Chapter 13: New Found Courage
Vale Commercial District…
Joshua hammered Crimson Destiny's foot onto the roof he was on, launching himself towards Davion, who flew in his direction. Swinging his left arm, Joshua attempted to stab Davion with Lightning Dust while Crimson Destiny attacked.
Upon seeing this, Davion countered with an arm made of wind blocking Crimson Destiny's arm before creating a gust of wind to blow Joshua away. Acting quickly, Joshua used Crimson Destiny to cover his fall as he crashed into the building he was standing on.
"Trying to use Dust, I see. Smart but someone without proper training on how to use it like Huntsmen and Huntresses can't effectively use them." Davion chuckled.
Davion landed on the edge of the hole that Joshua made from the impact and cleared the dust that filled the room with wind. Busting out of the debris that covered him, Joshua proceeded to break apart the stone that covered him into small pebbles and launched them at Davion.
The Brando jumped into the air before commanding the wind to send the pebbles back into the building. To avoid the small rocks that came back at him, Joshua crashed through a window and landed in an alleyway.
"Nowhere to run!" Davion shouted as he created a large blade of wind and threw it down at Joshua.
Joshua thinking on his feet, smashed the ground and dropped into the sewer, just managing to avoid the blade of wind. Knocking open a manhole, Joshua jumped back out before grabbing onto the manhole and hurled it at Davion.
Due to how hard it was thrown and the weight and speed, Davion had to dodge over, sending it back as it embedded itself in a nearby building. While the fight continued, Team RWBY watched in awe as Joshua avoided the attacks of wind.
Scotty took shelter in a nearby alley out of eyeshot of the fighting Stand Users but not of the huntresses in training. Without having to discuss with one another, the team leaped into action as Yang and Ruby went to Scotty while Weiss and Ruby decided to help Joshua.
Davion continued his attacks keeping Joshua on the defensive, having to constantly move around to avoid his attacks. Suddenly before Davion could send another attack, his right arm froze, unable to move. He turned to see a black spinning symbol locking his arm in place.
ド
ド
ド
ド
"The fu-" Davion began, but he was interrupted when a larger symbol appeared above him, sending him into the ground.
"What the hell?" Joshua questioned as he looked at Davion, who was stuck in the ground.
"Hi, Mr. Joestar!" Ruby called out as she pointed the barrel of Crescent Rose at Davion while Weiss held him in place.
"What are you two doing?" Joshua asked.
"You clearly needed help, and as huntresses in training, we can't just ignore something like this," Weiss explained.
"While it was clever to pin him down like this, showing yourself was a bad move, now get away from him!" Joshua ordered.
"But we've already apprehended him." Ruby pointed out.
But just as she said that did the wind pick up and threw Ruby into a nearby car, and several blades went towards Weiss in hopes to end the Glyph holding Davion in place. Weiss couldn't move out of the way in time as the attack came right at her.
ゴ
ゴ
ゴ
ゴ
Just as the attack would have hit her, Joshua launched himself forward with his Stand's assistance and pushed her out of the way. The attack hit Joshua instead, dealing severe damage to his aura and sending him against the exterior of a building breaking off a good chunk.
Weiss slowly got up and looked at Joshua, perplexed at why he moved so fast to help her, but before she could even say anything, more attacks came at her. Acting quickly this time, Weiss blocked the attack by creating a wall of ice.
"Hey, little Miss Schnee, how about make this easy and let me go before I have to hurt you," Davion advised.
"I'm not afraid of you!" Weiss declared.
"Oh, you should be. Because I know that everyone has a weakness and that there are more ways to hurt someone than physical damage." Davion smirked maliciously.
Suddenly more wind attacks came, but this time not at Weiss. These went towards Ruby. Weiss was shocked by this and quickly made another Glyph to get her out of the way. As she did this, she was unaware of the secondary attacks sent her way, knocking her down and damaging her aura.
Due to her loss of concentration, the Glyph that held Davion down disappeared, freeing him. Davion got back up and stretched out, and cracked his neck before breaking apart the ice Weiss created. Seeing Ruby and Weiss on the ground still recovering from the attack, he turned his attention to Joshua.
But Joshua was not where he had left him, and before he could question where he went, he felt a strong fist connect to his cheek. The attack sent him tumbling away as Joshua ran after Davion to continue attacking the Stand User.
Nearby…
"Hey, are you okay?" Blake asked as she and Yang approached Scotty.
