 'in' with this mission. They had to be ready.
And they all promptly proceeded to not surprise Jotaro in the slightest as they all stepped forward.
"Come on Jotaro, did any of you actually expect anything different from my team? You can't just say that this mission is vital to the interests of The Frontier and then not expect us to jump in." Josuke spoke confidently as he, Okuyasu and Koichi stepped forward, each determined, but confident, as they did.
"We all signed up to be heroes! Wouldn't be much of ones if we backed down after what happened to everyone last night!" Ruby spoke with a cheery confidence, feeling like this moment was a dream come true for her, as the rest of Team RWBY nodded with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
"Well hey, if all these Stands and stuff are just gonna keep comin' at us, not much point in hiding away… plus, I really wouldn't want to leave our friends out in the cold like this. You can count on us, I think… yeah, you can." Jaune spoke, somewhat awkwardly, as he scratched at the back of his neck. Team JNPR fell in behind him and, though Ren's nod was far more controlled than Nora's or Pyrrha's, they all seemed quite ready.
Yet, this wasn't the last Jotaro spoke of… accepting the mission. As JNPR lined up, Jotaro took a long, hard look over at Josuke, the pompadoured teen flinching slightly as he did so.
"I mean it Josuke; if you accept this task, there's no backing out of it. Once you hear what's in store, you can't back out. It'll be your duty to see this through; a lot of people are going to be counting on us." Josuke seemed utterly perplexed by this; Jotaro had never, never, doubted his resolve like this before. He may have made cautious sounds to his entire team or about his team, but he had never singled out Josuke in particular for this kind of warning. Josuke's light blue eyes blinked in confusion, a move mirrored by his friends, before he just tried to laugh it off.
"I mean… of course Jotaro. I can handle it. So what do we need to do?" Jotaro kept on staring at Josuke with that odd, focused look, before he finally sighed. He nodded his head as he readjusted his cap one more time.
"Joseph Joestar will be arriving at Beacon Academy tomorrow."
Several reactions flew through the room at once; on the one hand, Teams RWBY and JNPR were a mixture of excited and somewhat stunned. Blake and Weiss would finally see, first hand, a person they'd dismissed as a figment of an old army officer's imagination for many years. For Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha and Yang, they'd be seeing a hero that they'd heard about from their friends and that, after all this time, had read about. As for Ren and Nora…
"YOU MEAN THE OLD MAN'S COMING HERE!" Nora's scream practically echoed through the room, Jotaro glaring harshly at her in an effort to silence her, to no avail. The orange haired girl rapidly turned on her heels and grinned nice and wide as she grabbed Ren by the shoulders. "You hear that, Renny? Joseph's coming! We're gonna see the old man again! Aren't you excited Renny?!" Despite Ren's own tendency to remain cool under most circumstances, everyone could easily see the small smile that had formed on his lips. Yes even withdrawn Ren was thoroughly excited by the prospect of seeing Joseph Joestar again.
In their excitement though, Teams RWBY and JNPR missed Team JOJO's reaction. Koichi and Okuyasu nervously looked at each other, a worried expression plastered quite firmly on both of their faces, before they looked over to Josuke. The pompadoured teen was dead silent, his gaze hidden in a shadow underneath his signature hairstyle. However, he didn't walk away and he didn't run and, as far as Jotaro was concerned, that had been all he'd asked for at the moment.
"While Nora is missing the point of discussing this quietly so that word doesn't leak out, yes, Joseph will be arriving sometime tomorrow. As we speak General Ironwood has sent one of his fastest craft out toward The Frontier. Once they land, they'll send out a part to immediately pick up the old man from Morioh and get his ass back here. However, we had concerns about the old man's safety coming in; Red Hot Chili Pepper's Stand Power is a threat and, while we've taken care of the support he used at the dance to make himself such a dire threat, there's no guarantee that our enemies don't have more Stands that could help him similarly. I'm sure it isn't too hard for any of you to imagine what would happen to Morioh if the old man were to die; the rush of negative emotions that would follow his death, especially a death at the hands of our common enemy, would surely attract the Grimm… myself, Josuke and his team would very likely have to return to see to the defense of our town."
Everyone nodded in understanding, their expression thin with grim determination. These were some high stakes, but…
"If it's so dangerous, why are you bringing the old guy here? Sounds like you're taking a big risk." Yang spoke calmly as she crossed her arms.
