Memelord16: I'm glad you like it!
dumpstertrashfire123: Well, I for one am glad you enjoyed both chapters. I guess the last scene does have some parallels to the scene from Phantom Blood, but a different context to be sure.
DeathlyJazzHands55: Criticism taken, and greatly appreciated! Don't worry, none of it seemed harsh or mean-spirited in any way, and I know you mean well! Thanks for taking the time to break down your thoughts on each arc, it really helps me understand your points!
Looking forward to Part 2!
*Also, if anyone hasn't checked it out yet, DJH and I are working on a crossover between Dynamite and a Laserbeam and A Legacy to Protect called A Dynamite to Laserbeam. I encourage you all to check it out!*
Jpx0999: Don't be afraid, it's just nature taking it's course!
Guest: Sorry, not sorry.
Ivory Insanity: That soundtrack would be PERFECT!
Kyeo307: Glad you enjoyed it my friend!
Euphoria: I really wanted to show Momo some love in this story, and I'm pretty satisfied on how this arc turned out. As for the Hamon realm...I might have to read up on Hamon a bit.
Bearticguy7: They should be called the Bootleg Bandits.
So...the battle is pretty much over, so this is going to be a shorter, character-focused chapter. Finally, the Paradise City arc is over...
I really loved it, it was pretty fun to write!
They say...when you're about to die, your life flashes before your eyes. In all honesty, I thought it was a myth...and yet here I am...
I suppose this could be a good time as any to reflect, I might not be able to in the future. Yaoyorozu outsmarted me...I didn't think she'd be willing to sacrifice her life to stop me.
...
I...I'm not satisfied with this ending. The whole point of our fight was that only one of us can continue...but both of us? It's the worst possible scenario...
How did it come to this?
"Sister...why must you risk your life? You're a woman...and...you know how people are." A 19 year old Ulric Stewart asked. His black hair fell down to his shoulders, and his beard was cut short. "The moment they catch you without the mask, you'll be burned at the stake, pronounced a witch! I...I can't lose you too..."
Margerite Stewart put a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Being a doctor is my calling, just as it is yours. I can't just sit around and do nothing...not with all of this suffering around us. You and I both now that my be set doesn't matter."
"Of course not...not to the two of us. The world is different, the world will hunt you down because of it. The plague too! What if you get it? It was in our house...what if I get it?! We could die at any-"
*SMACK!*
His sister hit him on the forehead.
"OW! MARG-"
"Ulric, listen to me. We are in a point of history that will be defined by fear, and death. This plague has caused mass death across the continent, it's only natural to be scared...but we must persevere in spite of the risk. What we need, is hope."
"Hope?"
"Hope. The ability to smile in spite of everything that's happening. That little voice that tells you...that everything is going to be okay. The moment we lose hope...we wouldn't need to worry about the plague, we'd already be dead."
Ulric rubbed his forehead, and sighed. "I can't talk you out of this, can I?"
"Never. Listen Ulric...there will always be another war, another famine, and even another plague. That's the nature of this world, but-"
What did she say? Why can't I remember?
She was right of course, my many centuries of seeing those things pop up have only reinforced that theory...but she said something else...
Margerite, my sister...did...did I forget what you really stood for?
Ulric stood over two graves, sobbing while a childhood friend, who's name he couldn't quite remember...
It might have been David.
...David, consoled him. "They were both great women, Ulric...I'm sorry."
"I'm alone."
Alone...
Isn't that also how Momo felt? Sure, her loneliness was a result of parental ignorance rather than tragedy...but she was lonely, wasn't she?
"You're only alone if you want to be."
"They were all I had...and...all Margerite ever wanted was to help people...why? Why would this happen?" Ulric looked up to the heavens, begging for an answer. "WHAT DID SHE DO TO DESERVE THIS?! WHAT DID ANY OF US DO?! WHY ARE WE STILL HERE, JUST TO SUFFER?!"
"It's the Lord's will." David said simply. "It was their ti-"
"NO!" Ulric screamed, pointing at David with tears streaming down his face. "NO! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT A LOVING GOD WOULD PUT US THROUGH SOMETHING LIKE THIS! IT'S THIS...CRUEL WORLD!"
