- A/N -
It's been a long while. I almost can't believe that I've already completed over half of the semester. By the start of December, I will have already completed my first semester, which is a weird thing to think about for me.
Over the course of October, I got addicted to Coeur Al'Aran's work; I read Professor Arc both one and two, Unseen Hunt, and Relic of the Future. Because of that, I think my mind was able to better come up with better ways to write the cast's comments. Let me know if it has.
Quality between the episode's transcript and the cast's dialogue might differ since I wrote the transcript before reading those stories.
- Reviews -
LukeSky001: I'll try to keep that in mind, though it'll be a while till I get there.
jure rollo: I did, I apologize. It was an act of impulsiveness to get the chapter out there. But to me at that point in time, trying to muster up the motivation to try and be creative with the character's lines was already enough work. For the part where I would have to work extra hard on the character's dialogue in order to fill up what little there was for the remaining part of this episode, I think I already did that. As for me taking my time to work on a chapter to make sure it's good and completed, I will try my best to follow that advice.
Doobie Wah: I never die!
kept123: Yes, I sacrificed the chapter for the chapter. Balanced, as all things should be.
Arcanus the scribe: Thank you. I haven't read part 6, but I know the general gist of it, and I heard about Giorno having brothers when I found out that Bohemian Rhapsody is a Stand in Jojo, and the rabbit hole just led me deeper.
E. Paradox: Thank you.
Awesomenessomar5: Thank you.
X3runner: Y'know, I forgot about the whole Jaune-in-a-dress thing that happened. But on the topic of the cast questioning him on why he saw Narancia as a girl and why he picked on Jaune, I can definitely bring it back. Sometime in the later reactions, if I get to them, I want to try and have them try to bring Cardin into their group, and yes there will be banter.
PersonaNinja Lux: I honestly don't know what Fugo did ever since he left the group, though.
Dingussaurus: The author himself! I honestly appreciate the compliments. For the Abbacchio afterlife scene, I agree. I remember rewatching it and finding it so beautiful; the words his partner told him. And you make a great point in that the strength of the Stand is tied in with the mental strength of the user. I still believe that Stands shouldn't be able to cut through aura like butter, because some of the ways Stands are used or how they attack should be plenty enough to deal with.
Sharkbite1000: This I know, the episode showed that Bucciarati got a key for boat #1, yet, the boat that pulled out into harbor was boat #2. I figured I should mention it in the actual chapter instead of being something that the reader should know already.
PlayingRascal: Ay, nice to hear from you!
Noel IV: Reactions feeling lackluster for that chapter is something I agree with and hopefully have fixed for this chapter, and I remember initially I was going to disagree with you on. Not having an end commentary was something I chose when there was still an episode the cast was reacting to, but after having looked back into the older chapters, I found that what you suggested was something I had previously done.
ZA WARUDO: If I do decide to discontinue, I will have made a chapter saying that the story will be discontinued, I won't ever just leave it without saying a word. But on that note, after I complete Episodio 7, I will take a hiatus. I explained it at the bottom A/N if you want to know.
Ashen One: This is very slow to update, and that's on me to be honest, but thank you for the compliment. Ideally, I would make a new story focusing on the events and journey after this reaction fiction is over. But I feel like not doing that. Mostly because with the pace I'm going at, It might be 2025 by the time this story ends.
Nobody: Hey! It's nice to hear from you. Thank you for the compliment!
CrazyHeartAttack: Glad to hear! Cinder being proven wrong will be fun.
diamondteel4: I have heard of the legends of the 7-page Muda. I believe the mad doctor is still suffering to this day with how delayed his senses are. And yes, I will try to remember to include that detail, if the actual source material is better than the anime adaptation, then I will usually favor it, example being Giorno saying ''if we steal a hundred cars."
RandomSonOfDorn: You bring up a very interesting point. And with the fact that I plan to take a hiatus (see bottom A/N for info), I can see myself just leisurely writing down the episode transcript, then when my hiatus is over, all I need to do is to add in the cast commentary.
