"Lady Versace, it appears Grace and the others are on the move," said a man, kneeling in front of a woman. "Should we go after them?"
"No, send Florence after them for now," Versace responded calmly.
"But Lady Versace, Florence doesn't possess a stand!"
"She will serve as a threat nonetheless, Bowie," Versace's tone became harsher. "And if she doesn't return, well, we'll know that Grace is determined to defy me."
"Yes, Lady Versace. I'll tell her to head out right away."
"So eventually I'm going to have to get you to meet a few other people the Speedwagon Foundation has been keeping eyes on, Grace," Neil laughed as he drove. "Obviously other Joestars, like Jotaro Kujo, Josuke Higashikata, and a few others. I'm basically setting up a family reunion for you!"
"Jotaro Kujo was the one who defeated Dio, right?" Grace asked.
"Yep," Hol Horse responded, "He seemed like a really strong kid when I first encountered him. He was just a year older than you when I fought him."
"Indeed," Neil laughed. "He's doing his own thing now I hear. Marine biologist. And Josuke is going to be a cop from what I heard."
Shani laughed softly, "Well, Grace, this puts pressure on you to do something great too, doesn't it?"
"Sorta, yeah," Grace laughed.
"I believe in you, Gracie. You'll do great things," Hol Horse smiled.
"Exactly! And the Speedwagon Foundation will help you in any way we can!" Neil smiled at her through the rearview mirror. "You're a Joestar after all."
"Technically I'm a Brando," Grace retorted with a dry laugh.
"That birthmark says otherwise," Hol Horse chuckled.
"Touché."
The car accelerated as Neil turned it to a back road. "We're going to have to avoid some bigger streets for obvious reasons, you never know where an enemy could be. While I know we should find the person sending the letters, getting into a fight on the main streets wouldn't end too well."
"Agreed," Hol Horse nodded, "Some stand users wouldn't take too kindly to that."
"Yeah," Grace sighed, "Won't want to end up like my mom."
"If you don't mind me asking, Grace," Shani asked, "What happened to your mom?"
Grace sighed, looking out the window of the car.
"Gracie, you don't have to tell her. I can tell her later," Hol Horse said reassuringly as he looked back at her.
"No, Dad, it's fine," Grace said. "Ten years ago now, my mom and I were walking home from just hanging out in the town. At night, obviously. Mom must have sensed something I didn't because while we were walking past an alleyway, she suddenly shoved me in there. There were a couple sketchy looking guys following us. I hid behind a pile of boxes since it was obvious why mom shoved me at that point. She wanted me to hide. They beat her to a pulp with what I now understand are stands. Obviously, I couldn't see them at the time. They took their sweet time, too. I could hear her bones breaking. I am certain they broke most of them." Grace took in a shaky breath before continuing, tears stinging her eyes. "The look on my mom's face when she glanced over at me... she was crying. I remember her telling me when I was only about 4 that she was almost 100 years old, but I am certain she didn't expect to die that night. Why would she? She thought she was safe. We thought we were safe."
"Grace, you don't need to continue if you don't want to," Neil interrupted.
"No. I know talking about it apparently helps," Grace said, wiping her eyes. "Obviously, mom couldn't move or fight back. Her body was too broken to do that. I realized the sun would be rising soon. So I ran. I left my mom and ran to the safety of the mansion. Mom never came back. She died. Dissolved to dust thanks to the sun."
"Grace... I am so sorry. That must have been absolutely horrible," Shani mumbled.
"It's just something I have come to live with," Grace shrugged, "It took a few years, but I am used to it now."
"You shouldn't have to be, though."
"Hey, sorry to interrupt the conversation, but someone's following us," Neil said with a huff, glancing in the rear-view mirror. "I don't know how long they've been following us but..."
"Yeah, they're really riding the fucking tailgate of our car," Hol Horse said, glancing back.
"Hey, buddy!" Neil yelled, despite the driver not being able to hear him, "Get off my fucking ass! Go around! Jackass."
"I didn't suspect you to be a road rage kind of person, Neil," Shani laughed.
Crunch. The sound of metal on metal made everyone go quiet.
"They just fucking bumped into us, are you fucking kidding?" Neil yelled, glaring back at the car. He groaned in annoyance and pulled the car over. The other car followed and bumped them again, with more speed behind it.
"Oh great," Neil huffed. "Hol, can you go see what's wrong with that douche?"
"Alright," Hol Horse got out of the car and walked over to the other driver. He barely had time to jump out of the way before the car accelerated at him. He ran back into the car. "Neil, drive. I think they're an enemy." The engine of the car roared as Neil floored it. Hol Horse took off his hat and stuck his head out of the sunroof, summoning Emperor.
"Dad what are you doing?" Grace screamed.
"Whoever is in that car is determined to hurt us!" Hol yelled back. "They're part of those Agents of Dio who are threatening you, Grace!" He fired a bullet at one of the tires. The driver noticed Hol Horse's sign of aggression and rammed into the back of the car again.
"Hold on tight, guys!" Neil yelled, once again flooring it. "We gotta get to an open area! They're determined to fight!"
"Are you serious?" Grace yelled.
"Sure looks like it!" Hol yelled back. He fired again, the bullet flying through the windshield. "Neil, stop swerving, you're throwing off my aim!"
"I thought you could control the bullets, Hol Horse!"
"My Stand still only has so much range! If they get out of that range they aren't "
Grace sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Knock it off, both of you. I'll use Holy Diver's ability so that it is easier to aim while Neil continues to do whatever he wants to call this." Holy Diver manifested beside Grace, nodding slightly. Time slowed, and Hol Horse fired again. The bullet seeming to nail the person in the side, causing the car to swerve off to the side.
"Direct hit!" Hol Horse yelled. "I'm going to see who the hell that was."
Neil stopped the car a few feet away and the group got out.
"Aw man, the back of the car is all busted up," Neil groaned. Shani nodded slightly.
"Still legal to drive?" She joked, raising an eyebrow.
"It better be," Grace laughed. Hol Horse put an arm around Grace's shoulder, carefully observing the other car.
The car door swung open, a younger woman stumbling out of the driver's seat, holding her side with one arm.
"Oh for fuck's sake!" Neil yelled, quickly manifesting Ogre Street Special and running at the woman. He shoved her down and swung at one of her legs. "Leave us alone!"
"That's enough Neil!" Shani yelled. "She's been shot and her leg is now broken. I doubt she will pursue us any longer."
Neil glared at the injured woman.
"You fool," the woman spoke, "She isn't going to be pleased about this. And Grace made the wrong decision of stepping out of that car. Once I get back to them, there will only be more people pursuing Grace, and you guys will be caught in it."
"Who is she?" Neil demanded.
"Like I would tell you, Speedwagon," the woman laughed. "All I'll tell you is that I am the first of many."
Neil huffed, kicked some dirt into the woman's face, and returned to the group. "First of many," he mocked before turning to the others. "Well, now we've got a car with a nasty looking back, and a threat of there being more enemies."
"Wonderful," Shani rolled her eyes. "We should probably figure out our next destination since I don't know if there's any more substantial damage to the car."
A phone rang. "Shit, hold on, I gotta take this," Neil laughed, grabbing his phone and walking away from the others for a moment.
"I guess the life of the Speedwagon foundation heir is a pretty hectic one," Grace laughed. "And I can only assume the same for a Joestar."
After a few minutes, Neil ran back to the others. "I just figured out our next destination. There's a cave a bit of a drive from here, my Supernatural Research team found something quite interesting. We're gonna head out immediately."
The group quickly got back into the car, checking their surroundings before heading out.