"Ulric, please..."
"It wasn't their time, the world must be out of God's hands now. That's the only explanation, it's gone out of control again, just as it was before the Great Flood. Maybe...maybe there needs to be another one...that has to be it!"
"Another flood? Ulric...listen, you're going through a lot right now...maybe...you just need some time to think this over."
"There is no need, I've been thinking it over. I...I will stand my ground, I will continue to make a difference in my sister's stead! I will not rest until I somehow end this endless cycle of suffering, it's what she would have wanted..."
David was staring at him as though he'd seen a ghost. "No...no, it can't be..."
"I've made up my mind, David!"
"You're a Curse User?!"
"Huh?" Ulric turned to find a metal...thing, standing behind him. It had a set of two flippers that it utilized as legs, and a flat triangular head. It's eye sockets bore a resemblance to the eye holes on his sister's mask.
"You're a Curse User! How...no, nonononono...you've been tarnished!" David yelled. "The tragedy has made the Devil leave this mark on you!"
"David, whatare you-"
"My family...they said that they made a deal with a suspicious man carrying a set of arrows. I was a sickly child in the verge of death, so they begged him to save me. He did, but he gave me the curse." David said, his face twisting into a snarl. "Only the Devil could have given me such powers. I should've known...when your sister disguised herself as a doctor...she invited the Devil into your home by breaking the status quo!"
A white mask materialized over David's face, and his eyes began to glow red. "I took the liberty of naming my curse, Reverse This Curse. I intend to hunt down anyone who has similar powers to my own, as a way of cleansing myself. Prepare to die."
"Davi-"
David lept upon his childhood friend in an instant, but Ulric's mysterious new guardian punched him away. Ulric was more shocked than anything, not only did he suddenly manifest a random guardian, but someone he had known since birth was trying to kill him.
And...spat on his sister's memory while visiting her grave.
Anger and betrayal, alongside grief, filled his heart as the stand which would later be known as Paradise City got ready for a fight.
Was his name David? Seems too modern.
Back then, Paradise City resembled a metallic fish. It has changed with the times, just as I have. Now...it's a torpedo...
David...or...Daniel...he didn't understand what Stands actually were. Neither did I to be fair, not at the time. It was...simply the nature of the times...and a difference of ideals.
Human nature, just as Yaoyorozu said...it was a human conflict.
I almost forgot what Paradise City originally looked like, and I can't remember my former friend's name. He was the first life I had ever taken...
How could I forget him? It was my first Stand fight. My sister's encouragement, and my first enemy, all forgotten. This...this is concerning.
I wear her mask, because I am the carrier of our combined will. At least...that's what I thought...but now I don't even remember what she said. Only the part where she reiterated the world's problems...
Could it be that the centuries of following these ideals clouded my memory? Or was it my grief? I need to remember! I need to remember where this all began!
Think Ulric, think!
"We've lost another one." Ulric lamented, throwing his grey mask on the floor, emptying out flowers and spices that were said to stop the plague, although it was clear that it was a load of hoo hah. "We're just fighting a losing battle!"
"That's not the Ulric I know." Margerite said, sternly, brushing out her raven hair after taking off her own. "Keep your chin up, Brother."
"We see death every day, and we're no closer to stopping this damn plague!" Ulric snapped. "It's just...so disheartening, I feel as though our efforts are in vain..."
"What did I say about hope?"
"I know...how on Earth can you stay so optimistic when the whole world wants to torture us? You and I have been trying to cure the plague for a while now, with a zero percent success rate. How...how can you still smile?" Ulric asked, lowering his head. "You're...so much stronger than me."
Margerite pulled her brother into a hug. "It's because after every night, there is a dawn. The plague will end eventually, and you and I will know happiness once more...I promise..."
She didn't keep it. She never had the chance to...she was already infected by that point, we just didn't know it yet. This world ripped her away from me, and left me with nothing...wait...
There was more to that conversation...it was important to me at the time, I remember that. It was one of my favorite memories of her, because she spoke so passionately about what she believed in. There is no way I could have forgotten this!