"AH!" Scotty screamed as he crawled away from Blake and Yang.
"Hey, it's okay. We're not going to hurt you!" Yang assured.
"Just leave me alone! I just want to be left alone!" Scotty cried.
"Does she have some damage?" Yang whispered to Blake to only receive an elbow in the ribs.
"Don't be scared. We're huntresses in training. We can help you." Blake explained.
"N-N-No one can help me…no one c-c-can stop them." Scotty stammered.
"What did they do to him?" Yang wondered.
"They did say the institution tortured the patients." Blake reminded.
"Probably enough to do…this," Blake added as she gestured to Scotty, who still cowered from them.
"No wonder they have so many people following them. I mean, if he's so scared of them, then no doubt everyone is just as terrified as him." Yang replied as she noticed a comic the boy dropped.
"What's this?" Yang wondered as she picked the comic up.
The comic Scotty had dropped was a popular series about a time-traveling man who could change faces and traveled in a box. Yang remembered it because, unlike most comics this one, the hero never used violence or fought.
Instead, he used his brain to take down the enemy, which made it very popular. Though she didn't really enjoy it, she had many friends back in Signal that did. Upon looking at it then back at Scotty, she had an idea.
"Hey, is this yours?" Yang asked as she slowly approached Scotty.
"Y-Yes." Scotty stuttered as he took the comic from Yang.
"Do you like comics?" Yang inquired as Scotty gave her a nod.
"That's cool. My little sister also likes comics. I bet you two would get along great." Yang stated, trying to get the boy to open up.
"If you come with us, we can get you somewhere safe and away from the fight," Yang suggested.
"There's nowhere safe," Scotty muttered as he clutched the comic close to his chest.
"You don't know that," Blake replied.
"You haven't seen what they can do and the power they have at their disposal. They can get you no matter where you are." Scotty refuted.
"But don't you also have powers to defend yourself?" Blake inquired.
"I'm nothing. I'm part of the lower ranks out there." Scotty responded.
"Anyone can beat me in a fight. All I'm good for is running away." Scotty added.
"Hey, you don't know that. Maybe you can do a lot more with your Stand than you expect. You just need to use it the right way." Yang encouraged as she heard the fight and went to peak.
"Ruby!" Yang called as she ran to her sister's side.
"Yang, wait!" Blake called back before realizing it was pointless.
"We'll be back, but stay safe and stay strong. It may be scary, but by the way, it looks. You're not alone anymore. You've got Joshua Joestar and the others." Blake assured Scotty as she left.
Scotty watched her as she left, and as she turned the corner, he looked at the ground. At the end of his feet in the middle of the alley was a puddle. He stared at the puddle or, more specifically, at his reflection.
In his reflection, he saw his dirty blonde hair under his baseball cap and his dark green eyes. He cried because he just wanted to go away and just be left alone once more. As he cried, his eyes landed on his comic.
It was the newest issue, and before he was taken to the institution, it was his favorite comic series. Scotty never liked fighting and seeing someone able to save the world with their smarts. Hoping to escape the current moment for even a second, he opened it up to where he left off and saw a quote from the main character.
"Courage isn't a matter of not being frightened, you know. It's being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway." Scotty read.
"Being afraid and doing the right thing anyway," Scotty murmured as he remembered what Joshua had said.
"Of course I'm scared. It's only natural to be scared when in danger. But I refuse to give up. No matter how hard it gets or how impossible my goal may be…."
"I refuse to sit and do nothing as the people behind the institution hurt innocent people." Joshua had said.
Suddenly he felt a strong gust of wind as a result from the battle on the main street as people began to wake up and run away screaming. It may only be a comic, but for the longest time when Scotty was alone at home, those were all he had.
It made him feel safe in the dangerous world, and any words in a comic to him were very important. He looked at the end of the alley seeing Yang get thrown away while Blake threw her Gambol Shroud to catch her partner.
!
"Being afraid and doing what you have to anyway," Scotty repeated as he put away the comic and slowly stood up, remembering the scariest moment of his life.
Several Years Prior Northern Vale…
Scotty, who was about five years old, sat in his room enjoying the latest issue of his favorite comic. His father had gotten it for him for being good and doing his chores and to make sure the boy could still enjoy himself even though they were in a secluded area and no neighbors his age.
Though Scotty didn't mind this as he was mostly an introvert anyway and preferred the world of comics over the bleak world that was his own reality. It also took his mind off of his parent's worries over him and his…condition.