"T-Ten–" Qrow hacked out the liquor he had drunk, "–billion? That's… a little more than what the rumors entailed."
Winter's expression was statuesque, yet was amused at the huntsman's poor luck. "Rumors are rarily trustworthy."
"So..." Yang trailed off as she leaned in to the heiress to nudge her, despite Ruby being in between the two. "How much is that in lien?" She tried to ask innocently.
Wiess sighed. "About… five million lien," she answered back.
"Wow! All right, now that's actually a lot!" The blonde brawler's eyebrow raised with genuine astonishment.
"It was still a lot to begin with!" Ruby interjected, swatting her sister away from her seat.
Neo slowly turned her head to the side when she saw a clenched fist. The cigar between Roman's teeth rolled back and forth.
"That...immobile, sack of shit. He was able to make that much lien while lazing about?!" Roman managed to calm his nerves down. "Y'know, if only someone hadn't bossed me around to do their dirty work, I could've had something like that!" Roman made sure his voice was low enough only for his partner to hear.
Neo in return gently patted him on the shoulder. She's with him along for the ride as well.
The information Bruno gave them was a first, even for anyone within Passione.
"T-Ten billion?" The slight stutter of the value proved that Abbacchio was stunned.
Bruno nodded. "I'm the only person who knows where it's hidden. I'm the one he ordered to hide it. That ten billion now belongs to us! With that money, we can claim the rank of capo!"
Revelation flashed on the Headmaster's face. "I see now," Ozpin said. "That's how they're planning to get close to the boss." Others immediately took notice.
Glynda turned his head to him, a little skeptical. "Would that even work? The boss is particular with his identity, it seems like he would be able to know if someone would try and find it."
"Hm, well, it isn't a bad plan," Cinder agreed. 'Setting up the stage without drawing any eyes, I dare to say they're taking a page right out of mine.'
"It isn't foolproof, either." She amended it just in case to throw off any suspicion.
Saphron held her chin in thought. "She's… not wrong though! Even from there, they just need to find the consigliere and get him to show them the boss!"
Nicolas, though it was slightly, smiled at seeing his daughter brighten. But a part of him couldn't help but relay, "I feel it's going to be a bit more complicated than that."
"Well yeah, that was the simplified version of it. But at least they're one step closer."
With the truth of the gang's sudden trip, each of them were ecstatic.
"A-Awesome!" Narancia voiced his amazement.
Fugo's expression shifted to being elated. 'He's definitely a man who's going to the top. Just like I thought, he's going to become a capo!'
'He earned this opportunity by working diligently enough to be acknowledged and liked by a capo.' Abbacchio's lips gave a slight curl upwards. 'Amazing.'
'Seriously?' Mista couldn't believe it, but felt happy for Bruno for making it. 'This took a sudden turn for the awesome.'
"Where is it? Where'd you hide that kind of fortune on Capri, Bucciarati?"
"I can't tell you that yet." Bruno said, tone shifting. "Rumors of his hidden fortune have made the rounds in the organization. No one can find out before we secure the money."
Not even a second after Bruno completed his sentence, Narancia fell backwards with his legs in the air. Bruno was taken back by what he saw.
"Narancia?" Ruby looked worried. "What's he doing?"
Yang raised an eyebrow. "He didn't fall, did he?"
"B-Bucciarati!" Narancia struggled to call out while his legs continued to sink further out of view.
Sirens were going off in Nicolas' mind. "No. Something's definitely wrong." Years of having been out in grimm-infested wilderness sharpened his senses to a fine point.
At the mention that something's afoot, the young huntsmen and huntresses in-training began to straighten up. Eyes flicked alert and trained on screen.
The edges of Cinder's lips curled upward. Either one of the members reveal their Stand, or the assailant.
"Hey! Something's wrong!" Bucciarati pointed to his subordinate while the rest kept watching Bruno. "Did something happen, Narancia?"