"And if we don't? What if our lives are snuffed out before we have the chance?"
"...my mission, upon the death of our mother, was to alleviate the suffering. This world is trapped in an endless cycle of misery...but it also has meaning. Tragedy is what makes the human soul, Ulric. It is what separates the good from the bad." Margerite said.
What?
I can't believe it...
"I'm not sure I understand." The young Ulric said, his brows furrowed.
"Heroes and Villains are both defined by tragedy. Something motivates them both, something that makes them who they are. Suffering...it can either make, or break a person. We are suffering, and yet we help people in spite of it. Ulric...that's why we can't give up hope."
Margerite put her hands on her brother's shoulders.
"Humanity will suffer, but the pure of heart fight it anyway. They suffer to end suffering...it is true selflessness. That is why I do what I do, even if it kills me...because if I can at least stop someone else's suffering...I've accomplished all that I've ever wanted to."
"...I...I don't know if that is healthy."
"It probably isn't. The world can be cruel, and sometimes it all may seem hopeless...but we act in defiance to all of this darkness, and eventually, even if the darkness will eventually come back, we can bring back the light." Margerite said, ruffling her brother's hair. "Nothing is perfect...and imperfection is beautiful."
After all these years...I finally understand.
We cannot end disease, war and famine permanently. Not even God can. What we can do...is make life just a little bit better for everyone else.
Tragedy made Margerite...and it broke me.
She died doing what she loved, and I've stubbornly kept myself alive chasing a broken dream, a flawed interpretation of her will brought on by grief. She must be horrified...in Heaven...having seen what I became.
Here I am, hurtling to my death with the girl who has done nothing but impress me ever since I met her...someone who is willing to sacrifice her own life to stop me.
Someone...who had a grasp on Magerite's will without having met her.
Someone who I grew to care for, someone who has so much potential...
If both of us die, all of this would be for nothing! One of us needs to live on! I can't let her go through with this!
I WON'T LET YOU THROW YOUR LIFE AWAY, MOMO YAOYOROZU!
Momo drifted in and out of consciousness, feeling only a mechanical arm around her torso. A bleeding Paradise City was dragging her up Exodus, towards the cockpit. Was she hallucinating? The last thing she remembered was hitting the water...
Shouldn't she be dead?
"You're...safe...thank the Lord..."
Momo finally managed to regain full consciousness. Ulric was hunched over her, his face covered in blood, a relieved expression on his sunken and now ancient face. He was aging, quickly.
"Doctor? What...how are we...?"
"I used Paradise City to take the brunt of the fall...I was afraid the whiplash had killed you. Luckily, it managed to swim back to Exodus as soon as it touched water...like I said, once there is water...my stand is unrivaled in speed."
"Why? We were trying to kill each other...why did you save me? Why..." Momo gasped. "Doctor, your face, the time limit!"
"I'm afraid...I used the last of my energy to bring you here...I won't survive more than a few minutes."
Momo felt her heart shatter upon hearing this news. Ulric had basically just sacrificed himself for her sake...
"WHY?!" Momo shouted.
"...because...I couldn't bear the thought of you dying. I just felt compelled to do it. I guess I wasn't strong enough...to...go through with it..." Ulric began coughing, and fell to the floor with a hand over his mouth. Momo jumped off of the table she was on and rushed to his side.
A table?
Momo looked around to find that she was in a lab littered with mouse traps, stacks of neatly organized papers, and several instances of religious iconography. She was in Ulric's lab, the place where he had done his work as the Doctor.
"Doctor..." Momo said softly as her dying enemy turned to face her.
"Sorry...I'm falling apart at this point. Yao...no, Momo...I've come to realize that...there was more to your argument that met the eye...you made me remember something important...something that time...took from me..." Ulric grabbed his cane and began hobbling over to his desk. Unlike before, he actually needed it.
"Doctor, you shouldn't move around so much."
"They say...when you're dying, you start to see things clearly. It is true, you really do, and...in a moment of clarity, I finally realized that I have made a massive mistake. I'm both proud of all the good I've done...and ashamed of everything else..."
