For a brief moment, Joshua was hovering weightlessly over the chasm. The pillar had bowled him over, and he found himself staring into the abyss beneath him. What little of the gray concrete walls he could see quickly faded into pitch-black darkness. Huh, Joshua thought, surprised about his own clarity. I've probably never been above this much nothing before.

Then the moment was over, and he began to fall into the chasm.

"[Imagine Dragons]!" Joshua yelled, turning and wrapping his arms around his Stand's scaly waist. With a roar, Imagine Dragons twisted around in midair, barely managing to cling on to the edge of the chasm with the tips of its claws. Joshua clung onto Imagine Dragons as tightly as he could while the Stand scrambled to gain a better grip on the edge, its tail thrashing against the side of the cliff.

"You think you can pull yourself back up just like that?" snarled a cold voice from above the edge of the cliff. Joshua looked up just as the full force of the head of the Cobalt Order's boot came down onto Imagine Dragons' claws, causing him to grimace as pain shot through his fingertips. "I want you to fall," the head of the Cobalt Order said. "And that means you fall!" Another pillar rocketed out of the side of the cliff, crashing into Imagine Dragons' chest and knocking it and Joshua away from the wall.

Imagine Dragons reached out as it was pushed away, digging its claws into the sides of the pillar and holding on to it with all its might. As the pillar continued to push them away from the wall, Joshua worried for a brief moment that the head of the Cobalt Order would try to crush them against the opposite side of the chasm, but no sooner had that thought crossed his mind than the pillar suddenly jerked to a halt. Joshua now was dangling over the center of the chasm, clinging to Imagine Dragons' waist with all his might. He didn't dare look down.

Imagine Dragons started to slowly lift itself onto the pillar, dragging Joshua up from the edge inch by painful inch. However, the Stand had barely begun to move when the pillar suddenly and rapidly retracted back into the side of the chasm, slamming Joshua and Imagine Dragons against the once again flat wall. As Joshua shuddered at the impact, Imagine Dragons immediately dug its claws into the side of the wall, preventing them from slipping any further. I'm not going to be able to get out at this rate, Joshua thought. A plan of escape was forming in his mind, but the more he thought about it the more he realized how incredibly risky and unlikely it was. Except as a last resort...no, even then it might be too risky, Joshua decided. Could things get any worse?

Unfortunately for Joshua, immediately after thinking this question he received his answer. The small crevices Imagine Dragons had dug out and was clinging to suddenly flattened, and it and Joshua started to slide down the chasm wall. Imagine Dragons panickedly scratched new handholds to grip into the wall, its wings flapping furious against the forces of gravity, but the gashes flattened faster than it could gouge them. "There's no point in trying to hold on," the head of the Cobalt Order taunted, watching Imagine Dragons scramble for something to grip from the top of the chasm. "Not while I control the boundaries of space itself. There's nothing you can do...but fall." A tiny pulse of Road to Nowhere ran through the side of the chasm, and small fragments of the wall jutted outward where Imagine Dragons' fingers were placed. Joshua could only gasp as he and Imagine Dragons were knocked away from the wall, his mind rapidly alternating between wild reactionary plans and terrifying blankness, as he fell down into the darkness beneath him.

"There we go," the head of the Cobalt Order said, his calm demeanor having apparently returned to him. "I'll give you credit; you were a troublesome opponent," he said, walking contentedly away from the chasm. "I can understand why my more incompetent underlings couldn't defeat you. But it's over now; I have the Fragment, and your pesky meddling will never bother the Cobalt Order again."

"Oh? Are you sure about that?" Joshua said, his voice distantly echoing from around the room.

"What the-?!" the head of the Cobalt Order whirled around, as if expecting to see Joshua rise from the pit. However, there was no sign of him - or, at least, that was what Joshua hoped. If the head of Cobalt Order figured out what he had done, then he would truly be out of options.

But instead of feeling the pulse of Road Nowhere moving the room to expose and crush him, Joshua heard the head of the Cobalt Order briskly stalk toward the chasm, Road to Nowhere slithering by his side. Good, Joshua thought. He doesn't know where I am. That means he can't sense me through Road to Nowhere - which means Road to Nowhere can't hurt me where I am. Hopefully. "Are you still clinging to life down there?" the head of the Cobalt Order hissed furiously at the chasm. Joshua was barely listening to the contents of the threat; he was too busy trying to figure out exactly where the head of Cobalt Order was. Beside him, Imagine Dragons moved slowly and deliberately, taking care to make its work as quietly as possible - the last thing Joshua wanted was for them to be discovered when they were so close, after all.