The gang's leader called with such urgency, that the rest turned to see Narancia's only leg, the only indication that he was even there. But just as the gang looked at him, he was gone. Narancia's shoe fell to the ground with a hollow thud.
The gang didn't know what to think. Perhaps Narancia had just slipped and fell, and he would pull himself up to apologize for scaring the others.
"Narancia! What the heck are you doing?" Mista was the first to check, only to find that the space where Narancia fell into was completely empty. "H-Hey, come look at this!" He shouts for the rest of the gang.
The only piece of evidence of Narancia was his shoe, in a box with nothing else but valves, a wrench, and a small drain.
"There's no way he fell through that drain." Pyrrha focused. On the other hand, Nora fidgeted.
"Well, where else could he have gone?"
"I'd have to agree with Nora on this one," Ren said. "That's the only entrance Narancia could have gone through. But it still feels unlikely."
Among the adults, things started to piece together. The two professors turned to each other, both coming to an understanding of what's happening.
"This is too strange to be anything normal; am I safe to assume that?" Port asked his colleague rhetorically, his bushy eyebrow raising.
Oobleck nodded. "Most definitely. They're being attacked by a Stand."
"You two can knock it off with the dramatics," Glynda muttered under her breath.
"There's only one shoe left..." Giorno held up Narancia's shoe in front of him to check for anything that could leave a clue.
Something struck a nerve in Abbacchio as the moody member yanked it out of his hand. "Give that here, Giorno!"
'Rude...' Stressful situations were always irritating and Pyrrha has had her fair shares of it, especially with being a young celebrity. She decided it wasn't worth getting pent up on.
Unlike Saphron who scowled. 'Rude-ass...'
"I don't quite understand what's going on." Fugo, along with everyone there, was puzzled. "Where did Narancia go?"
"You guys didn't see it?" Realization dawned on the gang leader that they were all looking at him during the discussion. "To me, it looked like Narancia got pulled into this box."
"What?"
"That's impossible! He didn't randomly fall into the ocean, did he?"
"Narancia, where are you?"
Each of the gang started calling out to search for the missing member. They kept a look out into the vast ocean in case they see Narancia floating in the water.
Neptune's grip on his armrests tightened until his knuckles whitened. "Can I not stress enough the fact that this is quite literally the worst place to be at!" He turned to his fellow students with a face full of sweat.
"Dude, chill! Narancia's probably just… below the deck?" Sun tried to reason with his fellow teammate.
"Yeah, below the deck—in the water! Did you not see him fall!"
"Through a tiny drain?"
"You heard the professor, right? They're being attacked by a Stand, dude! Narancia probably got drowned by a Stand!"
Despite the correction made by the doctor, Neptune's hysterics did nothing to improve the atmosphere. But unlike the nervous-wreck that he is, Ozpin's group remained focused on the events.
"They're going to need to hurry up in finding the culprit," Qrow said. "I've seen plenty of huntsmen fall apart after an ambush. Negativity after the fact also brings along grimm."
"They seem to be in control of their emotions, and I'm sure grimm would be the least of their problems." Ironwood stated matter-of-factly, earning a scowl from Qrow. "They're close enough to the border that any grimm closing in would alert the authorities."
"Hey, Narancia! If you're just fooling around and hiding…." Mista jumped over the railing down toward the main deck. "-Hup- Hurry up and answer us!" His boots hit the deck with a thud.
Step. Step. Step. Step...
Not a single sound was heard after.
"H-Hey, Mista? Oh no..." Sun said, eyes widening. Mista was gone that fast and without a single sound to let the others know oh him.
"Something happened to him, didn't it?" Neptune and Sun shared a grim look with each other.
The suspense ate at Ruby, who hesitantly turned to her teammates. "Uh… hey guys, you don't think it's–"
"Zucchero?" Blake finished for her, but mostly assumed. "I think he's starting his attack."
She was on edge, but continued. "Zucchero's strategy is to take them out one at a time out of view and doesn't leave a trace of the body. So his ability has to be something stealthy." She surmised with the information given so far.
