Though the Multiversal Steel Ball Run is a transcontinental horse race held by a reality bender, the competition still felt pretty grounded in the eyes of the racers. That will change, as the existence of a special factor in the race will make it all clear to them.
"Ready… Set…" The Golden Voice counted down as everyone hopped onto their horses. "...Go!"
The second stage, Across The Arizona Desert, has begun, and the racers begin their second sprint. This time, instead of blitzing to get ahead of the others, everyone is moving away from each other and begin to spread in a fan like formation to reduce risk of a battle so early on.
"Well. This might make things easier." Owen comments on the behavior of the other racers.
"Should we worry about Izzy? She's running by herself and is going her own way." Millie asked.
"Don't worry. She can handle herself well. She might've even surpassed Chef, right?" Gwen wasn't too worried.
"Of course." Owen stated.
"Well then. Let's speed up! I can see the huntress up ahead!" Priya yelled.
"Right!" Everyone else in the group began to follow suit.
An Hour Later…
Mirage, Rampart, Octane and Wattson were seen currently riding fast through the sandy dunes.
"So, Silva, is there any reason why you've decided to come with us for a change?" Mirage asked.
"Do you see us? We've been stripped of our weapons and shields since the race has started." Octane stated. "And do you see everyone else? Some of those bastards have supernatural abilities, for goodness sake."
"I'm in agreement. It's better we stick together especially since we have a lack of gear." Wattson added.
"Well, I don't care what Silva does. As long as I get my Shiela back, we'll all be good." Rampart stated.
Then seemingly on command, two rifts open up in the sky and release two care packages a good distance from one another.
"Well I'll be. I guess my wishes were heard." Rampart commented on this coincidence.
"Vamonos! Other's might've saw the rifts open! Let's go!" Octane immediately began to charge for the care package.
"Wait! Don't run off again!" Wattson yelled out.
"Yeah, I think we should follow. I see a couple racers down south." Mirage stated.
"Oh shit, you're right!" Rampart exclaimed.
"Wait up, Octane!" Mirage yelled out as the group began to near the care package.
Aloy hopped off her horse and proceded around a sand dune with caution. She was also nearby when the two care packages appeared and has heard some commotion ahead of her.
"I don't think I should engage in combat yet. This is too early in the race for anyone to be willing to fight." Aloy stated as she activates her Focus.
Immediately after activating her second sight, Aloy spots five people next to the care package on the other side of the dune. Unsure about the encounter because of their number advantage, Aloy cautiously sticks to stealth as she approaches the care package.
As the huntress looms around the sand dune, she gets a good look at the group who has begun looting the care package. The Tekken fighters were stocking up on their supplies, and luckily for them, the supplies found in the care package were something more modern.
"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Paul exclaimed as he takes out some pistols.
"Now keep in mind, I opened this care package with rations in mind, so there isn't much ammo to go around." Asuka stated. "Only use the firearms if you really have to."
"I guess that makes sense." Xiaoyu stated. "Come on, it won't be long until someone else arrives."
"Huh? What's this?" Law exclaimed as he grabs something from inside the pile.
Aloy eagerly payed attention as the group approached Law as he took out what he found. A similar arrow that Aloy had acquired an hour ago.
"What?" Aloy silently exclaimed in confusion.
"An arrow? Hmph. I thought we're ditching the bow and arrow, schtick." Lili raised an eyebrow at this. "Which is why I should've opened the care package."
"This isn't my idea." Asuka exclaimed. "Besides, if I thought of getting arrows, I would get one's I'm familiar with, like for modern archery. I don't recognise anything about this arrow."
"It looks like something from medieval times, ain't it?" Paul asked. "But why is there only one?"
"I guess it must be something the Golden Voice added. The special factor, I suppose?" Lili gave her two cents on the matter.
"Well, I guess we better store this." Asuka stated. "We better leave quickly. Like Xiaoyu said, it won't be long until another one arrives."
As the Tekken group were packing up their items to leave, Aloy was seen attaching a special device on her wrist.
"That arrow might be important. I better take it from them without causing any conflict." Aloy stated. "This cloaking augment ought to do the trick."
After activating said augment, Aloy becomes concealed in the cloaking technology, rendering her nigh invisible. With this, the huntress began to sneak across the sandy landscape to retrieve the arrow.
"Ayayay, what is this, Witt?" Octane was confused about their find.
The four Apex Legends had a good haul. With a good amount of rations, weapons with lightweight ammunition and energy shields that give an extra layer of protection, they almost felt like they were ready for anything. But they weren't expecting to find another intricately decorated arrow, similar to the one Aloy had.
"This arrow. It's different than the ones we have." Mirage commented.
"And it seems pretty impractical. The stone and gold only serve to weigh the arrow down and decrease it's range." Wattson stated.
"Well, I say we ditch it. Can't have something like that taking up space." Rampart stated.
"Wait. Isn't there like a special thing the Golden Voice has planned? A secret factor?" Mirage asked.
"You're right. Maybe this might give us a leg up on the race." Octane recalled the statement.
"I'm thinking we need to test this before we have an idea on what to do with it." Wattson suggested.