That was what they called it, at least as they couldn't tell what was wrong with him exactly, and Scotty still didn't understand the problem. He was able to see a balloon animal that took the shape of a human that was able to inflate any and all things like balloons.
His parents believed it was just his semblance and that the figure was just some hallucination, but Scotty knew it was real. He could touch the figure whenever it was around, and it could interact with anything it touched.
But every doctor they visited insisted that it was all in his head, especially the latest ones that seemed really interested in what he had to say. If he remembered correctly, the doctor was from a place called brandy or something.
Scotty didn't really remember much of it as the session was far shorter compared to all the others, but Scotty liked that because they were all pretty boring. He stopped thinking about that when he finished his comic and decided to get a snack.
The boy got up and walked to his door to ask his mother if she could make him something, but when he did, he heard something odd. Placing his ear on his door, he heard several bangs and crashes on the other side as well as muffled voices.
It made Scotty nervous as he moved back from the door and questioned if he should even go out. In the end, he convinced himself that it had to be in his head as he slowly opened the door. When he exited his room, he was met with an empty living room and a quiet house.
"Mom? Dad?" Scotty called to no response.
"Hello?" Scotty called again, still getting no response as he walked into the living room.
He noticed that the living room was a mess as several things were tossed on the ground and broken. Scotty began to panic as he looked around for his parents first by going into the kitchen, where he saw his mother standing by the counter facing away from him.
"Mom, what happened to the living room?" Scotty inquired as his mother remained silent.
"Mom?" Scotty asked as he approached his mother.
When he got close, he noticed she was absolutely still not moving an inch. She wasn't even breathing as Scotty approached her. As he touched her arm, it was dead cold, and when he did touch her, her head snapped three-sixty degrees, and she looked at him.
Her face was in a frozen state of shock and looked as if all the heat from her body suddenly vacated. Scotty screamed in terror as her body fell down on top of him, forcing him to the ground. The boy squirmed under his mother's deceased body before he finally got out.
He crawled to a nearby corner and shook tremendously, terrified at the sight of his mother's deceased corpse. That was when he heard footsteps nearby, and assuming it was his father, Scotty ran to the source and grabbed onto the source.
"DAD, SOMETHING HAPPENED TO MOM!" Scotty cried.
But he noticed that just like his mother, his father was not moving or breathing when he touched him. Taking a step back, he noticed his father was just like his mother, a deceased corpse that had all the heat in his body taken away.
Scotty trembled in fear as his father's body fell at his feet and revealed the man who was behind him. The man was tall, at least six foot two, and had dark blue hair and a sinister grin. His hands glowed and seemed to release cold air.
"Hey there, kid, I'm here to take you to a special place." The Man stated as he slowly approached Scotty, who backed away until he hit the counter.
"What did you do to my Mom and Dad?" Scotty questioned as tears flowed uncontrollably from his eyes.
"What did I do? I killed them, obviously." The Man laughed.
"Or is death a new concept for you? I never did learn how old you were, but I have to assume you are around six or seven." The Man added.
"Oh well, whatever doesn't matter." The Man chuckled as he approached Scotty, who crawled away further.
But the Man just placed his right hand on the ground causing a string of ice to go towards Scotty and encase the boy in ice. That was the last thing Scotty remembered before waking up in the institution and beginning the worst years of his life.
Present Time…
Scotty still shook when he remembered that day. The faces of his dead parents are etched in his mind. But if Joshua could still fight and move forward, then maybe he could too. He made his way slowly to the end of the alley and watched as Davion stood before Joshua and Team RWBY.
Taking deep breaths, he saw several chunks of debris nearby and summoned his Stand to lift them up and over Davion. As he did this, Joshua had a premonition of Scotty's plan and stopped his next attack to allow Scotty to take Davion by surprise.
Earlier Outside of Alley…
As Yang ran to her sister, Joshua went to attack Davion again, but he was shot up straight into the air by Davion's Stand. He was immediately shot back down to the ground by a secondary gust of wind, and he hit the ground hard.
As Davion picked himself back up before he could even dust himself off, Yang came charging at him with her left arm raised. Davion didn't even look in her direction as he created a powerful burst of wind, sending Yang flying away.
Blake managed to throw her Gambol Shroud to catch Yang and sling her right back at Davion, who still paid her no mind. Before she could even get close, another gust of wind sent her into the ground, just like Joshua.
"Get lost your annoyed, you pest," Davion demanded.