Momo stayed silent, watching the man she looked up to, and tried to stop, hobble around his lab, examining his tools and decor as if it were for the first time.
"All this time...I was trying to follow ideals I didn't truly understand...ideals that you did. All I wanted was to end humanity's suffering...but...it's impossible..."
Ulric held the torn leather plague doctor's mask in his hands, tears coming to his eyes. "Margerite... after all these years I finally get what you were trying to tell me. You can't simply create a paradise...you have to earn it. I was a fool."
The Doctor began coughing once more, and Momo put an arm around him. She didn't know what to say or do, all she did was support her mentor as he directed her back towards his operating table.
"I treated All Might on that table...after his first battle with All For One...I...made it so he could live without...the organs he had lost. His heroism inspired me. Please...give him my sincerest apologies...for abducting him. I just...put him in Elysium to comfort Izuku Midoriya when he went in there...I never meant to hurt him...I never meant to hurt anyone...but I did."
"I know."
"Momo." Ulric's eyes, which were once steely, were now bloodshot and uncertain...due to his body failing. "Am I going to Hell?"
"No...no, you are most certainly not. You're a good man, Dr. Stewart." Momo assured him, and the man nodded. "As wrong as your actions were...you did them out of love...and you've dedicated your entire life to helping people...Heaven would be foolish if it denied a man like you."
"I have caused so much suffering...haven't I? You said it yourself, Elysium was corrupted by my own sorrow...and I was subjecting the population to it. I...I'm a villain..."
"NO! YOU'RE NOT!" Momo yelled at the dying man, trying desperately to keep the tears from coming. "You've helped people too, you treat any patient you can, no matter who they are! You show kindness, and you don't expect anything in return. You and your work...while flawed, came from the right place...I only wanted to stop you so I could save you..."
Ulric met her eyes, and for the first time since she met him.
He smiled, not one of his reserved half-smiles, but a true one.
"You did, you succeeded in that regard. If it weren't for your bold actions on the top of Exodus...I wouldn't have had my moment of clarity..."
Momo pressed her lips together as Ulric hobbled over to a window, and Momo followed his gaze to see the aftermath of the battle outside.
That's when she realized: Ulric's lab was inside Exodus. His project had been going on for years, perhaps even decades. He treated All Might within the very same mech that they had just destroyed, same with Shigaraki. Chances are, his patients had no idea what they were standing in.
*So, for those of you that are confused...every scene where Ulric was working in his lab, such as when he was treating Shigaraki, took place inside Exodus.*
He had been putting his all into this for many, many years, and she and her friends had destroyed it. It wasn't just his weapon...it was his home, his passion project.
"I'm so sorry...that all of this was destroyed...at least your lab was intact..."
Ulric chuckled. "Momo, this thing was supposed to be able to withstand a nuclear bomb. You forget...I wanted to bring the entirety of the human race into Elysium after all. Of course I would meet resistance...of course they would resort to nukes when all other weapons failed. This Exodus? It was the first of many that I was going to make...Mustafu was the first of many cities I was going to 'liberate.'"
"So?"
"Jiro threw Glycon at a hole made by Bakugo, a hole that led straight to the power source. With a new engine...Exodus would be operational once more, not that it matters now...I won't...be around...to activate it..."
Ulric coughed into his hand, and found blood in his palm.
"Doctor..."
"Sunday was supposed to be the day I put the finishing touches on it's third layer of armor. You see, it has three layers of titanium and lead underneath in some areas. It was supposed to be that way around the entire machine. However...the Curator as you know...went after you, and suddenly I had to rush the project. As such, certain spots only had one layer...something that Bakugo impressively spotted. As aggressive as he is, he's a good ally for you."
"How would it manage to take a nuclear bomb?"
"It was also supposed to have a force-field, and even then, it was fast enough to avoid a direct hit. It would have been severely damaged, yes...but it would be intact enough for me to make an escape. Anyway...I'm getting off subject. The damage to Exodus is not irreparable...so my life's work is preserved."
Momo took a look around the lab, and stood by the window with her dying mentor, the two of them staring at the sunset.