"Or weak." The students turned back to see Mercury had spoken to them. When they asked him for clarification, Mercury could see just in the corner of his vision that his boss' eyes lacked the ferocity it usually had; the green light to speak. "If he's trying to take them out one at a time, it means he can't take them out in groups," he explained.
Weiss hummed to herself. "He could be right. Zucchero would be playing to his strengths if he was weak compared to any of Bucciarati's team members."
"Is his ability invisibility?" Yang tried to spitball her idea.
"What about the… bodies?"
"…also invisible?"
They all could have spent hours trying to imagine what kind of ability Zucchero's Stand is. With each theory only being speculation with no affirmation whether or not they're right.
Fugo and Giorno began to call out for the missing member. Fugo walked along the top deck when movement caught his eye. The life preserver that Mista had picked up rolled along the bottom deck.
"Mista? What are you doing, Mista?" Turning to where the life preserver came from, he saw no sign of the gangster.
"That is really freaky! There's not even a body!" Sun nervously said.
"No sign of blood or a struggle either," Blake informed them. "Besides the ring buoy."
Not just the students, but everyone present kept watching. Wanting to know what kind of ability can abduct someone without a sound.
"Mista?" Fugo worriedly called for him. "Where did you go, Mista?"
The three watched Fugo from the other side of the boat while Fugo rushed to find him.
"It can't be... Come on, Mista!" Fugo opened the hatch to enter the interior of the yacht. "Why are you messing around now–"
For a single moment, the remaining three just froze, each of them waited for Fugo to speak or come back out or show any kind of signal that he was still there.
"Whelp, he's dead." Roman proceeded to light up another cigar. Off to the side, Neo looked unquiet, if that was what he would describe her. Almost as if waiting for something good to happen.
When he didn't, Bucciarati leaned forward. "Fugo?" he hesitantly called out, only to be met with silence. "Hey, Fugo!" Springing into action, Bruno peaked into the inside of the ship, only to find a large gash along the side of the entrance. "What? What's going on?"
Realizing how dire their situation has become, and how fast a single person can disappear, Bruno barked out orders.
"Abbacchio, Giorno, stay close to each other!" He ordered them urgently, yet kept his emotions in control. "We're being attacked!"
The three stood back-to-back to cover every angle an enemy could get to them.
"There's someone hiding somewhere on this boat!" Bucciarati declared. "This is a Stand attack!"
"Is this what it feels like to be attacked by a Stand? We got to see it when we first saw Jaune's Stand—and Koichi's and Bruno's. But I just started to think about it. We probably wouldn't know what's happening." Ruby told the others, realization dawning on her and the rest how out of depth they could find themselves.
"Yeah," Pyrrha said after a moment of deliberation. "If we were in that situation… well, I don't want to think about that." Images of friends being taken out one at a time while she could do nothing made her stop.
Yang shook her head. "C'mon! We all got our weapons and aura, and we're not so bad ourselves. Give ourselves some credit."
The smiles and slight nods from the other students told her that they agreed. But the hesitant expressions some of them held were telling. Would they be able to defeat something like that? Could they even defeat something that could not be physically harmed nor seen by a majority of the populace?
Roman noticed that Neo held a displeased expression. "Hey Neo? You look constipated, what's–" He didn't get to finish before Neo started to rant to him. Silently.
She crossed and uncrossed her fingers before hiding it behind the palm of her other hand, then proceeded to ram a finger into a circle of her other hand while shaking her head, before holding one finger with each hand away from each other. As her 'rant' came to a finish, she continued to watch the screen with arms crossed.
The message wasn't lost on Roman, though he wished it was.
'There's action going on but I don't see it. It's like sex but without touching. It's just sad,' his mind translated. Roman debated whether or not he should say something to his partner.
"But why now?" Abbacchio asked the leader.
"The money—someone found out that I knew where the money was, and they're trying to steal it."
A sense of vertigo filled the air. Their whole world spun as the three gangsters guarded their positions. The unknown assailant is able to take any one of them at any time without so much of a sound.
