The rays of light from the mid-morning sun came through Joshua's windows and pried open his closed eyes. Blearily, Joshua sat up. Thoughts swam in his still half-asleep head, when suddenly he remembered the previous night. It seemed so fuzzy that for a moment he thought it had been a dream. Then his saw his shirt lying on the ground, the dried blood still faintly visible, and his memories crystallized.
Oh god...Joshua thought as the last night came back to him. Kidnapping, Stand power, the Cobalt Order, and then to top if off having to go home several hours after his curfew to a very angry mother. Unsurprisingly, the excuse he had used - he had gone out with friends and lost track of time - had not gone over too well. It had been a solid half hour of lecturing before he was allowed to go to bed. At least she hadn't noticed the dried blood on his shirt. Groaning, Joshua staggered out of bed towards the bathroom.
As he waited for the shower to warm up, Joshua stared at himself in the mirror. Despite everything he'd seen - everything he'd done - he still was having some trouble understanding exactly what he had been pulled into. Everything just seemed so outlandish, Joshua couldn't completely believe it was all real. It's just so...bizarre, Joshua thought as he entered the shower.
Upon returning to his room, Joshua heard the text tone go off from his phone. He had been relieved when last night Daniel revealed that he had managed to recover Joshua's belongings, including his phone. However, that relief had quickly turned into fear when he saw the number of texts and missed calls sent by his mother.
His phone displayed a single message from an unknown number: "You holding up?" "Who is this?" Joshua texted back. "Daniel," came the single word reply.
Joshua might've wondered how Daniel had gotten his number, considering how Joshua had never given it to him, but another text came before he could. "Hiram wants us to meet up, help you practice using your Stand. You in?" "Can't," Joshua returned. "Grounded for a month." "No problem," Daniel texted. "We'll come to you. Be there in about a half hour. Bye."
Joshua looked up from his phone. His father was away on a business trip all weekend, and he had heard his mother leave to go grocery shopping while he was in the shower. He had the house to himself, at least for a couple hours or so. While having other people over while he was grounded probably wasn't allowed, Joshua figured that it wouldn't matter if no one found out. Also, Joshua wasn't sure that he could dissuade Daniel from coming over anyway.
Joshua didn't really know what to make of Daniel and Hiram. He realized that, apart from the fact that they were Stand users, he knew nothing about them. He met them less than 24 hours ago. That said, they seemed like kind people, and Daniel had risked his life to save him, so that had to count for something. Despite his concerns, Joshua was fairly sure that he could trust them.
And so, about twenty minutes later, Joshua greeted Daniel and Hiram at his front door. Hiram wore a green t-shirt with a graphic of a fierce-looking serpent and the words "Loch Ness Monster" emblazoned on it. Daniel was wearing the same black tracksuit he wore the night before.
"Thanks for inviting us," said Daniel, walking past Joshua into the house. Hiram looked up at Joshua. "Are you doing alright? I know all of this," he gestured with his hand, "can be a little overwhelming at first." "Yeah," said Joshua, partly to Hiram and partly to himself. "'I'm fine."
"That's good to hear," Hiram said. "We should probably go to your backyard. I don't think you want to wreck your house in our practicing." Joshua agreed, and led Hiram through the house. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Daniel was already waiting for them in the backyard, Sabaton already present by his side.
"Okay," Daniel said, cracking his knuckles. "If you want to be able to fight the Cobalt Order, you need to learn how to fight with your Stand. Now, you did a pretty good job against that Power guy, but it's pretty rare that you'll encounter Stands that are as straightforward as his." Sabaton raised its fists in a fighting stance. "Stand battles require quick thinking and flexibility, but the most important thing to know is how to effectively use your Stand's strengths. So, today we're gonna teach you how to do that."
Joshua looked over at Hiram. Next to Hiram, a large, blocky figure had appeared. The figure was light gray, and appeared to be made out of bricks. Its long arms and legs ended in square stumps. Its rectangular eyes had a light blue glow, and gray brick horns crowned the top of its square head. Joshua guessed that this figure must be Hiram's Stand.
Daniel and Hiram seemed to be looking at Joshua expectantly. Suddenly, Joshua realized that he didn't quite know how to bring his Stand out. He had managed to summon it last night, but that had been pure instinct; there hadn't been any conscious thought to his action.
As if he had read Joshua's mind, Hiram suddenly said, "Don't be nervous. Your Stand is a part of you now. Letting it out should come instinctively, without effort, like…" he trailed off, his hands fidgeting as he searched for a metaphor. "Like taking a piss. Your body already knows how to do it, so relax and let it happen."
That's a strange way to put it, Joshua thought, and then he blinked. Where there had once been nothing but empty air, a large green scaly humanoid figure now stood before him. Hiram's metaphor may have been a strange one, but it must have triggered something. Joshua's Stand had appeared.
Daniel gave a short clap. "All right. Now, let's begin." Suddenly, the left side of Joshua's head exploded with pain. In an instant, Sabaton had moved from Daniel's side to Joshua's, and had slammed its fist into Joshua's skull.
Joshua collapsed onto the ground, clutching his head. Through his mind's eye, he saw his Stand slash at Sabaton - but Sabaton was suddenly three feet to the left of where it had been, and the Stand's claws sliced through the air.
"Come on, Daniel," Hiram said. "Go easy on him. He just got his Stand yesterday."