"It's beautiful...I had completely forgotten how much I enjoy sunsets...isn't that sad? The sun is setting on my life...and...it's beautiful, in a sad sort of way. My time is almost up...and...I'm glad I get to spend my last moments with you."
"I don't want you to go..." Momo said quietly.
"I was dead long before we met, this is the way it has to be. I said, just before our fight started, that we would let fate decide...and...it did. Please...do not be sad for my sake, it was inevitable."
"But I still had so much to learn from you!" The ravenette cried out, the tears finally falling freely down her cheeks. "I look up to you! There is so much that you can still teach me...I...I don't want things to be this way!"
Ulric held out his hand. "Lead me over to my desk, will you? My...eyesight has failed, I'm afraid I'm blind...I don't have much time left."
An emotional Momo lead her lead her deteriorating mentor over to his desk, where his cameras diligently watched the city and the UA campus. Like Ulric had said, his project was salvageable. On the desk was a cup of Gold Tips Imperial, both Momo and Ulric's favorite brand of tea, unfinished.
"The bottom left drawer...open it..."
Momo reached down and opened the left drawer of the desk, finding a leather book, the same one that Ulric carried around with him. She slowly took the book out, and handed it to her menotr. His once precise fingers shook as he fumbled through the pages, Momo couldn't even bear to look.
"This is...page 69 right?"
"Yes?"
Ulric chuckled, and Momo's mouth fell open. "Just because I am polite...doesn't mean I don't have a sense of humor. This...is a map of my personal library, located down the hall. In it...you'll find all of my research, blueprints of my inventions...and even a few artifacts I've collected over the years...I may have dabbled in archaeology."
"That explains why you knew about Buluc Chabtan in [War: What is it Good For?] right?"
"Yes...it's yours now."
Momo's breath caught in her throat. "What?"
"My library, my knowledge...it's yours. That way...I can guide you after I'm gone. My work...still has potential to make a difference, but it is no longer capable of it in my hands. I...will not die in vain...my work...was not for nothing...because now...I'm leaving it to someone better."
Momo could only sob as she shakily took the book from the dying man's hands, she couldn't speak, all she could do was mourn the man who had entrusted his legacy to her.
"Shadow Moth...as idiotic as he was, had point with his 'memes.' It sounds ludicrous...but the passing of ideas is a fundamental part of human nature. It ensures that we are remembered...it is how we truly leave an impact...how we truly make a difference. You...are my successor...and I know...you will not only put my knowledge to good use...but you will pass it down. Perhaps my dream of a world without suffering...will be achieved by you, and your descendants..."
From Margerite, to Ulric, and now to Momo...only by passing the torch could someone truly make a difference.
"I...I will never forget you." Momo sobbed out, taking Ulric's hand as he slumped to the ground. His flesh was turning to dust, his true age finally starting to show. Their hands joined together one last time, the successor providing their predecessor with one last act of kindness as he faded away.
"Maybe...I lived all these years...not for my goals...but so I could meet you." Ulric wheezed out, attempting to place his other hand on top of Momo's, only for it to fall off. "Damn."
They both fell into silence...one crying, one smiling.
"I'm...happy...this is good, isn't it?"
Momo felt Ulric's hand crumble away in her hers, and she opened her eyes to find his discarded clothes, a few bones, and Margerite's mask on the floor on his place. Momo lowered her head and gathered his clothes in her arms. "Doctor...DOCTOR!"
Slowly, the dust around Momo began to float, and she looked up from her mourning to look at the phenomenon with wonder. The dust began to glow, until a golden cloud began to form in the room and headed towards the window.
Momo rushed to the window to find a familiar pointed beard forming from the clouds, and Ulric's soul smiled at her and gave her a wave. Despite her sorrow, Momo had to smile back through her tears.
"Thank you Doctor...for everything..."
Ulric faded away into the sunset he had been so fond of, and Momo waved him off.
He had finally found paradise.
"So...we...won?" Kaminari asked. "Because it doesn't really feel like it."