"There's no point in struggling any longer; surely by now you must have accepted that you cannot beat my Stand," the head of the Cobalt Order continued. His tone seemed as calm it had been before, but there was still a dangerous edge in it. "I'll make your end quick now, so do me a favor and die quietly." A large pulse, the largest one yet, violently erupted from Road to Nowhere, and in an instant the chasm slammed shut. The sudden shock of the spatial disruption caused the walls around the room to vibrate, squeezing and stretching rapidly upon themselves. The floor shook as well, dragging the head of Cobalt Order and his Stand slightly closer to what had once been the edge of chasm - right where Joshua needed them to be.

"GRAAA!" The instant Joshua heard the head of the Cobalt Order pass over him, Imagine Dragons leapt up with a roar and - breaking through the severely-weakened-by-spatial-distortion floor - grabbed Road to Nowhere by its tendrils. "What the-?!" the head of the Cobalt Order exclaimed in shock as the floor around him collapsed, and he fell into the small pit Imagine Dragons had formed. "You!" he roared, noticing Joshua stand over him triumphantly. "How did you - Urk!" His words were cut off with choking sounds as Imagine Dragons yanked Road to Nowhere downward by its tendrils, crashing its main body to the ground.

"Your Stand is powerful, but it's not all-powerful," Joshua said, making sure Imagine Dragons continued to firmly clutch Road to Nowhere's tendrils. "Haven't you noticed? The stuff you distort with space becomes significantly less durable than it ordinarily is. You were so focused on my Stand's claws, but even its tail could carve out a hole in the wall big enough for us to take cover it." It had seemed completely absurd when he first considered it. He hadn't even started it intentionally; he just happened to notice that Imagine Dragons' tail had begun to dig a hole as it thrashed, and that hole wasn't getting filled like his handholds were. Even as he continued to subtly increase the hole, he had thought that there were too many problems with his plan to realistically use it. The head of the Cobalt Order could have noticed the hole, or maybe sensed it with Road to Nowhere. It was possible that by hiding in the hole, Joshua would just be walking into another trap. It wasn't until he pushed off the side of the chasm that he had been forced to dive into the hole, praying that the head of the Cobalt Order wouldn't notice him.

But he hadn't. And Joshua had survived. And now he was standing over the head of the Cobalt Order, with Imagine Dragons holding tightly to his Stand. "And now that I've got you, there's no way I'm letting you go," Joshua said, smiling. "Just try to stretch the space between us now. As long as Imagine Dragons is holding your Stand, we'll just get pulled along with you."

"Hmph," the head of the Cobalt Order snarled. "You still underestimate the power of my Stand. [Road to Nowhere]!" The Stand, which had hung limp in Imagine Dragons' claws, suddenly stiffened as a pulse ran through its tendrils. Long rods shot from both the ceiling and floor around Joshua, immobilizing him before he had time to react. Similar poles shot out around Imagine Dragons, holding the Stand in place, though it managed to keep its grip on Road to Nowhere. "I control space itself!" the head of the Cobalt Order exclaimed. "Even if you catch me, I'll just make it so you can't move! You'll never reach me again!"

Joshua continued to smile. "Maybe so," he said. "But haven't you forgotten something?" Confusion flickered across the head of the Cobalt Order's face. "Forgotten something? I haven't forgotten anything. I've won." He narrowed his eyes. "What have I forgotten?"

"Us," Alexa said, as YMCA slammed its fist into the back of the head of the Cobalt Order's skull. "Exactly," Joshua said, as Imagine Dragons effortlessly busted the poles around it. "You've been so focused on me that you forgot to maintain the distortion that kept Alexa trapped. Now you're the one with no escape." "No!" the head of the Cobalt Order cried, stumbling forward into Imagine Dragons' waiting arms. "This can't be!"

"GRA-DADADADADADADADADA!" Imagine Dragons responded with a flurry of slashes and punches across the head of the Cobalt Order's body, maintaining tight grip on Road to Nowhere. Every time a blow launched the head of the Cobalt Order backward, YMCA returned him with an equally heavy blow from behind. Caught tightly between the two Stands' assaults, the head of the Cobalt was knocked back and forth until finally, he collapsed on the ground in a bloody heap.

"It's over," Joshua sighed in relief, panting heavily. Shoot, I hope we didn't kill him, Joshua thought as he looked down at the head of the Cobalt Order's prone, profusely bleeding body. I don't know what Stan would say, but I think we want to take him in alive? I don't know how we're going to do that with his Stand power though. Before he could consider the matter any further, though, the head of the Cobalt Order's body twitched. "No escape?" the head of the Cobalt Order said weakly, struggling to lift his head. "There's always an escape...as long as I have…[Road to Nowhere]..."

