Hey, King Spike Rules here and is the third chapter to the final fight with Creedence vs. The Rabbit Hole. How will they fight without one of their friends with them, getting close to figure out the power of Creedence's Stand?
Chapter 36: Final Fight: Part 3
The five of them walked through the halls with venom in their hearts. Between all the enemies that had been sent after them and the fate of their friend mere moments ago, revenge had etched itself into their minds.
"How does it feel to lose a comrade?" Creedence's voice boomed through the hall, putting all of them on guard. Their Stands had already been summoned around them, and their eyes scanned the walls for the figure that had killed Doc. "The pain, the sorrow, the feeling of guilt. That is how I felt thirteen times in the past few months, after you defeated every one of my officers for the sake of the broken world we find ourselves in."
"Broken or not, you can't force change through the death of millions. Nothing is worth causing another Great Depression," Kite shot back with narrowed eyes.
Suddenly, they all found themselves face to face with Creedence, who was now standing at the end of the hall. Once again, he'd seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"Haven't you heard of the greater good?" Creedence asked them, his red eyes staring them down and they stared back at him with fury in their own eyes.
"So, killing well over a hundred citizens that put you in charge is for the greater good?" John replied, receiving a shocked expression from Creedence. The rest of the group seemed almost as surprised, Kite being the only one who knew exactly what John was talking about.
Creedence looked up to the ceiling with a long sigh, before looking back at them.
"I've lived through a hell known as World War II. I've seen how those who feared death were given power, and used it by sending others out to die for them, all while they hid safely in base." Creedence locked eyes with Kite, their unspoken fury clashing in a mental war. "I have a feeling you understand wanting to go your own way and doing your thing. I had to make a better world, for the sake of my men who followed me through the hell we found ourselves in."
"Look, I guess I can see-"
Kite was cut off by Keith taking aim and firing at Creedence, whose eyes widened in surprise. Despite that, the bullet never reached its target, instead landing in one of the walls. From the opposite side, a fist had appeared from the wall to intercept it.
"I'm not buying any of this 'burning the house down because my neighbors were evil' bullshit," Keith said, unconcerned with his lack of success. His eyes seemed to shoot daggers at Creedence, challenging him to deny Keith's claims.
"Your bravado will get you killed," Creedence said instead. Keith smirked with the small victory, then let Rhinestone Cowboy unleash a burst of explosive rounds towards the Stand's exposed arm. It withdrew back into the wall, leaving Creedence to scoff at the useless attempt. "You're the kind of soldier that would be put on the gatling gun, firing aimlessly as the real soldiers head off to battle."
"So what?" Keith spat back, his simple reply making Creedence's smirk fall away. "I know I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, and I'm sure you're stronger than my Rhinestone Cowboy could ever hope to be. But why should I stop trying to stand up against you?"
Keith took aim at Creedence with a smirk of his own. "I'm sure you can't outrace all of my shots." He began to fire towards them while Rhinestone Cowboy launched his attacks with his master, all aimed at Creedence.
The man stood there for a moment. Then, before the bullets could reach their target, the ceiling seemed to curve down into their path. Some of the bullets exploded, some ricocheted into the ground, but none of them reached Creedence. Keith looked on in shock while the ceiling returned to its previous position, all without Creedence moving a muscle.
"I have to say, you have very loyal fighters with you," Creedence remarked, looking at Kite with a genuine smile on his face. The group were taken aback at his caring expression, which seemed so unnatural on his worn face. "How Keith talks about you and stands with you reminds me of all my men. So out of respect, I'll stop toying with you."
No sooner did those words leave Creedence's mouth then the wall next to him began to ripple. The five all watched as a grey-skinned figure emerged from the building itself. A tall, muscular Stand now stood before them, covered in a black chest plate, pants, and boots. Its white hair and red eyes matched Creedence, while its face seemed stuck in a permanent frown.
"So, you finally decide to reveal your Stand from its hiding place," Kite remarked, smiling at their small achievement. That smile was the last thing the others saw of his body before his own Stand surrounded him in a layer of metal.
"So, your Stand can travel through walls?" Franky asked, a little confused at all the abilities it seemed to possess.
"Not exactly," Creedence said with a small smirk. "Would you like for me to explain?"
"No need. Your Stand allows you to control carbon," John cut in, receiving a raised eyebrow from Creedence. "Carbon is one of the most common elements on Earth. Not just in minerals or carbon dioxide; every living thing on this planet is made of it."
"He's been using this power to move his specially made mansion, which lets him control how it works and confuse people until he's able to take care of them." Kite clenched his teeth with visible effort, only opening his mouth to add, "Coal is made of pure carbon...and people have plenty."
Everyone was taken aback by the implications of Kite's words, their minds quickly filling in the blanks. Some looked at Creedence, who had turned his head away as if trying to ignore the terrible truth looming over him.
