Persephone
Without a moment of hesitation or doubt Josuke slammed a foot on the arrow. Crazy Diamond materialized and grabbed me by the hair. It was becoming hard to see with the blood streaming down my right eye. "Dora!" I was tossed against the wall. I ragdolled all over. The Dora's kept coming. DORADORADORA! I couldn't stop them. The faint beatings became nothing but muted noise in my ears. I had failed everyone, including myself.
I saw the faint image of a little girl in my mind. She pressed herself against the inside of a window on a rainy day. Her eyes watched for the car. She waited for her parents to come home. Had I taken a wrong turn? Did I betray myself? How she waited. She just waited for her loved ones to come home. At some point, I had learned that waiting was the worst thing I could do. I moved on, but in my heart, I still waited. I needed someone, anyone to come home.
I was done with waiting. I had never had a fortunate life. Always tripping, always losing people, always falling. I had isolated myself for a while. But people kept pulling me out of my slump. Good people. Dead friends. But when I had learned about the requiem arrow I had known what I had to do. An arrow to transform the wish of the user into reality.
I opened my eyes a tiny bit. Time had barely passed. The man was still beating me bloody with his stand. But there was another. That crazy doctor was standing behind him just watching. His confident smile threw me off. Did he still have faith in my victory? I slumped against the bloody concrete as he finished his assault.
He took his foot off the arrow and bent down to get it. That was my chance. I reached my arm out and grabbed the arrow. He flinched. I pulled it closer, summoning a faint visage of my stand. I wouldn't give up on my dream now, I have come too far. My hand cracked in half as he brought his black dress shoe down on it. My hand was bent into a 'u' shape. The arrow left a trail of blood on my palm as it was knocked out of it.
He jumped down to grab the arrow before I could. I reached my broken hand in the direction it had skid. The arm of my stand manifested with a thumb holding its ring finger back. With a small gust of wind, the stand flicked the arrow away from him. The metal tumbled across the hotel floor. He stood up again to chase after it. I slammed the stand's arm into his stomach sending him flying back a few feet. As I did I felt a sharp pain in my arm causing the stand to become even harder to see.
He stood up dripping heavy blood onto the floor. His face was covered in scratches from battles. His hair still stood up in an unnatural pompadour. I felt the veil fall from my face a little more. The words of the old man I had talked to a while ago flooded back to me. "Do what you need to do. Walk in the light. Never be dragged down by the things you can control." I took a sharp breath. I had always been afraid of being seen by others. How could I live a life in the sunlight after everyone had drifted in the darkness? It wasn't right.
If I was going to help them, I would have to stand in the light despite my fears. I struggled to get up. The man was reaching for the arrow. I summoned my stand. Some of the earth from its outer shell was crumbling away. The sand was leaking out of its body at an alarming rate. I tried to ignore what that probably meant for my body and pushed back the pain. "Ora" my stand cried punching his arm away from it. He tumbled backward and stood in one swift movement. His stand drew back a fist and began to barrage me with his fists. I countered faster than I ever had before. "ORA!" As our fists met the stand called out their cries. The fists bounced off of each other in a mass of oras and doras.
Below us, the requiem arrow danced around from the wind generated from the violent conflict. I watched them move in circles and then. "ORA!" My stand moved its foot to it. "DORA!" even while exchanging blows with their fists the stand began an intense match below the belt to retrieve the arrow. I felt several toes hatter from the stands tremendous stomping. My face became covered in even more shadows as I backed up. I wasn't able to keep up with him in my current state. It was a wonder I was able to fend him off as well as I was able to. I backed up unexpectedly into the wall. It would soon be over if I didn't find some way to turn the tables.
I felt anxiety creeping over me. I wouldn't let it all be for nothing. Getting this arrow had been my life's work. These stand users were just the latest obstacle to overcome. I looked desperately around for something to use. The tables were upturned, and the carpet had been ripped away. I had nothing to grab within reach.
My stand failed to block a punch knocking my head against the wall. It left a small indent and cracked the armor of my stand even more.
The man gave me a cold, terrifying look. He opened his mouth to speak but I already knew what he was going to say. "You lose." A single fist grabbed my head and threw it deep into the concrete.
I felt a ringing from somewhere I couldn't place. I moved my tongue about my mouth to confirm my fears. I had lost more teeth. That psycho teenager from earlier had already punched out quite a few of my teeth. It seemed I wouldn't have many left by the time this was done. That's when I heard him.
"J", It was the quietest I had ever heard him, but unmistakable. It was Azriel. He had come home. He still remembered my old name. I felt so delighted I almost forgot the number of my broken bones. He had come back. I squinted my eyes to see through the blood. It was difficult but I could just barely manage to see him.
He stood in the door in rags. His eyes met mine in a solemn gesture. Not a single word was needed to express his feelings. I'm not sure a single word could convey the feelings of his gaze. It was an apology. It was a resolution. It was a message.
"Black Parade!" A faint echo wrapped through the hotel room. But I couldn't hear it. The man couldn't hear it. Not even the psycho girl passed out on the floor could hear it. This was Azriel's last resort. The fact he had to use this reaffirmed the gravity of this situation. I wasn't just fighting for myself, I was fighting for everyone. "Famous Last Words!" A black stand stood in his place as he fell to the ground.
The stand rushed the man. He dropped the arrow to defend himself. "Shit!" He cried. I once more felt the old man's word flow through me.
I recalled the ones I had lost to get to this point. I watched Azriel's sacrifice unfold before me. For the first time in a while, I stood up and took a step into the light. "Carry On My Wayward Son", the stand reappeared even more broken than before and grasped the arrow. Sand escaped in all direction mirroring my own blood. In a swift motion, I raised my arm with the stand and brought the arrow down. It pierced the heart of my stand.
Stand Name: The Black Parade
Stand Ability: The black parade creates a constant sonic wave which slowly captures everyone caught in it, transforming them into faceless members of the parade.
Famous last words: The stand user puts their own life on the line by giving their own soul to the march of the black parade. This allows them to use themselves as a shield.
Design: A faceless shadow wearing marching gear.
Destructive power: D
Speed: D
Range: A
Durability: A
Precision: C
Development Potential: B