"Which means they're from the organization," Bucciarati told them.
"Does that mean they've been quietly tracking us ever since we were on the shore?"
"Looks that way. They probably grew impatient because I wouldn't just say where the money is."
Roman scoffed. "Tch, amateur. Can't even wait to haul in the big game," he muttered to himself. He prided himself on his professionalism, but if there was one drawback, it's feeling heavy discomfort when witnessing an amateur at work.
"They intend to get rid of everyone but me, then make me cough up the location. And they can take their time, since we're on the ocean with nowhere to run."
"Are you saying Narancia and the others are dead?" Abbacchio had a serious look to him.
"I didn't say that." The team leader was quick to defend himself. "But it's for ten billion. They'd even kill someone from their own organization for that."
The sense of vertigo faded away, giving way to clarity. Giorno let them in on something.
"No, Narancia and the others are alive." He evenly spoke with confidence, earning him the surprised look from the two.
"They're somewhere on this boat. I don't know if this person is trying to use them as hostages, but they're alive."
"T-They're still alive?" Ruby started to relax at the idea. A small, relieved smile formed on her.
"But that means Zucchero has taken hostages, like he said." Weiss reminded her of the reality of the situation.
Winter eyed the screen curiously. "And how does he know this?"
"Giorno Giovanna," Abbacchio said with a scolding tone. "How the hell can you be so sure about that?"
Giorno pointed to where Fugo had gone missing where there was a single fly buzzing around the scene.
"I used my Stand to turn Narancia's shoe into a fly. The fly is trying to return to its owner, Narancia. If Narancia was truly dead, it wouldn't be flying around searching like that."
Winter gave it some thought. "Ah, I recall now—his Stand's ability seems helpful in tracking." She heard Qrow mumble something about her needing to learn patience or something of the like. A hypocrite she would call him as she stared down the back of Qrow's head.
"Yes, it does," Ironwood agreed, either not noticing or caring about Winter glaring at the huntsman a seat ahead of them.
Hearing this good piece of news, Bruno tried to capitalize on it.
"Can you locate him?"
"He's alive..." Giorno reassured them. "He's alive, but… it's not going down into the cabin or in the locker. The fly's not trying to stop…. It keeps flying around that area looking for Narancia."
Abbacchio was skeptical, not having a clue what Giorno was saying. "What the hell is his ability?"
Bruno held up his hand to stop him. "Just shut up and listen."
"Narancia is somewhere near the entrance to the cabin. That's a fact." Giorno continued. "But for some reason, the fly can't find him, so it's lost. I think it's safe to assume that we'll find the enemy wherever Narancia is. Which means the enemy isn't just randomly hiding behind something."
"Hmm… I guess invisibility is off the table," Blake said. "Otherwise the fly would have found them."
"It was a good guess though! This is just really confusing, don't feel bad about it." Ruby could tell her cheering had some effect on Blake.
"Still, it's strange. If what he's saying is true, then they are alive somewhere on the boat, but unreachable?" Weiss' expression scrunched in thought. "How does that make any sense?"
"None of it does." Blake decided to leave the thought for later, the rest following after to watch what remains of the gang does next.
The two listened to his analysis on the enemy. When he finished, Bruno knelt down alongside Giorno.
"I see. So if we don't figure out the mystery behind the enemy's ability–" Abbacchio knelt down next to Bruno "–getting too close without knowing could get us killed."
"Correct," Giorno responded. "But the fact that their ability requires them to attack while hidden is a shortcoming. If we can figure out the mystery behind it, we'll be able to defeat them."
Knowing the problem and how to solve it, Bruno turned to Abbacchio, eyes casted in shadow.
"Abbacchio, your Stand..." he leaned in closer to ensure no one else but the three could hear. "Might be perfect to defeat such an enemy."
"Wait, what?!" Saphron reflexively shouted in shock. She shrivelled back into her seat when she realized that.