"Your fight is with me, not her, so leave her alone," Joshua stated as he picked himself up.
He then took out a fire dust crystal and tossed it into his Stand's hand. Crimson Destiny crushed the crystal in between its two palms setting its palms ablaze. Joshua's own hands began turning red, and began smoking.
"Risky, I like it!" Davion smirked as Joshua charged at Davion.
Joshua punched at Davion with Crimson Destiny, but the enemy Stand User pushed each attack back with a strong gust of wind. As they fought, Blake aimed the barrel of Gambol Shroud at Davion to shoot him.
But Davion could tell this and knocked her away just as the rest of her team began to get up. Turning his attention back to Joshua, he ducked under a fiery punch from Crimson Destiny. Spinning around, Davion used his momentum to create a blade of wind.
Joshua blocked the attack with Crimson Destiny, but the blade bruised his arms, almost cutting them and put out the flames. Davion then jumped up and raised his left palm in the air and chopped down, sending another blade at Joshua.
To protect himself, Joshua grabbed a chuck of the road and used it to shield himself from the blade. Joshua jumped into the air with the help of Crimson Destiny and grabbed onto Davion, flipping him over to slam him into the ground.
"Come on, do you really think this will work?" Davion asked as he used the wind to soften their fall, allowing them to lightly touch down on the ground.
"Now, if you excuse me, I'm not a bottom," Davion smirked as he used his Stand to launch Joshua off of him.
When Davion got up, he was suddenly encased in ice. He turned and noticed Team RWBY, who had recovered and ready to rejoin the fight. Davion just rolled his eyes and easily freed himself with his Stand.
"This doesn't involve you. If you continue to interfere. I'll kill you all in an instant." Davion threatened as wind gathered around him in a small twister.
ゴ
ゴ
ゴ
ゴ
"As huntresses in training, we can't ignore when something bad is happening!" Ruby declared.
"Really? You feel like you have to fight me out of some moral sense of duty?" Davion questioned.
"This is why I hate this whole system," Davion muttered.
"Weaklings like you…." Davion began as he raised his right hand, pointing his index finger to the sky.
"Need to properly learn their place," Davion stated as the wind became catastrophic in the street.
It became like a hurricane as everything not bolted down to the ground, such as cars, glass, debris, and mailboxes, flew around. Ruby embedded Crescent Rose into the ground to hold her into place as Blake and Yang grabbed hold, and this was helped with Weiss using Glyphs to hold the rest of the team down.
Davion, who was the only person unaffected by the wind, slowly walked towards them, keeping his hand up. Team RWBY was barely holding themselves in place as Ruby's grip began to slip and Weiss's Glyphs were starting to flicker, weakening with each passing second.
"So what are you going to do now?" Davion questioned over the roar of the wind.
"How are you going to fight me if you can't even touch me?" Davion laughed as he stopped in front of Team RWBY.
He looked at how they were holding on, and seeing their aura's about to break, he could have just waited it out. But he decided to end it so he could return to fighting Joshua. Davion raised his hand and aimed at Weiss, who held everyone together with her glyphs.
"The Schnee goes first," Davion smirked as he prepared to kill Weiss.
ゴ
ゴ
ゴ
ゴ
"I SAID YOUR FIGHT IS WITH ME!" Joshua shouted.
He came flying towards Davion, using the wind to his advantage. Crimson Destiny held a light pole and knocked Davion into a nearby store. As he did this, the wind stopped allowing Team RWBY some rest.
"I…was not expecting that," Blake stated as she gasped for air.
"T-T-That's the real power of a S-S-Stand." Ruby stuttered as she fell to her knees.
"It's okay to feel scared. Stands have terrifying power. So please leave. I don't want you getting hurt in this battle." Joshua insisted.
"But how are you going to fight him?" Weiss questioned as Joshua turned to face her.
"Don't know. His Stand is strong. Honestly, I'm just making this up as I go on. I need to think on my toes and act quickly so I can take any advantages I can get." Joshua explained.
"How long, though, before things catch up with you, though? You look terrible!" Weiss pointed out.
It was true as all of Team RWBY looked at Joshua's bruised cut-up body and his severely burned hands. Not only that, but it was obvious that his aura was broken a long time ago, and he was running on fumes.
ド
ド
ド
ド
"Don't know. But if I give up, I'll never forgive myself." Joshua replied as he fiddled with Lailah's bracelet and prepared himself for Davion's next attack.
