Stanton was not a fighter.

When given the choice between fight or flight, flight won pretty much every time. The only time he ever did anything aggressive towards someone coming at him was when he was trying to distract them so he could get away. And up until now it had more or less worked out for him.

But after what happened with that masked figure, he realized that he wasn't always going to have that option. Whatever was going on around these cards clearly involved danger, and was clearly going to find its way to him. And while he was doing his best to make sure he was always around Ezra, Renee, or one of the others, he knew he couldn't rely on them forever.

Eventually something would catch him when he was alone, or something would come for him whether they were there or not. Whether it be random monsters looking for Arcana's spirit, or mysterious masked attackers, he was going to have to learn to defend himself on some level.

That didn't mean he had to like it though…

The boy panted as he struggled to keep up with the members of the Combat Department, who were jogging around the base. Usually Cayenne would be at the front leading them all, but she left that job to Amber so she could give him some special attention. She had told Renee she'd help the runt get into shape, and she meant it.

"C'mon kid, I know you can run faster than that. I've seen you booking way quicker than this before," Cayenne said scowling as she trailed behind him.

Stanton kept the same pace. He was lagging far behind the others, but he didn't look too tired yet. "I only run like that when someone is chasing me. I can't keep that up for very long. I'm pacing myself," he explained.

Cayenne rolled her eyes. "You got shit stamina then. We'll work on that." As annoying as it was, she was gonna have to just accept that she'd need to work with this kid to get him up to her standards. Stanton suddenly tripped, and Cayenne stopped and looked down at him. "Shit coordination too…"

"I'm tired," Stanton said.

"Yeah, you're gonna get tired when you're getting your ass beat by bullies too. Still can't afford to fuck up like that," she said as he pulled him back up to his feet. She held out a bottle of water towards him. "Seriously kid, how have you survived this long?"

Stanton thought for a moment. He'd been in a lot of sticky situations before, but always managed to worm his way out. Usually by a combination of his father's experience, his own knowledge on supernatural subjects, and just a bit of luck.

It was strange to him how that seemed to work for some of the most dangerous creatures on the planet, but not against high school bullies… or masked attackers.

Cayenne snapped her… well, she didn't have fingers. But somehow she managed to make a snapping sound and got his attention. "Yo kid, stop spacing out. That's probably how you keep getting caught by bullies," she said. Not wanting to confirm her very correct assumption, Stanton went back to jogging.

Raleigh and Levi looked back at the two, both smirking. "How much do you wanna bet the kid gives up before the end of the month?" Raleigh asked.

"Month? I wouldn't even give the little fella the week," Levi said chuckling.

"Hey dumbasses! Stop smirking up there and focus!" Cayenne shouted angrily.

They ran ahead while Stanton looked towards Cayenne. Stanton was not a people person. He wasn't good at socializing, and he had a hard time picking up on social cues. But from what little he had managed to gather… Cayenne's attitude was bad. Or at least not very good.

Maybe it was just bad timing, but whenever he was around she almost always seemed to be scowling, insulting, or yelling at someone. She was aggressive and brash, which he thought were traits that people didn't really like dealing with. And yet she seemed to be close with Kingsley, Damian, and Renee.

That was honestly a bigger mystery than most of the things he came across. How was it that someone like her meshed with people who were… almost her complete opposite.

As he was pondering over this, he suddenly tripped and fell forward again. Cayenne sighed and shook her head. "Damn it kid. How many times am I gonna have to tell you to pay attention?" she asked, annoyed.

Stanton looked up and was about to say something to her, but then covered his mouth. He ran off to the side of the track before leaning forward and then throwing up. After a few seconds, he looked back up towards her, but then threw up again.

Cayenne winced. "Geez… alright, I guess that's enough jogging," she said. This kid was going to need more help than she thought. "Head back inside kid. We'll pick up after I finish out here. And grab a bite to eat if you can handle it. You're going to need something on your stomach since you just up chucked everything."

"Is he okay?" Persi asked, looking worried. "Maybe someone should go back with him?"

Bianca looked like she was about to say something, but Cayenne spoke first. "He's not a fucking baby. Don't treat him like one. He can walk himself back in," she said.

Stanton nodded. "I'll be fine," he assured.

"See, he said he's fine."

"You're terribly out of shape."

Stanton hummed. He really wanted to tell Arcana that he didn't need the reminder, but he didn't want the others to think he was talking to himself either. Besides, the spirit seemed able to sense his thoughts and feelings, so he was sure he picked up on it.

"How did you become friends with Cayenne?"

Damian looked down towards Stanton who was cracking open a bottle of water he had grabbed from the kitchen. The boy had been waiting inside for Cayenne, knowing she would want to continue his training, and had ended up crossing paths with Damian. He couldn't help but ask the question that had been on his mind from earlier.