"...Ulric Stewart was a good man, I mean...the guy gave his life for his enemy." Johnny responded, gazing at the smoking Dam in the distance. They were currently aboard the Patriot, having fled the scene before anyone decided to investigate the commotion. Luckily, with the Dam being far enough from the city, pro heroes weren't immediately notified of the disturbance.
Most people probably assumed the battle with Exodus was a really weird earthquake, which was most likely planned by Ulric to avoid attracting suspicion.
Speaking of Exodus...
It was just sitting in the middle of the boat. They couldn't just leave it by the Dam for the news crews to find, so they ended up having to use a bunch of LCA helicopters to airlift the damn thing away from the Dam.
"Are all of your battles this depressing? I mean...look at her." Kaminari said, glancing at Momo.
She was sitting near Exodus, holding the tattered remains of a plague doctor's mask.
"He was never truly her enemy, he was a mentor to her...and her friend. She needs time to grieve, and we have to...redirect classmates who won't understand why she's feeling down. Particularly Mineta."
"I'll get on that." Kaminari said, sighing. "Well, our first mission in the loop...and I got blasted by a laser thing, Kirishima broke three bones, Tsu got stabbed, and Todoroki accidentally spilled his soba over the side of an aircraft carrier..."
"Welcome to our world." Johnny said with a smirk. "Hopefully the next big bad is actually evil, so it won't weigh on our consciences. This has all been...disconcerting, to say the least."
"I don't know what that word means."
"It means I'm a bit bothered by it. I'm used to taking down bastards, villains. I've never actually faced someone who...did nothing but help people. He was truly selfless, and we had to tear down a project that meant the world to him" Johnny gazed up at Exodus. "I know we did the right thing, but it's uncomfortable."
Kaminari nodded. "You know man...now that I know what's happening with the whole One For All thing, I'm gonna be there for fights like this in the future. I want to know...how does stuff like this weigh on you?"
"I suppose I'm a bit traumatized, but I'm more worried about the people around me more than anything else. I'm sure you know all about the Steel Ball Run..."
"I do. When you got hurt, I was actually scared. You beat Jiro and I so effortlessly in Battle Training, at least, that's what I thought at the time. To see someone who was so confident get crushed like that...and then finding out what you went through afterwards..."
"I was never confident, Kaminari. It was a farce...my injury only fed my depression. Then that no-good purple smartass seduced me and turned my life around."
Kyoka jokingly shot Johnny a glare from across the boat, and Johnny stuck out his tongue in response. Then they both smiled and went back to their respective conversations.
"How are you two both so rude, and so...wholesome?" Kaminari asked.
"I'm pretty sure it's because we're both insane." Johnny responded. "Well...at lest you finally have some idea on what you're getting into. You sure you still want to do this?"
"...yes."
"Good...now...I'm going to go and try to stop Mt. Lady from drooling over my father. Honestly, she's closer to our age than his." Johnny said.
"What if she starts drooling over you? You look just like him." Kaminari asked.
"There are two Kyokason this boat, she better not if she knows what's good for her."
"If I could hug you, I would." Kyoka told herself.
Patch gave out a dry chuckle, and leaned against one of the Patriot's cannons. "I'm sure you would, if it wouldn't kill us both. It's nice to finally be able to talk to you...or me...since we're the same person and all."
"Are we really this awkward?"
"We make up for it by being witty."
"I suppose...so...how is it like? Without our jacks?"
"Bury the Light has saved my ass more than I can count, especially with the whole 'being from a dystopian timeline' thing. Still...I miss them, I really do. However...at the time my jacks weren't enough to challenge Dark Valentine, and...I wanted revenge."
"Of course you did...I would've done the exact same thing."
"Well, that's because-"
"We're the same person." Both Kyokas said, one with a bit more sarcasm than the other.
Patch chuckled. "As if we needed further proof of that. I also miss my eye, my depth perception if gone now. Make sure you keep both, you need them more than you know. Kyoka...it feels so weird calling you that...you were partially the reason I helped your Valentine, and why I got my life back."
"You lost everything, and you were worried about a version of yourself that...actually, never mind, I know why you would do that. You saw my life, and you didn't want it to be ruined like yours, right?"