"An ability that can defeat something unseen?" The thought played around in Ozpin's head, smiling. "Color me intrigued."
With renewed interest, more in favor toward hope by the majority toward the screen, they each wondered what it is that Abbacchio's Stand could do.
"What do you think his ability is?" Ruby looked to her team with equal parts wonder and concern. The lives of three of Bruno's gang were on the line.
"X-ray vision?" Nora answered back with a suggestion.
"Something to counter whatever Zucchero's Stand ability can do. That has to be the only explanation," Blake ensured.
Giorno was caught by that. "Defeat? Can you solve this mystery with your ability?"
Abbacchio, however, didn't answer. A faint look in his eye telling he isn't in the present. "Hard to say..." was all that he said.
"Damn it, Abbacchio! You'd better not be hung up on stupid shit at a time like this."
"Stupid shit?" Abbacchio broke out of his thoughts. "No. This has to do with my safety. I can't just carelessly reveal my Stand ability in front of a stranger that I can't trust." He referred to Giorno.
"Are you kidding me? That is stupid!" Pyrrha couldn't believe the words coming out from Abbacchio.
Ren, though he always tried to keep his expression neutral, couldn't help it when his eyes sharpened. "They're dealing with a Stand attack that took out half of their team, and he's not going to use his Stand because Jaune's there?"
"It seems a bit petty, if not childish." Glynda frowned at his stubbornness. "They should be working together, putting aside their differences. Especially if their lives are on the line."
"'I'd have to agree. But..." Ozpin paused, remembering the distant stare. "There could be a reason."
Ironwood raised an eyebrow. "You're defending him?"
"No, just stating that there could be a reason," he deflected.
General Ironwood recognized the look Abbacchio gave, but still reluctantly disagreed. "If it wasn't for the fact that the enemy was planning on taking hostages, they would have died because of a grudge."
"Bucciarati. I don't know what made you trust this guy, but I don't consider him a part of the team."
"If we don't figure out the enemy's location, we're going to be killed!"
"And I'm saying that's just this untrustworthy brat's hypothesis. He just came up with it out of fear. He didn't see anything."
"Abbacchio!"
"The enemy is just hiding somewhere in the cabin. I'll find them and take care of them."
Giorno tried to keep the group's focus on the enemy. "If we get close without figuring out the mystery, we're going to get kil–"
"Shut your mouth!" Abbacchio stepped into his space, furious. "You stupid little brat..."
"Damnit!" Saphron, already fed up with the mafioso, cursed. "If he'd just listen to him, then they could find the enemy without risking themselves!"
Nicolas held her by the shoulders. "Relax, and breathe." She did as he told but with a noticeable furrow to her eyebrows.
"Still hate him..." she muttered to herself. "If he'd just focus–"
"Breathe."
She audibly inhaled and exhaled through her nose. Reluctantly, she decided to leave it.
Giorno was unfazed by his reluctant teammate's outburst. With his subtle confidence, his mind was set on his plan.
"I, Giorno Giovanna, have a dream." The rays of sunshine cast behind him as he declared.
The music changed tones, and the two didn't know where this was going.
"What are you talking about?" Abbacchio could only be confused at his sudden declaration.
Giorno disregarded his question, instead he sprang forth towards the enemy. "You can solve this mystery, right? I'm counting on you!"
"Giorno!" Bucciarati called out for the new recruit as he ran toward the cellar. "What the hell are you doing?!"
Giorno leapt forward. Behind him, an elongated and thorny arm grabs hold of him, pulling him toward the trapdoor. The other arm, branding a rapier, pierced Giorno.
"JAUNE!" Pyrrha and Saphron called out simultaneously. Nora covered her mouth when she gasped. Ren meanwhile, winced at the sickening sound.
Nicolas' eyes flicked open wide as he watched the rapier pierce him in the back. The sound in his throat died off before he could say anything.
Cardin couldn't help but look utterly surprised at the screen.
"Oh shit, it has a sword!" Sun was at a loss for words.