Even now, just looking at Damian who was calm, polite, and well mannered… it just didn't make sense how he and Cayenne were considered friends.

The lead officer rubbed his chin and looked up in thought. "Well, let's see… we pretty much became friends through Kingsley. The two of them have been together for as far back as I can remember," he explained.

Stanton hummed. That made sense. Kingsley being how he was must have worked as a sort of buffer between the two. But he was still curious. "How did Kingsley and Cayenne become friends then?" he asked.

Damian chuckled. "If I recall correctly, she used to bully him when they were kids."

"...what?"

"Well, Kingsley was never the most assertive person out there, and Cayenne has always been… rough around the edges. But I suppose his personality won her over somehow. She ended up turning from his bully to his protector."

Stanton now looked even more confused. He'd had a lot of bullies over the years, but not once would he have ever considered befriending them. "If you don't mind me asking a question of my own Stanton, why the sudden interest in Cayenne?" Damian asked. He knew that they were training together, but he didn't expect Stanton to wonder about her like this. He seemed more interested in her powers rather than her personality.

He rubbed his chin. "Um… I guess because I'm not good at socializing. And I thought maybe if I found out how she did it, it could help me." He wasn't exactly looking to make a bunch of friends or anything, but he did think it would make things easier for him.

Damian nodded. "Oh, that's it huh?" he said with a chuckle. That made a bit of sense, he supposed. "Well, maybe you should try socializing with her. You could both learn a thing or two from one another."

"You mean like fighting?"

"Among other things."

Stanton looked curious, but didn't get to question him much further on it before Cayenne walked in. "Alright kid, break over. Let's get back to work," she said, motioning for him to follow. Stanton looked towards Damian, who nodded, and then made his way out to follow her.

They went back to the training room, and Cayenne tossed him a pair of boxing gloves before grabbing a pair of mitts. "Okay pipsqueak, we're gonna teach you how to start swinging. Show me what you got," she said, holding the mitts up. She had to see what she was working with.

Stanton put the gloves on, and then did his best attempt at a fighting stance. Cayenne could already see quite a few things wrong, but she didn't say anything yet. Stanton stood for a moment, and then threw a punch. It landed with a dull thud against the mitt, and Cayenne scowled. "Seriously kid…"

"I'm not a fighter," Stanton said bluntly.

"I can see that." She moved towards him and then began moving his feet. She could see she had her work cut out for her here. "Keep your feet here, keep your left up, and be ready to move your head. When you punch, twist your body to put your weight behind it."

Stanton let her guide him into the correct position, and then held it. "Now, punch," she ordered. Stanton did as told, but the punch was… pitiful. It was slow. Like he was trying to get the movement down more than do any damage. "Okay… punch harder." Stanton punched again, this time faster. "Like you mean it kid!"

He punched again, and then Cayenne nodded. "Better, but you can do more than that. Hit with everything you got! Pretend it's Neville's face!" Stanton got ready to punch, but then hesitated. Cayenne narrowed her eyes. "Did you just flinch because you actually pretended it was Neville…?"

"He's a lot bigger and stronger than me."

"Well pretend it's Eddy, but he can't hit you back!"

"But that's-!"

"Pretend he stole your hat!"

Stanton blinked, and then remembered what had happened a while back. When Eddy had taken his hat from him, he'd tried and failed to get it back. He let out a breath before swinging again, and this time Cayenne smirked when she felt his fist hit the mitts. "Yeah, there we go! I like the sound of that! Do it again! Throw some left in there!"

Stanton continued punching at the mitts, this time using both fists. Cayenne moved the mitts around a bit, making him have to adjust himself. But he was doing pretty well for the most part… well, he was going as well as someone like him should have been. She knew it was gonna take this kid a while to get the hang of things. But this was a good start.

Once he seemed to get into a comfortable rhythm, Cayenne moved one of the mitts and then swung at him, stopping just before she hit his face. "Okay, you can throw a punch, but not to have to learn how to take one. Or avoid taking one if you can. When you throw a punch, I want you to move your head."

"Why?"

"Because when someone starts punching back at you, you don't want to make yourself an easy target. If they're gonna hit you then make them work for that shit," Cayenne instructed. "Every third or fourth punch I'm gonna swing at you with one of these mitts. And you're gonna dodge, or I'm gonna ring your head like a bell."

Stanton just stared back at her. "I mean… you're not gonna swing as hard as you actually can, are you?" he asked.

Cayenne smirked. "Don't get hit, and you won't have to find out."

"Oh…"

They went back to it, and this time Stanton was watching the mitts a bit more closely. He really didn't want to get hit by her. He had seen what she could do to a monster or villain. He didn't want that happening to him. Cayenne telegraphed her hits a bit so he could pick up on them. There wasn't a point in knocking the kid's block off when he was just learning the ropes. She just wanted him to get used to the movements for now.