"It's true, this is a very big risk we're taking. However, after last night's assault on the dance hall we've determined that we can't just keep waiting and playing on the defensive. Our enemies and their Stands have infiltrated Beacon multiple times now and, last night, it was very nearly a total defeat that we wouldn't have recovered from. We need to go on the offensive; to that end, we need to know where Roman Torchwick is. In order to get that information in a timely manner, we need Hermit Purple." Everyone nodded once more as Jotaro reached into his pocket and pulled out a stick of coffee flavored gum.
"Considering the risks, we're obviously not going to just be bringing the old man in on this easily identifiable ship. We'll be having it make a stop several miles outside of Vale for the old man to be transferred into one of several airbuses. Up until the final moments of this operation, we won't know which airbus will be containing him and where it'll land… hopefully, this'll mean our enemies won't know either." Jotaro spoke calmly as he popped the stick of gum into his mouth and chewed on it.
"You all will be split up among various ports around Vale and here at Beacon. Wherever he decides to land, there'll be someone there to help protect him. Hopefully by keeping this such a closely guarded secret, we can keep Red Hot Chili Pepper from directly intervening or, at least, catch him out someplace the old man won't be. Once we have the old man safe in the city and secure, we'll transport him here to Beacon Academy, provided he doesn't land at Beacon's port before anywhere else. If he does then we'll just get him secure inside the Academy immediately. That's the plan for now… it's not perfect but we're running short on time. We can't afford to wait for our enemies to make another move and the old man is our best bet for getting the information we need." Everyone just nodded in understanding; Jotaro had been forward and his explanation thorough. It was clear that he was opening up the ground to questions and, to be frank, all of them had questions they really, really wanted answered… though maybe not mission sensitive ones. More like 'what's the old man like' or 'how is Joseph doing' or 'is he still as cool as we remember'.
"So, that's all we needed to know, right? That's all we're doing as a part of this?" Everyone snapped their gazes over to Josuke, the young man having finally brought attention to himself. Everyone flinched a bit at the near monotone his voice was speaking at, the flat expression on his face as he stared dead on at Jotaro. The older man merely nodded his head at Josuke's question, the pompadoured teen letting out a sigh as he placed his hands in his pockets. "If that's so then… then I think I'm going to head out Jotaro. I'll… I'll talk to you later."
"Josuke…" Okuyasu and Koichi muttered but a raised hand from Jotaro forestalled either of them stepping in Josuke's way. The pompadoured teen quickly walked out of the room they had all gathered in, the sounds of his footsteps clacking down the hallways ringing out in all of their ears as all ten teens and Jotaro watched him depart.
"... Okay, that got a bit heavy pretty fast." Blake spoke, her eyebrow quirked in interest as everyone nodded in agreement with her.
"Yeah, you figure Josuke would be super excited to see his leader come here to Beacon. Heck, if we had to take up a mission to protect Ozpin I know I'd be totally excited!" Ruby spoke enthusiastically as most of the others nodded in agreement. Soon enough the eight Four Kingdom teens eventually turned their gazes onto Koichi and Okuyasu, the two Frontier teens just doing their best to appear inconspicuous as they kept their gazes locked away from their friends and fellow hunters.
"... Okay, what do you two know that we don't know?" Yang asked, hands on her hips as she looked over at the two of them. Okuyasu just flinched slightly as he placed his own hands in his pockets, Koichi having scratched as his arm awkwardly as he looked off to the side.
"W-W-What are you guys talking about? We don't know anything! Right Okuyasu?" Koichi looked over to the scarred huntsman, hoping that Okuyasu would continue on with his pattern of keeping Josuke's most personal secret. Okuyasu, indeed, wasn't talking… though that fact in and of itself might as well as been as damning as anything else. He didn't blab about it but Okuyasu wasn't exactly denying anything either.
"Really? After lecturing us about keeping secrets away from friends and being honest you're going to get tight lipped?" It was clear that Weiss wasn't being malicious when she said this, sounding more entertained than actual frustrated with Okuyasu. To this the scarred teen just bit his lip slightly as he looked off to the side.
"... If it were up to me, I'd tell you all in a heartbeat. You guys are our friends and comrades and… well, you wouldn't think any differently about him if you knew this. But… but this isn't mission sensitive. This isn't going to affect anything. This is my bro's secret, and he… he's not ready to talk yet. It sucks but… but it's his secret to tell, not mine." With that Okuyasu crossed his arms as he spoke, everyone else nodding slightly as he did so.