It came when he burst from the store and landed across the five of them. He had a black eye that was slowly being healed by his aura that had taken little to no damage in this whole fight. Davion cracked his neck before stretching out a bit as he got ready for the fight.
"Not bad, JoJo. I honestly wasn't expecting that. While your Stand is a Star Brand, it doesn't fight like one. But you make it up impressively with your ingenuity." Davion complimented.
"But if you're clearly at the end of your rope, so unless you're hiding your Stand's true power, I'll end this fight," Davion stated.
"My Stand doesn't have a secret power. All it does is allow me to see a little bit in the future whenever I need it." Joshua replied.
"It helps a lot for strategy, especially now," Joshua smirked, confusing Davion.
"I'm sorry, what are you talking abou…." Davion began until he heard several pops come from above him.
He looked up to see several chunks of debris fall down from overhead straight onto him. When they hit, they planted Davion in the ground, severely damaging his aura. From behind him, Scotty shook, frightened as he prepared more debris by turning them into inflatables.
"Good job, Scotty, that was smart." Joshua praised as he unhooked a vile of Ice Dust from his belt.
Just as he did, Davion blew the debris off of him, not happy with the last attack. After spitting out blood, he surrounded the two in a small twister, separating them from the others. When he did, Joshua took the cap off of the vial.
"Tell me do you think you'll be able to hit me with that powder before I blow it away?" Davion questioned.
"I'll use whatever at my disposal to win," Joshua stated as he tossed the vial at the wall of wind allowing the powder to pour out and be thrown around by the wind.
Suddenly the powder, in reaction to the high speeds it was thrown around at, and the contact with several solid objects, several shards of ice began to form. Joshua then charged at Davion to push him into the sharp ice.
Davion scoffed as he pushed Joshua back and avoided the sharp ice. He then made the wind that carried all the ice gather above them before descending on Joshua. Dozens of ice shards threatened to pierce him in the back.
With his aura exhausted, Joshua would be unable to sustain the hit and continue fighting. So instead, he used Crimson Destiny to kick up, propelling him and Davion, who he held onto tight up into the air.
!
Joshua then flipped over, holding Davion above him, forcing Davion to take the hit instead of Joshua, which severely damaged the man's aura. In retaliation, Davion broke free of Joshua's grip and sent the man to the ground.
As Davion landed softly on the ground, Joshua slowly got up, shaking the entire way. Team RWBY and Scotty looked at the sight of the two in shock, not knowing what to do. While Team RWBY could attempt to attack Davion again, the man proved that he could easily counter them.
But it didn't stop them from trying as Ruby, Blake, and Yang fired at Davion, who changed the direction of the bullet with the wind. He then sent an attack back, but Weiss covered them in a small dome of ice to protect them.
Scotty, on the other hand, had an idea. One where he didn't have to attack Davion directly, and he could help defeat him. The boy slowly approached Joshua and unhooked a vial of Lightning Powder, and got to work.
"Not bad, but that was risky. Honestly, now I think you might just be stupid." Davion chuckled as Joshua fell to his knees.
"Oh, are you spent?" Davion questioned as he looked at the exhausted Joshua, who was about to lose consciousness.
"Not yet," Joshua stated as he struggled to get back up on his feet.
"Really? Are you just going to act all tough I mean, come on, it's obvious that you're about to pass out?" Davion laughed.
"I honestly hate people who act like that," Davion muttered as he approached Joshua.
But as he did, an inflated chunk of road hit his head. It didn't hurt. It was just a surprise as Davion turned to see more surround him. He turned to see Scotty looking nervous as Davion scoffed in response.
"What was that supposed to do?" Davion questioned as Scotty began to sweat nervously.
"They can't even hit me properly like this!" Davion laughed as he looked at the sparkly chunks around him.
"…Wait…" Davion thought as he inspected the chunks closer.
"Is that…" Davion began as he noticed yellow powder in the chunks.
Yes, indeed it was Davion realized as he saw lightning dust inside the balloons! Scotty had made balls of concrete with the debris around him and slowly added the dust to make his own airborne minefield!
"Oh shit," Davion murmured as Scotty hurled a pebble, popping one of his inflatable rocks.
As one popped, it ignited the Lightning Dust powder inside, causing it to shoot out and pop another and another. Soon everyone around Davion ignited, and as if lightning struck, everyone present was blinded by the light as all the energy hit Davion.