"Not so fast!" Alexa shouted, as YMCA stomped its foot into the head of the Cobalt Order's body - or tried to. Before the golden Stand could touch the head of the Cobalt Order, he suddenly vanished, and the Stand's foot landed on the ground instead. At the same time, Road to Nowhere disappeared from Imagine Dragons' grasp, as did the poles holding Joshua in place. This isn't good. Where did he go? thought Joshua worriedly. As he looked around the room, Joshua realized that the pit they were standing in had gotten a lot shallower. In fact, much of the room had changed: the walls had returned to their normal dimensions and were no longer pulsing, the various poles and spikes had disappeared - in fact, except for a few destroyed pillars, several small craters in the walls across the room, and a conspicuously torn out pipe, the room looked the same as when they had entered it. It was almost as if…

"Was it all an illusion?" Alexa asked. Joshua shook his head. "No way." The twisting of space had been real; the bruises and cuts across Joshua's body were proof enough of that. "There's something else going on. But where is he hiding?" As he said this, Joshua started to move around the room, only for his legs to suddenly buckle out from underneath him, YMCA just managing to catch him before he hit the ground. "Joshua! Are you okay?" Alexa asked, rushing over to him. "You shouldn't be moving so much," she said, looking over his body. "You're really badly injured."

"No- I- Yeah, you're right," Joshua admitted, leaning against YMCA for support. Now the fight had ended and the adrenaline rush was fading, Joshua was beginning to realize just how exhausted he had become. Not only that, but all wounds on his body were really beginning to throb in pain. His entire body ached, he felt dizzy and nauseous, his head was pounding…

Wait. His head was pounding?

"I know how he's hiding himself," Joshua said, suddenly standing up with renewed clarity. Something in his mind had clicked, and now everything - even the things he hadn't even considered until now - made sense. He started to walk across the room. "Joshua, wait-" Alexa said, "your wounds-" "Are fine. I'm fine. Actually, I'm better than fine," Joshua interrupted, brushing off Alexa's concerns. The aching of his body was gone again, and Imagine Dragons was by his side. "I know how he's hidden, and I know how to find him."

"Why did the head of the Cobalt Order bring us into Road to Nowhere's world?" Joshua asked, turning back to Alexa. "Why didn't he keep shooting at us from within the walls?" Alexa looked over at YMCA perplexedly, and shrugged. "I don't know. Because you found him and dragged him out?"

"Did I though?" Joshua asked, scratching his chin. "He seemed to move really fast while he was in the walls - faster than he was in the open, even." He continued to pace around the room. "That phrasing is weird, too. Road to Nowhere's world? Assuming that means the place where Road to Nowhere distorts space, shouldn't we have been in it since we entered this building? Unless…"

Recognition flashed in Alexa's eyes. "Unless...Unless Road to Nowhere's world isn't just a place with spatial distortion," she said. "It's referring to the ability to see and interact with the distortion as well." "Exactly," Joshua replied. "Road to Nowhere doesn't just distort space - it can pick and choose who can see that distorted space as well. Right now, space is being distorted - the head of the Cobalt Order has carved out some in the wall or floor and is hiding there - we just don't see it."

Alexa crossed her arms. "So he's hiding in the walls, like he was hiding in the walls before. So what?"

So why bring us into Road to Nowhere's world in the first place?" Joshua asked. "Sure, he had more control around us when we were in Road to Nowhere's world, but he was also exposed. He seemed really bent on not getting hit, so why take that chance?" "He was cocky, I guess?" Alexa responded, more of a question than a statement. Joshua briefly paused. "Maybe, but I don't think so," he said.

"What are you getting at, Joshua?" Alexa asked. Joshua grinned. The pounding in his head was still there - a constant throb, not unlike the pulse of Road to Nowhere - so he knew was on the right track. "Imagine Dragons isn't a purely physical attack Stand, you know. It has another ability - one I haven't needed to use in a while. An indomitable willpower that overpowers the mental effects of other Stands, like Stan's fear gaze." "Wait," Alexa said slowly, the full weight of Joshua's statements dawning on her. "So you're saying…"

"Oh, he hid it well," Joshua replied, moving over toward a nearby column. "Pretending he had brought us into Road to Nowhere's world. But I don't think that's what happened at all. I think that when I was looking for the Stand user, Imagine Dragons' unconsciously activated its ability, and dragged us into Road to Nowhere's world." He stopped in front of the column, Imagine Dragons flexing its claws by his side; the pounding in his head was stronger than ever now, ready to burst. "And now, I'm going to drag you out."

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Imagine Dragons roared, plunging its arm into the pillar. As the shockwave hit the pillar, it folded outward, revealing the broken body of the head of the Cobalt Order, which Imagine Dragons immediately grabbed and slammed on the ground. The pillar refolded into itself as the tentacled staticky mass of Road to Nowhere faded away. "We got you," Joshua said, his serious tone hiding the elation he felt inside himself. They had survived! Not only that, but they had beaten and captured the head of the Cobalt Order himself! Joshua would've jumped for joy, if he hadn't been too exhausted and injured to.