"W-wait, Kite," Mary spoke softly, staring at Creedence with a look of growing horror, and even greater hatred. "There's no way he-You don't think that the coal he's put onto the market was made of..."
"People. Yeah, we're sure of it," Kite answered her unfinished question. "Me and John noticed that there were no homeless people in such a large city, even though his cheap coal must have destroyed the market. Add in him controlling everything in the mansion, and John noticing the way the doors looked so familiar, and it became pretty clear. Just a question of how many people you'd need to build an entire mansion."
"T-that's just awful," Mary said, covering her mouth as if struggling not to retch. But as her eyes moved down towards the floor, she could only wonder if they were standing on someone. She tore her gaze away, locking back onto Creedence. "How could you-"
"How could I make use of the fallen?" Creedence asked, looking at her as if she'd asked why he would change his socks every morning. "This country used young, strong men and turned them into broken shells, left to fight wars that no one needed to get involved in."
"So you would have wanted the Nazi party to rule the world?" John asked, eyebrows furrowed with confusion and lingering anger.
"No, once I mastered this power, the first thing I planned to do was go to Berlin and rip that... thing's spine from its body for all the people it hurt. But our commanders refused me. They'd already decided I was insubordinate, for viewing my men as more important than a mission with no chance of victory. And now they're doing it again, and they'll keep doing it unless I force them to change."
"A change that lets you use others for your own selfish wants!" Keith shot back, stamping his feet at the hypocrite standing in front of him. "Your men killed so many and toyed with us, and now you're here spouting garbage! You don't agree with what someone told you to do, so now you get the right to kill as many as you want?"
"Yes, for with my Stand by my side, I'll bring a great revival to the United States," Creedence declared, continuing as though he hadn't heard anything Keith said. His Stand floated beside him, raising its hands towards the heavens. "Revival. That's what I named it for, and you'll all help me to reach it. You can work with me, or you can be the fuel!"
"You're one crazy asshole," Keith said. In a blur of motion, Rhinestone Cowboy drew its bowie knife and threw it at Creedence's chest. Yet it stopped several feet away, Revival easily holding the blade with its bare hand.
"The weak will always call the strong crazy. I suppose they lack perspective," Creedence said, taking a step closer. John's eyes widened and his hands grabbed Keith's shoulder, pulling him back just before Revival suddenly appeared in the spot that Keith had occupied.
"We won't let you take another one of our friends," John spat, drawing Creedence's attention for a moment. In that moment, a sword formed around Kite's right hand and sliced at Revival's arm. Much to his shock, the Stand was utterly unaffected, and Renegades' blade broke down the middle.
As Kite reeled from the impact, Revival looked at him and reached out a hand. It closed around his arm, steadily turning the steel into coal until it was touching Kite's bare arm.
"Not so fast, you asshole!" John yelled as Lonesome Dove kicked Revival with all its strength. John winced in pain, but the force managed to knock the Stand back several feet.
"Fuck, this hurts," Kite muttered, holding onto his forearm to keep it from crumbling away. Revival's slightest touch had ruined one of his limbs. He looked up at John, who was holding his foot with pain painted all over his face. In that moment, Kite realized something new.
"Creedence," he called out, holding his arm with a knowing expression. "Your Stand is also made of carbon, isn't it?"
"Oh, you're smarter than I thought. Still, I have nothing to hide. So yes, it is," Creedence replied.
"Why does it matter if it is? He can control his Stand anyways," Franky wondered. Between Revival's impossible durability and this new detail, he was left even more confused than normal.
"Coal isn't the only thing that's made of pure carbon," Kite said, raising his other hand enough to let the coal on his arm fall off. He winced as it broke against the ground like a common rock, but refused to step away from the front of the group.
"That means his Stand's body is literally as hard as diamonds," John added, looking up at Revival, who looked back with its inexpressive face and blank eyes. It stepped towards the five of them, only for a door to appear underneath the group, who fell through the floor. Creedence was taken aback by Graceful Door's ability, which had already faded by the time Revival reached the door.
"Not bad," Creedence mused. He spent a moment looking at the floor with a small smile, then set off towards the nearest set of stairs.
Meanwhile, on the second floor, the group took that time to catch their breath. Franky got a few looks from Kite, and rose to his feet with an embarrassed smile.
"Sorry if that was out of the blue, but we needed to get out of there before it did something Birmingham couldn't fix. And I don't know about you guys, but I've got to get my head on straight after all that," Franky admitted.
"That was the right call, Franky," Kite said, drawing the group's attention. "We need to figure out how we're going to take out this guy, along with his indestructible Stand."
The five glanced amongst themselves, already starting to plan their counterattack against Creedence Clearwater and his Revival.
TBC.
That is it for this chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading it, we're getting closer to the end with only three more chapters. Please a review.