ド
ド
ド
ド
In that instant, Davion's aura shattered, and the energy burnt several parts of his body, putting him to the ground. When the dust settled, Davion was severely injured and coughing up a storm as he laid on his back.
"Well *COUGH* shit…I wasn't expecting that." Davion coughed as he picked himself up.
"Looks like I underestimated you, kid. I didn't think you would be the one to put me like this." Davion chuckled.
"Well then, I know when to quit, and I'd rather not get any more injured than I already am. Plus, I just got these clothes." Davion began.
"I'll see you again, JoJo, but next time, I'll make sure it's a one on one." Davion continued as he floated into the air.
"Oh, and one more thing before I go. The woman who stole the arrow from you now has a Stand. So you may want to watch out for her because she may just come looking for you." Davion warned.
Just as he finished, he vanished from sight, and Joshua collapsed unconscious. Team RWBY helped Scotty roll him over as Richard and Max finally arrived. They looked at the scene in awe as they ran to Joshua.
"Shit, what the hell happened?" Max inquired.
"A Stand User came and attacked us. He said his name was Davion Brando." Scotty answered.
"Brando?" Richard questioned as Scotty gave him a nod.
"Damn, looks like the guy was strong, but thankfully it doesn't look like his injuries are serious. I should be able to treat him." Max said as he and Richard picked Joshua up
"Wait, are you sure he doesn't need a hospital?" Ruby asked.
"Don't worry, he just needs to rest. I can take care of it." Max responded.
"You guys should get some rest too. Looks like he did a number on you guys as well." Max suggested.
"We'll be fine, just need rest," Blake replied.
"Good. Also, you guys might want to leave before the blame of the damage gets put on you." Richard encouraged as they left for the warehouse.
"He makes a good point, but we should check to make sure no one nearby is hurt," Yang suggested.
"Good idea, we should at least help someone today." Ruby agreed.
"But after this…I think we should start training extra hard! Not just for the Vytal Festival but in case we ever have to fight a Stand User too!" Ruby suggested.
"Your right. Back there, we didn't really help much. Honestly, if it wasn't for Joshua Joestar, we may have been killed or seriously injured when Davion Brando attacked us." Weiss concurred.
"Alright, help people today. Train tomorrow." Blake stated as they split up to look for anyone injured that could not run from the fight.
Hours Later…
Max walked down from the upper floor of the warehouse after finishing cleaning Joshua's burns. Richard was being helped by Scotty to bring in some furniture they had picked up while Max treated Joshua.
"How's he doing?" Richard inquired.
"He's fine, but this fight is just another wake-up call. Along with our fight today, this makes eight Stand Users we had to fight since arriving in Vale two weeks ago." Max began.
"We need a break so we can properly recuperate, or else we'll die. Plus, we need to get stronger." Max continued.
"There is another Stand User out there that was following Joshua and Scotty, but Davion Brando seemed to beat him to the punch." Max finished.
"True. But how do we do that beyond proper exercise?" Richard asked as he placed a box for a table on the ground.
"Well, we do need to properly master our Stands to the fullest extent. I mean, you only recently got yours, and you're still figuring out how to work it." Max pointed out.
"That's true." Richard agreed.
"So, what's the plan?" Richard questioned.
"Tomorrow, you go to the hospital and convince Elton Jobe to join us while I take care of Joshua and clean this place up with Scotty, then we'll go from there," Max explained.
"Wait, why do I have to go and convince him I was the one who put him in the hospital, remember?" Richard asked.
"Which is why you need to do it. He won't join us if he can't put any issues with you aside." Max answered.
"Fine." Richard sighed.
"So, how are you doing, Scotty?" Max asked as he crouched to Scotty's level.
"Fine…a bit scarred from what happened earlier," Scotty answered.
"Good to hear. If you need to talk, we're here." Max smiled.
"Okay…thanks." Scotty thanked.
"I just…don't want to be scared anymore," Scotty added.
"You've already taken the first step. If you want to stick with us and help, we'll get you there." Richard assured as Scotty looked at the two men.
He saw kindness in their eyes, something he had not seen in so many years since his parents were murdered by the Stand User. It caused him to break down in tears as Richard and Max comforted the boy.
Elsewhere…
Davion groaned as he laid down on top of a building's roof. He held an ice pack on his chest where his worst burn was as he stared at the stars above. As he did, he could hear footsteps come up to him. He took a look to see Viola above him.
"You look like shit." Viola teased.
"Really? Because I feel great!" Davion replied as he stood up.