"... But it does look like it could be mission sensitive Okuyasu. You saw how Josuke responded to all of this; never in all my time knowing the guy have I seen him so… I dunno. Despondent, I guess." Pyrrha nodded along with Jaune assessment, the tournament fighter looking over at Okuyasu and Koichi.
"Whatever this is, its eating at him… and I think all of us can agree that it isn't good to leave things like this fester. If we know what's bothering Josuke, we can try to help him… but if we don't then he's just suffering and we're being forced to watch a friend suffer." At that both Koichi and Okuyasu grimaced, especially the latter. His own philosophy and beliefs were being thrown right in his face and the worst part about it was that he 'knew' they were right. This… this was going to fucking effect how Josuke took part in this mission. Josuke would do his best to 'avoid' Joseph at all costs. He'd try to beg Jotaro to put him some place where he wouldn't have to meet the old man… not because he hated him. No, not because of that… but because of the shame he'd feel, seeing Joseph Joestar face to face.
The deep, personal shame that he knew his friend carried deep inside of him. That he pinned to his own value as a person… something he didn't deserve to carry around but did.
Something that in his time knowing the guy he couldn't help him shake it off, even with his own experience as back up.
Similar thoughts were going through Koichi's head but… but Josuke was his team leader. His team leader and his best friend. He wasn't going to be the person who exposed his deepest secret to all their new friends. Not that there was any way shape or form that any of them would take this new information and turn on Josuke, no… but… but Josuke had his own issues to wrestle with this. Things that, from Koichi's limited experience, might not have seemed rational.
But equally, thanks to that limited experience, he didn't know how to handle.
"You guys are his teammates. If it's not your place to let us in about this so that we can try and help him, whose is it?" Ruby asked, her silver eyes looking both Okuyasu and Koichi's dead on as she tried to convey her worry. Josuke was a friend… and if there's one thing Ruby Rose couldn't stand for, it was seeing her friends hurting. Especially if they were just hurting themselves. It was painful to see Blake go the way she had for so long, it stank hard to have Jaune be so down on himself or Pyrrha be enveloped by her own issues. The look of hurt on Nora's face, and the sadness in Ren's eyes, when they heard of the fate of Kakyoin, Iggy and Avdol was heartbreaking…
And the less she ever had to say about the looks she'd sometimes seen on Yang's face or, even worse than that, her dad's, the better.
"If it's not their place, then it's mine." Everyone turned their gaze over towards Jotaro as the man sat in his seat, a thoughtful expression on his face as Okuyasu and Koichi flinched.
"J-Jotaro! You can't be serious! Come on, you know this is Josuke's secret, you can't-"
"Correct me if I'm wrong Okuyasu, but I believe Josuke's secret had as much impact on my family as it did on Josuke's." The scarred teen flinched back slightly… yeah, yeah that was true. This secret, the worst kept one in all The Frontier, was one held in trust between the Higashikata family and the Joestar lineage. Everyone knew it but no one outwardly spoke about it out of respect for the Joestar family.
It really was as much their own story as it was Josuke's… but still, he knew that this went far more to the core of Josuke's being than it did Jotaro's… not to discount what his family had gone through…
"Fuck…" Okuyasu scratched the back of his head as he tried to wrap his mind around this. Whether it was right or wrong for Jotaro to be the one to get down on this. Still, if there was anyway Koichi or Okuyasu could dissuade Jotaro from speaking up it was gone the moment their friends all earnestly turned to Jotaro and, with a pleading expression, silently begged him to let them in on whatever was affecting Josuke so deeply. Jotaro simply sat in his seat for a long minute, a deeply thoughtful expression on Jotaro's face as he closed his eyes. Finally the capped huntsman sighed in irritation as he spat out his flavorless lump of gum and quickly produced a cigarette, lighting it with Star Platinum as he took a long, hard drag on it.
"... The old man… Joseph Joestar is Josuke's father."
The initial response from all eight Four Kingdom hunters gathered before Jotaro was as immediate as it was disbelieving.
"... What?"
-To Be Continued- Hermit Purple (Act 2)
A/N: Hoo boy, we've been setting this one up for a long time. As far back as Welcome to Vale (Act 1), there's been hints and signs of Josuke's struggles with his identity and the nature of his relationship (or purposeful lack thereof) with his father, Joseph Joestar. Which makes sense; while the other characters are important to the series, and their issues deserving of their own set up and pay off, Josuke is the main JoJo. Having one of his big character arcs be a major throughline of the early part of the fic was pretty much a given. So we've had it that the nature of JoJo's relationship with his dad, his friend's willingness to keep his secret and the hints to the CRWBY have been a major resonating theme of the past few dozen chapters. As recently as the last Dance, Dance, Dance chapter did we get signs of Josuke's lingering feelings about this issue.