Ruby recoiled back in shock while Yang was prepared to hold her—just in case.
"Reckless idiot..." muttered Weiss. "Did he really have to do that to prove him wrong?" she added when she noticed Team NPR made to face her.
"No, he didn't. That was a completely unnecessary risk that he took." Nicolas' expression was unreadable to Jaune's previous peers. It could be described as stern, yet troubled. Concerned for witnessing what happened.
A small, satisfied smirk grew on Neo's face. Though it was for finally getting to see some sort of action after so much buildup. The fact that it was Jaune, the one who showed he had what it takes to be a real criminal, put a damper on her excitement.
"G-Giorno!" Bucciarati could only watch the unfortunate recruit's skin shrivel up. Air escaping him as though it were a wheezing balloon. "There's an enemy over there! Shit! Giorno's in trouble!"
Before Bucciarati could try to take a step forward, Abbacchio stood in front of him, back facing toward him.
Saphron growled. "Abbacchio, you–!"
A teal aura enveloped the moody gangster.
"Abbacchio..." Bucciarati trailed away as he looked at him in surprise.
"Giorno Giovanna..." Abbacchio stated. "You're one crazy bastard. All this to prove yourself..." His gaze shrouded in shadow, scrunched together in annoyance at the actions of the now missing member.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
A chromatic-being manifested behind him. Its skin colored a gradient of light-blue and violet, eyes perforated with holes resembling speakers, and a timer dial along the forehead.
To Be Continued
"Ughhraah…!" Ruby groaned, which morphed into a growl. "It can't end there, we just got to see his Stand!"
"It looks so smooth! Almost like rubber, I think." Yang relaxed back into her seat.
"What was with that dial on its forehead?" asked Weiss.
"Gasp! X-ray vision! That's its third eye!" Of course, Nora goes for the most outlandish ideas.
"Nora, I'm serious."
"I am too!"
Awkward silence between the two different team members stretched on.
"Really, I am," Nora said in a less cheery tone.
Ren looked to her before looking at the group. "That might not be a bad idea. If Zucchero is somehow hiding, then Abbacchio would be able to find them no matter where he and the others are on the boat."
"Yay~ You agree with my idea, Renny!"
"What about Jaune? Is he going to be okay?" Pyrrha asked.
Ruby hesitated a moment, recalling the imagery of when the sword pierced him, but steadied herself. "I think that he'll be fine. If what he said is true, Zucchero hasn't hurt them." Ruby said with absolute certainty.
"Not yet," Blake told her. And just like that, doubt slowly crept on Ruby while Yang and Pyrrha just stared at the cat faunus. She replied, "don't look at me like that. Unless Bucciarati and Abbacchio find out where Zucchero is, there's nothing stopping him from taking out one of the group."
Cardin sat behind the group of students alone, at first due to others not wanting to be near him, but now he's starting to think it might not be such a bad thing.
'Fuckin' make fun of me? I'll show you...' He thought to himself, bitterly, as he glared at the monkey faunus. That was until he remembered that no one could do anything to harm each other, he would have to wait until all of it was over.
'What kind of ability was that? Far more terrifying than that… Shadow Sabbath– or whatever. Actually, they're all terrifying,' he internally told himself after some thought. Bucciarati can hide and ambush from anywhere and anyone; Polpo could always attack from anywhere, no matter how far away you were; and Jaune–Giorno, whatever by this point, can literally give him a slow and painful death, or turn a grenade into a tracking fly. And now this one, abducting whatever poor soul just so happened to be alone.
They were all terrifying in their own way, in a way that most semblances themselves couldn't do or replicate.
The students of Beacon all had their own conversations with each other, their own thoughts, and their own theories on just what Zucchero's and Abbacchio's Stand abilities were. While slightly off behind them all, the Arc's had their own discussion.
"Still, I can't actually believe he did that." Saphron kept staring at the screen, the sepia-tinted image of Abbacchio and his Stand present still. "Jaune just risked himself to convince him to follow his plan. To convince him."