"Joshua Joestar put up a better fight than I thought, and he wasn't exactly alone. I'm going to have to get him alone next time." Davion stated.
"I see," Viola smirked.
"Well, I'll take my time before I make my move then. I don't want you getting mad at me for killing your mission." Viola said.
"Plus, some rouges attacked my targets. It seems that many Stand Users are going to try to take out our targets to move up in the world." Viola added.
"Let them try," Davion replied.
"Hopefully, it will bring out the true power of his Stand," Davion murmured as he walked to the building's edge.
"What do you mean when you say that?" Viola inquired.
"I believe there is more to Joshua Joestar's Stand than even he knows. My father believes so too." Davion began.
"After all, we have Stands that can give us insights on other Stands but not their full nature, and Joshua Joestar's Stand is something very special." Davion continued.
"His Stand is similar to my father's. Well, in one aspect, at least in theory, and that is why I was pushing JoJo so far. To see if it was right." Davion finished.
"And?" Viola asked.
"Inconclusive. It looks like it was wrong, but he wasn't alone. Next time when I have him all to myself, I'll get the answer I seek." Davion smirked.
The Next Day…
In a local park in Vale, a lone girl played with her pink dollhouse. It seemed that everyone else present in the park actively tried to avoid her all save one person. A man who flipped a coin in his hand, and when it landed on the ordinary head, he approached her.
"Aren't you sad being alone?" Faust inquired as the little girl turned to face him.
"No, I have lots of friends to play with. But you're the first person to willingly approach me like this." The Girl responded.
"Do you want to play?" The Girl asked as she extended her dollhouse. Faust made a quick flip of his coin, and it came up as the reaper.
"No thanks." Faust declined.
"Boo. I wanted to add you as a new friend." The Girl pouted as she opened her dollhouse to reveal several little doll-sized people.
ゴ
ゴ
ゴ
ゴ
Several ran from her sight. Others just cowered in fear. With a sadistic smile, she grabbed a nearby Beatle and placed it inside the dollhouse watching as it roamed around and the people ran. When she got bored, she closed the dollhouse and turned her attention back to Faust.
"So what do you want? Most know of my ability, so they avoid me. But not you." The Girl questioned.
"I have a proposition for you, and if you accept. You'll have much more friends to play with." Faust answered.
"I'm listening." The Girl smiled.
Vale Hospital…
"Shit, this isn't going to be fun." Richard sighed as he stood outside the room that contained Elton Jobe. He knocked on the door, and a nurse opened it to answer him.
"Can I help you, sir?" The Nurse asked.
"Yes, can Elton Jobe receive visitors?" Richard inquired.
"He can. May I ask who you are?" The Nurse requested.
"A friend," Richard replied.
"Can I please have a name?" The Nurse insisted.
"Richard Speedwagon," Richard answered.
"Thank you. You have twenty minutes for your visit." The Nurse replied.
"Gotcha," Richard said as he moved past the nurse and into the room.
By the window was the bed Elton Jobe sat on. The man didn't even turn to look at Richard. Instead, he looked at the cloudy sky the blocked the sun. It took Richard a few minutes before he finally spoke to Elton.
"Hi, Elton or Mr. Jobe or…whatever. You might remember me or might not, but I'm…" Richard began before Elton interrupted him.
"Your Richard Speedwagon. I remember. You were the one that put me in here." Elton stated.
"Yeah, that's uh…that's me." Richard sighed.
"But in a way, you did help me. Honestly, the kind words about my music opened my heart again, something I closed a long time ago." Elton replied.
"Oh…uh, that's nice," Richard commented.
"So why have you come to visit me? Not that I'm complaining there's nothing to do here, and it's been cloudy all day." Elton inquired.
"I'm here because we need your help." Richard began.
"My help? In your crusade against Brando?" Elton questioned.
"Yeah. We need all the help we can get to do the job." Richard responded.
"And you expect me to help you?" Elton asked.
"MMMMaaaabyyyeee," Richard responded though he stretched the word out.
"You don't really have confidence in this, do you?" Elton questioned.
"I mean, I think you can help. It's just…I don't think you want to work with…me," Richard explained.
"Oh, please, just because you beat me? Don't worry about it. I don't care about that." Elton replied.
"Thank the gods." Richard sighed in relief.
"So what's your answer?" Richard asked as Elton returned to looking out the window.
"Do you guys have a permanent place to stay in Vale yet?" Elton inquired.
"Yes," Richard responded.