"I know. There's another care package down south, right?" Octane stated.
"Ha! Come on. Let's see if there are any plonkers who signed up for an unscheduled acupunture." Rampart was eager to get this going.
After packing up everything they needed, the group climbs up a dune to get a good look at the second care package as well as everything around it.
"Over there! I see them!" Octane pounted at the Tekken group who were already getting their stuff on the horses.
"Hold on. They're too far." Mirage stated. "I would never hit something that far with a single arrow."
"Let's get closer then." Octane stated.
"Hold on, I think I see something." Wattson stopped the others from leaving.
The others look to see a new group arriving at the scene. Gwen, Owen, Priya and Millie were hopping out of their horses as they saw Aloy's horse nearby.
"Yep, this is her horse." Owen stated.
"She must've gone for one of the care packages." Millie stated. "We should be careful, there might've been others who saw the care package."
"You two stay here. Priya and I will scout ahead." Gwen told her teammates.
As the two begin to look around for the huntress, Mirage was already pulling the string of his compound bow, ready to fire the strange arrow and test out what it does.
"Come on, come on, come on." Octane was excited to see this through.
"Just hold on, okay? I need to be steady for this." Mirage tried to calm the daredevil down.
Mirage steadies his grip, aims firm, and fires. The strange arrow shoots across the sky, but it still doesn't go unnoticed.
"Huh?! Priya! Get down!" Gwen immediately acted fast upon seeing the arrow headed their way.
The arrow pierces straight through Gwen's forearm as she manages to shove Priya to safety.
"Gah! F-Fuck!" Gwen yelled out in pain.
"Wh-What the?!" Priya immediately stood up upon seeing this.
"Oh no! Gwen!" Owen exclaimed.
"No! Stay back!" Gwen yelled.
Priya took the liberty of looking up to find the Apex Legends group observing things frok above.
"It's the Apex Legends!" Priya yelled out.
Aloy comes out of cloaking to see this scene play out.
"What?" Aloy was surprised to see the scene play out.
Immediately sensing the new threat, Aloy quickly notched an explosive arrow into her bow and fired at the top of the dune.
"Incoming!" Rampart yelled out.
The arrow blows up upon impact, but because of their energy shields, the Apex Legends were blasted away with only minimal damage.
"What was that?" Xiaoyu exclaimed as her group heard the resulting explosion.
"Wait, the arrow! It's gone!" Asuka realised that their arrow is currently missing.
"Well, as if things couldn't get more complicated." Lili shaked her head in annoyance. "Xiao, Law, you guard the horses. You two, come with me."
"Come on, let's just get on with it." Paul cracked his knuckles as the three investigated what was going on.
Having temporarily halted the situation, Aloy assisted Priya in dragging the injured Gwen to the rest of their teammates.
"Hey! Stop moving my arm!" Gwen was still in a lot of pain.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Priya exclaimed.
"Don't worry, it's only in the arm so it's not immediately fatal." Aloy reassured the girl.
"And why are you so quick to helping?" Priya asked.
"Well, judging from the way the scene played out, you weren't looking for a fight." Aloy stated. "But those on top of the dune definitely were. Now hold still, I need to stop the bleeding."
As Aloy carefully tried to handle Gwen's pierced arm, she sees that the arrowhead that had pierced her was the same strange arrow that seemed to be a special factor in the race.
"What?" Aloy was perplexed by this.
Just as she says this, the arrowhead began emitting a strange light that was almost flashing their eyes.
"What the?! What's happening?!" Priya exclaimed.
"I don't know!" Aloy exclaimed.
The light eventually died down, letting the two see again. But to their surprise, the arrow had disappeared, and Gwen's arm was miraculously healed.
"Huh?!" Gwen immediately inspected her arm after that strange event. "What happened?!"
"Uh-I don't know!" Priya was just as perplexed as her.
"Guys! What happened?!" Owen yelled out as he and Millie approached the group.
"We saw a light and immediately came for you!" Millie yelled.
"I have no idea what happened." Gwen stated. "And frankly, I don't even want to know."
"Hold on. Aren't you gonna question what happened?" Millie asked.
"No, I take that as a sign to leave." Gwen was still unsure of the situation.
As Gwen stood up, she spots another figure nearby, and it was very close by.
"Guys! Behind you!" Gwen yelled out.
The group turns in a haste, but were then confused. Nobody was there. It was like the figure had disappeared in an instant.
"Wh-What?" Gwen exclaimed in confusion.
"Are you sure you saw something, Gwen?" Owen asked.
"I was pretty sure I saw something there." Gwen stated.
Then something catches Gwen's eye. She turns to her side to see a figure floating next to her. It was a figure half her height, with it's clothes and skin being a minty, angelic white with golden outlines. The figure boasts a long overcoat closed to the end of its torso, a flat-tppped hat, and a bowtie, and it's eyes were a shiny emerald green.
"Wh-What?" Gwen was in awe of the strange spectral figure as it crossed its arms in a pose.
Now for the main event. The Stand awakening scene is something most readers are looking for when they tune into a JoJo fanfic, and I went into refining this scene to have more organically blooming conflict. Let me know what you think in the comments!