"I am!" Daniel protested. "If I were a real enemy Stand user, he would already have been knocked unconscious. Learning to deal with sneak attacks is part of the lesson!"
Shakily, Joshua got to his feet. Daniel had turned to face Hiram, and had his back to Joshua and his Stand. The Stand tensed, and lunged towards the tracksuit wearing boy, claws outstretched. Before it could reach Daniel, however, Sabaton suddenly appeared in front of it, and easily rammed a fist into its gut. Joshua stumbled backwards, the wind knocked out of him.
"Like that," said Daniel, still with his back to Joshua. Sabaton appeared at his side, and he turned again to face Joshua. "Your Stand is an extension of yourself, but it's also a lot faster and stronger than you. Your Stand's movements shouldn't be reliant on your reaction time. You have to make it instinct."
Hiram shook his head. "Stop messing around, Daniel. This isn't accomplishing anything." "Get off my back," Daniel responded."I'm teaching him valuable lessons about Stand fights. Now," he said, gesturing towards Joshua, "Come at me again." Sabaton copied his gesture.
Joshua swallowed. His head was still pounding, and he was still short of breath from Sabaton's punch. More than anything, he was frustrated. Daniel and Sabaton seemed to be dancing circles around him. He began to think. What if I…
Joshua's Stand lunged forward again, and again Sabaton teleported forward to meet it. This time, however, the dragonic Stand did not raise a claw. Instead, the instant Sabaton appeared before it, ready to counterpunch, it opened its mouth and let out a wide cone of flame. Sabaton vanished before the fire, and Daniel had to step back as well to avoid getting singed. As Joshua Stand continued to breathe fire, Sabaton reappeared at its side, a fist ready to punch.
Just as Joshua figured it would.
Faster than either Stand user could react, Joshua's Stand turned, caught Sabaton's fist with one arm, and raked its claws against the pink Stand's chest with the other. Sabaton vanished again and reappeared at the side of Daniel, who was clutching his chest.
"Are you okay?" Joshua asked, suddenly worried that he had seriously hurt his new friend. "Not bad," Daniel answer, smiling darkly. "That was a good trick you pulled, but you're gonna have to better if you want to do well in a real fight." Sabaton clenched its fists, seemingly about to begin another attack. "I'm going to stop pulling my punches now, so get ready-"
"Time out!" Hiram ran between the two other boys, his hands making a T-shape. He looked pointedly towards Daniel. "I know this is fun for you, but there are more important things we need to be doing. I wanted to gauge his Stand's power, but I can't do that if you're dodging every attack."
Daniel raised his hands in resignation, as Sabaton vanished into his body with a shimmer. "Alright. Do what you want." He stepped back, and Hiram and his Stand took Daniel's place opposite Joshua. "Okay, Joshua," Hiram said, as his Stand lumbered slowly in front of him. "I want you to attack my Stand. I'm not going to counter or anything, so just hit me with everything you've got." He smiled. "Don't worry. Whatever you can dish out, [Off the Wall] can take."
Joshua's Stand approached Hiram and Off the Wall somewhat hesitantly; Hiram didn't like the type of person to trick Joshua like that, but he kept his guard nonetheless. As his Stand got closer, a silver sheen appeared over Off the Wall's body. A similar sheen appeared over Hiram. Joshua's Stand stopped for a second, as if considering this new development, and then-
"GRA-DADADADADADA!" The Stand let loose a mad flurry of slashes onto Off the Wall's sturdy body. The blows seemed to bounce off the blocky Stand, leaving ripples in the silver sheen that reverberated across its body. "GRA-DA!" a large fireball flew out of the green Stand's mouth, landing squarely on the center of Off the Wall. It extinguished upon contact, not even leaving a scorch mark. Hiram had been correct: Off the Wall seemed to be unaffected by the onslaught.
This time, it was Daniel who paused the fight. "That's enough! Stop!" Joshua's Stand backed away as Off the Wall disappeared and the silver sheen faded from Hiram's body. Joshua hadn't noticed before, but Hiram suddenly looked like he had run several marathons in a row. He was slick with sweat, panting heavily, and seemed like he could fall over at any moment. Daniel ran up to Hiram, and Hiram leaned against him, clearly exhausted.
"What happened?" asked Joshua, confused. As far as he could tell, he had done no damage to Off the Wall or Hiram. "Off the Wall can create an impenetrable shield around itself," Daniel explained, "but the shield drains Hiram's energy to sustain itself. It's a very useful ability, but using it too long could kill him."
Hiram looked up. "He's strong," he said between heavy breaths. "That's good." "Shh. Save your energy. Rest now," Daniel said, gently laying Hiram on the ground. He turned back to Joshua.
"By the way," Daniel said, "have you chosen a name for your Stand yet?" Come to think of it, Joshua hadn't. But, as he looked at his Stand's dragonic features, a name came to him so easily he could swear the Stand had always had it.
"[Imagine Dragons]," he said simply. Daniel grinned. "Joshua and Imagine Dragons. Welcome to the team."
-To Be Continued- What's in Your Soul (Act 1)
Stand User: Hiram McRodes
Stand Name: [Off the Wall]
Power: D
Speed: C
Range: D
Durability: A
Precision: D
Developmental Potential: C
Impenetrable Barrier: Off the Wall can project an energy barrier over objects and people, including itself and its user, which can negate any and all attacks and cannot be penetrated. However, the barrier drains the user's lifeforce, so sustained use will kill them.