After they had kept on the routine for a while, with Cayenne calling out and correcting any slip ups or falling out of forms, they decided to take a break. It was more for Stanton than it was for her. And she made a mental note to help him work on his stamina too.

She threw a down over his head, and he began wiping the sweat he had built up away. "Renee wasn't a kidding kid. Have you ever been in a real fight in your life?" she asked.

"Not until recently, no," he admitted. "Whenever I got into any danger I couldn't solve with magic or my dad's stuff I just ran. It's what he taught me to do."

Cayenne sighed. "Right, he's an investigator or some shit, right?" Stanton nodded. "Well look here kid, running away from whoever is kicking your ass at school isn't gonna work. Bullies are like animals. When they see someone running, they start chasing. You gotta stand your ground and fight."

Stanton looked confused. "But what if you get beat up?"

"You fight anyway. Eventually you'll win and they'll back the fuck off, or they'll start realizing you're more trouble than you're worth," she said. "People who bully other people are bitch asses most of the time. They want to go for easy targets. When you start snapping back, they start letting spinelessness show."

Stanton thought for a moment. There were a few creatures he and his father had come across that had looked incredibly ferocious and intimidating. But if you made a big enough show or tricked them into thinking you were more dangerous than you really were, then they would back down almost immediately.

He guessed bullies might be the same way.

"Were you ever bullied?" Stanton asked, looking up at her.

Cayenne snorted. "Nah. I was the one who did the bullying. At least until Kingsley and I became friends. Then I started having to kick all of their asses to keep them off of him," she explained.

"Why did you stop bullying him?"

"I don't know, kid. I just did. What is this, twenty questions?"

"I'm socializing."

"Stop letting Damian fill your head with that bullshit."

"I didn't say Damian told me to do it."

"I recognize his bullshit when I hear it," Cayenne said, scowling. She then held her fist up. "Anyway, next time that asshole Neville messes with you, just swing on him. Even if you don't win, you land one good hit on him, and he'll think twice about it."

Stanton looked down at his own hand, and then balled it up into a fist. He seriously couldn't imagine actually punching Neville. He could imagine trying, but actually pulling it off? That was a totally different thing. "I don't know."

"Well I do. I'm telling you kid. One punch, that's all it'll take. Once you do that, everything is gonna change for you," Cayenne said.

Stanton placed his books into his locker as he got ready to go home for the day. He still felt a little tired after all the practice Cayenne made him do. The only time he had ever felt this sore was when he and his father had to keep moving when they were getting hunted down by a Stalkling.

"You're about to have company…"

Stanton looked confused, but then heard a voice shout out. "Pines!" He sighed as Neville marched towards him, an angered look on his face. "You have some explaining to do! I want to know how the hell you've been giving me the slip lately! Not even you're that fast!"

Stanton reached up and rubbed his chin. There weren't any teachers around. There never seemed to be any around when he needed them. It was weird. He doubted anybody else around was going to help, and making a run for it… would just encourage him if what Cayenne said was right.

Standing his ground honestly was not an appealing option to him. But running away hadn't exactly been working out for either. He probably could have gotten away. As soon as he got out of everyone's line of sight he could use The Magician to get himself far away. But Neville would just come back tomorrow, and the next day.

Cayenne's method sounds crazy, but if it got Neville to leave him alone for good, it might have been worth a shot, right?"

"Hey! What the hell man! I'm talking to you! Stop zoning out!"

Stanton looked back up towards the bully. "Sorry, I was thinking about something," he said. Neville looked at him with a raised eyebrow. This kid was so weird. Like, way weirder than he first thought. And he'd been getting even more weird by the day. "I don't suppose you'd go away if I just… asked, would you?"

"What?"

"Because I can't really explain what's been going on to you. It's sort of personal and-"

Neville grabbed the front of his shirt. "If you don't stop screwing with me, I'm gonna knock all of your teeth out! Tell me how you've been shaking me lately, NOW! Otherwise I'm gonna pound your face in!" he threatened. A few other students stopped and looked towards them when they heard the commotion, but as usual nobody stepped in.

Stanton hummed, and then nodded. "Okay," he said. Neville looked at him curiously, and then let him go. If he was finally going to spill the bean then… then…

"What the hell are you doing?" Neville asked, confused. Stanton was holding both of his fists up and was in the stance Cayenne showed him. "Are you…? Are you trying to fight me? Like seriously? Have you lost your damn mind?"

Stanton didn't say anything. He just kept staring at him. Cayenne said all he needed was one punch. He was going to have to punch up since… well, Neville was way bigger than him. Okay, he had done this plenty of times yesterday. Twist his body and put his weight behind it, and-

"Move."

Neville had already swung at him, and Stanton went wide eyed and then moved his head out of the way. Neville growled and swung at him again, but Stanton one again ducked out of the way. "Stay still you little-!" Neville continued to swing at him, and Stanton ducked and weaved out of the way.