"Then I'll do in on two conditions," Elton stated.
"Okay…what are they?" Richard asked.
"I get to decorate, and I can bring in a piano to play." Elton declared.
"Really? That's it?" Richard questioned.
"Yes," Elton responded.
"That's all you want from us to fight against Brando?" Richard asked.
"Yep," Elton answered.
"Wow. Then…deal." Richard replied.
"But why is that all?" Richard asked.
"The people at Brando were always dicks. I think hanging around you guys would be more fun. Plus, life would be easier with them gone." Elton explained.
"Fair enough," Richard said.
"So when are you due to get out?" Richard inquired.
"Two days," Elton answered.
"Good, I'll see you then." Richard smiled as he left.
"Hope this place they got has a good view of the sky. But then again, light pollution is a bitch." Elton thought as he looked back out the window.
Beacon…
Team RWBY currently resided in the combat arena of Beacon training with both each other and training bots. They had been at it for several hours as their friends, Team JNPR, watched them from the stands.
"Hey, guys, aren't you going to be taking a break soon?" Jaune asked.
"Nope!" Ruby answered.
"Are you sure because you've been training for like six hours straight, and it's not overly good for you?" Pyrrha inquired.
"Yeah, and I mean, I know the Vytal Festival is coming up but still!" Nora agreed.
"This isn't just about the festival," Blake replied as she jumped over a training bot and cut it in half.
"Then what exactly is this about?" Ren questioned.
"It's kind of complicated," Yang responded.
"I mean, we have time." Jaune pointed out as Team RWBY looked at each other.
"Should we tell them?" Ruby asked.
"I mean, they are our friends, and this Stand stuff seems to be increasing in volume as of late," Weiss replied.
"Alright, let's do it." Blake agreed.
"Okay, we'll take a break and explain everything," Yang stated as they all got together, and Team RWBY explained everything to Team JNPR.
"So there's this place that gives people special powers that are superior to semblances and force everyone there to join?" Nora questioned.
"That's what we know, yeah," Ruby replied.
"I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your brother Weiss." Pyrrha apologized.
"Thanks, it's fine. I don't remember him much anyway, sadly." Weiss replied.
"So your training this hard to make up for how powerful Stands are?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah, you should have seen the guy yesterday. It was…intense." Yang said as she explained the events of the day prior.
"Wow." Nora gasped.
"Now that I think about it, maybe it was him that killed the remaining Grimm around us during the breach." Weiss theorized.
"Yeah, it was like the wind killed them all." Ruby agreed.
"I see why your training so hard. Having to go against that must have been hard." Ren admitted.
"Do you mind if we train with you?" Jaune asked.
"I mean, if more of these Stand Users show up, we should all be ready for it," Jaune added.
"Sure, the more, the merrier!" Ruby exclaimed.
"But just a note, wouldn't it be more efficient to train with those friendly Stand Users you talked about?" Ren asked as everyone stared at him.
"Why didn't we think about that!" Ruby cried.
"I don't know. I don't think they would want us around." Blake stated.
"Couldn't hurt to try, right?" Pyrrha asked.
"I guess not," Weiss replied.
"Wait, do we even know where they live?" Yang questioned.
"Oh…right…" Ruby sighed.
===To Be Continued===
Next Time…A Day Off
Author's Note:
Finally done! I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out, especially when I was writing Scotty's decision to help. If you didn't notice, the comic and quote were references to Doctor Who, one of my favorite shows.
I honestly didn't plan on quoting it, but when I was making the reference, I decided to look up if there was a quote about courage I could use, and there was. It fit really well, and I decided screw it and used it, and I'm glad I did.
The quote was from the original run of Doctor Who, and it makes me want to watch it as I have only watched the newer one until Capaldi. Anyway, the fight in here was definitely one of my favorites to write, especially when I wrote the part where Scotty beat Davion.
Next chapter, I'm going to try to write something without a fight in it which hopefully, I'll be able to do that more often. I hope to really dive into Joshua's character next time so that he's not just the tough guy main character.
Besides that, I wanted to say I created an AO3 account and cross-posted this story. I plan on cross-posting most of my stories eventually, but I'm experimenting with this story first. Just wanted to let you all know now onto the review.
Reviews:
DeathlyJazzHands55 – I had to double-check myself when I noticed you changed your name. That caught me off guard, lol. Anyway, I'm glad you loved the Dio and JoJo part of last chapter, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.
That's all I've got for today. See you guys next time!