"He did it under the idea that Abbacchio's Stand can beat Zucchero's. It was very reckless, and uncalled for. But if Jaune is so sure that he can, I guess things will be alright," is what Nicolas told her.
In honesty, Nicolas held doubts about his son's judgement—if anything, he was fearful that this could be the last he saw of his only son—but this wasn't what his daughter needed to hear.
"Let's hope he's right," Saphron said with furrowed eyebrows. Nicolas had never agreed with her more.
Qrow ran his fingers through his hair. Already this Stand business is a hassle to keep up with. Even more so when he realized that Ozpin would tell him to find people with 'unexplainable powers' when they all get back.
But for now, he's personally thinking about the enemy's ability. He overheard the students to his left theorizing about the ability. 'Something that makes him sneaky, huh?' He recounted the whole incident. Narancia gets pulled under, Mista took four steps until he–
'Wait a minute. One, two, three–!' His eyes widened when he was sure that he took four steps. 'No, no. It's just a coincidence, that's all,' he thought to himself.
"I have to say, that is quite interesting," Ozpin said in the usual tone.
"Ozpin, an ex-student just got impaled, interesting is not a word I would use." Glynda looked at her boss concerned, as did the other professors of Beacon.
"Oh, no, I don't disagree with you there," she still didn't look convinced, "I was referring to both Abbacchio and the enemy's Stand."
"It's quite terrifying," Oobleck agreed. "He was able to take out over half of their team already."
"Bucciarati said that Abbacchio's ability could defeat this enemy, but he seems not quite there if I remember." Winter told the rest. "It would still be interesting to know what he can do."
- A/N -
Some cast commentary might come off light-hearted, I'm pretty sure it's because I wrote those sections while in the middle of reading Professor Arc, but I think it makes it more interesting? Yeah, all the cast members that know Jaune are worried for him, but Neo acting out charades trying to compare the entire scene to a bad sex scene makes it more interesting. At least more so than the previous chapter.
I managed to naturally introduce the idea to the characters fighting against Stands might be above their skill. Especially so when they all find out about how Zucchero stayed hidden in the next episode.
I kept Neo the silent one in this story, so I had the idea of putting her acting out charades to convey her thoughts somewhere in this chapter. As I thought about what kind of message she's trying to tell Roman, the very first thought was the very line that I had Roman translate. I loved it so much, and the rest is history.
Not part of this chapter: I cringe on myself for only now realizing it, but I made a change to Ironwood's line about "good men having to get dirty to keep the world clean" in Episode 4 part 2, because I was trying to make a Dishonored reference from Havelock but I now realize I just made a COD reference, and I don't even play that game. I changed it to "But sometimes, good men have to compromise to make the world right."
Back to this chapter: Overall, I'm satisfied with the commentary for this chapter. Blake was generally the silent one that said a few words, but I got her to speak a little more. And taking Noel IV's criticisms, I was able to write characters without saying one-off sentences as few as possible, they actually dialogue off each other now. Except when Giorno got pierced, I mean they generally share the same response.
—
Finally to end it off for now, I'll probably say this again in a future chapter at the top author's note, but for those who read this: I'm planning to take a hiatus after completing Episodio 7. Mostly to continue what responsibilities are expected of me as well as my own personal goals. I do enjoy writing, however, it was something that I did on a whim that I decided to keep going. I'm more of a reader than a writer after all. And yes, I will come back after the hiatus to continue, only when I have a lot more free time than I need (that summer season heat, baby.)
With the pace I'm going for making and releasing these chapters, you shouldn't have to worry. Me taking a hiatus would probably only start in late 2022 and end in the summer of 2023.
- Log -
Transcript started on July 21, 2021
Transcript finished on August 6, 2021
Cast Comments started on August 9, 2021
Ever since August 18, progress on this chapter had been heavily halted.
Chapter split into two separate chapters on September 19, 2021
Cast Comments finished on November 18, 2021
Word Count (Not including A/Ns and review responses): 4901 words
Published on November 18, 2021