Everyone else around them looked surprised. This was not something they were used to seeing from either Stanton or Neville. Stanton stepped back as Neville continued after him. The first few punches had Stanton on edge honestly. But now… well, this seemed almost kind of easy.

Compared to Cayenne, his swing was a lot more obvious. And knowing how hard she could hit made Neville's punches seem pretty tame in comparison. "Excellent. Are you going to swing back?" Arcana asked.

"I don't know…" Stanton said. He was honestly on a pretty good streak here. He didn't know if he wanted to ruin it by trying and failing to actually hit him.

Neville glared. "Don't know what?! Who the fuck are you talking to?!" he snapped angrily as he lunged and punched at him again. Stanton stepped to the side, and Neville ended up stumbling forward. He barely caught himself, falling onto his hands and knees.

"If you're going to strike, I'd suggest it be now."

Stanton stepped forward, throwing a punch and landing it right on the side of Neville's face. Everyone gasped as the bully was knocked onto the ground. He had already been off balance, and Stanton's hit had caught him completely off guard.

For a moment, everything just seemed to freeze. Both Stanton, Neville, and everyone around them looked on in science. Neville wore a shocked expression on his face. The punch hadn't hurt him all that much. He certainly felt it, but from a lightweight like Stanton it didn't do nearly as much damage as it could have.

It was just sheer shock going through him. Stanton had punched him. This little wimp, who had only ever fought back if he hat was at stake, had punched him. What the hell was happening? Was the world turning upside down?

"Are we like… done?" Stanton asked. He had gotten his punch in like Cayenne said, and Neville looked pretty stunned. So maybe she really did know what she was talking about. "I'm fine stopping here. I really just want to leave if that's okay with you."

Neville got up, an angered look on his face. "You little shit! I'm gonna-!"

"You're gonna what?"

Both Stanton and Neville looked up and saw Cayenne standing nearby. She wore a scowl on her face, and was glaring daggers at Neville. He flinched as soon as she saw her, and Stanton offered a small wave. "I punched him…"

"I saw," she said, crossing her arms. "It was kind of weak if I'm being honest. Should have busted his damn nose. But that was some good bobbing and weaving. We just got to work on building some muscle so the next time you hit something, you break it."

Neville tried and failed not to look too nervous in front of Cayenne. "What the hell are you even doing here Jojo? This is none of your business. It's between me and-"

Cayenne stomped towards him and got in his face. "I came to pick up my cousins! But I'd be glad as hell to make a detour to beat your bitch ass down if you really wanna put me to the test?!" she snapped angrily.

Neville stared off against her for a moment, and then turned and quickly made his way off. When he did, Stanton walked up next to Cayenne. "Thanks…"

"If you wanna thank me then put that punk in his place," she said. "We're obviously gonna have to add weight lifting or something so you put some meat on those scrawny ass bones. I'm gonna go get my cousins. You go off and do whatever it is you do before you get to the base. Don't keep me waiting too long. I still got to do training drills with the others."

She walked off, and everyone cleared out of her way. Stanton stared after her, thinking of how easily she had gotten Neville to back down. He didn't know why, but he had the feeling that even without powers that Cayenne would have made him fold. She just seemed to have an intimidating way about her. She was even more scary than some of the creatures he and his father ran into.

"You seem rather impressed with that human. I wouldn't be surprised if she activated one of the cards later."

Stanton tilted his head. "Do you think so?"

"Your admiration for her is clear."

Stanton hummed. Did he really admire Cayenne? He thought she was impressive because of her powers and attitude, but he wasn't sure if that was admiration. He knew he admired his father, but that was different. "If that's the case, why didn't a card activate then?" he asked.

"It can only mean one of two things. The first is that she isn't one of the keys to activating a card, which I find unlikely. The second and more likely reason is that the next card simply doesn't belong to her. They must be activated in order, remember?"

Stanton scratched his head. "Yeah, that's pretty inconvenient…"

"True. Perhaps you should spend more time conversing with others. The more quickly you find the next person to activate the card, the sooner hers will also be-"

"No, I think I'm going to keep on training with her for now," Stanton said. "I still need to learn how to fight after all. Not just to deal with Neville, but that masked guy."

"I suppose you're correct. And when her card does activate, it will be even stronger from the start with a strengthened bond."

Stanton nodded. "Right…"

A/N: A new chapter of Stanton's Bizarre Adventure! Which has been LONG overdue! There's some stuff I want to get to and the story so I really do want to make more of an effort to start working on this fic more. Characters I want to introduce and reveal, plot points I'm drying to get to! Set up for others stories! Plus I just really like working on Stanton's relationships with other characters. Especially Cayenne. I find their dynamic really fun. Her card wasn't activated quite yet! Which one do you guys think it will be? And who do you think is up next?