"Right. I...never got to tell my original Johnny how I felt. Our parents died in my arms...and Class 1A was slaughtered right in front of us in the final battle, culminating in me getting my eye ripped out. What I went through...I didn't want it to happen to you, because you are the main Kyoka."
"Like...the-"
"The universe with the Holy Corpse is the main universe, so you are the definitive version of us...at least in our multiverse. Apparently there are other multiverses too, which is confusing as hell, but...if I could preserve our fate in the main universe, then it would've been worth it."
"Well...that's pretty weird, knowing that I'm basically the Kyoka. Er...well, I'm glad you got a second chance, you deserve it after everything you went through."
"Valentine gave me that chance, which is what I really wanted to talk to you about." Patch met Kyoka's eyes. "I know he tried to kill those two meatheads in this universe too...and trust me, I know how you feel about that. However...having dealt with a worse Valentine...Fluffy is a changed man, and he really wants to make it up to you. After he saw what happened to me, he knew what he had one to you."
"I know he's changed..." Kyoka said with a sigh. "I just...he almost took two of the most important people in my life away from me. I know I shouldn't be complaining, considering what happened to you, but...I still feel bitter."
"Hang out with the guy, you have my position in the LCA when I'm not here, your whole group does. Really get to know him...and try, that's all I ask of you. He's a good man, Kyoka."
Kyoka bit her lip, and turned to look at Valentine, who was chatting with his soldiers, congratulating them for a successful evacuation. His natural charisma at it's finest...he really was a good leader, and if it weren't for him, they wouldn't have won today.
"I'll try."
Momo could only stare at the mask in her hands as Jotaro sat down next to her. The teacher and the hero student sat in silence for a while, before the elder Kujo spoke.
"I'm sorry...I know that you and he were...close, in a way. Are you going to be okay?"
"...eventually, yes. I think..."
"He wasn't the only one who was testing you today, I hope you know that. In a way, I was as well." Jotaro admitted. "I...also wanted to test your resolve. I was hands-off today for a reason."
"You entrusted the mission to me, to see if I could carry it out." Momo affirmed. "To see if I could put my personal feelings aside for my duty...for the greater good. I knew."
"I had a feeling you did. You and Dr. Stewart were two peas in the same pod, and the two of you both knew it. He needed to be stopped, otherwise Mustafu would be finished, and I wanted to see if you could put saving the city over your care for him, and you did not disappoint."
Momo lifted her head towards Jotaro, and then back towards Ulric/Margerite's mask. "I did my duty...and Mustafu is safe...but this was no victory, not really. This isn't as simple as beating a villain or saving a city...in the end, it was about saving a good man from himself, and the people he unintentionally hurt. I am now the carrier of his will...he entrusted all of his work to me before he died."
"...that means Exodus is yours, right? Whatever happens to it is up to you..."
"We're not destroying it. To destroy his life's work would be disrespectful to his memory...I want to repurpose it."
"It's your call...although I wouldn't recommend taking it for a drive."
"Not unless I have to...no, his lab and library is in there. Is there any way we can put it beside the treehouse?"
"You want to keep it then?"
"Is that a problem?"
Jotaro turned his head towards Exodus and hummed. "Yare yare daze...no, it isn't. It's harder to hide than the treehouse, but we can always say that it's a prototype Zero-Pointer for the entrance exams should it be discovered. I'm willing to okay this...are you adding on to the treehouse, I presume?"
"We need more room for our new members, don't we? Besides...I want his knowledge to be close...I want to
"I'm sure we can airlift it into the woods for you...we're all proud of you, Yaoyorozu...including him. I'll leave you to grieve..." Jotaro said, and was about to stand up when Momo grabbed onto his jacket.
"I don't want to be alone right now."
The third JoJo's expression gave nothing away, as usual, but he slowly sat beside his student, and stayed there until it was okay to go back to land. It was a hard day for Class 1A's vice representative...
As soon as she looked at the sunset, however, her spirits began to lift. Night was upon her now...but seeing her friends in one piece, and a dry Mustafu, her hope was reignited.
After all...the sun would rise again.