Some people might take umbrage with Jotaro coming forward and spilling the beans here. After all, one of the things that underlay JoJo's Bizarre Adventure as a series is that its a series about men who can be manly even when they cry and talk about their issues. To have Josuke be so in deep about his own dad issues that it takes an outside source to deal with them seems like a betrayal of that. Yet I felt like that was a major part of Josuke's character in-universe, even when his whole dad thing was a smaller part of his character. Remember, Josuke was so ambivalent/mildly opposed to dealing with Joseph Joestar being his dad that after he thought RHCP was dealt with he confided in Koichi that maybe he should just get out of there. It took directly confronting his own father to get Josuke to start working his way around those emotions and they were pretty big ones.
Now imagine making that part of his character ten times worse by having him not only know his dad, but know what a big damn hero his dad was, having idolized his dad in his youth and having issues of self-worth attached to all this shit.
I wasn't joking in an earlier author's note when I said that I had pretty much punched Josuke in the gut before this series proper even began. Like a lot of characters whose backgrounds got changed a bit thanks to the change in setting and the ideas behind it, think Keicho, some people got off better and some people got off worse. Josuke was one of those people who got off worse.
"Well gorilla_fingers, why didn't his friends try and help him." Well when it comes to deeply personal issues like this, it kind of helps to have experience in the issue at hand if you want to reach out. Ask any depressed person what it feels like when non-depressed friends try to offer 'helpful' advice and you'll see what I mean. Koichi and Jotaro had relatively good family lives; their fathers were around when they could be and when they weren't working. Nothing about canon tells us that Jotaro or Koichi had especially shit relations with their dads. Okuyasu had an ideal family life before his mother died and then his father turned into a monster; sure, he can offer a validly sympathetic ear to the situation, but when it comes to understanding the core emotions behind each trauma, something's lacking. Josuke, both emotionally and in terms of what might eat at Okuyasu, can't 'fix' those problems and vice versa, even if both can understand how much these situations might hurt each other.
Like with the CRWBY and their problems, no one but themselves can really 'fix' their issues. Weiss and Blake had to talk things out, Pyrrha and Jaune had to actually talk to each other, Blake had to come to terms with how she viewed herself with herself, etc. Josuke needs to have his time with Joseph to really get anywhere with 'fixing' his issues…
But that doesn't mean that friends who have an inkling of what you're going through can't be there to give you the push you need and, as we see in canon, Josuke needs pushes to meet face to face with Joseph. It's just that in canon the issue was smaller and that push was 'hey, Red Hot Chili Pepper might still be around' whereas now the issue is so big that it's hitting Josuke particularly hard. But before his friends can offer any kind of help they can, they actually have to know what he's going through. Jotaro might be being a bit of a dick here, but the guy's also taking a calculated bet. The CRWBY and the Duwang Gang have formed some pretty tight bonds doing some Stand fighting together at this point. They're good friends and they feed into one and other. It's why I generally let comments to the effect of 'you're favoring one side of this crossover over the other' wash off my back; I feel like both halves of the crossover get something out of interacting with the other which I feel is at the core of a good crossover.
Now it's just Josuke's turn to be on the other end of that transaction.
I have to admit, I was a bit worried with this chapter; I'm in the middle of two moves, having completed the first two days ago now and with the second approaching in, ironically, five days. The place I'm currently staying isn't amazingly conducive to writing and so I worried for either my ability to get this out in the time it would be expected or for the quality. Despite those concerns, I feel like I managed to get what I wanted out of this chapter. And, thankfully, the update on the 7th is going to be an RBA Chibi chapter, so I won't have to stress about my current conditions not being optimal. Hell, just now the internet dropped out for a bit and I was worried as to whether or not I was going to get this uploaded at all or not. Thankfully, it popped back on after a bit of fiddling.
So yeah, hope you all are having a better early August than I am and I'll see you guys on the 7th with a new RBA Chibi update.
And I swear, I'm not doing this on purpose. I am not purposefully lining this up so we have major cliffhangers just before a 10 day pause between main story updates. It is completely coincidental.
I swear.
Really.