"Yeah, you caught me," the head of the Cobalt Order groaned softly, not even bothering to lift his head. "I can't even move, let alone summon my Stand. Hiding in Road to Nowhere's world was my final option, and you broke through it. You beat me. So now what are you going to do?"

Joshua blinked. He hadn't actually thought about that yet; he had been too focused on not trying to die. Hadn't Stan said something about places that dealt with defeated Stand criminals? Finally, he decided to say, "Well, we can start with you telling us the names, locations, and Stand abilities of everyone in the Cobalt Order."

The head of the Cobalt Order chuckled - or at least tried to, but what came out was more like a wheeze. "Everyone? Hell if I know that, kid." "What? But…" Joshua didn't like the head of the Cobalt Order's response. Something about the entire situation was beginning to fill him with unease. "But aren't you the head of the Cobalt Order? Shouldn't you at least know all of the major points?"

The head of the Cobalt Order wheezed-chuckled even harder. "The head of the Cobalt Order? Me? The big boss? Get real, kid." "But...I thought…" Joshua's head was beginning to spin. Hadn't he said he was the head of the Cobalt Order? "I thought you were…"

"Well, you thought wrong," the not-head of the Cobalt Order taunted. Weakly raising his arm to give a salute, he said, "Augustus Cesar, head of the Cobalt Order's Sector 20, Central East Coast America, at your service. I'm no ordinary grunt, to be sure, I've earned my seat at the grown-ups table - but the big boss? Nah, nothing like that"

"No way..." Joshua said, still in disbelief at Cesar's statement. The entire fight, it was the thought that he could beat the head of the Cobalt Order that kept him going. Now, a question ran though his mind, one that he found himself too frightened to speak: if this guy, who pushed him completely to his limit, was only a subordinate, then what was the Stand of the real head like? "You're really not the head?" he asked instead.

"If I was, do you think I'd be wasting time dealing with a couple of meddling kids?" Cesar replied. "The Cobalt Order is global organization!" He started to laugh, which quickly turned into a violent, bloody cough. "That reminds me," he said after he had finished coughing, "I guess I have to try to recruit you now."

"Recruit us?" Alexa asked skeptically, crossing her arms. "Haven't you been trying to kill us this whole time?" "Yes, but now you've proven yourselves," Cesar replied. "And we always will have a place for strong Stand users like you in the Cobalt Order. Your powers could help us go a long way to achieving our goal." "And what is that?" Joshua asked. Even if Cesar wasn't the head, Joshua realized, he was still one of the Cobalt Order's higher-ups. There was probably still a lot of information they could get out of him. "What does the Cobalt Order want?"

Cesar grinned. "What else? World domination, of course."

World domination... Joshua had always sort of assumed that was their goal, but hearing those words still caught him by surprise. "Ah, but it seems our time together is over," Cesar said softly, interrupting Joshua's thoughts. "My ride is here." "What?" Joshua said, turning around just in time to see Taste of Honey pass in front of him. "Hello, Taste of Honey," Cesar said cheerfully. "Come to take me back to base?"

"No," Taste of Honey said simply, holding up the submachine gun that Cesar had dropped.

BANG! A single shot squeezed from the trigger.

Dropping the gun onto Cesar's corpse, Taste of Honey turned back to look at Joshua and Alexa, who were staring at the Stand in shock. It said nothing to them, only staring at them for a second before melting into a green puddle of slime. For a moment, absolute silence filled the room, as neither Joshua nor Alexa could find any words to say. Then that silence was abruptly broken by the sound of a ringtone coming from Joshua's pocket.

Shaken out of stupor by the ringtone, Joshua pulled the phone out of his pocket - there were several new cracks in the screen, he bitterly noticed - and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey! Joshua!" Daniel shouted. "We've managed to get out of the police station - turns out, no one actually reported us as being kidnapped. How are things on your end? Have you managed to capture Rednex?" Joshua could've laughed. That's right, we were chasing after Rednex, were his thoughts as his legs buckled from underneath him and his face rushed toward the concrete floor. As his vision faded, he heard the sound of his phone clattering against the ground. It seems like it happened so long ago...

-To Be Continued- The Cobalt Order

Stand User: Augustus Cesar

Stand Name: [Road to Nowhere]

Power: C

Speed: C

Range: B

Durability: D

Precision: B

Developmental Potential: C

Spatial Distortion: Road to Nowhere can alter the dimensions of the space around it, causing objects to stretch, flatten, and warp at its will. It can also pull objects apart to create gaps between them. Distorted objects are not actually physically changed, and are not damaged by the distortion. As such, they will continue to function as if they were not distorted, even seemingly breaking the laws of physics.

Perception Control: By default, Road to Nowhere's spatial distortions have no physical presence and cannot be perceived. However, Road to Nowhere can control who is able to perceive the spatial distortions it creates. People who cannot perceive the distortions cannot physically affect or be physically affected by the distortions, while people who can perceive the distortions can.